Mendip Living Aug - Sep 2020

ADVERTISING FEATURE
Meet the
FROMIES
We speak to the new Deputy Mayor for
Frome town, Andy Wrintmore...
Congratulations on becoming Deputy
Mayor for Frome. What does the role
involve?
Thanks you! The role of the Deputy
Mayor is to support the Mayor, in this
case it’s the glamorous and legendary
Anita Collier. I’ll take up any Mayoral
duties she cannot attend or believes I
may be a better fit for, I also have my fair
share of emails and questions from the
public directed at me and trust me, they
really get you thinking. On top of that
I’m watching and learning, growing and
getting ready to wear the chains next
year all being well.
How did you get the role?
Anita Collier was the Deputy Mayor last
year for the formidable Mark Dorrington
during his tenure and was planning to put
herself forward for Mayor and requested
that I contemplate joining her as Deputy
Mayor. We were both unanimously voted
into the roles by our fellow councillors
shortly after I’m pleased to say and I’m
extremely grateful and humbled by the
confidence they have shown in us.
2020 has of course been a challenging
few months. What are your visions for
the rest of the year?
That’s a massive question and I guess
the easiest answer is....Health. I hope
we weather this storm with our personal
health, our economic health and I know
for a fact the healthiest thing about this
entire year has been Frome’s sense of
community so I really hope that continues
into the rest of the year while we find
ourselves again. I guess that’s my vision,
just for Frome to bounce back stronger
and more resilient than ever.
The current town roadworks are long
overdue, wouldn’t you agree?
Yes I totally agree. These works will bring
some much needed upgrades to the town
centre, it’s nothing majorly ambitious
but once it’s done it’s going to make the
centre of town so much better. I just wish
I could click my fingers and have it done
already so we can get another degree of
normality back! Please bare with us folks
I absolutely appreciate the timing hasn’t
been ideal.
What have you missed the most during
Lockdown?
My Girlfriend Ruby who lives in
Trowbridge (we’ll make a Fromie out her
yet!) who I didn’t see properly for about 3
months. She’s in my Call Of Duty squad,
we call her the medic because she’s
always the last one alive bringing us back
to life! So that’s how we hung out the
most during lockdown. The other thing I
really missed was my band SickOnes, all
our gigs ‘n’ tours got cancelled and even
the BBC wouldn’t play our new single
“Agility” because of the band name haha!
We’re back on the air now so it’s all good.
Also, yes that’s a cheeky plug.
How would you describe Frome to
anyone looking to visit?
On a good day it’s one of the greatest
towns in the world, on a bad day it’s one
of the greatest towns in the UK.
What do you personally love most love
about our town?
Easy. Opportunity. Frome has provided
me with so many opportunities and been
home to so many influential figures in my
life. I like to think I’m smart enough to
walk through a door when one is opened
for me and Frome so far has been an
endless corridor. I’ve been blessed to find
my band mates here, toured the world
with my heroes and written music I’ll be
forever proud of. I’ve had live radio shows
on Frome FM enabling me to share my
passion of music with the town while
syndicating it all over the world, Frome
went to the ballot box to elect myself
and 16 others as independent town
councillors and next year I could be the
Mayor! Frome has made me who I am,
provided me with richness, Fulfilment
and I love and appreciate this town for
it. It’s my home, it’s in my bones, it has
nourished me in all ways imaginable.
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