Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s column.
April has been my last full month of holding on (tightly!) to the lovely chains of office as your mayor, so I’ve been in a reflective mood. Recently at the Annual Town Meeting, I had a chance to share some of the highlights of my year with all those who attended, and it was great to see such a good turnout.
Without a doubt some of the most memorable events have been those that have involved the whole town. The Platinum Jubilee was a great example of this. We all have different views but regardless, this was a once in a lifetime historical event and the town celebrated with a giant picnic in the beautiful Showfield meadow, and a huge number of smaller street parties and more localised events. Like Christmas and Carnival, when the town comes together to celebrate it really is quite magical to see. Watching the lantern parade and the Christmas party from the George Hotel balcony was a definite highlight! But for me the real joy of this year has come from getting to know the real grass roots of Frome; the people and organisations working on the ground to improve lives across the town, whether that’s tackling poverty, poor heath and isolation, or helping to provide better resources for our children and young people, Frome is a town that is very interconnected and supportive and it was a huge insight to see so much of this kind of work in action.
It was also a privilege to be able to present my Civic Awards at the Annual Town Meeting to people from Frome who have contributed significantly to the life of the town. You will have seen who these recipients were in the last issue, and I’d like to thank them all again for their work. There are many, many candidates for this kind of award in my view, so I’d also like to thank everyone who gives their time and energy to improving civic life for all our residents.
Frome Town Council’s website holds a fantastically thorough directory of all the support and help that is available to residents for a range of issues. Despite the warming weather many are still struggling with the ever-increasing cost of living so if you need information or advice about anything, that’s a good place to start. www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk.
So, with one final column to come next issue, I’ll sign off as always, look after yourselves and each other, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with me or my colleagues if we can help with anything.
