Cohort 4 were pleased to receive a warm welcome from Jacky Chambers, the Atherstone Town Council Mayor and Director of Ruby’s Yard CIC at a celebratory Open Day on Wednesday 5th August 2026. Thank you Jacky for your warm words of appreciation and encouragement and for your continued friendship to everyone at Cohort 4. Ruby’s Yard feels like home for us each summer.
Jacky’s Speech
“Good morning and thank you all for inviting me to join you here today and to have an opportunity to say thank you.
As Mayor on behalf of our town to Cohort 4 for all that you do. To say, on behalf of Ruby’s Yard, you have really changed this community space for the better. You’ve helped it feel lived in, cared for, more colourful, it’s more fun and it’s really much more welcoming; not just for Cohort 4 but for everyone who comes here and uses this space.
On a personal level, you’ve really helped me properly understand what people mean (usually academics), when they talk about ‘place making’ and and that’s about creating together a place where people feel they belong, where they’ve actually contributed to the making and shaping of that place and feeling that it belongs to you also. More importantly, on a personal level, you’ve also taught me a lot about sisterhood.
For that as Mayor of Atherstone Town Council, as a Director of Ruby’s Yard Community Interest Company and as a woman, I sincerely thank you.
You should feel very proud of what you’ve achieved, not only this year and over the last few years but over the many years you’ve existed. Thank you for the warmth, strength and support you have brought to so many women over the years and for your contribution to our wider community.”
Jacky Chambers OBE
Mayor of Atherstone Town; Director Ruby’s Yard CIC
