Windsor and Maidenhead’s outgoing mayor has spoken of a ‘rollercoaster year’ after discovering he had a brain tumour during his time in office.
Independent councillor Neil Knowles finished his year as mayor on Tuesday, May 14 – and joked that he may be the only mayor to have served ‘with a part of their brain missing'.
Councillor Knowles made the revelation at the council’s annual meeting on Tuesday evening. He said: “In April last year I suffered a serious brain injury and that left me in intensive care for a week immediately before the elections.
“We didn’t tell people because I’m not the sort of person who likes people coming and baying at me in bed.
Neil Knowles makes his final speech as mayor of Windsor and Maidenhead (Image: RBWM)
“Banging my head like this was lucky because they found a brain tumour. In June, I slipped off to have a brain tumour removed. That had caused the internal damage that caused all the problems. So you can understand the whole year’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.”
Despite this, councillor Knowles said his illness was ‘not as serious as it might sound’ and that he is ‘going to be around for a while yet'.
He added: “I may be the only mayor to complete a mayoral year with a part of their brain missing.”
Councillors unanimously voted in Liberal Democrat councillor Simon Bond as the borough’s new mayor – a non-political, ceremonial role. Mandy Brar, also a Liberal Democrat, was voted in as deputy mayor.
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