On the evening of Monday 1 July 2019 we enjoyed the Badge Ceremony for our twelfth cohort of graduates. We held the event in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour on the nineteenth floor of Westminster City Hall, which provides breath-taking views of central Westminster, notably Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial. The ceremony was presided over by the current Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councillor Ruth Bush, and our President, Steve Summers, who was Lord Mayor in 2016-17.
Ruth was first elected to Westminster City Council in 2005 as a Labour councillor for Harrow Road Ward. She has worked as a community worker and a teacher, has run a hostel for homeless young women, and has worked in Parliament and set up a parliamentary consultancy targeting smaller voluntary sector organisations. Ruth told us about the Lord Mayor’s STOMP, which will be the strapline for her year in office: Speak To One More Person. The idea is to encourage all of us to enhance wellbeing across Westminster by having a friendly word with someone we don’t already know.
Members of this year’s management committee did the Class of 2018-19 proud for their Badge Ceremony. In particular, Richard McHardy addressed the gathering, Lou Cohen announced the names as Ruth and Steve handed out the badges and certificates, and Katie Alcock took the photographs. Several other members of the committee were there, too, to organise the event, which included a delicious spread of refreshments. Course director Caroline Dunmore was in attendance with two-thirds of her team of support tutors, namely Catherine Cartwright and Fiona Lukas, but the third support tutor, Sean Patterson, had to make his excuses as he is currently performing in “The Mousetrap” at St Martin’s Theatre in the West End. Whodunnit, Sean?
We would like to congratulate all 35 of this year’s cohort of graduating students and welcome them as fully badged-up Westminster Guides. Their names are: Caroline Aldous, Bridget Andrews, James Becker, Carmo Colaço, Jill Dalton, Julie England, Ian Fagelson, Shirley Fortune, Moses Gonzalez, Teresa Howell, Simon Jones, Mark Kelly, Veronika Kiesswetter, Stephen King, Anna Larin Alabi, Michael Marriott, Susan McEvoy, Caroline Mongan, Ulrike Murphy, Pam O’Toole, Daniel Parry, Alyna Poremba, Neil Riddington, David Rouland, Adrian Rouse, Philip Scott, Adam Scott-Goulding, Lee Seabourne, Benedicte Semont, Terry Silvers, Philippe Tomlinson, Edward Tucker, Christine Wilkins Molloy, Christopher Williamson, Irina Zaraisky.
By Dr Caroline Dunmore