Before I start celebrating the Christmas Festivities, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your unwavering support to me as Lord Mayor throughout my time in office this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet residents, community organisations, church groups, businesses, and esteemed visitors, from across the Borough and further afield. At every gathering I have witnessed a tremendous sense of community spirit of kindness in our Borough.
Serving as your Lord Mayor has been a source of great privilege for me, and I consider it an honour to champion the residents and businesses of this Borough on a daily basis.
Looking back at my time in office this year, I reflect on it as a time filled with so many highlights, some of which include:
The opportunity to meet HRH Princess Anne with my family.
Representing Council at The Somme Commemorations in France, and Dublin.
Visiting the trust to celebrate 75 years of the NHS and the opportunity to thank the NHS staff for all their faithful service.
And the many lovely people I have met during the various receptions I have hosted, you really have been such an encouragement to me and I look forward to meeting many before my term comes to an end in June.
At this time of year, I must also acknowledge the remarkable Christmas and Georgian celebrations organised by the Council and community groups in recent weeks. The turnout at these events was fantastic, with each event bringing a festive fun experience to those in attendance. Witnessing the enthusiasm and excitement, particularly from the children in attendance, was just lovely.
Our Council staff dedicated a significant amount of time and effort into organising these events and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone involved. Indeed, I would like to thank all our Council staff, for their unwavering commitment and hard work in providing services to the residents of the Borough throughout the year.
The Council’s ‘Christmas Comes Alive’ campaign aimed to bring local communities and visitors together, to support our local business community at this important time of year and I would I urge everyone to continue to support local into the New Year.
My Christmas card this year had the theme of family and remembering the true meaning of Christmas – The coming of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. I love The scripture verse “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift” The gift in this verse refers to the gift of Gods son to the world, by which God made a way of salvation for all who simply place their trust in him.
As the year comes to a close, my prayer is that this Christmas is a special time for you with family and friends. Let us take a moment to express gratitude for all that we possess, care for one another, and treasure the presence of our loved ones.
May the Lord Bless you and your family this Christmas.
From me, my husband James, my children James and Anna.
Watch the Lord Mayor’s Christmas message below.
