MAYOR’S WIFE AND DEPUTY

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 May 1931, Page 10

MAYOR’S WIFE AND DEPUTY

WORK AS CIVIC LEADER.. For the time being the two civic heads of Bradford a few weeks ago, were both women. Lord Mayor, Aiderman Alfred Pickles, was operated on, and his official duties wete being undertaken by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Alderman (Mrs) Kathleen Chambers. Mrs Pickles, as the wife of the Lord Mayor, is, of course, the leading woman citizen. Mrs Chambers and Mrs Pickles between them have therefore to carry out the official and social activities which ordinarily fall upon the chief magistrate. Mrs Chambers attended at the town hall on the first day of her temporary duties, and for the first time in the history of Bradford, documents normally signed by the Lord Mfiyor were ■signed by, a wofiian. .. . , suppose tliat I sball have to. carry out the work for the next few Weeks,” said Mrs Chambers. “This wjl( include presiding fit the next meeting of the city council. “For months Mrs Pickles and ffiyself have been ■ Sharing some of the social duties of the Lord Mayor. When he has had too milch official Work, I have reprbSefifed him at dinners. Che gets fiiifred even td official (tiiihei's, arid I do not mihd them so long as [there is no Idneheo'n.” it is fib' Ufiedffiffiofi thing for Mrs Chambers to attend 50 meetings a Week and fitiefid to her household duties fife Weil. But she has to put in’ ii to 15 houfs a day id order to do sb. Mrs Cfianibers Was a public speaker in Londofi’s Efist End While still a Schoolgirl. When she Was appointed the first Woifian Depiify Lord Mayor last jidvOiiitier her hfiSbaiid, fay force of circumstance, beedffib the Deputy Lady Mayoress! “I get as many as 60 letters a day from all sorts of people,” Mrs Chambers stated in an infertieW. “I start dealing with ihy correspondence after I have cooked breakfast for the family, and sometimes it is ’’after midnight before I have finished attending to matters concerned with my' public duties. But I do most of my own housekeeping and attend to all the meals. Keeping busy all day long is, I consider, a fine tonic these days.” Mrs Pickles is spending much other time at the bedside of her husband, ami the engagement book of the civic heads has had to be cut down; but both the leading woman citizen and Mrs Chambers have more than enough to do.

“I’ve been here since early to-day,” the latter remarked, “dealing with dozens of letters—most of them in cofifiectidfi with our forthcoming wool pagefint.” She wefit on: “then tfibre are cdllers and innumerable telephone efills. For luncheon a cUp efi tefi 6r coffee is brought in to ino and I carry on. This afternoon I have committee meetings at 2.&0, 2.45, 3.0, 4.10, 4.30, and 5.30. To-night there are other meetings in connection With the pageant at 6.30, 7.30, and 8.30. Still, this is a quiet day. If there are outside engagements I have to dash Out to the car aiid go and talk. And various events need different dresses: but I generally find that I can change here, and manage somehow.” Mrs Chambers is the first woman to preside over the Bradford City Council. She is married and has a son Of seven. “He goes to school in the morning in his father’s car and stays there ior luncheon,” she savs Otherwise Mrs dhfimbers’stiu fihJs ti ? me to H er own household. Mrs ho«e e dH^ aUS i lter sil l’ erillt ends the home during her absence.