Monday 19 October 2009

Redcar and Cleveland Council plan a celebration to unveil Mo Mowlam mosiac

Redcar and Cleveland Council is hosting an afternoon of celebration to officially unveil a memorial mosaic to honour the life of the late former Redcar MP Mo Mowlam at Redcar's newly-refurbished boating lake on Friday, October 23.

Mo's brother and sister Jim Mowlam and Jean Jacques, together with Mo's close friend, former councillor and Mayor, Vilma Collins, will reveal the mosaic, an intricate circular pattern of 800 ceramic tiles, set in a three-metre raised circle near the water's edge.

The mosaic, created by artist John Todd, illustrates Mo's life and interests, with her portrait as the centrepiece surrounded by images including the beach where she loved to walk, racehorses at Redcar Racecourse, where she celebrated her wedding, the steelworks, the Zetland lifeboat, clasped hands and doves to symbolise the Northern Ireland peace process and the Houses of Parliament.

The project has been organised by a working group of former Redcar and Cleveland Mayors, including Mrs Collins, and councillors Peter Spencer, Madge Moses and Norah Cooney, and was funded by public donations, which raised £12,000, including contributions from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, fellow MPs, elected Members, businesses, unions and, of course, local people.

Plans had been in place to instal the mosaic last year, but the major refurbishment of the boating lake has delayed the installation and now a double celebration is planned, with the public welcome to attend.

The entertainment will begin at 1.40pm, with a performance from the Marske Fishermen's Choir, followed by the official reopening of the boating lake by the Council's Mayor, Councillor Brian Briggs.

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