Bronze for town florist
A BLOOMING brilliant Tamworth florist and former teacher has won a bronze medal in her first ever national final after being called up from the reserve list.
Emma Rochford, 44, who is studying a Level 3 Diploma in Floristry at Moreton Morrell College, finished third in the floristry section of the World Skills UK National Finals.
Emma competed against eight florists from across the UK and the finals followed three selection heats held across the country.
Emma’s points accumulation meant she was first reserve and after a competitor pulled out through illness she was called up to compete.
With support from friends, family and the college’s floristry department, Emma had only a week to arrange cover in her Floriana
Floristry shop at Middleton Hall Courtyard and prepare for two days of competition at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.
Florists completed five tasks on the theme of a boutique hotel opening including a wall hanging, wearable wired piece and free-standing structure.
Emma’s success follows a career shift after 20 years working as a primary school teacher in Tamworth.
She said: “It was a complete surprise when I heard my name called, but I am over the moon to have won the bronze medal against such strong competition.
“World Skills is the first time I have ever competed and I am very grateful to Moreton Morrell College for all the support and training both in the run up to the competition and throughout my studies.
“I learnt so much from the other florists and am looking forward to completing my diploma and continuing to grow within the floristry industry.”
FORMER Navy officer Adrian Poole is a man on a mission. He spends his spare time searching for missing, and, in most cases, vulnerable people to reunite them, safe and well, with their families.
As a volunteer with the Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team (SSART) the 34-year-old Severn Trent employee from Tamworth has spent more than a decade either training members or leading life-saving operations.
He is responsible for around 60 highly skilled nationally trained lowland rescue volunteers who give up their time to provide a vital service to emergency services.
“Mostly, we are used by police for high risk missing people, primarily those with dementia or individuals who are despondent and suicidal,” said Adrian. “Our ultimate goal is to find these people and bring them home to their families.”
Another responsibility of the SSART is reacting to extreme weather conditions, such as the recent storms, by devising weather action plans and
IT has been a busy and eclectic week since my last column, that’s for sure!
Last Thursday we had the council’s cabinet meeting held at the town hall; my first as acting leader of the council.
As far as cabinet meetings go, it was a bit of a mammoth session which went until around 8pm. It was a 16 item agenda, with five confidential and therefore excluded from the public meeting.
Some like to read too much into confidential items, as if there is something sinister or ‘something to hide’, but the reality is far more boring I’m afraid. Items are essentially excluded from the public element of the meeting when they are commercially sensitive or if they impact staff or suppliers who have yet to be informed, for example, or if there is a review to be done first, prior to going out for consultation – at which point it becomes public anyway.
At this meeting we approved the base figures for the council’s budget for the next three years, made a declaration that the council will look assisting fire and ambulance crews in water rescue operations.
Adrian, who works within Water Treatment Capital Delivery at Severn Trent, first became involved when he was a navigation officer in the merchant navy.
He donated his time and used his skills to help train the volunteers, before becoming an operational team member in 2016.
He said: “Staffordshire Search and Rescue became my second family, I got to know volunteers and those who run it very well. to support the recovery of nature around our town, the reduction of council tax to the most vulnerable households, investment strategy report and an increase to fines for fly-tipping – a real mixed bag of items and a really interesting discussion from all.
On Saturday morning, fellow councillors and I were invited to the official launch of the Tamworth Castle Grounds Park Run.
This is a weekly 5-km run around the Castle Grounds, which is well organised and draws people in from around the country. I hadn’t realised, until speaking with the organisers on the day, that Park Run is an internationally popular event.
You can find online a park run in another town or city if you’re away from home, for example, where you can meet likeminded people and enjoy some exercise in the fresh air. The event was well attended by c.250 people, despite the temperature being -4 degrees, and was a credit to organisers, volunteers and the council for supporting. You can find this now
“It was an easy decision to become involved because I believe in their cause, which is all about saving lives.
“My role is the search planner and it’s my responsibility to understand everything about the operation such as the condition and category of the missing person, the circumstances that have led to the event, previous history and what further investigation is needed to formulate a search plan.
“Based on all the information, I then need to assess what resources I need to fulfil the task such as air scenting dogs, drones, water search every Saturday morning from
8.30am, starting in front of the old swimming baths.
On Monday I attended a meeting at Lichfield District Council where I met as a member of the ‘Joint Waste Committee’ which oversees the joint waste and recycling service across Tamworth and Lichfield.
This was a relatively lowkey meeting, where we approved to revert back to our own cabinets and councils to set up a ‘management board’ to better look at the bigger picture and strategic decisions, rather than being bogged down by operational decisions which better sit with the day-to-day team who are paid to deliver.
Looking ahead to next week, we have the final ‘Full Council’ meeting of 2023.
This is a meeting where all 30 councillors are present and it is an opportunity for public scrutiny, questions and for the approval of the bigger decisions of the council.
The agenda for the meeting is already online and is largely to formally sign-off items which I mentioned above from the last cabinet meeting. It does include, however, a couple of additional items.
One is to formally elect a new leader. I am currently ‘acting’ as leader since the ex-leader’s resignation, so it is of course my wish that I become leader officially.
It would be an honour to lead the council and I believe I could bring a new approach and fresh energy to the role.
The leader is chosen by elected councillors at that meeting, so I can only hope that I am formally nominated by my peers but there are no guarantees.
The second additional item is to formally confer upon ex-councillor Michelle Cook the title of ‘Honorary Alderwoman’. This is given to a select group of ex-councillors who have served a minimum of three terms.
Anyone who has dedicated themselves to the role and served their town in this way, with all of the personal sacrifices that come with it, should be commended and therefore this title is fully deserved – well done!