Obviously the highlight of the week was the ceremony to mark St Valentine’s Day, with the lighting of the Valentine Lamp on Catherine Street. It was a cold but thankfully dry evening, so with a little mulled wine to stave off the chill we all enjoyed some music and poetry before the official lighting. Who knew the Town Crier was such a fan of Lennon & McCartney?
Reg Ling created the Valentine Lamp in 1993 and has hosted the annual lamp-lighting ceremony on Valentine’s Day ever since. This year, aged 93, Reg quite literally ‘passed the torch’ to his successor Eddie Young. In recognition of Reg’s many years’ service to Frome and to St Valentine, I was honoured to present him with a Mayor’s Award. We look forward to seeing how Eddie makes the ceremony his own in years to come.
I had the pleasure of attending another celebration – The Friends of The River Frome held a ceilidh at the Bennet Centre to mark the success of their crowdfunding venture to secure the Adderwell Water Meadow. They have raised over £37,000 from hundreds of donors. It’s so reassuring to know that even in these difficult times the people of Frome are willing to dig deep into their pockets for such a worthwhile cause.
February’s council meeting was very well attended. We started by hearing from Frome Food Network about ‘Canteen’, the pop-up community restaurant. It’s a great concept for bringing people together over a hearty meal on a ‘pay what you can’ basis. We then heard an interesting presentation from Clare Moody, Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. Clare has a longstanding interest and track record in tackling violence against women and girls; in her previous life as an MEP and now as PCC. Some of my councillor colleagues are hosting a community action forum on International Women’s Day on 8th March at Frome Football Club to explore what we can do as a community to tackle this serious issue – do sign up to join us. After the PCC we came to the main item on the agenda: the proposed devolution of assets from Somerset Council to FTC. It was good that Cllr Bill Revans, Leader of Somerset Council, was online to hear our concerns and to reassure us of his support. Watch this space for more about FTC taking on additional open spaces, the weekly markets, and the Key Centre in order to protect and develop those assets for the benefit of residents.
I can’t finish this column without thanking everyone involved in the fabulous Frome College production of Alice in Wonderland, my wife and I had a most enjoyable time at the Merlin Theatre watching an inventive and skilled performance from a cast who had obviously worked hard and were enjoying themselves nearly as much as the audience was!
