On Monday I was delighted to host a meeting of the newly constituted Battle of Worcester Partnership with 15 people in attendance chaired by well-known local history enthusiast Dilip Sarkar.
Though the importance of Worcester in the Civil War is known to some, I feel much more needs to be done to get greater recognition of the city’s role in that turbulent period of English history. After all, the battles of Powick Bridge and Fort Royal were the first and last of the Civil War after which, sad to say as I’m a Royalist, Cromwell emerged victorious. I’m hopeful that over time we can turn this unique history into something visitors would find attractive and fascinating.
That same evening I went to a meeting of St Peter’s Parish Council. It’s good to see the community spirit there and how the councillors really do try to sort out problems in a practical way. I was asked to give an overview of Worcester and it seemed natural to concentrate on what I think is the greatest challenge for the next 20 years, and that is how we are going to cope with what looks to be significant expansion of the city.
On Wednesday I felt one gap in my knowledge about Worcester was filled when I had a guided tour of the Royal Worcester Porcelain museum by manager Amanda Savidge. I want to remind everyone that despite all the building work that is going on in the vicinity, the museum has remained open and will continue to welcome visitors. They will not be disappointed with what is unquestionably the UK’s finest collection of porcelain. I was truly amazed by the quality and variety of the many exhibits some dating back to 1751 when the porcelain factory first started production.
Later I went to the Green Centre in Dines Green to attend the annual meeting of Westside Worcester, the voluntary body that runs the community centre.
The manager, Mandy Rimell, has been in post for seven months and she has helped to make some very positive changes with more community groups and clubs of all descriptions coming along. There’s now quite a buzz about the place and that’s important for its success.
On Saturday Carol and I were at the King’s School for the opening of its new art school. We were made very welcome by headteacher, Tim Keyes and head of art Liz Hand, and really we could only be impressed by how the building, originally belonging to Worcester Porcelain, had been converted.
The facilities are excellent. Our visit coincided with former King’s pupil Luke Narraway making his first appearance for England against Wales in the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.