Civic Duties: Not just for servants.
A well-attended Civic Sunday offered an opportunity for recently elected Mayors to meet, exchange ideas and discuss their role in the community. The event normally takes place as soon as a new Mayor is inaugurated and dates back many years in the towns’ history.
After a brief photo call and with the majestic and architectural centrepiece providing a fitting backdrop to the day, the procession began marching to the beat of the award winning Alderley Edge Scout Band drum
The column of regional dignitaries, led by Knutsford Town Mayor Councillor Tony Want, snaked their way down the A50 towards the recently planted floral roundabout, where Cheshire Police were on hand to direct traffic away from Canute Square.
The eighty-six strong parade arrived at the entrance to Princess Street in an ordered yet relaxed fashion, and with distinct pride in their step they headed into the town proper. Sadly, the streets were not thronging with crowds and no hand flags were seen waving as the members steadied towards St.Johns for the parade’s service.
Civic Sunday represents the coming together of charities, local organisations and civic institutions such as the Police and the local council. It is an important event in the Knutsford calendar, even though we learned that some council members declined to take part in the parade for various reasons. The event needs supporting at least on grounds of civic pride regardless to the personal opinion.
Editors comments: Pride lost?
Perhaps our civic pride had become a forgotten element in everyday life, that a simple commitment in supporting the local community is no longer seen as valuable or perhaps even fashionable. The current thinking is that time comes at a premium, with community issues taking a back seat, but the real truth is that civic duty is seen as more of a chore, someone else’s problem, over that of a personal contribution to this or any other town.
Simple functions that take just moments to execute, such as picking up the odd piece of litter from street, even helping someone less able to cross the road, have been torn out from the sociological book of “Apathetic Great Britain”. Even the work and effort committed to by volunteers goes unnoticed by the wider population. The Moor is testimony to volunteers, both civic and public, working together to create a space worthy of the towns stature.
That energy and commitment is founded in connected agenda-less thinking by people who wholly believe in working for the greater good that is powered by the glow of civic pride. With National Identity being a major topic, we need to look into our history to understand how the past lessons can help create a improved environment, a better space to live in with better social equality for others without commercial sacrifice.
Photography: Knutsford based, Jonathan Farber
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