Well we’re truly into 2022 now, there’s no turning back (and why would we?!) it’s a fresh start and a whole new year to create new memories, make new friends, work on ourselves, meet a special someone, grow the family, get that promotion, start that business you’ve always dreamed of, cut out someone who isn’t helping you grow and evolve, whatever it might be! It’s a new year, as January moves on, let’s get after it!
It’s been a slow start to the year, not an awful lot has happened in the mayor’s world since my last column. Last time I touched on volunteering opportunities for 2022. One of the highlights of my year last year, whilst being on this crazy volunteer ride of being a Cllr and Frome’s Mayor, was on Christmas Eve I went to Trinity Church Hall to help the volunteer delivery drivers for the ‘Frome Big Christmas’ to ensure all the hampers and potted plants were packed up ready to drop off! This wonderful initiative is run by Fair Frome and replaced the traditional get together on Christmas Day, usually held at the Football club, due to the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant so the hampers were personally dropped off which was the next best thing. I’d like to thank everyone who volunteered or helped make the operation such a success, I’d like to give huge props to Rosie Oakley from Fair Frome who was so well organised, passionate and focused on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to deliver some festive comfort, joy and support to so many deserving of it. It was a real pleasure hang out and help you out!
On Christmas Day I upheld the Mayoral tradition of visiting the good folks at Frome Community Hospital. I was shown around the hospital and did what I could to spread a little Christmas cheer through the wards. I sat with one of my favourite regulars from when I worked in the Co-op and had a good old chin wag, Mary I hope you’re continuing to make amazing progress, seeing you again after many months was one of the highlights of my day so thank you. I want to thank all the amazing NHS staff who worked tirelessly not only on that day but throughout the year.
Some other news – and a shameless plug – the last episode from season 3 of my podcast ‘The Giant Pod with Andy Wrintmore’ is out now on Spotify, Acast, Apple Podcasts and all other major streaming platforms and is also available to watch on YouTube in multi-cam HD goodness. My guest is Martin Barstow; Professor of Astrophysics and Space Science at the university of Leicestershire, former President of the Royal Astronomical Society, chair of the UK Space Agency Science Programme Advisory Committee AND Space Telescope Institute Council. We discuss his involvement in the historic construction and launch of the James Webb telescope which will succeed the legendary Hubble telescope and capture images from deeper within our universe than ever before. We talk about a range of subjects aside from this including alien life, colonising Mars, space junk and debris, the billionaire space race, Einstein’s two theories of relativity, dark energy, quasars and more. We’ve had enormous support for the podcast in 2021 with over 20,000 downloads! Production on season 4 is underway and we are looking for sponsorship in the new season, so if you want me to be shouting out and plugging your business or product in future episode GET IN TOUCH, I would absolutely love to be championing something from Frome to listeners all over the world. Have a great one people, I’ll be back with more Mayoral tales and gossip soon.
