From The Mayor

WHAT a couple of weeks it has been. My year as mayor has started with me attending some great events and meeting such wonderful people around the town!

My first event was attending the History of One Nation evening at the Cheese & Grain. This was organised by Somerset Aid for Ukraine. The evening was a deeply emotional celebration of the history and culture of Ukraine. Many of the Ukrainian families based in and around Frome attended the event and I had the opportunity to talk to a number of them.

I also attended the opening of the Active and In Touch Community Cafe at the Frome Medical Practice. I met some of the many willing volunteers and I wish them all every success with their new venture.

This year, the Feast of St Aldhelm’s Well Blessing at St John’s Church was a joyous occasion. A procession took us from the church to Boyle Cross, Cheap Street and on to the well itself which had been dressed by Berkley, Hayesdown and Christchurch First Schools and flowers by St John’s First School. Frome Town Band played in the warm sunshine as we were joined by a number of Frome residents and visitors to the town.

Nothing says you’re the mayor more than attending the Carnival Fun Day on 3rd June. I was ably assisted by deputy mayor, cllr Andy Jones. Duties were divided between us; Andy judged the dog show while I judged the baby show. A great day had by all!

Great Big Green Week is almost upon us, and I would implore you to scour the brochure and get your tickets (where applicable) before they sell out! There are over 40 events during the week with many family events taking place such as River Festival, Planet Friendly Picnic, Nature’s Rainbow Art Session and many more. More information can be found here, https://bit.ly/GBGW2023

By my next column, I will have attended Quadripartite Twinning Meeting in Rabka, Poland as part of the Frome delegation. Also involving twinning groups from Château-Gontier and Murrhardt. I am looking forward to meeting all concerned and establishing new friendships. We are also facilitating the Artists in Dialogue exhibition by mounting a selection of art work from their recent Silk Mill exhibition and it’ll provide us with an opportunity to meet some of the Ukrainian artists.

My predecessor, cllr Sara Butler, was right when she said that I would be so busy, and it will be such an enjoyable experience. She was absolutely right!

I look forward to meeting more wonderful people of Frome. I may well see you on a bus soon. Look out for each other. Care for each other. Support each other. Please contact me or any of my colleagues if we can help in any way. Take care.

Cllr Philip Campagna