Happy New Year!

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In our terms of office so far as Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Birmingham we have seen much to be encouraged about in all that is going on throughout the city .
To pick out but three things: the sheer number of volunteers and good people – far, far more than the other sort we read about seemingly every day; very positive work in industry that we value so much and the overwhelmingly positive views that visitors have about our city and its people.
So at the turn of what has been a challenging year, I believe that we can look forward to the future with renewed confidence for all the people of our great city of Birmingham – so let’s ring in the new!
The Lady Mayoress and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing everyone in Birmingham and beyond a peaceful, prosperous and healthy 2010 and a very happy New Year.

Quality and Experience Recognised

Lord Mayor's Blog 34

I am very pleased to announce that the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International recently nominated the senior officer in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour, Cathy Dukes, a Paul Harris Fellow.
In Rotary’s words this was: “In appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.”
The words are well chosen and speak volumes of the quality of Cathy’s work and the value of the civic function of Councils in contact as we are with all manner of bodies, agencies and individuals of distinction.
The Paul Harris fellowship is the highest award that is made by Rotary and no greater accolade of the value placed by an external body on the work that Cathy has done over the years supported by the staff of the Parlour.
There is no substitute for experience, an attribute that should always be at the top of the list in any organisation of quality. Congratulations Cathy and thank you for your irreplaceable work!

An Alternative Christmas Carol

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Along with some memorable carol concerts and services I have had the opportunity to see something of the season in other circumstances. The first was a visit to Birmingham Prison (formerly Winson Green) on the 23rd of December for a service of carols and readings. Once we had gone through the entrance security we walked over to the original block, built in the 1840s. Snow was falling and it was dark save for the illumination of security lights. Through the snow, the old block looked like something out of Dickens and if we had been wearing top hats and massive scarves it would not have felt out of place. Inside though, it was warm.
About 40 prisoners and a similar number of staff and visitors took part in a service which I found very moving, particularly the homily from the Salvation Army illustrated with the lighter touch of a disappearing necklace! The trick deliberately went wrong several times before it was right - you can see the message. I did what I could to reinforce this and afterwards the prisoners went back to their cells where they were to spend Christmas and we went freely into the night.
On the 27th of December I visited the Birmingham Christmas Shelter. The shelter runs for six days giving food, a bed (mattress and blankets as shown in the first photo) warmth and some entertainment as well as food vouchers to homeless and lonely people. BCS is run entirely by volunteers with no public funding whatsoever. They cater for up to 100 ‘guests’ over Christmas although some of the guests dare not stay overnight lest the place where they normally sleep out (such as under the motorway) be taken by another homeless person.
The food is good with a volunteer chef each day. When I was there a lecturer/chef from University College Birmingham (the former College of Food) had prepared a great steak and kidney pie.
I am doing rather well for cups of tea recently as you can see from the second photo in the recreation area! Many of the volunteers have been coming for several years to help at the Shelter. It firms up further my view that there are far more good people around than the other sort. I thanked them for all that they were doing and returned to home, family and freedom grateful that I had all of these good things.

Merry Christmas!

The Markets' Christmas Spirit

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The traders in Birmingham’s 850 year old traditional markets have been showing real Christmas Spirit. Yesterday I was pleased to receive on behalf of St Basil’s a superb donation of six turkeys of 30lb plus each and all the vegetables to go with them to provide Christmas dinners for over 200 people looked after by St Basil’s who would otherwise be homeless.
Trading conditions have not been great recently but the traders in our Bull Ring markets are the salt of the earth. Later that day we attended a function organised by a trader who raised over £1,000 for the families of soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.
That same day the Lady Mayoress and I judged the contests for the most festively decorated market stalls. There were prizes for each of the three markets (indoor, rag and open).
There were some really good stalls and the choices were difficult but the job had to be done and I was well supplied with tea from the cafe as we went along!
The markets will still be open tomorrow on Christmas Eve with the usual range of great fruit and veg and plenty of possibilities for last minute gifts at great prices - and always a good chance of meeting the Lord Mayor!

Carols, Choirs and Christmas

Lord Mayor’s Blog 30

We are getting to know our carols very well! We’ve now reached double figures in terms of carol services and concerts with a few more to go. And what a joy they have been and what variety! In the last posting I mentioned the Lucia service at Birmingham Cathedral now one of the highlights of the seasonal calendar with its roots in ancient history but with a timeless message of light and featuring Birmingham’s Ex Cathedra Choir.
Last night we had the pleasure of attending the Ex Cathedra concert at St Paul’s Church. Forgive the use of an overworked word, but what a stunning performance this was, mixing the familiar with the much less known, including the medieval and the modern - good modern - and with distinctive arrangements for favourite words.
How lucky we are to have such an outstanding choir in the city, now celebrating forty years of the highest quality music. ‘Congratulate’ is not a sufficient word for such a deeply impressive performance by the choir under their artistic director and conductor Jeffrey Skidmore, but hopefully it conveys some sense of our appreciation.
There are a couple more concerts to go in this season of good will - including one at Birmingham Prison tomorrow to which I’m looking forward very much. More anon.

Variety is the Spice of Life

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The absence of a posting for quite some time reflects the hectic nature of the Lord Mayor’s schedule on the approach to Christmas. It’s a seven day a week job and 12-14 hour days are not uncommon - and this does not include preparation for upcoming events early in the morning or late at night!
We’ve recently been getting to learn our carols very well, having been to several concerts and services. A particularly interesting one was the Lucia service at St Philip’s Cathedral celebrated with Birmingham’s Swedish community. Not often you get to hear a biblical reading in a Nordic tongue!
Amongst many important and interesting functions just one or two other items that were just that bit different.
We visited Firmin’s - Birmingham’s oldest company - who make all manner of insignia. Of course, they have much modern equipment and some that is just that bit older.

One piece is shown in our first photograph. It’s the wooden (elm) base of an anvil that is still used today and was first used in Firmin’s London office. If you look closely you can make out scorch marks. These were from the great fire of London in 1666!
We unveiled a blue plaque erected by the Civic Society to Birmingham’s 19th Century Philosopher, Poet and Scientist Constance Naden at the house in Edgbaston where she spent most of her short (31 years) but immensely productive life. Just down the road was another blue plaque commemorating Birmingham artist Joseph Southall and just up the road was a third commemorating the origins of the game of Lawn Tennis!
As anyone who knows me will confirm, when it comes to food I’m not much of a gourmet. But simple food I do like. We completed an early morning visit to Birmingham’s wholesale markets by calling in at the legendary market ‘caff’, Happy Dan’s on the recommendation of entrepreneur and impressario Martin Hone.

We can vouch for the superb bacon and sausage sandwiches and we intend to make a return visit to tackle one of Happy Dan’s legendary ‘Full Englishes’. Happy eating!