Joy is town's new mayor

Floral arrangements and the silver plate of the former Bexhill Borough Council for which the town's Charter Trustees are custodians made an impressive display in the Town Hall council chamber.

Before a gathering which included her actress daughter, Samantha, who will be her Mayoress, Bexhill's new Town Mayor announced that her chosen mayoral charity would be the Alzheimer's Society. She is dedicating her appeal to the memory of her "dearly loved father" who died 11 years ago.

She also announced that she intended to follow Cllr Earl's example and take part in the annual charity abseil down the side of the loft Hastings Direct office block, Conquest House.

She told colleagues and guests: "As a Londoner from the East End who came to Bexhill 30 years ago I never imagined that one day I would have te honour and privilege of being Town Mayor."

As a child, she had holidayed in Bexhill. When she later obtained a job at the former Longley's department store in the town it was the start of a long and happy association with Bexhill.

She pledged to do her utmost to uphold the traditions of mayoral office and the high standards set by her predecessors. Cllr Hughes was proposed by Cllr Bill Clements and seconded by Cllr Deirdre Williams.

Cllr Clements said: "It is a case of 'Joy by name and joy by nature.' I have never seen her other than happy.

"Those of you who have lived in the town a long time will remember her as one of Mr Longley's young girls.

"In having Cllr Stuart Earl as her predecessor, some will say she has a hard act to follow. But Joy will bring her own style to the office."

He concluded: "I wish Joy and Sam a happy year - and in language that you will both understand 'Break a leg, girls!'"

Cllr Hughes' deputy will be Cllr Eric Armstrong. He was nominated by Cllr Charles Clark and seconded by Cllr Graham Gubby.

Moving a vote of thanks to Cllr Earl which was seconded by Cllr Brian Kentfield, the new Town Mayor said: "He's done things that no other Town Mayor would have dreamed of doing - like abseiling off the Hastings Direct building!"

Cllr Earl had concluded his year of office by presenting cheques to Barry Turnwell of Hastings and Rother Crossroads and Harold Lawrence of 1066 Specials Football Club totalling 13,115.66.

Both thanked him for a vigorous mayoral campaign which had not only raised vitally-needed funds but which had raised the profile of the two charities in the town.

In response to the vote of thanks, the retiring Mayor paid tribute to the people of the town who by their generosity had made the mayoral appeal a success.

"Many years ago as a small boy I used to walk by this building and see those old men in grey suits go in there and think 'They don't know what this town needs...' Never did I dream that I would one day become one of them - and they still won't listen to me!"