May 2016
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
Firstly, I'll just slip quickly back into April when, on Friday 29th April, I visited an exhibition in St Mary's Church. This was an exhibition with a difference which was meant to be thought provoking.
Then on Saturday 30th April I was in the High Street before 8 am for my street collection for The Brain Tumour Charity. I had five members of 4MI Battalion who very much helped to swell my total, and with a cake stall we were able to pass our previous year's total and brought in £1,064.
Friday, 2nd May - the day of the Duck Race. This involved a lot of hard work beforehand for Peter Povey (Marlborough Scouts) and myself. As this was a joint venture, we were seen on a regular basis wearing our duck hats in Waitrose car park selling bright yellow ducks. There was great excitement at the launch, the Mayor Duck went in first and after a few turbulent moments when she got caught in the weir and needed rescuing, all the small ducks were released. Then as every duck was urged onto the finishing line, Cllr. Kirk Wilson was chivvying on wayward ducks as they drifted in on waves waiting to be caught by valiant members of ARK. This is an event that, in the future, can be built on for the enjoyment of Marlborough. My grateful thanks to all who helped and to the businesses that sponsored it. If anyone finds any stray ducks, please hand them in at the Town Council offices.
Wednesday, 4th May - this was the evening of my reception to thank all who had donated or supported me over my Mayoral year and to hand over the cheque for £11,193.42 to my chosen charity, The Brain Tumour Charity. It was a very nice evening supported by my old colleagues from Marlborough College, the Old Dames, who helped bring together the reception and Tesco Manager, Nick Helps, who very generously provided the wine. My thanks also go to 4MI and all those others who have helped me to more than reach my total.
Friday, 6th May - The Stonebridge Meadow Wetlands project, which is an ARK initiative, includes a reed bed which will encourage wildlife and includes a viewing platform and a boardwalk. Claire Perry, MP was introduced by the Chairman of ARK, Dr. Geoffrey Finlay, who talked about the project and particularly praised Anna Forbes, ARK's project manager. Claire Perry then cut the ribbon.