Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole 2006/07

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, formally launched the new offices of the Bank of New York at Merck House in Poole.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York the Bank, who had been fortunate not to suffer major losses, recognised the need to become more geographically diverse from their sole UK base at Canary Wharf. Seeking a South Coast location for their new office, they came across the Mayor's web site and asked for a meeting to discuss how best to integrate into the local community, and it was a direct result of the advice, support and enthusiasm they encountered from the Mayor and her staff that convinced the Bank that Poole was the place they wanted to be, creating hundreds of new jobs in the local community. With their recent acquisition of J. P. Morgan's corporate trust operations, the Bank is establishing their Poole office as an international centre of excellence for this type of business.

Greeted by the Bank's Vice-President Matt Hatton, the Mayor met Bank directors for an informal briefing and reception before giving a speech in her usual confident relaxed style with a smattering of jokes and stories. The Mayor then cut a ribbon to open the refurbished building and joined the official guests for the formal reception.

Cllr Mrs. Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "We are so lucky to have the Bank of New York with us, they could have chosen to go anywhere but opted for our beautiful town of Poole. There is a fabulous opportunity for local employment and fiscal growth over the next decade, the local business community have welcomed them warmly and are very positive about the future of the Bank and how they will impact upon Poole. The Bank's clear stated ethos of supporting the community and being in and amongst the community is laudable and a concept that has worked extremely well in their other offices across the world. I wish them every success and thank them on behalf of the people of Poole for choosing our town, their investment in us is sound our commitment to them is assured. "

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with directors of the Bank of New York at the opening at Merck House in Poole.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the catering staff at the opening at Merck House in Poole.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, took great delight in presenting 40^th anniversary medals to members of the Bourne Valley Morris Dancers on Poole Quay.

Celebrating the club's 40^th anniversary, the performers arrived on Poole Quay during the morning and danced for members of the public to add to the interest of the day while the Admiral's boats were away travelling around the Harbour. With all the formal ceremonies over by 4pm, the Morris dancers, who travelled from towns all over Dorset, then appeared at the Custom House and gave a dancing display for the Mayor, who was delighted to present them with medals to mark the occasion.

Cllr Mrs. Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said " It's certainly not a dance for wimps, one of the 2 inch thick wooden ‘sticks' broke when a chap thumped it so hard on his partner's head it almost exploded . They looked and sounded really great and were a true spectacle nearly 100 of them dancing during the day."

Bourne Valley Morris Dancers dancing for the Mayor on Poole Quay.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, presenting 40^th anniversary medals to members of the Bourne Valley Morris Dancers on Poole Quay.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, received a copy of the famous Winchelsea Certificate on Poole Quay.

Following the Beating of the Sea Bounds, the Mayor was delighted to be presented with an authentic copy of the Winchelsea Certificate by local historian Mike Cullen as a commemorative of the event. Mike had even taken the trouble to visit Winchelsea to obtain special permission to use the great seal on the document.

Cllr Mrs. Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "I am delighted to receive this wonderful memento, the certificate has now been framed and is proudly hanging in front of me in my office at home as I type this quote.  It will always remind me of my very special day, just one from the 759 years of past Mayoral history, may we have centuries more and always protect our past and bring it into the present to ensure a golden future for Poole."

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, receiving a copy of the famous Winchelsea Certificate from local historian Mike Cullen on Poole Quay.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, officiated in the historic ‘Beating of the Sea Bounds' Ceremony around Poole Harbour.

In prehistoric and Roman times, Poole Harbour was a major port, but the Anglo-Saxons shunned any Roman connections and moved the port up-river to the town of Wareham. However, over the centuries the river became silted up and shipping increased in size, causing a decline in the viability of Wareham and returning port facilities to Poole, and leading to a dispute between the two towns over jurisdiction, being finally resolved by the Winchelsea Certificate of 1364 which established Poole as a port and set the boundaries. Ever since, the Beating of the Sea Bounds ceremony, a tradition which is unique to Poole, has been held regularly to reaffirm the boundaries.

The Mayor, acting in her capacity as Admiral of the Port of Poole, opened her Admiralty Court at the Custom House on Poole Quay, appointing a Jury whose job was to tour the boundaries. During the opening ceremony, two local children were symbolically ‘punished' by flogging and being pricked with a bodkin to remind them of the boundaries (known as the Pins and Points ceremony); today this is of course only a representation and the children, in the the first of six such rituals during the day, actually receive gifts of leather bound thongs as keepsakes.

The Jury began early by visiting the Broomhill Stone in Hamworthy to meet the ‘Squire of Hamworthy', then proceeded to another boundary stone at Redcliffe Atwell before rejoining the Admiral's flotilla.

In the meantime the Mayor, on board her Admiral's Barge and flying her Admiral's Flag, went up-river to be met by another boat containing the Mayor of Wareham at the boundary of the port jurisdiction; that Mayor and his constables boarding the Admiral's barge for the remainder of the day.

The flotilla then headed to Brownsea Island to meet the Chairman of Purbeck District Council and to ensure the guns of Brownsea Castle, the traditional defence of Poole Harbour, were not trained on Poole shipping. The Admiral and her civic party landed for lunch, kindly provided by the National trust, while her Barge and the flotilla headed out to sea to locate a Humber barrel which had been floated out to mark the seaward boundary of the Port.

Following lunch and with the flotilla still away, the Mayor used a pilot boat and the Royal Marines landing craft to cross to Rockley Point on Sandbanks to confirm another boundary point and conduct another Pins and Points ceremony. Returning to Brownsea Island, the Mayor reboarded her Barge and the flotilla headed back towards Poole Quay.

On the way back, the Admiral's Barge was subjected to a dastardly attack by pirates from Bournemouth Sub-Aqua Club (in an amusing footnote, their boat broke down on the way and the ‘pirates' had to be rescued by the RNLI so they could carry out their attack!) Fortunately the Jury were alert and overcame the pirates, stringing up their ringleader from the mast (but only as a dummy!) and taking the remainder back to Poole Quay in chains.

Returning to the Quay, the Mayor was stunned to see thousands of people lining the Quay awaiting their return, and was moved to receive an ovation as she disembarked and headed for the Custom House for the closing ceremony. During the ceremony, she received a hilarious report from the Foreman of ther Jury about their perambulations and then dismissed the Court, leaving the Sheriff to condemn the pirates to walk the plank. Sadly, the first pirate managed to break the plank by jumping rather than falling off, saving his accomplices from a similar watery fate!

The long day was followed in the evening by a dinner and dance, during which the Mayor paid tribute to all the many individuals and organisations who had contributed to make the event possible.

Cllr Mrs. Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "The day and evening was a credit to the huge amount of people involved to make it the resounding success that it was.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite teetering on the edge of various boat decks and gantry planks during the day!! The children were amazing and I am certain will remember their very special day for the rest of their lives, I told them all that without them, the day could not be undertaken and that they were playing a huge historic role in their participation, they all received a gift of a specially woven thong with a gold dolphin pin badge which they all promised to wear with pride on their school uniforms. It was a huge undertaking - 16 months of planning and a few frayed tempers but the outcome was superb and I am delighted that my Charities will benefit from the profits made from both events."

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, led by her macebearers, parades along Poole Quay before the Beating of the Sea Bounds Ceremony.

In the opening Pins and Points ceremony, the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, presents a young lady with her souvenir of the day.

The Admiral's flotilla heading up-channel to meet the Mayor of Wareham.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, shares one of her outrageous jokes with an old friend on board the crowded Admiral's Barge.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the Mayor of Wareham, his Sergeant at Mace (left), and two scary Wareham constables.

In a typically generous gesture, the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, passes bacon butties to the Poole lifeboat crew who forgot to bring any lunch.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, on Brownsea Island with her husband David Butt and a ‘pirate' who managed to infiltrate her Barge.

On board Poole's Pilot boat at Rockley Point at Sandbanks, the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, ‘punishes' another young lady (who doesn't look very upset!) to remind her of the port boundaries.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, back on Brownsea Island with her Mayor's Secretary Jo Clements and her family.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the sea cadets who escorted her on the day - note the pilot boat in the background.

Returning to Poole Quay, the Admiral's barge is subjected to a dastardly attack by ‘pirates' from Bournemouth Sub-Aqua Club.

With the pirates subdued, the Mayor can relax and enjoy the remainder of the trip back to Poole Quay.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, at dinner in the evening with her husband David Butt and jazz band Gemini.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with Poole Rotary Club President David Endicott and his guests, who helped organise the dinner after Gordon Alder was taken ill.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with Council colleagues at the dinner; talking with David Gillard while Neil Sorton is in the background.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with daughter Georgina and some friends at the dinner.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with Mayor's Chaplain Mark Skelton at the dinner.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with friend and expert photographer Stephanie Penrose at the dinner.

They said they were still sober - the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with Mayor's Secretary Jo Clements and Charity Committee Chairman Jackie Maynard collecting empty (???) bottles after the dinner.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, attended a performance of ‘The Seven Deadly Sins' musical drama at the Alexander Studio Theatre in Bournemouth.

Liz Ferrie, an accomplished professional singer, performer and drama teacher, was approached in 2002 by one of her students to produce a show for charity. The result was the formation of the Curtain Up Productions theatre company, based in the Alexander Theatre in Westbourne. Since that time the company has continued to grow, producing musical drama shows on a regular basis. With her own daughter Georgina already a pupil at the drama school, the Mayor has lent her support to the theatre company.

Greeted by Liz Ferrie, the Mayor was delighted to open the show with a speech of encouragement for both performers and their parents who support the theatre company. The show proved to be a hilarious musical struggle between a bumbling angel and ‘Old Nick' himself, illustrating the effect of the seven deadly sins on ordinary people. Ultimately, of course, ‘The Boss' intervened and ‘Old Nick' retired to fight another day.

Cllr Mrs. Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "It was a super evening of wonderful songs and a hilarious story line all performed by young adults ranging from 15 to 24, with two more senior adult leads. This theatre is really beginning to make its mark and the company certainly have a lot to offer. Why not sample an evening for yourself - you are certain to find yourself joining in all the choruses even if you don't know the words exactly, and tapping your feet and other digits along with the music."

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the leading lights of ‘The Seven Deadly Sins' musical drama at the Alexander Studio Theatre.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with her family at the performance at the Alexander Studio Theatre.

Bumbling angel Liz Ferrie goes head to head with ‘Old Nick' in song at the Alexander Studio Theatre.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with members of the cast of ‘The Seven Deadly Sins' musical drama at the Alexander Studio Theatre.