Mayor’s column
Tim O’Kane
IT’S hard to believe that this is the last column for my Mayoral year, it’s whizzed by so fast. It’s been a memorable and eventful year, which the Mayoress, my sister Melanie, and I have thoroughly enjoyed, thanks to the wonderful people of Hyndburn.
The Mayors Ball day was hectic as I had four events to attend, starting with a Couch to 5k run organised by the NHS where over 100 runners completed a 5 km course around Clayton. Great to see a similar camaraderie to the London Marathon as people helped others to the finishing line at Mercer House.
An hour later I was at an Accrington Lions event to mark World Down Syndrome Day. I was asked to wear odd multi-coloured socks for the event, which is difficult when you have a wardrobe of fifty pairs of socks, all black!
Great to see a huge turnout and Mount Carmel school being put to such good use out of school hours.
Then it was on to welcome the Oswaldtwistle Twinning Committee at the Civic theatre to meet the Whitburn contingent in an event hosted by Gayle Knight. We wish them well in a partnership to surely benefit both towns.
The Mayors Ball was entitled the ‘Donegal Ding Dong’ and great credit to my family and everyone else involved for organising an evening of entertainment that suited all tastes with Irish singing, guided Irish dancing, a disco and the fabulous Blackburn Irish Dancers, raising a marvellous £1,500 for my four charities. Also thanks to everyone who supported it and the generous local businesses who donated prizes.
We also said a fond farewell to the youngsters who had completed their Princes Trust course under the excellent stewardship of the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service then attended a hugely entertaining concert in aid of the NSPCC, featuring the Rossendale Male Voice Choir and the Rossendale Scouts Band.
Finally, I want to say a big thank you to all the people who have made us so welcome at their events and functions throughout this whistle stop year and who have made us so proud to be Mayor and Mayoress of Hyndburn. We’ve been blown away by the warm welcomes we’ve received as we’ve been out and about across the Borough and humbled to see just how many people there are here in Hyndburn doing such great work for their local community.
People like the late, great, Evonne Harwood, who sadly passed away recently. Evonne was a warm, wonderful person who made such a difference to Accrington. She is well known for all her good work in the town and was also a leading light of the Mayoral Charity committee, helping to raise lots of money for local good causes. Evonne’s non-stop energy and boundless enthusiasm was infectious, she was an inspiration. It was a joy and a privilege to know and work with her and she will be so sadly missed by all who knew her.
Evonne was helping to organise the ‘Oops Upside Your Head’ world record attempt, set to take place in June this year, so please participate if you can.
Our thoughts and condolences go to Evonne’s partner Guy Curtis and all her family and friends. RIP Evonne, one of the best.