Monday, 26 May 2008
Jackie and I spent another rainy day at home reading and recharging our batteries.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
After yesterday’s excursions and excitements in the sun, we awoke this morning to heavy rain and stayed in all day. We watched Midsomer Murders - including "The Electric Vendetta", an episode which beautifully subverts the entire detective genre by leaving one murder completely unresolved.
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Lifting and shifting
Today was the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend and the weather forecast warned us to make the most of the sunshine today. So I drove into Watford for 9:00 to help shift some furniture. Diane Lee, the big hearted chair of Watford Community Housing Trust, had arranged for WCVS to inherit some good office furniture from a company that is closing down. So this morning, I was there with others to take whatever we could of this furniture to store at WCVS for the use of any local groups that might need new desks or filing cabinets.
By 1:00 I was back home, exhausted and getting ready for a trip to Watford Palace Theatre for a matinee performance of Alan Bennett’s Kafka’s Dick. This was absolutely superb - the new management team at the Palace Theatre are setting very high standards.
On the return journey, Jackie and I ate at a new Chinese restaurant in Hatfield and this too was also excellent. Sadly, but the time we arrived home, the weather was too gusty to sit outside.
Today was the Saturday of a bank holiday weekend and the weather forecast warned us to make the most of the sunshine today. So I drove into Watford for 9:00 to help shift some furniture. Diane Lee, the big hearted chair of Watford Community Housing Trust, had arranged for WCVS to inherit some good office furniture from a company that is closing down. So this morning, I was there with others to take whatever we could of this furniture to store at WCVS for the use of any local groups that might need new desks or filing cabinets.
By 1:00 I was back home, exhausted and getting ready for a trip to Watford Palace Theatre for a matinee performance of Alan Bennett’s Kafka’s Dick. This was absolutely superb - the new management team at the Palace Theatre are setting very high standards.
On the return journey, Jackie and I ate at a new Chinese restaurant in Hatfield and this too was also excellent. Sadly, but the time we arrived home, the weather was too gusty to sit outside.
Friday, 23 May 2008
I arrived at the office this morning with three “must do” tasks: complete my expense claim, complete a presentation on the voluntary sector and emergency planning, and complete our second and final submission for the NAVCA quality award, and
Surprisingly, I completed these tasks with perfect timing to then meet with our three Connexions Personal Advisors and talk about measuring progression.
King Alfred
For once (hurrah!) I arrived home at a sensible time. Jackie had prepared a sumptuous feast and asked me to supervise the rice while she had a quick bath. A bare twenty-five minutes later I was throwing away a completely ruined saucepan while Jackie started afresh with the rice. Lucky for me, Jackie sees the funny side of things.
Surprisingly, I completed these tasks with perfect timing to then meet with our three Connexions Personal Advisors and talk about measuring progression.
King Alfred
For once (hurrah!) I arrived home at a sensible time. Jackie had prepared a sumptuous feast and asked me to supervise the rice while she had a quick bath. A bare twenty-five minutes later I was throwing away a completely ruined saucepan while Jackie started afresh with the rice. Lucky for me, Jackie sees the funny side of things.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
A busy day
Steph Gallagher visited me this morning as she is collating core information on the new regional plan for voluntary sector infrastructure. This was something of a review of the past year or two at the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium: how have we fared at Enabling? Influencing? Improving communications? Addressing issues of Rurality and Equality?
At lunchtime, I attended a meeting of the steering group for the research project into local mental health needs undertaken jointly by the Guidepost Trust and Watford Asian Community Care. There was agreement that the findings of the research should be launched alongside the WOWf AGM, and there was also agreement that the steering group should continue as an ongoing forum to discuss issues about access to mental health services in south west Herts.
Shortly after, I was joined by Althea McLean OBE to talk about the Watford African Caribbean Association.
In the evening, Ethel Bangwayo travelled over from Stevenage to give a presentation on the Herts LAA to the Watford One World forum. I was delighted by the turnout - including several new groups - a really good event.
After the meeting, there was much informal networking. As this was winding down and the last people were leaving, I found myself talking with Sachdev Seyan of the Watford Indian Association. Sachdev is a lovely man of great intelligence and passion, and I wanted to catch up with him. Being an animal lover, I first checked the office for any stray donkeys because when Sachdev talks, donkeys fear for their hind legs. But he has a great deal of knowledge and it was well worth the time I invested: I finally left the office at about 10:00 pm.
Steph Gallagher visited me this morning as she is collating core information on the new regional plan for voluntary sector infrastructure. This was something of a review of the past year or two at the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium: how have we fared at Enabling? Influencing? Improving communications? Addressing issues of Rurality and Equality?
At lunchtime, I attended a meeting of the steering group for the research project into local mental health needs undertaken jointly by the Guidepost Trust and Watford Asian Community Care. There was agreement that the findings of the research should be launched alongside the WOWf AGM, and there was also agreement that the steering group should continue as an ongoing forum to discuss issues about access to mental health services in south west Herts.
Shortly after, I was joined by Althea McLean OBE to talk about the Watford African Caribbean Association.
In the evening, Ethel Bangwayo travelled over from Stevenage to give a presentation on the Herts LAA to the Watford One World forum. I was delighted by the turnout - including several new groups - a really good event.
After the meeting, there was much informal networking. As this was winding down and the last people were leaving, I found myself talking with Sachdev Seyan of the Watford Indian Association. Sachdev is a lovely man of great intelligence and passion, and I wanted to catch up with him. Being an animal lover, I first checked the office for any stray donkeys because when Sachdev talks, donkeys fear for their hind legs. But he has a great deal of knowledge and it was well worth the time I invested: I finally left the office at about 10:00 pm.
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
This morning I had a gentle start beginning with an 11:00 meeting with the PCT in Welwyn Garden City to discuss the future funding and co-ordination of community transport schemes in South West Herts. Also present were Mark Mitchell (of Voluntary Action Dacorum), Anne Donato (Hertsmere Community Wheels), David Neilan (HCC) and Margaret Folan (PCT). Mark, Anne and I agreed on the need to continue meeting to co-ordinate our efforts across South West Herts.
After the meeting, I bought Mark lunch and we talked through options for the tender process of HCC’s Local Information Network to support the PCT: there is a lot to consider.
After the meeting, I bought Mark lunch and we talked through options for the tender process of HCC’s Local Information Network to support the PCT: there is a lot to consider.
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
I started today in Letchworth for a meeting for the Herts CVS group where (by general acclaim) Laura Cronshaw has succeeded Ian Richardson in the chair. Ian has done a marvellous job with his gentle inclusive style and I am sure that Laura will do just as splendidly.
At this particular meeting, among many other things we discussed and abandoned plans to move to the Volbase sharehub for the county. Good. There are far more important things to worry about at this point.
Back in Watford, I met briefly with Sha-Lee (on CRM) and Hema (on our BME Advocacy project) and then put in a long evening catching up on correspondence and finalising a leaflet to promote our new BME advocacy service.
At this particular meeting, among many other things we discussed and abandoned plans to move to the Volbase sharehub for the county. Good. There are far more important things to worry about at this point.
Back in Watford, I met briefly with Sha-Lee (on CRM) and Hema (on our BME Advocacy project) and then put in a long evening catching up on correspondence and finalising a leaflet to promote our new BME advocacy service.
Monday, 19 May 2008
Today I had another long drive to Cambridge Regional College for the ReaLM course there. Wendy, our usual tutor, was joined by Tricia, who led us through an introduction to Project Management. Within the voluntary sector, we should of course understand project management methodology but we must be careful not to take it too seriously or nothing would ever get done.
Tricia seems to have access to far more exercises and handouts and there was rather more purpose and direction to the session; I felt sorry for Wendy.
Tricia seems to have access to far more exercises and handouts and there was rather more purpose and direction to the session; I felt sorry for Wendy.
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Over breakfast, Jackie and I discovered the root cause of yesterday’s cacophony in the garden: the starlings are fledging. This morning, young starlings (greyer and fluffier and plumper than adults) flew down to feed on our lawn. But instead of pecking at the seed, they just screamed to demand food and adults put seeds into their beaks just to keep them quiet. I know how they felt. But gradually the adults ignored the screams and within fifteen minutes or so the youngsters were pecking away alongside the adults.
We visited Ayot St Peter and finally managed to get inside St Peter's Church to discover that the interior is not nearly so interesting as the exterior suggests. I was very tempted to stay and see the Communion Service conducted using the Book of Common Prayer. Instead we visited St Mary’s at Welwyn: it is now virtually impossible to discern anything of the original structure, but it was interesting to see the modern extension and there was an impression here of an active church at the heart of its local community.
We visited Ayot St Peter and finally managed to get inside St Peter's Church to discover that the interior is not nearly so interesting as the exterior suggests. I was very tempted to stay and see the Communion Service conducted using the Book of Common Prayer. Instead we visited St Mary’s at Welwyn: it is now virtually impossible to discern anything of the original structure, but it was interesting to see the modern extension and there was an impression here of an active church at the heart of its local community.
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Jackie and I laid a path the length of our garden. The birds were making such a noise all day.
In the evening we ate with my Mum and heard about her recent adventures in Scotland (including the Shetland and the Orkneys) visiting friends and exploring her Scottish heritage. My Mum’s intrepid nature extends into the kitchen and on some unknown date in the 1970s she made a vow to always include fruit in every main course. I don't know why. But any dinner invitation excites much speculation and we have enjoyed some fascinating dishes (venison and peach was a recent delight) and today we were presented with scallops, black pudding and caramelised apple. It was delicious and I thoroughly recommend it.
Mum told us the mystery of her aunt who left Glasgow for London during WW2 and simply disappeared. The family have always assumed she was killed in a bombing raid but they have never known.
In the evening we ate with my Mum and heard about her recent adventures in Scotland (including the Shetland and the Orkneys) visiting friends and exploring her Scottish heritage. My Mum’s intrepid nature extends into the kitchen and on some unknown date in the 1970s she made a vow to always include fruit in every main course. I don't know why. But any dinner invitation excites much speculation and we have enjoyed some fascinating dishes (venison and peach was a recent delight) and today we were presented with scallops, black pudding and caramelised apple. It was delicious and I thoroughly recommend it.
Mum told us the mystery of her aunt who left Glasgow for London during WW2 and simply disappeared. The family have always assumed she was killed in a bombing raid but they have never known.
Friday, 16 May 2008
By lunchtime I had finalised and sent by e-mail our May newsletter, an e-bulletin promoting our 22 Watford One World forum meeting on the LAA, and a flyer promoting our 23 June networking lunch on the contribution of older people.
I left the office about 1:30 pm intending to make a 3:00 pm meeting in London, but there was a lorry outside unloading and blocking my exit and by the time I escaped it was too late to drive to WGC and catch the train. I started heading into London but the traffic soon got the better of me and I instead called in my apologies and drove home. It was a rare treat to be home by 4:00 pm on a Friday.
I got to hear our daily 4:00 pm telephone call. Every weekday for several weeks (months?), our home phone has rung at precisely 4:00 pm. There is never anyone on the other end of the line. I suspect it is a marketing companies with a computer that automatically dials random telephone numbers. Maybe the computer on the 4:00 pm shift is secretly in love with one of our household goods and keeps trying to make contact?
I left the office about 1:30 pm intending to make a 3:00 pm meeting in London, but there was a lorry outside unloading and blocking my exit and by the time I escaped it was too late to drive to WGC and catch the train. I started heading into London but the traffic soon got the better of me and I instead called in my apologies and drove home. It was a rare treat to be home by 4:00 pm on a Friday.
I got to hear our daily 4:00 pm telephone call. Every weekday for several weeks (months?), our home phone has rung at precisely 4:00 pm. There is never anyone on the other end of the line. I suspect it is a marketing companies with a computer that automatically dials random telephone numbers. Maybe the computer on the 4:00 pm shift is secretly in love with one of our household goods and keeps trying to make contact?
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Most of the day I spent on correspondence, preparing mailings, and working on IT stuff. I completed two new draft policies - too late to table at tonight's Trustees meeting but I sent them off to my Chair for her comments.
I spoke briefly with Anne Clark and Colin Workman about the Sunflower Centre’s website. We have been told there is some money available for us to develop the website, and we have now had several discussions about the project. But we still don’t know how much money is available and when it will be released. Meanwhile, sunflowerherts.org just carries an “under construction” notice.
My trustees met this evening. Pam, rushing from a PCT meeting, delivered another masterclass in chairing. The meeting considered new policies, discussed financial reports, took decisions, and made commitments for the future. I hope I never take them for granted - they are all wonderful and help make my job a real pleasure.
I spoke briefly with Anne Clark and Colin Workman about the Sunflower Centre’s website. We have been told there is some money available for us to develop the website, and we have now had several discussions about the project. But we still don’t know how much money is available and when it will be released. Meanwhile, sunflowerherts.org just carries an “under construction” notice.
My trustees met this evening. Pam, rushing from a PCT meeting, delivered another masterclass in chairing. The meeting considered new policies, discussed financial reports, took decisions, and made commitments for the future. I hope I never take them for granted - they are all wonderful and help make my job a real pleasure.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
My morning meeting was postponed and I was thankful for the chance to work on our application for the NVCA quality standard. I think we are very nearly there but there are still one or two areas where it is difficult to identify the right sort of evidence.
In the afternoon I went to County Hall in Hertford for a meeting of the Herts Volunteers Emergency Committee. This is a loose alliance of volunteer groups who can work with statutory agencies in the event of a major civil emergency in the county.
All the groups represented around the table are perfectly solid and respectable and experts in their field: the Red Cross, Samaritans, Victim Support, St Albans Diocese.
But there is still something wrong with this HCC-led forum: there is no over-arching strategy shaping the voluntary sector’s engagement, there is no gaps analysis, no efforts to engage with new agencies, and no co-ordination between this and the many other areas of voluntary sector engagement with statutory agencies.
I was pleased that David Fitzpatrick was there from the Hertfordshire Community Foundation and we made many of the same points. I think I sensed some uncomfortable shuffling. We shall see.
I suspect there was also some uncomfortable shuffling at Watford FC as their season ended in an ignominious 6-1 aggregate defeat to Hull City. Ouch.
In the afternoon I went to County Hall in Hertford for a meeting of the Herts Volunteers Emergency Committee. This is a loose alliance of volunteer groups who can work with statutory agencies in the event of a major civil emergency in the county.
All the groups represented around the table are perfectly solid and respectable and experts in their field: the Red Cross, Samaritans, Victim Support, St Albans Diocese.
But there is still something wrong with this HCC-led forum: there is no over-arching strategy shaping the voluntary sector’s engagement, there is no gaps analysis, no efforts to engage with new agencies, and no co-ordination between this and the many other areas of voluntary sector engagement with statutory agencies.
I was pleased that David Fitzpatrick was there from the Hertfordshire Community Foundation and we made many of the same points. I think I sensed some uncomfortable shuffling. We shall see.
I suspect there was also some uncomfortable shuffling at Watford FC as their season ended in an ignominious 6-1 aggregate defeat to Hull City. Ouch.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
This morning, I put in 90 minutes at the office and then drove to Hemel Hempstead for a 9:30 meeting with Mohamed Fawzi and Saud Hafiz. Back at WCVS I met briefly with Jay Gaglani about next week’s One World forum meeting.
The rest of my day was devoted to correspondence: I read c 100 e-mails and sent about 25 including offering advice to several local groups, sharing information, arranging meetings etc. I suppose we tolerate e-mail because we know it is actually a pretty effective communication tool.
While on the subject of communication, I am increasingly depressed by the language used in the voluntary sector. When people write about sustainability they nearly always mean commercialisation - with the implication that charities could pay their way if we just stopped bleating on for handouts and jolly well pulled our socks up.
When people write about modernisation they usually mean centralisation - with the implication that there are too many voluntary groups and we should just stop playing silly buggers and organise proper hierarchies to fulfil some bureaucrat's crazed masterplan.
In the evening I read through a draft report from some research into mental health services in Watford for women from south Asia. I made copious notes to feedback to the authors - I do hope they appreciate them!
The rest of my day was devoted to correspondence: I read c 100 e-mails and sent about 25 including offering advice to several local groups, sharing information, arranging meetings etc. I suppose we tolerate e-mail because we know it is actually a pretty effective communication tool.
While on the subject of communication, I am increasingly depressed by the language used in the voluntary sector. When people write about sustainability they nearly always mean commercialisation - with the implication that charities could pay their way if we just stopped bleating on for handouts and jolly well pulled our socks up.
When people write about modernisation they usually mean centralisation - with the implication that there are too many voluntary groups and we should just stop playing silly buggers and organise proper hierarchies to fulfil some bureaucrat's crazed masterplan.
In the evening I read through a draft report from some research into mental health services in Watford for women from south Asia. I made copious notes to feedback to the authors - I do hope they appreciate them!
Monday, 12 May 2008
Jackie and I had breakfast together in the garden and saw that our regular birds (starlings, blackbirds, pigeons, robins and the occasional thrush or tit) have now been joined by two enormous hooded crows (or at least crows with hoods). I spent this morning at home working on our next newsletter. Aged Ken, our decrepit white cat, stayed close by – probably he’s afraid of the crows.
After an early lunch I drove to Cambridge for my ReaLM course. Somehow I took a wrong turn and arrived 30 mins late to find the class already beginning to wind down and soon people were going off to work on their essays. I was a bit frustrated at having driven to Cambridge to find there was nothing happening that I couldn’t have done at home. But the sun was shining and I was pleased not to be shut up in a classroom so I drove home and worked on my essays there.
I am now half way through this course and so far I don’t feel that I’ve been challenged much. Our tutor is perfectly lovely, but she is coping with a very mixed group from the private and voluntary sectors and doesn’t seem to have access to sufficient materials of the right level: some of the materials are fine, but others are very poor. I think the low point was being asked to insert missing words into a sentence as though we were appearing on some bizarre adolescent 1960s TV gameshow. Or possibly when we were asked to discern the difference between opinion (“this is the worst England team ever”) and fact (“Bobby Charlton scored 49 goals for England”). Are we dumming down? The more I see of modern learning, the less I like it.
Sunday, 11 May 2008
I don’t like to complain but it was a little too warm today - hard to believe that we had snow only a month ago. Jackie and I spent the day in the garden doing as little as possible and longing for a paddling pool.
Saturday, 10 May 2008
The weather was beautifully warm and Jackie and I drove to Watford Junction so (my son) Bobby could catch the train back to Brighton. In the afternoon, we looked after granddaughter Bethany and took her for a walk in the woods to see the last of the bluebells - plus spiders, tiny caterpillers and a spectacular display of cowslips.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Of the targets I set myself this week, the most important was to circulate papers for next week’s Trustees Meeting. By the time I arrived at work at 8:00 this morning I had made little progress other than sketching out an agenda. So I set about the task with gusto, pausing only for an hour or so around 12:00 to meet with the delightful Robin Charnley, CEO of Hertsmere CVS.
Eventually, about 7:00 I finally finished the papers for the trustees meeting and e-mailed them off. I dropped off a paper copy of everything with Althea MacLean a short while later, and arrived home just after 8:00.
I felt very tired from this past week, having worked nearly fifty hours in four days. I have 2-3 large projects to complete, and then I will become more selfish with my time. Right now, I am just looking forward to enjoying the sun adn the garden over a relaxing weekend.
Eventually, about 7:00 I finally finished the papers for the trustees meeting and e-mailed them off. I dropped off a paper copy of everything with Althea MacLean a short while later, and arrived home just after 8:00.
I felt very tired from this past week, having worked nearly fifty hours in four days. I have 2-3 large projects to complete, and then I will become more selfish with my time. Right now, I am just looking forward to enjoying the sun adn the garden over a relaxing weekend.
Thursday, 8 May, 2008
Too many meetings
I left home shortly after 6:00 am to attend a breakfast meeting of the Watford Chamber of Commerce where I was to talk for a few minutes on the Voluntary Sector, the Community Fund for Watford, Volunteering, the Endowment Challenge and Grassroots Grants. I managed somehow to fit all this into 7 minutes and was rewarded with several expressions of interest from local private companies offering to help with various initiatives.
Back at the office, I met with Phil Ely - a volunteer at the local Betel residence. Betel was formed in Spain and now operates across several continents offering an evangelical Christian approach for those seeking to recover from addictions and homelessness. I was pleased to meet with Phil and hope that we can encourage the Betel group to enter into more partnerships with other local groups.
I then left the office shortly after 1:00 to attend a meeting of the BME Advocacy Service’s Contract Monitoring group at the Development Centre in Wheathamstead. There were perhaps half a dozen present from HCC, including our commissioning manager Jim Hyland and Maggie Woods, HCC’s Head of Achievement and Inclusion.
We discussed staffing for the service, targets, and mapped out a future meeting schedule. The meeting seemed to go very well, although I still have concerns about the targets.
After this, I just had time to pop home to work for an hour on WCVS's next newsletter and then I was back at Wheathamstead at 6:00 for a meeting of the Community Partnership Board helping with the implementation of the service. Several discussions had suggested to me that this might be a difficult meeting, but in fact there were excellent debates, helpful insights, and an amicable consensus on all points.
I returned home about 9:00 feeling very tired.
I left home shortly after 6:00 am to attend a breakfast meeting of the Watford Chamber of Commerce where I was to talk for a few minutes on the Voluntary Sector, the Community Fund for Watford, Volunteering, the Endowment Challenge and Grassroots Grants. I managed somehow to fit all this into 7 minutes and was rewarded with several expressions of interest from local private companies offering to help with various initiatives.
Back at the office, I met with Phil Ely - a volunteer at the local Betel residence. Betel was formed in Spain and now operates across several continents offering an evangelical Christian approach for those seeking to recover from addictions and homelessness. I was pleased to meet with Phil and hope that we can encourage the Betel group to enter into more partnerships with other local groups.
I then left the office shortly after 1:00 to attend a meeting of the BME Advocacy Service’s Contract Monitoring group at the Development Centre in Wheathamstead. There were perhaps half a dozen present from HCC, including our commissioning manager Jim Hyland and Maggie Woods, HCC’s Head of Achievement and Inclusion.
We discussed staffing for the service, targets, and mapped out a future meeting schedule. The meeting seemed to go very well, although I still have concerns about the targets.
After this, I just had time to pop home to work for an hour on WCVS's next newsletter and then I was back at Wheathamstead at 6:00 for a meeting of the Community Partnership Board helping with the implementation of the service. Several discussions had suggested to me that this might be a difficult meeting, but in fact there were excellent debates, helpful insights, and an amicable consensus on all points.
I returned home about 9:00 feeling very tired.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Watford Asian Community Care delivers a range of social and health services for South Asian communities in Watford, Three Rivers and Hertsmere. They have a new CEO in Jayant Tanna and this morning I drove over to the WACC offices to meet with Jayant and learn more about his plans for the future of WACC. I was very impressed with Jayant who seems to be exactly the sort of person that a healthy voluntary sector should aim to attract.
After meeting with Jayant, I hurried back to my own office to meet with John Casstles (our Treasurer) to talk through WCVS’s 2007-08 accounts, bookkeeping systems, investments and financial controls.
I also did some testing on the ICT platform being built for voluntary groups in Watford. There is lots still to do but it is full of promise.
After meeting with Jayant, I hurried back to my own office to meet with John Casstles (our Treasurer) to talk through WCVS’s 2007-08 accounts, bookkeeping systems, investments and financial controls.
I also did some testing on the ICT platform being built for voluntary groups in Watford. There is lots still to do but it is full of promise.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
After being absent for the best part of a week, I returned this morning to a quagmire of 250 unread e-mails - many of which I actually heard screaming for my attention.
I heard from Mary Green, the saintly CEO of Three Rivers CVS, that she is moving on to other things. I’m not sure where this leaves our various joint projects but doubtless things will become clearer in the fullness of time.
Most pressing though, was a telephone call I received from Jacquie Hime expressing her concern that the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium may not be successful in its applications to the Capacitybuilders modernisation fund. We talked through various possible scenarios.
In the morning I also met with Watford Community Housing Trust ahead of next month’s networking lunch on the contribution and needs of older people. We had hoped to be joined by representatives of the Senior Citizens Forum but this did not happen. Nevertheless we had a very good discussion as a result of which WCVS is now trying to organise minibuses and stalls for the lunch.
At lunchtime I was joined by WBC Chief Executive Alastair Robinson to talk about procedures for allocating reward monies frm LAA1. Watford has reasonable expectations of receiving approximately £500k each in 2009-10 and 2010-11 as a government “reward” for its work on the first LAA. A subgroup of the One Watford LSP was charged with drawing up advice on the use of this money. The other members of the subgroup (the PCT and HCC) sent their apologies so Alistair and I enjoyed a clear field. We finally agreed on some very straightforward guidance with which I was extremely pleased - I hope the One Watford LSP is equally enthused.
After reading through 250 e-mails (and even answering some) I left the office about 8:00.
I heard from Mary Green, the saintly CEO of Three Rivers CVS, that she is moving on to other things. I’m not sure where this leaves our various joint projects but doubtless things will become clearer in the fullness of time.
Most pressing though, was a telephone call I received from Jacquie Hime expressing her concern that the Hertfordshire Infrastructure Consortium may not be successful in its applications to the Capacitybuilders modernisation fund. We talked through various possible scenarios.
In the morning I also met with Watford Community Housing Trust ahead of next month’s networking lunch on the contribution and needs of older people. We had hoped to be joined by representatives of the Senior Citizens Forum but this did not happen. Nevertheless we had a very good discussion as a result of which WCVS is now trying to organise minibuses and stalls for the lunch.
At lunchtime I was joined by WBC Chief Executive Alastair Robinson to talk about procedures for allocating reward monies frm LAA1. Watford has reasonable expectations of receiving approximately £500k each in 2009-10 and 2010-11 as a government “reward” for its work on the first LAA. A subgroup of the One Watford LSP was charged with drawing up advice on the use of this money. The other members of the subgroup (the PCT and HCC) sent their apologies so Alistair and I enjoyed a clear field. We finally agreed on some very straightforward guidance with which I was extremely pleased - I hope the One Watford LSP is equally enthused.
After reading through 250 e-mails (and even answering some) I left the office about 8:00.
Monday, 5 May 2008
Yet another pleasant day with Jackie tending the garden.
Recent reading (I know you’re interested)
I tried to read H Rider Haggard’s Ayesha - the return of She. In the cheap omnibus edition I have, the pages are mis-collated so although they are numbered sequentially, they are in fact out of order. For a while I was interested to try and find a pattern in the chaos but if such a pattern exists it has escaped me.
I then read Bertrand Russell’s Inquiry into Meaning and Truth. I am sure I should consider further Russell’s musings on the Hierarchy of Languages and the Law of Excluded Middle. But I couldn’t overcome the thought that people have a very commonsense and utilitarian approach to truth: I believe there is no pattern to the mis-collation of pages in Ayesha because I could not find one and I couldn’t be bothered to look further. It was convenient for me to believe this (or at least to act as if I believed it) so I did. But was it true? Who knows? Who cares?
WHG Kingston was a prolific 19th Century author for the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and wrote dozens of children’s adventure books to promote and nurture a muscular christianity. On the Banks of the Amazon is the tale of a group of British children travelling alone from the Andes to the mouth of the Amazon. My favourite line was: “Sister, hush: I fear you are about to express an opinion; whatever you are about to say it is likely to be wrong.” Lines like this help explain why this book apparently changes hands for $50 on Amazon.
Occasionally I am attracted to books because of their title: recently for example I narrowly resisted a children’s book called The Day My Bum Went Psycho. I was drawn to Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann solely because of the title. But it is a superb book - very thoughtful and courageous. I do recommend it.
Julian Barnes's Arthur and George is another one of those "imagined histories" I find so infuriating. Of its type it is very good, but I must stop reading this particular genre.
Recent reading (I know you’re interested)
I tried to read H Rider Haggard’s Ayesha - the return of She. In the cheap omnibus edition I have, the pages are mis-collated so although they are numbered sequentially, they are in fact out of order. For a while I was interested to try and find a pattern in the chaos but if such a pattern exists it has escaped me.
I then read Bertrand Russell’s Inquiry into Meaning and Truth. I am sure I should consider further Russell’s musings on the Hierarchy of Languages and the Law of Excluded Middle. But I couldn’t overcome the thought that people have a very commonsense and utilitarian approach to truth: I believe there is no pattern to the mis-collation of pages in Ayesha because I could not find one and I couldn’t be bothered to look further. It was convenient for me to believe this (or at least to act as if I believed it) so I did. But was it true? Who knows? Who cares?
WHG Kingston was a prolific 19th Century author for the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and wrote dozens of children’s adventure books to promote and nurture a muscular christianity. On the Banks of the Amazon is the tale of a group of British children travelling alone from the Andes to the mouth of the Amazon. My favourite line was: “Sister, hush: I fear you are about to express an opinion; whatever you are about to say it is likely to be wrong.” Lines like this help explain why this book apparently changes hands for $50 on Amazon.
Occasionally I am attracted to books because of their title: recently for example I narrowly resisted a children’s book called The Day My Bum Went Psycho. I was drawn to Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann solely because of the title. But it is a superb book - very thoughtful and courageous. I do recommend it.
Julian Barnes's Arthur and George is another one of those "imagined histories" I find so infuriating. Of its type it is very good, but I must stop reading this particular genre.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
It was Jackie’s Birthday; after carefully considering options, she decided we should spend the day tending the Garden and then walking in Sherrardspark Woods to see the Bluebells.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
NAVCA CORE meeting in Buxton
I shared breakfast with Everton Blake of Voluntary Action Luton and enjoyed talking with him about our respective CVSs.
NAVCA’s Kevin Curley then kicked off the day with a useful run through current issues and discussions. Most interestingly, he reported that out of 150 local strategic partnerships, 44 have so far chosen National Indicator 6 as one of their 35 stretch targets, whereas 56 have so far chosen National Indicator 7. I found this encouraging and a small vindication of HIC’s decision to champion Indicator 7 in Hertfordshire.
After coffee, I joined a coach trip across the magnificent Peaks for a too-brief visit to High Peaks CVS. I enjoyed the visit but I was sorry to have missed a policy discussion on the future of informal adult learning. After returning to Buxton, I joined a workshop on leadership led by Dave Carr of NAVCA. This was superb - good information and opportunities to compare tactics and strategies with colleagues from around the country.
This was a good note on which to end the conference. I had a little confusion with the hotel over my bill and was hugely grateful to the NAVCA team for helping to resolve things.
All in all, I found the conference extremely helpful. All the keynote speakers were good, and most of the workshops were useful. I suppose I would have enjoyed more opportunities to share experiences with colleagues but I did have lots of informal discussions.
Jackie and I sped off and the weather was beautiful. We stopped off at the picture-postcard village of Tissington where each Ascension Week they decorate the village’s six wells and raise money for charity. They attract 50,000 visitors each year and this was the first day of its 2008 Well Dressing. It was a lovely experience - although claims that the tradition goes back to the 14th Century plague are a little fanciful.
We had time to halt briefly for a stroll at Dove Dale and then we arrived back in Welwyn Garden City just in time to vote in the local elections.
I shared breakfast with Everton Blake of Voluntary Action Luton and enjoyed talking with him about our respective CVSs.
NAVCA’s Kevin Curley then kicked off the day with a useful run through current issues and discussions. Most interestingly, he reported that out of 150 local strategic partnerships, 44 have so far chosen National Indicator 6 as one of their 35 stretch targets, whereas 56 have so far chosen National Indicator 7. I found this encouraging and a small vindication of HIC’s decision to champion Indicator 7 in Hertfordshire.
After coffee, I joined a coach trip across the magnificent Peaks for a too-brief visit to High Peaks CVS. I enjoyed the visit but I was sorry to have missed a policy discussion on the future of informal adult learning. After returning to Buxton, I joined a workshop on leadership led by Dave Carr of NAVCA. This was superb - good information and opportunities to compare tactics and strategies with colleagues from around the country.
This was a good note on which to end the conference. I had a little confusion with the hotel over my bill and was hugely grateful to the NAVCA team for helping to resolve things.
All in all, I found the conference extremely helpful. All the keynote speakers were good, and most of the workshops were useful. I suppose I would have enjoyed more opportunities to share experiences with colleagues but I did have lots of informal discussions.
Jackie and I sped off and the weather was beautiful. We stopped off at the picture-postcard village of Tissington where each Ascension Week they decorate the village’s six wells and raise money for charity. They attract 50,000 visitors each year and this was the first day of its 2008 Well Dressing. It was a lovely experience - although claims that the tradition goes back to the 14th Century plague are a little fanciful.
We had time to halt briefly for a stroll at Dove Dale and then we arrived back in Welwyn Garden City just in time to vote in the local elections.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
NAVCA CORE meeting in Buxton
The first speaker today was Debra Allcock Tyler of the Directory of Social Change. I had developed a prejudice against Debra after reading in Third Sector magazine that she occasionally took her dog to work. She chose to build her 45 minute speech on leadership around Rudyard Kipling’s “If …” Debra was engaging, funny, insightful, and occasionally hard-hitting. It could have been a disaster, but it was a triumph and a great start to the conference.
Debra was a horrible act to follow. Catherine Johnstone, acting CEO at Capacitybuilders, bravely took to the podium next. CVSs should be the ChangeUp programme’s biggest natural allies. But the programme has been beset by problems: basic misjudgments in government have produced impossible timetables and targets, resulting failure, and many now question the ability of Capacitybuilder’s to manage the programme successfully.
Catherine explained that Capacitybuilders “is not a Third Sector Organisation but a Non-Departmental Government Body” and she detailed a few of the problems that Capacitybuilders has had to cope with. But wisely she did not try to defend past performance she described as “over-promising and under-achieving”. Instead, she pleaded for time and support to get the process right.
Clearly Catherine is One Of The Good Guys and deserves the sector’s support while Capacitybuilders works to live down its past, establish new Governance standards, and deliver on its potential.
Over the lunch break I spoke briefly with the guys on the Volbase desk: it wasn't encouraging.
The first workshop after lunch was on Performance led by Tim Wilson of the Charities Evaluation Service. I was disappointed as it didn’t cover any new ground. Then I attended a workshop on Income Generation led by Seb Elsworth of Acevo. This was billed as an “Organisational Development Workshop” but it felt less like a learning opportunity and more like an inquisition. It was really a consultation about how Acevo can best discharge its new responsibilities leading the National Support Service for income generation. I am pleased to take part in consultations but it’s nice to be warned in advance.
At 5:00 there was a further session on the new Local Involvement Networks for PCTs being rolled out. Across the country, the experience of local voluntary organisations has not been good. Hertfordshire appears to be one of the last counties to sort out its services. In the discussion there were clear lessons for Hertfordshire and I hope there is an early chance for discussions with other CVSs in the County.
At 6:15 I met up again with Jackie who had spent a pleasant day travelling by bus to Bakewell. For the conference, the highlight of the evening was the evening meal in the High Peaks ballroom. Jackie and I peeked in the ballroom but the lighting was poor (which I dislike intensely) and we knew from experience that the food was likely to be worse. We went out and ate out in Buxton.
The first speaker today was Debra Allcock Tyler of the Directory of Social Change. I had developed a prejudice against Debra after reading in Third Sector magazine that she occasionally took her dog to work. She chose to build her 45 minute speech on leadership around Rudyard Kipling’s “If …” Debra was engaging, funny, insightful, and occasionally hard-hitting. It could have been a disaster, but it was a triumph and a great start to the conference.
Debra was a horrible act to follow. Catherine Johnstone, acting CEO at Capacitybuilders, bravely took to the podium next. CVSs should be the ChangeUp programme’s biggest natural allies. But the programme has been beset by problems: basic misjudgments in government have produced impossible timetables and targets, resulting failure, and many now question the ability of Capacitybuilder’s to manage the programme successfully.
Catherine explained that Capacitybuilders “is not a Third Sector Organisation but a Non-Departmental Government Body” and she detailed a few of the problems that Capacitybuilders has had to cope with. But wisely she did not try to defend past performance she described as “over-promising and under-achieving”. Instead, she pleaded for time and support to get the process right.
Clearly Catherine is One Of The Good Guys and deserves the sector’s support while Capacitybuilders works to live down its past, establish new Governance standards, and deliver on its potential.
Over the lunch break I spoke briefly with the guys on the Volbase desk: it wasn't encouraging.
The first workshop after lunch was on Performance led by Tim Wilson of the Charities Evaluation Service. I was disappointed as it didn’t cover any new ground. Then I attended a workshop on Income Generation led by Seb Elsworth of Acevo. This was billed as an “Organisational Development Workshop” but it felt less like a learning opportunity and more like an inquisition. It was really a consultation about how Acevo can best discharge its new responsibilities leading the National Support Service for income generation. I am pleased to take part in consultations but it’s nice to be warned in advance.
At 5:00 there was a further session on the new Local Involvement Networks for PCTs being rolled out. Across the country, the experience of local voluntary organisations has not been good. Hertfordshire appears to be one of the last counties to sort out its services. In the discussion there were clear lessons for Hertfordshire and I hope there is an early chance for discussions with other CVSs in the County.
At 6:15 I met up again with Jackie who had spent a pleasant day travelling by bus to Bakewell. For the conference, the highlight of the evening was the evening meal in the High Peaks ballroom. Jackie and I peeked in the ballroom but the lighting was poor (which I dislike intensely) and we knew from experience that the food was likely to be worse. We went out and ate out in Buxton.
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
At 7:30 in the morning I was looking at office furniture. We have received several offers of some pretty decent office furniture that could be of great help to some local groups. The complicated bit of course is to recover the furniture from corporate offices, store it temporarily, and then deliver it into the offices of small local groups. Can this be successfully organised?
By 9:00, Jackie and I were on our way to Buxton where I was to attend NAVCA’s Chief Officers Residential Event. We arrived in Buxton at lunchtime, checked into our room at the Barcelo Palace Hotel and spent the afternoon exploring Buxton. Back at the hotel, we attempted the Hotel’s evening meal but it was poor stuff - Terrine of Ham with Dijon Pickle turned out to be little more than Spam and Piccalilli.
By 9:00, Jackie and I were on our way to Buxton where I was to attend NAVCA’s Chief Officers Residential Event. We arrived in Buxton at lunchtime, checked into our room at the Barcelo Palace Hotel and spent the afternoon exploring Buxton. Back at the hotel, we attempted the Hotel’s evening meal but it was poor stuff - Terrine of Ham with Dijon Pickle turned out to be little more than Spam and Piccalilli.
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