On Friday night it was an honour to attend the inaugural Lord Mayor’s Gala Performance at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall as a guest of our Lord Mayor, our very own Speke-Garston Councillor Mary Rasmussen.

The evening was a fantastic mix of talent, from local youngsters to members of million-selling bands, with tickets purchased by local companies then donated back to give people who have never set foot in the Phil before the chance to experience this wonderful venue. It was an emotional evening at times, none more than Ian Prowse singing his powerful ‘Does This Train Stop On Merseyside?’ after a powerful introduction by George Sephton, the ‘Voice of Anfield’. What the sold-out audience saw was a perfect illustration of the best of Liverpool’s talent and generosity.

The performance, which Mary hopes will become an annual event, raised a staggering £20,000 for three local charities: The Whitechapel Centre, which works to move rough sleepers into their own homes, Tom Harrison House, the UK’s only specialist recovery programme tailored to military veterans, and Speke’s own STEC, which since 1983 has been at the heart of adult learning and charitable work in our area. It also gave local children the chance to perform on such an iconic stage.

I’d like to congratulate our Lord Mayor and her team for organising such a successful event, including STEC’s Mark Ord who helped arrange much of the talent, and I hope it continues for many years to come.