Last week I met with several members of SpeakEasy N.O.W. during their visit to the Guildhall. SpeakEasy celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. The group was created to give people with a learning disability the opportunity to speak up about things that make life difficult for them and to flag the things that need to change. […]

I was recently asked by some university students “with all the geopolitical and environmental issues facing the world are you still optimistic?” Of course, the answer is yes. The world may have challenges and problems to overcome but right here in Worcester we live in an amazing place. There are lots of reasons to be […]

In the lead up to Christmas the Mayoress and I have been delighted to be invited to carol services and Christmas concerts across the city. It has been a real insight on the rich variety of such events, from primary school nativities to the rather more formal “Nine lessons and carols”. One such event is […]

What Worcester group offers the opportunity to play Pickleball or Short Mat Bowls on Monday, Tap or Line Dance on Tuesday, attend an interesting talk on anything from the Tudor diet to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on Wednesday, explore local or ancient history on Thursday and meet for coffee with new friends on […]

Last week I visited New College Worcester (NCW). The school has a mixture of boarders and day pupils that are either blind or visually impaired. There is a strong emphasis not only on academic studies but also getting the students ready for independent living for when they eventually leave school. The college is in Battenhall […]

Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities. The day itself takes place on the first Saturday in December each year and I’ll be supporting several lovely local businesses this Saturday. Local small businesses employ thousands of […]

I was invited to speak at the White Ribbon Campaign launch hosted by Worcester Community Trust (WCT). The White Ribbon Campaign calls for an end to violence and abuse of women and girls at the hands of men. WCT do some amazing work supporting women and girls. It’s great work that they do – but […]

I recently called round to Worcester’s Foodbank. I looked through the roller shutter doors and with a chill I distinctly noticed a difference between this and previous years. Christmas is a time of giving and thinking of people who are less fortunate. Last year I noticed a queue of donated food that had not yet […]

Many people over 55 are struggling with technology, be the device a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. If you feel in that category, you are not alone as the latest figures show that 35% of adults between 50 and 70 and 70% of the over 70s do not use the internet. With so many everyday […]

On Friday I had the pleasure of joining the biographer and author Judy Lomax in unveiling a blue plaque for Sheila Scott. Sheila was the first British pilot to fly solo around the world in a light aircraft. The journey took over 34 days and required many stops including a flight over the Pacific Ocean […]