Thursday, 29 March 2007

What is it with America?

I am not here considering their foreign policy or their cultural insularity, but a more important question: what happens to nice English girls when they go to America?

I remember Amy Winehouse as a nice polite middle-class Jewish girl from North London. A few hits in America and now she looks like a drug-crazed guttersnipe and talks with an accent that can only be natural to a black New Yorker. Nice West Country schoolgirl Joss Stone has undergone a similar transformation, affecting an American drawl and attracting criticism for “sleeping around”. Are there black schoolgirls in New York putting on fake West Country accents?

I do hope this is all just some deep and complex form of post modernist irony for young women. If not, what on earth is happening?

Sue’s last day

Today began with a chat to Sue about succession arrangements. I really am very sorry to lose Sue. Thankfully Sha-Lee has agreed to work extra hours for the next three weeks, but we need to start recruiting soon.

At lunchtime, I met representatives of a local group who are looking to become a registered charity, but who also have to rectify their employment practices. Many employers think they can escape employment responsibilities by designating staff as “self employed”. It wont work. No matter how tightly the contract is drawn up.

In the afternoon I caught up with staff and dealt with correspondence. I also had another group call for advice on setting up a charity. Sue left late afternoon. I’ll miss her.

World Forum for Watford?

In the evening, WCVS hosted the final meeting of the Watford Minority Ethnic Forum. Moreen and Kate attended from the Minority Ethnic Network for the East of England Region and made a useful presentation.
The meeting was well attended and there was a very positive discussion: the group will relaunch itself in a more streamlined format, better knitted in to other developments in Hertfordshire and the East of England region.

The inaugural meeting of the new group will be held on 16 May – meanwhile there is a lot of work to do drawing up constitutions etc. .

I finally got the leave the office at about 10:00 am and arrived home to find Jackie fast asleep. I must crack this work life balance thing soon: I'm getting married next week.