The Front Page. - Copy 260 ( New Mayor, New Road, Port latest, Rowing.. )
23 May 2012
Hard working Councillor from Buckland Ward Anne Smith was elected Mayor of Dover on thursday night, a tranquil warm evening at the Town Hall. Salt of the earth Anne was Deputy Mayor last year, although it is probably fair to say that her profile could have been higher. Research tells us that not too many people outside of Buckland are familiar with Anne....so the time has come therefore for the new Mayor to make her mark on the wider scale. We wish her well.
In her acceptance speech Anne said that she is "proud to represent Dover at this exciting time, the time of the Olympic Torch celebrations, the Queen's Jubilee and the Military Tattoo." It emerged last night that Anne was rewarded by the then Labour Home Secretary John Reid for the rare Respect Award for her local work combating anti-social behaviour. Always a tough task taking on anti-social behaviour, but her efforts were recognised in high places. She is the only person in the South East with such an Award.
Anne was born on Coronation Day but it's not quite her Jubilee..she being a mere 59.
In a role reversal... almost Hollywoodian in style, the outgoing Mayor Cllr Ronnie Philpott will become Anne Smith's deputy for the coming year. Ronnie bid a tearful farewell to the role of Mayor in a moving speech during which she came close to breaking down. She got a huge round of applause for her year. Ronnie is a very popular and friendly lady.
PB.
Outgoing Mayor Cllr Ronnie Philpott makes a tearful farewell with Doverforum's Colette Boland after the ceremony. As mentioned in the opening lines above, Ronnie was tearful during her farewell speech and afterwards as you can see here. She was reluctant to leave the role behind and many appreciated her permanent good humour at all events throughout the year.
Pictured above left are two distinguished former Mayors both playing their part during the grand occasion, Cllr Gordon Cowan and Cllr Jan Tranter. On the right we have another former Mayor the lovely Diane Smallwood who has not been well in recent times. She made a terrific effort to be there on the night...seen here with Adeline Reidy of the Castle Street Society. The Castle St Society were recently recognised on this Forum for the huge amount of decoration they have carried out in Castle St for the upcoming Jubilee.
Sharing a joke with yours truly..Cllr Mick Smith who will be the Mayor's escort in the coming year, Anne Smith herself, and last but not least the Town Sergeant holding the mighty mace, Christopher Hobbs-East.
Pictures by ColetteB and PaulB.
See also the thread for further chatter.. http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10083
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East Kent is Open for
Many of you will have enjoyed driving on the super new roads over and around Manston Airport. Most agree that they are a huge improvement over and above what went before... yesterday the Minister for Local Transport Norman Baker MP officially opened the latest section. The roads are slick and fast flowing and indicate that East Kent is... Open for Business! We just need Manston Airport to fully function and join mainstream as a serious player and the region could get a terrific boost. We have a considerable thread on Manston Airport in our Forum expressing all views.
Local Thanet South MP Laura Sandys, the roads are in her constituency, attended the official opening and said...
"The opening of the East Kent Access Road will ensure that we are at the front of the queue, with journey times between the Ports of Ramsgate and Dover, and Manston Airport greatly reduced, we will no longer be left at the end of the line.
“As any business owner or holiday maker knows, accessibility is a top priority when considering relocating to a region or visiting on holiday. In today’s competitive environment, the completion of the East Kent Access Road and the planned train upgrades in the coming years will help East Kent establish itself as a centre for business, jobs and growth. This enhanced connectivity will help show investors that East Kent is open for business!”
The picture shows from left : Des Steadman, Cllr Paul Carter the Conservative Leader of Kent County Council, then the one wielding the scissors ..Norman Baker Libdem MP and Minister for Local Transport, John Burr, Laura Sandys local Conservative MP. Many thanks to Laura Sandys for sending us the picture. Here is a link to the Manston thread...
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10301
The sudden arrival of sunlight and all round reasonable weather has brought about an upsurge in activity in watersports on the briney blue. Our seafront is thriving and alive with activity. Let us hope that the good weather continues on from here, it's been a long time coming. The camera caught these guys powering forward in Olympian-style harmony in the evening sun earlier this week. All together now....jolly boating weather...
The two protagonists in the Port Wars appeared on TV tuesday night, both briefly making their case for their respective Port options, see the thread in our Forum which has lots of information from both sides of the argument....
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10367
Other hot topics in our Forum right now are.....
For all previous frontpage features.....
Say Hello to the NEW Mayor.
Hard working Councillor from Buckland Ward Anne Smith was elected Mayor of Dover on thursday night, a tranquil warm evening at the Town Hall. Salt of the earth Anne was Deputy Mayor last year, although it is probably fair to say that her profile could have been higher. Research tells us that not too many people outside of Buckland are familiar with Anne....so the time has come therefore for the new Mayor to make her mark on the wider scale. We wish her well.
In her acceptance speech Anne said that she is "proud to represent Dover at this exciting time, the time of the Olympic Torch celebrations, the Queen's Jubilee and the Military Tattoo." It emerged last night that Anne was rewarded by the then Labour Home Secretary John Reid for the rare Respect Award for her local work combating anti-social behaviour. Always a tough task taking on anti-social behaviour, but her efforts were recognised in high places. She is the only person in the South East with such an Award.
Anne was born on Coronation Day but it's not quite her Jubilee..she being a mere 59.
In a role reversal... almost Hollywoodian in style, the outgoing Mayor Cllr Ronnie Philpott will become Anne Smith's deputy for the coming year. Ronnie bid a tearful farewell to the role of Mayor in a moving speech during which she came close to breaking down. She got a huge round of applause for her year. Ronnie is a very popular and friendly lady.
PB.
Outgoing Mayor Cllr Ronnie Philpott makes a tearful farewell with Doverforum's Colette Boland after the ceremony. As mentioned in the opening lines above, Ronnie was tearful during her farewell speech and afterwards as you can see here. She was reluctant to leave the role behind and many appreciated her permanent good humour at all events throughout the year.
Sharing a joke with yours truly..Cllr Mick Smith who will be the Mayor's escort in the coming year, Anne Smith herself, and last but not least the Town Sergeant holding the mighty mace, Christopher Hobbs-East.
Pictures by ColetteB and PaulB.
See also the thread for further chatter.. http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10083
* *
East Kent is Open for
...Business
Many of you will have enjoyed driving on the super new roads over and around Manston Airport. Most agree that they are a huge improvement over and above what went before... yesterday the Minister for Local Transport Norman Baker MP officially opened the latest section. The roads are slick and fast flowing and indicate that East Kent is... Open for Business! We just need Manston Airport to fully function and join mainstream as a serious player and the region could get a terrific boost. We have a considerable thread on Manston Airport in our Forum expressing all views.
Local Thanet South MP Laura Sandys, the roads are in her constituency, attended the official opening and said...
"The opening of the East Kent Access Road will ensure that we are at the front of the queue, with journey times between the Ports of Ramsgate and Dover, and Manston Airport greatly reduced, we will no longer be left at the end of the line.
“As any business owner or holiday maker knows, accessibility is a top priority when considering relocating to a region or visiting on holiday. In today’s competitive environment, the completion of the East Kent Access Road and the planned train upgrades in the coming years will help East Kent establish itself as a centre for business, jobs and growth. This enhanced connectivity will help show investors that East Kent is open for business!”
The picture shows from left : Des Steadman, Cllr Paul Carter the Conservative Leader of Kent County Council, then the one wielding the scissors ..Norman Baker Libdem MP and Minister for Local Transport, John Burr, Laura Sandys local Conservative MP. Many thanks to Laura Sandys for sending us the picture. Here is a link to the Manston thread...
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10301
The sudden arrival of sunlight and all round reasonable weather has brought about an upsurge in activity in watersports on the briney blue. Our seafront is thriving and alive with activity. Let us hope that the good weather continues on from here, it's been a long time coming. The camera caught these guys powering forward in Olympian-style harmony in the evening sun earlier this week. All together now....jolly boating weather...
Check out our highly active Forum, where you will find all the hot topics both local and national.
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10367