Thursday, 28 June 2007
Today I stayed at home catching up on paperwork while my car had a second chance to pass its MOT. Actually I spent most of the morning on the telephone. And I devoted the entire evening to reading up on Community Development guidance and theory. Interesting stuff.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
By the time I arrived at the office, Maria had already completed a draft minute of yesterday afternoon’s meeting. Quick work!
The Big News stories today were Tony Blair’s retirement and floods across the north of England. I do wonder about posterity’s judgement on Tony Blair, but I don’t think the two stories are directly connected.
Two months ago, I was asked if I would give a briefing to Watford Borough Council’s grants officers on the county-wide and regional structure of the voluntary sector. Of course I agreed, and we were also joined by Leslie Billy (of the Guideposts Trust) and Raj Pandya (of the Hindu Association) who are both newly elected officers of the Watford One World forum. We were also joined by Maria and Anne of WCVS. I think it went well adn there were some good discussions. At least no-one fell asleep and no-one threw anything.
More on data
I did much further research on databases, including several long discussions and some web research. I will talk things over with Pam on Friday. A good Chairperson is so important to any charity, and I feel absolutely blessed to have a smart chairperson I can talk things over with. When Sir Alan Sugar coined the phrase “drop dead shrewd”, he must have had Pam Handley in mind.
The Big News stories today were Tony Blair’s retirement and floods across the north of England. I do wonder about posterity’s judgement on Tony Blair, but I don’t think the two stories are directly connected.
Two months ago, I was asked if I would give a briefing to Watford Borough Council’s grants officers on the county-wide and regional structure of the voluntary sector. Of course I agreed, and we were also joined by Leslie Billy (of the Guideposts Trust) and Raj Pandya (of the Hindu Association) who are both newly elected officers of the Watford One World forum. We were also joined by Maria and Anne of WCVS. I think it went well adn there were some good discussions. At least no-one fell asleep and no-one threw anything.
More on data
I did much further research on databases, including several long discussions and some web research. I will talk things over with Pam on Friday. A good Chairperson is so important to any charity, and I feel absolutely blessed to have a smart chairperson I can talk things over with. When Sir Alan Sugar coined the phrase “drop dead shrewd”, he must have had Pam Handley in mind.
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Having (temporarily at least) passed on primary responsibility for our BASIS business plan, I enjoyed a peaceful night’s sleep for the first time in a week.
At WCVS, the big event of the day was the afternoon meeting to discuss the accommodation needs of Watford’s voluntary sector. There is at least £83m of public money available over the next few years to help voluntary groups acquire property and bring it back into public use. And the Quirk Report puts pressure on local authorities to think more strategically about property management, and to engage with the voluntary sector.
And of course the onus is always on the vountary sector to take the initiative, so I was delighted that so many groups seem prepared to do so: Guideposts Trust, Watford Asian Community Care, Newton Price Centre, Mencap, the Muslim Community Project, NYSA / WRAP, YMCA, the Le Marie Centre, West Watford Community Association, Watford Credit Union, Signposts, Watford Women Centre, Watford Rape Crisis and Watford CAB.
There was one particularly interesting discussion about the exact meaning of the term “community purpose” which features in many planning consents. Several people felt that this phase was interpreted too broadly to include religious purposes, when clearly it ought to pertain to facilities and activities open to the whole community.
At the end of the meeting, after much useful discussion, it was agreed to convene a small working group to lead on the development of a proper strategy on the accommodation needs of the local voluntary sector. Today’s meeting was exactly what the CVS ought to be doing, and if the focus and enthusiasm are maintained, there is so much that the voluntary sector can achieve.
At WCVS, the big event of the day was the afternoon meeting to discuss the accommodation needs of Watford’s voluntary sector. There is at least £83m of public money available over the next few years to help voluntary groups acquire property and bring it back into public use. And the Quirk Report puts pressure on local authorities to think more strategically about property management, and to engage with the voluntary sector.
And of course the onus is always on the vountary sector to take the initiative, so I was delighted that so many groups seem prepared to do so: Guideposts Trust, Watford Asian Community Care, Newton Price Centre, Mencap, the Muslim Community Project, NYSA / WRAP, YMCA, the Le Marie Centre, West Watford Community Association, Watford Credit Union, Signposts, Watford Women Centre, Watford Rape Crisis and Watford CAB.
There was one particularly interesting discussion about the exact meaning of the term “community purpose” which features in many planning consents. Several people felt that this phase was interpreted too broadly to include religious purposes, when clearly it ought to pertain to facilities and activities open to the whole community.
At the end of the meeting, after much useful discussion, it was agreed to convene a small working group to lead on the development of a proper strategy on the accommodation needs of the local voluntary sector. Today’s meeting was exactly what the CVS ought to be doing, and if the focus and enthusiasm are maintained, there is so much that the voluntary sector can achieve.
Monday, 25 June 2007
Education, Education, Education
We long ago moved away from Education for its own sake. Briefly, we had Education to provide a skilled workforce - which at least had the benefit of a brutal economic logic. Now we have Education whose sole purpose is to help the government meet its targets. Students too are treated as mere exam fodder. It might be funny if it weren’t so expensive, pointless and really quite sinister.
This morning, I met with Louise Thurston of West Herts College to discuss ways in which the College and CVS might work together. We were joined by Vanessa Levy (our Development and Training Officer) and by Mary Green of Three Rivers CVS.
Although we are all interested in the subject of training, it is hard to find secure grounds for co-operation between us. CVSs want to secure appropriate affordable training for our member organisations. The training needs of voluntary organisations are very precise, and of course few charities have budgets to cover training costs. The government sees no reason why it should pay to train the paid workforce at MegaCorp Capitalist Inc - or the volunteer workforce at a neighbourhood trust. To the government, there is no real distinction between the two.
The College’s agenda is determined by its funding arrangements with the LSC, who take their lead from the governmant, whose focus is those “without a level two qualification”. In my personal experience, many of those without a level two qualification are perfectly happy and just want to be left alone. Few want to be conscripted onto courses to meet some political target.
For Louise Thurston, genuinely committed to the local community, it must be very hard to make any progress through this policy madness. Whichever way we turned, there was another barrier in our way. But we have at least begun a dialogue and with goodwill and good fortune we will find a way.
After Louise left, I talked through our autumn training programme with Vanessa: she is consulting local groups on their training needs and will soon convene a meeting of the Voluntary Sector Training Network to examine the results of this consultation. All very good. But where will the funding come from?
Back to BASIS
In the afternoon, I met again with Vanessa and with Anne (our Funding Advisor) to talk through our second stage application for BASIS funding. It was a good discussion and I have now left Anne and Vanessa to review and edit my work prior to a further meeting at the end of the week.
Databases
I also spent time with Sha-Lee (our data worker) who has now prepared a file to import our contact data into Volbase. Sha-Lee and I talked through the exercise and our options. In the evening, I stayed late at the office re-running this conversation and ruminating on our database needs.
All other CVSs in Hertfordshire are now using Volbase, and Volbase is perfectly ok. But it lacks the intuitive elegance that software ought to possess: it doesn’t excite me. And I worry about the training needs that it will create for WCVS. Moreover, WCVS already uses Outlook and V-base, and I still can't understand what Volbase adds to this mix. And are our fellow CVSs clear why they are using Volbase and where it might lead? No. Is there a thought-through strategy in place? No.
For six months,. WCVS has been on the verge of implementing Volbase. We have been delayed by staff changes and staff absences and occasionally by mere prevarication. But we are now clearly standing at the crossroads and we must take a decision. I know what my decision would be if it were entirely down to the needs of WCVS. But there are also other things to think through.
We long ago moved away from Education for its own sake. Briefly, we had Education to provide a skilled workforce - which at least had the benefit of a brutal economic logic. Now we have Education whose sole purpose is to help the government meet its targets. Students too are treated as mere exam fodder. It might be funny if it weren’t so expensive, pointless and really quite sinister.
This morning, I met with Louise Thurston of West Herts College to discuss ways in which the College and CVS might work together. We were joined by Vanessa Levy (our Development and Training Officer) and by Mary Green of Three Rivers CVS.
Although we are all interested in the subject of training, it is hard to find secure grounds for co-operation between us. CVSs want to secure appropriate affordable training for our member organisations. The training needs of voluntary organisations are very precise, and of course few charities have budgets to cover training costs. The government sees no reason why it should pay to train the paid workforce at MegaCorp Capitalist Inc - or the volunteer workforce at a neighbourhood trust. To the government, there is no real distinction between the two.
The College’s agenda is determined by its funding arrangements with the LSC, who take their lead from the governmant, whose focus is those “without a level two qualification”. In my personal experience, many of those without a level two qualification are perfectly happy and just want to be left alone. Few want to be conscripted onto courses to meet some political target.
For Louise Thurston, genuinely committed to the local community, it must be very hard to make any progress through this policy madness. Whichever way we turned, there was another barrier in our way. But we have at least begun a dialogue and with goodwill and good fortune we will find a way.
After Louise left, I talked through our autumn training programme with Vanessa: she is consulting local groups on their training needs and will soon convene a meeting of the Voluntary Sector Training Network to examine the results of this consultation. All very good. But where will the funding come from?
Back to BASIS
In the afternoon, I met again with Vanessa and with Anne (our Funding Advisor) to talk through our second stage application for BASIS funding. It was a good discussion and I have now left Anne and Vanessa to review and edit my work prior to a further meeting at the end of the week.
Databases
I also spent time with Sha-Lee (our data worker) who has now prepared a file to import our contact data into Volbase. Sha-Lee and I talked through the exercise and our options. In the evening, I stayed late at the office re-running this conversation and ruminating on our database needs.
All other CVSs in Hertfordshire are now using Volbase, and Volbase is perfectly ok. But it lacks the intuitive elegance that software ought to possess: it doesn’t excite me. And I worry about the training needs that it will create for WCVS. Moreover, WCVS already uses Outlook and V-base, and I still can't understand what Volbase adds to this mix. And are our fellow CVSs clear why they are using Volbase and where it might lead? No. Is there a thought-through strategy in place? No.
For six months,. WCVS has been on the verge of implementing Volbase. We have been delayed by staff changes and staff absences and occasionally by mere prevarication. But we are now clearly standing at the crossroads and we must take a decision. I know what my decision would be if it were entirely down to the needs of WCVS. But there are also other things to think through.
Sunday, 24 June 2007
After enjoying a long lazy morning, I turned again in the afternoon to our business plan for BASIS. I worked steadily from 3:00 pm through to about 11:00 pm and finally felt I had broken the back of this hideous tedious exercise. There is still a vast amount of work to be done, but at least I have managed to produce a rough first draft of the main body of the text. I hope.
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown was being crowned as leader of the Labour Party and Harriet Harman was squeaking home as Deputy Leader. Despite this excitement, sleep should have been easy; but my “frozen shoulder” was playing up again badly so I sat downstairs with Aged Ken and started reading Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion.
Meanwhile, Gordon Brown was being crowned as leader of the Labour Party and Harriet Harman was squeaking home as Deputy Leader. Despite this excitement, sleep should have been easy; but my “frozen shoulder” was playing up again badly so I sat downstairs with Aged Ken and started reading Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion.
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Today we were to host a small garden party for friends and family. But there has been heavy rain for several days. Members of the extended Jones family in Wales and the north of England called earlier in the week to offer their apologies. This morning it was still raining heavily if intermittently, so despite the hope offered by occasional bursts of sunshine, Jackie and I decided to cancel the garden party. Regardless of this, my Mum came to visit and the boys did manage to cook an edible BBQ sheltering under the umbrella from cloudbursts. We sat in the new pergola also under umbrellas and enjoyed each others company and conversation.
Latest reading
I finished Church and Parish by the West Country historian J H Bettey – a wonderfully detailed and readable introduction to 1,000 years of history including so much I simply didn’t know - or had previously misunderstood. This book is a great introduction to its subject and so much better than the frankly dull Observer Book of Church Architecture.
I have also skimmed through The Guardian publications Notes and Queries. This was really quite dull too: there is nothing so unedifying as Guardian readers among their own kind in full rant.
Unless of course it is the sight of Europe's political leaders smugly celebrating a new treaty purposefully designed to by-pass the democratic voice of the European people. Why are Europe's instincts so brazenly and arrogantly anti-democratic?
Latest reading
I finished Church and Parish by the West Country historian J H Bettey – a wonderfully detailed and readable introduction to 1,000 years of history including so much I simply didn’t know - or had previously misunderstood. This book is a great introduction to its subject and so much better than the frankly dull Observer Book of Church Architecture.
I have also skimmed through The Guardian publications Notes and Queries. This was really quite dull too: there is nothing so unedifying as Guardian readers among their own kind in full rant.
Unless of course it is the sight of Europe's political leaders smugly celebrating a new treaty purposefully designed to by-pass the democratic voice of the European people. Why are Europe's instincts so brazenly and arrogantly anti-democratic?
Friday, 22 June 2007
I wrestled through the morning with our BASIS business plan and I am just beginning to dare to hope that the end might soon be in sight. In the afternoon, I took my car for its MOT and while waiting I read the Quirk Report on community ownership of local authority assets. Such fun.
Then I drove into Watford with Jackie for the opening of Watford Museum’s exhibition commemorating the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
After the exhibition, Jackie and I wondered along Watford High Street looking for somewhere to eat. It was about 7:30 PM. We wondered the entire length of the High Street and back and found nothing that might attract us. Everywhere was brash, usually with “bouncers” on the door and nearly always with young people gathering outside in loud groups. I am sure all the young people were really just friendly big pussy cats. But they were noisome. I wanted somewhere quiet and there simply wasn't anywhere so after forty fruitless minutes we headed off and soon found a quite acceptable Chinese restaurant in north Watford.
In this restaurant, I ordered Green Tea and the waitress heard Cream Tea - which actually would have been very welcome.
Then I drove into Watford with Jackie for the opening of Watford Museum’s exhibition commemorating the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
After the exhibition, Jackie and I wondered along Watford High Street looking for somewhere to eat. It was about 7:30 PM. We wondered the entire length of the High Street and back and found nothing that might attract us. Everywhere was brash, usually with “bouncers” on the door and nearly always with young people gathering outside in loud groups. I am sure all the young people were really just friendly big pussy cats. But they were noisome. I wanted somewhere quiet and there simply wasn't anywhere so after forty fruitless minutes we headed off and soon found a quite acceptable Chinese restaurant in north Watford.
In this restaurant, I ordered Green Tea and the waitress heard Cream Tea - which actually would have been very welcome.
Thursday, 21 June 2007
I spent the morning at the office catching up on correspondence and replying to twenty or so of the more pressing e-mails. Most importantly, I decided that I cannot afford to devote much time next week to our audit, so this will largely have to wait until the week after when Stella (our new Finance and Administration Officer) ought to have started! I also had another very interesting talk with Maria (our temporary Office Administrator) about the need for a Polish Association in Watford.
In the afternoon, I travelled to Stevenage to meet with Paul Ruskin who has been commissioned to help draft the IT strategy for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium. Paul says he knows what he does best (“talking to people and pulling stuff together”) and he really does seem to do it very well. This exercise is critical as so much of Watford CVS’s own work will need to dovetail in with this HIC initiative.
In the afternoon, I travelled to Stevenage to meet with Paul Ruskin who has been commissioned to help draft the IT strategy for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium. Paul says he knows what he does best (“talking to people and pulling stuff together”) and he really does seem to do it very well. This exercise is critical as so much of Watford CVS’s own work will need to dovetail in with this HIC initiative.
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
I spent another long day Home Alone writing our business plan for our funding application to BASIS. It is still infuriatingly hard: is this just a very badly thought-out exercise or am I just "a bit thick"? I am beginning to wonder!
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
I set aside today to work form home on our second stage application for BASIS funding. But I spend the first 2-3 hours on the telephone chasing up a number of different projects. Only at lunchtime did I really manage to focus on the draft business plan BASIS. This has to be in an exact format. I think I’ve completed one section, only to find that my text actually applies better to a different section, and every single change requires numerous other consequential changes throughout the document.
It is very difficult: wading through treacle? chasing rainbows? knitting with cobwebs? Metaphors fail me.
It is very difficult: wading through treacle? chasing rainbows? knitting with cobwebs? Metaphors fail me.
Monday, 18 June 2007
I began the day meeting with a Watford Borough Council officer about a proposed change in the way the Council will assess discretionary rates relief for charities. In the past, this has been done entirely separately from decisions on grant-giving. They now propose to improve the exchange of information between different departments and want to know if they need to consult on this under Compact arrangements. I receive assurances that the criteria for relief I wont change and the method of calculation wont change, and so advice that I can’t see that any consultation is necessary. We agree that I will flag up the proposal at next week’s meeting on accommodation issues.
Otherwise, Vanessa and I talked about the training needs assessment, I worked with Maria on finalising some press releases, reviewed minutes of recent HIC and Compact meetings, and tried to clear the decks as I will spend the best part of the rest of the week working form home on our second stage BASIS application.
Otherwise, Vanessa and I talked about the training needs assessment, I worked with Maria on finalising some press releases, reviewed minutes of recent HIC and Compact meetings, and tried to clear the decks as I will spend the best part of the rest of the week working form home on our second stage BASIS application.
Sunday, 17 June 2007
The rain had passed over and I spent a long day in the garden building a pergola. I hadn’t bought a kit (just lots of wood and screws) and I was pretty much making up the design as I went along. After tightening the fortieth screw above my head, I felt a sharp twinge in my right elbow and I feared I’d never play the piano again, but the pain subsided and I was soon back at work. I must buy an electric screwdriver! Fortunately, Jackie took pity on me and helped out so by about 7:00 pm we had a nice new pergola.
It was a very melancholy Fathers' Day. My own dear old Dad died earlier this year. And my son was busy being a teenager in Brighton. And my daughter was with her Mum. Jackie's son Bryan bought me a large Toblerone - just what I bought for my Dad every year for about 30 years. Did he know?
It was a very melancholy Fathers' Day. My own dear old Dad died earlier this year. And my son was busy being a teenager in Brighton. And my daughter was with her Mum. Jackie's son Bryan bought me a large Toblerone - just what I bought for my Dad every year for about 30 years. Did he know?
Saturday, 16 June 2007
I had intended to spend today erecting a pergola in the garden, but the heavens opened and the rain poured down. Instead, I spent the day writing WCVS’s BASIS application (or at least part of it) while Jackie sat beside me quilting: a picture of domestic bliss. I finally think I am starting to get on top of this BASIS application!
In the evening, Jackie and I ate out and then enjoyed the Tiswas 25th reunion on television; sometimes I can be very childish.
In the evening, Jackie and I ate out and then enjoyed the Tiswas 25th reunion on television; sometimes I can be very childish.
Friday, 15 June 2007
I arrived at work about 9:30 after first supervising the installation of some new fence panels at home. In the mornign I had a long discussion with Maria (our temp administrative officer) about the needs of the new Polish community in Watford. Maria also set up a new on-line photo album for Watford CVS.
In the afternoon, I had a review meeting with our Connexions PAs and with Louise Jones of Connexions: everything seems to be going pretty well, although the schools aren’t always able to support our PAs as I would like.
I left work early to get home and continue working on the BASIS bid.
In the afternoon, I had a review meeting with our Connexions PAs and with Louise Jones of Connexions: everything seems to be going pretty well, although the schools aren’t always able to support our PAs as I would like.
I left work early to get home and continue working on the BASIS bid.
Thursday, 14 June 2007
In the morning I wrote to HCC about yesterday’s Compact meeting; hopefully a way forward will be agreed soon. I also discussed Compact issues with several colleagues, talked to Vanessa about WCVS representation on a WBC steering group, made more progress on a WCVS services brochure, and responded to a Herts PCT request that I chair a public meeting on the future of hospital and clinical services in Hertfordshire.
Mostly, I worked on our BASIS application. There is still a lot of work to do and time is getting short.
I finally left the office about 7:00 pm and visited my Vice Chair Althea MacLean OBE to get some cheques countersigned. From Althea’s I dropped by for a meeting with our auditor. Our audit papers were originally collected on Tuesday, 5 June. Then yesterday I got the message that the accounts backup file was corrupt and so work hasn’t begun yet. I sent another backup (which was fine) and this evening met Gary Howard and talked through the audit timetable. Gary is away all next week so realistically work proper wont now start until 25 June. Rather than respond to queries myself and collate any additional information required, I intend to save up any queries and pass these to Stella when she starts work on 2 July. This will make things very tight for our trustees meeting on 19 July but it still ought to be possible to present draft accounts. Far more importantly, it will allow me to concentrate far better on the BASIS application!
Mostly, I worked on our BASIS application. There is still a lot of work to do and time is getting short.
I finally left the office about 7:00 pm and visited my Vice Chair Althea MacLean OBE to get some cheques countersigned. From Althea’s I dropped by for a meeting with our auditor. Our audit papers were originally collected on Tuesday, 5 June. Then yesterday I got the message that the accounts backup file was corrupt and so work hasn’t begun yet. I sent another backup (which was fine) and this evening met Gary Howard and talked through the audit timetable. Gary is away all next week so realistically work proper wont now start until 25 June. Rather than respond to queries myself and collate any additional information required, I intend to save up any queries and pass these to Stella when she starts work on 2 July. This will make things very tight for our trustees meeting on 19 July but it still ought to be possible to present draft accounts. Far more importantly, it will allow me to concentrate far better on the BASIS application!
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
This morning, I met briefly with Stella who will soon be our new Finance and Administration Officer. Otherwise, I spent the best part of the morning and early evening working on WCVS’s accounts. So tedious!
Hertfordshire Compact Group
Today’s Herts Compact Group meeting considered very carefully how it can best promote - and secure the future of - the Compact in Hertfordshire. At present, there is a Hertfordshire-wide Compact and then eight of the ten District Councils also have local Compacts. Each individual Compact then includes up to six separate Codes of Practice, so Hertfordshire could potentially have 66 different Compact Codes of Practice.
There were several component parts of the discussion.
First, for months there have been concerns about HCC’s decisions on funding for Home-Start projects in Hertfordshire: were the decisions “Compact compliant”? HCC claims they were, while others take a different view. It’s not a healthy situation and the Herts Compact Group simply have to encourage the two sides to talk. But at a higher level the Group must ask what it can do so in future it is not possible for such opposing views to be taken of the same Compact working practices?
Secondly, our representative from the Learning and Skills Council reported that county-LSC offices had been instructed that they should not sign any more local Codes of Practice as LSC is already committed to the national Codes of Practice. This does not seem an unreasonable position. Previously, Hertfordshire’s Primary Care Trusts each worked on local Compact groups. These PCTs have now been effectively merged and will in future doubtless expect to sign up only to the County-wide Codes of Practice. The Police and Fire Service will also not want to negotiate and sign-up for 66 Codes of Practice when five or six will do. So what future for local Compacts?
Thirdly, in some areas of Hertfordshire there is no Compact at all. This is a major problem. Surely the efforts of the Herts Compact Group should be directed toward addressing this problem? But instead, we could so easily get diverted by the need to update and renegotiate the thirty or more Codes of Practice that are already in existence in different parts of Hertfordshire. How much work will this take? And what value will it add?
No-one had any quick answers; but I do think we were getting to the heart of a very difficult area.
Back home
In the evening, I spoke with my long-standing friend Jane and we discussed the progress we are each making on the BASIS applications we are making for our respective organisations. I got some useful pointers. I doubt that Jane found my comments as helpful.
Hertfordshire Compact Group
Today’s Herts Compact Group meeting considered very carefully how it can best promote - and secure the future of - the Compact in Hertfordshire. At present, there is a Hertfordshire-wide Compact and then eight of the ten District Councils also have local Compacts. Each individual Compact then includes up to six separate Codes of Practice, so Hertfordshire could potentially have 66 different Compact Codes of Practice.
There were several component parts of the discussion.
First, for months there have been concerns about HCC’s decisions on funding for Home-Start projects in Hertfordshire: were the decisions “Compact compliant”? HCC claims they were, while others take a different view. It’s not a healthy situation and the Herts Compact Group simply have to encourage the two sides to talk. But at a higher level the Group must ask what it can do so in future it is not possible for such opposing views to be taken of the same Compact working practices?
Secondly, our representative from the Learning and Skills Council reported that county-LSC offices had been instructed that they should not sign any more local Codes of Practice as LSC is already committed to the national Codes of Practice. This does not seem an unreasonable position. Previously, Hertfordshire’s Primary Care Trusts each worked on local Compact groups. These PCTs have now been effectively merged and will in future doubtless expect to sign up only to the County-wide Codes of Practice. The Police and Fire Service will also not want to negotiate and sign-up for 66 Codes of Practice when five or six will do. So what future for local Compacts?
Thirdly, in some areas of Hertfordshire there is no Compact at all. This is a major problem. Surely the efforts of the Herts Compact Group should be directed toward addressing this problem? But instead, we could so easily get diverted by the need to update and renegotiate the thirty or more Codes of Practice that are already in existence in different parts of Hertfordshire. How much work will this take? And what value will it add?
No-one had any quick answers; but I do think we were getting to the heart of a very difficult area.
Back home
In the evening, I spoke with my long-standing friend Jane and we discussed the progress we are each making on the BASIS applications we are making for our respective organisations. I got some useful pointers. I doubt that Jane found my comments as helpful.
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
As I’ve anticipated for some time, my workload is beginning to pile up and I am having to shift up a gear.
Today I went to the Valley School in Stevenage for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium. First, there was the meeting itself and confirmation that the bulk of the coming development work will be undertaken by a small “steering group”. Then we had a presentation from Paul Ruskin of Cambridgeshire Circuit Riders on this IT project and its possible application to Hertfordshire. Then after lunch, Paul stayed to help us begin discussing a proper IT strategy for infrastructure groups in Hertfordshire. All very useful.
At the end, I found the carpark jammed with cars and mini-buses arriving to collect children from school. Realising I was otherwise stuck for 20-30 minutes, I decided to leave quickly between two “No Exit” signs. I arrived home around 4:00 pm and spent the best part of the evening getting to grips with WCVS’s second stage application for BASIS funding.
Today I went to the Valley School in Stevenage for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium. First, there was the meeting itself and confirmation that the bulk of the coming development work will be undertaken by a small “steering group”. Then we had a presentation from Paul Ruskin of Cambridgeshire Circuit Riders on this IT project and its possible application to Hertfordshire. Then after lunch, Paul stayed to help us begin discussing a proper IT strategy for infrastructure groups in Hertfordshire. All very useful.
At the end, I found the carpark jammed with cars and mini-buses arriving to collect children from school. Realising I was otherwise stuck for 20-30 minutes, I decided to leave quickly between two “No Exit” signs. I arrived home around 4:00 pm and spent the best part of the evening getting to grips with WCVS’s second stage application for BASIS funding.
Monday, 11 June 2007
Networking lunch
Today at St Thomas’s Hall we held our quarterly networking lunch and our Volunteers’ Week celebration. Ten days ago, we considered cancelling this event as only ten people had registered. In the middle of last week we ordered food for seventy registered participants. By Friday, we had 100 registrations. This morning, people were still trying to register. Then some people just turned up without registering. At one level, it was a very successful event – lively and relaxed and good humoured, we gave out about 40 Certificates of Recognition to volunteers from across Watford, we were joined by the new Chair of WBC Tony Poole and his consort, who showed immense patience and goodwill posing for pictures with everyone. Brilliant.
But there was an alternative view, too. Attendance was chaotic with the numbers who turned up without booking were only partly offset by those who had booked and failed to appear. Our glorious immensely likeable voluntary photographer John took inordinately long to take a group photograph as his camera battery failed. We took a paltry £3 booking fee from people, who then found they couldn’t eat as those joining the food queue earliest helped themselves to liberal (some said greedy) portions. And our chair was late because someone (me) didn’t tell her we were starting an hour earlier than usual.
We muddled through everything in a very chaotic and very British fashion. All in all, I think it was a successful event. But there were lessons to learn and our next lunch will be very different: we must focus more on strengthening voluntarism and social cohesion and less on providing subsidised lunches.
In the afternoon, I finally got to catch up with Sarah Pinnock of WBC and we had a long talk about latest developments. I was also delighted to learn by e-mail that the Disability Law Service (where I am a trustee) has secured £500k funding from the Big Lottery's ADVICE programme. Such good news.
Today at St Thomas’s Hall we held our quarterly networking lunch and our Volunteers’ Week celebration. Ten days ago, we considered cancelling this event as only ten people had registered. In the middle of last week we ordered food for seventy registered participants. By Friday, we had 100 registrations. This morning, people were still trying to register. Then some people just turned up without registering. At one level, it was a very successful event – lively and relaxed and good humoured, we gave out about 40 Certificates of Recognition to volunteers from across Watford, we were joined by the new Chair of WBC Tony Poole and his consort, who showed immense patience and goodwill posing for pictures with everyone. Brilliant.
But there was an alternative view, too. Attendance was chaotic with the numbers who turned up without booking were only partly offset by those who had booked and failed to appear. Our glorious immensely likeable voluntary photographer John took inordinately long to take a group photograph as his camera battery failed. We took a paltry £3 booking fee from people, who then found they couldn’t eat as those joining the food queue earliest helped themselves to liberal (some said greedy) portions. And our chair was late because someone (me) didn’t tell her we were starting an hour earlier than usual.
We muddled through everything in a very chaotic and very British fashion. All in all, I think it was a successful event. But there were lessons to learn and our next lunch will be very different: we must focus more on strengthening voluntarism and social cohesion and less on providing subsidised lunches.
In the afternoon, I finally got to catch up with Sarah Pinnock of WBC and we had a long talk about latest developments. I was also delighted to learn by e-mail that the Disability Law Service (where I am a trustee) has secured £500k funding from the Big Lottery's ADVICE programme. Such good news.
Sunday, 10 June 2007
This morning I took the boys into Watford for some shopping. We returned for an afternoon BBQ. Again, it was very hot. And it stayed that way into the night making sleep almost impossible. I sat up and finished reading Defying Hitler – the extraordinary story of journalist Sebastian Haffner’s life in Germany between 1907 and 1933. He wrote the book in the final months before war broke out in 1939. He despised the Nazis; loathed and despised everything they stood for. Yet for fear of his life and for his loved ones, he wore a Swastika armband, marched with the SA and sang the Horst Wessel Song. He also believed passionately in individual freedom, fled to Britain in 1938, and married a Jewess.
His book describes his personal battle with the Nazi regime, and offers great insights into why the Nazis managed to succeed, at least for a time.
His book describes his personal battle with the Nazi regime, and offers great insights into why the Nazis managed to succeed, at least for a time.
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Very hot. Jackie and I spent the day gardening and in the evening visited friends for a BBQ.
Friday, 8 June 2007
Interviews
Today we interviewed for the post of WCVS Finance and Administration Officer with the interview panel comprising myself, Ian Stageman (a WCVS trustee) and Vanessa (our Development and Training Officer). Last week, we agreed a table of ten or so standard questions, and we met this morning to finalise our scoring system. I arrived about 8:00 for final preparations of the exercises our candidates would tackle: write a plain English explanation of a bank reconciliation and complete a few examples of double entries.
Recruiting finance officers is fraught with difficulty. Under qualifications, someone’s application may simply say “1998 – AAT”. This could mean “paid £50 to register as a student”. Or it could mean: “completed a full-time two year course and passed all exams”. Buyer beware!
The first candidate arrived at 8:30, and by 12:30 we had finished the fourth and final interview. We quickly narrowed the field from four to three. Then from three to two. The final stage took slightly longer but soon we reached a consensus. The exercises helped a little – mostly for confirming our decisions.
Later, at home, I finally managed to contact the successful candidate. She was very pleased and eagerly accepted the appointment. Very gratifying.
Jackie and I spent the evening sharing a drink with our neighbours.
Today we interviewed for the post of WCVS Finance and Administration Officer with the interview panel comprising myself, Ian Stageman (a WCVS trustee) and Vanessa (our Development and Training Officer). Last week, we agreed a table of ten or so standard questions, and we met this morning to finalise our scoring system. I arrived about 8:00 for final preparations of the exercises our candidates would tackle: write a plain English explanation of a bank reconciliation and complete a few examples of double entries.
Recruiting finance officers is fraught with difficulty. Under qualifications, someone’s application may simply say “1998 – AAT”. This could mean “paid £50 to register as a student”. Or it could mean: “completed a full-time two year course and passed all exams”. Buyer beware!
The first candidate arrived at 8:30, and by 12:30 we had finished the fourth and final interview. We quickly narrowed the field from four to three. Then from three to two. The final stage took slightly longer but soon we reached a consensus. The exercises helped a little – mostly for confirming our decisions.
Later, at home, I finally managed to contact the successful candidate. She was very pleased and eagerly accepted the appointment. Very gratifying.
Jackie and I spent the evening sharing a drink with our neighbours.
Thursday, 7 June 2007
Accommodation
At 10:00 this morning, I met with a team from WBC (Kim Bloomfield our grants officer and Tim Sanderson and Andy Large from “property services”) to discuss WCVS’s future accommodation needs.
At present, WCVS occupies a large building at the top of Watford High Street just opposite the Town Hall. This is an ideal location for many reasons. But the Council lease the property from a private landlord and High Street rents are of course expensive, and the lease is coming to an end - there are break clauses in the summer of 2008 and 2009 and the lease finally ends in the summer of 2010.
Naturally, WBC want to surrender the lease at the earliest practicable opportunity and to help WCVS find new accommodation in a cheaper location. But WCVS has a range of quite complex accommodation needs. Most obviously, we have to accommodate ten members of staff and a team of perhaps six volunteers on any given day. We also have a drop-in Volunteer Centre that needs to be in an accessible Town Centre location. For our members, we need to broker affordable town centre meeting space – and access to occasional serviced office space. We also need improved access for disabled users, better storage, and a smaller “carbon footprint”.
These disparate needs are clearly not best met through a single unit of shopfront premises on the High Street. To argue this would make us look foolish.
Stepping back, it is apparent to me that the voluntary sector generally does not make efficient use of the resources they have. I suppose it is understandable that each individual charity wants its own offices, with its own meeting rooms etc. After all, no one would expect Asda and Tesco to share shop space. So why should Age Concern and the YMCA share facilities? Or Watford Asian Community Care and West Herts Against Crime?
There are three answers to this. First, because by sharing charities can make better use of their resources and so deliver a better quality service to the people they were set up to help. This alone should be reason enough.
Secondly, because charities should not work against each other in competition. Sadly, in some of the larger national charities competition is becoming acceptable. But thankfully in smaller local charities, the habits of partnership and cooperation are deeply ingrained. These habits are often necessary for survival and they are in fact what distinguish us from Asda and Tesco.
Thirdly, demonstrating the effective use of resources can enhance our general reputation, raise trust in our competence and so attract even greater resources.
So we now have a timetable for developing a thought-through collaborative strategy for voluntary sector accommodation in Watford. Hopefully this process will be kick-started by a meeting already scheduled for 26 June when various voluntary and community groups will get together to discuss options.
Policy development
In the afternoon, I oversaw preparations for Monday’s networking lunch and drafted new policies on Sick Leave and Staff Development.
Art exhibition
In the evening, from 5:00, we hosted an Art Exhibition. The Guideposts Trust runs a very successful range of mental health services in Watford. They are a splendid organisation run by the impressive Lorna Cunningham who leads an equally impressive staff team. Many of their users are talented artists, and the Trust offer plenty of opportunities for people to practice and develop their art skills. For six months we have been working with the Guideposts Trust to collate sufficient pictures to display at WCVS. We now have forty, and tonight we hosted an evening for friends of Guideposts Trust and WCVS. It was a very pleasant and civilised affair. I was delighted that Alison Stainsby joined us from WBC, but the evening was really about the artists who quite rightly took full advantage of the attention (hopefully next week’s Watford Observer will include a picture).
Just as the artists bristled with pride, I was proud of the quiet and efficient way that WCVS staff set about things: making everything look excellent, making people welcome, serving drinks, bringing out the food, clearing things away. Sometimes they are so good I just want to gather them together and give them a great big hug: I suspect this is not best management practice so I resist all such temptations.
After everyone had dispersed, I finished off our final 2006-07 monitoring report to WBC and made a final few preparations for tomorrow’s interviews. I arrived home tired but rather pleased with things.
At 10:00 this morning, I met with a team from WBC (Kim Bloomfield our grants officer and Tim Sanderson and Andy Large from “property services”) to discuss WCVS’s future accommodation needs.
At present, WCVS occupies a large building at the top of Watford High Street just opposite the Town Hall. This is an ideal location for many reasons. But the Council lease the property from a private landlord and High Street rents are of course expensive, and the lease is coming to an end - there are break clauses in the summer of 2008 and 2009 and the lease finally ends in the summer of 2010.
Naturally, WBC want to surrender the lease at the earliest practicable opportunity and to help WCVS find new accommodation in a cheaper location. But WCVS has a range of quite complex accommodation needs. Most obviously, we have to accommodate ten members of staff and a team of perhaps six volunteers on any given day. We also have a drop-in Volunteer Centre that needs to be in an accessible Town Centre location. For our members, we need to broker affordable town centre meeting space – and access to occasional serviced office space. We also need improved access for disabled users, better storage, and a smaller “carbon footprint”.
These disparate needs are clearly not best met through a single unit of shopfront premises on the High Street. To argue this would make us look foolish.
Stepping back, it is apparent to me that the voluntary sector generally does not make efficient use of the resources they have. I suppose it is understandable that each individual charity wants its own offices, with its own meeting rooms etc. After all, no one would expect Asda and Tesco to share shop space. So why should Age Concern and the YMCA share facilities? Or Watford Asian Community Care and West Herts Against Crime?
There are three answers to this. First, because by sharing charities can make better use of their resources and so deliver a better quality service to the people they were set up to help. This alone should be reason enough.
Secondly, because charities should not work against each other in competition. Sadly, in some of the larger national charities competition is becoming acceptable. But thankfully in smaller local charities, the habits of partnership and cooperation are deeply ingrained. These habits are often necessary for survival and they are in fact what distinguish us from Asda and Tesco.
Thirdly, demonstrating the effective use of resources can enhance our general reputation, raise trust in our competence and so attract even greater resources.
So we now have a timetable for developing a thought-through collaborative strategy for voluntary sector accommodation in Watford. Hopefully this process will be kick-started by a meeting already scheduled for 26 June when various voluntary and community groups will get together to discuss options.
Policy development
In the afternoon, I oversaw preparations for Monday’s networking lunch and drafted new policies on Sick Leave and Staff Development.
Art exhibition
In the evening, from 5:00, we hosted an Art Exhibition. The Guideposts Trust runs a very successful range of mental health services in Watford. They are a splendid organisation run by the impressive Lorna Cunningham who leads an equally impressive staff team. Many of their users are talented artists, and the Trust offer plenty of opportunities for people to practice and develop their art skills. For six months we have been working with the Guideposts Trust to collate sufficient pictures to display at WCVS. We now have forty, and tonight we hosted an evening for friends of Guideposts Trust and WCVS. It was a very pleasant and civilised affair. I was delighted that Alison Stainsby joined us from WBC, but the evening was really about the artists who quite rightly took full advantage of the attention (hopefully next week’s Watford Observer will include a picture).
Just as the artists bristled with pride, I was proud of the quiet and efficient way that WCVS staff set about things: making everything look excellent, making people welcome, serving drinks, bringing out the food, clearing things away. Sometimes they are so good I just want to gather them together and give them a great big hug: I suspect this is not best management practice so I resist all such temptations.
After everyone had dispersed, I finished off our final 2006-07 monitoring report to WBC and made a final few preparations for tomorrow’s interviews. I arrived home tired but rather pleased with things.
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
The lull before the storm?
Today I enjoyed my final day or so of relative peace. I will soon be immersed in another round of meetings and chasing frantically after deadlines.
Radio Times
On the drive home, I listened to FreshFM – the youth / community radio station broadcasting all this week across Watford on 101.8.
Lasy Friday, Des Reid (one of our Connexions PAs) joined FreshFM to talk about bullying. I was hurryign to my grand-daughter’s birthday party and missed the broadcast. By all accounts, Des’s performance on Friday was excellent. But then Des has a natural radio voice, deep and and well modulated and his manner is naturally relaxed and reassuring.
Tonight was the turn of Saud and Farzana (our other two PAs) who joined FreshFM to talk about drug abuse. Both came across very well indeed: young, bright, confident and able to quote masses of information and data. I enjoyed the show greatly and listened attentively until the signal finally gave out around Hatfield.
Today I enjoyed my final day or so of relative peace. I will soon be immersed in another round of meetings and chasing frantically after deadlines.
Radio Times
On the drive home, I listened to FreshFM – the youth / community radio station broadcasting all this week across Watford on 101.8.
Lasy Friday, Des Reid (one of our Connexions PAs) joined FreshFM to talk about bullying. I was hurryign to my grand-daughter’s birthday party and missed the broadcast. By all accounts, Des’s performance on Friday was excellent. But then Des has a natural radio voice, deep and and well modulated and his manner is naturally relaxed and reassuring.
Tonight was the turn of Saud and Farzana (our other two PAs) who joined FreshFM to talk about drug abuse. Both came across very well indeed: young, bright, confident and able to quote masses of information and data. I enjoyed the show greatly and listened attentively until the signal finally gave out around Hatfield.
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
I arrived at work early to complete the overhaul of my office. But at 10:00 I joined a meeting of the Watford Learning Partnership. The WLP provides a forum for all those delivering post-16 education in Watford. Today’s meeting was poorly attended but nevertheless there were some helpful discussions: in particular, we explored possible ways of meeting the voluntary sector’s training needs.
Investing in Communities
On Investors in Communities, I learnt that others also think their current year budget allocations are crazy. IiC works with communities to tackle poverty and need. For education and training, they have a fixed sum of money to spend across the county and decided (I assume with the best intentions) to prioritise needs. To be exact, they decided that 100% of their 2007-08 budget will be spent in just three of Hertfordshire’s 200-odd wards. No-one disputes the need to prioritise. But there is serious doubt that these three wards can even host all the events needed to spend the money. And if they can host the events, will anyone actually attend?
This seems to me a classic (and extreme) example of the “hit and run” tactics favoured by many inexperienced and naive funders. Many people, including the potential targets of the training, will probably be far happier if the money is simply flushed straight down the drain - thus saving everyone the embarrassment of pretending that people will actually benefit from any of this.
It is possible that I would be more understanding about this if one or more of the wards were within Watford.
After the WLP meeting I visited the YMCA for lunch with their CEO Phil Willerton. Apart from leading one of Watford's most successful charities, Phil is also the best person to ask about the Children’s Partnerships / Centres / Funds and I am only slowly getting to understand these things.
Later, I met with Anne (our Funding Advisor) who is about to go on leave for two weeks. I then finally finished overhauling my office – which now looks almost "office-like" (is there an appropriate adjective for this context? officious and professional are just not right).
Around 5:00 I was visited by WCVS's auditors Howard Wilson, who collected from us our audit pack. I then hurried home to my grand-daughter’s third birthday party. Later, I noticed that aged Ken was looking more inform that usual; I wonder if anyone markets copper collars for arthritic cats?
Investing in Communities
On Investors in Communities, I learnt that others also think their current year budget allocations are crazy. IiC works with communities to tackle poverty and need. For education and training, they have a fixed sum of money to spend across the county and decided (I assume with the best intentions) to prioritise needs. To be exact, they decided that 100% of their 2007-08 budget will be spent in just three of Hertfordshire’s 200-odd wards. No-one disputes the need to prioritise. But there is serious doubt that these three wards can even host all the events needed to spend the money. And if they can host the events, will anyone actually attend?
This seems to me a classic (and extreme) example of the “hit and run” tactics favoured by many inexperienced and naive funders. Many people, including the potential targets of the training, will probably be far happier if the money is simply flushed straight down the drain - thus saving everyone the embarrassment of pretending that people will actually benefit from any of this.
It is possible that I would be more understanding about this if one or more of the wards were within Watford.
After the WLP meeting I visited the YMCA for lunch with their CEO Phil Willerton. Apart from leading one of Watford's most successful charities, Phil is also the best person to ask about the Children’s Partnerships / Centres / Funds and I am only slowly getting to understand these things.
Later, I met with Anne (our Funding Advisor) who is about to go on leave for two weeks. I then finally finished overhauling my office – which now looks almost "office-like" (is there an appropriate adjective for this context? officious and professional are just not right).
Around 5:00 I was visited by WCVS's auditors Howard Wilson, who collected from us our audit pack. I then hurried home to my grand-daughter’s third birthday party. Later, I noticed that aged Ken was looking more inform that usual; I wonder if anyone markets copper collars for arthritic cats?
Monday, 4 June 2007
This morning’s journey took an hour and a half so I was relieved that the auditors had delayed their initial visit until Tuesday - helpfully giving me an extra day to collate papers etc. Thanks to Jackie's ministrations, my shoulder was much improved.
It was good to see Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) back from her leave and we had a helpful discussion on local training. I also had talks Helen (Volunteer Centre co-ordinator) about the LAA, and with Anne (Funding Advisor) on preparations for her forthcoming leave. And I completed preparations for this Friday’s interviews, rebuilt a laptop computer and fixed a flickering light. Jack of all trades, then.
But most importantly I spent two hours clearing up my own office. The eccentric and bohemian stacks of books and papers and computer drives had begun to take on the depressing appearance or permanent fixtures. With things cleared away, I hope I can start to concentrate on the large projects for this summer:
- completing the audit and annual report;
- contributing to the strategic plan for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium;
- securing IiP status for WCVS;
- contributing to Watford's Community Development Strategy;
- revitalising the Watford and Hertfordshire Compacts;
- appointing and inducting a new Finance and Administration Officer;
- finding partners to begin developing local strategies for volunteering, training, and accommodation.
It should be a busy few months.
Recent reading
I completed David Stuart Leslie's Two Gentlemen Sharing, best described as a comedy of manners and set in the Notting Hill of 1960. I also ploughed through The Rising of the Workers of Hertfordshire in 1381 and am now reading Hertfordshire 1731 – 1800 as Recorded in the Gentlemen’s Magazine. A Hertford woman was found guilty of witchcraft in 1712; I believe this was the last such guilty verdict and she subsequently received a Royal Pardon and was sheltered and provided for by Lord Cowper until her death. Touchingly, Lady Cowper paid for a regular sermon to be preached against witch hunts. Perhaps this tradition should be revived? But the sermon did little for the west of the County for in Tring in 1751, an elderly couple were dragged from the Poor House under suspicion of witchcraft and badly beaten by a mob. The woman died and one of the mob was subsequently hanged.
It was good to see Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) back from her leave and we had a helpful discussion on local training. I also had talks Helen (Volunteer Centre co-ordinator) about the LAA, and with Anne (Funding Advisor) on preparations for her forthcoming leave. And I completed preparations for this Friday’s interviews, rebuilt a laptop computer and fixed a flickering light. Jack of all trades, then.
But most importantly I spent two hours clearing up my own office. The eccentric and bohemian stacks of books and papers and computer drives had begun to take on the depressing appearance or permanent fixtures. With things cleared away, I hope I can start to concentrate on the large projects for this summer:
- completing the audit and annual report;
- contributing to the strategic plan for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium;
- securing IiP status for WCVS;
- contributing to Watford's Community Development Strategy;
- revitalising the Watford and Hertfordshire Compacts;
- appointing and inducting a new Finance and Administration Officer;
- finding partners to begin developing local strategies for volunteering, training, and accommodation.
It should be a busy few months.
Recent reading
I completed David Stuart Leslie's Two Gentlemen Sharing, best described as a comedy of manners and set in the Notting Hill of 1960. I also ploughed through The Rising of the Workers of Hertfordshire in 1381 and am now reading Hertfordshire 1731 – 1800 as Recorded in the Gentlemen’s Magazine. A Hertford woman was found guilty of witchcraft in 1712; I believe this was the last such guilty verdict and she subsequently received a Royal Pardon and was sheltered and provided for by Lord Cowper until her death. Touchingly, Lady Cowper paid for a regular sermon to be preached against witch hunts. Perhaps this tradition should be revived? But the sermon did little for the west of the County for in Tring in 1751, an elderly couple were dragged from the Poor House under suspicion of witchcraft and badly beaten by a mob. The woman died and one of the mob was subsequently hanged.
Sunday, 3 June 2007
A beautiful day. Jackie and I rose early and spent the entire day together gardening. All very pleasing. We finished in the garden about 6:00 pm, bathed and ate. I made a final round of telephone calls arranging interviews with shortlisted candidates in WCVS's current recruitment process for a Finance and Administration Officer. I had thought to spend the rest of the evening doing some final preparation for WCVS's audit but this was out of the question.
For some weeks, I have been nursing along a "frozen shoulder" - a stiffening of my left shoulder and elbow, usually accompanied by great tenderness and occasionally by extravagantly shooting pains. After a day in the garden, the pain was constant and intense. I sat with my elbow perched on top of five cushions while Jackie lovingly massaged me. I felt so miserable and pathetic that even a new episode of Midsomer Murders did little to raise my spirits.
For some weeks, I have been nursing along a "frozen shoulder" - a stiffening of my left shoulder and elbow, usually accompanied by great tenderness and occasionally by extravagantly shooting pains. After a day in the garden, the pain was constant and intense. I sat with my elbow perched on top of five cushions while Jackie lovingly massaged me. I felt so miserable and pathetic that even a new episode of Midsomer Murders did little to raise my spirits.
Saturday, 2 June 2007
I woke up about 7:00 this morning to the sound of Bethany crying from her bedroom. I rushed in and found her sitting up and claiming that she had seen "bats" at the window. This was probably not a bad dream, but a misunderstanding as two sparrows often do flutter around the window apparently picking spiders from the wall of the house. I reassured her (without mentioning spiders) and we went to wake up Jackie before enjoying a wonderful breakfast in bed. All too soon, we had to restore Bethany to her mum and dad; I do hope she visits again soon.
At lunchtime, Jackie and I headed off to see Blithe Spirit at the Watford Palace Theatre. Simon Dunton was particularly good as the husband; but what to do about Margaret Rutherford's incomparable performance as Madame Arcati? A clever bit of casting allowed Aicha Kossoko full reign and she didn't disappoint.
Watford is very fortunate to have the Palace Theatre but theatres struggle against many other competing demands for our time. Rather depressingly, the only Palace Theatre event "SOLD OUT" is a performance by Frank Skinner. I myself am keen to see the Indian production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in September.
At lunchtime, Jackie and I headed off to see Blithe Spirit at the Watford Palace Theatre. Simon Dunton was particularly good as the husband; but what to do about Margaret Rutherford's incomparable performance as Madame Arcati? A clever bit of casting allowed Aicha Kossoko full reign and she didn't disappoint.
Watford is very fortunate to have the Palace Theatre but theatres struggle against many other competing demands for our time. Rather depressingly, the only Palace Theatre event "SOLD OUT" is a performance by Frank Skinner. I myself am keen to see the Indian production of A Midsummer Night's Dream in September.
Friday, 1 June 2007
Today, I completed a year with Watford CVS. Disappointingly, no holiday was declared and there was no parade on Watford High Street. Like everyone else, I marked the event quietly by simply ignoring it.
I spent part of the day sorting out preparations for the forthcoming Networking Lunch. I chased Herts CVS colleagues for some comparative data on activities etc. This morning I met with Lincoln Beckford, one of my trustees, to learn about his work and background. After, I had a long talk with Helen about volunteering and the One Watford LSP. In the afternoon I met with Mary Green from Three Rivers CVS to talk through our respective BASIS bids.
Des Reid (one of our Connexions PAs) was preparing to go "on air" on local youth radio station Fresh FM: he looked very relaxed about it. I hurried off home at 5:00 sharp as Jackie and I were hosting our (nearly three year old) grand-daughter Bethany for the night and I didn't want to miss anything. She is a beautiful child and it is a delight to have her stay. Sadly it meant that I missed Des's radio performance. Sorry Des.
I spent part of the day sorting out preparations for the forthcoming Networking Lunch. I chased Herts CVS colleagues for some comparative data on activities etc. This morning I met with Lincoln Beckford, one of my trustees, to learn about his work and background. After, I had a long talk with Helen about volunteering and the One Watford LSP. In the afternoon I met with Mary Green from Three Rivers CVS to talk through our respective BASIS bids.
Des Reid (one of our Connexions PAs) was preparing to go "on air" on local youth radio station Fresh FM: he looked very relaxed about it. I hurried off home at 5:00 sharp as Jackie and I were hosting our (nearly three year old) grand-daughter Bethany for the night and I didn't want to miss anything. She is a beautiful child and it is a delight to have her stay. Sadly it meant that I missed Des's radio performance. Sorry Des.
Thursday, 31 May 2007
I again planned to work from home today to make progress on our BASIS bid and prepare for our audit next week. But circumstances conspired against me and I first needed to pay a visit to the office: I stole in around dawn to minimise traffic delays.
Back home I started work about 8:30 and had ten urgent telephone calls to make before I could really focus on anything else. I managed to complete these and spend some very useful hours on BASIS.
At one point I had a meeting on the Herts Compact at HCC County Hall with Andrew Burt (of HCC) and Jacquie Hime (of N Herts CVS). As I've previously written, there are some serious issues emerging for the Compact.
In this meeting, we were each wearing our "Herts Compact Group" hats, so our brief was simply to examine process and on this the discussions were productive. I think we also reached a sort-of-solution to the long-running problems over HomeStart funding where HCC appear to find themselves in a bit of a mess. But give the hats we were wearing, this "solution" has to focus on getting the various parties to resume meaningful dialogue.
All this may be too late to rescue the 8 June Doing Business with the Public Sector event organised by HCC. The first invitation was only circulated on 16 May and this is simply not sufficient notice for people to organise themselves and their diaries. And faced with a diary conflict, the HomeStart situation certainly does not encourage people to give HCC the benefit of the doubt.
Back home I started work about 8:30 and had ten urgent telephone calls to make before I could really focus on anything else. I managed to complete these and spend some very useful hours on BASIS.
At one point I had a meeting on the Herts Compact at HCC County Hall with Andrew Burt (of HCC) and Jacquie Hime (of N Herts CVS). As I've previously written, there are some serious issues emerging for the Compact.
In this meeting, we were each wearing our "Herts Compact Group" hats, so our brief was simply to examine process and on this the discussions were productive. I think we also reached a sort-of-solution to the long-running problems over HomeStart funding where HCC appear to find themselves in a bit of a mess. But give the hats we were wearing, this "solution" has to focus on getting the various parties to resume meaningful dialogue.
All this may be too late to rescue the 8 June Doing Business with the Public Sector event organised by HCC. The first invitation was only circulated on 16 May and this is simply not sufficient notice for people to organise themselves and their diaries. And faced with a diary conflict, the HomeStart situation certainly does not encourage people to give HCC the benefit of the doubt.
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
I spent some time talking with colleagues about the forthcoming networking lunch event. In recent times, these have been organised by Sue who has now moved to new pastures. All other staff are rallying round brilliantly to help out, but organising for the 11 June event is anyway a bit more complex than usual, and without Sue I am fussing like an old mother hen.
Community centres
I then met with some representatives from the Watford African Caribbean Association who are in discussions about establishing a new partnership to take over the management of one of the local Community Centres.
This was an extremely interesting meeting. Discussions began a year or more ago, but so far have not moved beyond the initial relationship-building phase. Or at least there do not yet seem to be any answers to fundamental questions about the future management of the centres: who will own the building, who will be responsible for different aspects of maintenance, etc. Doubtless all will become clear in time, but time is moving on and groups have to start taking decisions.
Community centres
I then met with some representatives from the Watford African Caribbean Association who are in discussions about establishing a new partnership to take over the management of one of the local Community Centres.
This was an extremely interesting meeting. Discussions began a year or more ago, but so far have not moved beyond the initial relationship-building phase. Or at least there do not yet seem to be any answers to fundamental questions about the future management of the centres: who will own the building, who will be responsible for different aspects of maintenance, etc. Doubtless all will become clear in time, but time is moving on and groups have to start taking decisions.
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