Preparing for the big day

Strictly speaking, Friday 18th May is not my big day. That belongs to Councillor David Phillips who is to become Swansea's Lord Mayor on that date. My role will be as his deputy for a year, during which I will learn the ropes and fill in at events and functions he is not able to attend.

So whereas, he will have a starring role in the Mayor-making ceremony, my bit-part is to be nominated as Deputy Lord Mayor, be kitted in the robes and to go through the swearing in. Despite that there is a lot to learn both about that day and the subsequent year, so David and I went up to the Mansion House yesterday to be briefed.



The briefing was detailed and thorough, as would be expected from the small but very professional support staff. This is not an honorary position. The job is to work to represent the people and City of Swansea to visitors, local organisations and investors and it will involve many functions, visits and hosting events.

We were encouraged to learn the history of the Mayoralty and the chain in particular to better enlighten the curious, especially the many school children we will encounter. Swansea, I am told, has seventeen chains, collected from the various bodies that have merged over many years to form the unitary authority we are now. Some of these chains are with Neath Port Talbot. All of them are valuable and irreplaceable.

There is a very small clothing allowance, to help us dress for the occasion, but the overall budget for the Mayoralty has been cut and officers find themselves having to stretch out what resources they are given to deliver the best possible service for the City.

Afterwards, David and I had a tour of the Mansion House. Previously, I have only seen the downstairs reception rooms. There are offices on the ground floor in what presumably used to be servant quarters and a three bedroomed flat on the first floor, which is available to the Lord Mayor if he or she wishes to use it.

The house used to be made available to judges when they visited Swansea, at which point the Lord Mayor would have to vacate the building to make room for them. However, that stopped some years ago when more permanent judges' lodgings were acquired.

The top floor is derelict and in need of some refurbishment, however resources are scarce and that is unlikely to happen in the near future. There has been an ambition for some time to turn the Mansion House into a more commercial venture, possibly hiring it out for weddings and corporate events.

Some of that does happen but to do it properly the council would need to offer accommodation as well and that means a substantial investment in refurbishing the whole building and perhaps evicting the Lord Mayor. Perhaps if a business case can be made in the near future it will happen.

In the meantime, we continue to make do. I have submitted my list of guests for the Mayor-making, mostly neighbours and supporters from my community, and am in the process of writing a biography for the official blurb. Just over five weeks to go now.