Cllr Gill Cleeve - Shottery

12/06/2026

11/06/2026

**REMINDER WALK IS TOMORROW EVENING **

Stratford's Walk with us will take place on:
Friday 12th June 2026
⏰6:15pm-7:15pm
📍Meeting outside Royal Shakespeare Theatre,Waterside, CV37 6BB

🥾Come along to speak to us, meet your local team, or just come along for a great walk!
🐾Dogs are welcome !!
This walk is approximately 2 miles, suitable for all and will finish back at the start.
** This event is for all Women and girls, who live and work in Warwickshire** Under 14's must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
We will also be supplying some personal safety products; we look forward to meeting you 😀👮‍♀️

09/06/2026

I grew up in a house full of books. My mum was a librarian, and from her I learned early that a library is not just a building full of shelves. It is one of the few places left where anyone, whatever their age or background or bank balance, can walk in and find a door to a bigger world.

A library is never neutral by absence. Our libraries work to careful professional standards. Collections are curated by trained staff, age-appropriateness is built in, and the professional body for librarians, CILIP, treats freedom of access to information as a core ethical duty, not an optional extra.

That is the part so often missed. A library’s job is to open doors, and to trust families and trained professionals to do the rest.
Every child deserves to find themselves on a shelf, and to discover lives unlike their own. That is what libraries have quietly done for generations, my mum’s included.

06/06/2026

Spare a thought today for the tens of thousands of young men who were storming the D-Day beaches 82 years ago this morning.

Most of them were barely more than boys. They climbed into the landing craft in the dark, knowing full well what was waiting for them on the sand, and they went anyway. They went because fascism had taken hold across Europe, and someone had to stand against it. By the end of that single day, more than 160,000 Allied troops and 6,000 vehicles had crossed the Channel and gained a foothold on the beaches of Normandy. It was the beginning of the end for fascism in Europe, but there was a long way still to go. They had to break out, push the Germans back, and free a continent.

We rightly remember the men who ran up those beaches. But behind every one of them stood others who made that morning possible. The engineers and the medics. The sailors who got them across the Channel and the aircrews overhead. The women working in the factories, on the farms, on the switchboards and in the field hospitals. The codebreakers and the planners who never fired a shot but carried the weight of it all the same. D-Day was not down to the soldiers alone. It was a whole nation, at home and abroad, pulling together against tyranny.

And then there were the families. The mothers and fathers, the young wives, the children who waved someone off and then waited, and waited, for news. The British and Canadians suffered around 83,000 casualties across the Normandy campaign, and the Americans around 125,000. German losses were close to 400,000. Every one of those numbers was a person, and every person left a family behind them.

The British Normandy Memorial records the names of the 22,540 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy in the summer of 1944. Every name was someone’s son, someone’s husband, someone they loved.

They were so young. They stood against fascism so that we would never have to live under it, and they gave up everything they might have had so that we could keep what we have. The very least we can do, 82 years on, is remember them.

04/06/2026

From Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service

Are you planning on having a barbecue soon? We are sharing our top tips to help you stay fire safe whilst outdoors this summer.

Learn more: https://orlo.uk/S7NyN

01/06/2026

It’s Pride Month, and I’m proud to stand as an ally. 🏳️‍🌈

Being an ally isn’t a badge you wear once a year. It’s something you live all year round. It’s speaking up when it would be easier to stay quiet. It’s listening, learning, and using whatever voice or platform you have to make sure everyone feels they belong.

To my LGBTQ+ friends, colleagues, and neighbours, and especially to the trans community: I see you, I value you, and I will keep showing up for you. Always.

Love is love. Everyone deserves to feel safe, seen, and celebrated for exactly who they are.

Happy Pride. 🌈❤️

17/05/2026

Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and here is something I feel strongly about.

Being an ally isn’t about shared identity, it’s about shared humanity.

Discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is still far too common in this country, and the trans community in particular is facing a really difficult moment. Following last year’s Supreme Court ruling, trans people are now legally recognised only as their biological s*x, leaving many people genuinely uncertain about their rights in everyday situations . That is not a small thing. That affects real people, people’s safety, dignity, and sense of belonging.

I made a decision earlier this year to leave an organisation I had been part of for a long time, because I could not reconcile staying with my conscience on this issue. That wasn’t easy. But some things matter more than comfort.

I believe in equality. Not just when it’s popular, not just when it’s easy, and not just for people who are like me.

As an MP said in Parliament this February, it should not be necessary to state that there is nothing wrong with being le***an, gay, bi, trans or q***r. And yet in 2026, it still is necessary to say so.

LGBTQ+ rights must not be taken for granted.

The fight for equality must go on, and I will always stand with those who need an ally beside them.

17/05/2026

Lovely Civic Service today at Holy Trinity Church, with Stratford upon Avon Town Council.

15/05/2026

Another civic year over, and another one begins.

Today was Mayor Making at Stratford upon Avon Town Council, and I am delighted to welcome Councillor Sam McNaught Barrow as our new Mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon and Councillor Letty Petrovic as Deputy Mayor. Wishing them both a wonderful year ahead in their new roles.

But today, more than anything, I want to take a moment to celebrate Cllr Dani Hunter as she steps down as Mayor.

It was my honour to deliver the vote of thanks to you this afternoon. Here it is in full, because you deserve every word of it.

𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅-𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏-𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒏, 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 16𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝒂𝒚 2025 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔: 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒔, 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆.
𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒚.

𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓, 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚, 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒚.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅-𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏-𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝑽𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑨𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒄𝒌, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔. 𝑵𝒐 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕.

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑰𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅-𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏-𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒏. 𝑰𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅.

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕… 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑰’𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝑱𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒐𝒋𝒕𝒊𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒔, 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕, 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒓, 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑.

𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍. 𝑰𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔: 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅-𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏-𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒚𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏: 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒔.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔: 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 130 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒅 12 𝒂𝒕 𝑩𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒎 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒔 𝑯𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍.

𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔.

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝑮𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆.
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊, 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑.

𝑺𝒐 𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒊, 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝑰’𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂 𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅.

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆.

𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅-𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏-𝑨𝒗𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

It was also wonderful to be joined today by the High Sheriff of Warwickshire, the new Mayor of Leamington Spa, the new Mayor of Kenilworth, and other civic dignitaries from across the region. It is always a pleasure to come together for occasions like this, and I look forward to seeing more of you throughout the year ahead.

What a day.

15/05/2026

After ten years Emma Davis retires as Beadle.

That’s how long Emma has been the steady, smiling presence at the heart of Stratford’s civic life, caring for our Mayors through every ceremony, every service, every Mop Fair opening and Christmas visit.

I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Emma since I became a councillor in 2019, and even more closely during my year as Mayor in 2022/23. She is thoughtful, professional, and quietly brilliant at everything she does, from the grandest civic occasion to the small moments of calm she brings behind the scenes.

Emma holds a special place in this town’s history as the first woman ever to serve as Beadle, a role that stretches across Town Council meetings, Shakespeare celebrations, Remembrance Sunday, and the full breadth of our civic calendar. She has carried it with grace, warmth, and no small amount of humour.

Stratford is better for the decade she gave it.

Thank you, Emma. It has been a genuine honour. ❤️