OPINION: I’m pleased to see so many in Harrogate supporting people of Ukraine - Mayor Trevor Chapman

I am pleased that so many people in the district are supporting the refugees.

I arranged for the Ukrainian flag to be flown at the council offices and also at the cenotaph to express our thoughts for the Ukrainian people.

To move to a happier event, I took part in a tree planting ceremony in the Valley Gardens on February 6 to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

This was followed by the Mayoress and I attending the Queen’s 70th Anniversary Service at Ripon Cathedral.

On February 7 we attended a 21 gun salute at the Museum Gardens, York, again to honour the Queen’s 70 years of service.

The Ice cream and Artisan Food Show took place at the Yorkshire Event Centre February 8-11.

Myself and the Mayoress had the honour of opening the show during which I welcomed the exhibitors to Harrogate and hoped they return in future years.

We were given a tour of the stands at the show and were invited to sample their products!

Another highlight of the mayoral year is to visit and see the wonderful work being carried out by charitable organisations in support of people with learning difficulties.

One such visit was to Jennyruth Workshops at Copt Hewick.

It was delightful to see the benefits this brought to all the students.

The students prepare various products for sale to help fund the organisation, please support them if you can.

We were pleased to attend a Harrogate College Final Masters Preview Evening held at Hopwell Studios in Knaresborough on February 18.

The exhibition included work by two students and featured mainly pottery items and we were impressed by the quality on show.

The Mayoress and I had a most enjoyable evening at the Bilton Ladies Forum AGM which was followed by a beetle drive. The event was held at the Bilton Community Centre on February 22.

The Mayoress paid her monthly visit to the meeting of Harrogate Spa Ladies on March 2 and listened to an interesting talk entitled “Women In War”, rather apt at this point in time.

I carried out my role as chairman at a meeting of the Full Council in the evening.

Myself and the Mayoress attended Stonefall Cemetery where I was privileged to present a cheque for £15,000 to the Motor Neurone Association.

Twice a year the Borough Council’s Bereavement Services raise money through the recycling of metals recovered from cremations with consent from the bereaved families.

The recycled metals include those used in the construction of coffins and in orthopaedic implants such as hip, knee and replacement joints.

Motor Neurone disease is a fatal rapidly progressing disease that affects 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time.

The money will be used to help improve access to care, research and campaigning for those affected in the community.

On March 3 we visited the Artizan Café and Creative Space in Cambridge Road and their shop in Oxford Street.

Artizan International is a grass roots charity enabling, empowering and supporting disabled members of our local community.

The charity provide a number of arts and crafts skills and during our visit we saw members and volunteers producing a range of mosaics.

I urge everybody to support this organisation if they can.