I can’t believe my year as Mayor is nearing completion! At the end of this month I’ll chair my last council meeting on 30th April, before the new Mayor is elected on 21st May. I hope my successor enjoys their time in office as much as I have.
Earlier this month I got to indulge myself reminiscing about the year at the Annual Town Meeting. There’s been such a lot happening since I took on the chain of office, from celebrating the 50th anniversary of Frome Town Council, to the rollercoaster of Saxonvale, kicking off Frome Festival with the Food Feast and of course the amazing highlight of the year: Light The Night.
The Annual Town Meeting also gave me the opportunity to recognise some of the people who make this town special, and it was my honour to present Civic Awards to several of those individuals. Awards this year went to Darren Bowsher to recognise his philanthropic support of various projects in Frome, not least providing a solar array to Fair Frome to support them in their new premises. His gift enables Fair Frome to operate their base in Frome with significantly lower electricity consumption costs.
There was an award to Karen Stewart who has done so much good work with Fair Frome and with Frome FM, and to Richard Lines to recognise how hard he works both with the Rotary Club of Frome and with the Memorial Theatre.
I also had an opportunity finally to thank some of the people responsible for resurfacing the car park at Frome Community Hospital. That happened last June, when as Nick White phrased it “A great team of local companies have just piled in to complete this project”. Awards went specifically to Ian Regler, Sharon Payne and Stephen Caffyn, but my thanks go to everyone involved in that project.
Two other people I was happy to recognise for Awards were Marjorie Morris and Tim Fielding. Marjorie handed over the reins at Art for Wellbeing earlier this year after 26 years’ service. Tim was a regular face providing security in the Westway but has now moved on to a new role, so this was a great opportunity to recognise his special contribution to life in Frome.
Outside of council business I had the honour to launch Photo|Frome, running in multiple sites around town between 5th and 27th April. The theme this year is ‘inEquality’. Through photography from internationally acclaimed, national and regional artists, the project reflects on stories of global and local justice and equality.
The role of Mayor of Frome is a really special kaleidoscope of things, and I can’t finish this column without thanking St Louis Primary School for inviting me to judge their Easter Bonnet competition. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon to watch all the youngsters showing off their creations – and if I had my way, they’d all be winners!
