The Right Worshipful The Mayor of Bath
The Charter Trustees of the City of Bath elected the 784th Mayor of the City, Councillor Bryan Chalker, to take office on Saturday 4 June at their Annual Meeting and Mayor Making Ceremony at Bath Abbey.
The new Mayor's theme will be 'Bath's Industrial Heritage'. Since being elected to represent Lambridge Ward on Bath & North East Somerset Council in 2003 he has taken a great interest in its history. As Member Champion for Heritage & Historic Environment, Bryan has revived interest in Larkhall's 19th century mineral spa, been responsible for officially naming Spa Lane and Larkhall Square and researching the history of Lambridge Mill and the Dead Mill; the former appearing in a recent Bath Chronicle edition. He is currently working on retrieving from storage an Edwardian steam crane built by Stothert & Pitt and bringing it back to Bath and organizing the Bath Americana Festival, which runs from 18 to 22 May. He plays harmonica, jaws-harp and autoharp and loves Bluegrass and Cajun music.
Bryan is a past Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset Council when he arranged for the Colours of the Somerset Regiment to be taken out of storage in a Taunton museum and placed on permanent display in the Guildhall. He also supported the installation of planters on the War Memorial in honour of Harry Patch (the last fighting 'Tommy').
Councillor Chalker has enjoyed a varied professional career as a police officer in Portsmouth, a free-lance journalist (Melody Maker, Old Glory, Classic Van & Pickups, Maverick, Excursions and Stage & Television Today), award-winning vocalist and traditional musician fronting his own highly successful folk-country band New Frontier during the 1970s (recording for Decca) and an influential specialist radio broadcaster for a total of 30 years.
The new Mayor Elect is a vintage and Classic car enthusiast and has the dubious distinction of possibly being the only such World Heritage Site dignitary to drive a 1974 East German Trabant as his daily transport. Bryan and his wife Glenys are both animal lovers, good cooks, grow herbs as a hobby and support the revival of interest in local industrial heritage and anything related to the regeneration of the River Avon.
The Mayor of Bath's ongoing charity is The Mayor of Bath's Relief Fund.
Deputy Mayor Cllr Cherry Beath
Cherry has lived in Bath since the mid 1980's and is married with two sons. She gained a Fine Arts Masters degree at University College London.
Cherry has served as Local Councillor for Combe Down since 2007. She was Shadow Spokesperson for Economic Development and Major Projects during the last Administration, and was a member of the Economic Development and Major Projects Committee. She is currently Chair of The Charter Trustees of The City of Bath Standing Committee.
She has a previous professional career background in the Criminal Justice System, which included working as a Probation Officer, and with Prisons and Drug Dependency issues in London, Bristol and Bath. She has worked in the Divorce Courts, and in the field of Fostering and Adoption reports in the Crown Court. For a period she was involved in teaching professional training. She later worked variously as a Community Co-ordinator, set up community initiatives, and has also worked on a self-employed basis running projects and workshops. At one time she ran her own Market Stall.
She has exhibited work in the past in London and Bath, and was one of the Artists in The King Bladud Pigs public art project, having created "Piggles" a Pig with a flying theme! Cherry maintains an interest in the Arts, Music, Theatre and Film, and the Natural Environment. She is Member Champion for Bio-Diversity.
Cherry has travelled abroad including Romania, Indonesia, Jamaica and Tanzania to assist various Charitable Projects. She is a Trustee for two Charities, one being The Genesis Trust in Bath, and sits on a local grant making board supporting local Christian Projects.