Malvern Civic Week
Malvern celebrated their very own Civic Week last week with many turning out, making it a resounding success.
One of the highlights of the week was through a series of concerts by a children’s choir from their twin town, Marianske Lazne in the Czech Republic who sang at the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Malvern, Coun Julian I’Anson, Chairman of the Malvern Hills District Council, Coun Barbara Williams, Chairman of the Worcestershire County Council, Coun Ian Hopwood, and Chairman of Civic Voice, Mr Freddie Gick. This took place in Malvern Theatres and the Chairman of the District Council presented the prizes for the Schools Literary Competition.
The mayor praised Malvern Civic Society stating:
“Society depends to a large extent on volunteers. Whether it is the 80-year old gardener who cuts our grass because he always has; the school governor who strives for the best education for young people; or the magistrate who helps to keep law and order. And then there is Malvern Civic Society which promotes the well-being of the town by supporting local projects, encouraging high standards of planning and design, and preserving the best of the past for the people of Malvern – be it a potting shed or a much grander edifice. There are many parts of the world that could benefit from such a Society right now. So well done Malvern Civic Society and may your good work continue for many years.”
Visitors were able to view displays and audio visual presentations about Freemasonry with particular reference to the Lodges (Masonic groups) that often meet in the Malvern Hall.
Malvern also had a ‘Guest of Honour’ turn up at their event. Philip Serrell who is of course known as Malvern’s very own celebrity auctioneer made an appearance. What is not so well known is that Philip is also a Freemason himself and is a member of one of the Lodges that meet in Rainbow Hill in Worcester. Philip presented cheques to local charities for funds raised by Malvern Freemasons. Also not so well known is that Freemasonry is second only to the National Lottery in fund raising for charity in the UK!
Philip is a regular expert on the BBC series Bargain Hunt and Flog It! and has also made a couple of appearances on ITV's Dickinson's Real Deal. He has also featured on other BBC series Antiques Road Trip and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (where he is light-heartedly billed as Phil "The Fox" Serrell). He has regularly appeared on BBC Local Radio, and has also written a biweekly column for the Worcester News.
A great effort from everyone conerned!