9th November – Bridport’s Remembrance Parade This was an exceptionally well-attended event, ably headed…
Mayor’s Blog 171
December was very ‘light’ on Mayoral duties, however those I attended were very enjoyable. Our Deputy Mayor, Jonathan Bourbon, happily attended some carol services around the county in my stead. Good to have a presence at those. Many thanks to Jon.
1st December – Christmas Tree Festival – United Church
As my husband was away, Jonathan stepped in and came with his wife to join me for this event. So much thought and talent goes into the Christmas Trees – they are so beautifully decorated and all have a special link to their particular charitable group. The privilege to switch on their lights is just lovely.
Bridport Town Council was allocated a tree gifted by Washingpool Farm. It was so large, we were allocated space in the entrance hall to the church. We were able to display some angels, made and gifted by children from Salway Ash primary school.
The message by our tree was “The Bridport Town Council tree display shines a light on the wonderful community groups we are fortunate to have. We are proud to be a caring, rights‑respecting town, and deeply grateful for the contributions these groups make to our shared life. Instead of tinsel we have rope to show we are a community bound together by our history of rope making.” Here’s a photo of our tree!
3rd December – Bridport’s Christmas Cheer event
There’s a lot to organise – before, during and after – for this event, believe me! This year we really must congratulate Terri Foxwell who was heading it up. She put in such a lot of time and expertise, including booking, organising and placing all the stall-holders around the streets and venues in the centre of town and sorting out queries on the night. Our Daryl was of course keeping an eye out for anything needing attention. (Does he ever sleep?)
Our outside staff always put in huge amounts of their time getting it all together, and on the night, being there to ensure all goes well and then afterwards to clear up! Huge thanks need to go to them too.
Most of us on the committee have been involved for several years so we’ve ‘got the hang of our personal ‘duties’. Sheila Meaney is the Queen of booking and organising the arrival and departure of seven school choirs, appearing one after the other, and making sure the children are safely delivered and collected, ably assisted by her chosen volunteers.
Our wonderful local ‘sound man’, musician Tom Hughes, has looked after our performers’ needs in terms of microphones, stands, speakers etc so professionally for several years now, and always with a big smile.
As a member of this committee, my input is to book the musicians who follow the school performances – this year, Bridport Rock Choir followed by ‘JAWES’ – talented young band. In comparison to some of the others, I only have a light load to carry and I take my hat off to the team who work far harder than I do, making sure everything is in place, and runs well.
Well done all, a great success and a great team – and the weather was kind too!Here’s a picture from Tim Russ (thank you Tim) where the winner of my Christmas Card Design competition from ASCape (my chosen charity this year) young Rosa, was making sure the magic worked for our Christmas Tree. She was delighted that she made it happen!
Here’s a picture, courtesy of Tim Russ – thank you Tim – of Rosa ‘making the magic happen’.
18th December – Beauty and the Beast, Bridport Young Performers
What a brilliant performance! What a treat. Bridport Young Performers are just amazing – so talented, so energetic and professional.
The ‘back room staff’ are also incredible. They deliver on costumes, scenery, lighting, the music, coaching, directing…..the energy, the sheer perfection is astonishing.
The performers and the whole team behind them deserve a huge THANK YOU.
Our visit was their last performance and I was taken behind the stage to congratulate them personally! If you didn’t get a chance to go, make sure you do next time. They have a page on Facebook – some pics there.
26th December would have been the West Bay Wallow, organised by Bridport Round Table.
Such a shame for this to have to be cancelled, but I am sure we all understand that it was the right thing to do, considering the terrible disaster on Christmas Day, where two people were lost at sea, just along the coast from us. Our hearts go out to the poor families who lost their loved ones.
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Well that’s all December’s Mayoral events done – and it just remains for me and Dave to wish everyone the best for 2026.
As we take on the new year we realise how privileged we are, here in Bridport, to have an expectance that it can be happy. We must bear in mind that there are so many people living in fear or sadness and suffering terrible atrocities all over the world and who have very little hope of happiness in the near future.
We can at least do our best here in Bridport to continue to be Rights Respecting and to treat each other well. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake that 2026 is a more peaceful year than 2025 has been for so many sharing this planet.
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