Brad Ford Bears cost £7.99 each + posting & packing and all profits will go to the Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
To buy your Brad Ford Bear please contact Alexis in the Lord Mayor’s Appeal Office on 01274 434965 or send a message to us
Brad’s Blog 3rd November – 12th November 2007.
As the Lord Mayor has been away on an Official Civic Visit to Mirpur this means that the Deputy Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Councillor & Mrs Godward, have been very busy and I have met up with them at a couple of events over the last week.
On Friday 3rd November as the Deputy Lord Mayor already had a previous engagement I took a message from the Lady Mayoress to the Annual Dinner of Soroptimist International of Bradford. I had never heard of Soroptimists but I enjoyed hearing about the work that they do both in the UK and around the world and was delighted to hear that the Bradford Club is forming a friendship link with a club in Pakistan to help continue supporting victims of last years earthquake.
On Saturday I went along to Baildon Hall Club as they were holding a Coffee Morning to raise money for their Club Funds and the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. This was my sort of event, lots of biscuits and buns to eat and lots of nice friendly children to talk to. I was looked after by Lilly who was helping her Mum on the Christmas Stall and they were quite busy. The Deputy Lord Mayor & Lady Mayoress had a tour of the Hall and were very impressed with the work that is being done to preserve this wonderful old building. The Deputy Lord Mayor made a speech and drew the Raffle and the Lady Mayoress looked around the Stalls and won a prize on the Tombola. They had to rush off as they more engagements to go to but I stayed just to make sure that all the biscuits got eaten!
Thank you to everyone especially President Barbara Boyes for making me very welcome and for all their hard work raising money for the Appeal.
Sunday was a very important day as it was the 60th Bradford Festival of Remembrance at St George’s Hall. I found the evening very emotional, I think it is important to remember all those who have fought in the two World Wars and the many more recent conflicts and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Country so that we may enjoy a peaceful future. I joined in with community singing, waved my Union Jack and enjoyed meeting the cast and veterans who had taken part, as did the Deputy Lord Mayor and the Leader of the Council, Councillor Kris Hopkins who both made very moving speeches. You remember that in my last blog I was worried about not having any boots, well the kindly Civic Housekeeper, has provided me with a smart black pair which I was able to polish until I could see my face in them. I felt very smart wearing them and my Poppy to meet the veterans who were all very smart and had obviously spent a lot of time polishing their boots and their medals.
On Monday I was allowed to have a day off and a well deserved sleep. Bears are very good at sleeping, snoozing and snoring and as the Lady Mayoress is away I was able to curl up on the sofa in her room.
Over the weekend Alexis and I had been working hard to decide on 10 tracks to play on Our Top Ten on BCB Radio. We went in to talk to John on Tuesday morning; it was exhausting talking for a full hour about the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. I got to play my favourite song ‘Bare Necessities’ from the Jungle Book and Alexis played the following:- The People's Song (will you join our crusade) from Les Miserables for the Born in Bradford Appeal, Simply the Best by Tina Turner for all our Volunteers who work so hard, Let's Work Together by Canned Heat for all the individuals & businesses that support the Appeal and everyone involved in the regeneration of Bradford, Pomp & Circumstance March No 1 by Edward Elgar for all the Lord Mayors past & present, Jump by Van Halen to advertise the Lord Mayor’s Parachute Jump, Quiet Night of Quiet Stars by Frank Sinatra for everyone nominated for a Christmas Star, I am Woman by Helen Reddy to promote International Women’s Day on the 8th March when the Lady Mayoress will be hosting a lunch in City Hall, The Theme from Aladdin by Paebo Bryson to advertise the Civic Ball on the 24th March, the highlight of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal Calendar, which this year is an Arabian Nights Ball and finally San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) by Scott McKenzie for the rest of the Civic Affairs Staff to thank them for all their help with the Appeal and for getting involved, especially recently with the 60’s & 70’s Night where they all got dressed up in platforms and flares and really did wear flowers in their hair.
On Thursday Rob Cooper, who is the Sports Development Officer at Bradford Sport & Recreation Association for People with Disabilities picked up from City Hall and took me to Shipley Town Hall to meet Anthony Gill from Keighley Leisure Centre who is organising a Bradford to Hamm Sponsored Cycle Ride in April to raise money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. Anthony and Rob are looking for 20 people to take up the challenge and they already have one Bear signed up to take part.
I am delighted to say that my Passport, which did not arrive in time for me to join the Lord Mayor in Mirpur, has now arrived. The trek will set off from Bradford on 26th April arriving three days later in Hamm for a welcome party and well deserved relaxation trip to a local spa. The cyclists will head home on the 30th April arriving back in Bradford on 1st May, having cycled a total of 314 miles. If you would like to take part or if you can help by offering sponsorship please contact Anthony on 01535 680007 or Rob on 01274 437093. And of course you can always sponsor me to take part by making a pledge via this webpage.
As the Lord Mayor has been to Mirpur and I am going to Hamm this seems like a very good time to tell you about Twin Towns. Bradford has 9 Twin Towns, Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia, Poix-du-Nord, Coutance, Eppeville and Roubaix in France, Verviers in Belgium, Monchen-gladbach, and Hamm in Germany and Galway in Ireland, plus Mirpur and Myrtle Beach which are not official Twin Towns but with which the City has signed Friendship Agreements.
Mirpur was chosen as a friendship link because a large percentage of Bradford’s Asian population came from the Mirpur region. Monchen-gladbach, Roubaix, Skopje and Verviers were inherited from the former Bradford County Borough Council, Coutances was linked to the former Ilkley Urban District Council, Hamm with the former Shipley Urban District Council, and Poix-du-Nord with the former Keighley Borough Council, following Local Government reorganisation in 1974 these links are now all with the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. Links have been formed for a variety of reasons, the link with Roubaix was formed after a direct approach from the Mayor of Roubaix to the Lord Mayor of Bradford, the City agreed to twin with Roubaix and with Roubaix’s existing Twin Towns of Monchen-gladbach and Verviers.
All four have a link as historically all were ‘Wool Towns’. Ilkley and Coutance came about because of an existing friendship link and a Local Authority initiative whilst the link with Hamm and Shipley was a result of school and sport exchanges. The twinning arrangements are looked after by the Local Authority and the Twinning Associations.
The Twinning Associations are individuals or representatives of organisations who have a genuine interest in twinning and they handle most of the non-civic side of the arrangements. They meet regularly and have meetings and social events; they spread the word about twinning, make contacts and encourage others to become involved. The Council’s twinning activities are organised by the Civic Affairs Office in consultation with the Council. Naturally the Twinning Associations and the Civic Affairs Office work closely together and when the lord Mayor entertains visitors from a Twin Town, representatives from the Twin Town Associations are invited.
Civic Twinning is financed by the Council. However relatively speaking the cost is minimal and the advantages to Bradford are great. The development of international relationships leads to a richer way of life for the people of the district and helps to develop a better understanding between people of different nationalities; by far the most important part of twinning is the interaction of people from different cultures and backgrounds.
The weekend was very busy, the Lord Mayor & Lady Mayoress arrived back from Mirpur on Friday night but did not have time to relax and recover from the jet lag as they had two very important events to attend on Saturday, the Armistice Day commemoration at the Cenotaph and the Winter Wonderland Ball.
I went to the Winter Wonderland Ball with Alexis and we had a fantastic night. This was the official launch Ball for the Born in Bradford project. The Hilton Hotel was packed with 400 people all in their Dinner Jackets & Ball Gowns and the room looked absolutely amazing, it was like a magical, snowy land, the whole of the room was white and silver, there were Snow Angels on stilts and help us feel warm candles glowing everywhere. Even the food had a white theme, Winter Vegetable Soup, Chicken in a White Asparagus Sauce and White Chocolate Mousse, yummy!
We were sat on a very lively table and had a lot of fun, at one point everyone was given the name of a celebrity and had to stand up and pretend to be that person when a piece of music by them came on, I was Pavarotti, I am not sure if I was given this because someone had heard me singing along to the Bare Necessities on BCB or because of the increasing size of my tummy due too all these nice dinners and City Hall Scones! There was some incredible fundraising and everyone was extremely generous so I am sure that the wonderful people who organised this, especially the lovely Barbara, will have made a lot of money to add to the Appeal.
To round of a very busy week if went with Loraine, the Civic Affairs Manager, to the Remembrance Sunday Service at the Cenotaph. Remembrance Sunday is always the 2nd Sunday in the month and is a very special day across the whole country. This year it fell on the 12th November. The main parade of veterans & regimental associations was lead by the band of the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service in their smart red uniforms. The Civic Party was lead by a Piper Phillip Henderson with his bagpipes & kilt, I was worried that his legs would be very cold but Philip told me that it is his fingers which get the coldest.
To make sure that I kept warm I stood in Loraine’s handbag with just my head and shoulders popping out, Loraine pointed out that the two figures on the Cenotaph had their bayonets fixed specially for the day. It was nice to see so many children there. The service was led by Cllr Paul Flowers who was joined by other members of the Lord Mayor’s Faith Advisory Team, Mr Ken Fabian from the Jewish Community whose grand-daughter laid a wreath, Mr Rajinder Singh Panesar from the Sikh Community, Mr Balu Lad representing the Hindu faith, Mr Kelsang Khechog representing the Buddhist Community –and Mr Jamil from the Muslim Community each of whom said a prayer in their own language.
Monsigneur Philip Moger was present from the Catholic Church , Canon Andy William from Bradford Cathedral, Rev Geoff Reid from the Methodist Churches and of course the Bishop of Bradford the Right Reverend David James. The Lord Lieutenant for West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe also came to Bradford and she looked most splendid in a hat with a magnificent bow on in the Lord Lieutenants colours, when the Lord Lieutenant is a man he would parade in his uniform which includes a magnificent sword and spurs. Also taking part was an old friend of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, David Whithorn, David was their with the Great War Society and they all looked magnificent in their First World War uniforms.
Thanks to David’s ideas to sell Bradford Pals Commemorative Badges and a CD of the ‘Bradford Pals’ a song specially adapted from Mike Harding’s ‘Accrington Pals’ song by the Children of Holybrook Primary School and the Hall Brothers to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme they have helped us to raise £2,500 for the lord Mayor’s Appeal.
I was introduced to the two lady Buglers Karen & Louise who played the Last Post Reveille. Barry Markey was the Parade Marshall for the Lord Mayor’s Parade the Parade Marshall for the Service Organisation was Craig Mitchell who did a lot of shouting and stamping of his feet, I thought he was very scary but Loraine tells me he is a nice man who raised lots of money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal last by running a half marathon so I have changed my mind.
When the City Hall clock struck 11 everybody fell silent and I felt the fur on my neck stand on end. After the prayers and hymns the Lord Mayor laid his wreath of Poppies on behalf of the people of Bradford and then everyone else laid theirs. Finally we all stood very smartly to sing the National Anthem before the March Past in Centenary Square where the Lord Mayor and representatives of the Royal British Legion and the Royal British Legion (Women’s Section) took the Salute.
Bayonets fixed on men on memorial, singing, The Lord Mayor hosted everyone in the banqueting Hall afterwards where there was soup, scones and sherry. I caught some of the old soldiers pouring their sherry into the soup which they told me was a trick for warming up quickly. As well as Bradford there were Acts of Remembrance taking part across the district and the Lord Mayor went on to Ilkley for Remembrance Commemorations and the Deputy Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress went to Eccleshill and Queensbury.
