“It has just been such a pleasure, it really has.”
So said King’s Lynn and West Norfolk’s 820th mayor Lesley Bambridge after her eventful year in office came to and end.
Lesley, the 13th female mayor of the borough, has been reflecting on some of the most memorable moments of the last 12 months, which have seen her attend more than 300 events, as well as making history when she read the proclamation for King Charles III after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
Her year as mayor started off by celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and giving out coins to primary school-aged children across the borough.
The former mayor said: “A good start was the Queen’s Jubilee and that was absolutely fantastic.
“Just going to see the children was fantastic, they asked all sorts of questions like ‘how old is the Queen?’ and ‘how does she live that long?’ which was difficult for me to answer!”
She continued: “And then of course not that long afterwards we had her death which was quite a shock.
“No mayor ever wants that because it’s just a difficult time.
“I also had the honour of reading the proclamation for the new king and that hasn’t happened for a long time and certainly not with a female mayor before, so that was really something.”
After the mourning period, it was back to usual for Cllr Bambridge, who was invited to a variety of events held by the people of West Norfolk.
Talking about some of her highlights, she said: “I’ve been to Lakenheath and Mildenhall which had American visitors for events there.
“I’ve been to Marham for the family show which I thought was quite scary because the Red Arrows were right in front of us.”
She continued: “I’ve been to North Wootton Village Hall a few times for various events they’ve put on, I’ve opened a shop and exhibitions at galleries.
“I’ve had such a good time, it’s been fantastic. I love music so being able to go to concerts has been really good for me, really lovely. It’s been a real privilege.”
Another highlight for Lesley was the role she played in awards ceremonies dedicated to recognising efforts of people across the borough.
She said: “The Mayor’s Design Awards was really interesting, going around and looking at the different houses, and then the Your Local Paper Local Heroes Awards was fantastic.
“I didn’t realise how much of a big event it was for the town and it’s lovely.
“I thought it was quite sad reading some of the stories of the people and the carers who help people. I’m a trustee of West Norfolk Carers and I was a carer for my mum so I know what some people have to do.
“But some of them go to such lengths, it’s amazing what some people do.”
Cllr Bambridge also discussed her experience on the stage at Lynn’s Festival Too on King Staithe Square.
She said: “I had to go on stage at Festival Too and I’ve been in the past and seen it at ground level, but when you’re up on that stage and you see all those people there, that was a wow moment.”
She even made it down to The Walks Stadium to watch the Linnets play.
Lesley said: “I went to watch the Linnets play football, it was only my second-ever football match that I had been to.They were doing so well.”
In March, the former mayor even dressed up as ‘Gansta Granny’ and headed down to Lynn’s Library.
“What was funny was that I had a swag bag, and I took my mayoral chain out of it. I think it was a bit lost on the children,” said Lesley.
She also spoke of her enjoyment of getting to know other mayors in the area as well as many others.
She said: “You get to know people like the Lord Lieutenant, she’s a great woman.”
But what’s next for Lesley Bambridge? After a well deserved week off, she says she will continue to be active in West Norfolk’s community and continue serving as a county councillor, although she has stepped down from the borough council.
She said: “I’ve had a fairly quiet week, I decided to have a week off, catching up on things at home.
“I’ve had three requests to be on committees locally on top of the other things so I’m going to be busy but in a different way.”
