At the start of the week, the NSPCC launched a campaign to encourage all supermarkets to adopt a “no smacking” policy after market research showed that 40% of shoppers would prefer to shop in a “smack free” environment. Then Alcohol Concern called for parents to be arrested if they offer any alcohol to any child under the age of sixteen. I would not belittle the problems of alcohol abuse or child abuse, but both of these two initiatives seem to be conceived by Marketing people with too little real work to do. People’s personal lives should not be micro-managed by the state, still less policed by their local supermarket. Isn’t this History lesson number one?
But today there were two much more important demonstrations. Across Europe and the world, there were demonstrations to draw attention to the humanitarian disaster in Darfur. IN the UK, demonstrations were supported by Amnesty International and many others. Now this is what charities should be doing: acting as the world’s conscience and drawing attention to real need and injustice.
And in Turkey there was a million-strong demonstration against the intermingling of religion and politics. Imagine. Thomas Jefferson’s call for the separation of church and state has never been more relevant.
At home, Jackie and I spent the entire day in the garden. Excellent.
Saturday, 28 April 2007
Perfect day?
After a long slow morning, Jackie and I drove to the Cross Keys pub for lunch at Gustard’s Wood, and then went on to Woolmer Green for the AGM of the Hertfordshire Family History Society, then we dropped in at Lessiter’s chocolate factory before returning home. Everywhere, countryside and gardens looked magnificent: wisteria, apple and cherry blossom, magnolia, rhododendron, and such wonderful blue bells ….
At home, we sat in the garden and I finished reading Julian Barnes’s England, England. I tried to enjoy this, but it seemed that Mr Barnes wasn't quite willing to meet me half way on this. So not quite a perfect day, then.
After a long slow morning, Jackie and I drove to the Cross Keys pub for lunch at Gustard’s Wood, and then went on to Woolmer Green for the AGM of the Hertfordshire Family History Society, then we dropped in at Lessiter’s chocolate factory before returning home. Everywhere, countryside and gardens looked magnificent: wisteria, apple and cherry blossom, magnolia, rhododendron, and such wonderful blue bells ….
At home, we sat in the garden and I finished reading Julian Barnes’s England, England. I tried to enjoy this, but it seemed that Mr Barnes wasn't quite willing to meet me half way on this. So not quite a perfect day, then.
Friday, 27 April 2007
I wrote recently about young English girls adopting Jamaican and American accents. We’ve had a telephone call from one of our son’s friends. His natural accent is North London / Hertfordshire, but he too has decided to adopt this fashionable American Caribbean accent, but sadly, for him he has got it terribly wrong. While he has succeeded in disguising his Hertfordshire accent, his new accent sounds like it comes from nowhere on earth. Except possibly Johannesburg.
An aspect of globalisation is that the internet has eradicated distance (at least as far a communication and information are concerned). Perhaps young people also want to exist independently of “place” and to achieve this they need to be able to change “cultures” as easily as they change clothes. Or perhaps universal English has eradicated the need for Esperanto, and the need now is for an international standard dialect?
This morning proper began with a visit from Katie of the Guideposts Trust. She was delivering some wonderful works of art prepared by users of the Trust. We set about working out how best to display these at Watford CVS. We were joined by Maria and by Simon (one of the artists). Hopefully we will soon have a wonderful display and perhaps a proper open evening.
Pam Handley arrived at 10:00, prompt as ever for my monthly supervision meeting. We discussed the recruitment process for a Finance and Administration Officer. Very properly, Pam pointed out that our advert failed to carry both the Watford Borough Council logo and our own Charity Registration number. Schoolboy errors on my part. We also talked through the agenda for the forthcoming trustees’ meeting.
Having such an engaged (and sharp) Chair of trustees is very reassuring: it reduces my isolation and helps me keep one eye always on the horizon – and it keeps me on my toes which is no bad thing at all.
In the afternoon, I took off home to Welwyn Garden City to get the car tyres changed. I also had an appointment at the gym to see if I can maybe start taking exercise a bit more seriously. A lovely lady called Karol tried to introduce me to the various machines and it all looks very daunting. There is something just so unnatural about the whole gym thing: but I have promised to give it a go.
In the evening, there was a family gathering for Mum’s 76th birthday - her first for more than fifty years without Dad alongside her.
An aspect of globalisation is that the internet has eradicated distance (at least as far a communication and information are concerned). Perhaps young people also want to exist independently of “place” and to achieve this they need to be able to change “cultures” as easily as they change clothes. Or perhaps universal English has eradicated the need for Esperanto, and the need now is for an international standard dialect?
This morning proper began with a visit from Katie of the Guideposts Trust. She was delivering some wonderful works of art prepared by users of the Trust. We set about working out how best to display these at Watford CVS. We were joined by Maria and by Simon (one of the artists). Hopefully we will soon have a wonderful display and perhaps a proper open evening.
Pam Handley arrived at 10:00, prompt as ever for my monthly supervision meeting. We discussed the recruitment process for a Finance and Administration Officer. Very properly, Pam pointed out that our advert failed to carry both the Watford Borough Council logo and our own Charity Registration number. Schoolboy errors on my part. We also talked through the agenda for the forthcoming trustees’ meeting.
Having such an engaged (and sharp) Chair of trustees is very reassuring: it reduces my isolation and helps me keep one eye always on the horizon – and it keeps me on my toes which is no bad thing at all.
In the afternoon, I took off home to Welwyn Garden City to get the car tyres changed. I also had an appointment at the gym to see if I can maybe start taking exercise a bit more seriously. A lovely lady called Karol tried to introduce me to the various machines and it all looks very daunting. There is something just so unnatural about the whole gym thing: but I have promised to give it a go.
In the evening, there was a family gathering for Mum’s 76th birthday - her first for more than fifty years without Dad alongside her.
Thursday, 26 March 2007
I spent the best part of the morning meeting with Kim, our WBC grants officer, discussing the final details of our three year Service Level Agreement. While we are 98% agreed on what we will do and how much funding we will receive, there are some interesting sticking points over how things are measured and over reporting and monitoring. I am sure an appropriate agreement will be reached at some early stage.
More interestingly, Kim is also interested in knowing more about the county-wide and regional picture of VCS development and we discussed how CVS could deliver a briefing session for Council staff sometime over the summer.
Sunny prospects for the Sunflower Centres?
In the afternoon, I attended a discussion about the future of the Sunflower Centres. This meeting of key board members followed WCVS's efforts in helping to organise three public meetings on the future of the project.
We had a very interesting and productive discussion and the board chair (Alan Gough of WBC) outlined his proposals for change. All his proposals are consistent with much previous discussion and all were very sensible.
The fundamental change is that there will now be just one Management Board, which will be serviced by the Centre Manager and which will determine the annual programme of work. Responsibility for implementation will be delegated back to the Centre Manager. What could be simpler?
Of course all Board members will need to support the Centre Manager, and working groups might be set up to do this, but they will be clearly defined and have clear terms of reference.
More interestingly, Kim is also interested in knowing more about the county-wide and regional picture of VCS development and we discussed how CVS could deliver a briefing session for Council staff sometime over the summer.
Sunny prospects for the Sunflower Centres?
In the afternoon, I attended a discussion about the future of the Sunflower Centres. This meeting of key board members followed WCVS's efforts in helping to organise three public meetings on the future of the project.
We had a very interesting and productive discussion and the board chair (Alan Gough of WBC) outlined his proposals for change. All his proposals are consistent with much previous discussion and all were very sensible.
The fundamental change is that there will now be just one Management Board, which will be serviced by the Centre Manager and which will determine the annual programme of work. Responsibility for implementation will be delegated back to the Centre Manager. What could be simpler?
Of course all Board members will need to support the Centre Manager, and working groups might be set up to do this, but they will be clearly defined and have clear terms of reference.
What a contrast to the existing arrangements where there is a Strategic Board and an Executive Committee (and occasionally an Operational Group). None are services by the Centre Manager. And I don’t think anyone understands this structure.
Another major proposal for change is that membership of the new single board will be expanded to include representatives from all major statutory partners and also four new members from the local voluntary sector.
Maybe this creates too big a board for some purposes, and maybe we will need to evolve different structures in the future. But for the time being there is a simple structure and all major partners will sit at the same table.
Another major proposal for change is that membership of the new single board will be expanded to include representatives from all major statutory partners and also four new members from the local voluntary sector.
Maybe this creates too big a board for some purposes, and maybe we will need to evolve different structures in the future. But for the time being there is a simple structure and all major partners will sit at the same table.
Hurrah!
Wednesday, 25 March 2007
The Big News today, is that Maria (our occasional volunteer) has started working for us on a part-time temporary contract providing cover while we try and recruit a Finance and Administration Officer. Maria is not a Finance Officer, but she can take quite a bit of Administration off my hands so I can concentrate on Finance and other things.
While Maria got to grip with other things, I completed and issued the long-awaited guidance note on the final phase of the Value and Volumes research. Another major job struck off my to do list.
In the afternoon, I travelled up to Whitechapel for a trustees’ meeting at the Disability Law Service. Traffic was awful and it took me three hours to travel through the three Ws: from Watford to Welwyn and down to Whitechapel. I arrived half an hour late for the meeting, which was then concluded by 8:00. Linda, the CEO at DLS , is performing her usual miracles. We are all waiting anxiously decisions on future funding.
Shortly after 9:00 I was safely back home relaxing with Jackie.
While Maria got to grip with other things, I completed and issued the long-awaited guidance note on the final phase of the Value and Volumes research. Another major job struck off my to do list.
In the afternoon, I travelled up to Whitechapel for a trustees’ meeting at the Disability Law Service. Traffic was awful and it took me three hours to travel through the three Ws: from Watford to Welwyn and down to Whitechapel. I arrived half an hour late for the meeting, which was then concluded by 8:00. Linda, the CEO at DLS , is performing her usual miracles. We are all waiting anxiously decisions on future funding.
Shortly after 9:00 I was safely back home relaxing with Jackie.
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
More technical difficulties
I arrived at work to find that Sha-Lee had stayed late to overcome the last technical difficulties of the mailmerge.
I started the day by “hitting the print button”. My printer chugged and spluttered and lay silent for twenty minutes, then churned out twenty letters and then crashed. This tedious cycle repeated itself for several hours before things finally settled down and the letters began to appear. Shortly after lunch, it was a real pleasure to see that the printing had completed.
Piled up on Sha-Lee’s desk were 420 membership forms (two sheets of A4 printed on two sides and folded into an A5 booklet), 420 flyers advertising forthcoming events at WCVS, 420 merged covering letters, 420 pre-paid return envelopes, and 420 outgoing window envelopes. Sha-Lee (being part time) had completed her hours for the week and was back at college, but in the next few days I will surely find some kind soul to stuff 420 envelopes.
A community respose to Hate Crime
In the afternoon, we hosted a meeting for the Sunflower Centres on A community response to Hate Crime across West Herts (the three areas of Watford, Dacorum and Three Rivers). Something more than twenty people attended and all but three were from Watford; there is a major problem that people will simply not travel for meetings.
The Home Office has a clear definition of Hate Crime: Any incident constituting a criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
Hate crime can include physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti, arson, abusive or obscene telephone calls, malicious complaints, offensive leaflets and posters, and bullying at school or in the workplace. People might be victims not only because of their colour but also (for example) because of their religion, sexual orientation, or disability.
Thankfully, these are not common crimes. But they are extremely dangerous and the community response ought to reflect a deep abhorence for such hatred and intolerance.
Yasmin Batliwala chaired the meeting very well and WCVS was represented by Vanessa (our Development and Training Officer), two trustees (Althea McLean OBE and Sylvia Harvey), and occasionally myself. At the end, there was clear agreement on setting up a Hate Crimes forum reporting to the Police’s already existing Independent Advisory Group.
Community development
Unfortunately, I missed most of this meeting because I was meanwhile meeting with Sarah Pinnock and Kathryn Robson of WBC to consider the process of drawing up a Community Development Strategy for Watford.
In Watford, a lot is happening that ought to feed into a coherent strategy, but at present it is all a little too fragmented. Sarah, Kathryn and I had each done quite a bit of research, and much of it focused on the “beacon” local authority of Blyth Valley.
But there is a potentially vast area to address: we all had lots of questions, very few answers, and none of us knew where the parameters are. How do community development and citizens’ engagement and social cohesion fit together? Or are they all the same thing? What about the handover of council housing to the new Watford Community Housing Trust? What about the Community Gateway? Sport and health? Refugee Gateway status? Passing over council-run Community Centres to local voluntary control? Transfer of assets? A neighbourhoods strategy? Consultation processes? Disability Forum? Minority Ethnic Forum? Equalities Panel? Youth Council? Women’s Centre? Senior Citizen’s Forum? One Watford LSP? The Mayor? Local Councillors? Voluntary Sector development? WBC tendering and procurement? Compact?
Kathryn, Sarah and I agreed that the next step should be to engage other key people in a brainstorming session so we can identify what is already happening and how it all ought to fit together.
Trustees
In the evening, I worked to finalise papers for next week’s WCVS trustees’ meeting. Most difficult was producing financial reports without a bookkeeper or finance officer. The papers were finally e-mailed off at about 10:30 pm.
I left the office shortly after to find that during the evening, Watford had been surrounded by roadworks. No diversions were signposted, there were just lots of roads closed and lots of flashing lights. I drove around for half an hour before I managed to find a route that wasn’t blocked off.
Home at last
On arriving home at midnight, I found that Jackie had recorded for me BBC’s dramatisation of Diary of a Nobody. Crikey, rumbled!
I arrived at work to find that Sha-Lee had stayed late to overcome the last technical difficulties of the mailmerge.
I started the day by “hitting the print button”. My printer chugged and spluttered and lay silent for twenty minutes, then churned out twenty letters and then crashed. This tedious cycle repeated itself for several hours before things finally settled down and the letters began to appear. Shortly after lunch, it was a real pleasure to see that the printing had completed.
Piled up on Sha-Lee’s desk were 420 membership forms (two sheets of A4 printed on two sides and folded into an A5 booklet), 420 flyers advertising forthcoming events at WCVS, 420 merged covering letters, 420 pre-paid return envelopes, and 420 outgoing window envelopes. Sha-Lee (being part time) had completed her hours for the week and was back at college, but in the next few days I will surely find some kind soul to stuff 420 envelopes.
A community respose to Hate Crime
In the afternoon, we hosted a meeting for the Sunflower Centres on A community response to Hate Crime across West Herts (the three areas of Watford, Dacorum and Three Rivers). Something more than twenty people attended and all but three were from Watford; there is a major problem that people will simply not travel for meetings.
The Home Office has a clear definition of Hate Crime: Any incident constituting a criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
Hate crime can include physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti, arson, abusive or obscene telephone calls, malicious complaints, offensive leaflets and posters, and bullying at school or in the workplace. People might be victims not only because of their colour but also (for example) because of their religion, sexual orientation, or disability.
Thankfully, these are not common crimes. But they are extremely dangerous and the community response ought to reflect a deep abhorence for such hatred and intolerance.
Yasmin Batliwala chaired the meeting very well and WCVS was represented by Vanessa (our Development and Training Officer), two trustees (Althea McLean OBE and Sylvia Harvey), and occasionally myself. At the end, there was clear agreement on setting up a Hate Crimes forum reporting to the Police’s already existing Independent Advisory Group.
Community development
Unfortunately, I missed most of this meeting because I was meanwhile meeting with Sarah Pinnock and Kathryn Robson of WBC to consider the process of drawing up a Community Development Strategy for Watford.
In Watford, a lot is happening that ought to feed into a coherent strategy, but at present it is all a little too fragmented. Sarah, Kathryn and I had each done quite a bit of research, and much of it focused on the “beacon” local authority of Blyth Valley.
But there is a potentially vast area to address: we all had lots of questions, very few answers, and none of us knew where the parameters are. How do community development and citizens’ engagement and social cohesion fit together? Or are they all the same thing? What about the handover of council housing to the new Watford Community Housing Trust? What about the Community Gateway? Sport and health? Refugee Gateway status? Passing over council-run Community Centres to local voluntary control? Transfer of assets? A neighbourhoods strategy? Consultation processes? Disability Forum? Minority Ethnic Forum? Equalities Panel? Youth Council? Women’s Centre? Senior Citizen’s Forum? One Watford LSP? The Mayor? Local Councillors? Voluntary Sector development? WBC tendering and procurement? Compact?
Kathryn, Sarah and I agreed that the next step should be to engage other key people in a brainstorming session so we can identify what is already happening and how it all ought to fit together.
Trustees
In the evening, I worked to finalise papers for next week’s WCVS trustees’ meeting. Most difficult was producing financial reports without a bookkeeper or finance officer. The papers were finally e-mailed off at about 10:30 pm.
I left the office shortly after to find that during the evening, Watford had been surrounded by roadworks. No diversions were signposted, there were just lots of roads closed and lots of flashing lights. I drove around for half an hour before I managed to find a route that wasn’t blocked off.
Home at last
On arriving home at midnight, I found that Jackie had recorded for me BBC’s dramatisation of Diary of a Nobody. Crikey, rumbled!
Monday, 23 April 2007
In the morning, the mini drought-cum-heat-wave finally broke and we saw rain for the first time since March, and it was distinctly cooler too.
I had set aside today to compile our membership mailing to the 400 or so groups we’ve identified in Watford. Previously, we have had about 150 members, and have been aware of another 100 or so groups. But our “value and volume” research has identified 400 groups and we want them all to hold membership of WCVS.
To achieve this, my trustees have agreed to offer FREE membership for 2007-08 provided that groups sign a bank mandate for future years’ membership fees.
So the upshot is that we have a database of 400 members that Sha-Lee has been checking and rechecking. The original database had nearly 1,000 groups, but most of these were defunct or outside Watford or duplicates or nothing to do with the voluntary sector (being public or private sector bodies).
But today turned into a bit of a stretch as Sha-Lee and I were beset by technical and printing problems. I eventually left the office at about 8:00 leaving Sha-Lee to cope with the last few small jobs. Or so I thought. I later learnt that Sha-Lee had to stay in the office until gone midnight sorting things out.
My one respite from this exercise was to spend an hour or two discussing how we can get support from the Local Strategic Partnership (One Watford) to expand volunteering in Watford. Naturally I met with Helen (our Volunteer Centre manager) and we were joined by Emma (from One Watford) and Victor (from HCC). Helen had prepared some good papers and calendars and we soon came up with a plan.
Also through the day, I had lots of sorting out to do re: tomorrow's meeting on Hate Crime. More anon.
I had set aside today to compile our membership mailing to the 400 or so groups we’ve identified in Watford. Previously, we have had about 150 members, and have been aware of another 100 or so groups. But our “value and volume” research has identified 400 groups and we want them all to hold membership of WCVS.
To achieve this, my trustees have agreed to offer FREE membership for 2007-08 provided that groups sign a bank mandate for future years’ membership fees.
So the upshot is that we have a database of 400 members that Sha-Lee has been checking and rechecking. The original database had nearly 1,000 groups, but most of these were defunct or outside Watford or duplicates or nothing to do with the voluntary sector (being public or private sector bodies).
But today turned into a bit of a stretch as Sha-Lee and I were beset by technical and printing problems. I eventually left the office at about 8:00 leaving Sha-Lee to cope with the last few small jobs. Or so I thought. I later learnt that Sha-Lee had to stay in the office until gone midnight sorting things out.
My one respite from this exercise was to spend an hour or two discussing how we can get support from the Local Strategic Partnership (One Watford) to expand volunteering in Watford. Naturally I met with Helen (our Volunteer Centre manager) and we were joined by Emma (from One Watford) and Victor (from HCC). Helen had prepared some good papers and calendars and we soon came up with a plan.
Also through the day, I had lots of sorting out to do re: tomorrow's meeting on Hate Crime. More anon.
Sunday 22 April 2007
Jackie and I collected Beth (grand-daughter) from her mother Rhiannon, and headed off to Watford for the Boy Scouts’ centenary St George’s Day Parade. Beth was very excited, and was pleased as anything to get her picture taken with the Pipe Major.
In Watford, there are nearly twenty different groups of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. Altogether, I would guess about 600 joined the march from the Harlequin Centre to Cassiobury Park. Jackie, Beth and I started by keeping pace with the band, but then fell back to enjoy an ill-deserved ice-cream before rejoining the throng at Cassiobury Park for the main celebration.
The event had the theme of Past, Present and Future and began with a rousing rendition of Jerusalem. I have always enjoyed this subversive hymn and it was thrilling to hear it sung with such vim by the Boy Scouts. The other most memorable moments were provided by Scouting veterans Normal Hicks and Gordon French who gave a glimpse of what things were like when they joined the Boy Scouts in 1937 and 1949 respectively. We also heard about a recent Scouting trip to Africa, and from Roger Sands on the future of Scouting.
It is fashionable to be cynical about the Boy Scouts. But the movement survives and endures, and has successfully re-invented itself to shed its more militaristic and nationalistic baggage. With all the usual concerns about the youth of today etc etc, what other organisation can gather together so many young people and engage so many adult volunteers? Maintaining links between generations is absolutely critical for sustaining a healthy functional community. Indeed, it is perhaps the Holy Grail of community cohesion.
During Renewing Our Promise, Beth distinguished herself by asking in a loud voice: “Can we go home yet”? We mollified her by whisking her off for a quick drink and a bit of cake at the lovely Cha Cha Cha Café.
Back with the Boy Scouts, I quote from the service paper:
We all say together
O God, you have made us all,
But we are all very different.
Each of us is unique and special,
And we all have different gifts and abilities.
Please help us to use all that we are
And all that we have
To fulfil our promise to each other,
to our community, and to you.
I was never a Scout myself and as a lifelong atheist I cannot embrace any form of prayer. But theology apart, this prayer reflects a commendable commitment to honest human endeavour and to equality and to community. Sooner or later, all of us will have to choose between this and the cynicism and selfish consumerism so prevalent around us.
In Watford, there are nearly twenty different groups of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. Altogether, I would guess about 600 joined the march from the Harlequin Centre to Cassiobury Park. Jackie, Beth and I started by keeping pace with the band, but then fell back to enjoy an ill-deserved ice-cream before rejoining the throng at Cassiobury Park for the main celebration.
The event had the theme of Past, Present and Future and began with a rousing rendition of Jerusalem. I have always enjoyed this subversive hymn and it was thrilling to hear it sung with such vim by the Boy Scouts. The other most memorable moments were provided by Scouting veterans Normal Hicks and Gordon French who gave a glimpse of what things were like when they joined the Boy Scouts in 1937 and 1949 respectively. We also heard about a recent Scouting trip to Africa, and from Roger Sands on the future of Scouting.
It is fashionable to be cynical about the Boy Scouts. But the movement survives and endures, and has successfully re-invented itself to shed its more militaristic and nationalistic baggage. With all the usual concerns about the youth of today etc etc, what other organisation can gather together so many young people and engage so many adult volunteers? Maintaining links between generations is absolutely critical for sustaining a healthy functional community. Indeed, it is perhaps the Holy Grail of community cohesion.
During Renewing Our Promise, Beth distinguished herself by asking in a loud voice: “Can we go home yet”? We mollified her by whisking her off for a quick drink and a bit of cake at the lovely Cha Cha Cha Café.
Back with the Boy Scouts, I quote from the service paper:
We all say together
O God, you have made us all,
But we are all very different.
Each of us is unique and special,
And we all have different gifts and abilities.
Please help us to use all that we are
And all that we have
To fulfil our promise to each other,
to our community, and to you.
I was never a Scout myself and as a lifelong atheist I cannot embrace any form of prayer. But theology apart, this prayer reflects a commendable commitment to honest human endeavour and to equality and to community. Sooner or later, all of us will have to choose between this and the cynicism and selfish consumerism so prevalent around us.
Saturday, 21 April 2007
Jackie and I spent the morning in the garden and then my Mum dropped by for a cup of tea. In the afternoon, we went shopping and then spent the rest of the day preparing for our neighbours Linda and Allan who joined us in the evening for a meal. Excellent fare and excellent company.
Friday, 20 April 2007
The Big Event
The day of the big conference in Hatfield: Transforming Local Public Services Together. This event was put together (almost single-handedly) by Andrew Burt of Hertfordshire County Council. He watched over the conference with a paternal eye making sure that everything went smoothly.
There were about 300 people present, and I was surprised to realise how many of them I now knew, or at least recognised. There was a very strong turn-out from the voluntary sector, and quite a good showing from the statutory sector across the whole of the East of England region.
After the usual preliminaries, the day sprang to life with an excellent presentation from Mark Mitchell of Dacorum CVS. Mark was very impressive, and seemed effortlessly to identify the key issues. But he had not previously struck me as the sort of man who would use interface as a verb.
Anne Blackmore (Head of Policy at NCVO) also gave an excellent presentation, helpfully emphasising that local authorities should engage the voluntary sector not just in the delivery of services, but also in efforts to define needs, and to design solutions.
I chaired one of the morning workshops: Size Matters! …ways in which the value and volume of the voluntary sector can be measured. It was not an easy session to chair as there were one or two people present were determined to talk on every single issue, and then to provide a running commentary on everyone else's contributions. I just about managed to hold the workshop together, but the seams were beginning to go. Sarah Pinnock of Watford Borough Council attended the workshop; I hope her view of WCVS wont be coloured by this.
At lunchtime, I attended Paul Barasi’s meeting for Compact Voice.
The afternoon began with speeches from John Stoker (Compact Commissioner) and Debbie Edwards (Office of the Third Sector). Then I chaired a workshop on Local Compacts and two-tier working. This was a far better workshop: better presentations (from Paul Barasi and Laura Hack), more productive discussions, and much easier to chair.
At the end of the day, I expected to chair the final plenary sessions. But only when actually climbing on the platform did I realise that I was a member of the Q&A panel and that the session would be chaired by my colleague Anne Jansz (Stevenage CVS). After a long-ish day, this last-minute change left me feeling slightly discombobulated but I took my seat as calmly as possible.
Most questions were easily dealt with. But David Fitzpatrick (Hertfordshire Community Foundation) in his usual casual manner asked exactly the right question: if the voluntary sector becomes in part a delivery arm for public services, how can it convince local government of the value of its other work? When I expected to chair the session, this is the question I most wanted addressed. But I had not thought that I would face the question myself. I felt rather like the father in Hope and Glory whose young son bowls him an unexpected googly.
I did my best to do the question justice: made the right sort of noises, rambled for a sentence or two, mumbled incoherently, and then sat back as nonchalantly as possible. Other panel members John Stoker (Compact Commissioner), Keith Shephard (CEO of Herts CC) and Michele Rigby (Social Enterprise East of England) all seemed to give far more coherent answers. Did anyone make any sense of my answer? Did everyone notice my discomfiture? Some things it is best not to know.
Despite this, I thought the conference was a great success. Certainly, at the close of day, Andrew Burt bore the look of a man satisfied with a good day’s work.
I turned chauffer and drove Compact Commissioner John Stoker back to Hatfield railway station. He seemed very straightforward and likeable.
The day of the big conference in Hatfield: Transforming Local Public Services Together. This event was put together (almost single-handedly) by Andrew Burt of Hertfordshire County Council. He watched over the conference with a paternal eye making sure that everything went smoothly.
There were about 300 people present, and I was surprised to realise how many of them I now knew, or at least recognised. There was a very strong turn-out from the voluntary sector, and quite a good showing from the statutory sector across the whole of the East of England region.
After the usual preliminaries, the day sprang to life with an excellent presentation from Mark Mitchell of Dacorum CVS. Mark was very impressive, and seemed effortlessly to identify the key issues. But he had not previously struck me as the sort of man who would use interface as a verb.
Anne Blackmore (Head of Policy at NCVO) also gave an excellent presentation, helpfully emphasising that local authorities should engage the voluntary sector not just in the delivery of services, but also in efforts to define needs, and to design solutions.
I chaired one of the morning workshops: Size Matters! …ways in which the value and volume of the voluntary sector can be measured. It was not an easy session to chair as there were one or two people present were determined to talk on every single issue, and then to provide a running commentary on everyone else's contributions. I just about managed to hold the workshop together, but the seams were beginning to go. Sarah Pinnock of Watford Borough Council attended the workshop; I hope her view of WCVS wont be coloured by this.
At lunchtime, I attended Paul Barasi’s meeting for Compact Voice.
The afternoon began with speeches from John Stoker (Compact Commissioner) and Debbie Edwards (Office of the Third Sector). Then I chaired a workshop on Local Compacts and two-tier working. This was a far better workshop: better presentations (from Paul Barasi and Laura Hack), more productive discussions, and much easier to chair.
At the end of the day, I expected to chair the final plenary sessions. But only when actually climbing on the platform did I realise that I was a member of the Q&A panel and that the session would be chaired by my colleague Anne Jansz (Stevenage CVS). After a long-ish day, this last-minute change left me feeling slightly discombobulated but I took my seat as calmly as possible.
Most questions were easily dealt with. But David Fitzpatrick (Hertfordshire Community Foundation) in his usual casual manner asked exactly the right question: if the voluntary sector becomes in part a delivery arm for public services, how can it convince local government of the value of its other work? When I expected to chair the session, this is the question I most wanted addressed. But I had not thought that I would face the question myself. I felt rather like the father in Hope and Glory whose young son bowls him an unexpected googly.
I did my best to do the question justice: made the right sort of noises, rambled for a sentence or two, mumbled incoherently, and then sat back as nonchalantly as possible. Other panel members John Stoker (Compact Commissioner), Keith Shephard (CEO of Herts CC) and Michele Rigby (Social Enterprise East of England) all seemed to give far more coherent answers. Did anyone make any sense of my answer? Did everyone notice my discomfiture? Some things it is best not to know.
Despite this, I thought the conference was a great success. Certainly, at the close of day, Andrew Burt bore the look of a man satisfied with a good day’s work.
I turned chauffer and drove Compact Commissioner John Stoker back to Hatfield railway station. He seemed very straightforward and likeable.
Thursday, 19 April 2007
I enjoyed a short lie-in this morning. But Jackie (gorgeous wonderful Jackie who I love with all my heart) was not pleased that I worked so late yesterday. Amends must somehow be made.
A bleak outlook
I left home around 9:00 and went straight to Hertsmere CVS for a meeting on the future of voluntary sector training in Hertfordshire. Hertsmere CVS is managed by Robin, who is universally regarded as a lovable old curmudgeon. He has been described as challenging. I have never been certain whether this is meant in the sense of challenging sacred cows, University Challenge, or a challenging toddler.
This morning he helped enormously by bringing home what a bleak outlook there is for voluntary sector training in Hertfordshire. On the whole, the voluntary sector is simply not interested in long training programmes. Why sign up for a year’s training programme when your organisation lives hand-to-mouth and may close at three months’ notice? The voluntary sector also has a ferociously hostile attitude to being patronised or being swamped with bureaucracy and red tape. So voluntary sector training tends to be short-term, informal and unaccredited: functional rather than academic.
In recent times, this training has been funded by occasional grants, by Investing in Communities, by the professional development centre at North Herts College, and by discretionary funds from the Learning and Skills Council. With the exception of occasional ad hoc grants from disparate sources, all this is now ending. No more funding. Except possibly through a formal Training Consortium which must meet rigorous bureaucratic standards imposed by government through the Learning and Skills Council.
I can’t be the only one whose heart despaired at the thought of spending 2-3 years creating another resource-sucking bureaucracy on the off-chance that a quango may then give us some training money in the short window of opportunity before all the rules are changed again.
There must be easier ways of tackling this problem.
Back in Watford
I met with Anne (Funding Advisor) to help her finalise an analysis for Herts CVS of fundraising support in the county. It looks good.
Over lunch, I was visited by a lady from the African Nurses Association (a national group based in Watford) to discuss the possibility of becoming a registered charity.
Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) and I compared notes on the various meetings we’d each recently attended.
The remainder of the day was a blur of meetings and questions and telephone calls.
I only surfaced around 5:00 to start working on a finance report to my trustees.
And this doesn’t even begin to address the incompetence of some fools who came to my home to replace two storm-destroyed fence panels and ended up replacing two perfectly good panels and destroying some plants and trellis in the process. The stupidity of some people is just staggering.
A bleak outlook
I left home around 9:00 and went straight to Hertsmere CVS for a meeting on the future of voluntary sector training in Hertfordshire. Hertsmere CVS is managed by Robin, who is universally regarded as a lovable old curmudgeon. He has been described as challenging. I have never been certain whether this is meant in the sense of challenging sacred cows, University Challenge, or a challenging toddler.
This morning he helped enormously by bringing home what a bleak outlook there is for voluntary sector training in Hertfordshire. On the whole, the voluntary sector is simply not interested in long training programmes. Why sign up for a year’s training programme when your organisation lives hand-to-mouth and may close at three months’ notice? The voluntary sector also has a ferociously hostile attitude to being patronised or being swamped with bureaucracy and red tape. So voluntary sector training tends to be short-term, informal and unaccredited: functional rather than academic.
In recent times, this training has been funded by occasional grants, by Investing in Communities, by the professional development centre at North Herts College, and by discretionary funds from the Learning and Skills Council. With the exception of occasional ad hoc grants from disparate sources, all this is now ending. No more funding. Except possibly through a formal Training Consortium which must meet rigorous bureaucratic standards imposed by government through the Learning and Skills Council.
I can’t be the only one whose heart despaired at the thought of spending 2-3 years creating another resource-sucking bureaucracy on the off-chance that a quango may then give us some training money in the short window of opportunity before all the rules are changed again.
There must be easier ways of tackling this problem.
Back in Watford
I met with Anne (Funding Advisor) to help her finalise an analysis for Herts CVS of fundraising support in the county. It looks good.
Over lunch, I was visited by a lady from the African Nurses Association (a national group based in Watford) to discuss the possibility of becoming a registered charity.
Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) and I compared notes on the various meetings we’d each recently attended.
The remainder of the day was a blur of meetings and questions and telephone calls.
I only surfaced around 5:00 to start working on a finance report to my trustees.
And this doesn’t even begin to address the incompetence of some fools who came to my home to replace two storm-destroyed fence panels and ended up replacing two perfectly good panels and destroying some plants and trellis in the process. The stupidity of some people is just staggering.
Wednesday, 18 April 2007
A long day again. It began fairly gently “catching up on correspondence” (wading through e-mails) and finalising arrangements for Friday’s conference in Hatfield.
The I met for an hour or so with Sha-Lee to produce final drafts of our 2007-08 membership pack.
Watford Borough Council
At lunchtime I went to Cassio Lodge to meet the Audit Commission inspectors who are carrying out a Comprehensive Performance Assessment on Watford Borough Council. Today was a short workshop of the Borough’s voluntary sector partners at which we were encouraged to be honest and frank with our views about our local Council. Despite every opportunity (and some incitement?) to sling mud, the participants were unanimous in their view that on balance we thought pretty highly of Watford Borough Council.
The negatives were that the Council spent too much money on professional consultants, failed to understand the true complexity of the voluntary sector, could be weak on communication between its own departments, and sometimes took a simplistic view of complicated issues.
The positives were that Watford was a good place to live, that members and officers were open and approachable and were genuinely committed to doing their best for Watford, that they followed transparent processes, that they listened and would change policies, and that they took the voluntary sector seriously.
On balance that’s pretty good going.
At the meeting I saw plenty of good people form the voluntary sector, and was specially pleased to see Althea (one of my trustees). After the meeting I shared some views and news with Sylvia and Phil (two more of my trustees).
Afternoon
In the afternoon, I met with WBC’s Senior Grants Officer Sarah Pinnock to begin catching up with our vast areas of mutual interest.
While all this was going on, Vanessa was supporting a meeting of the Disability Forum and Helen was in Hatfield for a meeting of the county-wide Volunteering Target Delivery Group.
Evening
At around 5:00, I still had a mountain of work to struggle through. I pulled together papers for my 2 May trustees' meeting, writing my usual report, and papers on the constitution, our risk assessment, and staff remuneration. After this I drafted “Terms of Reference” for the 16 May launch of the Watford One World Forum.
I didn’t complete the finance report or the 2007-08 budget amendments. But it was late and I was tired. In fact, it was midnight and I was tired.
Work life balance? I have my thoughts on this. Perhaps when there's more time ....
The I met for an hour or so with Sha-Lee to produce final drafts of our 2007-08 membership pack.
Watford Borough Council
At lunchtime I went to Cassio Lodge to meet the Audit Commission inspectors who are carrying out a Comprehensive Performance Assessment on Watford Borough Council. Today was a short workshop of the Borough’s voluntary sector partners at which we were encouraged to be honest and frank with our views about our local Council. Despite every opportunity (and some incitement?) to sling mud, the participants were unanimous in their view that on balance we thought pretty highly of Watford Borough Council.
The negatives were that the Council spent too much money on professional consultants, failed to understand the true complexity of the voluntary sector, could be weak on communication between its own departments, and sometimes took a simplistic view of complicated issues.
The positives were that Watford was a good place to live, that members and officers were open and approachable and were genuinely committed to doing their best for Watford, that they followed transparent processes, that they listened and would change policies, and that they took the voluntary sector seriously.
On balance that’s pretty good going.
At the meeting I saw plenty of good people form the voluntary sector, and was specially pleased to see Althea (one of my trustees). After the meeting I shared some views and news with Sylvia and Phil (two more of my trustees).
Afternoon
In the afternoon, I met with WBC’s Senior Grants Officer Sarah Pinnock to begin catching up with our vast areas of mutual interest.
While all this was going on, Vanessa was supporting a meeting of the Disability Forum and Helen was in Hatfield for a meeting of the county-wide Volunteering Target Delivery Group.
Evening
At around 5:00, I still had a mountain of work to struggle through. I pulled together papers for my 2 May trustees' meeting, writing my usual report, and papers on the constitution, our risk assessment, and staff remuneration. After this I drafted “Terms of Reference” for the 16 May launch of the Watford One World Forum.
I didn’t complete the finance report or the 2007-08 budget amendments. But it was late and I was tired. In fact, it was midnight and I was tired.
Work life balance? I have my thoughts on this. Perhaps when there's more time ....
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
The Sunflower meeting on Domestic Violence took place this morning. We were represented by Vanessa (our experienced and adept Development Worker) who returned at lunchtime with details of the meeting. I was worried to learn that discussions already focus on negotiating a new composition for the Sunflower Centre’s management board. I think this misses the point entirely.
Or perhaps all the recent discussions (about partnership, service delivery, operational practices, and improved communications) are in fact the irrelevance, and the debates and problems have all been about status and power. O dear; have I been naive?
While Vanessa was in Dacorum, I spent a very productive two hours with Anne (our Funding Advisor). Anne is an extremely capable woman with a tenacious grasp of detail; I therefore rely on Anne a great deal and hold her in very high esteem.
On this occasion, we talked through many areas of her work, including some workshops she is planning to support Watford groups applying to the Local Network Fund or Awards for All. This usefully spilled over into options for revamping the Voluntary Sector Alliance and the Networking Lunches.
At lunchtime, I popped over to the Youth Offending Team to be interviewed as part of their inspection process. After, I went to Hatfield to meet with Moreen Pascal and discuss options for the constitution and structure of the new Watford World Forum.
In the evening, I finished reading One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. Jackie convinced me I would enjoy reading Kate Atkinson, and I did. But I got the distinct impression that Kate Atkinson would have written a far better book with less pressure from her publishers.
I then started reading Bernard Levin’s account of his journey across the Alps retracing Hannibal’s Footsteps. Hannibal’s soothsayer bore the name Bogus.
Or perhaps all the recent discussions (about partnership, service delivery, operational practices, and improved communications) are in fact the irrelevance, and the debates and problems have all been about status and power. O dear; have I been naive?
While Vanessa was in Dacorum, I spent a very productive two hours with Anne (our Funding Advisor). Anne is an extremely capable woman with a tenacious grasp of detail; I therefore rely on Anne a great deal and hold her in very high esteem.
On this occasion, we talked through many areas of her work, including some workshops she is planning to support Watford groups applying to the Local Network Fund or Awards for All. This usefully spilled over into options for revamping the Voluntary Sector Alliance and the Networking Lunches.
At lunchtime, I popped over to the Youth Offending Team to be interviewed as part of their inspection process. After, I went to Hatfield to meet with Moreen Pascal and discuss options for the constitution and structure of the new Watford World Forum.
In the evening, I finished reading One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. Jackie convinced me I would enjoy reading Kate Atkinson, and I did. But I got the distinct impression that Kate Atkinson would have written a far better book with less pressure from her publishers.
I then started reading Bernard Levin’s account of his journey across the Alps retracing Hannibal’s Footsteps. Hannibal’s soothsayer bore the name Bogus.
Monday, 16 April 2007
I spent part of the day trying to secure good attendances at forthcoming Watford CVS meetings. In the next few weeks we are hosting meetings on volunteering (twice), hate crime, fundraising, and an inaugural meeting for the Watford World Forum. In addition to this, other staff at WCVS are also organising meetings on disability, domestic violence, and (again) volunteering.
Each of the planned meetings has clear origins and a clear purpose – I just need to convince potential participants of this, and then convince them that active participation is a good use of their time given all the other demands they face. Local voluntary groups are on meetings overload and we need continually to make sure that the opportunities for collaboration don’t outstrip people’s capacity to participate. It’s a hard balancing act. The question I always start with is: why on earth would anyone willingly give up time to attend a meeting?
A large part of the afternoon I spent with Mary Green from neighbouring Three Rivers CVS. As ever, we compared notes and looked for ways of working together to our mutual advantage. Items on the agenda included the Sunflower project (Mary is interviewing for the new Manager), our BASIS applications (we are both working on business plans), governance (we both need to recruit more trustees for ourselves and our members), and the Herts CVS group (there is a meeting next week).
I arrived home about 7:00 and after tea I spent an hour or two redrafting bits of WCVS’s Memorandum and Articles of Association so that amendments can be presented to our September AGM.
Each of the planned meetings has clear origins and a clear purpose – I just need to convince potential participants of this, and then convince them that active participation is a good use of their time given all the other demands they face. Local voluntary groups are on meetings overload and we need continually to make sure that the opportunities for collaboration don’t outstrip people’s capacity to participate. It’s a hard balancing act. The question I always start with is: why on earth would anyone willingly give up time to attend a meeting?
A large part of the afternoon I spent with Mary Green from neighbouring Three Rivers CVS. As ever, we compared notes and looked for ways of working together to our mutual advantage. Items on the agenda included the Sunflower project (Mary is interviewing for the new Manager), our BASIS applications (we are both working on business plans), governance (we both need to recruit more trustees for ourselves and our members), and the Herts CVS group (there is a meeting next week).
I arrived home about 7:00 and after tea I spent an hour or two redrafting bits of WCVS’s Memorandum and Articles of Association so that amendments can be presented to our September AGM.
Sunday, 15 April 2007
The morning’s weather lured us straight back out into the garden. Somehow during the day we managed to transplant three small trees. I know it’s not the right time of year to go moving trees about, but they are robust little things and seem to enjoy an occasional change of scenery.
Saturday, 14 April 2007
After Friday, I was determined to have a relaxing weekend so spent most of the day in the garden. Never let it be said that I don't know how to have a good time. I pruned our elderly apple tree with some trepidation as I know they should be pruned in the winter. But this is an act of desperation: all other apple trees are already in bloom, but our is barely coming to life.
I was ably assisted by my nearly-three-year-old grand-daughter Bethany. She dragged the amputated branches from the tree to the recycling bin, where I chopped them up. She was a delight to work with and I was so proud of her.
Jackie and Bethany’s mum Rhiannon returned in the afternoon to help clear the rockery, and then Stuart arrived to cook us all a barbecue.
In the evening I finished reading Marking Time, Duncan Steel’s history of calendars. For my tastes, this was a near perfect book: he is an absolute master of his subject, his enthusiasm is apparent, he is quirky and eccentric, he respects his readers, he respects no sacred cows, he is humorous, and he speculates quite widely (and sometimes wildly) but always draws a clear line between fact and speculation. What a joy to read. And what a lovely end to a lovely day.
I was ably assisted by my nearly-three-year-old grand-daughter Bethany. She dragged the amputated branches from the tree to the recycling bin, where I chopped them up. She was a delight to work with and I was so proud of her.
Jackie and Bethany’s mum Rhiannon returned in the afternoon to help clear the rockery, and then Stuart arrived to cook us all a barbecue.
In the evening I finished reading Marking Time, Duncan Steel’s history of calendars. For my tastes, this was a near perfect book: he is an absolute master of his subject, his enthusiasm is apparent, he is quirky and eccentric, he respects his readers, he respects no sacred cows, he is humorous, and he speculates quite widely (and sometimes wildly) but always draws a clear line between fact and speculation. What a joy to read. And what a lovely end to a lovely day.
Friday, 13 April 2007
I began today meeting with a small local group that is considering its options for the future having failed to attract sufficient funding.
After, I did a little work on the Herts CVS strategic plan but I spent the bulk of the day planning out the next few weeks leading to the May bank holiday. Things don’t look good: there are too many meetings, too many deadlines, and altogether too many balls in the air.
In the afternoon I had a worrying call to say that Jacquie (Director of North Herts CVS) would be off work for a while. This is a grievous loss. Jacquie is pivotal to so much that Herts CVS does, and she is our main link into regional structures. This news is a sharp reminder to me that I need to look after myself a bit better: “restore home-work balance” was the phrase used in my annual appraisal. As I left the office at 7:00 pm, having worked about 25 hours in two days, I reflected that this is the biggest challenge I face right now.
After, I did a little work on the Herts CVS strategic plan but I spent the bulk of the day planning out the next few weeks leading to the May bank holiday. Things don’t look good: there are too many meetings, too many deadlines, and altogether too many balls in the air.
In the afternoon I had a worrying call to say that Jacquie (Director of North Herts CVS) would be off work for a while. This is a grievous loss. Jacquie is pivotal to so much that Herts CVS does, and she is our main link into regional structures. This news is a sharp reminder to me that I need to look after myself a bit better: “restore home-work balance” was the phrase used in my annual appraisal. As I left the office at 7:00 pm, having worked about 25 hours in two days, I reflected that this is the biggest challenge I face right now.
Thursday, 12 April 2007
This morning, I emerged from the house to find that I had a flat tyre so first had to get this fixed.
I still managed to be in Stevenage before 9:30 for a HCC event “Toward a Safer Stronger Hertfordshire” where I met several other voluntary sector people and also Emma from WBC’s LSP. The event had three streamed workshops on community cohesion, crime and volunteering. All the voluntary sector people were assigned to the volunteering workshop, which betrays a rather narrow and dismissive attitude to the sector. Anyway, I rebelled and went to the community cohesion discussion.
At lunchtime, I headed off to Watford where everyone seems to have coped effortlessly with my week-long absence. Ouch. I spent the best part of the afternoon catching up on a week’s correspondence, but there were no major problems or imminent deadlines. All in all, rather easier than I feared.
The end of an era
In the 1970s, Racial Equality Councils were almost as common as (say) Citizens’ Advice Bureaux. But funding and fashions change and today they are few and far between: Watford Racial Equality Council is the last remaining for a considerable distance around Hertfordshire.
But this evening, WCVS hosted WREC’s dissolution meeting. WREC has been a feature of Watford’s voluntary sector for several decades so there was a natural melancholy and a reluctance to let go. Participants in the meeting had a thorough discussion of options and at length took the decision (inevitable under the circumstances) to dissolve WREC.
Whatever the current fashions, there is certainly a need for a prominent local champion of equality and diversity. WCVS is working to ensure that there wont be a void for long.
After the WREC meeting, I spent some time configuring a new laptop for Saud and I finally left the office about 10:30.
Rather a tough re-entry to the world of work. But the blow was softened by listening to much of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. One of my all-time favourite lines: "She spat at him, playfully".
I still managed to be in Stevenage before 9:30 for a HCC event “Toward a Safer Stronger Hertfordshire” where I met several other voluntary sector people and also Emma from WBC’s LSP. The event had three streamed workshops on community cohesion, crime and volunteering. All the voluntary sector people were assigned to the volunteering workshop, which betrays a rather narrow and dismissive attitude to the sector. Anyway, I rebelled and went to the community cohesion discussion.
At lunchtime, I headed off to Watford where everyone seems to have coped effortlessly with my week-long absence. Ouch. I spent the best part of the afternoon catching up on a week’s correspondence, but there were no major problems or imminent deadlines. All in all, rather easier than I feared.
The end of an era
In the 1970s, Racial Equality Councils were almost as common as (say) Citizens’ Advice Bureaux. But funding and fashions change and today they are few and far between: Watford Racial Equality Council is the last remaining for a considerable distance around Hertfordshire.
But this evening, WCVS hosted WREC’s dissolution meeting. WREC has been a feature of Watford’s voluntary sector for several decades so there was a natural melancholy and a reluctance to let go. Participants in the meeting had a thorough discussion of options and at length took the decision (inevitable under the circumstances) to dissolve WREC.
Whatever the current fashions, there is certainly a need for a prominent local champion of equality and diversity. WCVS is working to ensure that there wont be a void for long.
After the WREC meeting, I spent some time configuring a new laptop for Saud and I finally left the office about 10:30.
Rather a tough re-entry to the world of work. But the blow was softened by listening to much of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. One of my all-time favourite lines: "She spat at him, playfully".
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
Jackie returned to work, leaving me alone in bed with a cup of tea.
When I finally roused myself an hour or so later, I realised it was the first time since we were married that I had spent more than an hour apart from Jackie. It wasn’t nice but I suppose I must get used to it.
I spent the remainder of the day ironing (no, seriously) and sorting through papers preparing for the inevitable shock of my return to work tomorrow.
When I finally roused myself an hour or so later, I realised it was the first time since we were married that I had spent more than an hour apart from Jackie. It wasn’t nice but I suppose I must get used to it.
I spent the remainder of the day ironing (no, seriously) and sorting through papers preparing for the inevitable shock of my return to work tomorrow.
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
We rose fairly early, and spent a few hours getting the house sorted. After lunch, I was too tired and lay (rather pathetically) on the sofa. Jackie worried that I was "coming down with something" and she pampered me and worked on regardless; what a woman.
Monday, 9 April 2007
We said fond farewells to Marjorie, her children and her dogs and took the scenic route from Petersfield through Harting to Chichester where we visited the cathedral and enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing lunch.
We agreed it had been a truly memorable honeymoon. Of course we might have spent three weeks on a beach in the Caribbean or the Seychelles, but where’s the fun in that? We had enjoyed a great visit to somewhere nearby that we can return to again and again.
And it still wasn’t over: later we stopped at Denmans Gardens to buy a Wisteria to plant outside our front door.
And then we stopped off at Arundel, a town dominated by its castle and its Catholic cathedral. The massive castle was sadly closing for the day.
The Catholic cathedral was designed in the French gothic style and stood over the town like a sinister UFO or perhaps a Harpie. The church was designed by Joseph Hansom (more famous for designing the Hansom Cab) but was interesting not so much for its architecture as for its sociology (being built in the immediate aftermath of the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act).
We also visited the older and more comely Anglican church of St Nicholas and saw traces of the medieval wall paintings that once adorned the pre-reformation church.
Our best find in Arundel was Sweet Memories - a traditional sweet shop where we treated ourselves to buttered brazil nuts, sweet peanuts, toasted tea cakes, pineapple chunks, and rhubarb and custard. Sweet memories indeed.
We arrived in Brighton and saw Bobby briefly before leaving returning to WGC with Bryan and leaving Bobby to sort out his broken window.
We agreed it had been a truly memorable honeymoon. Of course we might have spent three weeks on a beach in the Caribbean or the Seychelles, but where’s the fun in that? We had enjoyed a great visit to somewhere nearby that we can return to again and again.
And it still wasn’t over: later we stopped at Denmans Gardens to buy a Wisteria to plant outside our front door.
And then we stopped off at Arundel, a town dominated by its castle and its Catholic cathedral. The massive castle was sadly closing for the day.
The Catholic cathedral was designed in the French gothic style and stood over the town like a sinister UFO or perhaps a Harpie. The church was designed by Joseph Hansom (more famous for designing the Hansom Cab) but was interesting not so much for its architecture as for its sociology (being built in the immediate aftermath of the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act).
We also visited the older and more comely Anglican church of St Nicholas and saw traces of the medieval wall paintings that once adorned the pre-reformation church.
Our best find in Arundel was Sweet Memories - a traditional sweet shop where we treated ourselves to buttered brazil nuts, sweet peanuts, toasted tea cakes, pineapple chunks, and rhubarb and custard. Sweet memories indeed.
We arrived in Brighton and saw Bobby briefly before leaving returning to WGC with Bryan and leaving Bobby to sort out his broken window.
Sunday, 8 April 2007
The world's prettiest church?
In the morning, we visited the church at Prior’s Dean. From the outside, this is quite simply one of the most beautiful churches imaginable, and today it was near-perfect nestling deep in the folds of the English countryside and shaded from the sunshine by a 2,500-year-old yew tree.
We contrived to arrive just as the church warden was locking up after the Easter Service and we persuaded her to let us have a look inside where things were very plain and simple – just as they should be.
In the graveyard, covered with wild garlic, we photographed some family gravestones found on a previous visit, and then discovered one or two other graves of interest.
From Prior’s Dean, we hurried to St Peter’s church at High Cross and found some more records and graves of interest.
From High Cross, we went to West Meon for lunch at The Thomas Lord gastronomic pub displaying much cricketing memorabilia (Thomas "Lord's Cricket Ground" Lord). We enjoyed an excellent meal of local fare adn then paid a quick visit to the ruins of St Nicholas's chapel along the Meon valley.
The North Face of a South Down
Then we went for a walk through the staggeringly beautiful countryside. We started beneath the South Downs at Hen Wood and began walking up toward the ridge. The sun was blazing and the path was far steeper than it looked. And then the path disappeared, although we could still see the ridge above us. Jackie decided to rest with a book while I tackled the summit alone. It was exhausting and at one stage I just lay down panting, wondering if I would ever make it. But I fought off the worst effects of altitude sickness, successfully by-passed the glacier, traversed the crevasse and scrambled to the top.
I’d hoped to be rewarded with a magnificent view along the Downs and south toward the cost. But no. To the west and south were just higher ridges, and to the east the view was entirely obscured by trees. This bought home to me the utter pointlessness of mountaineering. When Sir Edmund Hilary said, “Because it was there”, he should have added, “and I couldn’t think of anything to do that was more interesting or useful”.
Anyway, the view northwards at least was good and I was restored to Jackie.
We paid a short visit to All Saint’s church in East Meon before enjoying a Cream Tea at Oxbourne.
In the morning, we visited the church at Prior’s Dean. From the outside, this is quite simply one of the most beautiful churches imaginable, and today it was near-perfect nestling deep in the folds of the English countryside and shaded from the sunshine by a 2,500-year-old yew tree.
We contrived to arrive just as the church warden was locking up after the Easter Service and we persuaded her to let us have a look inside where things were very plain and simple – just as they should be.
In the graveyard, covered with wild garlic, we photographed some family gravestones found on a previous visit, and then discovered one or two other graves of interest.
From Prior’s Dean, we hurried to St Peter’s church at High Cross and found some more records and graves of interest.
From High Cross, we went to West Meon for lunch at The Thomas Lord gastronomic pub displaying much cricketing memorabilia (Thomas "Lord's Cricket Ground" Lord). We enjoyed an excellent meal of local fare adn then paid a quick visit to the ruins of St Nicholas's chapel along the Meon valley.
The North Face of a South Down
Then we went for a walk through the staggeringly beautiful countryside. We started beneath the South Downs at Hen Wood and began walking up toward the ridge. The sun was blazing and the path was far steeper than it looked. And then the path disappeared, although we could still see the ridge above us. Jackie decided to rest with a book while I tackled the summit alone. It was exhausting and at one stage I just lay down panting, wondering if I would ever make it. But I fought off the worst effects of altitude sickness, successfully by-passed the glacier, traversed the crevasse and scrambled to the top.
I’d hoped to be rewarded with a magnificent view along the Downs and south toward the cost. But no. To the west and south were just higher ridges, and to the east the view was entirely obscured by trees. This bought home to me the utter pointlessness of mountaineering. When Sir Edmund Hilary said, “Because it was there”, he should have added, “and I couldn’t think of anything to do that was more interesting or useful”.
Anyway, the view northwards at least was good and I was restored to Jackie.
We paid a short visit to All Saint’s church in East Meon before enjoying a Cream Tea at Oxbourne.
Saturday, 7 April 2007
We went to Petersfield to buy a pane of glass to repair Bobby’s window. No luck. But we did find a very good (and very large) second-hand bookshop, which set our other plans back an hour or two ...
Eventually, we moved on to Petersfield’s cemetery. The sun was very hot and we spent some hours studying gravestones looking for Powells, Underwoods, and Knights. No luck.
Then we drove to Sheet to photograph some houses where Jackie’s father had lived as a child. Then back to Marjorie’s for tea in the garden before moving on for a truly memorable meal at the Tai Tong.
Eventually, we moved on to Petersfield’s cemetery. The sun was very hot and we spent some hours studying gravestones looking for Powells, Underwoods, and Knights. No luck.
Then we drove to Sheet to photograph some houses where Jackie’s father had lived as a child. Then back to Marjorie’s for tea in the garden before moving on for a truly memorable meal at the Tai Tong.
Friday, 6 April 2007
We woke early to the debris of the previous day. A few willing hands had helped the night before, but the house was still in a state of considerable dishevelment. It took an hour or two to get things in a reasonable state, and then we got in the car for the drive southward.
The plan was that we would drop Bobby and Bryan off in Brighton, and then Jackie and I would drive off to the South Downs for a few days. We arrived in Brighton to discover that Bobby had lost his door key and none of his flatmates had stayed in Brighton over Easter; so my honeymoon began with a spot of breaking and entering.
But, by mid-afternoon Jackie and I had arrived in East Meon and met our host Marjorie, a wonderfully warm woman who made us feel very welcome. We enjoyed a walk around Petersfield visiting the church and enjoying a meal and later a drink at Ye Old George in East Meon, before returning home to watch a great film about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
The plan was that we would drop Bobby and Bryan off in Brighton, and then Jackie and I would drive off to the South Downs for a few days. We arrived in Brighton to discover that Bobby had lost his door key and none of his flatmates had stayed in Brighton over Easter; so my honeymoon began with a spot of breaking and entering.
But, by mid-afternoon Jackie and I had arrived in East Meon and met our host Marjorie, a wonderfully warm woman who made us feel very welcome. We enjoyed a walk around Petersfield visiting the church and enjoying a meal and later a drink at Ye Old George in East Meon, before returning home to watch a great film about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Thursday, 5 April 2007
Got married: weather wonderful, ceremony splendid, reception magnificent, guests brilliant, family fabulous; everything really rather groovy.
Wednesday, 4 April 2007
Jackie and I spent the entire day preparing for tomorrow’s wedding. Now I understand why Jackie has been anxious for the past week or two: there is so much to do!
Fortunately, help was at hand. Bobby and Bryan prepared the garden - putting up the gazebo, washing the garden furniture and laying out an Easter Egg Hunt for the children. In the kitchen, we were joined by Rhiannon who worked with enthusiasm and élan. I too made myself useful in the kitchen and ran backwards and forwards to the shops and to various florists.
Our neighbours were wonderful too – Allan bringing round much needed extra food and Linda preparing posies and buttonholes.
We got through all the work eventually, and enjoyed a few hilarious moments along the way. By about 10:00 we were tired out, and everyone relaxed with a few bottles of wine.
Fortunately, help was at hand. Bobby and Bryan prepared the garden - putting up the gazebo, washing the garden furniture and laying out an Easter Egg Hunt for the children. In the kitchen, we were joined by Rhiannon who worked with enthusiasm and élan. I too made myself useful in the kitchen and ran backwards and forwards to the shops and to various florists.
Our neighbours were wonderful too – Allan bringing round much needed extra food and Linda preparing posies and buttonholes.
We got through all the work eventually, and enjoyed a few hilarious moments along the way. By about 10:00 we were tired out, and everyone relaxed with a few bottles of wine.
Tuesday, 3 April 2007
Much the same as yesterday (it's all become a bit of a blur) but ending with a relaxing celebration drink with some of my colleagues next door at Bodega.
Monday, 2 April 2007
I spent the day putting things in train to they can progress while I am off later this week and most of next week.
I arranged to place the advert for a new Finance and Administration Officer so that the recruitment process can begin, finalised the application pack, I asked Helen and Vanessa to read through the NAVCA quality mark file, I circulated the final interim report on Value and Volumes, and I finalised arrangements and sent out invites for the coming Sunflower meetings on Domestic Violence and Hate Crime, and for the inaugural meeting of the Watford World Forum (or whatever it turns out being called), and for the LSP working group on volunteering.
I arranged to place the advert for a new Finance and Administration Officer so that the recruitment process can begin, finalised the application pack, I asked Helen and Vanessa to read through the NAVCA quality mark file, I circulated the final interim report on Value and Volumes, and I finalised arrangements and sent out invites for the coming Sunflower meetings on Domestic Violence and Hate Crime, and for the inaugural meeting of the Watford World Forum (or whatever it turns out being called), and for the LSP working group on volunteering.
Sunday, 1 April 2007
In the morning, we were visited by Jackie’s parents, attended Frankie’s first birthday party, and I drove to Barnet to collect Bobby. No April Fool tricks. We spent the afternoon, until nightfall, busily preparing the garden for the wedding.
The Omen
While taking a short tea break, Jackie and I saw a large kestrel land on our lawn carrying in its claws a struggling mammal (Jackie thought it was a squirrel, I thought it was a rat). The kestrel looked around and then took off again (with its prey) before landing in a neighbour’s garden. Within a second, the screeching stopped and a minute or so later I saw the kestrel fly off again with its claws empty.
What sort of omen was this to see just a few days before getting married?
Thankfully, neither Jackie or I are greatly troubled by superstition. But we inevitably reflected on how it might have been interpreted in more superstitious times: several politicians and some of our former partners came rather badly out of this idle speculation.
The Omen
While taking a short tea break, Jackie and I saw a large kestrel land on our lawn carrying in its claws a struggling mammal (Jackie thought it was a squirrel, I thought it was a rat). The kestrel looked around and then took off again (with its prey) before landing in a neighbour’s garden. Within a second, the screeching stopped and a minute or so later I saw the kestrel fly off again with its claws empty.
What sort of omen was this to see just a few days before getting married?
Thankfully, neither Jackie or I are greatly troubled by superstition. But we inevitably reflected on how it might have been interpreted in more superstitious times: several politicians and some of our former partners came rather badly out of this idle speculation.
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Jackie and I had a busy day preparing for Thursday’s wedding: both suddenly worried that there is so much to do (to be honest, I think Jackie's been worried for a few weeks and I've only just caught on).
Friday, 30 March 2007
The reliable and delightful Sue Tilbury has now moved on and I must simply get used to it.
Today was quiet as several people were using up their final leave days of the year. But Vanessa came in anyway, taking pity on me I believe.
Bad news form the Big Lottery
In the morning's post we received news that our bid to the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities programme had fallen at the last hurdle. It is always difficult to get bids accepted and it’s always hard to understand exactly why any particular bid fails or succeeds.
In this instance, the letter simply read difficult decision … other bids more fully met our requirements … but this of course tells us nothing. Our bid linked together all major local providers of adult education, it had clearly defined and measurable outcomes, it had clear community benefits, and it linked very well to the local strategic plan.
Vanessa and I talked and agreed, at least to our satisfaction, why our bid had failed: because it was too complicated. We decided that if assessors and decision-makers need too long to understand an application they will resent the extra effort involved and look for an easier alternative (especially if the funder has previous bad experiences of complex bids unravelling). To this extend, grant-makers are like flowing water: looking for the easiest route downhill. I expect there is a Law somewhere that states something similar.
Supervision
After dealing with a few of the more urgent e-mails, at 10:00 am I had a supervision meeting with my Chair of Trustees Pam Handley. We enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion about WCVS's plans, budgets and staffing, reaching some helpful decisions along the way. In particular, Pam agreed the 2007-08 budget on behalf of the trustees - and now I must re-jig the budget to reflect the morning's bad news from the Big Lottery.
After Pam left, I wrote up the minutes of last night’s meeting: the sooner this sort of thing is done, the better. Again, I am sure there is a Law somewhere that states this.
Workload
Throughout the afternoon, I battled to clear through my in tray. On Monday, I should be out of the office all day at meetings, I then have Tuesday in the office before having time off to get married. The calculation was easy: will I be able to clear sufficient work on Tuesday so that I can relax while getting married on Thursday?
The answer was also easy: No.
So I canceled my attendance at Monday's East of England regional meeting on the Capacitybuilders programme. Jacquie Hime from North Herts will ably represent Hertfordshire's interests alone: thank you Jacquie.
Today was quiet as several people were using up their final leave days of the year. But Vanessa came in anyway, taking pity on me I believe.
Bad news form the Big Lottery
In the morning's post we received news that our bid to the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities programme had fallen at the last hurdle. It is always difficult to get bids accepted and it’s always hard to understand exactly why any particular bid fails or succeeds.
In this instance, the letter simply read difficult decision … other bids more fully met our requirements … but this of course tells us nothing. Our bid linked together all major local providers of adult education, it had clearly defined and measurable outcomes, it had clear community benefits, and it linked very well to the local strategic plan.
Vanessa and I talked and agreed, at least to our satisfaction, why our bid had failed: because it was too complicated. We decided that if assessors and decision-makers need too long to understand an application they will resent the extra effort involved and look for an easier alternative (especially if the funder has previous bad experiences of complex bids unravelling). To this extend, grant-makers are like flowing water: looking for the easiest route downhill. I expect there is a Law somewhere that states something similar.
Supervision
After dealing with a few of the more urgent e-mails, at 10:00 am I had a supervision meeting with my Chair of Trustees Pam Handley. We enjoyed a wide-ranging discussion about WCVS's plans, budgets and staffing, reaching some helpful decisions along the way. In particular, Pam agreed the 2007-08 budget on behalf of the trustees - and now I must re-jig the budget to reflect the morning's bad news from the Big Lottery.
After Pam left, I wrote up the minutes of last night’s meeting: the sooner this sort of thing is done, the better. Again, I am sure there is a Law somewhere that states this.
Workload
Throughout the afternoon, I battled to clear through my in tray. On Monday, I should be out of the office all day at meetings, I then have Tuesday in the office before having time off to get married. The calculation was easy: will I be able to clear sufficient work on Tuesday so that I can relax while getting married on Thursday?
The answer was also easy: No.
So I canceled my attendance at Monday's East of England regional meeting on the Capacitybuilders programme. Jacquie Hime from North Herts will ably represent Hertfordshire's interests alone: thank you Jacquie.
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