WEIGHT Watchers should have been with me at the opening of the new branch of Oak Furnitureland at Blackpole Retail Park, as the cake that was displayed as part of the opening ceremony was that of a young lady subject to a partially complete autopsy! A clever idea to reduce calorie intake, if a little gruesome! If you haven’t guessed, it was a fundraiser!


The opening of the VJ Day commemoration was a moving occasion, with a good turnout of both residents and members of the Royal British Legion. A short service was held on the steps of the Guildhall and afterwards, people could view the material on show at the stalls that had been set up either side of the entrance. Apart from the significance of this being the 70th anniversary, we were privileged to have Fred Seiker with us signing copies of his book Lest We Forget - a Booker prize winning story of the Railroad of Death in Burma.


Fred, a local chap, was captured when the Japanese invaded and overran the island of Java and he was sent to work on the Thai-Burma railroad, where the most horrendous of the prisoner of camps were, resulting in the highest number of deaths among all the camps. He was not repatriated until 1946. Fred is now 99 years of age, he will celebrate his 100th birthday on November 20. Fred once said, “You never live until you have almost died”.


On a lighter note I then had the great pleasure of opening the 13th Worcester Festival which started with the great sounds of the Gugge Band as they rhythmically swaggered up the High Street from Elgar’s statue. Then The Rock Choir followed Gugge, and both gave the crowd some really great entertainment! This year the festival hosted 387 events at over 32, venues of which 228 were free. And a further 118 were less than £5!


The Worcester Show over in Gheluvelt Park was the best yet, it has been estimated that some 10,000 visitors came - and what a show! This event has been getting bigger and better each year. This time had more than 900 entries in the marquee and over 150 local exhibitors, representing exceptionally high standards.


Michelle Newell and her team excelled in producing this truly great event, the weather smiled and the wonderful atmosphere completed the picture. Everyone I spoke to (and that ran into hundreds), said they’d had a lovely time. My thanks to “Our Team” at the City Council for delivering such a good event.