Gŵyl Mabsant Service - Blessing of Loughor Lifeboat

One of the many anniversaries this year is that of the Loughor Lifeboat. They have been patrolling the treacherous Loughor estuary and rescuing people from that body of water for fifty years now. It was a pleasure therefore to join them to celebrate that occasion in a church service and a blessing of the boat.

The Gŵyl Mabsant (Welsh for "Feast of the Patron"), also known as the Patronal Festival or Wake of a parish, is a traditional Welsh festival held annually in commemoration of the patron saint of a . It was revived in Loughor six years ago as a thank you for all the many crew and support workers. The blessing of the lifeboat was adopted from similar ceremonies held in the Shetland Islands.

We were joined by the local MP and the Town Mayor of Loughor and gathered at the lifeboat station on the estuary before following the boat to St Michael's Church, where the blessing was to be delivered. It was a lovely service enhanced by the singing of pupils from Casllwchwr Primary School and Tre Uchaf Primary School.

Civic Engagements Week Ending 6 October 2019

Uplands Arts - Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore

Having attended the annual Uplands Arts production last year as Deputy Lord Mayor, I was looking forward to this year's Gilbert and Sullivan and it did not disappoint. Arriving at the Taliesin Theatre on the University campus we were presented with a delightful double bill.

The first of these was the short but highly entertaining 'Trial by Jury' and then after the intermission, the better known 'HMS Pinafore'. As ever, the theatre was packed and deservedly so. It was a great evening and great entertainment.

Swansea Stories exhibition preview

Swansea celebrated its 50th birthday as a city in style today when I opened a special exhibition at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery of 320 artworks. Swansea Stories is the largest selection of the gallery's permanent collection ever displayed. It has been curated by the staff at the Glynn Vivian and has taken months to plan.

The collection, which belongs to the people of Swansea, in housed in this beautiful purpose-built gallery, and includes works from the 18th century to modern times. It represents the diversity in the collection.

In the Atrium the many faces of Swansea were on display including portraits of the rich and famous such as opera singer, Adelina Patti, the poet Vernon Watkins and past Lord Mayors, and its workers such as miners, cockle pickers and dockworkers.

The Swansea Favourites section are works which people ask to see most often, either through conversations with the staff or through audience surveys and via the website. These include some of the most famous works by internationally renowned artists such as Gwen John, French impressionists Claude Monet and Lucien Pissarro, and a sculpture of the footballer, Diego Maradona made by over 100 children from Penlan Boys School.

The exhibition presents an eclectic and unique portrait of Swansea, and of the changing landscape that has inspired artists for centuries.  The pictures feature the steep hills of the city centre, the surrounding landscapes of Townhill, Mayhill, Mumbles and Dunvant, and the beautiful coastline. It is well worth visiting.

Unveiling of Peace Mala community artwork

Having been to Peace Mala events in both Terrace Road School and Brecon Cathedral it was a pleasure to visit Peace Mala HQ this morning in Morriston, the former Tir Canol Post Office. Pam Evans who founded Peace Mala has transformed the ground floor of these premises and the garden into a multi-faith centre with shrines to each religion.

We were privileged to be joined by pupils and teachers from Central School, Port Talbot, Hafod Primary, Penllergaer Primary and Terrace Road Primary to unveil a piece of artwork especially commissioned for the garden from the pupils of Terrace Road and artist Katie Kneath.

I was joined by the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Neath Port Talbot, Morriston Councillor Andrea Lewis and the High Sheriff as we were entertained by songs by the pupils before we unveiled the artwork.

The High Sheriff then cut a rainbow cake to commemorate the event. It was a lovely occasion made better by the fact that the rain held off for much of the proceedings.

WCADA 40th Anniversary Annual Recovery Celebration

I first encountered the Welsh Centre for Action on Dependency and Addiction when I was an Assembly Member and interested in promoting policy on tackling drug and alcohol dependency. I met with the organisation a number of times, attended their AGM and visited their centres as part of my research and duty as a local AM.

It was a pleasure therefore to attend their 40th Anniversary Annual Recovery Celebration today as Lord Mayor at The Baglan Centre. WCADA has continued to grow since I first encountered them in 2000. In 2018/19 they engaged with over 21,000 people and delivered a number of distinctive services.

These include adult treatment services, older persons services, a needle and syringe programme, a young person service, a project for young people in conjunction with the Swansea City AFC Community Trust and the Domino Project, which involves engaging clients in gardening, music classes, structured walks and arts and crafts.

The event started with the WCADA band, and after the formal business of the annual report we heard some stories of people in recovery. I attended last year as Deputy Lord Mayor and I never cease to be moved listening to how the organisation has helped get people back into sobriety. 

Lord Mayor's Column - 25 September 2019

Sunday saw thousands of runners brave the weather and take to the spectacular Swansea seafront for the Admiral Swansea Bay 10k.

I was honoured to start the races alongside the official starter, hold the finish tape and present medals to the winners. The event fully embraced the city’s anniversary celebrations, with gold as the predominant colour scheme and commemorative race shirts and medals. Thank you to everyone who donated so generously to the Lord Mayor’s Charities in the bucket collection on the day.

Most Lord Mayors hold a civic service where, along with other civic heads, councillors, the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, invited guests, and members of the local community, we give thanks for the many good things in Swansea and for the Mayoralty itself. I am not aware of any other civic service having been held in Manselton, certainly in the 35 years I have been a councillor. It was a pleasure therefore to bring this event to St Michael’s Church in my local community last Sunday.

On Monday I was at the Village Hotel for a free event for the over-65s put on by Home Instead Senior Care, where they were launching a new 'What's on Where' guide to social activities in Swansea for older people. Then later, I hosted Penllergaer Gardening Club at the Mansion House – the 19th gathering of our 50 civic events to celebrate the city’s 50th anniversary.

The city’s anniversary celebrations continue on Thursday with the opening of ‘Swansea Stories’ - an eclectic exhibition at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery of more than 300 artworks, including some moved down there from the Mansion House walls. It will be the largest selection of our permanent collection ever displayed in the gallery’s history and I encourage you to take a visit to find out more.

Swansea 50 - Penllergaer Gardening Club

The 19th gathering at the Mansion House for community groups featured the Penllegaer Gardening Club, who joined us for afternoon tea so that we could celebrate the City's 50th anniversary together.

The club has nearly one hundred members who gather together weekly for talks and other activities. I am not a natural gardener, tending to inadvertently kill most plants I get my hands on, so I am in awe of those who can do it.

Nevertheless, we had a good conversation about a whole range of subjects and everybody appeared to enjoy themselves.

WOW Have a Go

This morning I was at the Village Hotel for a free event for the over-65s put on by Home Instead Senior Care, where they were launching a new 'What's on Where' guide to social activities in Swansea for older people. The objective is to help older people connect, make new friends, have fun and live life well their way.

The event was supported by The Village Hotel and The Ospreys in community and there were a number of other organisations including SCVS, the Library Service, the Community Dementia Team, Swansea Carers' Centre, the Carers' Choir and Age Cymru West Glamorgan.

My role was to formally open the day, after which I chatted to the stall holders and some of the attendees before  heading off to my next engagement.

Civic Service

Most Lord Mayor's hold a civic service where, along with other civic heads, councillors, the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, invited guests, and members of the local community, get together to give thanks for the many good things that grace Swansea and for the Mayoralty itself.

I am not aware if any other civic service having been held in Manselton, certainly in the 35 years I have been a councillor, and for a number of years before that, we have not done so.  It was a pleasure therefore to bring this event to my local community.

It was also a pleasure to be able to include two of the local schools in the event. At my inauguration back in May, Burlais Primary School sang for us in the chamber. Today, the fabulous choirs from Brynhyfryd Primary School and Pentrehafod Comprehensive School entertained us.

It was a lovely afternoon, topped off with lunch at the Liberty Stadium for the invited guests and civic heads.

Admiral Swansea Bay 10k

This morning, along with 4,500 runners, their relatives and friends, officials and spectators, I braved the rain to attend the Admiral Swansea Bay 10k race, with runners setting off from near the |Patti Pavilion to Mumbles and back.

My role was  to start the race alongside the official starter, including the wheelchair race, the main race with the  elite athletes at the forefront, and the mascot race.

I then held the tape for the men's and ladies races and presented medals to the winners. We were fortunate that by-and-large the rain held off, although there were one or two heavy showers. Nevertheless, everybody enjoyed themselves, a lot of money was collected in sponsorship for various charities and there were also bucket collections for the Lord Mayor's charity.

Civic Engagements Week Ending 29 September 2019

Swansea 50 - Gower Voluntary Transport

Our 18th gathering of community groups to celebrate Swansea's status as a City was also a bit of a getting-to-know-you event, but not just for me and the Lady Mayoress.

Gower Voluntary Transport is based in Penclawdd Community Centre, and provides a vital service for the elderly, disabled and isolated in Gower. They are one of a number of community transport schemes in Swansea run entirely by volunteers.

Effectively they provide cheap transport through volunteer drivers, all co-ordinated from a central point. Passengers are charged 60p a mile, often as little as a quarter of the cost of doing the same journey in a taxi.

But the volunteers are not providing a taxi service, drivers will go above and beyond, taking passengers on shopping trips or waiting with them at the hospital until they have been seen by a consultant, or had their blood test.

All of this is coordinated from a central point, and in normal circumstances, those booking the journeys will not meet the drivers, whilst the drivers themselves rarely meet each other. Today was a bit unique therefore as all the volunteers became acquainted with each other.

It was a lovely afternoon and it was good to be able to host and facilitate it.

Swansea 50 - Manselton Community Centre

The 17th group to celebrate Swansea's 50th anniversary as a City with us in the Mansion House came from Manselton Community Centre, one of the many centres in the City who provide activities for local groups.

Manselton Community Centre is in my ward and I was instrumental in getting it built in the first place in 1987, so it was a pleasure to welcome some of the many volunteers who keep it running and share a meal with them.

The group also included some members of Topic House community house in Townhill and Mayhill, who use the centre for indoor short mat bowls.

Swansea 50 - Parc Llewellyn Walking Group

Once we take into account the contribution made by the Council to the Singleton Park Botanic Gardens 100th anniversary celebrations, Parc Llewellyn Walking Group was the 16th community group who we have joined with to celebrate Swansea's 50th year as a City.

This group meet twice a week to walk in and around the Morriston and Treboeth areas and are based in the fabulous Llewellyn Park on the Castle Graig hill, off Trewyddfa Road.

The park was established after John Dillwyn Llewelyn, Swansea's famous photographer donated and land and money to establish a park for the local community in 1874. Some of the group are also involved in the Friends of Llewellyn Park as well.

As usual we enjoyed a convivial few hours consuming cake and sandwiches and putting the world to rights.

Lord Mayor's Column - 18th September 2019

Just under three months ago I went to Terrace Road School for a Peace Mala event, a concept designed to encourage the celebration of cultural, racial and religious diversity through art, music, drama and dance. On Monday I was in Brecon Cathedral with a number of other dignitaries and representatives of other faiths for a multi-faith service.

The service involved schools from Swansea, Powys and Manchester, with over a hundred school children present in the Cathedral. It was led by Pam Evans, who founded Peace Mala and included a contribution from Steve Balsamo singing the Peace Mala song alongside Penllergaer Primary, St. Joseph's RC Primary and Catwg Primary.

Two former council colleagues sadly passed away last week. I’ll be attending the funeral of Honorary Alderman Byron Owen at Swansea Crematorium later today. The Deputy Lord Mayor will attend the funeral of former Councillor John Hague tomorrow. Both former cabinet members played significant roles in developing the city during the time they served as public figures.

The community celebrations for Swansea’s anniversary continue at the Mansion House this week. On Thursday I will be hosting two groups. The Parc Llewellyn Walking Group and then later representatives from Manselton Community Centre in my own ward.

The volunteers from Gower Voluntary Transport provide an essential service for the elderly, housebound, and people who cannot use public transport and do not have a car. I’ll be thanking them for their efforts and joining them in celebrating the city’s anniversary at the Mansion House on Saturday.

The Admiral Swansea Bay 10k takes place on Sunday along the beautiful and iconic sweep of Swansea Bay. I’ll be at the starting line to see the runners off. Best of luck to all those who are taking part.

Peace Mala International Inter-Faith Liturgy for World Peace

Just under three months ago I went to Terrace Road School for a Peace Mala event, and concept is designed to encourage the celebration of cultural, racial and religious diversity through art, music, drama and dance. It promotes environmental sustainability, healthy eating and respect for all animals and wildlife. It also encourages peace education by forming a school peace council and engaging in peace activities.

Today I was in Brecon Cathedral with the Lord Lieutenant of Powys, the High Sheriffs of Powys and West Glamorgan, the Mayor of Brecon, Deputy Mayor of Neath Port Talbot, the Archbishop of Wales, Bishop Emeritus Tom Burns of Menevia, the Shadow Secretary for Wales and representatives of other faiths for a multi-faith service.

The service involved schools from Swansea, Powys and Manchester, with over a hundred school children present in the Cathedral. It was led by Pam Evans, who founded Peace Mala and included a contribution from Steve Balsamo singing the Peace Mala song alongside Penllergaer Primary, St. Joseph's RC Primary and Catwg Primary.

The highlight of the event was Malcolm 'Rising Eagle' performing the Native hoop dance uniting all nations. Tribal and native people believe that all creation is sacred and that all people share one heart though they are many. The hoop dance involves manipulating the hoops so as form the shape of various animals and birds.

The final blessing was given by the Archbishop of Wales, before we departed for tea and cake.

Swansea Branch RAFA Service

Today is Battle of Britain Day, and as a result of the RAF Association deciding to revive the tradition of an annual service to commemorate and honour the many service personnel and civilians who lost their life in that conflict, I joined the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff, along with cadets from a number of branches at St Hilary's Church in Killay.

It was the first church service where I have delivered a bible reading since becoming Lord Mayor. Afterwards, we gathered in the graveyard around the war graves there of second world war airmen for photographs, come of which will be sent to relatives of the deceased living abroad.

It was a humbling experience, made more poignant by the presence of Fred Jeacock, who will be 100 years old later this week, and who served during the second world war in Swansea operating barrage balloons. 

Civic Engagements Week Ending 22 September 2019

BBC Proms in the Park

There is no doubt that Swansea can put on a show, and tonight we did so, with the BBC Proms in the Park as audacious as ever, complete with flags, fireworks and great music. The council events team and Lord Mayor's staff who pulled this event together in conjunction with the BBC, deserve our thanks and praise.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Chorus of Wales were joined by 1980s' band, ABC, West End music star, Sophie Evans, Ukrainian baritone, Andrei Kymach, and saxophonist, Xhosa Cole. It was a great night, thoroughly engaging the 5,000 plus audience.

My role as Lord Mayor was to host the hospitality tent, greeting the many people the council works with on a day by day basis to improve and develop the City. Once more the events team surpassed themselves, while the weather behaved itself for once. A great night, enjoyed by all present.

Oakleigh House Centenary Concert

So, yet another anniversary, this time we were celebrating Oakleigh House School's 100th year. Oakleigh House School is a co-educational independent primary school in Swansea, Wales accommodating children from the age of 2 ½ to 11 years of age. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group, and is situated in the Uplands area of the city.

The school commemorated this occasion by staging a special concert in the Great Hall on Swansea University's Bay Campus. The concert featured all 200 of the school's pupils and was outstanding and thoroughly enjoyed by all 400 of the parents and relatives who attended.

Visit to Unity in Diversity

One of my three charities this year is Unity in Diversity, a group of individuals who are dedicated to supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Swansea. During their five-year existence the dedicated volunteers with this charity have helped over 500 asylum seekers and refugees with food, support and learning opportunities.

Although I have visited the group before I have not done so officially, so today I donned the Lord Mayor's chain and called into the Unitarian Church in High Street where they meet every Wednesday and Thursday evening.

I met many of the volunteers and trustees with the charity and also chatted with a number of the asylum seekers and refugees who attend there.

It is always frustrating listening to some of the stories of people who have fled persecution and violence only to come up against the impersonal rules and regulations of our immigration system, knowing that there is little that I can do to assist them. I give what advice I can but it always feels too little, too late.

At least Unity in Diversity offers some sort of safety net and I am pleased that by nominating them as one of the Lord Mayor's charities we can do some good.

Swansea 50 - Friends of Parc Williams

Today was the fourteenth event in our Swansea 50 series of getting local community groups up to the Mansion House to celebrate the City's 50th anniversary with us.

We were joined with the Friends of Parc Williams, a lovely park in Loughor, who are also celebrating their 10th anniversary as a group. The Park itself is 90 years old this year.

The friends stage events in the park and raise money to support them. They are possibly the oldest park friends group in the City.

Opening of Neath Fair

There was a gathering of the chain gang this afternoon in Neath civic centre as we came together for the opening of the 739th annual Neath Fair. Obviously the nature of this event has changed over the years, but it is still the case that the event is recognised as the fourth largest Chartered Street Trading Fair in the UK, and can trace its origin back to the original Charter granted in 1280.

There was a drinks reception to kick off the opening, some photos and speeches and then the Mayoral party made its way through the town centre to the other side of the railway line, behind Neath Station, to the car park where the fairground is situated.

There are a large number of stalls situated in the town centre selling their wares but all the rides are in the station car park. The Mayor of Neath Port Talbot opened the fair by ringing two large bells and then he and some of his party tried a number of the rides. I abstained, just grateful that the heavy rain had turned to sunshine.

Lord Mayor's Column - 11th September 2019

Yesterday was the monthly citizenship ceremony at the registrar’s office in the civic centre. It is always an honour to be part of this ceremony and to welcome another group of individuals as UK citizens. As usual I joined the Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff in making a speech to welcome the applicants before they swore an oath of allegiance.

Today I’ll be joining the Mayor of Neath Port Talbot for the opening of the September Neath Fair. Recognised as the fourth largest Chartered Street Trading Fair in the UK, this annual event is hugely popular in Neath, and can trace its origin back to the original Charter granted in 1280.

Later I’ll be continuing with another of our 50 civic community events to celebrate the city’s anniversary, when the ‘Friends of Parc William’ join me at the Mansion House. 2019 is a special year for the group, as this Loughor park is also celebrating an anniversary, its 90th. The Friends Group, who play an important role in helping the local authority to develop and improve this key community facility, also celebrate their 10th anniversary this year.

On Thursday it’s off to the Unitarian Church on High Street in the city centre to visit one of my Lord Mayor charities, Unity in Diversity. During their five-year existence the dedicated volunteers with this charity have helped over 500 asylum seekers and refugees with food, support and learning opportunities.

Finally, it is a weekend of music as I head off to the Great Hall in Swansea University’s Bay Campus on Friday for Oakleigh House School’s centenary concert. And then to Singleton Park, which has hosted a huge variety of musical acts this year, when I am pleased to have the opportunity on Saturday to attend the BBC Proms in the Park.