A crowd of over 100 local residents and school children from Dallas Road & Loyne schools saw the Mayor of Lancaster, Cllr Keith Budden, open the new flood defences on St Georges Quay. Green County Cllr Chris Coates, who was part of the team that organised the celebrations, said “We thought it was so obvious to mark the Quay being open on St George’s Day with a bit of a mini festival that hopefully got a few more folk down to this wonderful part of the City.”
Following a few words from the Mayor the crowds followed St George and his Dragon in a short procession along the Quayside pathway along to Lancaster Maritime Museum where the Mayor gave a toast to England and St George with a cup of English tea. In the evening on April 23rd 20 people heard a talk in the Maritime museum by Dr Sam Riches entitled “An English Saint for English People? – The reinvention of St George.”
At the weekend there were further activities all along the Quay with Morris dancers, a brass band, family craft workshops at the Museum and folk music in the Three Mariners and Wagon and Horses pubs.
Green County & City councillor Chris Coates has been selected as the prospective Green parliamentary candidate for the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency at the next general election. Cllr Coates said after the result of the ballot of local members was announced at a recent Green Party monthly meeting, “The time has come for us to look beyond the bits of the area where we are strong and take a Green message out across the whole District. I look forward to the challenge of campaigning in Morecambe and the Lune Valley.” 
The Flood defence wall and new quayside pathway on St Georges Quay will be opened by the Mayor of Lancaster on Thursday April 23rd – at 2pm. Everyone is welcome. (Meet at the Millennium Bridge end of the Quay at 1.45.)
