Mayor John Holland

To the children of Warwick, Rhode Island

Thank you for the questions you have sent to me. I am very pleased to see your interest in Warwick, England.

Warwick Castle has a new website for this 2004. You can see it by clicking on http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/warwick2004/

John Holland

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mister Mayor,
What is the capital?Do you have any kids?What is your life like? Do you like being mayor?

The capital of the United Kingdom is London. I have a daughter and a son, who are both grown up. My daughter has two children.
They are Dylan aged 3 and Evie aged 1. I have liked being Mayor very much.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: hi my nameis tegan i would like to ask you some qustions. what do you do. how do you do it.

I do many things. I am a tutor for the Open University www.open.ac.uk where students can study via the Internet. And I am a
Councillor at Warwick District Council and Warwick Town Council. You can see me by clicking here

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr.Mayor,what is your favorite color?What is your favorite food?
Do you have any kids?How old are you?What is your favorite thing to do?What is your favorite song?
What is your favorite drink?What is your favorite letter in the Alphabet?What is your favorite number?
Who is your favorite actor?Who is your best friend?

My favourite colour is blue. We spell favourite and colour with a u in England. My favourite food is roast beef. I have two grown up children and I am 57 years old. My favourite thing to do is use my computer. My favourite song is Love in Vain by the Rolling Stones and written by Robert Johnson. My favourite drink is a cup of tea. My favourite letter of the alphabet is J as it is the first letter of my name. My favourite number is 55 as it is my house number. My favourite actor is Felicity Kendall. My best friend is my wife Hilary.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr.Mayor
When was England found?
In the 1500's?
please write back,
Elizabeth
Werner

The last ice age covered England with ice ten thousand years ago. It seems that people were living here before then. So people have been living in England for a very long time.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: DEAR JOHN HOLLAND, WHAT IS WARWICK,ENGLAND KNOWN FOR?
BENJAMIN ROBERTS

We are known for many things. We have many historic buildings. Most of the town centre was built between
1700 and 1750. There are many buildings older than this. Also we have many new high technology companies.
And we have many music events. And, of course, there is Warwick Castle.
Click on http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/warwick2004/

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: DEAR MAYOR HOLLAND, IS WARWICK ENGLAND LIKE WARWICK,RI?
TRISHA LOWE

I don’t know as I have not visited Warwick RI. I expect some things are the same but much is different. Our traffic drives on the left side of the road. I think that evry thing in England is on a smaller scale than in the USA.

When I get back to England after being abroad there are two things I always notice. Firstly, our Police Officers
do not usually have guns. I think that we are the only country in the world where the police are not armed. And I
think that our television is much better as the BBC channels do not have advertisements. It s possible to watch TV or listen to the radio without any adverts. You can listen to BBC radio on the Internet. Click on bbc.co.uk and then click in the top centre of the screen on Radio. You will see that you can listen by clicking on the right hand side of the next screen. Do you like Radio 1?

Perhaps one day you will visit us here in England and then you can tell me the differences.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: What is your favorite candy?

We don’t call it candy, we call it sweets. I like chocolate. I especially like Cadbury’s chocolate. Click on
http://www.cadbury.co.uk/EN/CTB2003/about_chocolate/

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: what is your favorite candy?
do they have buses?
do they have cops?

My favourite sweets are chocolate. We have buses and you can see the timetables by clicking here.
Our Police Force is the Warwickshire Constabulary. Click HERE to see more about our Police Station.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: How many people are on your Island? What is your favorite stuffed anamal?

Our island is Great Britain which includes England, Scotland and Wales. There are about 58 million people
who live here. The United Kingdom also includes the province of Northern Ireland which is about 1.5 million
more people.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Are you doing fractions in school?

Yes. All children learn fractions in school. Children learn fractions at about your age.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do you stil yus cars.Have you ben in worwic.

Yes, we still use cars. We are trying to reduce the use of cars to save energy. I live in the
centre of Warwick, near the castle.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do you stil yus the dungen .Have you been to Warwick RI?

We do not use the dungeon for punishing people now. The dungeon is now only used by tourists.
You can go down into the dungeon when you visit Warwick Castle. The dungeon is not nice, but
the castle is a really good place to spend a day.
http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/warwick2004/
Of course, criminals can be sent to prison but we do not have a prison in Warwick.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do you have feathers on your pens and pencils? Do the children in school use backpacks? Do you still use the dungon?

We do not have feathers on our pens and pencils. The pens and pencils are the same as yours.
The children do use backpacks when they have a lot to carry. The dungeon is now only for visitors
who want to see what life was like in the past.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: How did you design the flag of England with the red cross ?

The flag of England is a white flag with a red cross. It is the cross of St George, our patron saint.
I am not sure but I think that this came from the crusaders about a thousand years ago.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: How high is your tallest building?
Do you have states?
What is it like being the mayor?
Are you married?

Our tallest building is St Mary’s Church. Click on http://www.stmaryswarwick.org.uk/ . It is higher
than the tallest tower in Warwick Castle.

We do not have states. The United Kingdom includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
England is split into counties. Our county is Warwickshire and Warwick is the county town.

It is a lot of fun being Mayor but very hard work. I am married to Hilary.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do you have snow in Warwick, England?
Do you have a city hall?
How many people live in Warwick?
How many fire trucks are in Warwick?

It is very unusual to have snow here. Most winters we do not have snow but sometimes we
have a small amount. We do not have a city hall because our local government is split between
three Councils. Warwickshire County Council offices are at Shire Hall in Warwick, Warwick
District Council are at the Town Hall in Royal Leamington Spa and Warwick Town Council are
at the Old Court House in Jury Street in Warwick. It is a bit confusing.

The population of Warwick is about 25,000.

You can read about the Fire Service by clicking HERE.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: What is it like being mayor?
Do you get help passing new laws?
What do you like best about your job ?
Do you get to help a lot of people?

As Mayor, I do not pass new laws. That is done by Parliament. Our local councils make decisions
on local matters but this is done by all Councillors voting. The Mayor is Chair of the Warwick Town
Council but decisions are always made by majority vote.

I have enjoyed being Mayor and meeting so many people. It is very nice the thank people for their hard work for the town. There are many ways that I can help people. Often people do not know how to solve their problems
and I can suggest the way forward. Sometimes I take up the issue for the resident.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: What is the population?
How old are you?
Where do you live?

There are about 25,000 people living in Warwick. I am now 57 . I live in an old house in the centre of Warwick.
My house was built in about 1720.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr. Mayor
How many Roman Catholic chapels does the city of Warwick,England have?
Katie Keller

There is only one, St Mary Immaculate Church. It is very near my house. Have you seen the films about
the Lord of the Rings? The church is famous because J R R Tolkein was married there about 100 years ago. http://www.192.com/directory.cfm/church/WARWICK/19/churches___other_places_of_worship

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr. John Holland,

I have some questions regarding Warwick,England schooling. Today, are the students in
the local schools taught the same material we are taught? Do they study the same major
subjects? Do they have the same extra periods, such as physical education, art and
computer classes, or other language teachings? If so, were the schools always like this?
If not, when were the major discoveries and improvements made?
Thank you very much,
From,
Casey Williams
Warwick RI

This is a difficult question for me to answer because I do not know much about schools
in the USA. Most children in Warwick, UK go to schools provided by Warwickshire County
Council. Children start school at the age of 4 at the infants’ school. At the age of 7 children
move to the junior school. Infant and junior schools are sometimes known as primary schools.
At the age of 11 children move to the secondary school. There are two in
Warwick, Aylesford School and Myton School . A useful website for our schools is HERE.

Yes, most of the town centre was destroyed. New laws were passed to regulate the rebuilding
which took place between 1700 and 1750. Houses had to be built of brick rather than wood.
Wood burns to easily. And roofs had to be tiles or slate and not straw. Interestingly there was
a specification for design. This was one of the first town planning laws governing appearance.
Today we have very strict planning controls in an attempt to stop ugly buildings.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mayor of England ,
Did the Great Fire of 1694 damage any major part of the city , if so , what parts ?

Yes, the fire did a lot of damage. I have looked for more information on the Internet about
the fire but can only find one website that looks useful.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bobjay99/gfw.htm
Can you find any other websites?

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr. Mayor,
How many catholic schools are located in the city of warwick?
Cassy Arines

There is one primary school for ages 4 to 11 years. This is St Mary’s School. At the age of
11 children move to Trinity School which has one site in Leamington Spa and one in Warwick.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr. Mayor,
How long was it before the Roman station became Warwick, England?

Thanks for your time!!
Mariel

We think that Warwick was founded in 914 by the Saxons. This was several hundred years,
perhaps 600 years, after the Roman Empire had lost control of England. I do not know of
any Roman remains in Warwick.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mayor of Warwick England, Do you follow one religion or many religions? Thank you for your time to answer my question.

Sincerely
Sara Zanfagna

I do not follow any religion. But I do believe that it is very important to respect
people’s religious beliefs. The Church of England is the established church, which means
that it is part of the state. The Queen is the Head of the Church of England. The Bishops
are appointed by the Prime Minister. This is quite different to the US where the
church is separate from the state. We have many Christian churches in Warwick.
And there are plans to build a large Sikh temple.

The castle was built by the Norman invaders to seize control of the surrounding countryside.
This control continues today as Warwick is the county town for Warwickshire and the headquarters
of the Warwickshire County Council. Of course today we have elections to choose our government.
There were no elections in the days when the castle was built.

Yes, there is St Mary’s Primary School and the secondary school is Trinity School. Please see my
earlier answer to Cassy.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mayor John Holland,
What is it like running a city? Is it hard? Is it easy? Do you have fun doing this job? How long
have you been the mayor? What made you want to be a mayor? Did you have a family member or
a friend that was involved in the government? What would you encourage kids or any people to
do to Help the city and government?

~Kelsey Halton~

The job of Mayor is different in different towns. In Warwick it is a part time job which does
not have an executive role. It is similar to our head of state. In the USA the President is head of
state and also leads the government. But in the UK the Queen is the head of state but the
Prime Minister Tony Blair leads the government. The Mayor of Warwick has a ceremonial
role but does not lead the local council.

Local decisions are made by votes of councillors and implemented by council staff.

The Mayor of Warwick changes every year in May and so I have held the job for one year.
I now return to being a councilor. Nobody in my family has been a councilor or mayor. I have always
had an interest in politics and was elected as a councilor when I retired from full time work a
few years ago. It is really difficult to find the time if you have a full time job.

If you want to help your town then you could join an organization or club of people who want to
help in the same way as you. When young this could be the Boy Scouts or Girl Guides. When
older there are many organisations that do excellent voluntary work for the community.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Dear Mr. Mayor,
I have some questions about the Great Fire. Why was it called this? Were there any major buildings
that were destroyed? When were the buildings rebuilt? And are there any important buildings
that survived?

Thank you,
May Cervantes

Thank you for the question. Please see my earlier answer.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: How much money do you make?
Do you still use the dungen?
Do you like being a mayor?
Do you like ice cream?

There is no pay for the Mayor of Warwick, but expenses are paid.
The dungeon is only used by tourists now.
I like being Mayor and I like ice cream, particularly strawberry flavoured.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do the children in Warwick England play baseball and
football?
How many hours do you have in school?
Do the students go to school in the winter?
Do you have stars on your flag?

Yes, we play basketball and football. Our football is soccer, players are not
allowed to pick up the ball. We also have rugby football which is a little bit like
American football. We do not play American football.
School day is generally from 8.30am to 3.30pm.
Students go to school all year round, except holidays.
There are no stars in our flag.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do you have apple trees?
Do the kids there read Dr.Suess?
What do you coll the leader of your country?
Are Bratz dolls popular?

We do have apple trees. It is our most common fruit.
Dr Seuss books are available but are not read very much. I think that they are very good.
The head of our country is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The leader of our country is
the Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Tony Blair.
I have not heard of Bratz dolls, I will ask my daughter.

Kids Message to Mayor Holland: Do the chilren in Warwick England like to play basketball?
Do the children take buses to school?
Is there a lot of traffic in your city?
What is the color of your flag?

Yes, children like to play basketball.
Some children go to school by bus, some walk, some cycle and some are driven by their
parents by car.
There is a lot of traffic and we are trying to reduce it.
Our flag is the Union Jack. It has a blue background with red/white lines running vertically,
diagonally and horizontally. It is the flags of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and
England added together. Click on http://flagspot.net/flags/gb.html