Cllr Ricki Gadsby has taken over from the previous town Mayor Stuart Pryde.

Mrs Gadsby, who hails from Brooklyn, New York was voted in as mayor for 2009/10 by the town council at their annual meeting on May 28.

Cllr Gadsby will be the first American-born Mayor of Waltham Abbey.

She emigrated from the States over 20 years ago and settled in Upshire with her solicitor husband Nick Gadsby.

She has three stepchildren and six granchildren, which she says, keeps her very busy.

Following her election Ricki Gadsby said how thrilled she was to be elected.

She said: "When I lived in Brooklyn, I never dreamt of being the Mayor of this wonderful historic town. The residents have welcomed me they've all been wonderful. I am very proud."

GETTING TO KNOW YOU - RICKI GADSBY

Q. What was the first album or record you bought?

RG: Carole King's "Tapestry" in the 1970's its still one of my favcourite albums.

Q.what is the English quirk you love the most?

RG: It would have to be the patience, I was queueing for 15 minutes the other day and I was ready to scream but everyone else was so good natured, in New York that wouldn't happen.

Q.and the least?

RG: Probably the same thing! I'm used to a faster pace of life and it can get really frustrating sometimes.

Q. what would you rescue from your house if it was on fire?

RG: It would have to be my wedding album, when I got married 20 years ago they didn't have digital cameras- so its irreplacable.

Q. where's your favoruite place in the world?

RG: I go hiking with my husband and the most beautiful place we've visited is Portafino in Italy, plus my grandparents originated from the Sorrento and Naples area, its truly beautiful."

Q.what do you do to relax?

RG: I' m a keen golfer, I hike and I have singing lessons once a week.

I was a singer in New York, I sign Jazz and opera, so I could be singing at a few of my mayoral engagments- waltham abbey's singing mayor!

Q. who is your biggest inspiration?

RG: It would have to be Barack Obama - I like the way he's so straightforward and I think he'll be a good president for America.

Q. what would you do if you were invisible for the day?

RG: I would go to number 10 Downing Street, I'd love to see whats going on in there at the moment, I don't come from the same political ideal, but I do feel a bit sorry for Brown.

Q. What was the last book you read?

RG: Rabbit Run by John Updike - i'd read it before but enjoyed it so much that I decided to read it again- but my favourite author is Gabriel Garcia Marquez "Love in the time of Cholera" is my all time favourite.

Q. Favourite childhood memory?

RG: Cooking with my Grandmother, I can't remember how old I was but she taught me to cook pasta without a machine, it was a very happy time for me.

Q. first crush?

RG: I used to date this nice Catholic boy called Tommy Moogan, who was training to be a Catholic Priest, he was my first crush. It was a bit of a case of forbidden fruit. He never did become a Priest in the end!

Q. What do you love most about Waltham Abbey?

RG: I love the church itself, before I was married I used to fly over to visit my husband, and he took me there before even going to London. It was so beautiful I loved it from the first time I saw it Now to think that i'm representing it as a councillor and as mayor is amazing.

Q. What do you miss most about New York?

RG: It's changed over the years but when I first came here I was struck that everything shut at night, in New York there's always something going on at any time of the night or day, you can get anything at any time but when I moved over it really suprised me that the shops would close so early.

Q. Tell us something that most people don't know about you....

RG: I used to work on the 105th floor of the World trade centre for a financial company called Cantor Fitzgerald. When the towers fell they lost everyone on that floor, I can't really describe how it felt to see that.