I am now into my second month as Mayor , and again it has been very busy with over 30 mayoral functions.
In partnership with the Town Centre Board, Darlington Borough Council has sought to appoint a ‘Town Crier’ and I was pleased to be involved in the interview process. Peter Stemmer was appointed to the position and I look forward to him undertaking his first announcement, in the near future, in Darlington’s Town Centre.
The Mayoress and I attended Darlington College to judge the competition to produce the artwork for the Mayor's Ball, to be held in October. The quality of all the work was excellent and we found it really difficult to choose a winner. After much deliberation, it was agreed that Sara Harper aged 17, was the winner, with Luis Bachini, aged 20, and Sarah Garbutt, aged 17, as the runners up. All the work produced by the students will be displayed at the Ball. Our thanks go to Scott Wilson Architects, who’s sponsorship enabled the competition to take place.
I presented cheques, from the Mayors Charitable Fund, totalling £1300, to a number of different causes including the Darlington Community Carnival, the Riverside Residents Association and the Red Hall Partnership.
Middleton Rangers under 12 football team, were the winners of a football tournament held in Holland. They were invited into the Mayors Parlour to receive their individual trophies and celebrate their success.
A trip across to Richmond, to watch the Yorkshire Regiment, who had recently returned from a tour of duty overseas, be conferred with the freedom of the Borough and to watch the troops march with the band through the town. The event was followed by a Civic Reception.
The Sadberge Midsummer’s Morris Festival was held in the Village Hall due to the poor weather, but proved to be a real success, with a parade and dancers, and despite the poor weather, there was an excellent turn out for the event. I opened the proceedings and judged the fancy dress competition.
The Children’s Safety Carousel was hosted by the Darlington Fire Station, in conjunction with the Police, Utility Companies, Railway Police and Darlington Borough Council. The event was aimed at primary school children, to inform them of the various dangers linked to Fire, Drugs, Alcohol, Railways and Road Safety, and included a tour of the fire station, informal presentations and a question and answer session. We spoke to a number of children and they all seemed to enjoy the visit.
Four events in one day certainly is not easy. Firstly I invited the Veterans into the Town Hall to mark ‘Veterans Day’, followed by a guest from Mulheim. I then welcomed back David Stead, following his completion of a charity ride to Vienna to raise funds for a sensory garden for Haughton Village School. Finally, on to St Marks Church at Harrowgate Hill, to celebrate their Golden Jubilee. In all a busy day, but very enjoyable and interesting.
One of the biggest events in the calendar was held this month, and that was the Darlington Community Carnival. The event took a lot of organising and my appreciation goes to all those involved in producing such a splendid event. We arrived to meet and talk to many of those taking part in the parade, which had an International feel with Polish, Chinese and West Indian representatives. We set the Parade away and then spent some time looking around the stalls and entertainment in the park, the weather stayed fair and the event was again, a great success.
The Bannatynes ‘Bright Sparks Event’, which was hosted by the Dolphin Centre, proved to be as hard hitting as the show ‘Dragons Den’, with representatives from our local schools presenting their ideas, research and business plans, to the judges. A tough question and answer session followed with a real air of tension as the judges retired to deliberate on who would win. The winner on the night was Polam Hall School, but the reality was, every entrant was a winner. This was an event that lifted the spirits of everyone present and it went a long way to prove that the young people of Darlington are our future.
I attended the Darlington Primary Schools Athletic Championships and presented the many winners with their medals and trophies. This again was a well run and organised event, and my congratulations goes to all the schools taking part and the staff from those schools for their effort in making the day a success.
All Saint Church Blackwell (Ravensdale Road ) are having a new Church built and I was kindly invited to attend the laying of the foundation stone by the Bishop of Durham the Rt. Rev. Tom Wright. I found it extremely interesting to hear about the history of this church and even more so when one of the ladies attending had actually attended the original laying of the foundation stones of the old Church some 70 years ago.
The Month would not be complete without a visit to the South Park to join the youngsters in watching a bit of Shakespeare (Much a Do About Nothing), which was a first for me. I have read some Shakespeare, but never seen a play. The natural surrounding of the park and the very professional performance of the actors, ensured that both the youngsters, and the adults who were watching, enjoyed the occasion.
The 70th Birthday celebration for the WRVS was held at the Gardens Care Home, and the Mayoress and I went along wearing our hats, as requested, and were entertained by a real mixture of entertainers. The WRVS has a long history and their volunteers are to be congratulated on their involvement with the communities around the Borough.
England did not qualify for the latest European football competition, so what better way to spend a Saturday, than to play in a table football World Cup competition. This was the idea of Martin Landers, so off we went to the Forum in Borough Road to ‘kick start’ the event, which it is hoped will become an annual competition.
Two events that I attended, but due of the weather were unfortunately abandoned, were the Darlington Memorial Hospital Summer Fete and the 105th birthday party for the Friends of North Lodge Park. My thanks go to Alan Charlton and the staff of Ward 33 of the Memorial Hospital for their welcome to the fete and to the couple at the North Lodge Park, who greeted us dressed in Victorian dress as Mr and Mrs Pease, for the party. We spoke to exhibitors at both events who had persevered in the rain, and I wish them better weather with their events in the future.