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Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress outside Buckingham Palace
The Queen’s Garden Party
The Lord Mayor Len Gregory and Lady Mayoress Gill Gregory were delighted to be invited to The Queen’s Garden Party on Thursday 22 July at Buckingham Palace. Garden parties are among the most relaxed and informal Royal events. The Queen's Garden Parties have been held at Buckingham Palace since the 1860’s and take place three times a year. They are a way of rewarding and recognising public service and now take the place of presentation parties. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress were honoured to be in attendance. Once the 8,000 guests were present, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by other members of the Royal Family entered the garden whilst the National Anthem was playing by a military band.
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, together with other members of the Royal Family, circulated among the guests through 'lanes' which are peculiar to Royal garden parties. Each took a different route to enable everyone a chance to speak to Her Majesty and members of her family.
The guests were from all walks of life and came on the recommendation of large national organisations who submit lists on a pre-arranged quota. Garden party invitations are sent by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office in the Lord Chamberlain's name on behalf of The Queen and all the arrangements are planned by the Lord Chamberlain's Office.
The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress enjoyed tea, cakes and a stroll in the beautiful gardens. The quantities served are enormous; at a typical garden party around 27,000 cups of tea are drunk and over 20,000 sandwiches and slices of cake are eaten.
At 6pm The Queen and other members of the Royal Family left the garden, as the National Anthem played which marked the end of the garden party. It was splendid afternoon which the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress both enjoyed immensely.
Armed Forces
Armed Forces Day
The Lord Mayor Len Gregory and Lady Mayoress Gill Gregory hosted Birmingham’s Armed forces Day on Saturday 26th June in Birmingham City Centre. The annual event is an opportunity for the nation to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community from currently serving troops to veterans and cadets. It’s a chance to show support, commemoration, and to honour the forces past, present and future.
The event started at 11am with the names been added to the Book of Remembrance at the Hall of Memory. Throughout the day there were live stage performances, including the Fourth Mercian Band and The Band of the West Midlands Fire Service. Visitors had the opportunity to see WW1 displays of billets, a field hospital, military vehicles, trench displays, interactive drills and even take part in an assault course.
There were information about recruitment, food demonstrations and taster sessions by the Royal Logistics Corps Veterans societies. The day ended with a veterans parade through Centenary Square and a salute. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress throughouly enjoyed the event and are immspeley proud of the Armed Forces community.
Birmingham's New Lord Mayor
In late May, Councillor Len Gregory was officially installed as Birmingham’s new Lord Mayor, taking over the role as the First Citizen of Birmingham from Councillor Michael Wilkes.
Speaking about his appointment, the new Lord Mayor said: “It is the single greatest honour that can be bestowed on someone Birmingham born and bred”.
Len and his wife Gill aim to raise the profile of as many voluntary organisations as possible and to personally thank the many hundreds of volunteers who keep these groups going year after year. They want to encourage the people of Birmingham to take pride in the City, as they feel that Birmingham’s greatest strength is in its residents and they will be relying on the city’s support this year in raising funds for the Lord Mayor’s Charity Appeal
Check out the video below of the outgoing Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Michael Wilkes as he hands over to the new Lord Mayor of Birmingham Cllr Len Gregory.
