From the Mayor's Chair
Councillor John Smith, Mayor ofNewport Pagnell
  Hopefully, you can now see my 'official' photo rather than the previous one. That first one was taken just four days after I had surgery in MK General Hospital and I was not feeling at my best. That aside, I have started doing the best part of being a Mayor, namely out and about, fulfilling all the requests and invitations that come in to our office. Some of the requests are for serious occasions such as Remembrance Sunday, which demand strict protocol, and some of the others are fun days to be enjoyed. Our Strawberry Fair was a fun day, where I joined our Carnival Court as guests. A fun event with a serious overtone, was the Willen Hospice Summer Garden Pa y, held in a marquee in the grounds. This was to thank the people and organisations who donate time or funds, which maintains the Hospice's level of care and hopefully, makes life better for both patients and carers. Sofar,oneofthebestinvitationstocomemyway was from the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Sir Stuart Hampson and his wife Lady Hampson. It was for a 'Summer Reception' at their house in Bledloe Ridge, near Aylesbury. The house, the gardens, the other guests, all gave it the 'Wow' factor. Big time! Virtually all the Mayors in the county were there along with other people of note and influence. All told, about three hundred guests. I had no idea of how many Mayors there are in just Buckinghamshire. Once Yvonne and I had got over the beauty of our surroundings and the number of guests, we had a good time comparing chains of office with the others Mayors. I have to say that I think Newport
Pagnell is up there with the best of them and it made me very proud to wear my chain of office in such surroundings.
The main event of the year in Newport Pagnell has to be the Carnival. This year it was on the weekend of 6th, 7th July. It was blisteringly hot which was wonderful for the spectators (and for the publicans) who turned out in their thousands (Yes, really}. Yvonne and I had the honour of riding in an open Aston Martin at the head of the parade. For me being an ex-employee, that made it extra special. A shirt, tie and jacket meant that I fried under the sun. All in a good cause. Once in Riverside Meadow, I was to be found in the shade in the Town Council gazebo, raising funds for my two charities for fighting Diabetes.
Being a Mayor is not all about meeting lots of people, cutting ribbons etc. The day job, as it were, is still there. The committees you attend and sometimes chair, keep you in the real world with the problems of daily life in the place that you live in. With restrictions being placed on local government by central government, it is very hard to maintain standards of service that the people in Newport Pagnell should take for granted. For each of the se ices that we administer in town, we have a committee that assumes responsibility for that service. These committees all want the very best that they can afford to provide. Needless to say, each committee has to strive to maintain their service at a given level with less and less money. Taking additional funding from ratepayers is th e very last reso .
Our Town Clerk, Shar Roselman, came up with
the idea of 'Vintage Tea Parties,' which I am very keen to take part in. A series of these will start later in the year. Our intention is to pick at random from the electoral register, a given number of people and invite them to take tea with the Mayor. These teas will be held in our community centres and those invited can enjoy tea and nibbles whilst having the opportunity to talk directly to me, or any another councillor that may be present about anything. Just be honest and open. We can take criticism or praise.
My allotment is becoming a wilderness, with much less time spent on it, as I become more involved in my duties as Mayor. I will now sign off and go and do some much needed watering.
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