This week the Mayor has been supporting local businesses having been contacted by a couple to discuss community engagement and how they can continue to build their connections with local charities.

On Wednesday, the Mayor attended a residents meeting, led by fellow Councillors John and Kenson Gurney, with Cllr. Peter Hollick also in attendance. Whilst the majority of resident queries related to the work of Central Bedfordshire Council, it was good to be able to positively engage and inform residents of the agreed development of a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) in the Kingsbury Park that hopefully will be built by summer 2023.

The first two Acts of Remembrance took place on Friday at the War Memorial. “It was good to see two schools bring a group of children with them to continue the learning of the importance of Armistice Day,” said the Town Mayor. The children from Beecroft Academy and Watling Lower were given small wooden crosses for them to lay in remembrance as part of the short service.

On Friday evening, the Mayor attended the 13th Luton and Bedfordshire Community Awards; an evening recognising the work of others. One of the local businesses, Coconut Garden, was a finalist in the Community Business of the Year category and was announced winner on the night! Unfortunately, the Chan family couldn’t be there on the night to collect the award, so the Mayor accepted it on their behalf.

The Mayor spent time in the town on Saturday distributing posters for her Carols around the Tree event on Saturday 10 December. “It was good to see the Middle Row Markets were being well supported and you could feel a small sense of festive cheer appear,” she commented.

On Saturday evening, the Mayor popped into Coconut Garden to present them with their award ahead of them opening for another busy evening.

Sunday saw a great turnout for the annual Remembrance Day Service. The march was once again led by the Salvation Army Band, and scores of people from different organisations from across the town came together to pay their respects. The Mayor was very honoured to take the salute with the Deputy Lieutenant, Mrs Cynthia Gresham, before laying a wreath on behalf of the town at the War Memorial in Priory Gardens.

It is officially the halfway mark of the year as Mayor, and in summary it’s been a very busy and very varied six months for both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. With over 150 events attended so far, visiting more than 100 different schools, organisations, charities, and businesses in Dunstable; representing the town at several Civic Events in neighboring towns, in Bedford and of course during the passing of Her Majesty the Queen.

The Mayor has held several fundraisers which have raised monies for her three chosen charities. Her next event is a sell out before it has been advertised at Coconut Garden – the power of word of mouth is all it took! Plans are afoot for her 2023 events and these will be advertised in the coming weeks.

Going into week 27, it appears the momentum of events once again builds with the lead up to Christmas starting now. The Mayor is looking forward to seeing you all in and around town in coming weeks!