I was recently privileged to attend Beverley Armed Forces Day at Leconfield Army Base. As usual the event was filled with fascination for the whole family.

Since my late father was in the Royal Navy for many years, I always feel a sense of nostalgia at Armed Forces Day. I am reminded of many visits to Navy, Air Force and Army museums as a child.

Linda and I had a chance to discuss various things with the policemen at the police stand.

There were various vehicles used by the Army on display.

The unfortunate situation in Ukraine has shown that we may need our Army one day to protect us against unpredictable actors in an unpredictable world.

Several times I have visited Leconfield Army Base and I have always been impressed by the friendliness and openness of the personnel I met. This day was no different.

I was re-elected to Beverley Town Council in the May 2023 local elections. A big thankyou to all those who voted for me.

I also ran as a candidate for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, in the Cottingham North ward, and with my colleague Phil Redshaw we fought a positive campaign for the Liberal Democrats.

The campaign was very hard work involving the delivery of many thousands of leaflets. Sometimes I walked for more than 10miles.

It became clear that my not resigning in Cottingham was an issue for many people, though I tried to persuade them that I could and would fight for a fair deal for all East Riding communities.

There were many differing areas of the Cottingham North Ward with disparities of income and points of view. As liberal Democrats we try to listen to everyone. No one’s voice is more entitled to be heard than anyone else.

Here I am delivering some last-minute polling day leaflets on the Poppy Fields housing estate in Cottingham North.

And so it came to polling day. Here I am in my rosette at the leisure centre in Haltemprice, waiting nervously for the result.

In the end I lost – i.e. came third – by 13 votes. That’s politics. My colleague Phil Redshaw and Duke, the Labour candidate, were the two elected councillors for Cottingham North.

However I was successful in being elected to Beverley Town Council, and I will continue to be part of the Lib Dem team in Beverley making a difference!

On 4th February I was privileged to attend a concert by the Royal Marines Band. They played a splendid set of popular and stirring pieces.

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On 19th February I attended the annual pancake race in Beverley which was a fun filled family event.

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On 23rd February I attended a pub quiz at the Dog and Duck Beverley to raise funds for a local guide dogs training organisation. We raised quite a lot of money and a good time was had by all.

25th February saw me continuing my support for Fair Trade in East Yorkshire, by attending an event at Toll Gavel Church in Beverley. Fair Trade is alive and well in East Yorkshire despite the financial woes of the Traidcraft company which supplies many local outlets. I was heartened to see that the Co Op hopes to step in and help to continue the fair trade network’s good work.

I also attended a small event and bought some raffle tickets to help to raise some money for the Turkey Earthquake Appeal which is trying to help the beleaguered people affected by the terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

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On 1st March the Mayor and I attended the election of the Beverley Pasture Masters, a traditional event held every year in Beverley GuildHall. It was a fascinating ritual to observe and several tourists were also there to see the proceedings.

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On 2nd March we saw the Awards Night of the Mayor of Beverley where many local people received awards for their selfless dedication to community. The evening was very well produced and attended, and featured the talents of local actor Gordon Meredith and musicians.

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On 5th March I attended the High Sheriff’s Judicial Service event at Beverley Minster. Traditional dress prevailed at the event!

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On 23rd March myself and the Mayor of Beverley attended the screening of the promotional film for the Beverley ‘Two Churches, One Town’ project. This project seeks to raise funds for the upkeep of the two great parish churches in Beverley – St Mary’s and the Minster. Many millions of pounds are needed to maintain these churches and the message of the film was that we cannot take these great churches for granted. If we do not look after them they might not be open to future generations.

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There were more civic services and in particular the services at Hedon and Hull were very memorable. I always enjoy visiting the small but beautiful Hedon Town Hall or the large and impressive Hull City Hall.

The holders of civic positions usually change every year so there is a certain pleasure in attending these events and a certain poignancy in that many of the people in the picture above we may not meet again. The meal at the Hull Guildhall was excellent as usual.

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The last event of the civic year was Beverley’s own civic service. It was held in Beverley Minster and we were able to show off this marvellous historic church.

And so we reach the end of the civic calendar for 2023. I hope you have enjoyed my blog post. Remember most towns in the East Riding only host one civic service and dinner event each year, so it is not as if we are spending huge amounts of money on these events. They provide an opportunity for elected representatives to network and discuss common problems and solutions, and for elected representatives to meet religious and business leaders.

I am signing off now from local civic life, as Linda has stood down from the position of Mayor, as is customary after a year or two in the job.

On Saturday May 6th King Charles III was crowned as the new King of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Like many millions of people around the world I watched the crowning of the new king on television. The following Monday 8th May saw the Mayor of Beverley and I attend the event in Beverley Minster which was organised by the Minster, local charities, East Riding Council and Beverley Town Council.

Everyone I talked to said that the event was splendid and that they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Local charities said the event provided an opportunity to network. There were charity stalls for guide dog training, Beverley in bloom, refugee organisations, music organisations, East Riding Theatre, Beverley Barge Preservation Society and many others.

Many community and young musicians played at the event including the local schools music ensembles, the Beverley Male Voice Choir, and the local Ukulele group.

Beverley Minster looked particularly beautiful decorated with union jacks for the event.

The event was a family event and food was provided for visitors to enjoy.

I was privileged to attend the Civic Service of Cllr Linda Johnson, Mayor of Beverley, in October 2022.

As the mayor is a Methodist, the service was held in Toll Gavel Methodist Church in the centre of Beverley.

Before the service there was a parade from Wednesday Market attended by various bands and local groups such as the scouts.

Of course before the parade, like any self respecting elected politician, I could not resist a phot-opportunity.

Of course Mayor Johnson used the Civic Service to raise money for her charities including the local guide dog training organisation.

I am a veteran of classic car rallies and have seen many at Beverley in the over twenty years I have lived here.

As the mayor’s consort it was a pleasure to help to judge the 2022 rally, and see the mayor pick a favourite car. I cannot tell you what the criteria were but no one could argue with the car chosen.

Beverley celebrated the 70th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II in some style on Friday 3rd June 2022.

Beverley Town Council appointed a professional events organiser to put on a series of events with something for everyone. I am proud, as a councillor, to have helped to oversee the organisation of the event.

First on Thursday evening there was an excellent service at St Mary’s Church, followed by a procession to light the ceremonial beacon in Coronation Gardens.

Then on the Friday a series of events which we designed to appeal to as many people as possible – everything from a Lady Ga-Ga tribute to the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. There was even Buddy Holly to start with in the independently organised Flemingate events.

Security and general wellbeing of visitors were taken care of by a professional events company.

Of course no British event would be complete without a Hurricane/Spitfire flypast and we got a lone Hurricane on this occasion.

There were some strange goings on during the Jubilee Party. Not least knights in shining armour riding on unicycles, shouting C-H-A-R-G-E. I kid you not.