Mayor’s Blog – November

I’ve had such a busy month of engagements throughout November and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

Weymouth Town Council staged the final firework event for this year on November 5^th for Guy Fawkes night. Did you see the bonfire? It was spectacular and was followed by a terrific firework display. It was very cold but remained dry and clear. Members of Weymouth and Portland Lions were out in force again helping me collect for the Mayor’s Christmas Fund. You can still go online and donate if you would like to. All the money raised stays within the town.

You can donate via bank transfer to the following account: 

Name: The Mayor’s Christmas Fund  Number: 01896630 Sort Code: 30 99 56

Cheques can be made payable to ‘The Mayor’s Christmas Fund’ and sent to:  

Mayor’s Christmas Fund, Weymouth Town Council, Commercial Road, Weymouth, DT4 8NG. For more details on how to make a donation, please email mayor@weymouthtowncouncil.gov.uk 

I had the opportunity to talk to lots of spectators, all loved the displays. So many of our visitors have been coming here for generations and will continue to do so no matter what. Good to hear, and we must keep working to retain everything that is good about our town and improve everything that needs improvement.

Parliament Week then approached which was organised by our Community Development Worker, Charlotte Emery. It was a pleasure to host groups of young people at the New Town Hall. Students from All Saints Academy accompanied by a tutor joined me in the Council Chamber for a lively discussion about democracy and why it is important to vote. I also had the pleasure of meeting a local brownies group and the Youth Town Council organised some fun activities for them all. It’s great to have members of the Youth Council involved at important events like these.

Remembrance Weekend is always such an important and busy time of the month for any Mayor. We were blessed with mainly dry weather for this poignant occasion. I joined our Armed Forces community, councillors, veterans, cadets and members of the public who gathered at the Cenotaph on the morning of 11^th November for the traditional 11^th hour of the 11^th  day of the 11^th month to remember those who gave their lives so that we could live ours in freedom. I joined in the memorial at the Nothe Fort, and just in time to hear the splendid Military Wives Choir from Bovington. There are now 72 military wives choirs around the country, I didn’t know that. I always love to visit the Fort. Later the same day I attended the annual Royal British Legion (RBL) service in Holy Trinity Church. Representatives from each of the services joined with RBL members and past and present servicemen to remember and honour the dead. 

The service around the Cenotaph was very moving. It is especially nice to see so many young people from our youth organisations taking such an active role in the day. I laid a wreath on behalf of the town, and also at the US Memorial. Such a fantastic turnout, so thank you to everyone who came along or took part in the service and parade. And our thanks as always must go to the Salvation Army Band for leading the service.

I then attended WOW Youth Musical Theatre’s Oliver! performance at Weymouth Pavilion. It was amazing to see the outstanding high standard of work from WOW. We are very lucky to have such talented young people in Weymouth.

To finish off the month, I was asked to turn on the Christmas lights at New Bond Street. It was a wonderful turnout with a huge crowd for the switch on and the atmosphere was amazing. I was delighted to meet the cast of this year’s Panto at the Pavilion and what a joy it was to listen to the dozens of little girls singing along to “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen with such smiles on their faces. It was a great partnership between Weymouth Town Council and We Are Weymouth. I also had a little helper to switch on the lights, Thomas from Blandford won the prize to turn on the lights. It was great to meet Thomas, he did a great job.

Since becoming your Mayor of Weymouth in May, I’ve had a great time and can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2024! Until then I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy new Year. See you next year.

Mayor of Weymouth – Cllr Kate Wheller

ENDS