Mayor’s column

Coun Colin Crawforth

AS we approach half-way through our year of office it is good to assess where we are up to. Our visits have been varied and numerous and all have been really interesting and educational but we can’t go any further without first thanking all those who behind the scenes have made all our visits such a joy and success, as all have been so well organised and we really are most appreciative of all your efforts.

November is that special month when our heartfelt thanks go out to all the service men and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Our society may not always be perfect but their sacrifice meant that we enjoy a freedom others of this world can only dream about. The six Remembrance services we attended at Stacksteads, Fearns Community College, Edenfield, Helmshore, Haslingden and Rawtenstall were a testament to that gratitude as attendance at each one was far in excess of last year. Again the Mayoress and myself were impressed at the impeccable arrangements, and the number of young people who attended leads us to hope that the memories of those who sacrificed their lives will be held for many years to come. I would like to quote from a poem that a friend of mine penned which I think sums up those feelings: ‘We will remember, in the morning and at night

We will always honour, love’s splendid fight

And pray that we render our efforts for good

that our children’s lives should be as they should.’

The Stacksteads Lantern Parade was excellent and very well attended, without the rain of last year.

The Mayoress’s Fashion Show had to be rapidly rearranged, with the last minute venue being Haslingden Community Link. A massive thank you to Dawn Rose for her success in achieving this and to the Link for their excellent help. A memorable evening was had by all.

We attended the dedication of the new Standard for the Haslingden Royal British Legion and our thanks to Amy Thompson for organising that event.

No wonder mayors put on weight while in office, we always seem to be eating! We had an excellent charity meal at the Indian Harvest and an excellent afternoon tea at St Paul’s Centre, both raising funds for our chosen charities which are The White Horse Project, Vision and Rubicon.

We attended an excellent Remembrance Concert at St Mary’s, with music provided by Haslingden Concert Band and voices by Veterans in the Community Choir.

The High Sheriff of Lancashire, Mr Robert Webb, visited to view youth projects in the Valley and was most impressed with provision for young people at The White Horse Project, Vision and with the Central Resource Link at the Old Fire Station. Both he and his wife were very much taken with the Whitaker Museum and promised to visit again in future.

We shared the success of BRGS students at their junior speech night and were treated to an inspiring talk by ex-pupil Ed Bishop, who runs his own IT company.

It was a joyful occasion for the Mayoress and me to open a new Outside Educational Resource Centre at Crawshawbooth Primary School, which we are sure will be an exciting and useful addition to the school learning process; why didn’t we have resources like this when I was at school?

It’s really exciting sharing success with hard working people. Rossendale Business Awards are run by Valley at Work and again we are surprised that so much business goes on in the Valley, it really is a busy place. We were also delighted to share in the success of students at All Saints High School as they received their achievement awards.

A pleasant afternoon tea-time was spent with residents of Underbank House in Bacup and apart from the good food shared we also had much time to chat to the residents.

Last Saturday saw the traditional lighting up of Rawtenstall with the big lights switch-on. This year I shared the pleasure with Tom Hamer and a number of young students. The fairground and market stalls provided good fare for the numerous visitors. Thanks to all who organised the event, especially Jackie Buckley and to Peter Sweetmore who held the whole event together.

We are really looking forward to December with all the school nativities and concerts, after which I am sure we will need a good rest before the new year!