Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole 2006/07

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, who was Sheriff of Poole in 2005/2006, accompanied by her husband and Consort Mr David Butt and the current Sheriff and his lady attended the annual National Conference of Sheriffs held this year in the ancient city of Norwich.

The event was held over three days. On the first day the Civic Party travelled up to Norwich in the Mayoral Car and arrived just after lunch.  After settling in at the hotel the party attended the first reception of the event that evening at Norwich Castle in the City, where they were met by four past Sheriffs from Poole and their Escorts and a huge group of other Sheriffs from all over England and Wales.  Our Mayor, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, could not resist trying out the throne and crown for size. Norwich Castle, one of Norwich City's most famous landmarks, was built by the Normans as a Royal Palace 900 years ago. Used as a prison from the 14^th century, the Castle became a museum in 1894.

The following morning the Sheriffs met for their AGM at Norwich City Hall. Sadly, as in every year there were obituaries of past Sheriffs to be heard and this year was particularily sad with 6 deaths since the last AGM. However on a lighter note the attendance of present Sheriffs was especially good with 14 of the 15 Sheriffs of England and Wales attending the 22^nd Annual Conference. The City Hall was completed in 1936, only five years after the Civic Centre in Poole was built.

The AGM was followed by a buffet lunch and then the Sheriffs and our Mayor split into their variouls groups to attend the pre-arranged tours of the City. Our Mayor Cllr Mrs Judy Butt holds with just a few others the unsual position of attending the Sheriff's convention as a Mayor as the majority of the Sheriff's posts are held by members of the public and not Councillors, so the natural progression from Sheriff to Mayor is not the accepted rule as in Poole where the situation is almost unique.  There was one other Mayor in attendance who was Sheriff last year, the Mayor of Gloucester, and of course the Mayor of Norwich who formed the welcoming party from Norwich itself together with the Sheriff and Chief Executive.

That evening all Sheriffs met in the Assembly Hall in Norwich and enjoyed a delicious meal and an excellent after dinner speaker Mr Alan Ketford a solicitor of the City and a true wit to boot. The following Sunday morning the currently serving Sheriffs, our own Mayor and the Mayor of Gloucester and Norwich met at the Octagon Church. The Sheriffs then robed and joined their colleagues on the City Hall steps for photographs. The whole group then processed around the City in a huge long line stretching some two hundred feet long.  The Poole Sheriff took up his place with his lady in alphabetical order at the front of the procession and our Mayor in full chains was honoured to be asked to lead the past Sheriffs procession with the Mayor of Gloucetser, they followed closely behind the main body. The whole procession was led by the ‘Norwich Whifflers' who dressed in colourful Elizabethan jester costumes were accompanied by the ‘Norwich Dragon' a mythical beast that in past days chased away children and vagrants who stood in the path of the procession of those in high office.

The whole procession filed into the Church of St Peter Mancroft and took part in a delightful thanksgiving service where the Sheriff of Norwich and the President of the Sheriff's Association both read the lessons. After the service the group met in the Octagon Church for coffee and then bidding their goodbyes to each other left to return to their own homes.

Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "This annual event was a true success and enjoyed by everyone present. I very much look forward to attending the next Sheriff Convention in 2007 to be held in Haverford West in Wales."

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, tries out the throne and crown at Norwich castle during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

Norwich Castle, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

Norwich City Hall, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Council Chamber in Norwich City Hall, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

Norwich market with the Castle in the background, Norwich City Hall, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

Norwich Guildhall, Norwich City Hall, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The crooked house, one of the many sights in Norwich.

The Mayor's Consort, Mr David Butt, with the Sheriff and Deputy Mayor, at the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the Sheriff's lady and Deputy Mayoress, at the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with Norwich Town Crier David Bullock, at the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the Sheriff of Poole and the Mayor and Sheriff of Norwich, at the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Mayor of Norwich with the group of serving Sheriffs, at the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Octagon Church in Norwich, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The magnificent stained glass window in the Octagon Church in Norwich, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Norwich Whifflers, taken during the National Conference of Sheriffs.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, presented awards to outstanding members of Poole Sea Cadets at TS Drax in Poole.

The Mayor was ‘piped aboard' with bosun's whistles by guard of honour L/C Joe Miles and A/C Grant Hughes, and attended the branch AGM during which the unit's Commanding Officer Lt Colin Webb described the sea cadets' activities for the past year and how TS Drax had improved its performance, then announced his pending retirement during the coming year. The Mayor then took great pleasure in presenting some 17 awards to various cadets, including her own youth escort Tom Newman who had achieved ‘cadet of the year', and made an encouraging speech to the cadets and parents.

Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "These awards are a success for the whole unit, including those cadets who may not have won anything this evening, every cadet is part of the whole team and it is only by being part of that team and working for each other that such accolades are achieved, in my eyes they are all winners. I was very proud that my own chosen Mayor's Youth Escort Tom Newman had been named as Cadet of the Year and that the part he played in accompanying me and my husband David with many Poole War Veterans to France to lay wreaths in honour of the fallen earlier this year had played a large part in reaching the decision to award Tom with such a fabulous accolade. He is a delightful young man and a true representative of all the Cadet forces in Poole" 

TS Drax's guard of honour, L/C Joe Miles and A/C Grant Hughes, practice their salute assisted by the Mayor's son, A/C Charles Butt prior to the award ceremony.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with her Consort Mr David Butt, Commanding Officer Lt Colin Webb and officers and committee members of TS Drax.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, presenting an award to her own youth escort Tom Newman at TS Drax.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, was asked to introduce the Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Nick Petford who was set to deliver a very special lecture given at Bournemouth University about ‘How volcanoes work'.

The Mayor had first met Professor Petford at his welcoming reception in June this year when he was appointed as BU's Pro Vice Chancellor.  He had promised to invite the Mayor back at a later stage and she was delighted to be invited to introduce him to an awaiting audience for his first lecture of the season. After the well researched introduction by the Mayor, (as Professor Petford is a man of many letters and degrees), the professor described in understandable but fascinating terms what makes volcanoes erupt or explode, and what the consequences can be. He also discussed the recently discovered ‘super volcanoes' and the risks they posed, and laid to rest the much-publicised threat of a collapsing volcano on La Palma causing a giant tsunami. After completing a series of lectures at Bournemouth University, Professor Petford plans to travel to Montserrat to study the Soufrière Hills Volcano.

Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "It was quite a challenge to be the warm up person for such a learned and erudite man, but with a couple of jokes and an admission of total ignorance on my part as to the volcano front the stage was set for a relaxed and enjoyable evening. The prognosis for the volcanoes in the so called ‘Ring of Fire' around the Pacific Ocean is quite alarming but thanks to the constant research and vigilance of people like Professor Petford we will always be assured of the knowledge of an eruption before it occurs!"

 The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, being welcomed by Bournemouth University's PR Manager Mr Charles Elder.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with Bournemouth University's Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Nick Petford.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, entertained a group of Japanese Local Government Officials from Tokyo in her Parlour, she invited the Sheriff to attend with her and was delighted to welcome Mr Peter Devlin who escorted the group and Mr Tim Martin our Borough Solicitor. The group had been interested spectators at that morning's Citizenship Ceremony.

The three visitors displayed a great interest in the workings of British local government, testing the Mayor's knowledge and experience and delighted when she rose to the challenge.

Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "It was heartening to discover that we all want the same things for our communities.   Even though we are thousands of miles apart both in distance and culture we agreed that we all wanted stability, a balanced economy, a good education for our children, a fair and balanced social services provision and a sustainable environment that we will be proud to hand onto our children. I was delighted to be presented with a beautiful box of five pairs of assorted coloured chop sticks one for each member of my family which also pleased Tako who presented them to me.  In turn I presented each of them with a Twin Sails lapel pin and a history of the Mayoralty which they were equally delighted with, especially the Twin Sails pins as they had heard so much about our new bridge!"

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, with the Sheriff, Poole's Head of Legal Services, and the visiting Japanese local government officials.

The multi-coloured chopsticks presented to the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, by the visiting Japanese local government officials.

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, accompanied by the Sheriff, presided over a Citizenship Ceremony in the Marriage Room at the Civic Centre. The ceremony was very ably led by our own Acting Registrar Christine Stainton.

A record number of 17 applicants attended to swear allegiance to the Crown, originating from Eastern Europe, Africa, India, the Caribbean and many other countries. The Mayor gave a moving speech of welcome and presented a citizenship certificate to each person.  The Sheriff supported the Mayor in a short address, and the participants were then presented with a short history of the Mayor and Sheriff. Following a photo session which everyone took advantage of, the Mayor and Sheriff talked with the new citizens at some length.

Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, Mayor of Poole, said "These ceremonies are always a delight to both the Sheriff and myself, the participants take such pride in preparing for the day and on many occasions will come in their own national costume which I acknowledge as an act of honour to us. They look magnificent and to a large extent many have made the costumes themselves. I am very much looking forward to the Guildhall being opened next April as the citizenship ceremony will be moving there which will be an idea venue for such a special occasion for all involved!"

The Mayor of Poole, Cllr Mrs Judy Butt, and the Sheriff with the new citizens at the Citizenship Ceremony.