The best part of being the Mayor for Edgware ward councillor Nana Asante was the honour of having such am important role within the Harrow community.

In the last year, she has attended more events than any other previous Mayor and does it because she cares and because she is a “workaholic”.

In April alone she attended 64 events and it’s been like that all year, she told me.

She said: “I guess the best part is having the honour of being the Mayor and making sure I fulfil that role properly.

“The best parts for me have been meeting the residents and getting stuck into the community.

“I have enjoyed meeting loads of people and groups and communities over the last year. It’s been so interesting.”

The Mayor had what she described as an unwarmly welcome to her new role.

It is traditional for councillors to stand up when the Mayor leaves the council chamber after the Mayor-making ceremony but unfortunately for Ms Asante, there were a few who did not.

She said: “I found this really disrespectful, it's all because of politics.

“The one thing I have not liked is chairing the council meetings this year, it's like dealing with a bunch of spoiled brats.

“It’s just bad manners.”

The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor - this year Councillor Camilla Bath - are elected annually at the annual council meeting in May. In the absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor is given the same precedence.

Ms Asante has enjoyed attending events with which other Mayors in the past had not graced their presence.

She visited the Masorti Synagogue in Hatch End during her year in office and they were so thrilled to have her there because it was the first Mayor visit the synagogue had ever had.

She said: “I have really enjoyed going to places of worship who have not had a Mayor visit before.

“I went to visit the Mayor of Accra in Ghana because it was my father’s 90th birthday.

“It was great to be able to put Harrow on the map like that.

“I went to a flower show in Pinner which was just lovely, the displays blew my mind away.

“I feel that there are two parts to the role of the Mayor: one is that your represent the council to the residents and the other is you represent the residents to the council.

“I have had a lot more people come to me with requests and help, which I did get as a councillor but more as the Mayor.”

The Mayor went on to say how much she enjoyed meeting children and hearing their strange but fun questions.

She said: “I think that going to the school assemblies are just wonderful, the children are brilliant.

“I went to one school and one of the questions was what I wore to go to sleep in.

“It was very funny, and after that the teachers set the children a task to design nightwear for the Mayor.”

The London Mayor’s Walk is an event Nana Asante will not forget and she proudly keeps her certificate saying that she has completed it.

It is a traditional walk in which the mayors of London’s boroughs parade through the capital on the same route taken by Dick Whittington - three times Lord Mayor of London in medieval times - more than 600 years ago.

She found it tiring but loved meeting all the other Mayors.

Ms Asante feels strongly about supporting charities who help sufferers with mental health issues because she herself has has been a victim of depression.

Her two chosen charities for the 2013/14 municipal year were Harrow Community Choir, which runs courses to help people boost their confidence, and Flash Musicals, which is a community-based theatre company in Edgware offering opportunities for young people to be involved in the performing arts.

She said: “I chose these two charities because I wanted them to have some support and become known - something I can help with being Mayor.

“People often say ‘Why have a Mayor?’ but I feel its because the people want one.

“Every Mayor has their own style. Mine was very hands-on and wanting to be there and go to most things.

“I work at a punishing pace.

“I have managed to attend a lot of people's 100th birthdays, and I even went to a woman who lives in a home in Hindes Road who turned 107.

“It’s great meeting people who have lived in Harrow their whole lives and have some really interesting stories.

“It's also so fascinating that people are living longer.”

Another achievement the Mayor is extremely proud of is giving the North West London District of the Girls Brigade the Freedom of the Borough, which gives them a right to walk through the town holding up their flags.

The honour is rarely given out and it was finalised on May 1, earlier this month.

Ms Asante has also been a keen supporter of Fairtade, the social enterprise trying to guarantee a fairer slice of the profits for food producers.

She fully supports Harrow Faritrade Campaign, and insists on having all Fairtrade tea and coffee in her office in Harrow Civic Centre in Station Road, Harrow.

So what's next? Ms Asante will be standing again in the next local elections for her Independent Labour party.

She added: “I want to use our imaginations for Harrow, we need to use the assets of the borough to help the vulnerable, and we need to make the changes we want to happen.”

Ms Asante's year as Mayor of Harrow will come to an end on June 12 when a replacement - customarily the Deputy Mayor - is chosen.