My feet have barely touched the ground in the last eight months! It’s certainly been a very different experience from my first mayoral year during the pandemic and I’ve enjoyed every minute.
One of the lovely things about being your mayor is the opportunity to recognise people who help make our community what it is. I had the pleasure of giving Katie Fox of Search and Scan Somerset (SAS) a Civic Award recently for her fantastic work reuniting lost pets with their owners.
By the time you read this, my last column of 2025, I will be having some much-needed quiet time, celebrating Christmas with family and friend but I’m very much looking forward to an equally busy diary for the last few months as mayor. If you’d like me to join you at your event, you can email Laura Flaherty to add a mayoral engagement – Laura’s email is at the bottom of the article.
Christmas isn’t everyone’s favourite time and at the moment life is difficult for many, Christmas or not. We’re so lucky in Frome to have caring people and organisations to make a difference. That has been much in evidence recently in the response to the devastating fire at Edmund Park.
Nine members of our community have had a truly distressing and difficult experience, but the superb Fair Frome and Frome Rotary have stepped up instantly and there have been so many offers of practical support and generosity from people across the town. It’s not always possible to prevent or change the bad things that happen – but we CAN control how we respond. And I’m so grateful and proud of Frome for its kind, practical and compassionate response. Selwood Housing, the building owners, have also been excellent and are working closely with the affected residents and with Somerset Council as they work out next steps. We’ll update the community with additional ways to help as needed; please follow the town council’s Facebook page or look out for updates in the press.
Speaking of our fantastic community, have you been down to the new Winter Café at the Key Centre yet? Hosted by community arts organisation Terrestrial, it’s a wonderful space for anyone to meet friends, enjoy free refreshments and get involved with fun creative activities. We’re lucky to have Terrestrial in Frome, creating playful, imaginative events and activities and it’s great to have them at the Key Centre, a vital community resource that has been underused for far too long, now owned by the town council. The café is open Monday to Friday 10.30am to 4.30pm throughout December and January. It’s closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day but open till 2.30pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The Key Centre is at The Mount, on Feltham Lane, BA11 5AJ.
On the big day itself, the Fair Frome team bring you the annual Frome Christmas Get Together at the Assembly Rooms, offering fun, food and company, free of charge, with help getting there for those who need it and a home delivery service for those who can’t travel. You can book a free space by picking up a form from Frome Library, calling Margaret on 01373 465418 or online via the Frome Christmas Get Together’s Facebook page. You can also donate money towards food and gifts at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/christmas-celebrations.
Happy Christmas, Frome and let’s keep being a fantastic community in 2026.
Email Laura Flaherty to book a mayoral visit – lflaherty@frometowncouncil.gov.uk
Cllr Anita Collier
