I am thrilled, excited, and feel very honoured to have been elected as your new Mayor!
I have been passed the baton by Mark Dorrington, and my thanks go out to him for doing such a fantastic job as Mayor of Frome over the last twelve months. Thank you, Mark, for all your hard work and for your dedication to the task!
We’re in strange times, and no doubt life as the Mayor will be a lot different from usual, in that there will be fewer events to attend in the short term as we adhere to social distancing, but I’m hopeful that things will begin to change soon, so that we will see our shops and play equipment opening up, our people getting back to work, and the resumption of those all-important connections with our families.
I want you to know a little bit about how I would like my year as Mayor to pan out, but of course it is all dependent on how we progress through this coronavirus.
Throughout my life, I’ve never been far from engaging in social activities; whether it’s organising trips abroad, hosting charity parties or entertaining at home. That’s my comfort zone, and it’s something I’d like to continue throughout my Mayorship. I will visit as many groups, charities, neighbourhoods and events as I possibly can, and would love to host some special Mayoral events, if and when the lockdown allows.
I’m so proud of this town. I’m working with 16 other Independent Councillor colleagues, and a lot of great Council staff who are all totally committed to bringing Frome back to life. There’s been some amazing work to help Frome through this crisis, with the big campaign to look out for your five neighbours, food banks being managed, food and prescriptions being delivered, businesses being kept in the loop, leaflets delivered to everyone in the town to keep everyone informed, and over 300 volunteers who have helped to keep it all rolling.
There’s lots more besides, and there is still a mountain of work being done to prepare for the big ‘leap forward’ when we’re ready. Rest assured, your council is working hard for you and we want to make Frome even stronger and more resilient than before. I’ll keep you posted as these plans unroll.
As Mayor, I want to engage with you as much as possible, and I’m happy to hear from you at any time. Please feel free to comment on my ‘Mayor of Frome’ Facebook page, or you can email me at info@fromtowncouncil.gov.uk. To find out my thinking for the coming year, go to: https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/council/frome-town- council/mayor/
Until then, please stay safe… look after yourselves, and one another.
Published 29th May 2020.
