"It's given me a lot more confidence," she said. "Things I didn't think I could do, I have done. I even did an assembly for Year 11 at Todmorden High School. I couldn't have done that last year."

As her mayoral year draws to a close and she reflects on her time in office, it is clear that she has loved every minute of it. "Being mayor has been fantastic," she said. "To meet so many people has been very worthwhile. Everybody knows something and I have learned so much this year about so much."

While she has thoroughly enjoyed the experience, there have also been a few nerve-wracking moments, including having to give the occasional impromptu speech. She said: "I've come to the conclusion to expect the unexpected."

When asked to pick out her favourite memories, she said it is difficult to pick out one in particular as there have been so many, although the trip to Roncq in October to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the town's twinning with Todmorden is something she will look back on fondly. "The visit to Roncq was absolutely fantastic," she said. "It was a really good experience.

"The people were so nice and we were just on the go all the time. We had a fantastic meal on the Sunday afternoon and there was a lot of wine flowing. It was embarrassing because I had to go straight there and I was in my jeans. We had a bit of a singing competition where we sang On Ilkley Moor Baht'at and Jerusalem."

She has been supported by her family during the past year. Her father, Robert Hallowell, has been her consort and her daughters, Sophie and Jessica, have also accompanied her at several events. She said: "It's been really good having my dad as my consort because I've been able to boss him around. I've been telling him that I'm more important than him this year.

"My daughters have been involved too so it's spanned all generations. When I was deputy mayor, Sophie was my official consort but she was a bit too young to be the mayor's consort because there are evening functions. I've taken her to a few coffee mornings and I have had to go to a lot of shows once as mayor and once as mum.

"Jessica is 13 and it's a bit uncool for her mum to be mayor. She says: 'Mum, you're on the front page of the paper again.' When I go up to the high school she tells me not to come anywhere near her."

There has been a lot of speculation about the future use of the town hall and one of her daughters had an interesting idea of how the building should be used. She said: "Sophie thought the town hall was hers for the year and wanted to build a Barbie town in there but I told her she couldn't do that."

Attending school functions and meeting the children has been one of her favourite parts of the mayor's role. "Going to the schools has been brilliant," she said. "The kids are so enthusiastic about everything.