Mary Reid

Mayoral things quieten down over August so I've had a chance to finish some proof reading and make final changes to the books I've been writing and editing. (For more details of what I do see this selection on Amazon).

But this pitch for business caught my eye on The Wordsmith's blog. A colleague of his had received it in an email.

Me and my partner are currently in the process of starting up our business offering a proof-reading service directly too students. We have our own web-site being developed and are finalising the last touches of our marketing campaign.

However we are still looking for experienced proof-readers who can provide a service and work on a free lance basis. Basically what will happen is we get an email off a student asking for a piece of their work to be proof-read. We then forward it on too the specialised proof-reader (possibly you) who reads the work and emails it back.

We would appreciate it if you could email me back too let me know if your interested in working for us on this freelance basis. We currently have 15 retired lecturers, professional proof-readers and phd students who have agreed too work for us and hope you will aswell?

If you agree i would also appreciate it if you could possibly proof-read a test piece of work we have developed to check if your upto standard. A cv and a bit about yourself would also be useful so we can develop a unique profile on our website for you.

We look foward too hearing from you!

Kind Regards

I'm speechless, for once.

Rose of Kingston - the new theatre directed by Sir Peter Hall - is finally getting ready for its fit-out.

It has been swathed in a splendid huge temporary artwork called K2. The work was developed by Liz Rideal from an earlier design called Kerfuffle that covered Broadcasting House during its renovations.

David Jacobs, Liz Rideal and Sir Peter Hall in front of the installation

When the sun comes out I have to cover my legs.  I have now discovered, courtesy of the BBC, that the 'heat rash' I get most years has a proper name - polymorphic light eruption.  It has even been subjected to serious medical research, although I found this explanation easier to understand.

It's not the same a prickly heat, which affects the damp bits, but is simply triggered by exposure to the sun. And amazingly 10%-20% of Northern Europeans suffer from it. Since it is more of an inconvenience rather than a medical problem, few people discuss it with their doctors.

I had worked out for myself that no medication can either prevent it happening, nor make it go away when it arrives, although a high factor suncream (with good UVA protection) can help. The only real solution is to avoid the sun.

Rather bizarrely, Google reveals that the Swansea band The Caves released a single called 'Polymorphic Light Eruption' last year. What were they thinking of?

A pub running a gala weekend and beer festival - who could resist it?

So here am I on a rather unpromising afternoon at Woodies Free House cutting the ribbon, trying the real ales (over 40 to choose from!) and visiting the charity stalls. The main beer tent was balanced by a Junior Tent for children selling soft drinks and other treats.

The local Animal Rescue had brought along some of their animals, included a goat that was determined to escape. (Does anyone have a link to this?)

The Shooting Star Children's Hospice is the main beneficiary of the weekend.

This is the second pub in New Malden that has been running  a community festival - The Fountain held the Korean Food Festival last month. The general principle is an excellent one; they offer the local community good family entertainment as well as providing a welcome boost for trade.

Over 40 gardens were entered this year for the Kingston in Bloom competition.  The entries included tiny front gardens full of containers, pub window boxes, children's plots, public spaces as well as some glorious back gardens.

One of the prizes was won by a group of four neighbours who had worked together to produce a wealth of colour along the path that runs in front of their homes.

There was an interesting focus this year on sustainability and we were treated to an excellent presentation on how to encourage biodiversity in our suburban gardens.

Some of the prizewinners, with their highly appropriate and topical prizes.

I had to confess that I am not a gardener, so I wore my 'Jacket in Bloom' to mark the occasion.

Kingston upon Thames, as a borough, has only 150,000 inhabitants, yet it receives 500,000 visitors each week. During the summer around 70,000 head to Chessington World of Adventures, but the majority of visitors are drawn to the great shopping and nightlife in the centre of Kingston.

This puts real pressure on the Kingston Police because their resources are allocated on the basis of the resident population. In spite of this we have the lowest crime rates in London.

Chief Superintendant Angela List, the Borough Commander, spoke about her work in a talk yesterday evening. This was the first Public Annual Lecture of the Kingston Branch of the Chartered Management Institute, which has about 1000 members in the borough.

She described how policing has changed through her career, especially with the introduction of community policing through the Safer Neighbourhoods teams. These ward-based teams deal with anti-social behaviour and their aim is to intervene early and so prevent the actions from escalating.

I was able to pay credit to this work which has transformed policing in my ward. But some residents are reluctant to report low-level crime because they still believe that the police do not have the capacity to deal with it. This is no longer the case. It is important that the ward teams get all the information they can to build up a picture of what is happening.

Here are some contact numbers for non-emergency calls - you may need to leave a message on the answer phone.

• Kingston Police Station: 020 8541 1212
• Surbiton Police Station: 020 8287 5625
• New Malden Police Community Office: 020 8942 6038

Each ward team also has its own number which it distributes widely in the area.

The Cancer Research UK shop in Eden Street closed last week for a revamp. 

This morning many of the volunteers who make the place successful turned up for the re-opening.  Two of them have been doing their stints at the shop since it opened 21 years ago!

We have always valued charity shops because they provide good quality clothes, and other goods, at affordable prices whilst benefitting the charity. In recent years they have become fashionable hunting grounds for retro clothing.

But lately we have also begun to realise the significant role they play in the waste management cycle.  The mantra - Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle - places the re-use of products before recycling. What better way of re-using items than by donating them to a charity to sell on.

Here is the text of my statement to the press about the terrorist threats.

Thanks to their hard work and professionalism, it would appear that British officials have been successful in foiling a significant terrorist attack. Whilst the Metropolitan Police Service is playing a lead role in the ongoing investigations, the arrests made in London have been concentrated to the north of the Capital and Kingston has not been directly affected. Nevertheless, I'm sure many residents of the borough have had their holiday plans disrupted or are worried about friends and relatives who are travelling abroad.

Kingston upon Thames is proud to be a place where communities from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds live peacefully side-by-side. At times like this, it is more important than ever that we all stand united and that no communities are singled out for blame of any sort. Terrorism is a dreadful crime against us all and it can only be defeated if the law-abiding majority work together. It is this display of togetherness that will ultimately stop people from plotting and carrying out these terrible acts.

What better way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon than sitting under the trees in Canbury Gardens by the river listening to a band?

Except that today the 'summer' only appeared briefly between sharp showers and thunderstorms. Nevertheless, dozens of people did stop and pull out chairs to listen to the Cobham Band. The players were mercifully sheltered on the bandstand - one of my favourite places in the borough.

The band's musical director, David Ruel, gave us a suitably summery programme of music from the shows and popular classics.  I particularly enjoyed Simon Bristow's expressive solo in 'I don't know how to love him' on the flugel horn.

This is one of only a few concert brass bands in the area and so, in spite of its name, it draws on players from Kingston and gives concerts in the borough from time to time.

In fact. I've heard them and enjoyed their playing several times in the past, but this time they invited me to come along officially, which I was very pleased to do.

The 9th Korean Festival on the Fairfield today was a delight, in spite of the chilly breeze.  I was expecting to find...

... wonderful silk costumes, exciting new foods (that's the Mayor of Merton tasting kim chee - pickled cabbage - with me), music and dancing.

But I wasn't expecting to witness a traditional wedding, which we were assured was a real one.  The couple bowed to each other several times and shared cups of wine before being congratulated by the large crowd that had gathered.  Here they are with the Chairman of the Korean Residents Society in the UK, Mr W I S Seok.

I had supplied a greeting for the Festival brochure and wrote:

The Korean community is an important and integral part of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, and the annual Korean Festival has grown into a well-established highlight of the summer season for all our residents.  

As Mayor, I warmly welcome you once again to the Fairfield and hope that all the preparations for the day are rewarded by fair weather and good attendance.  At a personal level I am very much looking forward to enjoying once again the dance, music and superb costumes, as well as the excellent Korean dishes.   

Korean culture greatly enriches the whole of our Royal Borough, and is shared in a generous spirit of friendliness. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in planning, staging and promoting the 9th Festival in 2006.  

I also had the privilege of meeting the Korean Ambassador, Dr Yoon Je Cho, and hope to meet up with him again during the year. He spends some time in the Kingston area, and consulate services are provided locally in New Malden. This is because the Korean Community in the borough, and stretching across the border in Merton, is the largest one outside South Korea itself.  In fact, Koreans comprise 12% of the population of the Royal Borough and make a significant contribution to the economic as well as cultural well-being of the borough.

The day actually began with a parade of veterans of the Korean War, in the 1950s. They had assembled from all over Britain and were warmly welcomed by the Korean hosts. 

(Thanks to Carl Brown of Merton for this photo)

This was not my only encounter with the Korean Community this week. On Wednesday the Korean Restaurants and Supermarkets Association in the UK (KORSA) kindly presented me with a cheque for my charity.  (Photo to follow)

As I was driven around Kingston yesterday morning with the Home Library Service we kept the radio on LBC to catch all news on the foiled terrorist attack and its impact on travellers. I'm sure everyone has tales to tell of cancelled holidays and disruption.

I flew from the States back to Heathrow at the weekend - so I've felt a real sense that the danger was remarkably close.

One thing that I am adamant about is this: we must not let the threat from extremists damage the exceptionally good community relations that exist in Kingston.  I will be putting out a statement along those lines on Monday, jointly with Borough Commander Angela List and John Azah, Director of Kingston Racial Equality Council.

If you think I look terrified in this photo, then you are right! Those clubs were whizzing past only a couple of inches in front of my nose.  I'm not sure that the Council had done a full risk assessment before I was subjected to it....

Just one of the delights of Thumbs Up, It's Thursday.

If you are housebound then the Home Library Service must be a godsend. Emma Burnside, who manages it, and her team select a box full of books, videos and audio tapes for each client, and take them round on a monthly basis.  They know exactly what genre each person enjoys and what they have read before.

But I was surprised to discover that they also supply balls of knitting wool. Many elderly people enjoy knitting and people leave wool in the libraries for this purpose. I learnt today that the maternity unit at Kingston Hospital benefits from some of the results - caps and blankets for tiny babies.

Emma and colleagues packing the boxes

Two very satisfied clients

David Jacobs was 80 in May and we finally got round to celebrating his birthday this evening with a reception in the Mayor's Parlour. Eleven former Mayors, who had all worked with him, came along, together with Honorary Aldermen, trustees of Kingston Theatre, and a number of other civic figures. It was a relaxed and enjoyable event.

I first met David ten years ago when Ian was installed as Mayor and David was the Representative Deputy Lieutenant (representing the Queen) at the ceremony.  He had to pin the Mayoress's chain on my shoulders, which was an interesting way to make the acquaintance of such a well-known personality. Later that year he was made a Freeman of the Royal Borough along with Bob Smith, the then Vice Chancellor of Kingston University.

I found this quote about him:

A consummate professional, David Jacobs has spanned radio and television. His image has always been suave and immaculately blazered, and yet he found huge success in the altogether more casual world of the disc jockey.

You can see from the photo that he did not let us down this time. Like many, I have logged his career from 'Juke Box Jury', one of the first TV programmes devoted to pop music in the late fifties, right through to his still-running Sunday night show on Radio 2. He has been voted BBC TV Personality of the Year and BBC Radio Personality of the Year, as well as Britain's Top Disc Jockey (six times!).

So why was the highest honour that Kingston can give conferred upon this famous broadcaster? He took over as the Representative Deputy Lieutenant some 20 years ago and this involved him in many ceremonial duties, which required him to wear a deeply uncomfortable uniform. He also threw himself into the life of the borough, supporting a number of charitable and voluntary organisations, notably Steadfast Sea Cadets and the Royal British Legion. He stood down as DL about three years ago and is now Kingston's High Steward.

A key moment came in 1988 when David agreed to lead the campaign to create a theatre in Kingston.  He is still the Chair of the Board of Kingston Theatre Trust, so the event today turned into a bit of a celebration of the news that, at last, the Rose of Kingston is definitely going to be completed and opened in the next year or so.

So ... Happy Birthday, David!

The two freemen ...Dr Robert Smith CBE, former Vice Chancellor of Kingston University, chats with David Jacobs CBE

Ten former Mayors, and the current one, with David Jacobs - (from left, standing) Peter Gray, Frank Gaisford, Jane Smith, Cllr Chrissie Hitchcock, Cllr Shiraz Mirza (unfortunately hidden behind me from this angle), Cllr Ian Reid, Douglas Reynolds, Jenny Philpott, Jeremy Thorn, and (seated) Eileen Gray CBE

The other former Mayor, Cllr Yogan Yoganathan, chats with three trustees of the theatre, Cllr Barry O'Mahony, Alan Stevenson and Roger Chown