The Queen’s visit to Harold Hill, the Olympic torch relay and the Royal Anglian Regiment marching through Romford – it has been a very busy year for Havering Mayor Cllr Lynden Thorpe.
The mayor reflected on her time in office before handing over the chains to Cllr Eric Munday (Con, Squirrels Heath) at a ceremony at Havering Town Hall on Wednesday last week.
She said: “I end my year with an overwhelming sense of pride in Havering and its residents.”
Cllr Thorpe started her year by attending a huge number of street parties across the borough during celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
She said: “Fortunately, the intermittent heavy rain didn’t dampen the spirits of our residents or lessen their celebratory mood.”
It was then on to the Olympic torch relay where she was able to “chase the torch from Hornchurch to Rainham Village”. She said: “Everyone turned out in such numbers to see and mark this occasion.”
In October, Cllr Thorpe had the honour of meeting the Queen during her visit to Harold Hill to officially open the Drapers’ Academy.
In November, the Royal Anglian Regiment marched through Romford as part of their homecoming parade after returning from Afghanistan.
Cllr Thorpe said: “The brave young men and women parading through our town within days of returning from Afghanistan was, in my mind, a strange mix of feeling both humble and proud at the same time. I again salute their bravery.”
Over the year, Cllr Thorpe visited many schools and witnessed the “dedication and commitment of the teachers and staff”.
She was also invited to a number of school pantomimes and plays and entertained many youngsters in the mayor’s parlour.
She said: “The children asked many questions, some of which were quite challenging and certainly kept us on our toes.
“I would like to think that this will help our young people to appreciate the democracy we live in.”
Cllr Thorpe comes from a family of local mayors.
Her father was mayor of the old Romford District Council in 1951 and her grandfather was mayor in the 1930s.
She added: “There have been so many events, all of which, in one way or another, underlined for me the tireless efforts of so many to enrich the lives of both the community and individuals.”
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