Music and the Deaf Concert

This is possibly the most inspiring event I've been to yet as Deputy Lord Mayor.  It was a concert in aid of the charity Music and the Deaf, at the Town Hall.  This charity is unique in that it enables the 10 million people in the UK with hearing loss (1 in 6) to enjoy the world of music.  Dr Paul Whittaker OBE is the Artistic Director of MATD and has been profoundly deaf all his life.  He was admitted to Oxford by Wadham College to read music in 1983 after rejections from many other UK Universities on the misguided basis that "deaf people can't do music".  Paul founded MATD in 1988 and has I thinkemphatically proved how wonderful music is to deaf people and how they contribute just as much to music as those with non-impaired hearing.  I'm sure he has changed and enriched thousands of lives through his amazing work and commitment.

The concert was really good both in terms of being fun and being musically excellent.  I hugely enjoyed along with the Mayor of Witney, the Chief Examiner of the London College of Music and Steve Webb MP.    It was just stunning to hear some Mozart piano duets played by two profoundly deaf men and Paul Whittaker's command of the pipe organ was just wonderful.  I parituclarly enjoyed Paul's rendition of Noel Rawsthorne's Hornpipe Humoresque.

Opening RADECS 2013

This evening was a fairly brief event for me in that I was invited to the Town Hall to the opening drinks reception of RADECS 2013, a large conference that took place in Oxford this year.  It is the The 22nd European Conference on Radiation and its Effects on Components and Systems.    My brief was to give a bit of history on the Town Hall and the Civic office of Lord Mayor. Did you know that The present Town Hall is the third on the site and its foundation stone was laid in 1893 by the Mayor Thomas Lucas and without mention of the first builder - a Mr A Chappell of Lambeth - who was declared bankrupt in October 1893. The present design by Henry T Hare was built by Messrs Parnell and son of Rugby for £94,116 (note, Oxford’s average house price is now £356,299) . The official opening of the Town Hall was on Wednesday 12 May 1897, by HRH the Prince of Wales Edward VII.

The Lord Mayor of Oxford is a very old tradition, with the first recorded names going right back to the 12th century. There is a long unbroken line of Mayors of Oxford right up until 1962 when the dignity of Lord Mayor was granted to Oxford by Queen Elizabeth ll.  In Oxford, The Lord Mayor represents the City at civic and ceremonial events and spends a great deal of time promoting the City, the key initiatives of the City Council and supporting a wide range of Oxford based voluntary and other organisations.

The Lord Mayor generally carries out in excess of 300 engagements each year. These engagements cover a wide spectrum of events from high profile Royal visits and leading the City's annual Remembrance Sunday service, to small community group meetings and charity events.  The Lord Mayor also chairs meetings of full council.

International day of Peace

This event was held jointly by the Oxford Islamic Information Centre, The Oxford Council of Faiths, The United Nations Association (Oxford) and the Global Ceasefire Project.  It was a good coming together of those passionate about peace and there was an excellent speech by the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Tim Stevenson OBE, and I was invited to say a few words on behalf of the City of Oxford.

Although the last world war ended almost seventy years ago I think we can all agree that the world sometimes feels like it is not a very peaceful place, with terrible things going on right now in Syria, Afghanistan and many other parts of this our world so I am grateful to all the work all organisations like those that organised today's event do to promote global peace.

On a national level, in these times of economic difficulty it can be very tempting for people to start blaming their problems on other groups of people and we have seen some of that with the far right and the far left in unfortunate clashes that I think do nothing to bring peace and understanding to our country or our communities. What an amazing example however the members of the mosque in York set earlier this year by offering tea and a game of football to those who were trying to intimidate them. We all have much to learn from that.

On a more local level, I am extremely proud to live in a City where we are largely at peace with each other. Faiths co-exist and there are generally good relationships between councils, employers, universities, other places of education and churches. It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate that with the friendship walk each summer and I think it sends a very strong message both of intent and warning to those who might try to disrupt peace in our City and beyond.

English Youth Ballet - Swan Lake in aid of Oxford Children's Hospital

I attended a performance of Swan Lake by the English Youth Ballet this evening at the New Theatre, Oxford.  It was absolutely stunning and I hugely enjoyed it.  It was an honour to meet Janet Lewis MBE (English Youth Ballet Director) and to learn a bit about the wonderful work of the English Youth Ballet.  The performance this evening was special because it was in aid of the Oxford Children's Hospital.  After the performance there was a speech by Janet Lewis as well as by a young girl who is a patient of the Children's Hospital.  I also gave a speech thanking everyone for such a wonderful performance, commending the work of the Children's Hospital and encouraging people to give generously to such a worthy cause.

The performances of Swan Lake in Oxford by the English Youth Ballet feature around 120 talented young dancers from around Oxfordshire who were selected for the performance in an audition in May.  EYB raised £2,700 for Stoke Mandeville Hospital Children’s Ward last summer when it gave 3 performances in Aylesbury.  English Youth Ballet (EYB) is one of the UK’s largest ballet companies and previously won The Stage Award for special achievement in regional theatre.  The company brings together the finest professional principal dancers from London and around the world with local ballet students selected for their talent and potential.

What a wonderful evening!

UCare's meet the researchers event

UCARE (Urology Cancer Research and Education) is an independent charity committed to improving the treatment and care of cancer patients through research and education.  I went along this evening to an event where three researchers spoke about how funding from UCARE has really helped them to make progress in cancer research and treatment.

UCARE (Urology Cancer Research and Education) is a local independent charity founded by a group of clinicians, patients and supporters who care about fighting urological cancers, those of the kidney, bladder, prostate and testes.

Treating people with urological cancers continues to be a major challenge, 20% of all new cancers diagnosed each year will be a urological cancer; 54,000 new urological cancers are diagnosed each year – 10,000 cases more than breast cancer. Despite the frequency of diagnosis of these cancers, they receive little detailed or sustained media coverage and consequently no information enters the public consciousness.

We know that with early diagnosis more people than ever could survive the disease. Awareness of the signs and symptoms of these cancers remains woefully low amongst the general public. With early detection and diagnosis many more people could survive. There are known to be gaps in cancer survival rates between the UK and its European counterparts, and it is recognised that the primary reason for this is late diagnosis.
Research and awareness go hand in hand, so the health care needs of the community are at the forefront of the UCARE charitable object. Our part in educating the public on what to look for in the signs and symptoms of urological cancers, to help people make improved life style choices, and to give advice on seeking early intervention is vital. Since health awareness campaigns in the UK encouraged women to ‘know their bodies’, mortality rates for breast cancer, have fallen dramatically. Women are aware that they must seek early intervention. A higher public profile has resulted in more funds for research leading to new and more effective treatments and we aim that UCARE will have the same impact for urological cancers.

I didn't have to speak at this event but was really impressed at how sometimes quite modest funding can enable work to continue or be started that enables much larger amounts of funding to be achieved from larger bodies.  Oxford is one of the world's leading centres of cancer research and treatment so I was very pleased to be at the event to represent the City of Oxford and offer its full support to the excellent work of UCARE.

Private View of Francis Bacon / Henry Moore: Flesh and Bone

This was another special treat at the Ashmolean Museum.  I was representing the City as the Deputy Lord Mayor and was really impressed by the work that has gone into putting together this fantastic exhibition.

We heard a good speech by Dr Christopher Brown, the Director of the Ashmolean, and some remarks by the co-curators of the Bacon Moore exhibition. Then daughter of Henry Moore, Claire, gave a great speech and formally opened the exhibition.  I had had a look around the exhibition before the speeches and it is truly impressive being in a tall gallery and with a fantastic juxtaposition of paintings by Bacon and sculptures and drawings by Moore.

Oxford Hindu Temple & Community Centre Project 5 year celebrations

I attended this event today at Deputy Lord Mayor at Kennington Community Centre and was welcomed by Dr. Gyan Gopal and heard the 5-yearly report of the project from him as well as enjoying sharing worship and offerings with those present and a good talk about how beneficial it would be to Oxford Hindus to have a permanent temple.

One of the many things I love about our wonderful City of Oxford is its ethnic, cultural and religious diversity so I was particularly pleased to attend these celebrations. I am impressed that OHTCCP has such a strong organisation with so many committee members who clearly do so much for this Hindu community.

As a person of faith myself I know how important the discipline, community, shared responsibly and time for prayer and reflection that come with faith are to a healthy and fulfilled life. I am really pleased to see how many communities in Oxford take their faith so seriously and how much of a positive influence it has on their lives and the lives of those around them. Well done to OHTCCP for its work to advance Hindu religion and culture and promote spiritual teaching and observances that serve to enhance understanding of Hinduism.

In Oxford it is great that faiths work together so well through the Oxford Council of faiths and I’m always pleased to join the annual friendship walk that happens earlier in the summer. It’s a great achievement that this community also has a stop for Hindu prayers as part of the walk.

I wish the Oxford Hindu Community every success in its aim of acquiring premises for a Hindu Temple and a Community Centre to cater for the religious, social and cultural needs and activities of its members and I hope the fundraising strategy and efforts produce resources to realise that dream soon.