Mayor of Bewdley, Coun Nicole Harper, writes for the Standard.
THIS month has gone very fast.
We raised £1,098 from the quiz I organised in September and, by the end of my year, I hope to give more than £1,000 to each of my three chosen charities.
On World Rivers Day, I was honoured to welcome over 100 participants at the day event organised by CARP (Communities Against River Pollution) in Bewdley.
CARP’s volunteers have been working hard over the past 18 months, testing the waters of the River Severn for harmful chemicals.
They have a lot of support in our community, including that of Robert Plant, and are always happy to welcome new members.
I joined in the 25th anniversary of the Wyre Forest Talking Newspaper, meeting its many volunteers who deliver local news each week to 120 people with visual impairment.
I was also invited to the official launch of the H.E.L.P Tulip Tree Centre in Kidderminster, which does such a great job of supporting the local homeless and people in need.
Both charities rely on donations and volunteers and welcome your help.
I had the great pleasure of giving out medals at Bewdley Library to children who completed the Summer Reading Challenge by reading six books in six weeks.
This runs every summer in our local libraries to ensure children do not lose their reading skills over the summer break.
The 37th Bewdley Festival also kept me very busy.
It is impossible to mention so many excellent artists and events who came to Bewdley this year.
My personal favourite was a real fun evening with the ‘Twitter poet’ Brian Bilston, who read just one serious poem in two hours of pure wit and laughter.
In Bewdley’s Riverside North Park, I recently unveiled the town council’s Memorial Tree, which offers over 200 leaves on which dedications can be engraved in memory of loved ones.
The council dedicated leaves to three important residents who passed away in 2025 – Louise Edgington, Jock Gallagher and George Evans.
And finally, I helped launch the consultation on the Bewdley Neighbourhood Plan.
Residents can visit the survey at: bewdleytowncouncil.gov.uk/ndp until next Sunday, November 16.
