New Bench
The unveiling of the bench
in memory of Stan Philips on the village green was a memorable occasion. A number of people, all socially distanced, gathered on the Green for the event and Stan’s daughters, Tracey and Rachel, cut the ribbon. Paul Marsh, the organiser of the hugely successful fund-raising, gave thanks to the village for residents’ generosity and Vicar Stewart Jones gave a short address and dedicated the bench for the enjoyment of all. A remarkable amount of money was collected for the bench and its location near the play area was very appropriate.
The development of the village green as a leisure area is beginning to take shape and it cannot now be long to wait for the wild flower areas to show signs of growth.
Service of Recognition
There will be a small Service of Recognition on the 9th May at St. John’s Church to give thanks for the contribution many residents have made during the pandemic. This will not replace the larger village celebration which it is hoped will take place late summer, August/ September time.
Mayoralty
My period of office as Mayor came to an end on April 20th, three weeks sooner than expected. The Government is anxious that public meetings revert to the traditional meeting format and have instructed that virtual meetings by zoom etc should cease at the beginning of May. Because of the numbers involved it was not possible to identify a large enough venue in the Borough where mayor making could take place allowing social distancing rules to be followed and because of this an established Council Meeting already in the diary was chosen for the changeover.
Dedication
The Mayoress and I took adva
ntage of our last weekend in post and visited the village hall to complete the last of our village duties. The clock tower was dedicated to the village and Maggie Linehan was presented with a plaque to commemorate her late husband, Councillor Patrick Linehan’s, services to the village.
Patrick was joint founder and Chairman of the Barlaston Community Group, was instrumental in establishing the Barlaston Open Gardens event and was Chairman of the Best Kept Village Committee as well as Chairman of the Village Hall Committee. Patrick was a larger than life character and a great loss to the community.
Renee and I would like to express our appreciation for the support that we have received from Barlaston residents. We were fortunate to have 23 months in office and we really enjoyed the experience.
Gareth Jones
Chairman
Barlaston Parish Council