Minutes:
The Mayor welcomed everyone to the second Council meeting of the summer.
1. Condolences to Grenfell Tower Survivors
The Mayor began by offering her sincere, heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the friends and family of people who had lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower tragedy; her sympathy for the turmoil they were going through as the authorities tried to make sense of what had happened on that fateful June evening.
The Mayor thanked the members of staff here in Enfield for their continued work with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and for their efforts to secure new homes for those affected, those who were in distress, without a place to live.
2. Engagements since the last meeting
The Mayor said that, since the last Council meeting, she had been busy with her mayoral duties and had met some exceptional members of the community.
The Mayor highlighted the following from her engagements of the past month.
17th June 2017 – The Mayor had attended a Family Fun Day celebrating Carers Week. Caring was the theme for this year’s Mayor’s charity. The Mayor said that the work being done by carers was remarkable.
18th June 2017 - The 75th Anniversary of “Operation Squabble” at Christ Church in Southgate. The Mayor said that she found it interesting to attend the event, commemorating the actions of the British pilot, Alfred “Ken” Gatward, a Southgate resident, who on 2 June 1942 had flown over occupied France and dropped a Tricolore (French Flag) on top of the Arc De Triomphe, in one of the most daring, but not forgotten acts of precision flying in World War 2. A replica flag, which now hangs in Christ Church, was presented by representatives of the French Government at a special ceremony in Broomfield Park on 28th July 1949. It has hung in the church ever since. Ken’s act of defiance against the occupying forces is now seen as an important symbol of comradeship between the UK and France.
19th June 2017 – The Mayor met 20 National Management Graduate Trainees in the Parlour for lunch during their day of interviews. Following the event she wished them all great success in their future roles.
21st June 2017 - The Mayor attended the House of Commons for the 4th Atul Pathak Community Awards Ceremony and was delighted to see that an Enfield based community group won an award.
23rd June 2017 the Mayor attended the MAD Charity Cricket Match, which she found very enjoyable.
The Mayor attended the African Caribbean Asian Women in Politics Gala Dinner, run by a previous Mayor, now Dr Kate Anolue, who was recently awarded a Doctorate by a Nigerian university.
She also attended a number of events on the Armed Forces Celebration Day.
The North London Sri Lankan Cultural Event was a great success as an all-inclusive community event.
27th June 2017 - The Mayor attended the official opening, alongside Prince Andrew, of the Meridian Angel Primary - a new voluntary aided school.
28th June 2017 - The Governors Awards on the allowed the Mayor to meet some of the boroughs finest governors and was able to thank them for the valued work that they did in our schools.
3. Launch of the Mayor’s Charity
On the 30th June 2017, the Mayor launched her charity, Enfield Cares, which was a success. She added a big thank you to all the volunteers who had contacted her about working with us at such a level of commitment, especially Hayes Rees, a McMillan Co-ordinator, who made the evening very special.
4. Deputy Mayor’s Engagements
The Mayor also made reference to a few of the many events attended by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Doris Jiagge, including on Sunday 9th July 2017, the 30th Anniversary of the Ingleborough Estate – an occasion organised to celebrate 30 years of the estate and the work the residents have done to help maintain the area in which they live.
The Mayor thanked Councillor Jiagge for her work and support.
5. NHS Event
The most recent event that the Mayor had attended was on the 5th July 2017, a visit to Chase Farm hospital to celebrate the 1948 launch of the NHS. (The NHS was now in its 69th year and would celebrate its 70th in 2018.) The Mayor met, congratulated and thanked the nurses, doctors, porters and cleaners on duty without which our NHS would not survive. She also presented a NHS birthday card to a nurse working on a 12 hour shift. Tough working! She gave a sincere and warm thanks to all the staff for their work and dedication to our NHS.