Littlemore family fun day

group1I was welcomed to this event as Deputy Lord Mayor today by Anne Mogridge (Chair of the Littlemore Community Association) and Dorian Hancock (Secretary of the Littlemore Community Association).  I had the honour of opening it with Oxford East’s MP, the Rt. Hon Andrew Smith MP. The day kicked off with a marvellous display or dancing from children and a leader from “Messy Jam” doing some amazing dancing. Andrew and I are pictured with the leader.  There was face painting for children and a fire engine was in attendance with some local firefighters who were happily posing for pictures with those at the event.  It was a busy event with lots of stalls and lot of activities throughout the day.

I gave a short speech and reflected on all the work so many regular users of the community centre do.  The include the Playgroup (serving Littlemore for 45 years!), the Children’s Centre, the History Society, the Martial Arts Class, the Church of God of Prophecy, the Job Club, the AgeUK IT Classes and the coffee mornings. This is all made possible by the diligent stewardship of the Littlemore Community Association.    Communities like Littlemore, our county’s third largest parish, depend on dedicated volunteers and it’s great to see such community spirit in action.

group2With a football team; two primaries and one secondary school; a superstore; an hospital; a science park; three churches; two shopping precincts and even its own post office Littlemore certainly is an area deserving of celebration by events like this family fun day.  I had a really good time!

Lowe and Oliver 90th birthday celebrations

img120This was my first civic engagement with a local business and it was a pleasure to meet many generations of the Lowe family and to hear about how Lowe and Oliver, a large Oxford electrical contractor, has grown and flourished since its founding in 1923.  The party took place at the Ashmolean and there were many guests both from the company and from many years of clients.  I had a really long conversation with Patrick Lowe, the current company chairman.  He is an amazing man, in his 80s and only the second chairman the company has ever had, with his father being the first!

Lowe and Oliver really is a family company in all senses of the word.  I was impressed not only the generations of Lowes present but the by real sense of investment that the company makes in its staff, right from apprenticeship through to retirement.  There are a huge number of staff that have served 40+ years in the company and it’s true even today that most apprentices stay with the company once they are trained.  Oxford has myriad listed buildings and many with complex requirements so the company really had bred a huge cohort of incredibly talented craftsmen and they are a real credit to the company and a huge asset to Oxford both in terms of employment and skilled work.  Here’s to many more years of success!

Refugee Week Celebration

This event was held at the Methodist Church on Cowley Road and this year had the theme of restoring hope.  I was welcomed by Dr Antony Kingsley, Deputy Director of Refugee Resource and show around some displays of excellent work that is done to support refugees and those seeking that status (asylum seekers) in and around Oxford.  There is an impressive amount of partnership working too.  I admire the huge amount of work that is done in Oxford by and for refugees and those seeking that status from all parts of the world.  This event was celebrating all that 16 years after the first discussions that Amanda Webb-Johnson (The Director of Refugee Resource) started and 14 years after the formal establishment of Refugee Resource.  I’m told the first Oxford Refugee Week celebration was back in 2006, set up by Eden Habtemichael and the Refugee Women’s group initiative so it’s brilliant that so many volunteers are still registering and that the organisation is going from strength to strength!

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There is still much to be done in this important work and our community’s response to this particularly vulnerable group of people in our world.  I know that many are struggling with hardship, isolation, neglect and an uncertain future and that’s why events like this one are so important in helping to restore hope for so many in such desperate situations.

Abingdon on Thames Civic Service

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It was a pleasure to attend the Civic Service in Abingdon on Thames today to welcome and bless Abingdon’s new Mayor, Councillor Sam Bowring, a good personal friend and a fellow Lib Dem!  The service was at Abingdon Baptist Church and was conducted by David Fleming, the minister of that church.  There were a lot of chains in attendance, including the ones worn by the Lord Mayor of Kensington and Chelsea and several neighbouring mayors.  We had a short procession into the church and I was pleased to walk with Nicola Blackwood MP, the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon and it was nice that she was supportive of me over the recent attacks I’ve been suffering from the far left.

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The service was positive and inclusive and included a short dialogue between David Fleming and Sam Bowring about her hopes for her year as Lord Mayor of Abingdon.  It was good to hear her asking for prayers that her and her fellow councillors would serve their town to the best of their abilities and with the interests of those they represent always at the top of the agenda.  There was a good sermon about civic service and how Christians are called to serve which I found helpful.  We sang lots of music I’d not heard before, with a rather good band accompanying us.  The service was rounded off with a blessing song from the junior church children complete with actions.

Philippines Independence Day Celebrations


 philippines1I was invited to attend the celebration of the 115th Philippines independence today at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford, hosted by the Oxfordshire Filipino Community, affectionately known as FilCom.  This organisation was founded 11 years ago in Oxford and this is the 10th annual independence day celebration it has held.  It was also the first time it was held at the Kassam Stadium, which, given the size of the place, I think us a good indication of how successful it is.

The morning started with a parade with some lovely flowers and fine Philippine national dress on display, including lots of very enthusiastic children.  There were brief introductions from lots of the sponsors and then we had a large joint mass, presided over by the Priest of the Church of Corpus Christi in Headington.  I stayed for lunch but sadly was unable to stay for the afternoon cultural show which looked like it would be great fun.

I learned today that there are probably about 3,000 Filipinos in Oxfordshire and about 1,000 of them are members f FilCom.  The Filipino community is hugely inclusive and integrated and engages in many religious, sporting and cultural activities.  The community does a huge amount for the people of Oxfordshire and it is said that if you removed all Filipinos from our County then the NHS would fall apart as so many work in our hospitals, particularly as nurses.

It’s fantastic to see the Filipino community successfully reaching out to so many other communities including Nepalese, Indonesian, Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese people. It is a real credit to the causes of celebrating culture, building relationships and advocating equality and diversity right across our county.  This sort of work is incredibly valuable, and never more so than in times of economic difficulty. I know that when times are hard, people can be tempted to blame their problems on others – and that helping people get to know their neighbours and set aside their differences is the best way to avoid this happening.

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There were lots of dignitaries there, including Voltaire Onesino D Muricio, the First Secretary and Consul at the Philippine Embassy in London.

A few years ago I was lucky enough to visit the Philippines myself, and I have very fond memories of all I saw in Cebu and Bohol, and all the people I met. I hope that the Filipino community feels as welcome in Oxfordshire as I felt in the Philippines.

Faiths walking together

interfaith3I took part in the Oxford Council of Faiths friendship walk today and was pleased that the Lord Mayor of Oxford was willing for me to join her as Deputy Lord Mayor in a show of support from the City for events that promote peace and understanding between Oxford’s faiths.  Cllr Abbasi, the Sheriff of Oxford, was also there although not in civic bling (can I say civic bling here?). There were probably 300-400 people on the walk and that included large numbers of local faith leaders and members of local congregations including our minister, Carla, and several members from my own church, St. Columba’s.

interfaith2The Friendship Walk has been happening for many years in Oxford and is a fantastic coming together of many of Oxford’s faiths and their communities.  It starts at the Synagogue in Richmond Road with prayers and then moves along to St. Giles’ Church for more prayers, after which it moves down to Radcliffe Square.  The last leg of the walk is the longest taking the group along the High Street and Cowley Road and up Manzil Way to finish at the Oxford Central Mosque with prayers, singing, speeches and a wonderful meal with the main course provided by folk from the central mosque and desserts from the Oxford Jewish community.   It was great to hear firm and unequivocal condemnation of the killers of the drummer in Woolwich from the Oxford’s Muslim leaders.  I’m sure it’s no more than anyone in Oxford expected and sure is it certainly shared by all faith communities in our City.

All are welcome on the walk and it includes prayers all said together from those of Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Islamic faiths.  Sikhs were also present as well as those of other faiths and none.

interfaith1Against the current national backdrop of increasing violence against those of some faiths, particularly Muslims, I think it is incredibly important for Oxford’s Civic Office holders to show support for all efforts to promote inter-faith cooperation and understanding and I was certainly proud to be part of yesterday’s event.  It is great that we have very little hate in Oxford against any religion and I think it is so important that events like this continue to happen and be well supported so that Oxford may stay like that.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to engage with other people that we don’t know well and to learn a little about them and their faith and to share in some of our common human experience.  It was great to hear firm and unequivocal condemnation of the killers of the drummer in Woolwich from the Oxford Muslim community and I’m sure it’s no more than anyone in Oxford expected and is shared by all faith communities in our City.

Stradivarius

strad_1I was delighted to be asked to attend the private view of the Stradivarius Exhibition at the Ashmolean today, deputising for the Lord Mayor again. There were a huge number of people there and the exhibition is really stunning. It’s the first ever major exhibition in the UK of Antonio Stradivari’s work in the UK and really was an amazing experience.  There must have been over 200 people present.  I was welcomed by Dr Jon Whitely, the curator of this exhibition.

strad2We started with a welcome speech from Professor Christopher Brown CBE, The Director of the Ashmolean and the opening itself was commemorated by some simply stunning violin playing by Tasmin Little OBE. As an internationally renowned and heavily in-demand soloist she played some beauttiful music on one of the Stradivari violins and did a great job of explaining to all present what a joy such instruments are to play.

You can learn lots more about this exhibition online and if you can get to see it before it ends on 11th August then I highly recommend it.

My first official engagement as Deputy Lord Mayor

Today I had my first official engagement as Deputy Lord Mayor.  Protocol says that I only attend engagements in this capacity if the Lord Mayor has been invited and cannot attend.  I learned that today she had five requests to attend events – she’s doing 3 and I’m doing 2.

lof_agmI had the great privilege of attending the AGM of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre’s (NOC) League of Friends (LOF).  To anyone who thought it was just some little old ladies who make tea I have to say you couldn’t be more wrong!  The NOC LOF is extremely well organised, is almost 50 years old and does a huge amount of good work including running a café and shop, visiting patients on wards, raising serious amounts of money for the hospital and much more!  I was humbled to meet a lady who has been a member of the NOC LOF for 47 years!

We heard from a member of hospital staff about some the equipment and facilities that have been able be be bought due to the support of the LOF and I was amazed to hear that in the last four years he has been able to spend a total of just over £362,000 from grants given by the LOF.  That’s seriously impressive and has enabled new facilities and some therapies not available on the NHS to be funded.

LOF is a steady pillar in the ever changing world of hospitals and healthcare and I know its presence and its services are things that that many patients, relatives and visitors find to be a great comfort.  A LOF volunteer is so much nicer than a vending machine!  I remember myself working on a LOF stall when I was a teenager, with my mother.  We were even allowed to sell cigarettes in those days!

The event was finished off with a fascinating presentation and speech about the Berks/Oxon/Bucks air ambulance.  Did you know that it has been operating since 1999.  Did you know that the helicopter can travel at 150mph and that each call out costs around £2,500 with an average of 3 call-outs per day.  That’s an awful lot of money to raise!

League of Friends is always looking for more volunteers and although many are retired there are also younger people involved and there are no age limits .  The Oxford University Hospitals Trust has a web page about Oxford LOF groups where there is detail about YOU can volunteer.  How about it?  It was good to hear the the Oxford Mail has already helped with the drive for more volunteers too.  It’s great when the local press gets behind local volunteering initiatives that help so many people both directly and indirectly.