Merton Music is for Life Concert

Although it took place a few weeks ago, I recently attended the Merton Music is for Life Concert at the Albert Hall which included over 1,000 singers from 23 primary schools in Merton. Also at the concert were various Merton Youth musicians performing in orchestras and bands, who performed various ensembles and different musical styles including jazz, samba, popular and classical pieces including 1812 Overture from Tchaikovsky. For the second half we were treated to a specially composed musical piece called The Journey about immigrants from various parts of the world coming to this country, and celebrating the wide range of different cultures who have made this country their home, along with the circumstances that many different groups endured when they arrived here.

My thanks for the night goes to all the staff at Merton Music Foundation for putting on such a fantastic event, and allowing so much of our youth to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, an experience that they'll remember for many years to come. It is also remarkable the amount of talent that we have in Merton schools, and it's something that I've seem first-hand during my visits to schools across Merton over the past year, everyone involved performed admirably and are a credit to Merton along with their outstanding performance at the concert.

AFC Wimbledon

Over the past few weeks I have attended two AFC Wimbledon matches in my capacity as Mayor. Currently AFC are top of the Blue Premier South league, and with two games remaining are three points in the lead. If they draw at Hampton on Saturday they'll clinch promotion to the Conference, and will only be one division off from re-entering the league. Yesterday I attended in a private capacity the away fixture at Bromley where unfortunately we were robbed by bad sportsmanship, along with a goal that throws out the window the fair-play rulebook. If we had won, it would've only required a draw from our final two matches, still we're still very well placed for promotion.

The rise of AFC Wimbledon is nothing short of remarkable, given what happened to Wimbledon which now brands itself 'MK Dons' but is really nothing to do with the history of Wimbledon. The club is run by a supporters trust, who have built the club up from scratch to be the current success it is today. Each year brings renewed success, and they also have one of the best support of any non-leagues sides (not many can boast average attendances of over 3,000 per match). All the players have been done a fantastic job this season and hopefully they'll complete the job by getting the result at Hampton.

Mayors visit to Wimbledon

Today I was joined by over 15 Mayors from across London and Surrey for a tour of the All England Club(Wimbledon tennis). The tour itself saw a guided tour around the ground, including the Broadcasting Centre, Henman Hill, Millennium Building, No1 court along with a visit to the museum which is where all the main winners trophies are on display. The only disappointment is that we were unable to visit Centre Court which is still closed due to development for the new retractable roof which will be in use for the first time at this years Wimbledon Championship.

Visiting Wimbledon is always a great experience, I have been lucky enough as mayor to visit on a few occasions, but also hold my charity ball at Wimbledon. Last summer I also formally visited the championship on the first day, along with going to the Men's Final. The venue itself has been transformed over the past fifteen years, with first the No1 Court development, Millennium Building and now the roof over Centre Court, along with a new court no 2. In Merton we're also extremely lucky to have a great sporting venue within out boundaries. It was a very enjoyable day, concluded by a fantastic lunch,and it was great to have so many mayors from across London visit Wimbledon, the jewel in the crown of our borough.

Irish Night

Last Friday, I held an extremely successful Irish Night at the Irish Centre in Wimbledon attended by over 150 people. This was a night of music and dancing with a band led by Mary Farrell, who has provided the entertainment for the Mayor's Irish night for many years.

It was also fantastic to have such great support from across the borough, but especially in the Irish community. The previous Tuesday I had attended the St Patrick's Night at the centre, and it was great to see so many people coming together and celebrating.

Being of Irish descent I am also immensely proud of my Irish roots, but also everything that the Irish community have achieved in Merton, many of whom, like my own parents came to this country back in the fifties and sixties to seek a better life. I also think it's important that the Irish community can come together and be proud of the identity and background; expressing it music and dancing is one way of doing this!

It was a great night, and thanks to everyone who helped make the night a great success.

Duke of Gloucester Visit to Merton

This morning Merton had a royal visit from the Duke of Gloucester who visited Bishop Gilpin School (which is celebrating 250 years) and Southside House in Wimbledon. At the school itself we had a performance from children at the school that displayed their musical talents; followed by a re-enactment of the history of the school performed by children at the school. This was one of the first schools established in London, and established at a time when there were few schools in existence. The children were a credit to the school, and afterwards I also met many of them in their classroom where they asked a number of questions about my role as Mayor, but also about my chain. To conclude the visit a stone was unveiled by the Duke to celebrate 250 years of the school, and also all the children joined hands round the school while singing 'Reach for the Stars'

Following on from this we had a reception and tour of Southside House (one of the most historic houses in Merton), it also has wonderful gardens and one of Wimbledon's hidden gems. Also at the reception were a number of representatives from both my charities and from the voluntary sector in Merton. It was great to be able to thank them for all their efforts, and also allow themselves the opportunity to talk about their work to the Duke of Gloucester.

Mayor of Merton Ball

Last Saturday (Valentine's Day) saw the Merton Mayoral Charity Ball take place at the All England Club in Wimbledon. Over 130 guests' attended the ball, including 13 mayor's from across London. Also attending was a variety of other guests from across Merton. This is always one of the highlights of the mayoral year, and this year was no different. Apart from the wonderful food which a culinary delight, we also had Neil Long from Radio Jackie as the DJ for the disco afterwards which saw a number of us dancing the night away.

For me it was also my birthday on Saturday, so inevitably I had Happy Birthday sang to me along with a cake with candles. It was certainly one of the best birthday parties I've ever had, and one probably never to be repeated!

In terms of fundraising we raised over £4,000 for the mayoral charities; The Wimbledon Guild and The Vine Project. We also had a very successful charity auction conducted by Peter Walder from Merton Abbbey Mills who proved to be an absolutely fantastic auctioneer after stepping in at short notice. The raffle also raised over £1,000, and had some fantastic prizes.

All in all it was a great night, along with being a memorable and successful night. I would like to thank everyone who made it such a successful occasion.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Last week I attended the Holocaust Memorial Day service in Mitcham at Madeira Hall. During the event Jean Louis Mazimpaka - who survived the Rwandan genocide - and a Jewish Holocaust survivor shared some their experiences. Hearing both of them was extremely emotive, as was the Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild from Wimbledon Synagogue who talked about the experience of her brother, a rabbi visiting Auschwitz/Birkenhau memorial service, and his train journey. For the vast majority this was their last journey, and having visited in 2004 it is very emotional experience especially when you see the train tracks, along with their possesions. It also makes you realise the full horrors of the Holocaust along with the death of six million Jewish people and the many non-jews who died at the hand of the Nazi regime.

Before the service, along with a Holocaust survivor we planted a Peace Rose in the new Peace Garden.

Holocaust Memorial Day not only remembers all the victims of the Nazi regime but also all those who have died in more recent genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia as well as the current atrocities taking place in Darfur.

It is vital we remember the terrible events that have taken place in the past so that we ensure we learn important lessons for the future and work together to eradicate hatred, prejudice and discrimination in the borough.