Installation of the Lord Mayor Councillor Robin Owens
Tuesday 22nd May 2007.
For everyone in the Civic Office this is the most important day of the year. Different Councils across the country have different systems for electing their Mayors and Lord Mayors and different ways in making up the Civic Team. In some authorities Councillors serve as Deputy before becoming Mayor/Lord Mayor, in others Councillors serve as Mayor/Lord Mayor first and then act as Deputy giving the new Mayor/Lord Mayor experienced support, but here in Bradford there are no such restrictions. Different towns and cities elect Civic Leaders for differing periods of Office but here in Bradford the Lord Mayor serves just one year, although there is nothing to stop a Councillor serving a second term in Office at a later date. In Bradford at the moment the three main parties take it in turns to propose a Councillor for the Lord Mayoralty, the sequence usually followed is: Labour, Conservative, Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat. So having had a Labour Lord Mayor for 2006-2007 it was the Conservatives turn to propose candidates for 2007-2008 and after a Group Vote in December they decided on putting forward Councillor Robin Owens as Lord Mayor and Councillor Elaine Byrom as Deputy Lord Mayor. Councillor Robin Owens had served as Deputy Lord Mayor to Councillor Valerie Binney who was Lord Mayor in 2005-2006.
Things are hectic in the Civic Office in the run up to Installation, there is much to organise and of course with Elections taking place on the 3rd May there is always the chance that the Lord Mayor Designate could lose their seat and that all the work has to be done again for a new candidate in a very short space of time. Thankfully this year that was not the case, Cllr Owens won his seat in Bingley and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief, although everyone was saddened that the outgoing Lord Mayor, Cllr Rangzeb was not re-elected. It’s very strange having a new ‘Boss’ every year, spending so much time with them and then within a day they are gone and you have a whole new team to get to know and look after. All Lord Mayors are different and all have things that they particularly want to do during their Office and their own personality which makes the year very individual.
The Installation of the Lord Mayor is full of tradition and there is lots of ‘pomp and ceremony’ but it really is special. It is of course the first full Council Meeting of the Municipal Year and for newly elected Councillors their first ever meeting. As well as Councillors and their guests, the Lord Mayor Designate invites friends and family, each of the political parties invites guests and of course on the Dias with the Lord Mayor and Chief Executive there is the High Sheriff and sometimes the Lord Lieutenant and representatives from the Freedom Regiments, Honorary Freeman, guests from the Judiciary like the Honorary Recorder Judge Stephen Gullick and Her Majesty’s Coroner Roger Whitaker, representatives from the Police and Fire Service, multi-faith representatives including the Lord Mayor’s Chaplain, who this year is the Dean of Bradford Cathedral the Very Revd David Ison, and former Lord Mayors. Former Lady Mayoresses and Consorts sit in the Well of the Council Chamber along with the Lord Mayor Designates personal guests. Members of the press and local media are also invited. The Council Chamber is always packed to the rafters on Installation Day including the Public Galleries where we have to remember to leave room for the trumpeters who will sound a fanfare when the newly elected Lord Mayor processes into the Chamber in his robes proceeded by the Mace.
Of course there are lots of speeches thanking the outgoing Civic Team for a good year and praising the virtues of the incoming Civic Team. Some of them are amusing, some of them edifying and some of them send you to sleep! Alexis gave me a prod when I started to snore but I am not telling you whose speech it was during.
Once the Ceremonial part of Installation has taken place, guests are asked to leave the Council Chamber so that Members of Council can continue with the business of the Council Meeting with the new Lord Mayor now presiding. Once that is concluded the Lord Mayor can relax and join his guests and everyone else for lunch, of course that’s the bit I like best, there was pasta and curry and all sorts of lovely food including a particularly gorgeous and calorific trifle, there was salad for those who watch there weight but as well all know Bears are much cuter when they are cuddly and rounded so I don’t feel I need to worry!
As far as the Lord Mayor’s Appeal is concerned the new Lord Mayor makes an announcement in his opening speech about the charities he has chosen to support during his Civic Year. The choice is always a personal one, some Lord Mayors know immediately they are proposed as Lord Mayor which cause they will support others decide almost at the last minute, but all of them say it is a very difficult decision to make as there are so many worthwhile causes. In the afternoon following lunch, the Lord Mayor holds a launch for his Appeal this is attended by the person chosen to Chair the Appeal, this year’s Chairman is John Pennington, and representative from the chosen charities, this year Bradford Cancer Support Centre’s Daisy Appeal and the Ear Trust’s Listening for Life Appeal. To find out why the Lord Mayor chose these two causes read the ‘Message from the Lord Mayor’.
For the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress Installation is hugely important, very hectic and very tiring which is probably pretty much what the rest of the year will be like too!
Veterans Weekend
Saturday 30th June and 1st July
This was a wonderful weekend regardless of the appalling weather!
The Committee formed from Ex Service and Voluntary Organisations, led by our Civic Affairs Manager, Loraine, put together a fantastic programme of events to celebrate this first Veterans Weekend. In fact celebrations in Bradford had already started earlier in the week when the Lord Mayor hosted a lunch for Veterans in City Hall.
There was concern that the event may have to be cancelled at one point for Health and Safety reasons and other events across the City did fall victim to the weather but in Centenary Square the famous British and Dunkirk Spirit was very much in evidence as marquees were erected and Veterans and Cadets started to arrive.
There was a big marquee in which many of the Ex-Service Organisations were represented; these included Chelsea Pensioners who were originally from Bradford, along with the Royal British Legion and The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
Our Volunteers get busy in the Main Marquee.
212 Field Hospital provided a Catering Tent where Veterans and Volunteers could get a scrumptious lunch and much needed hot drinks and their colleagues set up a miniature field hospital ward and brought along an ambulance.
Mine and, I think, the Lord Mayor’s favourite bit was the Royal Naval Association who provided a ‘rum tub’ giving out ‘rations’ to people!
The Lord Mayor enjoying his Rum Ration!
There were various different Cadet forces represented along other youth organisations like the Prince's Trust and Bradford & Keighley Youth Parliament who were filming and interviewing veterans so that the younger generation could learn from their experiences and 25 Apprentices from the Army Apprentice College at Harrogate who gave an excellent Drill Display despite the pouring rain and slippery conditions in Centenary Square.
The Army Apprentice College Drill Display.
St John Ambulance and the Lions were there offering First Aid cover and providing a free blood pressure checking service.
The Fire Service brought along a fire engine and their ‘chip pan’ display.
There was an interactive display from Pegasus WW2 Displays which included militaria from all areas, uniforms, weapons and various items connected to the Home Front.
Tourist Information organised a Spy Trail and Quiz to keep the younger members of the crowds entertained.
The ‘Big Screen’ in Centenary Square showed footage relating to Ex-Services, Veterans and past conflicts throughout the day.
And on the Stage there was a variety of musical entertainment, this included plenty of swing and big band sounds, and the Glen Miller Tribute Band was conducted on the day by none other than our very own Councillor Glen Miller!
Cllr Glen Miller conducting the Glen Miller Tribute Band
And even the pouring rain didn’t stop the Jolly Jivers getting everyone up and dancing especially the Ex Wrens bedecked in their Red, White and Blue!
The Jolly Jivers in full swing
The highlight of Saturday should have been a flypast from a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. We all kept a close eye on the clouds and kept our fingers crossed but at the last minute the pilot called to say it was not safe, he could not get below the cloud and had to turn round and head back to base, everyone was bitterly disappointed especially Loraine, but even she cannot control the weather.
On the Sunday the day included the Bradford Pals Memorial Service which takes place every year on the 1st July in Centenary Square at 11am. This year for the Veterans' Weekend it was to be a Drum Head Service and in attendance were members of our old friends from the Great War Society in their uniforms. Everyone involved with the Appeal was very pleased to see so many people wearing the Bradford Pals Memorial badges we had had made to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme the previous year and which had raised over £1,000.00 for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal
David Whithorn from the Great War Society in Bradford Pals uniform
Bradford Classic
Saturday 21st July, Centenary Square.
Another weekend of collecting in the rain. When we arrived in Centenary Square there was a throb and purring of car engines and the unmistakable smell of petrol and despite the weather a sizeable crowd of petrolheads! Thanks to both the Ear Trust and Daisy Appeal volunteers for lending a hand and also to Rotary Club of Bradford Blaize who did very well despite the awful conditions. Still I had fun wandering around with the Lord Mayor looking at all the classic cars and got to go for a spin in an Aston Martin, sorry no photo as Alexis was keeping dry catching up with paperwork in City Hall, well at least that’s what she told us! The daytime events were followed by a Gala Dinner at the Hilton which Joseph had been busy planning and some of the proceeds from that event along with money from ticket sales of a screening of Genevieve will also be donated to the Appeal. As always thank you to everyone who raised money for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
Curry Club @ Kebabeesh
Wednesday 25th July 2007.
One of the events the Lord Mayor was keen to set up during the Appeal year was a Curry Club, as our Chairman and I are both such big curry lovers we thought it was a most excellent idea.
The plan is to visit a different Asian Restaurant each month, with half of the ticket sale money coming to the Appeal and the other half just covering the cost of the food. Tickets are £15 each for each event and for that guests will be able to sample a selection of starters, 4 main courses (including a vegetarian dish), rice and naan. Drinks, coffee and desserts can be purchased on the night.
At each venue guests will be asked to complete an anonymous Comment form and at the end of the Civic Year the Lord Mayor will announce which restaurant was the favourite.
Me with a very happy tummy!
In the company of Jay Dhuranni of Kebabeesh and The Lord Mayor
The first meeting of the Curry Club was at Kebabeesh Restaurant in Greengates, you may remember that Peter and Jay from Kebabeesh are very good supporters of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal every year and that one of their Chefs was on the losing side in the Cook Off last year, so they were out to impress!
As always the welcome, food and atmosphere at Kebabeesh were faultless and guests gave the restaurant some scores which will be hard to beat, the only slight criticisms were about parking and the number of ladies toilets!
The evening included some entertainment laid on by Kebabeesh, which hopefully encouraged guests to linger a little longer.
The night raised around £400.00 for the Lord Mayor’s Appeal and we would like to thank everyone who attended and of course everyone at Kebabeesh for their continuing generosity and support.
Yorkshire Bike Show
Cullingworth Show Ground 28th & 29th July
Thanks to Gareth in Emergency Planning the Lord Mayor’s Appeal had managed to get permission to do some fund raising at the Yorkshire Bike Show, if the weather was good everyone was expecting huge crowds throughout weekend and as some of the Committee, Hannah, Jenny and Joan live in Cullingworth we were not short of volunteers, especially as Hannah dragged along some friends! It seemed to be a day for silly outfits John our Chairman turned up in a Top Hat and Sandwich Board to attract customers and I decided to go for the leather Hell Angels look just to try and attract any lady bears who might be interested!
Me in my Hells Angel outfit at the Yorkshire Bike Show
The weather sadly was a big disappointment again and John and Jenny had great fun trying to put the tent up to provide shelter for everyone. Colin Appleyard Motorcycles very kindly donated a mini motorbike to the Appeal for us to raffle on the day this one was won by a delighted Ryan. Ryan and his Dad met up with the Lord Mayor, Chairman - John Pennington and Appleyards at their showroom in Keighley to be presented with his prize. We would like to say a huge thank you to Colin Appleyards, Gareth and all our volunteers and the Yorkshire Bike Show organisers.
Chairman John Pennington and Committee Member Joan Canning at Yorkshire Bike Show
Glass Walking
Wednesday 1st August (Yorkshire Day)
Yorkshire Day! We hope you remembered to wear your white roses - as you can see our kindly Civic Housekeeper provided me with a buttonhole for the day.
Tyke Brad Ford dressed for Yorkshire Day!
The Deputy Lord Mayor and Consort represented the City at the official Yorkshire Day celebrations which this year were in Hull. The Lord Mayor chose to stay here in the City to celebrate the day and also to help Scouts from across the district celebrate their 100th Anniversary, this meant that we had to be up at the crack of dawn for a sunrise promise renewal with Bradford South Scouts at Blackhills campsite, I like my sleep so wasn’t really looking forward to rolling out of bed at such an ungodly hour but I have to say it was well worth the effort thanks to the excellent sausage sandwiches! Sorry no photos we couldn’t get Alexis out of bed at that time!
Later in the day the Lord Mayor was tackling something unusual and quite daring …………………Glass Walking!
All participants in the Blaze Glass Walk Challenge must go through the private motivational psychology Fear Buster seminar called “Autogenic relaxation”, designed to equip them with the resources to walk unharmed across 20 inches of razor sharp shards from a thousand broken wine bottles. No spectators, videos, cameras or audio equipment were allowed in the “Autogenic Relaxation” seminar so we couldn’t find out was happening to the Lord Mayor, but when I spoke to some of the other participants afterwards they said it was truly inspirational.
We understand that the training is based around proven motivational and psychological methods. It does not involve any element of hypnosis, spiritual training, chanting, “brain-washing”, voodoo or any similar methodologies but that it is however, tremendous fun!
The course is designed to: -
Increase confidence and self-esteem
Release fears and doubts
Breakthrough limiting beliefs and conditioning
Transform fears into positive action
Contain lots of fun and laughter
After the ninety-minute training seminar the participants were led out to the glass and given the opportunity, one by one, to walk across the 20 inch glass bed. The Lord Mayor looked nervous and at one point there was gasp from the spectators when he slipped and it looked like he might fall, but he bravely took a deep breath and continued very carefully on his way. After the event the glass walkers were led back to the training room to share their experiences with each other and to collect their Certificates of Achievement.
A tentative Lord Mayor steps carefully.
No damage done!
Thanks to everyone who took part especially Riaz Ahmed and Graham Bentley for supplying the images, to Linda Enderby at Bradford Cancer Support Centre for organising such a different event and the team from Blaze for keeping everyone safe and providing a unique experience.
Bingley Show, Myrtle Park Bingley
Sunday 12th August
Once again it was up to Chairman John ably assisted by Jenny to get up early and erect the tent! Sadly the tickets for free Bacon Butties and Coffee arrived too late for us all to take advantage of them but there were plenty of other goodies to sample throughout the day as I wondered around. Not that I was shirking my duties, I was there selling Grand Draw tickets along with some of our volunteers. Bingley Show is always well attended and it is amazing how many people who know us come up and say hello, there are quite a few charities there vying for people’s attention and money so it is not always easy but people are generous and we made over £300.
Curry Club @ Sweet Centre
Wednesday 22nd August
Wow! The next Curry Club has come round quickly, but a Bear can never have too much food especially if it is nice and spicy, so I made sure that Alexis took me along. We also took Kevin, I have to be very, very nice to Kevin as he has the man who actually puts my Blog on to the webpage, so I thought that treating him to a curry and a few beers might be a good way of buttering home up, if only I’d known he’s not really a curry fan and much prefers a Chinese! Not only that but everyone else in our group went home with a raffle prize and poor Kevin went home empty handed (well apart from the unopened cans of beer) as you can see I did my best to help him with it! This month’s Curry Club was not as well attended because of the summer holidays or the clash with the England Germany match I suspect but we all still had a good time and already have loads of booking for next month at Omar Khan’s so if you want to go book quickly. There were a few familiar faces from the first Curry Club and people seemed to be taking filling in their comment forms very seriously. Dr Ali and the staff at the Sweet Centre served an excellent meal and made us all feel very welcome, our Chairman John pulled Dr Ali’s leg about hosting a conservative Lord Mayor and for that matter a Conservative MP, as Philip Davies MP for Shipley attended, as Dr Ali used to sit on Council as a Labour Councillor for University ward.
The night raised close to £300 and we’d like to thank everyone who came (regardless of the football), Dr Ali and everyone at the Sweet Centre and the Bradford Cancer Support Centre for organising the raffle.
Enjoying myself at the Sweet Centre Curry Club
with new friends Jilly and birthday girl Damaris
The Rugby League Challenge Cup Final
Wembley Stadium, Saturday 25th August
As you all know I am a big Bradford Bulls Fan and go to all the home games and cup matches so I was gutted when the Bulls were beaten by St Helens in the Semi Final of this year’s Challenge Cup, although I suppose it made a change from losing in the final to them! Alexis took her bat home after the semi final and decided not to go to Wembley for the final but I was adamant that I still wanted to go and soak up the atmosphere of the new Wembley Stadium. The only problem was how was I going to get there? None of our Bulls friends were prepared to take responsibility for a little bear with a big appetite that gets travel sick! Like Alexis our few Rhinos friends had decided to sell their tickets so things were not looking good and then I had an idea……we’d recently met up with a rugby fan called John who despite been a Saints fan was a really nice bloke (I know that doesn’t sound plausible but it is true none the less) so I decided to give him a call and see if I could tag along with him and his family, Alexis was not happy with me fraternising with ‘the enemy’ but desperate times call for desperate measures. Anyway thankfully John was more than happy to take me although I have suspicions that this might have been in the hope of brainwashing me into a change of allegiance!
So after an uncomfortable and undignified journey to St Helens via the Royal Mail in a poly bag I was introduced to John’s family and set off in the back of his son’s work van on the road to Wembley. Thankfully we didn’t have to set off too early and John had made sure that I had taken my travel sickness pills! Everyone was in very high spirits and I soon felt like one of them especially after a quick stop at the Services for the first can of beer! Don’t worry the driver didn’t have any and whilst I admit that everyone else may have had quite a few by the end of the day no one went silly, the very nice mounted police lady who let me have my photo taken on her horse explained that the horse could have a pint of lager without any problem because it was so big that it would take far more than a pint for it to have any effect, sadly the same is not true of small bears and once I started to feel my legs go wobbly I stuck to water.
Hitching a ride after the walk up Wembley way!
I was disappointed that there was nowhere to get a something to eat, I’d heard from the Bulls fans back home how good the burgers were from the vans on Wembley Way and my tummy was rumbling big style but apparently the franchises and permits have not been sorted out yet, if only I’d known I could have asked the housekeeper to do me a pack up. To distract my attention away from my hunger I decided to go for a walk about and as you can see we met up with some Bulls fans that recognised me! And a few well known faces who didn’t but who were kind enough to have their photo taken with a minor celebrity anyway!
Meeting Great Britain Coach, Tony Smith and Harlequins, Danny Orr
Bulls fans enjoying the day out and neutrals supporting Catalan for the day.
I was totally blown away by the inside of the new stadium not just the sheer size of it but the noise and atmosphere. We had to split up as not all our tickets were in the same part of the ground and John and I were sat quite high up with the Catalan fans, proper French fans not the thousands of neutral supporters who had chosen to support Catalan for the day. I knew that back home Alexis would be cheering like mad for Catalan, but I must admit I felt torn how could I not want Saints to win when John and his family had been so lovely to me and if I shouted for Catalan they might leave me in London. I think like everyone I expected St Helens to start piling on the points early and couldn’t believe it when no one had scored after 20 minutes. Whilst the game was far from the most exciting match it wasn’t as one sided as everyone had predicted. I was delighted that Bradford lad Leon Pryce was one of the joint winners of the Lance Todd Trophy and I found myself getting caught up in the moment and cheering when Saint Helens lifted the Cup but never fear I’m still a Bulls fan through and through and next week I’ll be back at Odsal cheering the Bulls to victory over Leeds and what’s more John’s promised to come along so I can return his hospitality and he can cheer for my team for the day. So if you see a Saints fan on the terraces at Odsal next week don’t be too hard on him, remember it’s only a game and he’s a good guy really!!
