Royal party for outgoing Ludlow mayor
Ludlow's mayor has stepped down after three years, but will be going to a Buckingham Palace garden party to cap his time in office.
Paul Draper has undertaken his last duties as Mayor of Ludlow and says it is a privilege to have served in the role – but with work commitments increasing as general manager of DMS Plastics in the town, he decided before the local elections not to stand again as a town councillor.
Long serving town councillor Tim Gill has this week been voted to take Mr Draper's place as the new mayor, with Councillor Colin Sheward continuing for a second year as deputy mayor.
Mr Draper was first elected as Ludlow town mayor in May 2014 and during his time has raised thousands for causes such as Ludlow Hospital League of Friends and Ludlow Foyer, among others.
He said his reasons for standing down were mainly to do with work, having been involved with a buy-out of DMS Plastics in 2015.
"It's now just started to get really busy with more exporting meaning lots of trips abroad – it means something has to relax," he said.
"It has been a privilege to be mayor for three years and in that time I have attended a lot of exciting events.
"My last official event as mayor was attending the 100th birthday of a local resident – there have been three 100th birthdays in three years, so there must be something in the water here," he said. He said particularly memorable moments included the granting of freedom of the town for the 1st Battalion Royal Welsh, who marched through Ludlow on their 325th anniversary in September 2014, and attending the granting of MBEs for Ludlovians.
"It's difficult to choose one proudest moment as there have been a lot, but if I had to choose one it would have to be greeting Prince Harry at Ludlow Castle," he said.
Prince Harry walked into the town with six wounded servicemen from the charity Walking with the Wounded, joining them on a 17-mile stretch of their 1,000-mile Walk of Britain, from Church Stretton to Ludlow, to raise awareness of the plight of veterans, in September 2015.
He said he would be having another royal encounter in the coming weeks.
"To cap everything off the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire nominated me to attend the Queen's garden party. We were given a few dates, put our preferences down and June 1 was confirmed from the Lord Chamberlain's office and my wife Lesley and myself will be attending.
"It's a great honour and a privilege to attend – my wife will have to think about buying a hat!" he said.
