The Mighty Creatives Afternoon Tea with the Lord Mayor

The Mighty Creatives

Afternoon Tea with the Lord Mayor

Samantha Peberdy, Shantelle York, Nick Owen, Lord Mayor, Emily York, Fiona Marks and Casey Soma

Engelbert Humperdinck is renowned in circles of a certain age as one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers ever. He achieved international prominence with his songs “Release Me” and “The Last Waltz” and in the process, grew a huge following, with some of his most devoted fans calling themselves “Humperdinckers”.

What is less well known is that he is of Anglo-Indian descent, his family settling in Leicester when he was ten years old.  His global success and local roots would account for him being given the Honorary Freedom of Leicester on 25 February 2009 by Leicester City Council; acknowledged by a plaque on the wall of the Lord Mayor of Leicester’s office celebrating this august moment in his, and the city’s, life.

What is even less well known, probably even to the Humperdinckers, was that in the early 2000’s, Humperdinck visited St Cuthbert’s C of E Primary School in Great Glen in Leicester where, by all accounts, he baffled staff and pupils alike with his tales of the music industry.

We know this because it turns out that our very own Lord Mayor, Councillor Susan Barton, and Samantha Peberdy, a member of the Youth Board of Leicester charity, The Mighty Creatives, were present at his visit: Councillor Barton as a Special Olympic Ambassador, along with Englebert, promoting the national Special Olympic games in Leicester that summer. It was lovely to share the memory and to know someone remembered the day, although they have no memory of each other of those times.

As a result of CLETA’s brokerage expertise, The Lord Mayor invited Samantha and other members of The Mighty Creatives team to tea one late October afternoon this year.   As well as being mutually surprised about their connection through the unlikely stimulus provided by Englebert Humperdinck, the Lord Mayor and TMC representatives shared experiences of what TMC’s mission is, what the Youth Board has achieved, what the challenges its members were facing in these difficult social and economic times; and the challenges and demands made on the Lord Mayor herself.

Time flew and before we knew it we had to take our leave, finish off our cups of tea and brush the cake crumbs off our clothes; all a little bit older and wiser about how we are all navigating the world at the moment, and all slightly bemused about how an ageing balladeer can catalyse the most surprising of connections in the most unlikeliest of places.

Dr Nick Owen MBE

CLETA Steering Group member since September 2023

CEO, The Mighty Creatives since July 2016