MAYOR’S DIARY -2012/13
FUNDRAISING - Table Top Sale
Held the last of the fundraising for my
chosen charity, Prospect Hospice under the
Town Hall on Saturday 20th April with a
table top sale of books and brick-a-brac.
We were able to raise £155, so a big thank
you to all who browsed!
Mike and Maz
MAYOR'S ENGAGEMENTS
• Saturday 20 April 2013 – 6.30pm – WBAF
Concert Wessex Male Choir, supported
by Longleaze School and Occasions at
Royal Wootton Bassett Academy.
• Sunday 21st April 2013 – 9am – White Horse
Challenge, 90-mile cycling event at War
Memorial.
• Tuesday 23 April 2013 – 6pm – Carnival
Queen & Princess Competition – Royal
Wootton Bassett Academy.
• Saturday 27 April 2013 – 7pm – WBLOS
"Oliver" Memorial Hall.
THANK YOU!
Many thanks from me, the Mayoress and
Prospect Hospice for the wonderfully
generous support received at my recent
Charity Dinner & Auction and Charity St.
David's Day Concert.
I was absolutely delighted to welcome
guests at the Dinner and the Choir was
superb. Both events were great and the
funds raised will help Prospect to continue
to offer their help and support to local
people when they really need it.
Thank you, everyone!
Mike and Maz
Mayor's Diary
• Friday 8 March 2013 7pm Chippenham Town Mayoral "Forget me Not Ball" Town Hall
Chippenham, which is located in the same building as the previous venue, Neeld Hall,
entrance is off the main High Street, Chippenham. Event to raise for Local Alzheimer's
Society. Evening will start with pre-reception drinks followed by 3 course dinner, raffle
and auction and then dancing until midnight to a live band. Dress is black tie /lounge
suit. Tickets and menu choice already picked up.
• Saturday 9 March 2013 7.30pm RWB Orchestra "Round the world in 80 days" Memorial
Hall. 2 complimentary tickets provided and chains would be welcome.
• Monday 10 March 2013 3.45pm High Sheriff of Wiltshire "Service to celebrate the rule of
law in Wiltshire" Salisbury Cathedral SP1 2EJ. Full robes to be worn, robing in the
Cloisters from 3.45pm ready to process. Guests to be seated by 4.15pm. Reception after
service.
• Friday 15 March 2013 7pm Clarendon Players "Good Thing" Memorial Hall. Chains would
be welcomed to be worn.
Saturday 16 March 2013 6.15 Mayor of Trowbridge Mayoral Civic Dinner & Dance, Civic Centre,
Trowbridge. 6.15 Private pre-dinner drinks reception, Usher Suite, Civic Centre with Mayor, Cllr
John Knight and local & foreign dignitaries. Dinner at 7.30pm. Formal dress and dancing until
12.30am. Monies raised for Local Alzheimer's Society and West Wilts Portage Service.
MAYORS ENGAGMENTS
• Friday 8 March 2013 7pm Oxfam International
Women’s Day, Ladies Pamper evening,
Phoenex Bar, High Street, RWB. Chains would
be welcome to be worn and they would like
you to pull the tickets for the raffle. Stalls will
be Wiltshire based businesses offering head
massages, manicures, selling ladies
accessories, cupcakes, chocolates, jewellery
and beauty products.
• Friday 15 March 7.15pm Guiding Wiltshire
North's Annual Review, Swindon Academy,
Beech Avenue SN2 1JR. Chains be welcome to
be worn and light refreshments served.
Charity Dinner & Auction Raises £3,700
Our Charity Dinner, held on Sunday 24th February,
was a great success! Many, many thanks to everyone
who came along for a wonderful evening of good food
and company with live music at The Oriental Aroma
Chinese Restaurant on the High Street.
Guests were extremely generous, buying raffle tickets
and bidding for a great selection of items donated by
our community’s trades and businesses. Together we
raised a terrific amount of £3,700.
James Hun of The Chinese Experience has held many
fundraising events over the past few years and during
the month of February has helped the community
raise £6,025.73 for charity. This is a brilliant effort
and I would like to say thank you and well done!
Male Voice Choir Attracts Hundreds
at Charity Concert
The recently refurbished St. Bartholomew &
All Saints Church was the venue for the
Welsh Male Voice Choir, Cor Y
Gyrlais. After a new carpet was laid and
scotchguarded, for which Grant Aid of £719
was awarded by Town Councillors last
month, the concert was the first community
event to take place there.
I am very grateful to The Reverend Canon
Thomas Woodhouse for opening the church
to us. It was full to the rafters and we had to
bring in extra chairs.
Proceeds from the concert were split
between the Mayor’s chosen charity,
Prospect Hospice, and The Rotary Club,
who each received in excess of £1,000.
Royal Wootton Bassett resident Ray James,
President of the Cor Y Gyrlais, made all the
arrangements and hosted the choir’s visit to
the town. I really appreciate everything Ray
did to help us bring the Choir to Royal
Wootton Bassett. They were absolutely
superb.
EVERY CHILD MATTERS
Town Clerk, Johnathan Bourne and I were
made most welcome at Royal Wootton Bassett
Academy's Every Child Matters day.
Students were working both as individuals and as a
group on topics such as International Day, Health and
a Burma Project, which was fundraising as well as
educational.
We were privileged to listen to Freddie Knoller, who is
92 years old and was a hugely entertaining speaker, in
spite of the very moving story he shared about his life
in Europe in the 1930s and his family having to flee
persecution during the war.
Freddie was liberated from a concentration camp by
British allies and I was very interested to learn that
our Johnathan Bourne's grandfather was one of those
soldiers.
It was an inspiring life story and a very interesting day
at the Academy. I was very pleased to have received
an invitation from the school to attend.
Thanks to Owen Collier and the Guild
of Mace Bearers
I was delighted and honoured to be present
at the conference of the Guild of Mace
Bearers, recently hosted by our Town Crier,
Mr. Owen Collier. I also had the great
pleasure of installing Owen as the Prime
Warden of the Guild, a role I know he is
extremely proud to take on for the
forthcoming year.
Held at the Memorial Hall, we heard from
three excellent speakers on the first day of
the three-day event, which I thoroughly
enjoyed.
The Wiltshire Golf & Country Club was the
venue for the second day’s business,
followed by a special Dinner, when I was
presented with a book written by a Guild
member and two beautiful glass tumblers
from a Scottish delegate.
By the time we said our goodbyes I felt I had
learned a lot about the Guild and my thanks
Councillor Mike Leighfield go to Owen Collier, those present at the
conference and the Guild of Mace Bearers.
Mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett
MAYOR'S ENGAGEMENTS
• Saturday 9th February 2013 - Royal Wootton
Bassett Library OUT LOUD Event
• Saturday 9th February 2013 - Mayor of Devizes
Dinner and Dance
• Friday 15th February 2013 - Mayor of Malmesbury
Charity Ball
A NOVICE POEM READER
CELEBRATES NATIONAL LIBRARIES
DAY
I was delighted to be invited to attend a
special event at the town's library and was
persuaded to read a poem aloud, not
something I had done before.
'The Flag' was written by an anonymous
author and I enjoyed sharing it with others
who had come along, including our Town
Clerk, Johnathan Bourne and Town Crier,
Owen Collier.
My thanks to everyone at the library, and I
look forward to your next event.
Councillor Mike Leighfield
Mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett
MAYOR'S ENGAGEMENTS
• Friday 25th January 2013 - 2491 (Lyneham)
Squadron's Annual Dining In Night
• Monday 28th January 2013 - The Rotary Club's
Youth Speaks Competition.
MAYOR WILL READ POEM AT
ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT
LIBRARY'S OUT LOUD EVENT
The Mayor, Councillor Mike Leighfield is
delighted to have been invited by the town's
library to attend their National Libraries
Day celebrations, 'Out Loud'. Wearing full
regalia, the Mayor will recite one of his
favourite poems and will be joined by our
Town Crier, Owen Collier.
Saturday 9th February
Royal Wootton Bassett Library
Join us at the library and share your
favourite poem.
Drop in between 10.30am and 12 noon.
Everyone welcome.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
2012 was another busy year for Royal Wootton
Bassett. We saw the wonderful Diamond
Jubilee celebrations, which included an eyecatching 'crown' flowerbed planted by our hard
working Grounds Team, new Play Area signs
designed by the town's talented schoolchildren
and the addition of a self draining car parking
area at our popular local nature reserve,
Jubilee Lake. Our Town Clerk, Johnathan
Bourne, also completed 25 years dedicated
service to the town. In addition to this you can
now follow your Town Council on Facebook and
Twitter as well as find information and updates
by visiting our website.
During last year we also enjoyed cheering on
the Olympic Torch as it made its way to what
was a truly inspiring London Olympic Games
and traders and members of the town joined to
create a fabulous Portas Pilot bid.
As we look forward to 2013, the Mayoress
and I would like to send very best wishes
to all for a very happy and peaceful New Year.
Thank you from the Mayor and
Mayoress
"The Mayor's Charity Shopping Event, held
on Saturday 1st December was a great
fundraiser for Prospect Hospice. £325 was
raised on the day, so huge thanks to all
who came along and a big thank you
all the stall holders."
The Mayor and Mayoress will be attending The
Clarendon Players production of 'Come On, Jeeves' at
the Memorial Hall on Friday 30th November.
"It is always a pleasure to see The Clarendon Players,'
says Councillor Mike Leighfield, "a great evening out
in Bassett."
On Friday 5th October 2012 the Wootton Bassett
Beavers welcomed Mayor Councillor Mike Leighfield
and Town Crier Owen Collier.
"We were very pleased indeed to be invited to visit
and talked to the Beavers about the roles of Mayor
and Town Crier, the robes we wear and the special
chains of office," says Councillor Leighfield. "We were
asked some really good questions," he continues, "and
we really enjoyed being there!"
Town Crier Owen Collier, below, also wore full
regalia. "We were given a very warm welcome from
the Beavers and it was a pleasure to tell them about
our roles."
The Mayor's Civic Service
Councillor Mike Leighfield warmly invites you to
attend the Mayor's Civic Service, to be held at St.
Bartholomew & All Saints Church on Sunday 21st
October 2012.
Refreshments will be served following the service.
Please call the Royal Wootton Bassett Town Council
office on 01793 850222 or e-mail at
[email protected]
• UPCOMING MAYORAL
ENGAGEMENTS
• Saturday 1st December 2012 – Royal
Wootton Bassett Mayor Christmas
Charity Shopping Event, Catholic
Church Hall, Sacred Heart. 10.00
am All Welcome.
• Saturday 1st December 2012 - Der Adler
Annual Carnival, Phoenix Bar, High
Street.
• Sunday 2nd December 2012 – Light up a
Life, Prospect Hospice.
Mayor Mike Leighfield and Deputy Mayor
Councillor Linda Frost attended the
Wootton Bassett Bowls Club on Saturday
6th October 2012 and were delighted to be
asked to present trophies to the winners and
runners up of the season.
"We were really pleased to meet the Bowls
Club President, Chair, Committee and
Members," says the Mayor, "including the
under 25s team."
If you would like to invite the Mayor to your
event, please get in touch early, as the
Mayor's diary is generally busy!
Just call the Royal Wootton Bassett Town
Council office on 01793 850222, e-mail us
at [email protected] or
come in to see us at 117 High Street.
Supporting community events is always a
highlight in the diary of the Mayor and
Deputy Mayor of Royal Wootton Bassett,
whether it is the official opening of a new
shop, an invitation to attend an amateur
dramatics production or the honour of being
invited to present an award at one of the
many clubs and organisations in the town.
Friday 5th October 2012 was the day the
town turned pink to raise funds for and
awareness for to beat breast cancer and
Mayor Councillor Mike Leighfield was
delighted to take part. "The town's traders
did a splendid job dressing their windows,"
he said, "their efforts made a real difference
and we all had some fun in the process!"
On Sunday 12th August our Mayor and Mayoress will
be joining the Royal Wootton Bassett Sea Cadets for
the maiden voyage of their new rowing boat.
Councillor Mike Leighfield was delighted to receive an
invitation from the town's TS TURBULENT Sea
Cadets to launch the boat, which was purchased
following a successful grant application to the Royal
Wootton Bassett & Cricklade Area Board.
The event will take place on a renovated stretch of the
canal, access to which can be gained from Broad Town
Road where parking is available.
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Linda Frost
welcomed Sergeant Sonia Clamp, Royal
Army Physical Training Corps and Captain
Nicky Jefferson, Royal Signals to Royal
Wootton Bassett on Monday 1st October
when they reached the town as they run a
gruelling 400 miles for charity.
Equivalent to 20 marathons in just 11 days,
the run started at the National Memorial
Arboretum, Stafford on 27th September and
will finish at Ternhill, Shropshire on 7th
October 2012.
All money raised will go directly to ABF The
Soldiers' Charity.
MAYOR'S DIARY, AUGUST 2012The
Mayor, Mayoress and Deputy Mayor attend
many functions, events and meetings during
their civic year. Please contact the Mayor's
Secretary at the Town Council office if you
would like to invite the Mayor to attend
your event.
Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor Mike Leighfield and
Mrs. Maz Leighfield were delighted to welcome
members of the Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club to
Royal Wootton Bassett on Saturday 14th July 2012.
Around 14 Armstrong Siddeley cars were on display at
the Town Hall and in the evening a beautiful classic
car collected the Mayor and Mayoress to attend the
Club’s annual dinner.
“It was a pleasure to see these wonderful cars,” says
Cllr. Leighfield, “and we were so well looked after. I
was also delighted to accept on behalf of the town a
magnificent Armstrong Siddeley bonnet mascot.”
The mascot is now at the Town Council offices at 117
High Street. If you would like to see it, please call the
office on 01793 850222.
The following day the Mayor and Mayoress visited the
Atwell Wilson Museum in Calne where there is an
impressive collection of Armstrong Siddeley cars.
The Mayor's chosen charity this year is
Prospect Hospice. Councillor Leighfield is
keen to raise money for this service, which
brings the hospice's expert care to the
homes of patients in the local community.
Prospect Hospice provides compassionate
care and expert help to those who are facing
life with the diagnosis of a serious illness,
and provide care for the whole family from
diagnosis onwards. Their services, in the
community, the Day Hospice and in the InPatient Unit, are given entirely free of
charge, in the belief that each person is
special and every day counts.
Prospect’s dedicated care support more than
1600 patients, and their families, every year.
It costs more than £5 million to provide,
with less than a third of their funding from
statutory sources, including the NHS, so
they are largely dependent on the support of
the local community.
Registered Charity Number: 280093
Wednesday 1st August- Mayor meets a
university student researching repatriations
and commemoration for his dissertation.
Wednesday 1st August - Mayor meets with
chosen charity, Prospect.
Saturday 4th August - Meeting members of
the Honourable Guild of Macebearers with
Royal Wootton Bassett Town Crier, Owen
Collier.
Pre-schoolers and their teachers have been inspired
by the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Learning
Curve Nursery in Royal Wootton Bassett. The Mayor
and Mayoress went along to cheer them on Thursday
12th July 2012.
Mayoress, Mrs. Maz Leighfield was very
pleased to officially open The Royale
Boutique on the High Street on Friday
13th July 2012. “It was great to chat and
learn a bit about all the treatments they can
offer at the boutique,” said the Mayoress,
“and it is really good to see a new business
opening in the town. “The Royale Boutique
offers a variety of treatments for men and
women and a donation was made to the
Mayor’s chosen charity, which is Prospect
this year. “We can’t thank them enough,”
the Mayoress said, “it is such a good cause
and it’s wonderful to be supported by our
local businesses.”
Mayor Making 2012