Contents:
- Editor's welcome
- Paul Waugh: From Rochdale to Westminster
- Rachel Winnard: One in Two Million
- Rochdale Sixth Form College wins at prestigious Further Education awards
- Rev Mark Coleman
- Baillie Street Quarter
- Touchstones reopens with new exhibitions
- Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum
- Highlights of a Mayoral Year »
- Fancy dress posties raise £1,700 for MIND
- John Swinden’s Captain Tom 100 challenge
- Littleborough’s Tackling Minds to become first organisation to work with NHS in prescribing angling
- Keith Hicks retires after 33 years of service at RAFC
- Bid for local digital radio signal
- Carpet Creations celebrates 25 years in business
- Help fill Springhill’s gardens with sunflowers in memory of your loved ones
- Local author reminisces about Rochdale high streets in the 80s and 90s in new book
- After the storm, the healthy hazy days of summer
- Rochdale Heartbeat honoured with Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
- Ian Jenkins: Forty Years of Making Music
- Hairdressing Trend - Babylights
- Lasting Power of Attorney
- Cupcakes recipe
- Brown’s Cakes celebrates 10 years
- Beauty Feature: Coming back strong after lockdown
- Take a walk at Ealees
Summer 2021Highlights of a Mayoral Year
Councillor Billy Sheerin was sworn in as the Mayor of Rochdale in May 2019 and ended up serving as mayor for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here, he reflects on some of his highlights.
The mayoral role is a very important part of the council; it’s a position of authority, but also a position of privilege and honour, which must be handled carefully with humility and understanding.
I’ve had 10 months as a mayor and 14 months as a symbolic mayor, during which time I chaired various virtual meetings, and there were very few civic events I could physically attend, all due to the pandemic. However, what I shall not suffer from is standing down as, sadly, it feels as though I stood down those 14 months ago.
I have enjoyed the privilege of being ‘Mr Mayor’ – it allowed me to meet many amazing people who do so much good work for the benefit of the people of the borough.
I sincerely thank all of you that contribute to make our town a better place to live.
DIPPY'S VISIT TO ROCHDALE
The most enjoyable part of being the mayor was meeting up with the other nine mayors of Greater Manchester and meeting Mark Adlestone, Greater Manchester’s High Sheriff for 2019/2020, who joined us on most of our events. We built a sort of comradery amongst ourselves, which I will always cherish.
I had the pleasure of inviting my fellow mayors to visit Dippy at Number One Riverside when he arrived. They were all amazed at the sight of a dinosaur in an ultra-modern building.
I remember clearly when Dippy arrived in Rochdale; it was a great day which filled the town with excitement as everyone wished the dinosaur a warm welcome to the borough and offered the hope of tons of visitors to our town.
The initial impact of Dippy was terrific for not only Rochdale, but the whole North West. I was very sad to see him dismantled and sent back to London.
MAYOR’S CAROL SERVICE
Another big event which gave me a great deal of satisfaction was the annual Mayor’s Civic Carol Service in December 2019, which I chose to hold at St John the Baptist RC Church.
In the presence of the Bishop of Salford John Arnold, the multi-faith service included a selection of popular carols. Guest readers also spoke about what Christmas means to their different faiths, including Mirazam Neeli (Imam of Masjid Mosque) on Islam and Mark Adlestone (High Sheriff of Greater Manchester) on Judaism.
It was a very special event for me, learning all the different outlooks.
TRIP TO BIELEFELD AND TOURCOING
One of my very first events as mayor was joining the Friends of Tourcoing on their biannual trip to France. This was followed by a trip to Bielefeld, Germany with the Friends of Bielefeld group.
Both Tourcoing and Bielefeld are twin towns of Rochdale and have been linked for many years, I believe to establish healing and bonding after the wars. The friends’ groups do a sterling job in keeping the twinning momentum going.
In France, I met with Jean Marie Vuylsteker, the Maire de Tourcoing, and observed the voting in the European Parliament election, the count, and the way the French conduct elections.
In Bielefeld, I stayed with two wonderful hosts, retired lecturer, Dr Manfred Froehich and his wife, Mechthild, and I was looked after very well.
I had a tour of the city and learnt the history of Bielefeld. We also visited the city of Soest and Möhnesee, a famous reservoir and dam in North Germany, for a cruise.
I made a civic visit to the bürgermeister (mayor) at Belefield Rathaus (town hall) and met Fräulein Karin Shrader – the first Mayor of Bielefield – before finishing on a relaxing note in the spa town of Bad Salzuflen.
It is so important to keep Rochdale’s twin links with our European neighbours. I encourage the young people of Rochdale to get involved to allow the link to carry on for many years to come. There are great opportunities to experience these places through the eyes of the locals.
The funds raised by the Mayors Charity Appeal for 2019 - 2020 were split between Springhill Hospice, Rochdale Connections Trust, Rochdale Shopmobility, Parkinson’s, Leukaemia UK, Hydro Pool, M6 Theatre, and Rochdale MS Society, with each receiving an amount between £1,500 and £2,500.
This is only possible thanks to the dedication and hard work of the members of the Mayor’s charity committee.