Jackie and I journeyed to Crews Hill. We wanted a decent Acer, but despite having "the largest concentration of garden centres in Europe", plants were a bit thin on the ground. We could have bought any amount of home- or garden- nick-nacks, and at Woldens we encountered possibly the rudest shop manager in the country. After three hours scouring Crews Hill we returned home with a Honeysuckle, a Clematis, and an Ivy.
The weather stayed fine and we spent the entire afternoon and evening in the garden - our first real "gardening day" of the year.
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Jackie and I drove over to Woodside Farm (just over the border in Bedfordshire from Markyate) to look at Chickens. Jackie had set her heart on getting an Orpington Buff (I think she liked the name) or a “rescue” from a battery farm. I was dubious on both options and after a good look around we agreed that for our first foray into keeping chickens we should stick to a Black Rock and a Light Sussex.
We also looked at buying a chicken coop. From a "recommended" provider the absolute cheapest coops cost £100, anything a quarter way decent is £200 and the ones we'd like to buy cost up to £1,000. Ever resourceful and never ones to waste money, Jackie and I looked up some plans on the internet and a friend has promised us a few spare palettes.
We also looked at buying a chicken coop. From a "recommended" provider the absolute cheapest coops cost £100, anything a quarter way decent is £200 and the ones we'd like to buy cost up to £1,000. Ever resourceful and never ones to waste money, Jackie and I looked up some plans on the internet and a friend has promised us a few spare palettes.
Friday, 28 March 2008
I was much refreshed by a full night’s sleep and within a short time of arriving at work I had dispatched a response to the PCT and HCC on their integrated transport proposal. Clearly more discussions are needed and involving more VCS organisations, but the prospects for a County-wide voluntary transport service look good.
I also sent off letters to the ten LSP Chairs in Hertfordshire, with the text carefully negotiated and agreed with HCC.
Pam Handley arrived prompt as ever for my monthly supervision meeting. She came with some excellent points on the draft Community Development Strategy and (as ever) some good support / ideas on other areas too. I'm not unduly modest or reticent, but things would be so much harder without these regular meetings with my Chair of Trustees: without them I wouldn't do anywhere near such a good job.
I also worked on a draft letter to Chris Pond of Capacitybuilders. Oh Dear. Capacitybuilders oversees the development of vountary sector support and began its life a year ago with a big fanfare and then an unnecessary and unseemly head-to-head battle with existing bodies such as NCVO and NAVCA. Capacitybuilders then took each infrastructure consortium (Hertfordshire’s included) through a year-long process to prove that each consortium was “fit for purpose”.
But there are serious questions about whether Capacitybuilders itself is fit for purpose: its star has waned considerably, it has missed its own deadlines, funding is drying up and support agencies are disengaging rather too readily. I do hope the funding survives at least because without it things would be even harder.
But Capacitybuilders isn't in as big a mess as that presided over by BA at Heathrow's new Terminal 5 - what a catastrophic display of arrogance, mismanagement and downright dishonesty. And of course no-one has yet resigned: does no-one have any sense of honour?
Before leaving the office I spoke with Ian Richardson, Chair of Herts CVS and congratulated him on his successful office relocation to Ware.
On the way home I dropped off for a chat with my Vice Chair Althea MacLean OBE and her husband Mac.
Back at home, I found the new Status Quo album waiting for me along with friends bearing "cloudy scumpy" - the evening took years off me.
I also sent off letters to the ten LSP Chairs in Hertfordshire, with the text carefully negotiated and agreed with HCC.
Pam Handley arrived prompt as ever for my monthly supervision meeting. She came with some excellent points on the draft Community Development Strategy and (as ever) some good support / ideas on other areas too. I'm not unduly modest or reticent, but things would be so much harder without these regular meetings with my Chair of Trustees: without them I wouldn't do anywhere near such a good job.
I also worked on a draft letter to Chris Pond of Capacitybuilders. Oh Dear. Capacitybuilders oversees the development of vountary sector support and began its life a year ago with a big fanfare and then an unnecessary and unseemly head-to-head battle with existing bodies such as NCVO and NAVCA. Capacitybuilders then took each infrastructure consortium (Hertfordshire’s included) through a year-long process to prove that each consortium was “fit for purpose”.
But there are serious questions about whether Capacitybuilders itself is fit for purpose: its star has waned considerably, it has missed its own deadlines, funding is drying up and support agencies are disengaging rather too readily. I do hope the funding survives at least because without it things would be even harder.
But Capacitybuilders isn't in as big a mess as that presided over by BA at Heathrow's new Terminal 5 - what a catastrophic display of arrogance, mismanagement and downright dishonesty. And of course no-one has yet resigned: does no-one have any sense of honour?
Before leaving the office I spoke with Ian Richardson, Chair of Herts CVS and congratulated him on his successful office relocation to Ware.
On the way home I dropped off for a chat with my Vice Chair Althea MacLean OBE and her husband Mac.
Back at home, I found the new Status Quo album waiting for me along with friends bearing "cloudy scumpy" - the evening took years off me.
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Insomnia
Mostly, I consider myself a good sleeper; accomplished even as I sleep very deeply and very little disturbs me. I don't sleep for long and find I thrive best on about six hours a night. And I cope well with disruption and never suffer from jet-lag or similar. But once in a while I have a bout of insomnia and this past night was one such night.
After several futile attempts to sleep, I thought I might as well be at the office doing something useful rather than disturbing Jackie's sleep too so I arrived at work about 4:30 am. It’s not as if there wasn’t plenty of work to do.
First, I spent time shifting furniture and computers about. This wasn’t on some capricious whim as Maria (our office co-ordinator) had ordered a skip for the day and furniture needed shifting about and papers sorted for archive / shredding / recycling.
I spent a large part of the past night reading CRM for Dummies and this had helped clarify so much. I am now 98% sure how we are going to configure CRM for the second test installation. I wrote a long-ish e-mail to Angelo setting out an agenda for us to talk through during his visit later in the day.
It is never a good idea to send anything out for wider consultation until it’s been thoroughly scrutinised by critical friends. So this morning I sent out the draft Community Development Strategy to WCVS staff and trustees. Hopefully I will get some good feedback and next week be able to circulate a revised draft to members and stakeholders and for discussion at some of our forums.
Ann Jansz had reported back on the LAA discussions with the news that Herts Forward may decide to create a “bespoke” target for itself around engagement with the voluntary sector. The possibilities are very exciting, but things will have to move fast. The charge on this was led by Watford’s Dorothy Thornhill and I have to applaud her thinking: Audentior indeed.
Angelo arrived and we tackled a few problems together before adjourning for a brief lunch. We went down the High Street to Toast - there is nothing quite like visiting a good independent local business. Over dinner, we had an intense discussion about Watford CVS's IT project which is looking so full of promise: Angelo has developed some great looking web-tools, CRM looks better than we’d hoped, and integrates with MS Exchange / SharePoint / v-base / MS Office, and everything looks fully scaleable.
This is the stage of the project where hopes and expectations ride high; sadly, I know that soon enough there will come a time when cold hard technical reality will kick in, red in tooth and claw.
Back at the office, the skip still hadn’t arrived, but Maria (Office Co-ordinator) and Anne (Funding Advisor) and Sha-Lee (Information Worker) and (Sean (Volunteer) were all working brilliantly in preparation.
I had to leave them to it and drove to Hemel Hempstead for a 3:30 meeting with Mohamed Fawzi of Connexions. We spoke about our contract with Connexions for Aim Higher work, and about our new contract to provide a BME Advocacy Service across Hertfordshire. Mohamed had some excellent ideas (and names) for the service’s Advisory Panel and I greatly appreciate his input. Hema starts in a few weeks and things look good.
I arrived home about 6:00 pm and Jackie pampered me: I went to bed about 10:00 pm and was asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.
Mostly, I consider myself a good sleeper; accomplished even as I sleep very deeply and very little disturbs me. I don't sleep for long and find I thrive best on about six hours a night. And I cope well with disruption and never suffer from jet-lag or similar. But once in a while I have a bout of insomnia and this past night was one such night.
After several futile attempts to sleep, I thought I might as well be at the office doing something useful rather than disturbing Jackie's sleep too so I arrived at work about 4:30 am. It’s not as if there wasn’t plenty of work to do.
First, I spent time shifting furniture and computers about. This wasn’t on some capricious whim as Maria (our office co-ordinator) had ordered a skip for the day and furniture needed shifting about and papers sorted for archive / shredding / recycling.
I spent a large part of the past night reading CRM for Dummies and this had helped clarify so much. I am now 98% sure how we are going to configure CRM for the second test installation. I wrote a long-ish e-mail to Angelo setting out an agenda for us to talk through during his visit later in the day.
It is never a good idea to send anything out for wider consultation until it’s been thoroughly scrutinised by critical friends. So this morning I sent out the draft Community Development Strategy to WCVS staff and trustees. Hopefully I will get some good feedback and next week be able to circulate a revised draft to members and stakeholders and for discussion at some of our forums.
Ann Jansz had reported back on the LAA discussions with the news that Herts Forward may decide to create a “bespoke” target for itself around engagement with the voluntary sector. The possibilities are very exciting, but things will have to move fast. The charge on this was led by Watford’s Dorothy Thornhill and I have to applaud her thinking: Audentior indeed.
Angelo arrived and we tackled a few problems together before adjourning for a brief lunch. We went down the High Street to Toast - there is nothing quite like visiting a good independent local business. Over dinner, we had an intense discussion about Watford CVS's IT project which is looking so full of promise: Angelo has developed some great looking web-tools, CRM looks better than we’d hoped, and integrates with MS Exchange / SharePoint / v-base / MS Office, and everything looks fully scaleable.
This is the stage of the project where hopes and expectations ride high; sadly, I know that soon enough there will come a time when cold hard technical reality will kick in, red in tooth and claw.
Back at the office, the skip still hadn’t arrived, but Maria (Office Co-ordinator) and Anne (Funding Advisor) and Sha-Lee (Information Worker) and (Sean (Volunteer) were all working brilliantly in preparation.
I had to leave them to it and drove to Hemel Hempstead for a 3:30 meeting with Mohamed Fawzi of Connexions. We spoke about our contract with Connexions for Aim Higher work, and about our new contract to provide a BME Advocacy Service across Hertfordshire. Mohamed had some excellent ideas (and names) for the service’s Advisory Panel and I greatly appreciate his input. Hema starts in a few weeks and things look good.
I arrived home about 6:00 pm and Jackie pampered me: I went to bed about 10:00 pm and was asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Although ultimately quite satisfying, this is not a day I will remember with great fondness. I arrived at the office at 7:30 am determined to finish off a first draft of the Community Development strategy for which I already had a structure, a few pages of notes and a head full of half-formed ideas.
I had a mid-morning meeting with our Auditors, our Treasurer John Casstles, and Maria (Office Co-ordinator). Everything seems set fair for a straightforward audit. And I had a few interruptions to help sort out some difficulties over the installation of new telephone extensions pending the arrival of new staff.
Apart from this I worked steadily on the draft Community Development Strategy and by about 1:00 pm I was close to completing. I was pretty happy with things and I clicked on the Save icon for the twentieth time. Immediately I began to curse myself. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. Instantly. All morning I had been working on the draft direct on my memory stick. Bad move. Very bad move. After twenty nightmare minutes of futile computer forensics, I accepted that I had lost my morning’s work. All of it. The amended revised and renamed file had utterly disappeared. All trace gone. Five or six wasted hours. Bugger.
A lesser man would have cried, sworn, abused some colleagues, sought out a cat to kick, stamped on his memory stick, thrown his dummy, and taken an axe to his PC. All these things seemed very attractive and in fact I did use some rather course language to myself. But in the end I spent perhaps fifteen minutes in a semi-trance, and then just went back to the beginning and started over. What else could I do?
I was soon interrupted by a flurry of e-mails from HCC asking if I had yet written to the chairs of the ten District LSPs in Hertfordshire. I had not sent the letter. But I had drafted it and sent it to HCC nearly two weeks ago asking for comments. But HCC now wanted the letter sent tout de suite to raise the issue of the Compact and to promote HCC’s 7 April conference.
About 7:00 pm I finally finished a draft of the Community Development Strategy. I clicked Save with some trepidation and was relieved that the document survived this complex procedure.
Meanwhile, the books I had ordered from Amazon had arrived and I took home CRM for Dummies for some night-time reading.
I had a mid-morning meeting with our Auditors, our Treasurer John Casstles, and Maria (Office Co-ordinator). Everything seems set fair for a straightforward audit. And I had a few interruptions to help sort out some difficulties over the installation of new telephone extensions pending the arrival of new staff.
Apart from this I worked steadily on the draft Community Development Strategy and by about 1:00 pm I was close to completing. I was pretty happy with things and I clicked on the Save icon for the twentieth time. Immediately I began to curse myself. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. Instantly. All morning I had been working on the draft direct on my memory stick. Bad move. Very bad move. After twenty nightmare minutes of futile computer forensics, I accepted that I had lost my morning’s work. All of it. The amended revised and renamed file had utterly disappeared. All trace gone. Five or six wasted hours. Bugger.
A lesser man would have cried, sworn, abused some colleagues, sought out a cat to kick, stamped on his memory stick, thrown his dummy, and taken an axe to his PC. All these things seemed very attractive and in fact I did use some rather course language to myself. But in the end I spent perhaps fifteen minutes in a semi-trance, and then just went back to the beginning and started over. What else could I do?
I was soon interrupted by a flurry of e-mails from HCC asking if I had yet written to the chairs of the ten District LSPs in Hertfordshire. I had not sent the letter. But I had drafted it and sent it to HCC nearly two weeks ago asking for comments. But HCC now wanted the letter sent tout de suite to raise the issue of the Compact and to promote HCC’s 7 April conference.
About 7:00 pm I finally finished a draft of the Community Development Strategy. I clicked Save with some trepidation and was relieved that the document survived this complex procedure.
Meanwhile, the books I had ordered from Amazon had arrived and I took home CRM for Dummies for some night-time reading.
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
This morning I had an eerily quiet drive into Watford - I suppose many people are taking time off work after the Easter weekend. I arrived pleasantly early and spent most of the morning finalising and forwarding Staff Reviews for signature.
Ahead of tomorrow’s important Herts Forward meeting, Ann Jansz (of Stevenage CVS - the voluntary sector representative on Herts Forward) is canvassing views on the distribution of LAA2 reward monies. Half of the monies will stay at County level, and the other half will be distributed equally to the ten District LSPs. But how will the monies actually be spent?
Ann is a model representative and is always canvassing views to inform her role and help us engage in debates. Not to disappoint her, I responded with my view that at least some of the monies should be put into endowment to provide long-term sustainable funding for the local voluntary sector. I also suggested that maybe the County could offer an “endowment challenge” to the District LSPs. I won’t hold my breath.
On our Microsoft CRM installation, Sha-Lee and I are making slow progress. I ordered some books from Amazon to help focus our efforts and they should arrive tomorrow.
We also accepted delivery of new monitors and I got a few of these set up, and then I had a further PC to join to the network and configure, and arrangements had to be made about our forthcoming networking lunches, and I had a discussion or two on voluntary sector training, and then got some printing quotes for our year end mailing. It's good to be back!
Ahead of tomorrow’s important Herts Forward meeting, Ann Jansz (of Stevenage CVS - the voluntary sector representative on Herts Forward) is canvassing views on the distribution of LAA2 reward monies. Half of the monies will stay at County level, and the other half will be distributed equally to the ten District LSPs. But how will the monies actually be spent?
Ann is a model representative and is always canvassing views to inform her role and help us engage in debates. Not to disappoint her, I responded with my view that at least some of the monies should be put into endowment to provide long-term sustainable funding for the local voluntary sector. I also suggested that maybe the County could offer an “endowment challenge” to the District LSPs. I won’t hold my breath.
On our Microsoft CRM installation, Sha-Lee and I are making slow progress. I ordered some books from Amazon to help focus our efforts and they should arrive tomorrow.
We also accepted delivery of new monitors and I got a few of these set up, and then I had a further PC to join to the network and configure, and arrangements had to be made about our forthcoming networking lunches, and I had a discussion or two on voluntary sector training, and then got some printing quotes for our year end mailing. It's good to be back!
Monday, 24 March 2008
Jackie and I again woke to the silence of falling snow. This time the snow was not settling and we felt no great urge to get out walking. Instead, Jackie and I shared a crossword over breakfast.
Then I spent the best part of the day trying to finish a consultation draft of a Community Development strategy. This is a field which brings together so many different strands of development that writing the policy is a bit like trying to get toothpaste back into the tube / herding cats / fighting an octopus.
Then I spent the best part of the day trying to finish a consultation draft of a Community Development strategy. This is a field which brings together so many different strands of development that writing the policy is a bit like trying to get toothpaste back into the tube / herding cats / fighting an octopus.
Sunday, 23 March 2008
Jackie and I woke at 7:15 to find outside a steady fall of snow. Within a short space of time we were dressed, begloved, bescarfed, behatted and bebooted. We took a walk out along the Mimram, beneath the viaduct and back past Digswell Lake. And of course we had a snowball fight. Absolutely beautiful and magical. After a warming drink back home we devoted the rest of the day to delivering chocolate eggs to relatives.
Catholic Church leaders are again whipping up a storm over the latest Embryology Bill. It was good to see some such as Evan Harris MP standing up to this.
In the evening, Jackie and I ate the meal we prepared last night. Very tasty.
Recent reading
Today, I finished reading Bevis Hillier's masterful biography Young Betjeman - a fascinating and comprehensive insight into the poet and his 1920s youth.
I also read the off-beat Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce - one of the diverting Louie Knight stories.
Catholic Church leaders are again whipping up a storm over the latest Embryology Bill. It was good to see some such as Evan Harris MP standing up to this.
In the evening, Jackie and I ate the meal we prepared last night. Very tasty.
Recent reading
Today, I finished reading Bevis Hillier's masterful biography Young Betjeman - a fascinating and comprehensive insight into the poet and his 1920s youth.
I also read the off-beat Aberystwyth Mon Amour by Malcolm Pryce - one of the diverting Louie Knight stories.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
This morning brought howling winds and driving sleet: so much for our planned day in the garden.
After a day on (indoor) domestic chores, Jackie and I planned a meal and set about cooking together. We got diverted by some excellent music and an interesting bottle of Malbec and by the time we’d finished cooking we were in no mood to eat. Perhaps tomorrow.
After a day on (indoor) domestic chores, Jackie and I planned a meal and set about cooking together. We got diverted by some excellent music and an interesting bottle of Malbec and by the time we’d finished cooking we were in no mood to eat. Perhaps tomorrow.
Friday, 21 March 2008
Jackie and I drove through eastern Hertfordshire to Braughing where we bought some sausages from the famous D White’s butchers. We also espied one of my ancestral homes but not in a location where we could decently go snooping, so instead we dined at the excellent Axe and Compasses (named in the days of enclosures?).
It may be sacrilege in Hertfordshire, but I do not think Braughing sausages are as exceptional as their reputation might suggest. I prefer Oaklands sausages from our local butcher on the road to Knebworth.
It may be sacrilege in Hertfordshire, but I do not think Braughing sausages are as exceptional as their reputation might suggest. I prefer Oaklands sausages from our local butcher on the road to Knebworth.
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Most of today I devoted to clearing things out of the way before the extended weekend break: new hygiene services at our offices, Watford Compact, planning a meeting for a Community Arts Network, planning a CEO network, PTLLs training, correspondence with the National Lottery and a draft response to a PCT paper on integrated transport.
There is more trouble in Tibet as China’s appalling record on human rights is again exposed to the world’s scrutiny. But given that the world’s economy depends so heavily on China, I suspect that the West’s politicians will have trouble standing up to China on this one; instead they will hope that the demonstrations subside as quickly as possible.
In the evening I watched Those Glory Glory Days - a 1983 film set in 1961 about a pre-pubescent girl’s infatuation with Spurs. I was interested to note that Watford’s Westfield School was thanked in the credits.
There is more trouble in Tibet as China’s appalling record on human rights is again exposed to the world’s scrutiny. But given that the world’s economy depends so heavily on China, I suspect that the West’s politicians will have trouble standing up to China on this one; instead they will hope that the demonstrations subside as quickly as possible.
In the evening I watched Those Glory Glory Days - a 1983 film set in 1961 about a pre-pubescent girl’s infatuation with Spurs. I was interested to note that Watford’s Westfield School was thanked in the credits.
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
This morning I took the familiar drive to North Herts CVS for a meeting of the Herts CVS group.
My son used to watch The Power Rangers and I often find myself thinking of the Herts CVS group as the Power Rangers of the voluntary sector. But this is a mere fancy. In reality, while we all have strengths, we also all have weaknesses. Our meetings are often a balancing act to ensure that people contribute according to their abilities and receive according to their needs. For example, I often discover key information on things that I thought I already understood.
My son used to watch The Power Rangers and I often find myself thinking of the Herts CVS group as the Power Rangers of the voluntary sector. But this is a mere fancy. In reality, while we all have strengths, we also all have weaknesses. Our meetings are often a balancing act to ensure that people contribute according to their abilities and receive according to their needs. For example, I often discover key information on things that I thought I already understood.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
I spent this morning at a stakeholder event for Aim Higher – the Government scheme that seeks to boost the educational achievement of those at risk of underachieving.
Then I returned to the office to face a deluge of e-mails and messages. If you’re awaiting a reply - I will get to you as soon as I can!
Then I returned to the office to face a deluge of e-mails and messages. If you’re awaiting a reply - I will get to you as soon as I can!
Monday, 17 March 2008
I spent this morning attending a Performance Management course (compulsory training for our Connexions contract) and spent the afternoon talking with our grants officer at the Big Lottery and working on our draft Community Development strategy for Watford. I eventually finished a first (rough) draft of the strategy. This strategy has been on my To Do list for months so it is nice to finally move things on a bit - even if there is still lots of work needed before I can issue it for consultation.
Sunday, 16 March 2008
Jackie and I enjoyed a second day with Granddaughter Beth during which we watched birds and invented the sport of Teddy Hurdling before finally returning Beth to her home just on her bedtime.
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Early in the morning, having barely caught up on our sleep, we received our Granddaughter Beth and our babysitting duties began.
During the day, I endeavoured to tire out poor Beth as I wanted her nice and sleepy for when the Six Nations climax arrived. I needn’t have worried: just as Wales vs France was about to start, Virgin Media’s cable service shut down. Living in a hollow there is no “terrestrial” TV signal so I listed to the match on the radio. Joyce Grenfell often used to say “the pictures are better on the radio”, but this is rubbish. But the rugby result was very pleasing.
During the day, I endeavoured to tire out poor Beth as I wanted her nice and sleepy for when the Six Nations climax arrived. I needn’t have worried: just as Wales vs France was about to start, Virgin Media’s cable service shut down. Living in a hollow there is no “terrestrial” TV signal so I listed to the match on the radio. Joyce Grenfell often used to say “the pictures are better on the radio”, but this is rubbish. But the rugby result was very pleasing.
Friday, 14 March 2008
In the morning, I attended a meeting of the Watford Learning Partnership. This took place at the Trade Union Learning Centre in Watford – an impressive and very useful venue.
In the afternoon I drove to Letchworth to learn about a (nearly) free level 5 Leadership and Management course being put on by Cambridge Regional College. I decided to enrol. It will mean that I will have to spend a lot of Monday afternoons and evenings in Cambridge, but the training looks very useful.
After stopping off at home for a change of clothes, and to collect my wonderful wife, we headed back into Watford for the annual Audentior awards hosted by Watford Borough Council. This was a marvellous event. Other boroughs have similar events, but I have never seen one as elegant as Watford’s awards. It was very thrilling and rather humbling to learn about the massive contributions made by some of the award winners. Jackie and I finally arrived home about midnight, emotionally and physically drained.
In the afternoon I drove to Letchworth to learn about a (nearly) free level 5 Leadership and Management course being put on by Cambridge Regional College. I decided to enrol. It will mean that I will have to spend a lot of Monday afternoons and evenings in Cambridge, but the training looks very useful.
After stopping off at home for a change of clothes, and to collect my wonderful wife, we headed back into Watford for the annual Audentior awards hosted by Watford Borough Council. This was a marvellous event. Other boroughs have similar events, but I have never seen one as elegant as Watford’s awards. It was very thrilling and rather humbling to learn about the massive contributions made by some of the award winners. Jackie and I finally arrived home about midnight, emotionally and physically drained.
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Today's Main Event was a much-needed meeting to start planning our CRM implementation. Sha-Lee, Maria, Vanessa, Anne, Helen and I met for a pretty thorough discussion about the implementation timetable and the implications for our work.
Our plan is to carry out three installations of CRM. The first installation has taken place and Sha-Lee and I are exploring the software’s full capacity and parameters. We are making notes on the configuration and customisation that we need. There will be a second test installation during April: this will incorporate our first pass customisation and will then be tested by all system users to make sure that the customisations will work. Our final installation will come only once we have tested the second installation thoroughly and prepared a list of further adaptations.
Later in the day, I issued our response to the consultation on Hertfordshire’s LAA2 and on the Sustainable Community Strategy. Given the timetable, there was no realistic opportunity to consult on this with member organisations, as per best practice. It was more a case of going to the barricades to get something in as a response while it might still have an impact. On this occasion I was championing the local voluntary sector rather than representing their specific views.
While I was still working on the response, I heard from Ann Jansz that LAA2 would after all include a goal on Volunteering. I also want the commitment to create an environment for a thriving voluntary sector which I think is much more to the point, but at least we no we now have the right direction of travel. Well done Ann!
I also agreed with Jacquie Hime that Hertfordshire should offer to host an East of England regional meeting to try and maintain the momentum toward creating a regional VCS strategy. We shall see.
Our plan is to carry out three installations of CRM. The first installation has taken place and Sha-Lee and I are exploring the software’s full capacity and parameters. We are making notes on the configuration and customisation that we need. There will be a second test installation during April: this will incorporate our first pass customisation and will then be tested by all system users to make sure that the customisations will work. Our final installation will come only once we have tested the second installation thoroughly and prepared a list of further adaptations.
Later in the day, I issued our response to the consultation on Hertfordshire’s LAA2 and on the Sustainable Community Strategy. Given the timetable, there was no realistic opportunity to consult on this with member organisations, as per best practice. It was more a case of going to the barricades to get something in as a response while it might still have an impact. On this occasion I was championing the local voluntary sector rather than representing their specific views.
While I was still working on the response, I heard from Ann Jansz that LAA2 would after all include a goal on Volunteering. I also want the commitment to create an environment for a thriving voluntary sector which I think is much more to the point, but at least we no we now have the right direction of travel. Well done Ann!
I also agreed with Jacquie Hime that Hertfordshire should offer to host an East of England regional meeting to try and maintain the momentum toward creating a regional VCS strategy. We shall see.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
I endured a fairly frantic day catching up on correspondence and organising a few things here at the office.
More pleasantly, I spoke with Andrea Allez at NAVCA about the submission we’ve made for NAVCA’s quality award: Andrea and I agreed that we need to do a little more work on NAVCA’s standards 4 and 5.
More pleasantly, I spoke with Andrea Allez at NAVCA about the submission we’ve made for NAVCA’s quality award: Andrea and I agreed that we need to do a little more work on NAVCA’s standards 4 and 5.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
The Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium has been passed as “fit for purpose” by Capacitybuilders. I heard this morning that the Cambridgeshire Consortium has not received this accolade and so won’t receive any Capacitybuilders project funding this year. Sometime ago, the Norfolk Consortium took a decision not even to apply for funding. And COVER, the voluntary sector co-ordinating body for the Easter Region has also now decided not to accept Capacitybuilders funding.
This means that in the Eastern Region as a whole only four counties have in place effective / funded Consortia. This is not good.
This morning, the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium met in Watford and there was a good turn-out and a pretty thorough discussion about where the Consortium stands.
HCC is currently drawing together its new Local Area Agreement. From what I had heard, I had complacently believed that HCC was considering a straight choice between including in its plan Indicator 6 (the number of people volunteering) and Indicator 7 (a healthy environment for voluntary organisations). Today I heard from Ethel (the LAA / VCS Liaison Officer) that in fact HCC want to reject both indicators.
Several reasons were advanced for this, but not having a specific target for the voluntary sector will effectively exclude the voluntary sector from the LAA process, or at best relegate the voluntary sector to the margins.
Something must be done and this morning we tried to rouse everyone to respond urgently to the soon-to-close consultation process.
In the afternoon, we hosted a meeting of the Hertfordshire Compact Working Group. It is difficult to get people to commit to meetings of the Compact Working Group – even when following on from a meeting of the Consortium. This afternoon there was just five of us doughty Compact Champions. Nevertheless, we made some good progress planning activities through the coming year – Compact’s tenth birthday.
With all the money being spent on the Compact Commission, I am surprised that Compacts are still entirely optional for local authorities. If a local authority decides not to engage with its voluntary sector, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Except the local electorate. Now there’s a thought …
This means that in the Eastern Region as a whole only four counties have in place effective / funded Consortia. This is not good.
This morning, the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium met in Watford and there was a good turn-out and a pretty thorough discussion about where the Consortium stands.
HCC is currently drawing together its new Local Area Agreement. From what I had heard, I had complacently believed that HCC was considering a straight choice between including in its plan Indicator 6 (the number of people volunteering) and Indicator 7 (a healthy environment for voluntary organisations). Today I heard from Ethel (the LAA / VCS Liaison Officer) that in fact HCC want to reject both indicators.
Several reasons were advanced for this, but not having a specific target for the voluntary sector will effectively exclude the voluntary sector from the LAA process, or at best relegate the voluntary sector to the margins.
Something must be done and this morning we tried to rouse everyone to respond urgently to the soon-to-close consultation process.
In the afternoon, we hosted a meeting of the Hertfordshire Compact Working Group. It is difficult to get people to commit to meetings of the Compact Working Group – even when following on from a meeting of the Consortium. This afternoon there was just five of us doughty Compact Champions. Nevertheless, we made some good progress planning activities through the coming year – Compact’s tenth birthday.
With all the money being spent on the Compact Commission, I am surprised that Compacts are still entirely optional for local authorities. If a local authority decides not to engage with its voluntary sector, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Except the local electorate. Now there’s a thought …
Monday, 10 March 2008
First thing this morning, I talked with Sha-Lee (our Information Worker) to talk about the next stages of implementing CRM for monitoring the support we offer our members etc.
And then in the afternoon, I talked with Laura, our Volunteer Transport co-ordinator. She is working on a local strategy for transport and we talked about assessing needs, pricing, driver recruitment, promotion and monitoring.
As the name suggests, the Watford Volunteer Transport scheme relies on volunteer drivers to provide journeys for those who can’t access public transport. Back in 2002, the Government assessed that it cost 40 pence per mile to run a car. This meant that volunteer drivers could be paid 40 pence per mile to cover their expenses. Anything above 40 pence would involve a “profit” for the drivers on which they would have to be taxed etc. Today, six years later, after some of the steepest increases in petrol prices since the 1970s, the Government says that to run a car it now costs – 40 pence per mile. Unsurprisingly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit volunteer drivers. If you know anyone with a car, some free time and a good heart, ask them to give us a call ...
Later in the afternoon I met with Francoise who supports or runs various local initatives and who wanted some help with legal and accounting queries.
And then in the afternoon, I talked with Laura, our Volunteer Transport co-ordinator. She is working on a local strategy for transport and we talked about assessing needs, pricing, driver recruitment, promotion and monitoring.
As the name suggests, the Watford Volunteer Transport scheme relies on volunteer drivers to provide journeys for those who can’t access public transport. Back in 2002, the Government assessed that it cost 40 pence per mile to run a car. This meant that volunteer drivers could be paid 40 pence per mile to cover their expenses. Anything above 40 pence would involve a “profit” for the drivers on which they would have to be taxed etc. Today, six years later, after some of the steepest increases in petrol prices since the 1970s, the Government says that to run a car it now costs – 40 pence per mile. Unsurprisingly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit volunteer drivers. If you know anyone with a car, some free time and a good heart, ask them to give us a call ...
Later in the afternoon I met with Francoise who supports or runs various local initatives and who wanted some help with legal and accounting queries.
Saturday, 8 March 2008
On leaving the office last night, I left my mobile telephone and wallet on the desk. This morning, Jackie and I drove over to collect them and then went for a walk through Watford before spending the evening with friends.
Friday, 7 March 2007
Most of the day I spent catching up on correspondence, looking to the 7 April Compact conference and dealing with queries about funding agreements, volunteer recruitment (our Volunteer Centre co-ordinator is on leave), training events, community lunches, and the Aim Higher programme.
Later, I met with Marv Renshaw of Inspiral Arts to talk about the possibility of setting up a local community arts forum.
Later, I met with Marv Renshaw of Inspiral Arts to talk about the possibility of setting up a local community arts forum.
Thursday, 6 March 2007
In contrast to the frantic pace of yesterday, I had a leisurely start this morning. Since early January, Jackie has fed the birds each morning. We now know our birds pretty well - the almost tame robins, the sedentary pigeons, the bickering blackbirds, the shy chaffinches, and the numerous starlings. All our birds have one thing in common - they are not remotely threatened by aged Ken, our decrepit cat. If there is another cat nearby, they won't dare land and feed. But Ken can potter around the garden within feet of them and they all completely ignore each other. Except when the hoppity Magpies are about, and then they chase bewildered Ken back into the house.
Today I attended a community development networking event at the Fielder Centre, just a ten minute drive from home. The event was staged by Inspire East and was very useful with some good presentations. But even after forty-odd years, community development is still in its infancy here – I was rather taken aback to hear experienced professionals say they “provided community development” to neighbourhoods.
I was home by 5:00 pm and Jackie and I had a lovely evening together, pleasingly rounded off by triumphing over two Daily Telegraph crosswords.
Today I attended a community development networking event at the Fielder Centre, just a ten minute drive from home. The event was staged by Inspire East and was very useful with some good presentations. But even after forty-odd years, community development is still in its infancy here – I was rather taken aback to hear experienced professionals say they “provided community development” to neighbourhoods.
I was home by 5:00 pm and Jackie and I had a lovely evening together, pleasingly rounded off by triumphing over two Daily Telegraph crosswords.
Wednesday, 5 March
I started the day early and visited the head of the local Chamber of Commerce to talk about volunteering and community funds and charity endowments.
Later in the day I met with Hema to discuss arrangements for the BME Advocacy service we are to deliver, read through a draft strategy for our Voluntary Transport scheme, set a date for doing a training event on PQASSO, prepared a report on our quality work at WCVS, broke a photocopier, and had a discussion about the District Children's Trust Partnership.
I also read through the interim survey results on volunteering in Herts. Again Watford has a return of just 6% of adults regularly doing formal volunteering: maybe they asked the same 100 people as last time?
Later still, Angelo (IT chap) arrived and we both worked (again) on the CRM installation. Finally, the installation was completed and I had another chance to see the software. It looks very good - just the ticket.
But I still wasn’t done for the day as I still needed to finalise and distribute the latest issue of WCVS News. I managed to send this at 11:08 pm and was home by midnight, a mere seventeen hours after leaving home this morning.
Later in the day I met with Hema to discuss arrangements for the BME Advocacy service we are to deliver, read through a draft strategy for our Voluntary Transport scheme, set a date for doing a training event on PQASSO, prepared a report on our quality work at WCVS, broke a photocopier, and had a discussion about the District Children's Trust Partnership.
I also read through the interim survey results on volunteering in Herts. Again Watford has a return of just 6% of adults regularly doing formal volunteering: maybe they asked the same 100 people as last time?
Later still, Angelo (IT chap) arrived and we both worked (again) on the CRM installation. Finally, the installation was completed and I had another chance to see the software. It looks very good - just the ticket.
But I still wasn’t done for the day as I still needed to finalise and distribute the latest issue of WCVS News. I managed to send this at 11:08 pm and was home by midnight, a mere seventeen hours after leaving home this morning.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Awards
I learned this morning that the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium has been accepted by Capacitybulders as “fit for purpose”. Congratulations all round. Of course, none of us really doubted it but there is always a nagging undefinable fear that deadlines will slip and queries get raised. It’s good to have this decision. Now we just have to wait another month to see which of our projects they will fund.
I also received news that Watford FC has been voted “Community Club of the Year” by their Football League peers. Congratulations all round.
Collaboration
After this bright start, it was a long day writing up the Staff Annual Reviews. At the end of the day, Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) and I visited neighbouring Three Rivers CVS to discuss opportunities for further collaboration. We agreed to continue the joint training programme and to launch a trustees network together.
Recent reading
My reading has been a bit Hit and Miss lately. Peter Biddlecombe’s Travels with my Briefcase, an account of his experiences travelling around the world as a businessman, was really neither here nor there.
I began Mark Powers’s authoritative biography Mark Twain but I can’t say whether it was any good as I was soon defeated by the tiny weeny typeface.
Then I part-read the Oxford Dictionary of Saints - patriotically reading about British saints and only occasionally savouring the foreign fare. Naturally there was no genuine evidence of miracles but the history was interesting and I learned that St Audrey and St Ethelreda are one and the same, which was useful.
Laughing Gas was a typical Wodehousian frolic and was very enjoyable. This was followed by The Custom of the Sea, an imagined account of an infamous Victorian shipwreck including a case of “survival cannabalism”. With all due respect to author Neil Hanson, I could not warm to his subject matter and I despise “imagined” histories of this kind. The book was full of historical background and contemporary references and accounts but what could I believe? Either a thing is Fact or it’s Fiction and no-one benefits by blurring the distinction.
I am now on much happier ground reading Bevis Hillier’s biography Young Betjeman.
I learned this morning that the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium has been accepted by Capacitybulders as “fit for purpose”. Congratulations all round. Of course, none of us really doubted it but there is always a nagging undefinable fear that deadlines will slip and queries get raised. It’s good to have this decision. Now we just have to wait another month to see which of our projects they will fund.
I also received news that Watford FC has been voted “Community Club of the Year” by their Football League peers. Congratulations all round.
Collaboration
After this bright start, it was a long day writing up the Staff Annual Reviews. At the end of the day, Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) and I visited neighbouring Three Rivers CVS to discuss opportunities for further collaboration. We agreed to continue the joint training programme and to launch a trustees network together.
Recent reading
My reading has been a bit Hit and Miss lately. Peter Biddlecombe’s Travels with my Briefcase, an account of his experiences travelling around the world as a businessman, was really neither here nor there.
I began Mark Powers’s authoritative biography Mark Twain but I can’t say whether it was any good as I was soon defeated by the tiny weeny typeface.
Then I part-read the Oxford Dictionary of Saints - patriotically reading about British saints and only occasionally savouring the foreign fare. Naturally there was no genuine evidence of miracles but the history was interesting and I learned that St Audrey and St Ethelreda are one and the same, which was useful.
Laughing Gas was a typical Wodehousian frolic and was very enjoyable. This was followed by The Custom of the Sea, an imagined account of an infamous Victorian shipwreck including a case of “survival cannabalism”. With all due respect to author Neil Hanson, I could not warm to his subject matter and I despise “imagined” histories of this kind. The book was full of historical background and contemporary references and accounts but what could I believe? Either a thing is Fact or it’s Fiction and no-one benefits by blurring the distinction.
I am now on much happier ground reading Bevis Hillier’s biography Young Betjeman.
Monday, 3 March 2008
I met with Sarah Pinnock of Watford Borough Council. Sarah is an extremely smart woman and our occasional talks are always pleasantly relaxed and informative. Today we talked about the future of Watford’s community centres, the need for a consistent approach to Quality Assurance, developmetns in various local groups, community cohesion, and community development. Excellent value.
After Sarah left, I held the final Annual Review here and then worked for a bit writing up the Staff Reviews.
Then I met with Angelo. On Friday, he had abandoned plans to install Microsoft Customer Relationship Manager on our old server, and now he arrived to do a test installation of the application on a PC comprising odd bits that we were keeping as spares. Angelo and I worked flat out until about 9:00 when we both agreed enough was enough.
After Sarah left, I held the final Annual Review here and then worked for a bit writing up the Staff Reviews.
Then I met with Angelo. On Friday, he had abandoned plans to install Microsoft Customer Relationship Manager on our old server, and now he arrived to do a test installation of the application on a PC comprising odd bits that we were keeping as spares. Angelo and I worked flat out until about 9:00 when we both agreed enough was enough.
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Mothering Sunday: we spent a lovely morning in the garden, followed by a trip to Jackie’s mother, a visit from my mother, and then a visit from Jackie’s daughter and granddaughter.
Saturday, 1 March 2008
Jackie and I took a drive to the church at Ayot St Peter. We took a stroll around the church admiring its charming clock and its perfect proportions. But we couldn’t go inside. Not so very long ago it was unheard of for a church to be locked at any time: they were always open for the faithful to pray and for the faithless to admire the architecture and history. No more. Every church is now closed like a fist against casual visitors.
This set me thinking about our own policy at Watford CVS: should we leave our door open to visitors even when there is no-one on reception, or should we lock the door and ask visitors to ring the doorbell?
Jackie and I drove on to Kings Walden and Manor Gardens Nursery. Isobel is a truly original and wonderful character and her garden centre is an absolute joy: highly independent and eccentric. Along with a few plants we bought a trug and some ancient straw baskets - but resisted the lure of the mobile commode.
After this, we drove back through Kimpton and Codicot to Shaw’s Corner and then for lunch to the Brocket Arms where landlord Toby Wingfield-Digby is another great character.
The countryside was perfect: farms and market gardens and water cress lakes, villages, parks and country estates. We saw an alien Muntjack deer and a very indigenous Hare. Hertfordshire is not a “high maintenance” County; there are no dramatic mountains or boastful forests or vain lakes and Hertfordshire doesn’t constantly need to be told how beautiful she is. She is a modest county, reserved and seemly. But she knows her worth and every now and then she gives you a gentle nudge as if to say: “I am beautiful, you know”.
This set me thinking about our own policy at Watford CVS: should we leave our door open to visitors even when there is no-one on reception, or should we lock the door and ask visitors to ring the doorbell?
Jackie and I drove on to Kings Walden and Manor Gardens Nursery. Isobel is a truly original and wonderful character and her garden centre is an absolute joy: highly independent and eccentric. Along with a few plants we bought a trug and some ancient straw baskets - but resisted the lure of the mobile commode.
After this, we drove back through Kimpton and Codicot to Shaw’s Corner and then for lunch to the Brocket Arms where landlord Toby Wingfield-Digby is another great character.
The countryside was perfect: farms and market gardens and water cress lakes, villages, parks and country estates. We saw an alien Muntjack deer and a very indigenous Hare. Hertfordshire is not a “high maintenance” County; there are no dramatic mountains or boastful forests or vain lakes and Hertfordshire doesn’t constantly need to be told how beautiful she is. She is a modest county, reserved and seemly. But she knows her worth and every now and then she gives you a gentle nudge as if to say: “I am beautiful, you know”.
Friday, 29 February 2008
Having set the alarm for an early start, I drove to the office through a beautifully warm morning. I wasn’t the only one in early as Anne (our Funding Advisor) arrived for an 8:00 am meeting with her counterpart from St Albans CVS.
At 9:30 prompt, Pam arrived for my annual appraisal meeting. We had a very thorough talk about the past year and an even more detailed talk through priorities for the coming year. On reviewing last year’s targets, my biggest challenge remains restoring a healthy work-life balance. I assured Pam (perhaps a little too confidently) that I was getting on top of this.
Fortunately, Pam and I are in full agreement that the priorities for me in the coming year should be managing the WCVS office and ensuring that WCVS members derive full benefit from their WCVS membership. This will lead me to review some of my “out of town” commitments with county and regional structures.
I then had a very good meeting with Anne (Funding Advisor ) and Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) on our Basis Fit for Purpose project.
Angelo (our IT chap) came to install Microsoft CRM on our old network server. This is our solution for managing our contacts and monitoring our activities. After several hours work, the prospects did not look good: our ex-server is eight years old and the motherboard is extremely fragile. Ho hum.
At 9:30 prompt, Pam arrived for my annual appraisal meeting. We had a very thorough talk about the past year and an even more detailed talk through priorities for the coming year. On reviewing last year’s targets, my biggest challenge remains restoring a healthy work-life balance. I assured Pam (perhaps a little too confidently) that I was getting on top of this.
Fortunately, Pam and I are in full agreement that the priorities for me in the coming year should be managing the WCVS office and ensuring that WCVS members derive full benefit from their WCVS membership. This will lead me to review some of my “out of town” commitments with county and regional structures.
I then had a very good meeting with Anne (Funding Advisor ) and Vanessa (Development and Training Officer) on our Basis Fit for Purpose project.
Angelo (our IT chap) came to install Microsoft CRM on our old network server. This is our solution for managing our contacts and monitoring our activities. After several hours work, the prospects did not look good: our ex-server is eight years old and the motherboard is extremely fragile. Ho hum.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
I arrived at work early and checked over our network which thankfully seems to be back to normal bar a few outstanding problems over our accounts package and the volunteering database.
In the morning I had a brief meeting on the Watford Disability Forum with its Chair Leigh Hutchings and with Vanessa (Development and Training Officer), Anne (Funding Advisor).
In the afternoon, I attended the first meeting of the new / revamped Watford and Three Rivers Health Partnership Forum. This was well attended and Peter Wright of the PTC did an excellent job setting out a framework and working method. I had again to focus on how the local voluntary sector can best engage with this forum and have its voice heard.
Back in the office, I had to copy over files to the new domain, start catching up on my e-mail correspondence, and collate our latest submissions to our Grants Officer at the Big Lottery and papers to NAVCA about our Quality Assurance programme. I eventually left the office about 9:00.
In the morning I had a brief meeting on the Watford Disability Forum with its Chair Leigh Hutchings and with Vanessa (Development and Training Officer), Anne (Funding Advisor).
In the afternoon, I attended the first meeting of the new / revamped Watford and Three Rivers Health Partnership Forum. This was well attended and Peter Wright of the PTC did an excellent job setting out a framework and working method. I had again to focus on how the local voluntary sector can best engage with this forum and have its voice heard.
Back in the office, I had to copy over files to the new domain, start catching up on my e-mail correspondence, and collate our latest submissions to our Grants Officer at the Big Lottery and papers to NAVCA about our Quality Assurance programme. I eventually left the office about 9:00.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
After a morning finalising the minutes of last week’s trustees’ meeting and starting to write up the annual staff appraisals, I drove to Letchworth for the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium meeting with Jon Fox of Capacitybuilders. On arrival I discovered that the meeting had in fact been cancelled and an e-mail to this effect had gone out the previous day.
As it happened, this was a happy set of circumstances as it allowed Jacquie, Steph and I an opportunity to catch up and focus on the Consortium's funding submission to Capacitybuilders.
When I arrived home, there was still some daylight left so Jackie and I took off for a relaxing walk around Stanborough Park (the one in Welwyn Garden City, not the one in Watford).
As it happened, this was a happy set of circumstances as it allowed Jacquie, Steph and I an opportunity to catch up and focus on the Consortium's funding submission to Capacitybuilders.
When I arrived home, there was still some daylight left so Jackie and I took off for a relaxing walk around Stanborough Park (the one in Welwyn Garden City, not the one in Watford).
Tuesday, 26 February 2008
E-mail was still unavailable: running two servers, two domains and two versions of Microsoft Exchange seemed like such a good idea at the time. I spent a large part of the day firefighting specific IT problems while Angelo (IT chap) wrestled with the bigger stuff.
My one moment of relief came in the middle of the day when I met with Jay Gaglani and Althea MacLean OBE to sketch out a year of activities for the Watford One World forum.
My one moment of relief came in the middle of the day when I met with Jay Gaglani and Althea MacLean OBE to sketch out a year of activities for the Watford One World forum.
Monday 25 February 2008
To minimise disruption to activities here, I had planned that our server change-over would begin yesterday and be completed today. Due to some unavoidable problems, the change-over only began today. People could continue to work on individual documents but there was major disruption to e-mail and web connectivity. Everyone was very patient and accommodating.
I completed two further staff review meetings and met with Lyn Telford and Phil Willerton about the coming Watford Learning Partnership meeting.
I completed two further staff review meetings and met with Lyn Telford and Phil Willerton about the coming Watford Learning Partnership meeting.
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