Weekly Column: Mayor Mohammed Zaman

Date published: 21 December 2018

We are well into the festive season and time is moving fast: we are about to say goodbye to 2018 and welcome 2019 with new resolutions to keep ourselves healthy and make a difference to our lifestyles.

I hope you all have a good time at Christmas with your family and friends, and I wish everyone a peaceful, happier and prosperous new year.

Monday 10 December

I attended a Rochdale in Bloom presentation at Spotland Community Centre, organised by Councillor Faisal Rana and his colleagues, to say thank you to the environmental management team on behalf of the residents for the hard work they have put in to make Rochdale cleaner, greener and keeping it in bloom.

Local ward councillors, leader of the council and members of environment team attended this presentation. Everyone appreciated the efforts of the environment team and local volunteers, who have been working hard to keep their neighbourhoods tidy and encouraging residents to take part and have pride in their areas.

Thank you to Councillor Rana and his team for the invitation.

I was also invited to Deeplish Community Centre for a crime awareness and community conference, a well-attended event that focused on raising awareness on local issues such as community safety, crime prevention and how local residents, police and the council can work together to deal with these issues.

Mark Reynolds from Rochdale Council gave a brief presentation and answered questions raised by residents.  Representatives of Greater Manchester Police, Link4life, councillors, local Imams, Sajjad Miah and centre manager Sohail Ahmed spoke to residents about crime prevention and encouraged them to keep watch on their neighbourhoods and report suspicious activities and incidents in order to assist in tackling crime and making their neighbourhoods safer. Information leaflets were handed out to local residents. Thanks to Sohail Ahmed, members of management committee and volunteers for organising such an excellent event.

Later in the evening I attended a celebration of 92 News, an Asian news channel that has successfully completed their first anniversary in the UK and Europe. This channel offers news bulletins and various other programmes in Urdu, thus keeping Pakistani and Kashmiri communities updated with the latest news and updates.

I would like to offer my congratulations to Raja Wajid, a local 92 News reporter and his team for excellent coverage and information they provide through 92News to our local viewers.

Tuesday 11 December

On Tuesday evening I organised a brief get together for our Mayoral team to offer my sincere thanks: they work very hard in supporting me throughout my mayoral year.

They liaise with various community organisations, businesses and individuals and manage a busy schedule of events and activities in our office. I am very grateful to all members of our hard-working team.

Wednesday 12 December

I was invited to Rochdale pensioners’ Christmas lunch. The Rochdale pensioners group works very hard to serve the interests of pensioners across the borough.

The group organises regular monthly meetings, outings and other social activities for the pensioners. It is always good to see these senior citizens enjoying their lives, having fun and a good time. They share their personal experience and tell their inspiring stories that offer valuable advice about life experiences and the group has developed an excellent working relationship.

I would like to thank Phil Bethel, Garry Basnett and all members for their invitation and generous donation collection for the Mayor's Charity on the day that raised nearly £100. I thoroughly enjoyed this event.

Thursday 13 December

On Thursday I met representative of Bury Fusiliers, who presented a cheque for the Mayor's Charity and gave an in-depth brief of the good work the fusiliers are doing. I have visited them a few times now and enjoy their events. I am thankful for their kind donation.

At lunchtime, I was invited to Springhill Hospice Day Care Christmas party, where I met a number of people and had lunch with them. This group told me about the wonderful service they receive at Springhill Hospice and how all these volunteers treat them as members of their family.

It was good to see smiles on their faces and glimpses of hope in their hearts. A truly amazing experience for me to see, how we all can make a difference. I would like to thank Julie Haliwell, her team and all volunteers for the good work and services they offer at Springhill Hospice.

Later in the afternoon, we had the Mayor's Charity meeting, which was well attended. We looked at forthcoming events and evaluated those that have taken place. I would like to thank all committee members for their continued support.

In the evening we had a presentation of certificates by empowering minds for members of our community who completed food hygiene, first aid, health and safety and many other courses.

It was an honour for me to present certificates to these people striving to make progress, especially, women, refugees and asylum seekers. Thanks to Mohammed Sheraz and Fida Hussain for organising and delivering these courses and congratulations to all participants.

We were also invited to another presentation at Rochdale Islamic Academy (RIA) who achieved excellent GCSE results, achieving 89% success rate.

Parents, committee members and pupils of the academy organised an excellent presentation. Students took part in speeches and talked about their achievements and support they are receiving from the school, governing body and the community. I would like to congratulate all students, staff and governing body for achieving excellent results. Keep up your good work!

I also attended a performance at Curtain Theatre on Milkstone Road, an amateur theatre established in 1925 by a group of friends. 

Curtain Theatre organises many live performances and shows throughout the year. All their performances are well attended and people from all over Greater Manchester attend to watch various live performances.

It was good to see my deputy mayor, Councillor Billy Sheerin, in a little role in the performance.

Friday 14 December

On Friday, I was invited to Flip Out Rochdale, a big indoor trampoline and adventure park.

This park is open seven days a week and has facilities to suit all ages.  We were given a tour and it was good to see what is on offer. Staff are experienced and friendly and take good care of their customers.

I would like to thank Imran Ali, managing director of Flip out Rochdale, and his team for inviting me to this amazing park and wish them well in this venture.

In the evening, I was invited to the cadets’ poppy appeal event at Rochdale Town Hall to present certificates of appreciation for all their good efforts on Remembrance Day, raising funds for a good cause.

Cadets from Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale attended, including Falinge Park and Oulder Hill school students and staff members. Thanks to David Forbes, Caen Mathews and their colleagues and volunteers.

Saturday 15 December

On Saturday, I was invited to Geoff Butterworth’s Gallery at Rochdale Exchange for a raffle draw.

I was given a guided tour of the gallery that has an excellent collection of Geoff's work. 

It was a great turnout with over 1,100 tickets sold, and I was asked to draw the winners.

It definitely promotes good work produced by Rochdalians and highlights their specialist skills.

I was also invited to a pigeon show in Bury. it was amazing to see people travelling from various parts of the UK to attend this event and annual presentation of awards. Thanks to Mohammed Shahbaz for inviting me.

At lunch time, I was invited to the international food festival at Deeplish Community Centre, where they had various food stalls displaying traditional dishes from different countries. Thanks to Dr. Shakoor, Tasneem and Centre manager Sohail Ahmed for putting up wonderful spread of dished at Deeplish.

In the afternoon, I attended Skylight Circus’ premises at Church Stile. An excellent performance with good turnout of wonderful audience, I would like to thank all performers, staff and volunteers at Skylight for the invitation and their hospitality.

I also attended a unity conference organised by European Islamic Centre in Oldham. This was the sixth annual peace and unity conference they have organised to bring people from different faiths, culture and backgrounds together, working towards making positive contributions in restoring peace and unity both locally and globally. Thanks to Khalid Choudhry and Mohammed Iqbal Imam at European Islamic Centre.

Finally, I was invited to Heywood Carvery for the veterans’ Christmas party, which was also attended by their friends and families, local councillors and staff from local businesses.

It was very enjoyable: we had good fun, great music and even better food. Thanks to all for inviting me to this amazing Christmas party.