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I find it difficult to
think of everyday things after an event such as Richard Davies’ death,
but I feel that the time is now right to carry on with my diary. Richard
will be in our thoughts for many months, as we carry on with tasks and
events that he was closely involved in, and I feel that my best way of
recognising this work is to try to carry on with at least some of the
energy that he brought to his work. On Wednesday 3 March, I
attended a fascinating evening at the University of Essex to watch
presentations by sixth formers from Essex schools on a three day
experience that they had at the University. This course had been arranged
to give these young people an opportunity to find out what university life
might be like: the problems and pitfalls as well as the more positive side
of university life. They were given a series of questions about student
life and told to try to find out the answers. They were put into small
mixed-school groups, with a current First Year student guiding them around
campus. The presentations were varied and very interesting, given that
they all started with the same brief. Prior to the
presentations, I was invited to give a short speech to the audience
consisting of parents, the young people and the organisers. The last time
I was in LTB6 I was sitting in the audience, and I have to admit it was a
daunting experience to stand and face so many people, especially when a
pro-vice chancellor had just spoken on all the main things I was going to
say. I decided to dump my prepared notes, and ‘wing it’ –
fortunately, this went down well and I sat down with great relief some 5
minutes later. Talking to the participants later, I found that they had
really enjoyed the experience, and were pleased to see the support that
they received from the community. Although there have been times when I
have wondered why I have been asked to various venues, I have always been
touched to discover that the general public appreciate visible support
from local institutions, including town and borough council. It is a
humbling experience to realise how much people respect the role of local
mayor and the visible involvement of Councillors at local occasions.
This diary is going to
be one of the shorter one’s as for most of the rest of the month I have
been out of action with a respiratory infection, which has left me
temporarily without a voice, and difficulties with balance (from inner ear
problems) as well as being confined to bed. It is at times like this that
teamwork comes into play, and I have had to rely on others to keep up the
good work. I am very fortunate that the other Councillors and the office
staff (as well as my family) have been extremely helpful during this two
week period – in fact it is a bit worrying how well they manage without
me! I am on the mend now, and
hope to be back in harness soon. I hope that anyone who has tried to
contact me has got the message that I have been unwell, and does not think
that I am just ignoring them. I am hoping to be able to catch up with
things in my Easter Break. I wish you all a very
happy Easter, and look forward to the lighter evenings. Cllr Gilli
Primrose |
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The
next event in Wivenhoe that we had to plunge into was the Mayor’s Ball
on Saturday 6 March.
Nevertheless,
the total profit on the whole evening was over £1,600, which is
fantastic. This all goes into the Mayor’s Charity Fund (for distribution
at the end of my year) and is an important reason for the event, but the
main thing was that everyone had a wonderful time and danced the night
away.