Karl Webb, Candidate for Huntingdon Central Ward

14/06/2026

What a fantastic day down at Riverside Park for the annual Riverside Gala. Well done to all the Gala committee members and supporters for bringing this event for residents and visitors to enjoy.

The Mayor of Huntingdon, Cllr Patrick Kadewere officially opened the gala after being escorted into the arena by the Bedford Pipe Band (and other local pipers). Well done to Yavin Owens for acting as compere for the day.

I didn’t manage to complete the whole day due to family commitments, but I hope the selection here shows just what fun everyone was having. After the flypast from the Battle of Britain Dakota, I headed off home.

As always, thanks go to every member of the Gala committee for putting on such a great event, thank you to all the safety teams, stall holders, food and drinks vendors, Dinosaur keepers, tortoise rescuers. Fire eaters, pipers, DJs, stilt walkers, rodeo managers, wrestlers, pilots and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, first aiders and responders, ambulance teams, fire fighters, marshals, and anyone else supporting the event that I may have missed.

This event was not organised or managed by any of the local councils, so I am not trying to take anything away from the gala committee, but it was good to see many of our local councillors (town, district and county) out supporting this event as well.

Finally, as I often finish my posts, thank you to every resident and visitor who went to the riverside park to enjoy the day; it was one of the busiest I have seen in many years, well done everyone.

13/06/2026

Huntingdon Riverside Gala has been opened by The Mayor of Huntingdon - Cllr Patrick Kadewere. Come down for a day of fun and entertainment.

12/06/2026

Amongst my favourite activities as a councillor is supporting the two annual Pensioners’ Tea Parties (Summer and Christmas), today was a ‘Trooping the Colour’ themed event at the Coneygear Centre.

Unfortunately, the Mayor of Huntingdon, Cllr Patrick Kadewere, and the Deputy Mayor of Huntingdon, Cllr Freya Cushman, were on a training course, so I was asked to give the welcome to our guests (of which I was more than happy to do).

Joining team members from Huntingdon Town Council (including David, our Macebearer) and town councillors, were volunteers from RAF Wyton. Our thanks really do go out to them; they kept our pensioners fed and watered but also spent time to have a chat with everyone and helped dish out raffle prizes at the end of the afternoon.

Paddy Swallow was back with us to provide medical support and ensure the event went smoothly and safely. I was pleased to see my friend, Mel from Raw Theatre Productions, back to keep us entertained for the afternoon.

It was also great to see some of our newly elected councillors joining in, especially Cllr Yavin Owens who stepped in to do the quiz results and raffle (and even joined one of our pensioners for a dance).

I would say that the afternoon was a great success; it is always a pleasure to chat with everyone, there are always plenty of laughs with such wonderful company.

Final thanks go to each and everyone of our pensioners, you really made our day as well as having fun yourselves. Special thanks go to Mel, Paddy, Air Commodore Judith and the volunteers from RAF Wyton, to Nicola and the Teams from the Town Hall and Coneygear Centre, David our Macebearer, and to our town Councillors who attended today, well done everyone.

A final thank you to end this post must go to our Amenities Officer, William. Well done for all the work you have done in organising today’s event, a truly fun afternoon for everyone.

11/06/2026

Motion passed to fly the Progress Pride Flag during Pride Month at tonight's Town Council meeting. Well done all.

This evening, Huntingdon Town Council resolved as part of its flag flying policy to fly the Progress Pride flag during Pride Month. We need to seek planning permission so it will take effect next year.

The photo is of Labour, LibDem, Conservative, and independent members celebrating.

06/06/2026

Great to join members of the Royal Society of Saint George for their annual reception at Buckden Towers this evening. Guest of honour was one of our Deputy Lieutenants of Cambridgeshire, Mr Daryl Brown MBE DL, representing the Lord Lieutenant. Hosting was Sarah Gifford, Chair of the Royal Society of Saint George, with members of the society supporting this evening’s event.

Also attending were civic guests, town mayors, chairs, and representatives of town, District, and County Councils, Armed Forces Associations (including me representing the Royal Naval Association), St John’s Ambulance and our emergency services, as well as other community groups and supporters.

Always good to catch up with friends, especially Sarah, James and Lorraine, Charles and Autumn, Padrica and Josette, Steve and Audrey (and many others of course).

Well done everyone, thank you for your company, and thank you to Sarah and the members of the Royal Society of Saint George for hosting us all.

I wanted to add to this post that today is also the 82nd Anniversary of D-Day, so a fitting time to be wearing my Royal Naval Association blazer and medals, we will always remember those who fought for us, many making the ultimate sacrifice to being us freedom.

Sadly (as a Royal Naval veteran who served in the Fleet Air Arm), I also wore my Fleet Air Arm tie tonight in memory of Lt Cdr Chris Gayson, Lt Lily-Mae Fisher, who was Britain's only female Royal Navy commando, and Petty Officer Owen Green, who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, my thoughts are with their families and friends at this time, Rest in Peace shipmates.

06/06/2026

On 6 June 1944, 156,000 British, American and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches along the fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious assaults in history.

In 2021, a new D Day memorial was unveiled in Normandy. The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,424 servicemen and women who were killed on D-Day and at the Battle of Normandy. Due to covid restrictions, a limited number of veterans were in attendance. Veterans and relatives joined the service online, or via media coverage, and paid their respects with a two Minute’s Silence being held at 1100.

During my service in the Royal Navy, I was proud to attend the 50th Anniversary service at Arrowmanches in 1994; leaving Portsmouth onboard HMS Edinburgh, and accompanying the Royal Yacht Britannia and a fleet of ships, we sailed across the channel in honour of those who went before us.

Today is the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings, I will continue to remember those I never met, but without them, we would not be living the lives we do today.

We Will Remember Them.

22/05/2026

Another great Sunset Beats and Bites in Huntingdon today. Always good to see Charlie and Rehanna performing outside the town hall.

A packed Market Hill shows how popular these events are, thank you to Huntingdon Town Council and Huntingdon First for organising the stalls, food, live music and an opportunity to bring the community together, well done all.

22/05/2026

With a great weather forecast for the weekend, why don’t you pop down to the King of the Belgians (KoB) for their four-day ‘King of the Beer Fests’ weekend!

I dropped in this afternoon to see the Mayor and Mayoress of Huntingdon, Cllrs Patrick and Marion Kadewere, open the weekend’s activities and poured the first pint. The mayor does not drink but was very pleased to see residents and guests (including me) start to fill the courtyard up and start tasting the many sponsored drinks at the bar.

Always great to chat to the team at the KoB, they really do look after everyone, so if you have time this weekend, stop by and sample some of the drinks before they run out!

Breaking news: The KoB have just found out that they have won Five CAMRA awards, including Cambridgeshire Pub of the Year, well done everyone.

For more info on the King of the Beer Fests, visit their page: KING OF THE BEER FESTS | Facebook

16/05/2026

A great start to the Local Government year, councillor training for new and returning councillors.

Thank you James and our team from Huntingdon Town Council. Every day is a day to learn something new.

16/05/2026

Your Central Ward Councillors.

* I can't change my profile name back to Cllr Webb until 17 June :-(