I thought it would be nice to reflect on some of the engagements that the Mayoress and I have attended since I last wrote a column outlining the Mayoral role.

We were honoured to be invited to the Wilderness Foundation to attend a royal visit from HRH Prince Harry. The Wilderness Foundation uses the positive power of wilderness to change lives and, in turn, the positive power of individuals to protect wilderness for future generations. I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with His Royal Highness about the work undertaken by this organisation. Prior to his visit we had attended the Foundation’s TurnAround graduation ceremony and were amazed to see how their work was able to transform the lives of those young people who participated in the programme.

As sometimes happens with Mayoral engagements, the royal visit clashed with the launch of the Chelmsford support group of Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis which we had hoped to attend. Anyone suffering from this debilitating condition can find some support from the new group by contacting malcommason11@btinternet.com

On the night the A-Level results were announced, the Deputy Mayor and I went out with a team of Chelmsford Street Pastors. In case you aren’t aware, the Street Pastors focus on the City’s hotspots and help diffuse tension and offer support to the thousands who are worse for wear and are trying to get home once the bars and clubs have closed. We had an extremely interesting evening going round the various night spots and seeing the incredible work the Street Pastors undertake late at night and early in the morning to make the City a safer place.

The J’s Hospice has now joined with Little Havens Hospice to offer help to families with a child or young person who has a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. The Mayoress and I, together with the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress undertook a visit to see the facilities offered at their Thundersley property. They offer respite stays and invaluable support to families and with running costs at £8million a year they need to raise £100,000 every week in order to maintain the level of support they can offer. Little Havens depends on donations as very little grant funding is available to them.

Chelmsford is very much a multi-cultural society and we have recently attended two Indian Festivals, Krishna Janmashtami and the Onam state Festival of Kerala. The Mayoress and I welcomed the opportunity to share in these experiences of other cultures. Another event we are looking forward to is the Chelmsford Cathedral v Chelmsford Mosque Cricket Match, which, I am sure, will be most enjoyable if not entirely up to the Essex team’s standard.

On a disappointing note, we attended the opening of two slides at Chelmer Park a few weeks ago. However, we found that the turf that had been laid the day before to further improve the park had been stolen. The children from Mildmay Infant School who attended the opening were disappointed that this should happen to their new facility.  Nevertheless, they did not let it spoil their enjoyment of these new 18 metre embankment slides and we all had fun taking turns to have a go.

It was a real privilege to attend the 77th Memorial Parade and Service of the Battle of Britain at St John’s Church and acknowledge how much we owe those brave RAF pilots who faced the overwhelming force of the Luftwaffe and changed the course of the Second World War. At this stage I must also mention and pay tribute to work undertaken by the Royal British Legion whose Poppy Awards presentation evening we attended at the end of September.

I am now going to take the opportunity of promoting two of my charity events which are coming up over the next few weeks. The first event is on Saturday 14th October and is a Quiz Night at Springfield Parish Centre. We have a limited number of tables available for teams of 8 or fewer players. Details can be obtained from jon.devries@btinternet.com.

Our second event is a Barn Dance at Writtle University College on Saturday 28th October and details and tickets can be obtained from f.mountain@aol.co.uk

A future date for your diaries is 15th December when we will be holding a Charity Ball at Ivy Hill, Margaretting. Further information is again available from jon.devries@btinternet.com.

With over forty Mayoral engagements in September alone, this has only been a snapshot of what has been going on in Chelmsford since my previous column.