I started this week with a trip to The Core for the Flourishing Futures graduation ceremony on Monday. It celebrated the achievement of pupils from a Multi Academy Trust which covers Castle Bromwich Infants and Juniors, Fordbridge Primary, Kingshurst Primary, and Windy Arbor. Flourishing Futures gives the children a chance to go on trips, join workshops, and do special career-focused learning even at their young age.
They all looked great in their graduation gowns, and they should all be extremely proud of what they’ve achieved through the programme. The Mayor of Solihull, Sardul Marwa MBE JP, was on hand to give them their awards, which no doubt made it even more special for them and their families and teachers. I’m really impressed with the scheme and I hope other schools consider doing something similar as it’s such a great opportunity.
The day before I had the absolute pleasure of attending St. Bernards in Bloom. It’s a local open gardens event which raises money for charity, and there was such a lovely energy about it with lots of people turning up to enjoy the gardens, have a nice chat and maybe a small glass of Pimm’s or afternoon tea in the sunshine. It was a wonderful vision of pastoral England and so nice to meet lots of new people and see the fruits of all their hard work in their gardens. Whilst they were all impressive, I was particularly taken with some magnificent hostas I saw in one garden and grateful to get some tips as I never seem to have much luck with them!
Looking forward now, and there are plenty of events in Mell Square over the coming months, with a fantastic programme of food, markets and family-friendly attractions bringing extra energy to the town centre. Easy Streat, which will bring some of the Midlands’ finest street food to Solihull starts up on Thursday 9 July and runs on the second Thursday of the month through to October. Then we’ve got Mell Square Market week from 14-16 July with a different theme each day. There’ll be artisan food and drink on the Tuesday, then crafts and collectables Wednesday and finally fashion, accessories and vintage on Thursday 16.
Looking even further forward to future careers for young people, it's National Work Experience Month in July. If you run a local business which could offer an opportunity to a young person looking to find their way in the world, why not sign up through the link. We also have our own Solihull Youth Trailblazer programme which matches 18–21-year-olds to employers offering paid and unpaid work experience opportunities.
Finally, whilst it wasn’t exactly relaxing England are through to the next round of the World Cup. I’m pleased that the government is allowing pubs to stay open late, they (and we) were put in a tough situation with licensing requirements and scheduling, so this is the right way to do it. I expect I might see some bleary-eyed people on Monday. Let’s hope we can find a way to win again and then we can get back to watching the remaining rounds at slightly more sociable hours.
Thanks for reading,
Karen