Teams from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales are competing all this week at Folkestone Bowls Club in Cheriton Road for the Annual Civil Service trophy. I enjoyed meeting all the teams, but they might not have enjoyed my inept display when bowling the first bowl!
We've already scrapped ID cards. Now I'd like to ask you - which other laws do you want to scrap?
Everyone warned me that being Mayor is an open invitation to gain weight! Temptation is always there to eat too much at the wonderful buffets often available, and none more so than a Sugarcraft Exhibition.
It was to a packed field that I made an opening speech to welcome everyone and officially open the first ever Folkestone Primary Academy Fete. It was also a pleasure to congratulate Helen Tate on her recently awarded CBE in front of the parents and children who have benefited from her expertise.
Folkestone and Hythe have a huge wealth of talent in many of our schools and colleges, and today I was fortunate enough to be invited to watch a programme of entertainment by the students at Brockhill Performing Arts College.
Please see below an update for the month of June, showing what we have been up to.
Saying that the Canada Day ceremony at the Shorncliffe Cemetery was moving is an understatement: it was a privilege to acknowledge the bravery of the Canadian soldiers buried there.
Sometimes when we get depressed about the future of disaffected youngsters, our spirits are lifted by the successful schemes that are in place around the district. I was delighted to be asked to go to Little Switzerland in East Folkestone to present prizes to a group of young people who had spent several months learning how to improve the countryside in the local area.
Excellent company and food at The Gurkha Palace created a very enjoyable evening. For this particular event, the business world met with some students from the Folkestone School for Girls, so that the girls could call on the skills of the Rotary members in order to maximise charity fund raising attempts.
I was delighted to be asked to accompany Alan Risley-Settle to the meal where the handing over of the Presidency is announced. The speeches affirmed my opinion of the good work that the Rotary Club undertakes.
Town Sunday is a tradition where the Mayor formally accepts the office of Mayor and promises to work for the people of Folkestone. Gathering around the cross in the grounds of St Mary and St Eanswythe's Church is the beginning of the formalities. In times past, this was the moment that the new Mayor was chosen and if he refused to accept the honour, his house would be burned down. I willingly agreed to be Mayor!
Dressing into full robes is exhausting enough but standing in 30 degrees for an hour is sweltering! The procession to The Stade on Folkestone Harbour was led by the Folkestone Pipes and Drums and included Folkestone Town and Shepway District Councillors as well as clergy from various denominations, all fully robed and finding the heat overwhelming.
