Great British Tennis Weekend

On Saturday afternoon I went to the Great British Tennis Weekend which took place at Abbotts Park in Leyton. I really enjoyed my time there and I took part in cardio tennis. There were loads of coaching sessions taking place and it was good to see so many residents taking part .

I was also one of many who signed the “Back the Brits” banner in support of Andy Murray who is defending his US Open title next week. Good luck Andy!

Pakistan Independence Day - Flag Raising Event

The 14th August was a very special day for the Pakistan community as Waltham Forest marked Pakistan Independence Day. The flag was raised in the presence of the Leader, councillors and residents of Waltham Forest. Thank you to everybody for attending. In particular a big thank you to the Counsellor of Community Welfare, Mrs Fiza Batool, who took time from her busy schedule at the Pakistan High Commission to be with us.

A Level and BTEC Results Day - George Monoux College

It was a nail biting day for lots of A Level students on Thursday as they awaited their exam results! It was an absolute pleasure to find myself back at Sir George Monoux College (I was a student there back in the day!) but this time I was invited to take part in the celebrations, to cut the cake and to release balloons. And what a great achievement for the college where the overall A level pass rate this year was 99% . The BTEC students did brilliantly too - there were 100% pass rates in Level 3! Congratulations to all the students who have gained their university places. You must all be so proud of yourselves. Congratulations also to Paoloa Ramella, Principal, and all his hardworking staff who must also be immensely proud. Your efforts have paid off and we are proud to have such bright and ambitious students in Waltham Forest!

A Focus on Youth

Over the past few days, I’ve been to a number of events focusing on young people. On Monday I went to an International Youth Day in Leyton organised by the Metropolitan Police Service. The day was designed to make young people more aware of the educational and other opportunities available to help them make the most of their potential. It also gave me the chance to publicly thank the Waltham Forest Police Cadets for all their hard work in supporting the Mayor’s Charity Appeal – they are a real credit to the Borough.

On Wednesday, I was invited to a fund-raising event in support of ‘Schools4Change’, an initiative dedicated to building a state-of-the-art school in Kashmir, before coming back to the Town Hall to help mark Pakistan Independence Day with a short flag raising ceremony. It was great to see so many people – residents, councillors and staff – gather round the flag pole. And we were honoured to have Mrs Fiza Batool, the Community Welfare Attache from the Pakistan High Commission join us in the sunshine.

Finally, I had the great honour of meeting Prudence Rudlin who was 100 years young on Thursday. Pru is a local girl, born and bred in Walthamstow. She’s worked hard throughout her life and has done lots of charity work for her Church. Pru’s family made me very welcome and it was a delight to share in her celebrations.



Adam Day - 10 August

On Saturday evening I had the pleasure of joining Mr Muhammad Ali Shah of the Azeemia Foundation in celebration of Adam Day.  He organised a really good event where the focus was "Unity in Diversity".  I was fortunate enough to meet with religious leaders from other faiths where we all came together as one and showed that there is unity in diversity!

Chingford Big Weekender - 10 August

I had a fabulous time at the Chingford Big Weekender on Saturday.  The rain held off and it was a nice sunny day.  It was good to see so many residents and to see everybody browsing around all the stalls and enjoying themselves at the events.

Copper Box Event - Olympic Park

I visited the Copper Box Arena at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park yesterday morning.  It was really exciting for me as I met the legendary Barry McGuigan who is doing fantastic work with his boxing academy in the local communities.  Today’s event saw the academy promoting activity and healthy eating.  There were master classes in boxing, nutritional advice, team work games and skipping.
   

I was pleased to be in the company of my fellow councillors, Ahsan Khan, Geraldine Reardon and Saima Mahmud.  First there were speeches given by Barry and Peter Tudor from the London Legacy Development Corporation (LDDC) and then Councillor Khan “rang the bell” to start off the event!   There were many residents at the event and I am sure they all enjoyed themselves as much as I did!

 

Coppermill Park Fun Day

On 28 July I met with Tommy Anderson who is the organiser of the Coppermill Park Fun Day.    It was a privilege to be invited to the Fun Day.  It was a fantastic celebration of  £1m which has been awarded by The Big Local, over 10 years, to improve the St James Area.    I know Tommy wanted to promote the St James' Street Big Lottery Fund and what it will offer for the St James' Street community and he did everybody proud with today's event!  

Well done to Tommy and a big thank you to you, The Waltham Forest Pensioners Association and the Young Recycling Team who have worked hard to make today happen for the local community.    Everybody had a great time coming together to celebrate with music and refreshments. I wish you all the best for the next 12 months and look forward to hearing and seeing how your projects develop.

E17 Art Trail Summer Show Fundraiser - Penny Fielding Gallery

Yesterday evening was the first day of the E17 Art Trail Summer Show which took place at Penny Fielding's shop, gallery and garden at Orford Road in Walthamstow Village.  I was really pleased to be there for the opening of the artists’ reception, where I met with Penny.  I was so pleased to see so many people there!   It was so exciting to see the different artworks which were hanging throughout Penny’s shop.  The event will go on throughout August and visitors will be able to see lots of interesting work like painting, printmaking, photography and ceramics by artists from Walthamstow.

Penny is a real inspiration to our local artists.  Although she has a business to run, she still has time to raise funds for the E17 art trail and has been doing this for nine years now!  We look forward to next year’s E17 Art Trail as it will be celebrating its 10^th birthday!

 

Ifthar Dinner - United for World Peace and Harmony

On 25 July I was invited to a London Peace Dinner and Ifthar event by Mr M S Elahi, Young Ambassador for World Peace and Harmony.  I had the pleasure of mingling with all the guests and other notable inter-faith peace leaders.  It was an excellent evening and I look forward to attending the peace conference later in the year.

East London Radio Interview



Aaron McCarter and I



On the 25th July, Aaron McCarter of East London Radio came to the Town Hall to meet with me for a radio interview.   Before my interview began I did a bit of “interviewing” myself by finding out a bit more about this exciting new radio station!!  Aaron told me that the station is a non-profit radio station that gives people the pathway into radio through training and mentoring.  The station was formed from an idea between himself and his friend Ian Chambers.  They realised that there was a need for real routes into radio for young people, recent graduates, the long term unemployed and anyone else in East London.

Aaron told me that in East London there is no community based radio station that is fully inclusive of everyone and believes that having a radio created by everyone for everyone helps us to better appreciate and welcome the diversity within our community.  That is fantastic!!

I was more than happy to give my interview to Aaron.  He asked me questions about my role as Mayor and about my year ahead.  I hope you all tune in and listen to the interview when it is broadcast!   But if you can’t wait till then, here is the link  http://eastlondonradio.org.uk/?p=820

FYMCA - Annual PACE Ceremony

On the 9^th July I attended the Annual PACE Ceremony, to celebrate the achievements of the graduates of the Forest YMCA Practical Achievements in Creating Employment programme.    I was joined by the residents of FYMCA, the staff and the stakeholders.   The whole evening really opened my eyes to just how much hard work the FYMCA put in for young homeless people and how much effort they put in to improve the lives of their young residents.  For young people these days it is incredibly hard to find a job let alone a good job or a dream job.    So providing young homeless people with an address just boosts their chances in obtaining a career and improves their situation.    As well as this, they also provide young people with the support they need to help them into employment, training or education.

I felt very honoured to be at the ceremony to celebrate and support the achievements of the young people and was delighted to present them with their well-deserved awards.

I’d just like to thank everyone involved in organising this very special event, and a huge thank you to the residents, staff and trustees of Forest YMCA.

Good luck to all the young people and their success for the future.