Monday, 20 October 2008

Watford CVS has held some very successful networking lunches but numbers are always variable. Today, despite much effort, just 25 of us gathered for a consultation exercise on the Watford Community Plan (which the government now insists we call a "Sustainable Community Strategy").

It is not always possible to influence who turns up; all one can do is ones best for those that do make the effort to turn up at a particular event. Those that came today were rewarded by some very informative talks from Emma Gadsby and Rachel Dawson of WBC and from Ethel Bangwayo (with Herts-wide responsibility for engaging the voluntary sector with the LAA). It was very worthwhile to give people a chance to contribute to the shaping of plans for Watford.

One welcome attendee was our Mayor Dorothy Thornhill. She is genuinely and truly committed to community events and whenever she attends, I instinctively think “how lovely, but I mustn’t take advantage of her by making her give a talk”. I think of this as being considerate, courteous, even gallant. But of course everyone expects their Mayor to “say a few words”; and indeed she does it so supremely well that I think secretly she might rather enjoy it.