With Mytholmroyd Station Partnership

On Thursday, I was honoured to speak at the annual meeting of Mytholmroyd Station Partnership, which draws together lots of voluntary groups and businesses, and looks after the station (obviously).

Thanks to the Sustainable Transport Group, I was able to tell the partnership that footfall jn Mytholmroyd has increased by 119% over the decade. As a major business centre (including the international law publishers, Sweet and Maxwell), Mytholmroyd deserves good train connections to help commuters and business travellers who want on-site face to face meetings.

I met the new head of Calder High, Mr A Guy, and the MD (Johann) and marketing assistant (Chloe) of the Mobile Phone Recycling Organisation Ltd, which will give a donation to any charity you name if you collect phones for them. Chloe had been taken on as an apprentice administrator and had subsequently been offered a fulltime permanent role in marketing, so its employment practices look positive too. The company's based in Mytholmroyd ..........

After meeting people, and enjoying a buffet kindly supplied by the partnership, I unveiled a number of new pieces of artwork, one of them drawn and designed by children of Burnley Road Academy. For obvious reasons they don't appear in the photo, which shows me unveiling adult artworks. And very good they are too!

Thanks to new councillor Alex Rudman who took the photo. He said some things about the partnership which are worth repeating, because his words sum up positive impact the group has:

"The work they do is great and I think has encouraged other people to set up similar groups to take pride and ownership in their area................... eg Stubbs Field, canal footpath volunteers , Jane on Midgley Road with her wildflower garden etc."

Nothing about us, without us

On Wednesday 11 June, I chaired my second full council meeting.

I am proud to say that I received unanimous support from the town councillors present - both Labour and Liberal Democrat - for a motion to resource a disability access group in Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Cragg Vale. The motion expressly referred to the principle of the international disabled people's movement: 'nothing about us, without us' and the town council endorsed this approach.  The group will identify the things that disable people in the local area, so action can be taken to make Hebden Royd accessible.

The group is open to anyone who finds it difficult to use shops and facilities in Hebden Royd because of the way the premises are built or set out - or the way they serve you. In future, I hope the group will also act in an advisory capacity to the town council and Hebden Bridge partnership. I shall also be mentioning it to Royd Regeneration.

The town council has given itself powers to resource the group, the type and amount of resources will be determined by the Strategy and Review Committee as the group develops.

Thanks should go to Susan Quick from the Hebden Bridge Partnership for taking the initiative and setting up a public meeting on 29 May 2014, which attracted a number of people interested in participating in a local access group.

I would also like to thank Cllr Janet Battye for the support she provided.

Mayor Bear - Handmade Parade 8 June 2014

On Saturday, I was mayor bear in Hebden Bridge's Handmade Parade, on the theme of endangered species. To be exact, I was a mayor polar bear.

Kindly, the organisers prepared a costume for me because I was too busy to attend the workshops. I'm pleased to say however that Aeisha, my wife, and Sophie, my daughter, were able to attend and make their own costumes.

This is what we looked like (the three of us dressed in polar bear costume):

I had great fun going around introducing myself to the crowds as 'mayor bear'. I even got a group to give me three cheers!

Lots of people had fun and some of the costumes were stunning, especially the musk ox. You can view a full gallery of photos here.

Aeisha and Sophie really loved the parade. The joy that it gave children in particular was fabulous to watch, and it was a real privilege to be amongst such skill and energy.

Triple Saturday

Just enjoyed a busy Saturday as mayor! When I woke up this morning, I didn't expect to feel so good about it. It was more a case of 'Oh no, what have I got myself into now!' and 'Am I really up to this?'

But now it's all over, I think it's been wonderful.

The day began at the town hall café with local historian Mike Crawford, talking about the WW1 display that will go up for the centenary. I've done some research on the Independent Labour Party (ILP)and local opposition to the war and we were planning how to fit it in without giving undue prominence to the minority who actively opposed the war. For those who don't know, conscientious objection did not occur until 1916, when conscription was introduced. Until then, the army relied on volunteers. The ILP was, by and large, against the war and discouraged people from volunteering to fight. They also argued for a united states of Europe and a negotiated peace. The membership included one Nancy Wheelhouse, a strong minded fustian machinist from Hebden Bridge.

After that it was up to Doddnaze for their music festival. Unfortunately, the heavens opened and there was a downpour of such force that all the drains on the tops burst and a river of water sped down the road that goes down to the valley. I met the organisers including a woman called Kaz and Dave Boardman trying to put a brave face on it, but there was no way crowds of people were going to turn up in that weather. People laughed and joked but there was an obvious sense of disappointment because so much work had gone into the day, with a marquee for the bands, shops and a first aid station around the sodden playing field. I showed my support before Aeisha drove me to Halifax Minster for a fashion show for refugee week, which included people from the St Augustine centre, one of my mayoral charities.

There, I spoke about St Augustine's and introduced the second part of the programme, which included a fashion show of costumes based on nature. Quite stunning affairs, with people dressed as woodland and the like. I'll post some pics when they become available.

So it's been a full day! And tomorrow, it's the Handmade Parade, where I shall be dressed as Mayor Bear!

Inaugral Speech at my Mayor-Making on 14 May 2014

It’s an honour to be elected as Mayor of Hebden Royd. Before I say something about the coming year and my charities, I’d like to note my thanks to two people. The first is Karl Boggis, the outgoing Mayor, who has done an excellent job over the last year. His genuine love of meeting and getting to know others, his enthusiasm for the voluntary sector and his good humour as chair of the council has set a benchmark for us all. The second is Cllr Nigel Yorke, without whom I would not be standing here. Nigel, who is one of the most quietly effective members of council, decided that the mayoralty was not for him, and suggested that I might like to do it instead, basically because he doesn’t like showing off, and, as he implied, I do.

One day I hope Nigel changes his mind and becomes mayor. I think he will be great. It is because of volunteers like Nigel that Hebden Royd offers so much to the people who live within it, and I could not imagine a better or more fitting public representative for the area.

Turning to my year in office: the biggest event is obviously going to be the Tour de France, and I shall be doing my utmost to ensure that the town council supports the efforts of local people who wish to use the race to promote Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Cragg Vale. But to my mind, the most significant event will be the first world war commemoration. Both my grandfathers fought in that war, one of them died just before I was born partly of injuries sustained during active service. For me, WW1 is still a personal matter.

 Unlike some cabinet ministers, I persist with the view that WW1 was the product of an unjust system of international relations. Those who opposed it – dismissed as ‘cranks’ by Jeremy Paxman  in his recent BBC series – have over time been vindicated. Today’s forms of international governance were imagined by the opponents of war back in1914 and 15, including people from Hebden Royd. Free trade – which was another of their key demands – is now the economic status quo in the world at least in theory.

Both my charities are in some way related to issues that derive from that and other wars. The St Augustine Centre, a Halifax based charity, supported by Churches Together, supports refugees and asylum seekers.-, all of whom will have been displaced by terrible events, including war. Many awful things have been said about asylum seekers and refugees over the last decade or so because of the explosion of numbers, caused by climate change, globalisation and because we are still a world at war, with ourselves. Compassion, as the greatest refugee of them all, Jesus, showed, is sometimes the greatest challenge both to authority and to ourselves. The most difficult thing in the world can be to love others. Supporting St Augustines is an opportunity to express our love.

Combat Stress is one of the main charities that deals with armed forces personnel coming back from active service. Up to one in five have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This too is a personal matter for me. My father served in the Royal Navy on Arctic convoys in 1942/3 and clearly suffered from PTSD for many years. I am also a PTSD sufferer, and it has taken me a long time to rebuild my life after the events that caused it. I cannot begin to tell you how unsympathetic people can be to those who have to start out again. How difficult it is to keep on going in the face of disbelief. And how much utterly useless counselling you may encounter when you have PTSD. I shall never forget being offered Freudian counselling through the NHS for my issues. Combat Stress offers the right sort of counselling to those with the condition, so they can stay near the ones they love and rebuild their lives. 

The charity was set up – under a different name - after WW1 because of huge numbers who had gone back into civilian life deeply traumatised. Last year, the charity saw a 57% increase in the number of referrals requiring treatment. Because of the nature of PTSD, and our many recent wars, the numbers are expected to rise dramatically over the next few years.

We should remember how lucky we are to live in Hebden Royd, particularly now when the hills and valleys are so beautiful. Let's ensure that others have the chance to share in our good fortune and celebrate the achievements of this council, whose councillors are all unpaid volunteers working on behalf of the community.

Finally, I would also like to record my thanks to my wife, Aeisha, a very private person, who has approached the prospect of being the mayor’s consort and chauffeur with fortitude and humour. I depend on her a great deal. And she didn’t ask for this role. I think we should all thank her for her forbearance. Thank you.

 

 

First Formal Meal

Attended Mayor of Calderdale, Ann Martin's 'Italian night' in Julio's restaurant in Halifax yesterday, and sat next to Michael and Nikki, the Mayor and Mayoress of Todmorden. I've known Ann for years and characteristically she kept her speech to an absolute minimum (three sentences, I'd say). Turns out that Nikki works in pathology. Apparently, over the last decade, she's examined fewer and fewer bodies from Hebden Royd. I thought that was an interesting medical fact that might also be a sociological one too.

We get on really well together and plan to support one another's charity work. Michael's charities are the Todmorden Hippodrome and Independent Living, Todmorden.

I also had the pleasure of meeting old friends Megan and Tim Swift, Anne and Barry Collins, Margaret and Bob Metcalfe and Mohammed Naaem.

Formal meals aren't really my thing so I popped into the Fox and Goose afterwards and had a chat to Creedy, who plans to set up a community radio station over Le Tour weekend. I said I'd be happy to talk about my charities on air.