THE first civic night in Lyme was held in 1966 when the town was governed by the old borough council. It was hosted by the mayor and mayoress for that year, Alderman Douglas Fortnam and his wife Lydia and was held at the Woodroffe School.
The idea was to thank the townsfolk for their support and it was soon established as the social event of the year in Lyme, continuing throughout the tenure of the borough council and the 50 years of the town council apart from the covid years.
Back in the sixties it was a strictly black-tie affair, although in recent times the dress code has been more relaxed, smart casual now being the order of the day.
During the latter part of the 1960s there was a famous disc jockey called Simon Dee who started a craze for wearing silk roll-neck collars. I decided to abandon the black tie and I recall being a little nervous that I would not be allowed in because I was improperly dressed. Of course, nobody took a blind bit of notice!
I can remember very little about mine and Jackie’s civic night when we were mayor and mayoress in 1984. It was held at the Marine Theatre and I recall music was provided by the Weymouth All Stars, one of the most popular dance bands in the area.
We were pleased to welcome 88 guests to this year’s civic night, held at the Woodmead Halls. Emma Blackmore provided an excellent buffet and Lyme’s most popular Band, We Funk, were as popular as ever. It was a very enjoyable evening and we are grateful to all those who attended, making it a very special occasion for both of us.
The other big civic occasion of the year is the annual mayor-making ceremony, at which Jackie and I were installed as First Citizens for a second term.
This ancient ceremony which has changed very little over years fascinates those who witness it for the first time. There were a number of our friends present who also attended our mayor-making back in 1984.
I found the whole experience a bit emotional with several of my family and close friends present. Star of the night was my daughter Francesca who made a brilliant speech in response to a thought-provoking toast proposed by veteran mayor-making attender Ken Gollop in which he highlighted the changing face of Lyme, especially Broad Street.
It would be nice to think that the ceremonial side of the town council will continue for ever, but I fear that the time will come when the mayor is replaced by a council leader and the maces and mayor’s gowns etc will be confined to glass cases in the museum.
That would be a sad day for Lyme.
Our new town bus, the Lyme Link, is up and running three days a week and is being well received by those using the service.
It has been a mammoth task acquiring the 16-seater vehicle and voluntary drivers. It has taken hundreds of hours of staff time to deliver our commitment not to leave any stone unturned in our efforts to get the service up and running.
I am sure there will be few glitches to sort out concerning time-table issues, but we are delighted with the response so far from passengers who are delighted to have their town bus back again.
Photograph of the mayor and mayoress at the 2025 Civic Night, by Rob James.