Mayor of Witney

It has been an honour, a privilege and a pleasure to serve as Mayor of my hometown for the last two years. We live in a beautiful community. It has made me prouder than you’ll ever know. To quote The Jam… Didn’t we have a nice time? To be someone must be a wonderful thing…

And just like that, it’s all over. Wishing all the luck in the world to my successor Andy Bailey, I can’t wait to see the brilliant job you will do. Thank you to all the wonderful people, groups, charities and businesses I have been privileged to work with in the last two years.

@AutumnNeagle Thanks so much Autumn - I’m trying not to get too emosh myself! x

@MayorWitney Awww you’ve aced bring mayor!! Feel quite emosh!! Well done Owen x

The final evening of my Mayoralty, and I’m filled with so much gratitude for so many people. One of those is the Mayor’s Quizmaster, Ade, who has been an absolute legend over the last two years, helping my fundraising and being an all round rock.

It’s just beyond my term as Mayor, but I’m really looking forward to our community celebrating #VEDay80 tomorrow. Bring your bells, picnics and dancing shoes! Find the full schedule for the day here: witney-tc.gov.uk/news/ve-day-80…

Tomorrow! Join @AlexisGreenTV @Brucey1 and myself #LIVE from #Witney #Oxfordshire #BBCSouthToday @BBCOxford

@Brucey1 Looking forward to seeing you (and your moves!) there!

Dancing with Kai video now running tonight at 6:30 on BBC South Today… then tomorrow evening we dance it live in Witney!

Thank you to Wayne and Mike from the @WitneyTownCounc Works team for their help today, and to all of our Works team for everything they do across the town. Unsung heroes!

I’m not sure if the First Dog was overly keen but at least he hasn’t marked it as his territory just yet…

I see trees of green… (well, OK, red maple…) 🌳 Honoured to continue the tradition of planting a Mayoral tree this morning. A lovely, hopeful and verdant final act as First Citizen. Long may its shade and bloom colour our beautiful town!

@cammaynard Thank you so much to you and @sophiemaynard for your support! I’m sure I’ll see you both again very soon!

@MayorWitney - you have been an absolutely fantastic mayor. You've been caring, energetic, interested and I'm completely jealous of you r wonderful ways with words. Thank you so much!

Thanks too to the team at Shaan, many of whom I’ve crossed paths with at various times over the last two years, for a lovely evening - letting the sun go down gently on what has been an amazing, unforgettable experience. I have been so lucky, and am so grateful.

Down to the very last couple of Mayoral engagements now… It was a pleasure to visit #JillStewSchoolOfDance this evening to meet the students, including some of the incredibly talented young people that danced in the #MayorsCharityGala last month. A credit to the town!🩰

Those of you who attended the #MayorsCharityGala will have already caught a snippet of @OscarBrettt’s low-budget magnum opus, #LosBanditos. The full film premieres at @exchange_corn on Friday 13th(!) June - book now and support young Witney artists! eventbrite.com/e/los-banditos…

I love this idea from @Fairytale_Farm - I hope we can replicate their forward-thinking in Witney very soon! #SportForAll bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

By ‘eck, it’s a lovely day for a Beer Festival!

@liampw @woxwhite Minus the chain and dog! (Good name for a pub, that…)

@woxwhite @MayorWitney Same time next week 😉

My first #ParkRun this morning, fulfilling a two-year promise to give it a go during my Mayoralty! Thanks so much to @woxwhite and all the other volunteers for creating such a wonderful, sociable and supportive atmosphere. I’ll be back! (35:11, by the way - not bad…)

@woxwhite @liampw First one’s on me!

@MayorWitney @liampw Great series sering you today, hopefully see you soon!

@witney499 No probably about it!

🍺With just over 24hours to go until (probably) the BEST Beer festival in Oxfordshire will be opening its doors - St Marys Church, 12pm, Landlord Of The Rings. Drink responsibly (dont be a Boromir)! Everyone welcome, from the hairiest toed Hobbit to the most ethereal of Elves!🍺