TO follow on from last week where I spoke about how talented Trafford is. This week I’d like to highlight another extremely talented resident.

Local artist Tom Quigley held an exhibition of his work at Kelder in Urmston.

Tom has painted several independent businesses and some of his favourite places in Urmston that he feels have helped make the town thrive over the past five years.

Val and I attended and were blown away by Tom’s stunning art work.

He is known for his urban landscapes of both Manchester and New York but we were really interested in this exhibition as all the paintings were from Tom’s home town of Urmston.

One of Tom’s paintings, and my particular favourite, was of the cafe in Urmston called County Grills on Station Road.

He has captured the scene in such an atmospheric way that it draws you into the painting and makes you look at our beautiful town in a whole new light.

You can’t help but feel proud of the town when Tom highlights, through his impressionist style of colour and deliberate brush strokes, just how interesting and vibrant the place is.

It was an absolute pleasure to meet and chat to Tom, who is as polite and respectful as he is talented and I really look forward to seeing all his future art work and I wish him all the success in the world.

I was very proud to be master of ceremonies and perform at Trafford Live. A one-day, free event at Trafford Town Hall.

The day highlighted the best that Trafford has to offer with sports, emergency services, entertainment, community groups and organisations.

It was an absolute pleasure to sing to the record number of visitors at this annual event and Val and I really enjoyed the other acts that included traditional Chinese dancers, a martial arts display, choir, street dancers and even a MancElvis!

During the event I was thrilled and extremely proud to receive a Trafford Volunteers Award from our Mayor, Cllr Rob Chilton, for services to the community.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the people who nominated me for this award, it really does mean a lot to me.

There are many, many people doing amazing things for Trafford so to be recognised for the little things I do means a great deal to me. Thank you.

Trafford Live was a great success and I look forward to it again next year.

See you next week!