On Tuesday, 17 May, I was honoured to be installed as the mayor of Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council at the traditional Mayor Making ceremony held in the historic council chamber of Cowbridge Town Hall.

Present at the ceremony were the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan, mayor of Llantwit Major, mayor of Penarth, my Fellow Councillors, some past mayors of Cowbridge and various other representatives of the local community.

For the first time, guests were able to view the ceremony online and I was pleased to see not only local residents but also people viewing from as far afield as Aberdeen. It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be the Mayor of a town which received its first charter in 1254 and in which the role of Mayor can be traced back to 1681.

As I said in my acceptance speech, the role of the mayor has two different aspects. One is the ceremonial, representing the town at civic events and maintaining the historic traditions. The other is to lead the council in representing the community and working with that community to look after and improve the town.

During the ceremony, I was pleased to announce that Anna, my wife, has agreed to be mayoress. I also announced the two charities which I will be supporting during my year as mayor: Barnardo's and Atal y Fro.

The mayoress and I decided that we wanted to support charities which help children who are growing up in difficult circumstances and particularly local children.

Barnardo's is of course a national charity but we will be raising money in conjunction with the Cowbridge Barnardo's Helper Group for Barnardo's work in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Cowbridge Barnardos Helper Group started when the Queen came to the throne, so it is perhaps an apt choice in this Queens Platinum Jubilee year. It is also a happy coincidence that the Lord Lieutenant is the Chair of the Cowbridge Barnardo's Helper Group.

Atal y Fro is perhaps less well known. Atal y Fro translates to Prevention in the Vale. Atal y Fro started in 1993 as Vale of Glamorgan Women's Aid but in 2009 changed its name to Atal y Fro.

Mayor and mayoress with (L-R) David Powell Mayor Llantwit Major, Gill Powell, Lord Lieutenant Morfudd Meredith, Mayor Vale of Glamorgan Jayne Norman, High Sheriff Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds, Samantha Buckley, Ian Buckley Mayor Penarth. (Image credit: Mike Wilcock).

Atal y Fro supports those in the Vale of Glamorgan affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. Their principal clients are obviously women but children can also be severely affected and are supported by the charity.

Following my acceptance speech it was my pleasant duty to propose a vote of thanks for the retiring mayor, Siân Vaughan. In Siân's 10 years as a town councillor, she has been mayor for three years and deputy mayor for two years, which I think must be some sort of a record.

After all the stresses of the last two years, Sian has decided to step down from the council completely, a decision which we very much regret but do understand. Sian certainly deserves some time off, some holidays and time with her family.

She has been a very hard-working and conscientious Mayor and I sincerely hope that at some time in the future Sian will seek to rejoin the council. Sian has put in a huge amount of work for the Council and the Community and deserves our sincere thanks and very best wishes for the future.

In her response, Siân mentioned some of the highs and lows of her time as mayor including highlighting some of the nastiness and unpleasantness that she has sadly been subjected to by a small number of individuals including some ex councillors.

After the ceremony, a number of people, particularly women, praised her for speaking out. Following the ceremony, photographs were taken and then everyone, including many of those who have been viewing online, adjourned to the main hall for an enjoyable finger buffet reception.

The next evening, the Annual Meeting of the council was reconvened primarily to agree on the composition of committees and meeting dates.

Since then, efforts have been focused on organising the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend events: Town Crier's proclamation at 14:00 on Thursday, June 2 in front of the Town Hall, beacon lighting event starting at 19:00 on Thursday, June 2 on the Athletic Field, and coffee morning and drop-in session in the Town Hall from 10:00 on Saturday, July 4.

All are welcome. Also progressing the recruitment of a deputy town clerk and town hall officer for which there have been a good number of applicants and we hope to have these posts filled soon.

Councillor John Andrew The Mayor Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council.

Tel: 07964 829780

Email: [email protected]