To receive any announcements from the Mayor.
Minutes:
The Mayor made the following announcements:
“Firstly, may I thank our past Madam Mayor and her Consort, husband John and congratulate them on their successful past year. I wish them all the best for the future.
May I also thank all Councillors and guests here today for just being here.
May I also thank my long suffering husband Yanis and wish him well for his year as Mayor’s Consort. I really must thank our officers for their kind guidance and patience, for arranging today and in advance for their support in the forthcoming year. I wanted to say thank you to Maxine, the Mayor’s Secretary who has been really supportive.
As most of you may be aware, my late Mother, past Mayor, Cllr Isobel Napper, was unable to finish her Mayoral year due to her premature death from breast cancer, halfway through her Mayoral Year in 2013. Ten years ago? Where has the time gone?
One of my charities will be to support the Jasmine Suite at Ashford Hospital. The opening of the Suite was the last official engagement my mother carried out. The Suite is dedicated to the care of our residents with breast cancer and their treatment. It will be my great honour to continue to support this. One in three women will suffer from breast cancer, which is a truly frightening statistic.
My other Charity will be Daybreak, a fantastic facility at St Peter’s Church for those needing respite and for those fantastic carers and families who know they can bring their loved ones to Daybreak in the knowledge that they will be well supported and looked after. They particularly welcome those with Dementia which is something that I care passionately about.
I work for Barchester Heath Care, and may I say how fortunate I have been at my age to take up a new career. I work with those who will be taking care of residents with Dementia. If you have never been involved in the care of people with Dementia, I would urge you to take time to do so. It is a growing issue for our elders (and sometimes younger people too; we simply cannot ignore this. I would therefore ask you to please support my charities whenever you can.
Finally, I would also wish to support the young people in our borough and one of the ways I will be looking to do this is to start a “Ride Spelthorne” – a Cycle Race around the Borough for our young people – I know it is going to need some organisation (apologies to officers) but I am hoping it may become a yearly event. I have had the great pleasure of meeting Mark Cavendish, our greatest ever cyclist; every young person should aspire to such greatness.
I want to thank you all councillors and Madam past Mayor and your wonderful Consort John for all your support. I look forward to working with you all in the coming year. We hope to go through with a smooth agenda this evening, mindful of those in our public gallery and those who are watching us on YouTube at home”