Agenda item

Former Councillor June Broome RIP

The death of former Councillor June Broome was recorded.  A tribute to her

was paid by Councillor Carl Handley, who recalled the services she had

rendered to the community not only as a Councillor but as a School Governor,

Health Authority Member and Conservation Area Planning Panel member. 

A further tribute to her was paid by Councillor Stella Jeffrey who remembered

her as a person dedicated to the highest standards of public service and who

had encouraged her towards serving as a Councillor.

Former Councillor Bruce Robertson RIP

The death of former Councillor Bruce Robertson was recorded.  A tribute to

him was paid by Councillor Liam Curran who recalled him as a kind and

civilized Councillors who held strong views.

A further tribute was paid to him by Councillor Chris Best who recounted that

he had been a Founder and Trustee of Sydenham Gardens and who together

with his devoted wife had been staunch supporters of the Labour Party.

Doug Smith RIP

The Mayor announced the recent death of Doug Smith who had been a long

term supporter of the Pensioners Forum alongside his wife Doris who had

served as Chair for many years. He had also held key positions as a local

trade union official. A further tribute was paid by Councillor Jim Mallory who

said they had played golf only 2 weeks before. His humanist funeral was to

take place on April 25 at Hither Green Crematorium.

Brussells Atrocity

The Chair distributed a joint statement issued by Lewisham Faith Leaders

which highlighted a proposed Lewisham Interfaith Walk for Peace due to

commence at Catford Synagogue at 1pm on Sunday May 29 and he urged

members to lend their support.

All present observed a one minute silence in memory of June Broome, Bruce

Robertson, Doug Smith and the victims of the Brussells atrocity.

Matagalpa, Nicaragua

The Chair welcomed, the Ambassador of Nicaragua, Her Excellency

Ambassador Guisell Morales-Echaverry to the meeting. She had been invited

to the AGM in honour of the 30th anniversary of Lewisham’s twinning with

Matagalpa.

Ambassador Guisell Morales-Echaverry addressed the meeting, stating that it

was a great honour to appear and extending warm greetings from Nicaragua

and Matagalpa in particular. She said co-operation between the two localities

separated by the Atlantic Ocean was continuing as witnessed by the recent

visit to Lewisham by a Matagalpa representative of the Coffee Fair Trade co-

operative. She formally presented a letter from the Mayor of Matagalpa

who had sent a 30th anniversary greeting and an invitation to visit his

community.

The Mayor responded by saying by saying he had been delighted that

Lewisham had been able to host Ivana Calderon Peralta and that she had

been very successful in describing the benefits of Fair Trade to young people.

He noted that there was only one serving member, Councillor Liam Curran,

who had previously visited Matagalpa and that the letter now received from

their current Mayor was extremely welcome. The Mayor said he would be

responding positively to the invitation and would be giving serious thought as

to how best to renew connections to ensure another thirty years of strong and

powerful relationships.

Lewisham NHS Choir

The Chair was pleased to announce the chart topping Lewisham NHS Choir

had accepted the invitation made by the Council in January to perform after

the AGM had risen.

London Marathon

Councillor Paul Maslin was invited to announce details of Lewisham’s

participation in the London Marathon in aid of the Lavender Trust, a charity

set up by a former Councillor to aid young women suffering from breast

cancer. The participants were to be:

Theo Bahannack, Crime, Enforcement & Regulation Officer

Robert Browning, Accountant

Ann Marie de Cabral, Customer Service Officer

Hannah Luik, Youth Offending Service Officer

Terence Madgett,  Principal Accountant

Bill Turner, from 106 Regiment at Grove Park

Matthew Impey, from 1475 ATC Squadron

James Knibb, putative relative of Council employee in Governance

Mark Curtis, Production Manager of Council's Holocaust event