20/06/11 - Lord Mayor bid a right riveting read

City officials hope that the ‘right riveting read’ that makes up Gloucester’s 2000 year history will be the significant factor in helping it win Lord Mayor status.

The honour, bestowed by Her Majesty The Queen is given rarely  and would be a mark of the significance of the role played by the city in the nation’s history.

Gloucester is one of 12 cities across the country bidding to win in a competition being run to mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The 2,600 word submission charts its rise from the ‘peaceful’ Roman invasion in AD43 to the modern day.  Along the way is has seen the crowning of a king, the death of a king, the commissioning of the ‘Domesday’ Book, the pioneering of  jet engine  technology, the founding of Gloucester Cathedral and a ‘veritable stack’ of other historic events and legends.

And the bid, submitted by the City Council, does not duck the ‘thorny issue’ of the role played by Gloucester in the English Civil War when it sided with Parliament against the Monarch. As a result, and in punishment, the city’s walls which helped stave of the Royalist forces were torn down by Charles II when he came to the throne in 1660.

Council Leader, Paul James, commented: “You can’t rewrite history. There is no getting away from the fact that Gloucester’s relationship with the crown has not always been as loyal or respectful as it is today." 

“But you also can’t get away from the fact that Gloucester in one way or another has been centre stage in the nation’s history and has made massive cultural and economic contributions. The city’s role in pioneering jet age technology has helped transform the world in which we live." 

“Lord Mayor status will not be a cost to local tax payers. It would simply be Royal recognition for Gloucester - of the role the city has played over the past 2000 years, the progress we have made in recent times and the confidence we have for the future."

 “I believe our submission is a compelling, ‘right riveting’,  read. I hope it will help sway Her Majesty’s advisors to look favourably in our direction and I would encourage anyone who wants to know why we should be proud of our city to read it.”

 The submission documents can be found on the city council’s website at www.gloucester.gov.uk

 End

PR/067/2011

June 20^th, 2011