An Historical Tea with the Mayor  

A few weeks ago we received a really wonderful invitation in the office: tea with the mayor, Cllr Jane Chambers, in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Town Hall.  It is typical of this mayor to have been so gracious: instead of just inviting me, she extended her generosity to the whole team – both those permanent staff and the several interns that have joined us in the last few months. So on Wednesday, in the blazing sun, we walked from my office in Fore Street to the Cornhill.  As I passed Granny I looked up and there she was, waving at us from her window.  We were met on the steps of the Town Hall by Andrew, the Town Sergeant, who gave our little group a guided tour of the building, ending in the mayor’s suite of rooms. Some of you will have seen them for yourselves: every year the mayor hosts hundreds of Ipswich people in the parlour.  There is a long corridor...