We drove to up the M66 for a meeting with the Lord Mayor of Manchester Counc. Glynn Evans at Manchester Town Hall.
The Lord Mayor of Manchester
I had previously been there for the North West in Bloom awards lunch and at the time I had managed to have a quick look round but wanted to see a lot more.
We are met by the Lord Mayor's attendant
So when I met the Lord Mayor on the day, I asked if we could return for a tour around. The link with Pendle is that the same architect;
Alfred Waterhouse who built Manchester’s magnificent Town Hall also built Colne Town Hall.
One of the courtyards with interlinking corridors
Manchester used lots of building materials including 14 million bricks and was completed in 1887.
The Lord Mayor shows us one of the magnificent reception halls
I think that I am safe in my assumption that the budget was slightly larger for Manchester than it was for Colne!
The Lord Mayor demonstrates a chair that is so big that your feet don't touch the ground.
We were met by Glynn’s attendant, complete with his gold staff, who then took us up to the Lord Mayors Chambers.
In times past The Lord Mayor and his family used to live in the Town Hall for their period of office so the accommodation is very extensive.
Just one of the extremely large fireplaces from a time before central heating
We were taken into the drawing room for a quick cup of tea then shown around the Town Hall.
Corridors of power
It is really magnificent with many large or even enormous halls all with massive fireplaces and wonderful decorations.
The room decorations and pictures of previous Lord Mayors add to the impressive halls
In common with our own Town Hall in Nelson there was a Police Station complete with magistrates court and cells for prisoners.
The Manchester police cells host an interesting character
We were shown the extensive silver table ware including ice picks and grape scissors only used once for the visit by Queen Victoria.
The Lord Mayors bathroom
We even got to see the Lord Mayors bathroom! Afterwards we were taken back to the drawing room for a chat with Paul over sandwiches and cream scones. It was a wonderful visit and something that we will long remember.
The miles of corridors are decorated with floors like this
Tuesday 12 February
I walked down to Barnoldswick pensioners Club to congratulate them on their 3 year anniversary of the Lets Walk group. I was met my Edith Sheldrick who is one of the leaders for the walks. The walkers go out every Tuesday morning to sample some of the wonderful footpaths and tracks that we have around Barnoldswick. I gave a short speech to congratulate them and encouraged them to continue to keep fit, enjoy a chat and see spectacular views by going with the Lets Walk group.
At 4.30 I had to get the Town Hall for a visit by the Southfied Action Group. We did our normal presentation with me in my red gown and civic chains in the Council Chamber. I started by telling them a bit about Pendle Council and the Mayor’s office before inviting them to ask me questions.
We meet with Southfield Action Group
We then showed them into the Mayor’s Parlour before retiring to the Members Room for a glass of orange juice where I also showed them this blog.
When I got home we took a picture for Nelson Library Hero’s of Reading poster campaign. I enjoy reading and have over 500 books and it has certainly enlarged my understanding of lots of things. So I always read a chapter or so in bed each night.
Encouraging everyone to read more
This is what I sent with the picture;
I enjoy reading books by many different authors, mainly fiction but also about travel and biographies. Currently I am re-reading Imperium by Robert Harris, I enjoy his style of writing and have read all of his fiction books. I have learned a lot from books, it has broadened my understanding and allows me to experience different ways of looking at things. I tend to keep all of my books to re-read them, as I seem to enjoy them even more the second time round.
Allan Buck (Coun.) Mayor of Pendle, Mayor’s Parlour, The Town Hall, Market Street,Nelson
Over to St. John Fisher & Thomas Moore Catholic Humanities College in Colne to be interviewed on their School radio FM FM.
That’s the first time that I have been interviewed on live radio and it was a very interesting experience.
Thursday 14 February
I went into the office of my business Printoff Graphic Arts Ltd to welcome the judges for the Pendle Business Awards. As my company had been short listed for the environmental award I was not involved in the judging of this section. My place was taken by Coun. Alan Davies, the leader of Pendle Council. So my roll on the day was to welcome them, introducing our Managing Director; Brian Hough and Operations Manager; Jason Aldred, then keep out the way and make the tea at the end of the visit.
Our company is serious about environmental issues and is moving towards being recognised as the number one Environmental Printer of the North.
Friday 15 February
In the afternoon we continued with the judging of the short listed companies for the Pendle Business Awards. We were again uplifted by the quality of the companies that we visited. We have lots and lots of great businesses in Pendle doing some exceptional things and we need to shout about it. So the Pendle Business Awards dinner on 27 February at the Fence Gate Inn will be our opportunity to do just that.
This is the full list of shortlisted companies;
Pendle Business Awards 2008
New Business of the Year
Blossom Tree Childcare, Colne - Children's nursery
Giddy Kippers, Nelson - Children's party and play centre
Old Rock Café, Trawden - Teashop and cafe
Small Retailer of the Year
Going Dutch, Nelson - Florist
Presentation, Barrowford - Gift shop
Jasmine Porschalink, Nelson - Sell new and used porsche parts
Most Outstanding Business of the Year - (small)
Axiom Imports, Trawden - CNC Engineering
Harvey Environmental, Colne - Pest control and washroom services
Garden Doctors, Colne - Gardeners, planning & landscaping
Most Outstanding Business of the Year - (medium/large)
Hartley's Farm Foods, Nelson - Food production
Hope Technology, Barnoldswick - Design and manufacture mountain bike disc brakes and accessorises
AC DC Lighting, Barrowford - Lighting specialists
R Kirk Ltd, Colne - Liquid management solutions
Business Commitment to Staff Training
H W Petty, Nelson - Estate agents
Merc Engineering, Barrowford - CNC Engineering
Arthur Padgett, Nelson - Plumbers
Business Commitment to Community
Loop Publishing, Nelson - Magazine
Hope Technology, Barnoldswick - Design and manufacture mountain bike disc brakes and accessorises
Essentials (RCS), Fence - Local community shop
Environmental Business of the Year
Euravia, Kelbrook - Aviation company
Printoff Graphic Arts Ltd, Nelson - Designers and printers
Malkin Tower Farm, Blacko - Holiday cottages
Business Woman of the Year
Blossom Tree Childcare, Colne - Paulene Hargraves - Children's nursery
PDS Engineering, Nelson - Annette Getty - High Accuracy CNC Engineers
Nail Studio, Colne - Abigail Hynes - Nail salon
Business Person of the Year
Machine Tool Technologies (MTT), Nelson - Peter Willoughby - Technical support/high accuracy engineering
Merc Engineering, Barrowford - Les Nuttall - CNC engineering
Panaz, Fence - Tony Attard - Design and manufacture textiles
Matthew Kibble Transport, Colne - Matthew Kibble - Haulage
