Lord Provost Bill Campbell Blog #15

Hello, and welcome to my End of Month Blog #15 as the Lord Provost of Dundee.

Following the recess period, activity has taken an uptick and it has been good to get out and about meeting with many of the people who make Dundee the interesting and unique place that it is.

Activities over the past month have included:

• On Tuesday 1st, I met with Mary McGregor and Mike Whitehead of the Dundee-Nablus Twinning Association where I offered to host a civic reception for their organisation’s 30th anniversary and the use of the Twinning Room for their meetings within certain times;
• I met with Sally Carus of the Dundee-Orléans Twinning Association (DOTA) on the morning of Wednesday 2nd to discuss hosting a civic reception for DOTA’s 30th anniversary and offering the Twinning Room for their meetings again at certain times;
• On Tuesday 15th, I invited Dundee-Würzburg Twinning Association Secretary/Treasurer Jenny Young to the Twinning Room to congratulate her following her presentation of the Würzburg Twinning Medal in Germany in recognition of her work supporting the city partnership;
• I met with the Co-Chairs of the Dundee-Würzburg Twinning Association, George Laidlaw and Ged Ryan, on Wednesday 16th where we had a short but positive discussion on a range of matters;
• On Monday 21st, along with Council Leader John Alexander, I made a visit to the Tayside Children’s Hospital in Ninewells Hospital courtesy of The Archie Foundation. We received a guided tour which was a wonderful experience seeing the facilities and incredible work carried out by the Archie Foundation Tayside and NHS Tayside staff;
• On Tuesday 22nd, I had the privilege to meet with and wish Harry and Ethel Finnegan congratulations on the event of their 70th wedding anniversary. I also met family members and was made most welcome;
• On Thursday 24th, I met and had a chat with Taylor MacKenzie in the Twinning Room on the Civic Floor. Taylor brought her two Gold Medals with her that she won in two of the freestyle swimming events in the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 as part of the GB team;
• Also on the Thursday, I presented Sgt Alan Stirton of the Dundee Sea & Royal Marine Cadets TS Duncan 113 with his Lord Lieutenant’s Meritorious Service Award in the company of his family, friends, and colleagues. He served the unit for over 29 years;
• Again on Thursday, I welcomed five S6 pupils who have received support from the Rank Foundation and were undertaking their community placement in Dundee. The students, accompanied by David Dorward and Janis Petzinger, were given a tour of the City Chambers and Civic Floor;
• On the morning of Saturday 26th, I attended the Big Help Out at City Square where I was invited to give a speech and had the opportunity to go around and speak with every stallholder;
• Later on Saturday 26th, the Lady Provost and I attended a performance of the musical ‘The Naughty Carriage on the Orphan Train’ at the Dundee Rep Theatre. It was an outstanding show;
• On Tuesday 29th, I had a meeting with Dundee Fair Trade Forum’s Sally Romilly and Richard McCready to discuss ways in which the Lord Provost’s Office can work with Dundee Fair Trade;
• Also on Tuesday 29th, I had the honour of hosting a civic reception on Tuesday 29th in the City Chambers for delegates of the Year of Gothic Women Conference who came from all around the world to Dundee for the literary event at the University of Dundee;
• On Wednesday 30th, I was invited by Alzheimer Scotland to their local Football Memories group where I was asked to talk about my time working in professional football;
• I also attended a dinner at University House, on invitation from Professor Iain Gillespie, on Wednesday 30th where I met and discussed with leaders from Dundee’s Education sector and local representatives;
• On Thursday 31st, I gave a civic reception for the Broughty Ferry Amateur Operatic Society to celebrate their impressive 100th anniversary. It was very good to meet with some of the performers, directors, volunteers and patrons making Broughty Opera what it is today.

For updates as they occur, you can find the latest Lord Provost news and activities on both Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you for taking the time to read my Blog and I hope to update you further on my civic responsibilities in the next edition which will summarise my activity in September.

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