The Lord Mayor of Chester

Christmas with the Lord Mayor of Chester at Chester Town Hall on the 9th & 16th December. A magical Christmas experience tickets available in person at the Chester Visitor Information Centre or online at http://cwac.co/1SGsW

“May this Christmas be filled with good news of peace and joy and the light of Christ" - Dean of Chester

The Lord Mayor was thrilled to be invited to the switching on of the Christmas Lights at the Arches Primary School in Blacon. A new tree was planted In the Reception Class play area. The Lord Mayor said, "The tree will grow with the children as they move through the school. I look forward to coming back in future years"

"Merry Christmas. Wishing all a season of peace and togetherness, best wishes" - Councillor Robert Bisset – Chairman of Cheshire West and Chester Council

"With Seasons greetings and best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year" - Councillor Margaret Parker - Leader of the Conservative Group

Christmas with the Lord Mayor of Chester at Chester Town Hall on the 9th & 16th December. A magical Christmas experience tickets available in person at the Chester Visitor Information Centre or online at http://cwac.co/7CZ0T

The Lord Mayor of Chester is honoured to promote International Day of Persons with Disabilities, raising awareness of an understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. She also would like to thank everyone in Chester who provides support and care for people with disabilities.

International Day of People with Disabilities (http://cwac.co/Bgojs) International Day of People with Disabilities

"May you know the blessing of Immanuel, the God with us, at this Christmastime and throughout the coming year of 2024" - Crossroads Community Hub – Lord Mayor of Chester’s Chosen Charity

"Peace and happiness to all, in 2024" - J H Godwin Primary School

The Lord Mayor and the Chester Charter Trustees were pleased to sponsor the two trees that are either side of the High Altar in Chester Cathedral. The Lord Mayor visited the Cathedral today to see the trees and enjoyed seeing the other trees which are part of the Cathedral’s Christmas Tree Festival. An uplifting experience which is at the Cathedral until the 7th January. Chester Cathedral

"Praying for a joyful Christmas and a blessed 2024 for us all" - Bishop Mark

Christmas in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour - The Lord Mayor will be opening her Parlour and invites you to enjoy the festive splendour on the following dates:

• Saturday, 9 December – 12noon and 3pm
• Saturday, 16 December – 12noon and 3pm

For further details please click on the link below
http://cwac.co/gBsl4

Chester Town Hall Chester Christmas Market

The Lord Mayor of Chester and her helpers are inviting members of the public to enjoy the festive splendours of the Lord Mayor’s Parlour at Chester Town hall. Check out the link for details... Chester Town Hall (http://cwac.co/7V8Qk).

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Christmas with the Lord Mayor of Chester at Chester Town Hall on the 9th & 16th December. A magical Christmas experience tickets available in person at the Chester Visitor Information Centre or online at http://cwac.co/BhFJx

There is still time to purchase tickets for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd in partnership with the Lord Mayor of Chester’s Christmas Concert. To purchase tickets please click on the link http://cwac.co/P5qdT Chester Town Hall

Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving

Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the last decade, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. You can volunteer your time; donate money; share your skills; campaign for something; donate goods, food, or clothes; organise a community event such as a street or park clean-up or a coffee morning. The list really is endless.

To mark the day the Lord Mayor visited Blacon Beacon, a social supermarket in Holy Trinity Church Hall, where she met staff and volunteers from Blacon Beacon as well as West Cheshire Foodbank volunteers. Both charities benefit from the support of volunteers and from the donations of food and money from their supporters. As well as being open for food Blacon Beacon hosts a café and a drop in session every Tuesday morning where residents can get financial advice from Citizens Advice, Starting Well, West Cheshire Credit Union, Ward Councillors, digital support meet a friendly face and enjoy a drink and cake. http://cwac.co/uHHTu Blacon Beacon

The Lord Mayor was pleased to attend and open the Let's Go Retro Event at the Town Hall last week. The event was organised by the Department of Work and Pensions , and Age Friendly: Cheshire West & Chester Council.

She said, As Lord Mayor of Chester and Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care. I would like to welcome you all to the Town Hall today. Older workers like me, have become a key priority for the government. Today’s event is an opportunity for the council to link with residents to find out about how being older affects the chances and opportunities in finding work and an opportunity for employers to understand how they can best recruit them.

CWAC Council officers and councillors are enthusiastic in the work they are doing to support this and all protected characteristics in getting local people into local jobs Chester Town Hall Cheshire West and Chester Council

A Traditional Christmas Concert on Thursday 7th December 2023 at 7:30pm Chester Town Hall Chester Town Hall

The Lord Mayor was pleased to invite Blacon High School students and their Bulgarian exchange visitors to the Town Hall. The group enjoyed a Civic Regalia talk followed by a tour of the Town Hall Blacon High School Chester Town Hall

The Lord Mayor was delighted to attended Spirals of Peace at Chester Cathedral on Saturday 18 November to celebrate Interfaith week. Interfaith week 12 - 19 November, is intended to Strengthen interfaith relations and increase understanding between communities. The week begins on Remembrance Sunday as a way to recognise the contributions of all faiths and none to the UK in the World Wars.

Chester Cathedral and the University of Chester hosted ‘Spirals of Peace’ which was an opportunity for people to hear how peace was perceived by a variety of faith perspectives including Islam, Baha’i, Quaker and Humanist. The overall theme through each contribution was a desire for peace and an agreed recognition that peace is not an ‘absence of war’ but much more. Chester Cathedral University of Chester

The 19 November is International Men’s Day, and the Lord Mayor of Chester and the Sheriff of Chester are honoured to support this special day and mark the worldwide positive value men bring to the world, to their families, and to our communities. The day is also aimed at raising awareness around men’s health and issues that some face. To find out more please click: http://cwac.co/XeeNY International Men's Day UK International Mens Day

The Lord Mayor was thrilled to be invited to the presentation of a Level 5 Outstanding Award from North West In Bloom last Friday. Many congratulations to the group it is amazing that they achieved the highest award when entering for the first time

The Lord Mayor attended and declared open Men in Sheds, in Blacon last Wednesday. It was a splendid occasion, with the highlights being a tour of the facilities followed by afternoon tea. She was also pleased to be able to make the announcement that Vintage Blacon Hope Garden a sister community organisation had received a Level 5 Outstanding Award in the North West in Bloom Awards.

Men in Sheds Blacon C.I.C. provides a service to the local community of Blacon and the wider community of Chester to combat loneliness and isolation and to encourage integration between the various groups in the area. Men in Sheds welcomes all UK Men's Sheds Association

The Lord Mayor had a great time visiting the Lache Children’s Centre play session last Tuesday to celebrate Baby Week 14 – 20 November, an annual celebration of all things ‘baby’. She played with the children and talked to their parents about their experiences of parenthood, the parents told her how much they valued the support they received from the Children’s Centre. Earlier in the day she talked to a parent who was accessing the outreach support from Blacon Children’s Centre at Holy Trinity, Blacon Baby Week Charity

The City of Chester holds close friendships with the Royal Navy and in particular, with HMS Albion.

HMS Albion and her ships company were granted the Freedom of Chester over 20 years ago and it is sad to hear that she is going into a state of low readiness. HMS Albion was launched in 2001 and has been a hard working ship ever since.

The Ships Company has been welcomed back to Chester on a number of occasions over the last 20 years and were last in Chester in September 2019 exercising their Freedom, this also coincided with the 150th Anniversary of the Town Hall, Chester.

After the Remembrance Service took place on Sunday 12 November 2023, the Lord Mayor was honoured to accept on behalf of the City of Chester an amazing Firmin Sword of Peace which was presented to her by Captain Marcus Hember of HMS Albion. This sword was awarded to HMS Albion in recognition of her outstanding role as Ambassador for Britain during her nine-month deployment in 2018 in the Far East.

The Firmin Sword of Peace is the most important ‘peace prize’ in the UK for Armed Forces and it recognises HMS Albion's vital role in spreading goodwill in the Far East.

The Lord Mayor was delighted to be invited to the official opening of Belong Chester, it was a pleasure to look round the village, and to meet staff and residents. This is a particularly exciting and innovative development as it includes a nursery, which benefits both the children who attend and the residents who visit to play and read to them

On behalf of the City of Chester, the Lord Mayor wishes His Majesty King Charles III a very happy birthday today.

Members of the public, local VIP’s, military veterans, representatives from the Armed Forces, cadet groups and young people all came together at Chester Cathedral on Sunday 12 November 2023 to remember the sacrifices of servicemen as a result of many conflicts. The City fell silent for two minutes at 11am to remember the fallen and to give thanks for their bravery.

Lest we Forget.

We will remember them Chester Cathedral The King's School Chester

Sunday 12th November – Remembrance Sunday

This year’s Annual Service of Remembrance at Chester Cathedral takes place on Sunday 12th November, led by the Lord Mayor of Chester, Councillor Sheila Little.

The Military Parade will start off from Bridge Street at 9.30am and march to the Cathedral. A Cathedral Service is planned to start at 10.15am.

The Cathedral Service will be followed by the Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial, in the Garden of Remembrance outside the Cathedral, at 10.55am when wreaths will be laid. Members of the public are welcome to attend the service and viewing will be on St Werburgh Street’s footpaths and the surrounding area.

For other Remembrance activities in west Cheshire please visit -

Remembrance Sunday Details of events and ceremonies taking place in west Cheshire for Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.

The Lord Mayor and Councillor Sherin Akhtar visited 1st Upton Brownie Unit during Parliament Week. They answered questions and talked to the girls about Parliament, about democracy, voting and the managing a Budget. The session ended with a secret ballot which helped in the decision to choose which biscuits they would have for snack. The Lord Mayor was particularly impressed with the knowledge the girls had with regard to the power of the vote as many of them attended schools where they voted for a school council. The electorate of the future.

Preparations are underway for Remembrance weekend. The Lord Mayor and the Civic Team making environmental friendly poppy wreaths

The Lord Mayor of Chester was delighted to be involved with the ceremony to remember the late Cyril Dutton. Cyril was a firefighter who sadly was killed in Chester following bombing on the city on the evening of 27 November 1940.

Cllr Little said: that from what I have read about Cyril, he was a true Cestrian and put his country, city and fellow colleagues first”.

“Chester did not suffer in WW2 unlike some of our neighbouring cities did but sadly on 28 November 1940 that all changed. As a result of his selfless bravery in trying to stop the fires, he sorrowfully lost his life”.

The Lord Mayor was honoured to be invited to the opening of the new AXISCADES engineering Centre in Saltney, Chester. The company has its global offices in 16 different locations with 9 nationalities engaged within the organisation. It is a fast-growing company and has emerged as one of the most technologically advanced engineering service providers.

AXISCADES has been a strategic supplier to Airbus Group for over 13 years. This office will help AXISCADES to attract young people into the company and provide effective services to their clients in this region. The Lord Mayor said, “We welcome AXISCADES to Chester and wish them every success in bringing their company to Chester, it will allow them to scale up their UK operations and further grow. The opening of the Saltney, Chester office is a great step and I am sure it will have a large and positive impact on their business and employment opportunities in this field for local people now and in the future.

October is a month of that reminds us of the wonderful diversity of our communities. It started with International Day of Older Persons and the beginning of Black History Month, followed by World Menopause Day, Dyslexia Awareness Day, ADHD Awareness Month, World Mental Health Day to name a few. I was also delighted to join Sanjhi Indian Association to celebrate DIWALI, the Festival of Lights on Saturday 28th in Chester. It was a festival of colour, music and dance that brought joy to our city.

These celebrations and awareness days help us hear stories, increase our understanding of our diverse communities and promote inclusion and equality for all.

The Lord Mayor along with Chester International Links Association (CILA) hosted the annual meeting of Chester’s twinned towns over the weekend of the 14th October. The Lord Mayor was honoured to be asked to open the event and she welcomed the representatives from Chester’s twinned towns, Sens, France, Senigallia, Italy and Lörrach, Germany.

The Lord Mayor spoke about the importance of looking outwards to other countries and of encouraging all, but in particular our young people from different countries to work with and learn from each other to promote citizenship, mutual respect and understanding.

The Lord Mayor, Sheriff and Deputy Lord Mayor all attended Legal Service which took place at Chester Cathedral on Sunday 15 October 2023. Cheshire’s Legal Service is to mark the beginning of the Legal Year and was attended by Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff and a variety of judges from across the country.