Watford CVS

Friday, 10 July 2009

2009-09-13T17:55:00.005+01:00

Blog of a Thousand Days

Believe it or not, this is my 1,000^th blog. It will be my last on this site (for more, you can always visit http://mywatford.net/).

Most regular readers (?!) will know that my wife Jackie is the hero of this marathon blogging effort. She has put up with more from me than you will ever know and I love her dearly. Today, we are on leave together, having driven her parents to Sidmouth in Devon where we enjoyed an evening with Jackie’s family.

Some people have said kind things about my own blogging efforts, and for these comments I am very grateful. But the effort has proved trying to me – and particularly in these last weeks when there has been so little of real joy to write about.

Since I began writing this blog, much has changed. I lost my father early in my blogging days. More recently, I have lost my beloved Chair of trustees, my Honorary Vice President, and Aged Ken, my decrepit cat of indeterminate years. And I’ve had other private disappointments to endure.

But I have also married, my son has graduated with a pleasingly meaningless degree, I have owned and re-homed two lovely chickens, and I have spent many happy hours reading or gardening or walking or foraging in hedgerows and charity shops.

Most importantly, Watford CVS has evolved and thrived, and occasionally also had to endure disappointments. Recently we have lost two valued and respected members of staff. But overall we have had a really positive impact on Watford and on Hertfordshire: the voluntary transport service, the Disability Forum, the Volunteer Centre, our Funding Advice, the Chief Officers’ Information Network, our Charity Trustee conference and network, the Herts BME Advocacy Service, mywatford.net, our QA framework, the Watford LIVE! festival, our networking lunches, the Community Arts Network, our research, the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium, our training programmes, the Community Development Network ... These and more are all things we can look on with pride and satisfaction and say “we made a difference”.

Of course, it’s hard to do this without sounding pompous and smug, so perhaps it is best to look to the future when we will relocate - possibly to the Holywell Community Centre, launch our Good Neighbours Time Bank and the Watford Compact, define a new baseline for measuring local fundraising activity, and hopefully see a new Community Assembly for Watford.

I hope you'll be part of this story too.

Thank you for reading.

Thursday, 9 July 2009

2009-09-13T17:28:00.000+01:00

Today I attended a memorial service for Geoff Harris, one of Watford CVS’s honorary Vice Presidents. I knew Geoff well, but did not know that he had such an illustrious and interesting war record, or that he had played quite such a key role in the development of the Boys’ Brigades. I simply knew him as a Good Man who devoted his life to his community. And there was a good turnout from the local community coming to honour Geoff’s life.

Like Pam Handley, Geoff Harris has now left us. But there will be more people in the wings waiting to take up the baton on behalf of their neighbours and their communities.

Wednesday, 8 July 2009

2009-09-13T17:21:00.000+01:00

Today was another one of those days when there were just Too Many Meetings. In fact, at 10:00 this morning, I could have attended any one of three meetings that had somehow worked their way into my calendar.

I worked further on funding applications, and attended a funding meeting in Stevenage.

I issued invites for a memorial event for Pam Handley to be held on 28 July. And I sent papers out for our 16 July trustees meeting knowing that this will be a sombre affair without Pam.

Tuesday, 7 July 2009

2009-09-13T17:09:00.000+01:00

I spent this morning at a meeting of Hertfordshire Forward’s Community Cohesion Strategy Group. I find these meetings quite difficult as there is such a clash of culture between the voluntary and statutory approach to these things. It is easy to caricature, but my voluntary sector instincts urge me to consult and engage from Day One and build consensus from the ground up. The statutory sector approach (to my jaundiced eye?) is much more hierarchical, focuses on outcomes above processes, creates artificial deadlines, and engages no-one outside the room.

Of course everyone involved has good motives and is doing their best and it is only a first stage in the process, but nevertheless there are some big differences here and I don’t feel comfortable with things.

In the afternoon, I work on a funding bid to the EHRC seeking a development worker to try and make progress building the capacity of Hertfordshire’s BME and Faith organisations.

Monday, 6 July 2009

2009-09-13T16:59:00.002+01:00

Everything changes

Today, I heard that our worst fears have come to pass: my Chair of Trustees Pam Handley died on Saturday after a mercifully brief battle against cancer. For some weeks I have feared this was coming, but it is still a big blow. It is a big blow for Watford and Hertfordshire where Pam has been such a force for positive change. It is a big blow for Watford CVS where Pam has provided such leadership. It is also a big blow to me, as Pam has been such a source of wisdom and knowledge and support. I will miss her terribly.

After communicating the news, I got straight back to work and most importantly I had a potentially explosive situation to deal with over related to a particular volunteer here. Everything was eventually resolved as well as it could be, but this was a dangerous situation.

Sunday, 5 July 2009

2009-09-13T16:59:00.001+01:00

Jackie and I spent another productive and peaceful day in the garden.

Saturday, 4 July 2009

2009-09-13T16:56:00.000+01:00

There is always so much to do in the garden, and it is a welcome distraction from the pressures at work right now.

Friday, 3 July 2009

2009-09-13T16:53:00.002+01:00

Another welcome day working at home to catch up on correspondence – and think through some key strategic issues re: volunteering, marketing etc given the changes here at WCVS.

Thursday, 2 July 2009

2009-09-13T16:53:00.001+01:00

Today’s key meeting was with WBC’s Lesley Palumbo to discuss WCVS’s possible move to the Holywell Community Centre – and the numerous matters arising.

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

2009-09-13T16:50:00.001+01:00

Most of today I worked installing PCs and software etc and meeting with Angelo on mywatford.net. I also had some interesting discussions about our Time Banking initiative here in Watford. And I met with Dr Saleh to discuss the needs of the Watford Arabic School.

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:45:00.000+01:00

Today I finally submitted a draft of my proposals for spending some Performance Reward Grant monies on building a Community Assembly for Watford. If approved, and if everyone works together, and if we make a good appointment, the proposal could put Watford at the forefront of work on empowerment, engagement and cohesion. We shall see ...

Monday, 29 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:37:00.002+01:00

Working to support community organisations can create some interesting conundrums. For example, how do you advise a voluntary group that believes God exempts them from tax and PAYE regulations? Answers on a postcard please ...

In the afternoon I met with Jeanette Harley of Three Rivers CVS to discuss future partnership working – with a particular focus on volunteering.

Sunday, 28 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:37:00.001+01:00

Jackie and I enjoyed another blissfully quiet day of rest and recuperation.

Saturday, 27 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:35:00.000+01:00

After all the changes of the past week, Jackie and I had a family day – rain and hail in Welwyn, followed by Australians (distant relatives) at my Mum’s in Letchworth.

Friday, 26 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:31:00.000+01:00

I was grateful to spend a relatively quiet day at home catching up on correspondence.

Thursday, 25 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:30:00.000+01:00

Today I attended another leaving bash – this time for Sarah Pinnock who is leaving Watford Borough Council after twelve years working with local community groups. Like Helen yesterday, Sarah takes with her so much knowledge and goodwill and she will not be easy to replace.

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:17:00.002+01:00

I took morning coffee with Claire Clark (the new equalities officer at Herts PCTs) and then met in Watford with people from THITA – a community-based translation and interpreting service. We spent some time talking through their options – the world is changing and this is precisely the sort of local group that is losing out in a world of escalating regulation and ever-increasing demands for documentation and quality assurance.

After work, we all went next door to Brodega for Helen Price’s leaving bash. She has been our Volunteer Centre Co-ordinator for around five years but as with community translation, the world is moving on and funding just can’t be found. She brought some great skills to the role and has earned much affection.

In the evening, I met with Marv Renshaw for a review of the Watford LIVE! festival.

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

2009-09-13T16:08:00.002+01:00

I started today in Stevenage meeting Maggie Woods to discuss our BME Advocacy Service, then I met with Anne Boyd (our Funding Advisor) to prepare our WBC funding return, then debriefed Hema (our BME advocate) on my earlier meeting, then met with accountancy firm "the Fisher Organisation", then met with Angelo Gibertoni about mywatford.net and then with Joe Capon about the local Community Sports Partnership. All in all, another day packed with enough meetings to make my head spin. I feel like I've pushed things forward, made some progress, held the centre ... but in truth it is sometimes very hard to tell.

Monday, 22 June 2009

2009-09-13T15:24:00.002+01:00

I spent today in Thetford at a meeting of the Regional Empowerment Partnership. It was good to talk through where this is heading and get a better idea of the project’s constraints and expectations.

You’re not interested but ...

My recent reading has included “Rebel Pity” by South African biologist, communist, humanist and anti-apartheid campaigner Eddie Roux. “Sir Gregor MacGregor and the Land that Never Was” is David Sinclair’s biography of a Nineteenth Century adventurer and swindler. “Murder in the Marais” by Cara Black contrasts extreme right-wing Paris politics in the 1990s with the Nazi occupation of the 1940s. David Baddiel’s “Whatever Love Means” was disappointing (what did I expect?). Gary Dexter’s “Why Not Catch 21?” likewise.

But then I found “Carry On London”, Ritchie Calder’s contemporary account of how London faced up to the Blitz in 1941. This was really extraordinary: detailing how community-based organisation solved many of the problems faced in the bomb shelters and refugee camps, and including some uncompromising criticisms of local government failings and central government bureaucracy. That this was published in 1941 speaks volumes about the strength of Britain’s commitment to freedom at any price. What a contrast to the erosion of freedom today! This period could teach us so much about building community resilience and cohesion and defending freedom. Will key decision-makers be interested? Of course not - they have long since lost their faith in People and their interest in Freedom.

“Zoo Quest to Guiana” is David Attenborough’s 1956 account of his journey to South America to collect exhibits for London Zoo. So much has changed!

Sunday, 21 June 2009

2009-09-13T15:23:00.001+01:00

I tidies up teh ehdge at teh front of our house: what fun!

Saturday, 20 June 2009

2009-09-13T15:18:00.000+01:00

After a gentle day, Jackie and I visited Watford Palace Theatre for a performance of “Dominoes Falling” as the climax of the Watford LIVE festival. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot’s twists and turns and ambiguities and it was a fitting end to a fortnight of community arts in Watford.

The entire fortnight was held planned, whipped into shape, and held together at the seams by Marv Renshaw. Well played, Marv.

Friday, 19 June 2009

2009-09-13T15:00:00.001+01:00

I had hoped to spend today at Putteridge Bury learning about Community Resource Centres. But the meeting was cancelled meaning that I could catch up on a few office issues.

Most worryingly, our IT network is beginning to fray around the edges. The network was originally designed for around ten users, but we now have thirty, plus web services, and the pressures are beginning to show: servers are full, RAM is labouring under the strain and our internet upload speeds are way too slow. The next step will depend on our relocation; meanwhile, all we can do is nurse things along as best we can.

Through Volunteering Herts and then Volunteering England (or possibly BCTV – no-one seems sure) we have some sort of agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions to provide volunteering advice as a way for people to return to the workforce. Consequently, people are visiting us claiming staff at the local Job Centre have told them they will lose their benefits if they don’t attend our volunteering workshops. Today we asked the Job Centre to make sure their advisors understand that the process is entirely voluntary (hence the name: “volunteering”).

In the afternoon, I met with some of our volunteers to explain about the WCVS’s redundancy situation. Several volunteers seemed ready to man the barricades in defence of workers’ solidarity. It was a curious meeting.

Back home, Jackie and I enjoyed a fine evening of television devoted to the genius of Leonard Cohen.

Thursday, 18 June 2009

2009-09-13T14:19:00.000+01:00

I started today with a meeting at the Herts Community Foundation to discuss plans to re-launch the Herts Infrastructure Consortium as a general alliance of Herts voluntary groups. I made it back to the office for a few meetings with individual members of staff. In the evening I went to The Muse at Watford Grammar School for Boys for a concert by Watford’s One Voice Community Choir together with the CAN Music Academy. This was well-attended and a good performances as part of the Watford LIVE festival.

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill was in the audience and at the end of the concert, she was invited to “say a few words”. She spoke only for a few minutes, but as a skilled and accomplished public speaker she was able to perfectly summ up the performances and ensure that everyone felt good about having attended the event. It was all so natural and effortless. It is easy to be cynical of course, but these small (and free to the public purse) “interventions” from elected representatives can play a significant part in building a sense of community.

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

2009-09-13T14:14:00.006+01:00

Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons is finally standing down. How is the odious toad treated for defending corruption, opposing accountability and dragging British democracy into the gutter? He keeps his full pension and party leaders queue up to pay their tributes to him. No wonder public confidence in politics is so low.

And in Northern Ireland, sustained violence against Romanian migrants has forced 100 to leave their homes. How can this happen in a supposedly civilised country? I fear the answer is that this can happen anywhere and (as we saw in the House of Commons today) our supposed civilisation is more rotten than it has been for a generation.

At the office, I wrote a report on our possible Holywell relocation, held further discussions about the future of our work on volunteering, and talked with Althea McLean OBE (my vice Chair of trustees) about our concerns for our chair Pam Handley.

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

2009-09-13T14:11:00.002+01:00

Today was a more-frantic-than-usual blur of meetings. I began at a meeting on the future of the Herts BME Partnership, and then one on the future of Domestic Violence work in west Herts, then a meeting on Holywell and grant programmes with the soon-to-move-on Sarah Pinnock of WBC, and ending in the evening meeting with the Watford Indian Association.

In today’s news I notice a new volunteering initiative as British Airways ask their staff to work for a month without pay: I wonder how many “volunteers” they will get.

Monday, 15 June 2009

2009-09-13T14:08:00.001+01:00

I spent today at the Holywell Community Centre making myself available to talk to anyone with questions or concerns about Watford CVS’s proposed relocation there. I met a couple of the groups who use of the Centre and spoke with Harry Bhamrah of Herts LINks.

Each building has its own feeling and each day has its own rhythm and I got to experience something of what these are like at the Holywell Community Centre.

Back at home I enjoyed Blithe Spirit on the television. In Iran, it is inspiring to see the courage of the demonstrators and their passion for democracy – but I fear it will take more and longer to bring genuine freedom to Iran.

Sunday, 14 June 2009

2009-07-04T17:01:00.002+01:00

Today was the showcase event for Watford LIVE! The weather was beautiful –perhaps not ideal for an indoor event. Watford Borough Council made the Colosseum available to us. As its name suggests, this is a huge venue. Perhaps due to the weather, perhaps due to the short timetable, perhaps due to failings in our planning and preparations, the attendance was disappointing. At one point, I actually walked all around the venue counting everyone present. I counted 218 but they were entirely lost in the vast space of the Colosseum. This was a shame as many of the performances were breathtakingly good.

At one point, I ducked out of the Colosseum to attend the re-launch of the Watford Polish Association at the Holy Rood Parish Centre.

After returning to the Colosseum, I had a call from Jackie to say she had found a snake in our compost heap and had called the RSPCA. Later she called again to say that it was in fact a slow worm.

I estimate that throughout the day we had maybe 800 people attend the Colosseum event. But people came and went constantly and the average attendance at any given time was around 200.

I couldn’t stay to the end. On my way home, I visited my Vice Chair of trustees, Althea McLean OBE, to catch up on things.

Saturday, 13 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:59:00.001+01:00

After the stresses of the past week, Jackie and I today looked after our grand-daughter Bethany. We walked through the woods together and collected elderflower, and then came home to make elderflower cordial (all of course under Jackie’s close instruction). With luck, we should have some nice cordial by next weekend.

Friday, 12 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:57:00.002+01:00

This morning I hosted a visit from Robin and Heather of Community Action Hertsmere. I spent the rest of the day tying up various loose ends after a tiring and rather fraught week. I was grateful for once to get home at a sensible time. I love Jackie more than I can say and I feel I have barely seen her this past week.

Thursday, 11 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:53:00.003+01:00

I started the day (05:04!) circulating for comment a draft bid to CEHR.

After a few hours sleep, I got to work about 11:00. Having already talked through options informally and reached agreement on details, I today issued formal redundancy notices to Helen adn Sha-Lee. Both will leave CVS within the next month and will be sorely missed for their professionalism, their skills and their knowledge; we will also lose their personalities around the office; and we will lose two close friends and colleagues.

Meanwhile, the Watford LIVE! community arts festival is in full swing. I should be out immersing myself in the great events and performances. But I am tired, I have a mountain of work and my mood tends toward the maudlin rather than the celebratory.

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:50:00.002+01:00

Our relocation to the Holywell Community Centre is still far from certain. To move things further forward, I spent today at the Centre and spoke with representatives of the Bowls Club, Watford Asian Community Care, and the Watford African Caribbean Association. I heard some concerns about the future, but nothing that can’t be overcome by a little flexibility.

After 5:00, I met with Mir and Khalil at the Watford Muslim Community Project to discuss many matters of mutual interest including the Health Partnership, the Herts BME Partnership and the Watford Community Assembly. We also had a curious discussion about the title of their organisation. They do not cater only for Muslims, but provide a service for all of the population of West Watford. The point in question: does the word “Muslim” in their title deter some funders or deter non-Muslims from accessing their services? Possibly, yes. But the same could be said of the “C” in YMCA; I wonder if they have the same discussion?

Later, I spent another long night huddled over our bid to the CEHR on behalf of the Herts BME Partnership.

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:48:00.004+01:00

The One Watford LSP met today at the YMCA for a properly focused discussion on priorities for spending Watford’s “Performance Reward Grant”. This is money paid by central Government to reward good performance under the first Local Area Agreement. Interestingly, the money is paid to Local Strategic Partnerships rather than local authorities. Hertfordshire originally anticipated around £20m and this was to be divided equally between the County LSP and the ten District LSP. Watford’s allocation would therefore have been £1m (one tenth of half of £20m). We now anticipate that Hertfordshire will get perhaps closer to £15m, which will still leave about £750,000 to be allocated by One Watford.

Other LSPs in the county seem to have invited bids. One Watford unanimously agreed that this was not a good route. We have just reviewed our strategic priorities, and discussions today focused on how One Watford can add value to the work of its constituent bodies without duplicating funding. We are aiming for about three big projects with perhaps some smaller activities too. After a very good discussion, we agreed that the most likely priorities are around community safety, reducing congestion / carbon emissions, and strengthening community cohesion / engagement. It is early days yet, but I am very encouraged by the positive consensus that is emerging.

Monday, 8 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:38:00.003+01:00

Today, I spoke with Helen and Sha-Lee about the outcome of last Friday’s meeting. You can tell a lot about someone's character by working alongside them for three years; you learn just about everything about someone's character when you have to tell them they are being made redundant. Neither Helen or Sha-Lee are lacking in character or professionalism. Perhaps rather patronisingly, I felt hugely proud of them both and renewed horror at facing the future without them.

I also met with the local Community Sports Network and with Nasar Iqbal, the Muslim Youth Worker recently appointed by Watford Borough Council. Nasar explained his role and his immediate plans.

I also learned that Pam Handley, my Chair of Trustees, is in hospital receiving treatment and may be there some time. Speaking professionally, I lean a lot on Pam’s knowledge and wisdom and calm; being deprived of these is quite a blow. Personally, I hold Pam in very high regard and hope that she recovers soon to return to her family and her friends.

Sunday, 7 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:35:00.001+01:00

Throughout today (and through into the early hours - for the third time in a week!) I worked on a funding bid to the CEHR on behalf of the Herts BME Partnership. I also worked through some redundancy options to present to our two colleagues next week. I do not look forward to this.

The results from last Thursday’s election provide only a small distraction. We heard on Friday that in the local elections, the Labour Party has almost disappeared apart from in their urban heartlands. Today we learn that in the north of England the BNP has won two seats to the European parliament. This is distressing news and Gordon Brown is at least partly to blame for his stunningly stupid comment about “British jobs for British workers”. Thanks to Gordon and others, stupidity, bigotry and racism have increasingly become an accepted feature of public life; not to me they haven’t.

Saturday, 6 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:33:00.002+01:00

Jackie and I had an early evening meal at the China Sky restaurant in Hatfield’s Market Square – it is hard to say whether the menu or the service is more remarkable. Then we visited the Watford Palace Theatre for the launch of the Watford LIVE! community arts festival - an Inspiral Arts production entitled Billy Blister's Circus. Arriving in Watford we found the CVS office in some chaos as it was hosting a “Danceathon” by local dance group Toyboxx who are hoping to raise enough money to compete in the Hip Hop World Championships. It was good to see so many people at the Watford Palace Theatre and the production was very well received: Watford LIVE! has got off to a good start.

Friday, 5 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:24:00.003+01:00

Today I met with Watford CVS's Personnel and Remuneration committee. This group had been charged by the trustees with taking final decisions on redundancies, subject to appeal etc. Phil Willerton hosted the meeting at the YMCA and we were joined by Ian Stageman and John Casstles, our Treasurer. As you might imagine, the meeting was very sombre and business-like. The decision was really unavoidable: we have a large hole in our budget and only two posts that aren’t properly funded. With considerable anguish, but no undue theatricals, the decision was taken to issue redundancy notices to Helen Price (our Volunteer Centre co-ordinator) and to Sha-Lee Worrell-Miller (our Information Worker). Naturally, it is down to me to negotiate the final redundancy terms and in due course re-organise the office to minimise the impact on our services. I know the decision is unavoidable and necessary, but that doesn't make it pleasant. Helen and Sha-Lee are both positive, professional and popular colleagues. Quite apart from the personal costs of redundancy, Watford CVS will never replace their knowledge and experience. Watford and Watford CVS will be much poorer without them.

Thursday, 4 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:22:00.001+01:00

Today, I attended the latest meeting of the Hertfordshire LSP Community Cohesion Strategy Group. I think we are laying some useful foundations that, over time, will produce some good outcomes. But I am uneasy about the lack of community involvement and consultation. I try to be positive but sometimes I fear we are perilously close to simply ticking boxes.

After the meeting I had discussions about a Hertfordshire bid to CEHR’s latest funding round with Andrew Burt (of HCC), the ever-positive Michal Siewniak (MENTER’s strategic development worker for Hertfordshire), and Christine Novelli of the Welwyn Hatfield Inter Faith Forum. Despite the County’s under-development on equalities, it seems that no bid is currently going in from Hertfordshire. I agreed to co-ordinate a bid from Watford CVS to try and get a development worker to focus on capacity building among BME and faith communities.

Later, I met with Matt Adcock, the new Communications Manager at the PCT. Conscious that I need to “clear the decks” to prepare a bid to the CEHR, I worked late again to prepare and circulate a copy of our regular newsletter.

With all the recent coverage of corrupt snouts-in-troughery at Westminster, it is easy to dismiss all politics and politicians. But I still like to think the best of (most) people and certainly at local level there are many honest politicians devoted to public service. So this evening I carried out my civic duty and voted in local and EU elections.

Wednesday, 3 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:16:00.003+01:00

Although things are moving in a very good direction, there is still much work to do on the future of the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium and today I visited the Hertfordshire Community Foundation for a meeting on options. Afterwards, I met with two of my trustees (thank you Althea and Leslie) to discuss the future of the Watford One World forum and the Herts BME Partnership. And then I visited Watford African Caribbean Association to discuss Grassroots funding, Watford LIVE! and the Watford Assembly.

I arrived at the office in the afternoon and found a package addressed to me from the “ICT Champions”. Opening the package, I found a set of around 70 postcards each bearing some ICT guidance. It was entitled “ICT answers in a box”. I know this is well-intentioned and I know that some groups will find it useful, but ... perhaps I am just tired after working for 30 out of the last 36 hours.

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:09:00.003+01:00

I knew today was going to be a long haul, so I arranged to arrive at work early and by 7:00 am I was already on my second cup of coffee. Most of the day, I devoted to preparations for the forthcoming Watford LIVE! community arts festival. Members of our Community Arts Network have planned lots of events, but the difficult work is co-ordinating, funding and promoting the festival. So much work! Only now (ten days before the opening events) have I received the final programme of activities. I’ve worked with a few volunteers to get the events posted on the watfordlive.org website but it is difficult to get everything posted and looking good.

In the afternoon, I met with Mayor Dorothy Thornhill to talk about the many areas where Watford CVS and WBC are currently working in partnership: the Watford LIVE! community arts festival, our planned relocation to the Holywell Community Centre, plans to create a Watford Community Assembly, and the Watford Compact.

I also raised the staff changes that both WBC and WCVS face in the coming month. OUr consultation period is drawing to a close and WCVS faces the very likely prospect of issuing two redundancy notices in the next week or so. As CEO I felt it was incumbent on me to alert our major strategic partners to this possibility and ask them to consider providing additional funding to allow us to retain staff and sustain services etc. But I was not sure this is the right and proper thing to do. After all, WBC is making redundancies among their own staff to trim costs. And a funding agreement is in place detailing what funding WCVS will receive from WBC and what we provide for this. And the redundancies are not in areas WBC has previously funded. So I knew with certainty what the answer must be. So in these circumstances, is it really helpful to ask the question? I asked anyway. And Mayor Dorothy responded as I knew she must. How many times has this scene been played out in Town Halls up and down the country? I feel that I’ve been through the motions of an arcane ritual the purpose of which is lost in some distant forgotten age.

Returning home, I was delighted to see that our neighbours are felling their horrid Eucalyptus tree. This 50-foot alien monster constantly sheds leathery leaves and strips of bark into our garden and blocks out the afternoon sun. After a brief celebratory drink, I worked late getting the watfordlive.org website into some presentable state.

Monday, 1 June 2009

2009-07-04T16:07:00.001+01:00

Today I had a predictably frantic return to the Watford CVS office: several meetings, queries from CVS members on IT and governance, another local group urgently needs counselling rooms, and I had to create a new e-mail address because one of our mailings advertised an e-mail address that doesn’t exist. At least I could advise staff that the one month consultation period for redundancies was extended to the morning of 5 June. Small comfort there, though.

Sunday, 31 May 2009

2009-07-04T16:06:00.003+01:00

It was simply too hot to work in the garden today, so Jackie and I just enjoyed the sun and read our books. I ordered tickets for forthcoming Watford LIVE! events at the Watford Palace Theatre. And I agreed with my trustees that Watford CVS’s Personnel and Remuneration Working Group will meet on Friday 5 June to review the consultation period for redundancies.

Saturday, 30 May 2009

2009-07-04T16:05:00.004+01:00

This is my last weekend at home before returning to work proper. Jackie and I spent most of the day gardening. I also spent some time working on proposals from Anne Boyd (our Funding Advisor) for defining a “baseline” from which we can measure local fundraising activity.

Friday, 29 May 2009

2009-07-04T16:04:00.005+01:00

My final day of taking “French leave” from my annual leave – a day spent huddled over a lap-top catching up on Watford CVS correspondence. Later, I will have a real holiday.

Thursday, 28 May 2009

2009-07-04T16:01:00.003+01:00

Today was another day of leave I "stole back" to catch up with Watford CVS business. My two big concerns today were our possible relocation to the Holywell Community Centre and the growing likelihood of redundancies at Watford CVS: I do not feel in a holiday mood.

Wednesday, 27 May 2009

2009-05-28T14:12:00.004+01:00

Aged Ken RIP

Today was all about Aged Ken, whose years are of course indeterminate. Jackie acquired him as a “rescue” in 1994 when he was a young adult between three and seven, so he is now between eighteen and twenty-two; a splendid innings for any feline. Ken’s health has declined markedly over the past month or so and even more sharply in the past week: he can barely miaow, he eats sparsely and has lost more than half his body weight, his back legs are near collapse, his eyes are dimmed, he wheezes, and he can no longer clean himself. We’ve been hoping for a miracle recovery, but to hope further would simply be cruel to him. We all have so many fond memories of him: I mostly remember his constant miaow for food and his habit of butting me when he wanted his ears tickled. It’s curious how a family pet can generate such strong emotions. This afternoon, Jackie and I took Ken to the vet for his final injection. Ken was dignified and the young vet was understanding. It was all over very quickly and as we said good-bye I may have blubbed just a little.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:55:00.002+01:00

Officially, I am on leave this week. Unofficially I am working to catch up on 1001 projects that need completing.

But today I was distracted by Aged Ken, our decrepit cat of indeterminate years. His health has been failing for a month or more. Jackie and I had hoped we could let nature take its course, but none of Ken’s various ailments seem sufficient to give him final rest. I suspect Ken is clinging onto his life because he thinks we still need him to watch over us. It is very difficult to judge whether or not a cat is suffering, but the signs are there. Jackie and I agree that if Ken does not rally or die overnight, we will need to take him to the vet tomorrow.

Monday, 25 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:47:00.000+01:00

We hosted another Bank Holiday BBQ. At the close of the day we bid a fond farewell to Becky who has spent two weeks or so with us. I enjoyed her visit and hope to see her again soon.

Sunday, 24 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:20:00.004+01:00

Jackie and took my sister out for lunch. We attempted the much lauded Fox at Willian but they were not particularly friendly to wheelchairs – or to people wanting to eat outside. Instead we went to the Millstream in Hitchin where we found friendly staff and good food reasonably priced.

You won’t be interested but ...

Awakening a dormant interest in Anglo-Saxon history and I read the Hertfordshire volume of the Phillimore translation of the Domesday book, complete with the original Latin text facing. What a treasure this is: I must learn Latin! Next, I read the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People. I am pretty sure I once heard Terry Jones refer to him as "the Tedious Bede"; if so, I know how he felt. My translation was awful and Bede's bottomless credulity is explained by the simple assertion that in those days there surely were more miracles performed. Utter tosh. But then I did learn more about Hertfordshire's connection to the early English Church - and a deeper possible explanation for the dedication of St Ethelreda's church in Hatfield. Lastly, I read Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf and compared to the other two books I found it utterly brilliant. Possibly this is down to the translators or the subject matter, or maybe this helps explain why English triumphed over Latin as the world's Lingua Franca. Perhaps I wont bother with Latin after all.

Between these rather earnest readings, I thoroughly enjoyed Catherine Fox’s Fight the Good Fight – the true story of her struggle to win a black belt in karate. I also enjoyed Stephen Winsten’s Days with Bernard Shaw about GBS’s life at Ayot St Lawrence - a first (only?) edition with excellent photographs. I struggled with Clark Blaise's Time Lord - Sir Sandford Fleming and the Creation of Standard Time. It is a fascinating subject that deserves a definitive study, but Clark Blaise likes the sound of his own quill and goes off at a tangent too readily. And for sheer unadulterated pleasure I read Adventure Stories for Boys published around 1975 by Octopus books and including contributions from Mohammad Ali, Winston Churchill, Lt Col Fawcett, John Buchan, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, Frank Richards, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Stirling Moss and Gerald Durrell. What joy!

Saturday, 23 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:19:00.001+01:00

Jackie and I would enjoy doing virtually anything together, but spending a warm sunny day together in the garden is especially relaxing. Today, I installed an outside tap without major disaster and we were joined for lunch by Jackie’s parents.

Friday, 22 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:18:00.001+01:00

This morning I was visited by Pam for my monthly supervision meeting. There were a lot of issues to cover, but Pam continues to offer gold standard support to her beleaguered CEO.

In the afternoon, I headed off to Hatfield for a meeting of the Herts Minority Ethnic Education Forum. I attended to contribute to a discussion on “developing more formal structures”. But discussions on structure often reveal fundamental uncertainties about a group’s aims and values, and this proved the case here. More meeting dates were scheduled and I hope these uncertainties will soon be resolved.

Thursday, 21 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:14:00.002+01:00

Following last night’s meal, we today met more formally with NAVCA CEO Kevin Curley. One big issue covered was the need for NAVCA to develop an independent voice on volunteering. At present, all volunteering initiatives and discussions defer to Volunteering England: there is a sense that Volunteering England’s approach to volunteering is the only acceptable approach and that anything deviating from this is beyond the pale and doomed to failure. This blinkered approach has to change.

The second big issue addressed was the need for smaller CVSs to identify their needs and develop their own agenda. At present, too many national meetings are dominated by larger CVSs we can’t hope to emulate. And we’re not sure we should.

Finally, we had a brief discussion about the desirability of setting up a county-wide CVS "trading arm" jointly owned by all Herts CVSs. Personally I think the need for this is established almost beyond debate, but several of my colleagues seemed strangely reticent. I wonder why?

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

2009-05-28T13:13:00.001+01:00

After a morning dealing with correspondence, I headed off to Cambridge for an afternoon meeting of the Regional Empowerment Partnership. I arrived a little late, and someone welcomed me by observing that I was the only man among twenty women; somehow, I managed to overcome the dark urge to say: "well I should be alright for a cup of tea, then".

I am slowly getting more familiar with this group’s interesting programme of work and seeing where it can support WCVS’s own activities. Today, for example, we had a short presentation on IDeA’s best practice approach to engagement and elements of this I can immediately use to help underpin our local work developing a Community Assembly.

After a brief sojourn at home, I headed off to Letchworth for a meal with NAVCA CEO Kevin Curley. This was organised by Herts CVS a proved very pleasant and educational meal. I have known many national charities led by CEO’s who are happy to maintain a distance between themselves and grassroots organisations. Rarely for a national CEO, Kevin Curley appears to have mastered the trick of having a local focus and a national voice. This feat takes intelligence and skill, so I was rather surprised to discover that he has some worryingly naive beliefs about the eating habits of polar bears.

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

2009-05-28T12:26:00.003+01:00

9:30 at Watford CVS: Watford LIVE! meeting looking at remaining costs and needs for next months community arts festival.

11:00 at Watford CVS: Meeting with Kim Bloomfield of WBC on WBC’s new three year SLA commissioning programme.

1:00 at Apsley: Meeting with Pam Handley and Phil Willerton to draft a letter to WBC re: our possible relocation to the Holywell Community Centre.

2:00 at Apsley: Meeting with the Integrated Practice Forum at which Phil Willerton and I talk about the voluntary sector’s organisation and engagement with the Watford District Children’s Panel.

3:30 at Watford CVS: Management meeting with Hema Devlukia and Alan Felt on the Herts BME Advocacy Service.

4:00 at Watford CVS: Meeting with Anne Boyd on Grassroots Grants and fundraising for Watford CVS.

5:00 at Watford CVS: Meeting with Helen Price about the future of the Volunteer Centre.

Despite this flurry of meetings, today's really good news is that the odious toad Michael Martin has announced his retirement as Speaker of the House of Commons. How he has tarnished the role adn the institution he was supposed to protect. It saddens me that he has "announced his retirement": he has not been kicked out and he will still get a handsome pension and almost certainly (after a decent interval) a seat in the House of Lords. After everything, and above all else, the corrupt House of Commons still looks after its own. In my view, the self-serving grasping graceless fool of a Speaker has dragged Parliament into the gutter and deserves a long stay in the Tower. I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Monday, 18 May 2009

2009-05-28T12:15:00.003+01:00

This is going to be a busy week and it has started with a packed day of meetings. At 8:30 I met with Phil Bailey, an architect retained by Watford Borough Council to do some work on the Holywell Community Centre. He has prepared some good initial plans showing the works we want done at the Centre.

At 10:00 I chaired a meeting of the Watford Community Fund panel, which is overseeing local allocations of Grassroots Grants. This meeting was difficult for three reasons. First, because the chronological profile of grants means that there is less and less money to meet ever rising levels of applications so many groups will be disappointed. Secondly, because one of the panel’s previous decisions has been overturned by the Hertfordshire Community Foundation for reasons we find difficult to agree with. Thirdly, because there are new proposals to review the geographic and demographic profile of grants across the county. Watford will be poorly served if monies are reallocated according to population as we have a small resident population in the borough but a great many people are drawn into the borough to use our shops and services. Despite these potential difficulties, we got through the meeting with good humour and commonsense and agreed to start focusing on the government’s endowment challenge.

At 1:00 I met with Laura Packwood to discuss the piloting of our Watford Good Neighbours scheme. Then at 2:30 Laura and I hosted a meeting of community transport schemes from across south-west Herts. Before leaving the office, I organised this month’s salary payments and caught up on some correspondence.

Sunday, 17 May 2009

2009-05-28T12:15:00.001+01:00

More rest and recuperation at home.

Saturday, 16 May 2009

2009-05-28T12:14:00.002+01:00

I enjoyed a gentle day pottering around the garden and the house. I may even have visited a charity shop and bought some books.

Friday, 15 May 2009

2009-05-28T12:12:00.000+01:00

At today’s staff meeting, I reported on discussions at last night’s trustee meeting and then wrote to all staff asking if anyone was interested in reducing their hours, taking an unpaid sabbatical, or volunteering for redundancy. It speaks volumes for the professionalism and commitment of the staff team here that everyone is pulling together, pooling their expertise and knowledge in search of a solution while being realistic about the likely outcome. Unless an unheralded saviour appears, redundancies seem inevitable.

In the evening, Jackie and I took a much-needed walk in Sherrardspark Woods – the bird song was so magnificent and relaxing and wonderful. I love this time of year.

Thursday, 14 May 2009

2009-05-28T11:23:00.000+01:00

I met briefly this afternoon with Watford’s Mayor Dorothy Thornhill. Among other things, we talked about the all-too-imminent Watford LIVE! festival and the still-in-the-balance Watford CVS relocation to the Holywell.

My trustees held their meeting at the Holywell Community Centre. This at least made us all appreciate the previously unsuspected problem of noise – our discussions were regularly drowned out by noise rising from the activities in the main hall. The two key agenda items were our budget deficit and our possible relocation to the Holywell. As always, Pam chaired the meeting with great skill and care to ensure that everyone contributed and that there were full discussions on each item.

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

2009-05-28T11:22:00.000+01:00

I spent a quiet day catching up on correspondence and preparing for tomorrow’s trustee meeting.

Tuesday, 12 May 2009

2009-05-28T11:20:00.001+01:00

I returned to work this morning feeling much better after a good night’s sleep: it is a great comfort to know I can rely on such strong powers of recovery. Amidst the other work of recent weeks, we have developed a website to promote the forthcoming Watford LIVE! festival. Today I met with Ana, a young volunteer who is going to help populate the website at http://watfordlive.org/. Many thanks, Ana.

I received a wonderful e-mail from our Grants Officer at the Big Lottery: Just to let you know, I've approved your end of year report and it was a pleasure to read - you would be surprised at the layout of the majority of the monitoring forms that come in and yours is a real treat as is in a perfectly logical format! I'm really pleased with your progress and happy with your plans to remedy the delayed milestones. Naturally I replied that her e-mail was “a real pleasure to read – you would be surprised at ...”

Over lunch I met with Phil Willerton at the YMCA, to discuss WCVS trustee issues and to get some advice on redundancy situations. Later in the day, I met with another of my trustees, Leslie Billy, to talk about the future of the Watford One World forum.

Monday, 11 May 2009

2009-05-28T11:13:00.001+01:00

After working all night preparing papers for Thursday’s trustee meeting, I finally clicked the “send” button at about 6:00 am. After two hours sleep, I arrived at the office for 9:00 am to discover that two key members of staff were absent through illness and again my carefully laid were thrown into turmoil. With so many initiatives currently underway, each day is finely-planned down to the last few minutes and there is little time for me to cope with any ad hoc issues that need addressing “on the hoof”. After a long night’s work I felt pretty jaded and not particularly agile but of course I did my best. In the afternoon I visited Robin Charnley at Community Action Hertsmere to exchange notes on recent development and forthcoming events. I arrived home about 5:00 pm ready for an early night.

Sunday, 10 May 2009

2009-05-28T11:11:00.000+01:00

It’s not everyone’s idea of a great Sunday, but Jackie and I spent the entire day tidying and sorting our garden shed and its contents. Today saw the arrival of Becky, our son Bryan’s lady friend and our houseguest for the next short while – I do hope we can all stay friends.

Aged Ken, our decrepit cat of indeterminate years, is unwell. At his advanced years, I am not so foolish as to believe that he is likely to recover. What lies beyond decrepitude? I fear Ken will soon discover the answer to this. We’ll just try and make his last weeks as comfortable as possible.

I have still not circulated papers for our 14 May trustee meeting. I hate sending out papers so late, but there have been so many complexities around the Holywell Community Centre and I have of course struggled with the prospect of redundancies here. Only now do I really have sufficient perspective and information to prepare any meaningful papers. But tomorrow is already cluttered with meetings so I must prepare and distribute the papers tonight or face the professional humiliation of sending out papers only hours ahead of the meeting.

Saturday, 9 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:45:00.001+01:00

Indulgence

Today I made a rare luxury purchase at the Living Crafts fair at Hatfield House. I spent £55 on a polished block of oak (about the size of a small dictionary) taken from HMS Victory. I am not usually acquisative, but my HMS Victory oak is on my desk now right beside my bookends made from stone taken from the Houses of Parliament ...

Friday, 8 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:44:00.002+01:00

I had expected to be at a Trustees Together meeting at Cambridge, but gave my apologies to spend a day catching up on 1001 outstanding bits of correspondence. On a positive note, I am hugely pleased by the details of MP's expenses being reported in the Daily Telegraph: three cheers for democracy, transparency and community empowerment! This one will run and run - strap in and enjoy the ride.

Thursday, 7 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:43:00.000+01:00

In the past few weeks, Hema has been swept off her feet by queries to our BME Advocacy Service. This afternoon I met with Maggie Woods to talk about how the service is developing.

Wednesday, 6 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:42:00.000+01:00

I started today meeting Laura to talk about the Watford Good Neighbours scheme. Then I went to Borehamwood for the launch of Community Action Hertsmere (formed by the merger of Hertsmere CVS and the Hertsmere Community Partnership) at which I had a good talk about social enterprise with Chris Lee. Then I headed off to Apsley to meet with Mohamed Fawzi to talk about the future of the Herts BME Partnership and various matters arising.

Tuesday, 5 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:41:00.000+01:00

Back to work this morning at another meeting of Hertfordshire’s Community Cohesion Strategy Group. We have some £20,000 to spend on research and consultation, but it seems that the strategy will be substantially written before the research is completed – and in any case the research may not tell us anything new (Dr Karen Griffiths of HCC has compiled a great summary of baseline data). Why can this money not be used for something else? In the afternoon, I attended a meeting of the NHS Stakeholders Group. Back home, I prepared and sent summary reports to HIC and Herts CVS colleagues on some of the groups I’m involved with: the Regional Empowerment Partnership, the Hertfordshire Community Cohesion Strategy Group and the NHS Stakeholders Group for Herts. At some point I will need to reach a judgment on the value of these various engagements.

Monday, 4 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:40:00.000+01:00

Bank Holiday

Yesterday’s efforts at erecting a greenhouse were abandoned due to bad light. Today we finished the job, ably assisted by various family and friends.

Sunday, 3 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:38:00.002+01:00

Jackie’s birthday

I had decided to take Jackie to B&Q to buy a greenhouse. I guess I’m just a born romantic. But Jackie was very keen: she had chosen which one she wanted and I had reserved it “on line”. Over breakfast, I got a call to say the greenhouse was ready for collection. Great! Just as we were leaving the house, I got another call saying that there were no longer any in stock. An hour and a half later (after numerous telephone calls and visits to websites), it dawned on me that B&Q’s on-line stock-checking and booking service is just a lot of random nonsense. Telephoning stores proved equally fruitless. Jackie and I resorted to tradition and drove off toward Watford (the most reliable centre for all shopping). On the way, Jackie spoke to a lovely woman on the telephone who assured us that the greenhouses were in stock in Watford. Just as we arrived in Watford, we got a return call from a young man at the same Watford B&Q who told us that there were no greenhouses in stock and there was a six week wait on deliveries. We had long since stopped believing anything from B&Q. Sure enough, at Watford they had ample supplies of greenhouses and we returned home with Jackie’s chosen model.

Saturday, 2 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:37:00.000+01:00

Today we were visited by our grand-daughter Bethany – now recovered from her Chicken spots.

Friday, 1 May 2009

2009-05-27T16:36:00.000+01:00

My first meeting this morning was with Everton Blake, CEO at Voluntary Action Luton. It is always so useful to meet up with someone from another CVS and exchange notes. Thanks Everton.

After Everton took his leave, I had of write to staff about the very real prospect of redundancies informing them we were entering a formal consultation period. I ended writing: Of course I regret that this need has arisen. I will ensure that the process is as transparent as possible and that we do all we can to support people through this difficult process.

Later on still, I met with WBC people to explore options around the Holywell Community Centre, where I had suggested that maybe two or three of the seven football fields could be converted to some sort of urban meadow in order to attract more visitors to the Holywell Community Centre. This afternoon I discovered that a draft open spaces strategy has designated Holywell as a future base for more football and that all seven fields will be in use. At least on Sunday mornings. Maybe. I am not sure where this leaves our possible relocation to the Holywell Community Centre. It is difficult to argue against physical exercise per se and it would be churlish not to consider all options. But the future of the park and the community centre need to be considered together and I am disappointed that this opportunity has been lost.

I arrived home rather frazzled, but looking forward to the weekend.

Thursday, 30 April 2009

2009-05-27T16:33:00.001+01:00

Today, my car was checked over by a garage in Hitchin that specialises in Japanese vehicles. After visiting my sister, I spent some hours working at Hitchin library and then visited the museum where I met a young man of about twenty years. Stuart had a minor learning difficulty or condition that was manifest in torrents of questions, each replaced by a new question immediately I started offering an answer to the first. But we soon enough overcame this and I found Stuart was extremely pleasant and knowledgeable. We spent an hour or so together at the museum and chatting over a coffee before the garage called to say my car was fixed.

We might occasionally exchange a nod with a fellow shopper. We meet new work colleagues and neighbours, or new people at our pubs and clubs. We might have a cursory conversation with a fellow passenger on a train. But in real life, we do not spend time getting to know random strangers. I suppose this is down to the pressures of time and social mores: what people might say or what people might do. Rather like jumble sales and afternoon tea, idling away time with a complete stranger is a very enriching feature of civilized life that we are in danger of losing completely.

In the evening, Jackie and I had great fun re-joining our folk dancing club after a few weeks absence.

Incidentally, my car wasn't fixed at all - the little engine warning light still comes on for two random journeys out of three.

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

2009-05-27T16:32:00.000+01:00

In its relations with the voluntary sector, the NHS in Hertfordshire carries around the dead weight of History. Voluntary organisations are sometimes slow to forgive past transgressions – particularly when perpetrated by those we wish to regard as friends and allies. But there are many in the NHS that do regard the voluntary sector as (potential, if not actual) friends and allies, and this morning I went to Charter House to meet with Lynda Dent and Heather Aylward to explore how we can find ways of working together more closely. For me, the meeting was extremely valuable and I hope my hosts also took away some pointers.

From Welwyn Garden City I drove to Watford for a few hours and then headed off to Whitechapel for a meeting at the Disability Law Centre. On arrival I was alarmed to find that their excellent CEO Linda Clark had rushed off to A&E with eye trouble. The meeting took place in a rather subdued atmosphere until news came through that Linda was fine. Phew!

Tuesday, 28 April 2009

2009-05-26T18:19:00.005+01:00

This morning I joined a meeting of the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium at the Learning and Skills Council building in St Albans. There was an air of unreality induced by the ever more depopulated LSC offices and the growing conviction that the ChangeUp programme is living on borrowed time.

Still, the Consortium in Hertfordshire takes a pride in its pragmatism and today we took some useful steps along the road to sustainability. There was general consensus that the consortium now needs to embrace the whole of the third sector and not just infrastructure groups and my proposals for new Terms of Reference were usefully refined to read:

1. strengthen the sector’s influence over strategic planning – including LAA;
2. ensure that individual voluntary organisations have access to appropriate networks, information and support;
3. provide accredited voluntary sector representatives to be credible partners in policy and planning discussions etc;
4. champion, promote and empower the voluntary sector as a whole and campaign on key issues;
5. influence policy and planning decisions, including over the allocation of resources;
6. ensure that Hertfordshire’s voluntary organisations can compete on an equal footing for any public service contracts;
7. help strengthen the voice of communities - particularly those that might by isolated, marginalised or disadvantaged;
8. hold the statutory sector to account for its engagement with the voluntary sector, including re: Compact and NI7;
9. commission research appropriate to the needs of the sector;
10. provide a forum to discuss matters of interest to the sector and to legitimise the sector's engagement with the private and public sectors.

Hopefully this will all come to fruition at a conference in the autumn – at which we also finally drop the awful name Hertfordshire Infrastructure Forum. I amused myself by suggesting the new name should be Community Organisations’ Forum so a COF can follow a HIC. No-one else saw the benefit of this.

In the afternoon, I attended a meeting of One Watford (our local strategic partnership) where everything seems to be moving pretty smoothly – although I do need to get a move on with proposals around the Watford Compact and a new Community Assembly.

Monday, 27 April 2009

2009-05-26T18:18:00.001+01:00

By 9:00 am, my plans for the day had been thrown into disarray by three members of staff calling in sick. The World Health Organisation has just raised its assessment of the threat from Mexican Swine Flu to "Phase 4" but no WCVS staff are affected. However, one of these calls meant that I had to cancel my own meeting at the Holywell Community Centre and instead deliver a workshop on mywatford.net. I am accumulating an ever-larger pile of urgent tasks.

Later on, I met with my Chair and Treasurer to talk through options on our budget. We have raised what grants we can, approached friendly funders, set a prudent target for in-year fundraising and cut back on small expenditure. There is still a too-large hole in the middle of our finances for this current year and we need to consider the dread option of redundancies.

Sunday, 26 April 2009

2009-05-26T18:17:00.001+01:00

Today was very warm; Jackie and I relaxed in the garden and walked in the cool woods.

Saturday, 25 April 2009

2009-05-26T18:16:00.001+01:00

Jackie and I spent the day recycling our chicken coop to an enthusiastic neighbour and then recycling my mum’s pergola into a raised vegetable bed; all hot work.

Friday, 24 April 2009

2009-05-26T18:15:00.001+01:00

After yesterday’s meeting on the Holywell Community Centre, I today circulated notes on our proposals for the centre’s future. The centre is located in the middle of playing fields and this is quite a hostile environment. While the fields might be attractive to summer-time cricketers and other-time footballers, there is no reason why anyone else would want to visit the centre unless to take part in one of the activities at the centre. The buildings can have a good future and Watford CVS can contribute to this – but we need to find a way of making people want to visit.

Thursday, 23 April 2009

2009-05-17T19:28:00.002+01:00

The Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium was originally set up to deliver the government’s Change-up programme for the voluntary sector. I don’t have time to comment again on the purpose, performance and management of the Change-up initiative. The point is that the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium was established so that infrastructure organisations could co-ordinate funded activities. Willy-nilly, the Consortium has taken on other roles and aspires to even more. So today I wrote around to fellow Consortium members suggesting that a new county-wide group is established to represent the voluntary sector and that the new group is more open and should work to:
1. strengthen the sector’s influence over strategic planning;
2. ensure that individual voluntary organisations have access to appropriate networks, information and support;
3. provide accredited representatives to be credible partners in planning discussions etc;
4. champion and promote the voluntary sector as a whole, and campaign on key issues;
5. influence policy decisions, including over the allocation of resources (including PRG);
6. ensure that Hertfordshire’s groups can compete on an equal footing for public service contracts;
7. provide a voice for marginalised and “seldom heard” groups;
8. hold the statutory sector to account for its performance under NI7.

Discussions of this nature have been going on over the past year so I know some people will be supportive, but I am interested to see the general reaction.

In the evening I attended a meeting of the Holywell Community Centre users’ group to outline my thinking on the CVS’s possible relocation to the site. Most groups remain wary of our intentions and I suppose this is inevitable. From some viewpoints, the relocation proposal positively shimmers with promise and potential. From other viewpoints, the whole thing looks fraught with financial difficulties and the certainty of future conflicts.

At the end of the day, I forwarded our first annual monitoring report on the “Fit for Purpose” project to the Big Lottery. Hopefully all will be well.

Wednesday, 22 April 2009

2009-05-17T19:26:00.001+01:00

Project management and accountability

I spent most of today working on the first year-end monitoring report for our Big Lottery Funded “Fit for Purpose” project. The project is really going pretty well, but there are areas in which we’ve over-delivered and areas in which we need more time. And of course these complex changes need to be reported on to our funders.

In the afternoon, I visited Letchworth for a steering group meeting for the Capacitybuilders-funded ICT project where we all emphasised the need to focus on delivering the project outcomes. This will seem obvious. But there can be long periods between a grant application, a grant-decision, and implementation of the programme. During these periods, priorities shift and change constantly and sometimes a project’s focus can drift substantially. Every voluntary sector project manager must constantly reconcile what was originally applied for, what the funder approved, and what the needs now are.

In the evening, Jackie and I went for a short walk in Sherrardspark. It was an excellent break from things: wood anemones, arum lilies, and vast quantities of bluebells and whitebells – and a woodpecker invisible but busy nearby.

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

2009-05-17T19:24:00.001+01:00

This morning we had a meeting of the local Chief Officers’ Information Network. The main items for discussion were the new Watford Compact and proposals for the Watford Assembly. As ever, there were also some good informal discussions about the various opportunities and challenges we each face.

In the afternoon, I had a further meeting with Laura (our Transport scheme co-ordinator) and Helen (our Volunteer Centre co-ordinator) on launching the new Good Neighbours Scheme. We also met with Main Electrical who may be able to provide trainee electricians to do simple electrical tests etc around the home.

Later in the day, I was back in Welwyn Garden City meeting with Carol Hill at the PCT to discuss how local voluntary groups can compete for NHS contracts on an equal footing with larger competitors from the voluntary and private sectors. There are of course many layers to this discussion and we made some progress in peeling them away. But Carol is leaving Hertfordshire soon to work in a place called London, so I suppose it will be "back to square one" when her successor is appointed.

Monday, 20 April 2009

2009-05-17T18:04:00.000+01:00

I had another long day at work, starting and finishing around 8:00. Mostly worked through funding and budgeting options for this current year: things don’t look rosy. In the afternoon, I met with Vanessa and with Sandra Fullerton from Barnet CVS; it is always good to learn how other CVSs approach things. Sadly there is no new learning on how to squeeze a quart from a pint pot.

Sunday, 19 April 2009

2009-05-17T18:02:00.000+01:00

Jackie and I both enjoy our chickens Audrey and Ethelreda. But Audrey and Ethelreda do not enjoy being confined to their (large-ish) coop. But if we let them out they gleefully destroy our garden. And Jackie wants to start growing more vegetables. And then a friend of my mum wants to acquire two reliable layers for her large menagerie and garden just outside Baldock. So today we helped our chickens move into their new home and it looks like they will be very happy: they will mostly be confined to a coop with three other chickens and a guinea pig – but this coop has many perching places and is almost as big as my whole garden.

Saturday, 18 April 2009

2009-05-17T18:01:00.000+01:00

Jackie and I had expected to be spending today with our granddaughter Bethany – but she has been struck down with Chicken Pox. Poor Bethy!

Friday, 17 April 2009

2009-05-17T18:00:00.000+01:00

I started today with a Staff meeting. Among many other items, and following earlier discussions, we again discussed the possibility of redundancies. It is too easy to blame this on The Credit Crunch but there is some connection and 2008-09 was not a triumphant year for our fundraising. More importantly, the prospects for 2009-10 do not look good either. Naturally we are exploring all manner of options and alternatives.

At lunchtime, I met with my Chair of Trustees who as ever had some excellent advice. We also discussed our review of insurance needs and on behalf of the full trustee board she agreed that we should place our insurance with Tennyson.

After this, I went to the Holywell Community Centre to meet with an architect who advised what is (and isn’t) practicable for the Holywell Centre.

Thursday, 16 April 2009

2009-05-17T17:58:00.001+01:00

I had an awkward moment this morning. For some reason I missed the last meeting of the Watford and Three Rivers Health Partnership. I knew that this morning’s meeting was being hosted by Watford CVS, but I did not know that as host I was expected to chair the meeting. I think I got away with it. Anyway, the meeting was very encouraging and there certainly seem to be lots of good health-related initiatives right now.

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

2009-05-17T17:57:00.000+01:00

Today was a frantic day of good positive meetings. Most of the day, I spent with Angelo, our IT chap, talking through lots of technical and funding issues. I also met with Mukund who has offered his services as a volunteer to help make mywatford.net more user-friendly.

I note from my records that I sent 50 e-mails today. I have no clear memory of what these were about. I do remember a very welcome call from Youth Connexions confirming our funding through to March 2010.

In the evening, there was a meeting of our Community Arts Network about planning for the June Watford LIVE! community arts festival (see http://watfordlive.org). The meeting was such a pleasure and such a joy: everyone is getting on so well together, everyone is putting so much work into making the festival successful, and everyone is just so positive and smiley. If only real life could be like this.

Tuesday, 14 April 2009

2009-05-17T17:51:00.001+01:00

And so back to work ...

I had a short meeting with Syed Ahmed (our Community Accountant) and with John Casstles (our Treasurer) and then we were joined by our Auditors briefly. John and I had a discussion about finances and future prospects.

Next, I concluded the recruitment process for our two new part-time fixed-term posts, and am pleased to announce that we will soon be joined by Alan Felt and Jane Gregory.

I spent most of the rest of the day preparing a draft Trustees Report for the annual accounts. I know this should be owned by the Trustees, and I’ve no doubt whatsoever that in due course the document will be appropriately chopped and changed and wholly owned by my Trustees. But I think they appreciate being given something from which to start. Who wouldn’t?

Monday, 13 April 2009

2009-05-17T17:48:00.001+01:00

Jackie and I enjoyed our Easter Monday in the garden – there is so much to do this time of the year. I don't want to worry anyone, but Aged Ken, our decrepit white cat of indeterminate years, looks dangerously frail.

Sunday, 12 April 2009

2009-04-13T01:11:00.000+01:00

We hosted a family barbecue – grey and overcast but great fun.

Saturday, 11 April 2009

2009-04-13T01:10:00.000+01:00

Jackie and I enjoyed another day at home much like yesterday: very relaxing.

Friday, 10 April 2009

2009-04-13T01:09:00.000+01:00

Jackie and I spent the day at home reading and relaxing.

Thursday, 9 April 2009

2009-04-13T01:06:00.003+01:00

I took the car to the garage for a final check on the warning light that has been intermittently illuminated since the engine was changed 3-4 months ago. Today I discovered that the garage which originally did the work has (how?) managed to put the wrong engine in the car.

Wednesday, 8 April 2009

2009-04-13T01:02:00.003+01:00

After breakfast, Jackie and I headed for Dungeness and spent the day walking the beach; the sky was clear but it was cold, the wind was bracing and the waves crashed fiercely on the pebbles. Leaving via Romney Marsh, we saw a crow, pheasant and hare together in a field as though holding a meeting. Before returning home, we visited Chapel Down and Biddenden vineyards and discovered that Sissinghurst is closed on Wednesdays.

Tuesday, 7 April 2009

2009-04-13T00:55:00.003+01:00

Jackie and I breakfasted in Tenterden and took a brief tour around Romney Marsh (not the one that used to play for QPR). It is apparent that this particular corner of Kent has never enjoyed a period of sustained prosperity. The sky was grey and we spent most of the day on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. Hythe was nice enough but Dymchurch was distressingly soulless and desperately needs some investment. Dungeness was magnificently bleak and windswept and desolate and hosts the strangest collection of buildings.

We went to our chosen Inn but despite its glorious location we could not stay there: their garden had no flowers, they served UHT milk with their tea, and their bar smelt of urine. Instead we happily stumbled across the Broadacre Hotel in New Romney (the world will be a much poorer place if it ever loses these local independent affordable hotels) and enjoyed a great meal at the nearby Curry Lounge.

Monday, 6 April 2009

2009-04-13T00:53:00.001+01:00

Today I had one more day in the office before a week’s leave. I started off bright and early at the Holywell Community Centre meeting Gill O’Brien of the British Conservation Trust Volunteers. She gave me some very useful in-sights into the site’s environment. At 10:00 I met with a reference group and explained some of my thinking – carefully of course reserving WCVS’s position and emphasising that my trustees have the final say in things. Back at the office, I tidied up some correspondence, worked on our accounts, finished reviewing our insurance needs, and talked with colleagues about work that needs doing during my absence. I finally left the office about 8:00 pm keenly anticipating a few days away.

Sunday, 5 April 2009

2009-04-13T00:50:00.002+01:00

Jackie and I went on one of our longer walks through Hatfield Great Park and saw two storks perched just above the River Lea. Later we ate at the John Bunyan which we found very disappointing: there are all sorts of sausages of all different qualities but why does is "jumbo sausage" always awful?

Saturday, 4 April 2009

2009-04-13T00:49:00.000+01:00

After a day visiting my sister in Hitchin, Jackie and I shared a bottle of wine and reached a momentous decision. Our chickens Ethelreda and Audrey are very nice and they are efficient layers. But when in their coop, they constantly want to escape and scratch around in our garden. And when they are out scratching around in our garden, they do untold damage to everything except daffodils and slugs (both of which they detest). And we want to use the garden to grow more vegetables. After a year or so of daily fresh eggs, we have decided that we need to re-home our chickens.

Friday, 3 April 2009

2009-04-13T00:48:00.000+01:00

This morning, I attended the second meeting of the Community Cohesion Strategy Group. After my posting of yesterday, it was almost inevitable that HCC’s Andrew Burt would be unable to attend this meeting due to car trouble. Having had a van-load of car trouble myself, I of course sympathise hugely and Karen and Vicky Griffiths managed the meeting very well in Andrew’s absence.

There were was widespread concern at the meeting over HCC’s handling of arrangements to set up an Equalities Council in Hertfordshire. To date, there has been little consultation and even less communication and (with no open process at all) a contract has been agreed with CDA for Herts to deliver some initial work. At the meeting, we were advised that CDA for Herts were seen as “the natural lead” for this work. Amongst others, I contested this assertion. And I also defended CDA for Herts from criticism: they certainly cannot be held responsible for HCC’s failure to be transparent and accountable.

Thursday, 2 April 2009

2009-04-13T00:44:00.001+01:00

After a morning at home catching up on correspondence, in the afternoon I met Kate Belinis of CDA for Herts to discuss issues of mutual interest. We covered a lot of ground and reached common ground on most matters including some very practical steps to help improve future collaboration. Perhaps most importantly, we agreed that the Herts voluntary sector needs to pull itself together at county level.

We have many instances of good practice and certainly Ann Jansz is doing a very good job as the VCS’s LAA representative. But as a sector, I have been worried for some time that we are “punching below our weight” - missing out on opportunities and too willing to let others set the agenda. More recently, I have also worried that HCC have lost the knack of dealing with the voluntary sector: symptoms include meetings cancelled, network gatherings not attended, consultation processes by-passed, decisions taken behind closed doors, decisions not communicated, and increasingly defensive responses to criticism. At first, I thought these difficulties arose because HCC staff were overworked, there was a period of internal HCC re-organisation, and issues such as the recession and child protection getting higher priority. But the new culture is in danger of becoming entrenched: something has to change if it’s not all to end in tears. As the voluntary sector’s infrastructure, we should be sorting ourselves out and offering a better lead: we owe this to ourselves, to front-line organisations, to the sector’s beneficiaries, and to those many marginalised groups who use the sector to give themselves a voice. But we also owe it to HCC who have a right to expect us to speak up when we think something’s going wrong.