Weekly Column: Mayor Billy Sheerin

Date published: 26 June 2019

This weekly column from the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Billy Sheerin, is about the places he has been and the people he has met during the week commencing Monday 10 to Sunday 16 June 2019.

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So far into my mayoral year, I have already met so many wonderful people around the town.

Monday morning (10 June), I was invited to an age-friendly event at Rochdale Town Hall organised by a partnership of groups and organisations that work with older people in the borough. The event was hosted as part of the mission to make Rochdale one of the first age-friendly places in the country.

A variety of entertainment was provided such as live music, along with a meal and the opportunity to voice your opinion about how the borough can be improved for the elderly.

Wednesday (12 June), I had a visit from the Consul General of Hungary for Manchester, Krisztina Kátai-Nagy, who joined me in the Mayor’s Parlour as a sort of courtesy call, if you’d like. We were also joined by a lady from St Patrick’s RC Church. This was nice for me as the lady attended St Patrick’s school at the same time as me when I was a lad, so I enjoyed reminiscing the old days with her.

 

 

I was invited to Coco’s Restaurant, Queensway for a Multi-Faith Festival organised by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing. The event was to celebrate how all faiths and diverse communities belong and work together, with so many stalls on hand to provide information, different foods and henna.

 

 

I travelled to Gorton Monastery, Manchester with other Mayors and Mayoresses from Greater Manchester. This was a civic meeting about the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, where we were asked to think of any unsung heroes within our communities who we think deserve recognition with the Queen’s Award.

 

 

Thursday was a very busy day for engagements. I started the day at Crown Square Court, Manchester where the new High Sheriff’s portrait was hung. The High Sheriff for 2019 is Mark Adlestone OBE, Beaverbrooks Chairman.

The portrait hanging was very ceremonious, I didn’t expect it to be so exciting… It was incredibly formal with a fanfare of trumpets as the High Sheriff arrived by horse and carriage. After he signed the relevant documents and his portrait was hung alongside previous High Sheriff’s, I had a nice informal chat with him and think he is a very pleasant man.

This was also the first time all the Mayors and Mayoresses from Greater Manchester had been together in the same place, so that was nice to make new connections and friends.

 

 

Myself and my wife, the mayoress, were invited to the annual summer reception of the Tutor Trust in the historic reading room of John Rylands Library, Manchester.

I didn’t know what the Tutor Trust was until I arrived, I had never heard of it before, but it was a fantastic evening. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, was also present.

The Tutor Trust is a registered charity that encourages undergraduates to give their time freely to provide one-to-one tuition to disadvantaged students; there is one of these in Rochdale at Matthew Moss High School. It was really enlightening to know that local academics give up their time to help those who are struggling with certain subjects, giving them a real chance to achieve.

Thank you to all those who work with the Tutor Trust in our borough.

Thursday evening, Councillor Pat Sullivan organised a charity dinner at Rochdale Town Hall. This is the first charity dinner of my mayoral year that has contributed to my chosen charities, raising around £400. I’m incredibly grateful to Pat for organising the event.

Friday, I joined MP Tony Lloyd and Councillor Faisal Rana at the Cancer Research UK charity shop on Yorkshire Street, as we presented them with a £700 cheque. This money was raised by customers and staff at United Petroleum UK Ltd.

 

 

Saturday morning (15 June), I attended the Falklands and 75th anniversary of D-Day service at Heywood Memorial Gardens. Three new memorial benches were unveiled at the service: one for the Royal Air Force, one for the Falkland Islands and one to commemorate D-Day.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128516/combined-dday-and-falklands-anniversary-commemoration

 

 

Norden Carnival went underway for another year, where I presented awards and certificates for titles such as best float, best walking group, best dressed adults and the carnival King and Queen. It was all very exciting.

We had our new electric mayor’s car at the carnival, and it was so quiet, that we couldn’t leave and get past all the public as nobody realised the car was running! It’s a fantastic car, it’s comfortable and is very nice going over bumps.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128473/norden-carnival-2019

 

 

CommuniTea Room celebrated their 5th anniversary and invited me along to have a tour of the café, community hub and to cut their birthday cake. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers here that have made the business a safe place for those who have difficulty with health and wellbeing.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128616/communitea-room-celebrates-5-years-in-business

 

 

Hosted by Caring and Sharing and sponsored by Near Neighbours, I was invited to Castlemere Banqueting Hall on Saturday evening for an event titled ‘Celebrating Cultural Differences’. It was a very diverse evening with attendees dressed in native attire to celebrate their culture, provide understanding to all the different cultures around us in Rochdale and learn more about cultural barriers.

 

 

I opened a Volunteer Awards Celebration at Deeplish Community Centre by welcoming all and recognising the value of voluntary sector and role of volunteers.

I appreciate the efforts made by each volunteer in supporting projects and the people at Deeplish Community Centre and I am always delighted to present awards and certificates to volunteers from all projects. Community volunteers are an asset in supporting and helping community projects and I thank all volunteers who put in hard work for the benefit of Rochdale.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/128559/volunteers-recognised-at-deeplish-community-centre

 

 

Sunday, I attended St Chad’s Parish Church for an event celebrating the work of religious and civic organisations for asylum seekers and refugees in the town. This special service of celebration was organised by Rochdale Action for Destitute Asylum Seekers and Refugees (R.A.D.A.R.) and was very well attended.

Two asylum seekers spoke about their experience of seeking asylum in Rochdale, and a community choir made up of local asylum seekers and refugees provided entertainment at the service. It was rather special.

 

Mayoral Invitations

​​​​The Mayor welcomes invitations to events held by local organisations and individuals. Due to demand, it may not be possible for the Mayor to attend every event he is invited to.

To invite the Mayor to your event please complete the Mayor attendance form and return it to the Mayor's Officer.

Visit: www.rochdale.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/mayors/Pages/mayoral-invitations.aspx

Email: mayoral@rochdale.gov.uk

Tel: 01706 924773