Agenda item - Mayor's Thanks and Presentations

The Mayor will give thanks for her year in office and make some presentations.

4.1         The Mayor then stated that prior to the formal process of appointing the new Mayor, she wished to say a few words about her year in office and to acknowledge the support she had received.

“Deputy Lieutenant, Aldermen, councillors, ladies and gentlemen, special guests; well where have the past 53 weeks gone?  And yes, it is 53 weeks, as somehow, I managed to get an extra week.  It doesn’t seem possible that a year ago I was sitting here giving my acceptance speech at the start of my Mayoral Year and now, here I am at the end.  But what a year it has been.  Right at the start I set myself some challenges.  I knew this was a once in a lifetime experience and I did not want to waste a minute of it, so my first challenge was to do everything that was asked of me, to accept all invitations, to refuse noting unless I physically could not be in two places at the same time and I have done that.  I have worked right through without a break clocking up an average of 10 engagements a week.

Obviously, weeks have varied, some quieter especially at the beginning but others were manic.  There were several weeks when I did 17 engagements and on Remembrance Day – 7 in one day including 4 church services and 3 wreath layings.

The second of my challenges was to have fun and make sure everyone I came into contact with enjoyed the experience as much as I did, and I hope I have done that.  I have been to some amazing places and met some truly great people and always with a smile on my face.  The next was to take as many photos and tweet as much as possible and I have now got hundreds of photos and have increased the Mayor’s followers on Twitter to over 1100 allowing all those and beyond to know what a wonderful place Brighton and Hove is.

The last was to set myself a personal fundraising challenge.  There were lots of suggestions, abseil off the i-360, run a marathon or sleep out.

People often ask me what have been the highlights of the year but it is impossible to say as there have been so many, but one that always comes to mind was right at the start of my year.  I was invited to Preston Park Fire Station Open Day.  It was a lovely day and there were hundreds of families enjoying themselves.  I had not been there long when I was asked by an officer how I was with heights.  Well I’ve been up the i-360 a few times I said and before I knew it I was wearing a fireman’s jacket and helmet and was heading towards the sun on ab aerial platform ladder.  When we stopped at 60ft I was asked if I wanted to go all the way, well I’ve come this far so I might as well I thought.  The view over the viaduct at 100ft was spectacular but it wasn’t until I say the photos afterwards that I realised just how we were.

Anyway, not content with that they brought me back down, put me in a full fireman’s outfit together with size 12 boots, put me in the driver’s seat of a car and sliced the top off.  I think you’ll understand why that one was memorable.

I’ve been to garden parties, fetes, carnivals, I attended over 20 summer and winter graduation ceremonies for both Sussex and Brighton universities.  Several 100yr old birthday parties, even 101 and 102.  I never realised there are so many that old in the city.

Some of my most enjoyable times have been with children.  I’ll never forget the six little 3-year old boys from a small nursery in Withdean who came to the parlour to give me a poppy they’d made for Remembrance Day from a paper plate with cake cases painted red round the edge or the young girls from Whitehawk who tried to teach me to hula hoop.  They thought it was great that they could do something the Mayor couldn’t.

I’ve welcomed so many groups into the parlour including local schools, language schools, scouts, guides, women’s groups and several business delegations, some from as far away as China.  Being invited to business conferences in the city has been very important this year as they’ve allowed me to use the Mayoralty to promote the city and show what a wonderful offer we have for both business and tourism.  Thanks to Visit Brighton for all they do.

Over the year, I’ve exercised, I’ve boxercised, I’ve line danced and waltzed.  I’ve even tried my hand, or should I say feet at Samba and Bollywood.  I have played table tennis, litter picked and bowled.  In fact, it was while I was bowling the first woods at Hollingbury Park Bowls Club as Deputy Mayor, that I found out they were having a friendly bowls match with a team f Chelsea Pensioners later in the year; so I invited myself and spent one of my most memorable afternoons with them.  What characters they are.  I don’t think I have ever laughed so much.  By the time I left my face and stomach were acing.

I’ve driven a Volks Railway carriage along seafront, ridden on the back of a Harley Davidson, and event milked a pantomime cow.  I’ve given out dozens of trophies and awards to both young and old.  I’ve been entertained by singers from Russia, China, Japan and our own Gay choruses in the city.

I think I’ve been in almost every church in the city and I have to say we have the most beautiful and stunning churches and really lovely clergymen and women.

I’ve walked at the front of several parades, Pride, Burning the Clocks and Children’s Parade and once again I was determined not to waste the opportunity and so walked all the way to the end of each one.  Pride was particularly challenging as I had bought myself a very heavy rainbow sequined jacket which I was determined to wear till we reached Preston Park and of course it was a very hot day, but I kept it on – stubborn to the end.

December was a special month.  Apart from the round of lovely carol services, I got to welcome the REAL Father Christmas from Finland to the city, along with the Finnish Ambassador from the Embassy in London.  We visited some very sick children in the Royal Alex hospital and then went on the pier to meet children from two local schools.  We al had chips and juice and the children had a fabulous time questioning Santa about his home in Lapland.  I actually went back to the hospital on Christmas Day, visiting families in the Alex and also the dementia ward in the Sussex County, where the senior consultant was feeding everyone with pakoras that he had made himself.  Apparently, it is a tradition that has gone on for many years.

During my year I have been extremely lucky to have welcomed four Royal visitors to the city, Princess Anne to the Annual Townswomen’s Guild Convention at the Dome, Harry and Megan to the Royal Pavilion on that wonderful day when they visited Sussex for the first time as Duke and Duchess of Sussex and only last week I welcomed Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to the East Sussex Women of the Year lunch at the Amex.

After all this, if you ask me what is the one thing I’m going to miss, it’s being able to walk into a room full of people I’ve never met before, just mingling and being treated as an old friend because of the Chains.

As you may know, I chose four main charities to support this year, the Martlets, Rockinghorse, Off the fence & Grace Eyre Foundation.  But as well as these I have supported and promoted lots of other fund-raising activities for many more charities and community organisations.  It has been a really successful year and we have organised many events including a Caribbean night, fish and chip supper, variety show, a Christmas music evening and a banquet in the Royal Pavilion.  There have been several bucket collections, at the cricket ground, the Amex and on Easter Monday Robbie and I joined a group of volunteers and walked up and down the pier.  And then of course there was my personal challenge, the sponsored sleep-out at the i-360.  For someone who had never even slept in a tent, it was a quite scary thought but luckily it did not rain although it was cold and windy, but my flattened cardboard box and sleeping bag allowed me to get some sleep whilst others who were taking part didn’t find it quite as easy.  It was only afterwards I found out there had been a mouse running around all night.

At the start of the year, I asked each of my charities for a wish list, the things they wanted to buy with the funds we raised and this is what we will be buying:

·         2 x TV’s for a drop-in centre

·         Hygiene packs for homeless women

·         Community hour for homeless, 4 times a week for a month to include bingo, quizzes and discussions

·         Training for volunteers on outreach and hygiene vans

·         2x laptops

·         Furnishings for drop-in centre, client one to one rooms

·         Hygiene items for all projects

·         Wellness day out for female clients to include venue, transport, lunch & workshop facilitators

·         Shed for storage of craft materials for creative workshop therapy

·         Interpreter to provide practical assistance for women where English is their 2^nd language

·         1:1 monitoring for school students in Brighton & Hove Schools & Youth Project

·         Reflection Spaces support equipment pop-up tents/bubble tubes/display stands etc.

·         Reflection spaces resource packs for schools

·         Equipment for multi-purpose training room for clients and volunteers.

Grace Eyre Foundation are going to use their share to hire sports venues, pay sports coaches and cover the co-ordination which includes employing people with learning disabilities to have key roles so that others with learning disabilities can take part in really exciting sports and social activities across Brighton and Hove.  These important projects have offered hundreds of people broader friendship groups and reduced social isolation.

The Martlets are going to use theirs to provide additional day services including:

·         Physiotherapy

·         Occupational therapy

·         Complementary therapies such as acupuncture, massage, aromatherapy, reflexology, reiki and shiatsu

·         Tai chi

·         Hari dressing

·         Singing in a Choir

·         Gardening

·         Art therapy

·         Social coffee mornings

Rockinghorse will use the money raised to but at least one ventilator for the High Dependency Unit at the Alex, and to make sure every ward and waiting area has toys, games and books.

This is an amazing list and I would like to thank my charities committee, especially Karl our treasurer for all the help and support they have given me during the year.  Also thanks to everyone who donated prizes and all those who attended the events and made them so successful.

There are a few people I would like to thank.  Firstly, the Civic Office staff, Michaela, Minna, Elaine, Vicky, Anoushka and Ruby for their continual support and for making sure my year ran very smoothly.  There are the drivers, Darren, Paul, Danny and Robbie.  Where would you be without Robbie?  He has never failed to pick me up at the right time, take me exactly to where I needed to go and made sure I was briefed on everything I needed to know.  Thank you so much Robbie, it would not have been the same without you.

Now to my daughter, Sam who has been amazing, chairing my charities committee and keeping us all in order.  Thank you so much for all your hard work.  Can I ask you to come forward to collect a bouquet of flowers as a mark of my appreciation.

Next, my husband and consort, Paul Simson, thank you for your support during the year, please can you come forward to be presented with your commemorative badge.

I would now like to invite my chaplain, Helen Rose to come forward to collect her bouquet of flowers.  Helen has not only delivered prayers at all full council meetings but has accompanied me to many other events.  Her friendship and support has been invaluable.  Thank you so much Helen.

I would also like to thank the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Alex Phillips for attending engagements on my behalf over the past year when I was available and to wish her every success during her mayoral year.”