Minutes:
The Mayor thanked all Members of the Council who attended and supported her at the extremely moving Service of Remembrance on Sunday, a particularly poignant occasion this year, the centenary of the Armistice. The Mayor went on to attend a further service of Remembrance at Chichester Cathedral, and ended a reflective day at the beacon lighting ceremony at Butts Brow. She particularly thanked her Deputy, Cllr Kathy Ballard, for standing in so ably during the many Remembrance events to which she was invited.
She paid tribute to the Heritage team, led by Jo Seaman, for their Eastbourne Remembers project which brought to life the stories of ordinary people in extraordinary times in several innovative ways, most particularly the pavement posters which elicited a comment from a friend living in Suffolk.
The Mayor also mentioned Danny Negus, Tom Bacon, Andy Bacon, Henry Dunn and Andy Meed, members of the Devonshire Park Ground staff, who recently won the Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team of the Year award at the prestigious Institute of Groundsmanship Industry Awards. She congratulated them on their well-deserved success.
Looking back to the summer, the Mayor was delighted to host a special Thank You lunch for her Charity Committee and several specially nominated local charity volunteers, at the Airbourne Departure Lounge. Despite the weather preventing many real aircraft from flying, a hastily assembled Mayor’s Squadron bravely put on an alternative paper aeroplane display for other guests, to the hummed accompaniment of the Dambusters.
The Mayor had continued to enjoy a number of varied engagements, supporting local charities and organisations. She had been serenaded by a local meningitis fundraising group and a Singing Waiter, played sound tennis with blind sportspeople, found herself stranded in a broken down lifeboat, and had lunch with HRH the Duchess of Gloucester.
The presentation of trophies had been a regular and enjoyable fixture in the Mayor’s diary, including those of the County Cup tennis tournament, the Beachy Head Marathon, and indeed to her own chauffeur at the Eastbourne Bowls Tournament.
The Mayor's love of walking was well known and she had joined a number of sponsored walks including a Beat the Streets Celebration walk along the seafront. She was apparently now referred to by some as “The Walking Mayor”, an epithet which she embraced when she and some of the more daring members of her Charity Committee undertook a sponsored twilight clamber over the roof of the O2 Arena. The group lived to tell the tale, and were delighted to raise over £2000 for the Mayor’s Charities.
The Mayor would be dusting off her sari for her Bollywood Extravaganza on Friday, to which all were cordially invited. The evening promised to be a colourful celebration of all things Bollywood, with fabulous food, dancing, the opportunity to win some very exciting raffle and auction prizes, and a special musical performance by our own former Deputy Mayor, Cllr Miah.
The Charity Committee was also working on a second rebranded version of the Mayor’s Ball, which would take place in April 2019. Details would be shared in the New Year.
The Mayor’s Charity Inspirational Women Cream Teas continued to go from strength to strength, and some remarkable guests were already booked for 2019. The final Cream Tea of this year took place at Christ Church on Wednesday 5th December, and would feature Freya Wynne-Jones, a young opera singer, who the Mayor hoped to persuade to give a special performance on the day.
Future fundraising events included the SEA Exhibition taking place this weekend, a Christmas Fundraising evening, a film screening at the Towner Gallery, Quiz Nights, and a Folk Music Night. Details would be circulated soon, and more information could be sought from the Mayor’s Office.