(That stands for Very Important Pupils, of course)

THE Mayor of Bolton has a "well top" car, a cool "FBI agent" and is doing a "fabulous job".

Those are the opinions of Year 6 at St Bede's CE Primary School in Morris Green.

And they should know -- they have, after all, been VIPs in the Mayor's Parlour at the town hall.

The lucky youngsters saw the impressive silverware and enjoyed the "mayoral tour" explaining the borough's history and the First Citizens involved in it.

The children enjoyed their visit so much that they invited the Mayor and Mayoress for a return visit to St Bede's. And, like the polite pupils they are, the boys and girls wrote to the Mayor and Mayoress, Cllr John Walsh and his wife, Christine, to say "thank you" for their hospitality.

The mayor explained that he was very keen to visit groups of youngsters and to have them visit the Town Hall.

He said: "I am always glad to raise awareness of civic pride and to encourage our young people to know more about the history of the borough and about the office and chain of mayor and its history."

DANNY BRADSHAW: "Thanks for the invite and the orange, biscuit and sweets. They were very nice. The tour was great and the chamber room was cool."

JAMIE BARNES: "I liked looking around the mayor's parlour, mayoress's parlour and the councillors' chamber. I also enjoyed seeing my great uncle's link in the chain." (Jamie's great uncle was Alfred Potts, Mayor of Bolton from 1922 to 23)

STEPHANIE JAMES: "We now know what it feels like to be the mayor and mayoress. I particularly enjoyed it when I saw all the mayors from the past engraved in the wooden plaques because their names sounded interesting."

REBECCA LOWE: "Thank you for the small tour around the town hall; I found it very interesting. The best bit was looking in your two rooms, looking at the pictures of the previous mayors (and the drink and biscuit)."

RYAN STANTON: "I can't believe your chain has 72 links and weighs nearly 5 pounds. I am very shocked that there are 124 rubies, 18 pearls and 20 diamonds in the Lady Mayoress's chain."

KATHRYN RUSSELL: "Thanks a bunch for the tour around your parlour. I would love to come again. PS. The best part was that you had a well top car and your FBI agent guy." (Presumably, the mayor's attendant!)

NICE TO SEE YOU: Pupils at St Bede's welcome the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton, Cllr John Walsh and his wife, Christine, on their visit to the Morris Green schoolPictures by Paul Heyes