I’m proud to have been chosen for a second term as your Mayor and grateful to my colleagues at FTC for the opportunity. Many thanks to Anita Collier for a trailblazing mayoral year; she’s been a brilliant mayor and I know she enjoyed every moment, but I also know she’s looking forward to a quieter diary, as mine starts to fill up.
A bit about me: I moved to Frome in 1962 and went to school here, including Frome Grammar School and Frome Technical College. After time working in Hong Kong and at Cuprinol in Frome, I joined the Metropolitan Police in 1980. In 2010 I moved back to Frome, started volunteering for Citizen’s Advice and joined the original board of Fair Frome. Volunteering brought me into contact with FTC and in 2018 I was elected to Market Ward, so I’m currently in my second term on the town council. I’ve been Mayor and Deputy Mayor – and now Mayor again!
My first year as Mayor ended in May 2020 during the first Covid-19 lockdown, and when I handed over the chain (also to Anita), being Mayor was a very different experience than either of us had anticipated. I had at least had the opportunity for most of my year to get out and about, meet lots of you and see first hand what a great community we have here in Frome, powered by the many people who work hard to nurture it. Six years on, that community spirit is still very much alive; it’s one of Frome’s greatest strengths.
I’m still pondering an official theme for my mayoral year, but one idea that keeps coming back to me is ‘Pride in the Town’. That could mean taking pride in our streets and public spaces: tackling litter, graffiti and vandalism. It could mean supporting projects that make Frome cleaner, greener and more welcoming. It could mean taking pride in our fantastic community organisations and recognising the people who help make Frome the place it is. It could be all of the above! Whatever makes you proud of Frome, I’d like to hear about it and support you in it where I can.
Another area close to my heart, and one shared by my predecessor Anita, is opportunities for young people. I’d like to explore how we can strengthen the options available for local apprenticeships, skills training and further education opportunities, so that more young people stay and make their lives here, or find good reasons to return to the town, as I did.
Frome has always achieved great things when people come together, and I’m looking forward to playing my part once again as Mayor.
