Thank you to all Newtonians, fellow chairs and civic dignitaries, local schools, clubs, businesses, friends’ organisations and especially my family for supporting me throughout the current Mayoral year.
It has been a pleasure and an honour to represent you across the Northeast region; we have made many friends and helped raise funds for charities across the north and, in particular, our own chosen charities ‘Options’ based at the Pioneering Care Centre and ‘Wishing Well Club’ based at Woodham Golf Club. It has been a busy year visiting clubs and organisations including the Air Training Corps who are a superb group of young people and an inspiration to us all.
In all, we have made hundreds of visits and attended many civic events, but some of the most enjoyable have been to present flowers and cards to those residents celebrating 100th birthdays and sixtieth anniversaries.
Local events, such as the visit by the Knife Angel were poignant reminders of the times in which we live, but services remembering the debt we owe to our forefathers at the Remembrance Parade always bring a tear to my eye. I would like to extend my thanks to Reverends John and Helen Musson for their support and Milly from St Elizabeth’s Church, Woodham, for her ready smile and jolly demeanour when helping to organise our recent coffee morning.
This year has been an adventure for me as I wrote a book based on a talk at St Andrew’s, given by churchwarden David Blair, about the coming of Locomotion to Aycliffe. I surprised myself, as I am no scholar, but the book seems to have been a great success in that the local children seem to have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Many thanks to Rotary Great Aycliffe and, in particular Brian Winwood for organising the printing of the books, which were distributed free to all primary schools in Great Aycliffe.
We have a wonderful town, and it has been our pleasure to represent you. We take great pleasure in wishing the new Mayor every success in representing Great Aycliffe Parish.
Cllr Ken Robson and Mayoress Elaine Robson.