Have yourself a merry little Christmas

In the words of Robert Falcon Scott - "it's getting really cold now so this may be my last message" as I am away for Christmas. A cool yule and a restive festive to everyone who reads this blog. I accepted a speaking engagement for january and the confirming letter contained the following:-

"It is good to speak to you yesterday and from your blog you are clearly a rennaisanse man"

Proves that someone reads it anyway...as far as our sign of lyric reference is concerned check this out (bet Bing Corosby would be shitting himself if he were still alive) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv_-jO4o5Xo

See you in 2008

The Goose is getting fat

Today I take off on the morning run with the dog as soon as it gets light. It is very verycold and one of those days where you have to 'hit the road' before your brain kicks into gear (if you thought about it too much you wouldn't do it).

I arrive at work and brief members of our Board on how the next financial year looks and some of the real uncertainties created by thre delayed Comprehensive Spending Review and the change from Neighbourhood Renewal to whatever funding stream will kick in after April 08. It is all very uncertain and the most frustrating thing is that there is not a lot we can do to reduce that uncertainty. A go upstairs to find a new computer waiting for me ready and waiting. This is good news as the old one simply died and was going so slowly I have had to work from home to send e-mails.

Onwards to the Christmas team meal at the Bridge Community Centre. It is a fairly rare occassion all being in the same place at the same time and makes me realise what a really nice group of people I work with. It is such a diverse group of personalities, backgrounds and outlooks but all the better for it. We have a pleasant meal and drift away in stages as some have meetings, others have work and a couple have elected to go Xmas shopping (don't know which is worse as the Town is packed at the moment). I decide that the blog will fall into disuse and not be read unless I get back to regular updates and am sitting here for a good catch up.

HVA's volunteer organiser made a request for a Led Zeppelin track so here is a classic track taken from their reunion comeback concert a few days ago - happy christmas Rose http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G_JTMuHOQk

I fought the law and the law won

A reminder of a previous life as I agree to respresent one of our members at an Employment Tribunal. They are up against a barrister and quite a large law firm so the odds seemed unfair. It is a fascinating if stressful day as I cross examine a witness in detail for over 4 hours. I was a little rusty to begin with but old skills do return and after 3 hours the tribunal make a preliminary determination in our favour.

I'm back...as a matter of fact I'm back

It seems an absolute age since I caught up with myself – blogging wise – and much to report on. Firstly a few days off sees a quick trip to the Czech Republic where I visit the truly beautiful city of Prague with Sue which is simply lovely. I learn much about the history of its Jewish Quarter and about the tragedy of the years of communism from 2 superb guides. I began the days with a run in a local park – weather is not bad (a bit like we left in England). On my return it is a trip to the Brighton Centre to see the Kings of Leon who play a really great set although at just over 1hour and 10 minutes it could have been longer for my £25 quid but there you go.

Workwise things are as busy as ever as I attend the Local Strategic Partnership to try and convince partners that some of the community engagement stuff is among the most important things they do and must be preserved in the new (post NRF) regime. Basically, the Borough Council had planned on the basis that Hastings would no longer feature among the most deprived parts of the Country and, as a consequence, would not be in receipt of the funding this status brings. Both HVA and the Community Network had argued otherwise and were proved right when the indices of deprivation were published. It is a strange state of affairs as, now there is actually money to spend, the Council and LSP seem not to have anticipated how they will actually manage the process. There is much scratching of heads and the forming of a small sub-group to take things forward but 2 months has effectively been wasted since I presented the paper to the Executive Delivery Group time which could have been put to good use given that jobs are at risk. One would have thought that approaching this problem someone would have evaluated all the possible options, looked at the most likely and built some contingencies to be enacted which come into play when a situation arises. However the plan which went to Cabinet assumed only one eventuality which is strange rather like p[laying a game of chess assuming that your opponent will only make 1 move. (memo to self: offer to play Roy Mawford at Chess for money!!).

Onwards to a telephone interview where with the Borough Council and Hastings Trust we describe the community assets transfer bid in detail. This has been assembled in short order but the result looks like it could get through. There is detailed questioning which we make our way through. Our performance hits the right note and we are given the clearest possible indication that the bid will make it through to the next stage.

a grand year for babies and quiz panel games

Onto the Pig in Paradise for the interagency quiz. The HVA 'A' Team is depleted as Peter has to be out of Town for a few days. We come fourth but the HVA 'B' team ('B' in this instance is standing for Better of course) storm to an emphatic victory. So well done Fran, John and James.

I need no sympathy

An interesting fact:-

Messages of support arising from Blog entry about Steve's running injury 0
Messages of support arising from Blog entry about Louis the cats injury 15

Makes you think doesn't it?

Hit it Freddie... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nTheG--2NE0

communicate to the masses

The lyric reference is, of course REM's Radio Song and marks the fact that each week at HVA starts with a communications meeting when John, our Information Worker, and I brief each other on issues coming up, requests to communicate (or be communicated with) and how to manage this complex process. At the moment we are in membership-drive mode as the entire HVA membership are providing us with their annual returns. I then move on to the 543 e-mails waiting in my in-box most of which are attempting to sell me viagra which appear to be getting under our SPAM detection radar at the moment.

Saturday's meeting of the Church and Community seminar was a lively discussion and representatives from local churches discuss ways in which they could make a difference in their local community. I think it was useful for HVA to be there encouraging their effort but also identifying some potential pitfalls. There is talk of a large garden project with one of the community centres together with some other initiatives.

As for today, the e-mails take up a bit of time but I pick up an interesting case from one of our members threatened with legal action over business rate payments. This group recently won multiple awards at the Towns Achievments centre and is much support for their work within the Local Authority. Unfortunately they are having difficulty getting added to the Local Authorities list of discretionary rate relief charities. We intervene by writing to the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council urging flexibility and support to overcome what appears to be a minor technical issue. As I hand deliver a copy of my letter to the group I see the mayor arrive proving that they know how to gather political support for their cause.

Signing off now to the strains of Michael Stipe singing our lyric reference http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nNPv7jJmibs.

Your Fruits in Season

A catch-up day today with back to back meetings with Peter, our funding adviser, Rose, our Volunteer Centre organiser and the Chair and Manager of the Community Fruit and Veg project which gives me the link to our Lyric reference today. This comes from an obscure Stone Roses 'b' side but here are the boys singing one of their more familier tunes http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bHMVAKDao

We talk AGMs and accounts and the kind of stuff which organisatins need to have in place to be effective. They are ideal candidates fora PQASSO Quality Assurance framework as this will guide them through the basics and enable them to see the work they have ahead of them. I like this project which is a social enterprise delivering low cost fruit and veg and the uptake of the 5-a-day mentality in some of the most deprived communities in the UK. But whatever the ethos there also needs to be some firm business planning sense here as well as, quite apart from all the good intentions they are also flogging a commodity which goes off in 2-3 days. So their stock control, pricing and distribution has to be spot on. Anyway Neil the new cooprinator is offered support and has Louise as his Chair who ran the PULSE project and is one of the best project planners in the local area. HVA are also chipping in by employing the staff andn handling the money until they are robust enough to float off into a CIC (Community Interest Company).

Am working tomorrow at a Church and Community seminar tomorow some am taking the rest of the day off to compensate, get pummled into shape by Sean and then walk the dog. What with cats, community asset transfers, casework and all it has seemed a bit of a long week.

By the way yesterday's episode with the cat set us back £260 - I don't mind you kind of buy into such costs when you own pets - but if you see someone chasing a badger along the road wielding a baseball bat and swearing - it'll be me. (must remember to ban the badger protection society from the membership of HVA!!)

We need each others business

Lyric reference is from the oft forgotton Ohio New Wave band from the 70's DEVO - ah whatever happened to them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxH39QlRuhg. Anyway, today we drum up cross sector cooperation and corporate social responsibility by attending the Borough's Let's Do Business Exhibition which is the collection of about 130 businesses packed into the Hastings Centre. It is hot and humid but I do good business both for the Sussex Community Foundation whose stand I staff with Janet their corporate liaison person and also drum up support for our volunteering project. Basically, if we can pursuade employers to look at a persons skills rather than just the paid work they have done in the past more people can move from volunteering into employment. And so it proves during the day as business leaders seem to grasp the common sense of what we are saying and start to sign up. So we have the beginnings of a diverse network of private sector businesses to join the happy band of public sector employers who are already on board.

I also catch up with a range of people I have not seen in ages including some of the young people from Saxon Mount School who I ran the marathon for last year.

What else. Of course, big drama last night with a late night mercy dash to the vet where our cat Louis has an emergency operation. Attacked by a psychopathic badger last night he is destined to lose part of his foot. Why are badgers portrayed in childrens books as soft and cuddly gentle creatures when in fact they are horrible flea ridden psychotics like Norman Bates ready to pounce on a defenceless little cat, barely out of kittenhood, - poor thing.

Today Louis looks very sorry for himself but is back home with us after his stay in animal hospital. He is snoozing on Holly's bed with a bandage bigger than his entire body and one of those strange collers to stop him licking the affected area compromising both his movement - and I suspect - his dignity.

My own injury - which pales into insignificance compared to the cats has a name. I am suffering from Piriformis Syndrome which is a pain in the arse - both metaphorically and literally. Tomorrow I am being pummled and manipulated by Sean the ex pro rugby playing irishman who does stirling work as my sports physiotherapist/oesteopath and no doubt will test how much pain I can tolerate for my £25 quid.

your body will be injured

The lyric reference is the Black Eyed Peas and describes my present physical state. The running seems to have taken its toll and I am suffering from a nagging injury which seems to have had no apparent cause. This, combined with the cold weather has kept me off the road, as it were, for the past couple of days. To compensate I go to the gym and do a 30 minute session on the rowing maching yesterday which basically means I ache in both my arms and my legs!

What else? stage 2 of the decorating is now complete and the living room is almost finished. I always believe that every long and boring job should be accompanied by something to listen to so I have downloaded the entire Presidential Commission Report on 9/11 - all 20 hours of it which I have been listening to botgh at home and via the ipod. Fascinating stuff it is too. At work I am full steam ahead on the Community Assets Transfer stuff and spend some time drafting a partnership agreement to define the respective roles of HVA, the Council and Seaspace in bringing this to fruition. If all goes to plan a freehold building could be transferred to HVA with up to £1m to fully redesign and refurbish it. If all doesn't go to plan? well no one could say we didn't try!!

Walking the dog feels a bit easier on the injured back so maybe things are returning back to normal - must see Sean my sports therapist and oesteopath to see what he thinks. Here is our lyric band playing one of the greatest hits - enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0EoyTdtFac

We can kick like a mule it's a real mean team

Rose, our volunteer organiser, will apreciate our lyric reference today which is from the thin white duke (Mr Bowie). Rose is a real fan and not without justification. Here he is playing a live version of a song more associated with Mott the Hoople and also, as it happens, the first single I ever bought when I was 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7uwbjYSaYY.

Anyway, the team in question is the HVA team and we had an awayday which looked at performance and measuring impact. Jill and Fran have done a good job to facilitate the day which starts with a warm up quiz about HVA and its staff. My score is both worrying for me (and perhaps even more so for the team!). At this rate I may lose my place on the HVA inter-agency quiz squad. According to performance on the quiz Jan should be director of HVA and I should be making the tea!!


The day is a bit weird in that, as ever, I was chasing my tail and had to go, dash away, and then dash back for the end. It was also the day I presented my alternative view of the community engagement world to the meeting of the public service chiefs execs at which I argue for concerted partner activity to save the best of what we have in Hastings. The comprehensive spending review is occupying a lot of thought but I achieve a primary objective which is to stimulate partners into thinking about this issue and ask the right questions which they start to do. It is then back to the Awayday and a pleasant lunch with James and Fran where we talk running, giving up smoking and I feed back on my meeting. On the way back into Town I brief the vice chair of the LSP about moving this onto the agenda. Then it is a quick trip back home to walk the dog before dashing again back to the office.

Today is also a deadline day for a funding bid I am making to secure some funding to support BME activity and the better coordination of hate crime reporting and to secure money to support a key role on the team. Despite promises and assurances, the application is not in the shape I want it to be so there are a series of phone calls to get further information from our County colleagues before I am happy to sign off by 5pm.

Onwards to a Community Assets Transfer meeting. As I arrive, I am greeted by a member of the Council's staff who also is involved with a local arts group. She was really grateful for a small thing I did to help expedite some funding which seemed blocked at one stage. To be honest, I had forgotten the work I did on this - which only amounted to an e-mail putting words in the right ear - but it was really nice to get some feedback that this was appreciated.

At the Community Assets transfer meeting a genuine breakthrough is made. After what seems like years of talk the Council seems fully signed up to the principle of transferring a building into the ownership of HVA together with mounting a bid to refurbish it. Lots of hoops to jump through, of course, but there is some real purpose to our discussion and we begin to shape up what will become the business plan. Of course, there is a down side insofar as the Local Authority have taken so long to get this far that we are only days away from a substantial deadline. A fully costed business plan and project profile is required but there is partner support for this to happen. I have a feeling that despite the odds we could just pull this one off which is a good thing as a wrecking ball comes through the wall of my office in 2009!

I also meet briefly with Alan from SEASPACE who is coordinating the legal work being done to create an educational trust within a very tight deadline (see previous postings). This is critical to secure £100,000 funding and we have been supporting the group who have more grey hairs now than when the process began. Fingers are still very much crossed but it looks like we are on track to have the trust in place by 19th November and secure the prize!!

It is now 7.00pm and I am taking a short break from reviewing a dissertation outline for my student Jaan who is seeking to apply "labelling theory" to an analysis of Anti Social Behaviour and the criminal justice system. Strange and perverse as this may seem this I am actually enjoying my role as his supervisor which I am taking on for the first time this year at the University. It forces me to re-read and rethink some academic material and keep up to date which is no bad thing.

Anyway that was Wednesday and on it goes.

I'm too busy to see you You're too busy to wait

Today was busy by any standards with e-mails flying around at 7.30am and leaving work about 7.20pm it feels like that kind of period. Our health partners who yesterday were emphatically asking if we could advertise for some posts on their behalf - this week now reverse their decision. SO the adverts we rushed around placing are now pulled awaiting their clarification of the budget. Onwards to 3 casework meetings in quick succession. Today was also the drop in session for our volunteering project where it akways pleases me to see actual volunteers coming in from their projects and engaging with moderators to achieve a recognised qualification. The reputation of this project recently went international as our potential French partners have expressed an interest in this aspect of our work. We discuss next years Service Level Agreement and I write 3 contracts which have been hanging over my head for some time. It is amazing how 3 hours without the phone going off really do enable a great deal of work to be dojne. I then review a complex employment law issue with 2 folders of material to sift through.

Our busy lyric is, of course, Radiohead. I understand that a question in tomorrows quiz during our staff "away-day" will relate to the latest lyric on my blog so those who have an RSS feed or visit the sight tonight will get an advantage. Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ4lMdFYOtU

Cake or Death...

Another busy day starting with some of the challanges of building a partnership, keeping a range of different partners, content up to date and facing in the same direction. This is a key aspect of our work but not without its challenges. It is then onto casework and catching up with issues financial as it is our financial administrators first day back from leave. An afternoon of administration sees my desk a little clearer than it was at the start of the day. The days highlight was finding for a mere £1 one of the most beautiful records ever made. In 1965, at age 20, Jaqueline du Pré recorded the Elgar concerto for EMI with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli, which brought her international recognition. This recording has since become the benchmark reference for the work, and one which has never been out of print since its release over forty years ago.

Our lyric today is actually a piece of stand up comedy 'set to Lego'...it will resonate with those members of HVA staff who shared part of my partnership day...enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZVjKlBCvhg

I am folded, and unfolded

A funny old day today starting with a run and a listen to the brilliant Beth Orton whose album Central Reservation had completely passed me by when it was released in the mid 90's. This was the purchase of the week £1 from the Mind shop in Eastbourne on my way to a hate crime meeting.

I attend a meeting of the group which supports the Local Strategic Partnership where we kick around the Local Area Agreement, the review of the Community Strategy. I spend some time with the LSP COorindator going through why I have convened a meeting of all the Chief Executives of the public service agencies and what I am trying to achieve by doing it. Back to the office to two bits of casework where I am trying to help a group set up an educational trust in record time so that they can receive a sizeable award. Time is running short and the money is at risk if the trust is not formed in time.

Unfortunately I miss folding friday which is a monthly HVA ritual where we fold and stuff the newsletter. This is a shame as the conversation with the team as we fold is usually entertaining (if not a little surreal at times). I make up for my being unable to help by sitting in the meeting room drinking a cup-a-soup talking away whilst watching other people fold the newsletter.

Our conversation covers a wide range of topics which ranged from a discussion of whether the low sex drive of pandas is contributing to their near extinction to Robert Falcon Scotts ill-fated 1912 Antartic expedition and (what really happened to Capt Oates!). For those HVA staff members who do not regularly attend folding friday you can only wonder of what conversational gems you are missing out on.

Our lyric today is from Colourblind by Counting Crows and see the original video by clocking on the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6EbOgvH2nI

maybe we should do an article in that there magazine

Not sure if Samuel Pepys ever found this but sometimes you are too busy doing things to write about them. Hence my blogging has been a little intermittent of late. A little flurry of activity as I request a discussion of the Executive Delivery Group to consider the recent Comprehensive Spending Review announcement and what it means for Hastings. I sense that some of the good stuff around community engagement will be left to wither on the fine as there is a general wringing of hands and blaming the Govt. This is to be expected but serves no useful purpose in the long run. So I spend some time thinking how best to marshall the arguments into a coherent paper and am well advised by James - who sits on the Community Network and Fran who coorindates the representation function within the CVS. A useful meeting and I touch base with James afterwards on a couple of Countywide Developments. I sense that at the meeting I may be in a minority of one - which is not an unknown experience for me - but we shall see. I also pen an article for the Borough's magazine as the work we have done with accrediting volunteering activity is beginning to receive attention. We now have over 70 volunteers on all aspects of the programme and we look set to exceed our outputs. Now onto the employer engagement at a forthcoming Let's Do Business exhibition. I am confident that withjin the next few weeks we will have our first volunteer making the transition into paid employment as a result of this project - so fingers crossed. A couple of the participants have interviews lined up.

Anyway it is now about 8.30 and time to finish for the day. Our lyric today comes from Lou Reed and here he is doing it with John Cale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSxRN0pNciA

public service announcement

Today to London for a conference on tranforming public service delivery. I have seen during my career (local government officer, councillor and VCS Chief Officer) much talk about tranformation and little evidence. 20 years of this type of rhetoric still leads me to the belief that UK infrastructure is just appalling and wherever I go in the world to poor and rich places alike it always seems easier to get around. Train is 20 minutes late and Parliament Square is grid-locked bacause of the state visit of the King of Saudi Arabia every police officer I see is seriously tooled up and security is tight. Human rights in are generally considered to be minimal or non-existent in that regime so why we are rolling out red carpets is sliightly beyond my understanding 'oil' and 'arms-sales' do spring to mind I guess. Anyway Phil Hope tries top convince us that more Govt money is on the way and there is renewed determination to see 3rd sector delivery of services. The audience are baffled that they hear the rhetoric but never get to see the resources!

Anyway the public service announcement lyric is from The Clash and is in the words of Joe Strummer "a public service announcement - with guitars" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPeWSpB_7w4

Stripped

Saturday was a dull day not just weather wise but because of a necessary but very boring task. A large room to be stripped of its wallpaper, lining and "made good" as the painters and decorators would say. Not much to say about this except it is well boring. I did get a chance to listen to a few albums though. Jaan rings me with details of his dissertation which I ak supervising. We have been exchanging comments and have a very useful discussion about the shape it is going to take. It is exploring the impact of ASBO's on young people's behaviour and it was a nice break to kick around a few tips on labelling theory before heading back to the decorating. A nice run completed the day at about 5.30 over the Hastings Country Park. The weather is really starting to change now and it can only be a matter of time when the Countryside becomes too muddy to run on. Then it will be back to the roads. An obvious lyric reference would have been christine aguilera but I have gone for Basildons most famous musical export in the form of Depeche Mode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lrQuiEkOVU

On the Case

Thursday and friday were largely filled with casework and a series of meetings with groups and charities of all sizes. One an hour every hour for most of the day but it is an aspect of my job which reminds me of the legal work I used to do. My case management should be a bit easier as we have invested in a dictation system so the HVA admin staff can be irritated by the sound of my voice when I am absent as well as when I am there. Anyway the issues we deal with are numerous - a tupe transfer, a tendering exercise, a financial review and some staffing issues. I catch up with Andy from the Xtrax young people's project as he has asked me to facilitate an away day for his staff and trustees. It is an organisation I have a lot of time for particularly as I went on the initial visit to look at other similar projects with Dave its founder during the late 1980's when I was running a youth homelessness charity in the Town. Seems like another age. Anyway the lyric reference is from the era when Xtrax was founded and is from the neglected 2unlimited click and enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-YXHSz1sME

The Youth of Today

Today we begin with a short team meeting which covers all manner of topics from the staff away day, planning for the AGM and general catching up. I give a brief update on my work in France and the fact that we may be hosting a study visit in ’08. I sense from the team that a liaison visit to France conjours up visions of quaffing red wine and eating great food. If only they knew how far from the truth that was and refer the sceptics to my blog for the grusome details of the visit!!

Crucially, we are in the process of selecting the HVA quiz team for the inter-agency quiz which is held annually to bring together workers and agencies from across the Town. HVA are defending the title having won the event last year.

The Xmas dinner is also on the agenda reminding me how quickly this year has flown.

Onwards to facilitate a session with various partners to discuss the development of youth provision and a Youth Hub for the Town. This comes on the back of a number of meetings and discussions which were kicked off by the Youth Council who want to see some “state of the art” provision for young people as part of thee Towns regeneration. And why not. Unfortunately parts of the Local Authority have adopted an approach which at best does not treat the Youth Council’s ideas seriously and at worst is deeply patronising towards them. For myself, I have found them to be clear and articulate and maybe if a few more Youth Council members were actually Councillors then the Town would propably be better for it.

I usually use my early run with the dog to think through the day ahead. As I made my way over the Country park this morningI have to confess to not looking forward to my role as facilitator as previous discussions have been a bit mired in talk rather than action. But as the morning progresses I am pleasantly surprised as there is energy and a clear action plan which partners commit to. There is a model and some commitment to aligning work with young people and a sense of purpose which is good news. I take all the flip charts and 'post its' home to write up whilst it is fresh in my mind. Then onto the gym early evening and back to work to meet Matt a student whose dissertation I am supervising. Matt tells me - with his deadline for outline submission looming - that he works best under pressure. Tonight we shall see how right he is!

Anyway our lyric today is not, as you might have thought the Straight Edge Hardcore punk band from Cincinnatti (which would at least have some elements of street cred) but the rather cheesy and forgotton 80’s song from Musical Youth. For those don’t remember how awful they – and this video - were, get ready to cringe as you press the link and don’t say I didn’t warn you http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VsPiKkxucyQ

Non, je ne regret rien

Sunday saw me on a ferry to France to go for an interreg EU funded project with two colleagues from Brighton’s Working Together project. I am always a bit hesitant about going on conferences or study visits with colleagues I don’t know well as you have to spend a lot of time together. But Louise and Paul come up trumps and throughout are very good company with whom I have lots in common which is a big relief. Louise shares my interests in running and diving and Paul my interest in obscure music so we rub along well. They are also both good at what they do and have a sense of humour which means a lot in the somehwat worthy world of the VCS. It is a good job too as our trip is not without its adversities as we get a little lost and arrive at the hotel just in time for everything to have closed. A little negotiation using Louise’s impeccable French gets us some trays of salad to eat in our rooms.

The following day is intensive when we find the institute – which is nearest to what we used to call a Polytechnic - and meet our prospective French partners. With the best of intentions it is an exhausting day. There is something about a 6 hour meeting, poorly chairted, translated into 2 languages to be seen to be believed. There are differences of approaches to be managed as well as the fact that some concepts do not have an equivalent in the French language. The UK contingent bang on about 'mentoring' only to find that this word has no direct equivalent in French and so we struggle to find some common ground or a model on which we can conceive a project. Lunch was an indifferent affair consistent of meatballs and chips – clearly Jamie Oliver has not made across the channel. People often wax lyrical about French food, bread and coffee but the reality is not always as good as it is cracked up to be. After lunch and a quick introduction to the Director General of the Institute it is back to thrash out aims, objectives and activities. Somehow whatever ever the culture and language, flipcharts and arguing the toss over priorities are the same wherever you go. I have found that whoever holds the big felt tip pen at the end usually wins the day!!

We are joined by Delphine the programme manager of the EU regional funds who, thankfully has both languages. Finally we arrive at a consensus for a micro-project which is a pilot which, potentially could unlock the doors for much larger EU funding but we shall see. We make the 9.00 ferry to arrive back home at 11.30pm. Sue has waited up which is lovely as she is under the work cosh too at present but falls asleep on the couch shortly after but the thought was there!!

Was it worth it?, well overall it was a really tiring 2 days but interesting to see a different perspective on some of the issues we face and if we can do some joint work together – fine. So in the words of our song lyric No, I regret nothing… http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CzJjbHAlMVI

I got me some bad news for you, Sunshine.

Board meeting days are always really busy and this one is no exception . I start at home on the computer finalising a board report I should have finished last night but was too tired and seriously descending into gibberish. The day at work begins with a quick meeting with one of our trustees who seeks advice on an issue relating to one of the charities he has an involvement with. It is about the distinction between a lease and a license (a subject which has fascinated land lawyers and academics for as long as I can remember). A quick word with Pauline our financial administrator and Jill our Deputy Director about some information I am giving to the board and the best way of managing the process. The board meeting itself lasts most of the morning and reviews the whole operation, accounts, the operational plan, future activity, audit, quality assurance and some of the key issues which will affect us in the future.

After it finishes I catch up phone and e-mail messages and meet Owen a former colleague and now Chair of the Hastings Intercultural Organisation - an embryonic network for BME groups for lunch. After this I return to the office for a brieifing on Intereg funding from Peter (HVAs funding advisor) prior to my meetings on Sunday and the seminar we have with potential French partners on Monday. Never having fully engaged with Interreg funding before I am in unchartered territory (and I am a tad sceptical) but Peter sends some helpful links for me to download and review and we explore possibilities.

I join the Community Network for a quick discussion about how to approach our meeting withthe chair of the LSP and the Chief Executive of the Borough Council later in the afternoon. This is ostensibly regarding the Councils restructuring and some of the concerns of local networks and forums about process and outcome. However, the meeting soon turns into a briefing for the Community Network about the latest on the Comprehensive Spending Review and what this portends for Hastings. The Chief Exec paints a potentially bleak picture which will create some significant problems for the Town in terms of its NRF funding and the kind of structures - such as the Area Management Boards It is an honest and open debate conducted at a good level and members of the Community Network, I think, impress with their grasp of the issues and their willingness to talk at a strategic level - it is a reminder of the journey which members of the network have made in terms of understanding and the confidence to really engage with senior officials. There is an interesting difference of perspective between the Statutory and Voluntary Sector when faced with financial challanges. The HBC line is downsize and collapse strcutures immediately in light of funding problems. Whereas the voluntary sector view is to be more reluctant to take such a emphatic step and seek to extend and adapt. It was also a defining moment in terms of the local authorities understanding of the voluntary sector as it was conceded that the difficult issues they face (loss of funding, uncertainty and managing transition in uncertain times) are issues which we have faced every year for a long time. There is some prospect of succesor programmes which might mitigate the impact but the delay in the CSR announcement pushes everything into very difficult territory.

Hastings Voluntary Action and its predecessor bodies have been in existence since 1855 and have never had funding for a period longer than 12 months so this is a feeling which we have come to know only too well. As ever, it creates more uncertainty which is really difficult to deal with. The meeting breaks up with as many questions as answers but I think members of the network were pleased with the honesty of the briefing if not with its contents. Again it is a wait and see job but I advocate that wait and see does not mean wait and do nothing. There is some serious work to be done to create a contingency to preserve some of the involvement structures which have taken a long time to build up and could wither all to easily. I urge the Council to look at developing an alternative approach by investing in these structures given that every major institution has funding - and a legal requirement to engage with communities. If things are not handled well the very structures which make this possible could be an early casualty. Early evening finds me restless so I go for a run to the sound of The Smiths (it had been that kind of a day). But, as they say at the end of Gone with The Wind..."Tomorrow is another day."

Anyway I almost forgot to identify our lyric reference which is from a Pink Floyd song and here it is from the film The Wall which I often feel that I am beating my head against!!http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GjU4M4G38lA

Been away so long I hardly knew the place

Not really sure if that is true as I was only away for a day and the weekend which made it seem longer than it actually was. A Friday in France as Sue is working virtually every weekend until Christmas. Anyway a smooth ferry crossing and some shopping ws what we had. As I am standing outside the CitiEurope shopping centre who do I meet but Chris the Chair of HVA's Management Committee who is also on a day trip. This coincidence is proof that it would be virtually impossible to do a Lord Lucan-esque disappearance from HVA you would always run into someone you knew. Anyway a big task at home over the weekend (clearing out the basement which has not been done since jimmy Carter was in the Whitehouse!).

By the time we got to the end we decided that a treat had been earned and we go to a real musical gem seeing Ladysmith Black Mamboza at the White Rock Theatre. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal style of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland. They were formed by Joseph Shabalala in 1960 (Shabalala still leads the group today) and has now become a mobile academy, teaching people about South Africa and its culture. Many years ago I was very involved with the Anti Apartheid movement and first saw LBM in about 1986 or 87 when Apartheid was still engrained with very little prospect of change. How wonderful to see them in concert again celebrating a free South Africa and equality under the law! Anyway it was a wonderful performance and I caught up with Enda and Leslie LSP Coordinators past and present who were there. If you don't know just how good these guys are click here http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J85QrbR5oUE the guys in question are LBM rather than the LSP Coordinators - although they are not bad either).

Our lyric is the fab four and here is local lad Mr McCartney doing it http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GhRu9yzlTRI

We’re on the Road to Nowhere

This morning enjoyed cream cakes and tea with the team organised by Habibah, our Community Cohesion Officer, to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr – End of Ramadan. For Muslims, this is an occasion that marks the end of a month of fasting and the achievement of enhanced spirituality. It is also a day of peace of congregation, fellowship, brotherhood and unity. How fitting that the whole HVA team should share in this celebration!

Caught up with Jill, our deputy director as she emerged from a monitoring love-in with members of the team, laden with various publications on measuring effectiveness. Jill reliably informed me that there was a great deal of excitement around gearing up for the NAVCA performance standards and that as far as she was concerned it was the best thing since aunty Mable caught her left tit in the mangle. Had a chat with Jill about the ongoing success of our volunteer accreditation programme and reported back on my wild night out at the Hastings Achievers Awards. For those of you that want to get a flavour of the good works going on in Hastings there is a very good video of the Achievers award on the Observer website http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/ . Three awards for Best Community Group, Making a Difference to Hastings and Overall Achiever went to one of our member organisations Gizmo, in recognition of their community arts work with children and young people. It was great to hear Pat Fisher from Gizmo crediting HVA for supporting their work. HVA have been involved with Gizmo through thick and thin - and in the early days there was plenty of thin! - so it was great to see them take their rightful place up on the podium for once.

Talking to Jill reminded me that on the last night of the NAVCA conference at Keele Uni she had a dream that she was on a bus on some kind of magical mystery tour with other CVS worthies and Kevin Curley at the wheel. At some point on the road there was a general consensus that they were lost. Jill popped out to retrieve a map from a run down community building and popped back on again. Unfortunately the map wasn’t much good as no one knew where they were let alone where they were going! What was that all about?? It must have been something in the strange tomato blancmange they served as as the starter at the end of conference dinner!

Todays lyric is the excellent Talking Heads led by David Byrne. A real groundbreaking video too which you can see here http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LLiX8sgfgQU

On the Road Again

This morning it was Eastbourne and a hurridly arranged meeting about hate crime. There is some Government funding available which might extend the reporting racial incidents (rri) service beyond its currently poor state into something which might have some community ownership. We kick this around for a little while and agree to reform again once we have a draft of an approach clearer in our heads. This will mean lots of e-mail exchanges back and forth over the next couple of weeks but we shall see. A little bonus on my way back to the station when I visit the Marie Curie charity shop and get for a mere 50p a late Miles Davis album (Tutu) which I used to have on vinyl but haven't heard for some time. I saw Miles Davis at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon which must have been the tour associated with the release of this album. Actually, it is the first performance I have ever seen which started with a slow handclap and ended with a standing ovation. Mr Davis was about half an hour late on stage and the audience were getting miffed. But his playing was both faultless and effortless and resulted in him being cheered to the rafters with, I think 3 encores including Kind of Blue which is a personal favourite of mine.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the office and catching up with a funding return, paperwork and the inevitable e-mails. Today we have an unexpected power cut caused, I think by the work taking place next door to our building. I leave the building in darkness with no one being able to do much, meet with the site manager who is waiting for Seaboard and then move to the White Rock Theatre. Here, I attend a meeting of Hastings Age Concern - a local organisation I have worked with a lot and I have a lot of time for. Basically they are experiencing something of a funding crisis and have reduced the core service to as small as you can get it. The next 12 months is likely to be their "make or break" year and I want to show my support by going to the AGM. Ironically in the midst of all this uncertainty they have seen more clients, gained more benefit on their behalf and opened new areas of service which is a real tribute to their determination. The work they do ranges from the campaigning to the basic (a first class toe-nail cutting service I am told). From there it is home to complete my board report and look at a lease (seeing if I can recall the basics of the landlord and tenant legislation from law school - it has been a while).

When I get in Holly is on the sofa and unwell and Sue comes in at about 8.30 saying she thinks she has the flu. I make Heinz tomato soup for them both which has to be the best comfort food ever made when you are ill. I play the part of Florence Nightingale - or given that it is actually Black History Month Mary Seacole - that's how right-on I am!!! And they are now both in bed.

The day is now winding down at about 10.30pm which seems an awfully long time since I boarded the 8.15am train this morning. I am finishing a rather well written biography of Nick Drake who, although he only recorded 32 songs, has had such an influence on a whole range of musicians and writers. Todays lyric is, of course, the great Willie Nelson a truly iconic American singer songwriter and here is a little montage of his career to his signature tune http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVuUH3YmnG8

Big Spender

A bit of a frenetic day which opens with the early train to County Hall in Lewes for the quarterly Voluntary Sector County Council liaison group in wich we cover issues like the Health and Social Care Agenda, Consultation, Supporting People Inspection, It is a mixture of Councils for Voluntary Service and the larger County Wide Voluntary Organisations. There is a real will to forge better working arrangements but hell it is really complex with so much uncertainty over the framwework within which it will all take place (LAA, funding, future of local government reform).

I make my way back to the station via 2 charity shops which net me a Divine Comedy album and an obscure mid-90’s work by Monday Michiru who is big on the “trip-hop” scene in Japan and parts of Europe. Although what a japanese import of her 1995 album Jazz Brat is doing in the hospice shop in Lewes High Street I know not.

Back to the office and dealing with the urgent and generally catching up. I learn that I am wanted/needed at a Hate Crime meeting tomorrow morning so that might mean another trek. I then pick up a lease from a local firm of solicitors which I have agreed to review for a local group to avoid being a victim of the postal strike. Arrive home to catch the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement - exciting life we lead isn't it. It will take a while to work out what it will mean for the sector and for places like Hastings

I catch up with Fran our community network development worker who craves more updates to the blog which I haven’t got round to since last Thursday. I am told that it is the best way for HVA staff members to know what I have been doing but - oh the problems of meeting the needs of an insatiable fan base! I am reminded of my favourite story about Charles Dickens. Many of Dickens novels were serialised in a journal called Household Words which was published each week Dickens literally wrote each instalment week by week. Anyway he was in a stationers shop waiting to buy pens ink and some paper to write the next instalment. Anyway the women in front of him in the stationers asks to buy the latest copy of Household Words to catch up with the latest instalment of the Old Curiosity Shop. She is given the latest edition which she says she already has. At this point Dickens realises that she is trying to buy the next instalment which is not even written yet and, indeed, he has gone to the stationers to buy the pen to write it with!!

Anyway tonight we have the Hastings Achievers awards which is a celebration of the unsung heroes of Hastings. Hastings Voluntary Action have been on the panel of judges for the past two years – although, as I was on holiday Chris the Chair of our trustee board stood in for me this year. It is usually a good evening and an opportunity to catch up with some folk I haven’t seen for a while.

Anyway what else can I say. I am listening to Incunabula an album by a band called Autechre. Not sure what musical genre to place it in – and some would strongly argue whether the Autechre sound is music at all. An album which I now really rate but took some work (this might give you a flavour of why http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPEcjQXIHX0 ). It took me a few tries of listening to it on the ipod whilst running over the country park to get into it - but then again that is the good thing about an acquired taste - you don't have to acquire it!!

Lyric today? - in the hope that the the Chancellors Comprehensive Spending Review brings good news and much needed resources for the sector. Over to you Dame Shirley... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0MZXWKEkIE

Keep on Running

A little bit of an odd week with little to blog about today as I attend a family funeral out of town. However on my return I find that my blogging activities and general making a nuisance of myself on the internet have attracted the attentions of a famous athlete. Basically, a few days ago I was looking for a video of the 1972 800m Final from the Munich Olympics as I want to show a friend the greatest piece of middle distance running I have ever seen. Here it is if you are interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k . The Gold medal winner was an American guy called Dave Wottle who always ran from the back and invariably wore a baseball cap when he raced. I am not much of a person for sporting heroes but he was mine when I was a kid and probably explains why I still run wearing a baseball cap! He was the first long haired athlete who looked like a college drop out which also appealed to me.

In the Olympic 800m Final, Wottle was written off when he immediately dropped to the rear of the field, and stayed there for the first 500 m, at which point he started to pass runner after runner up the final straight, finally grabbing the lead in the final metres to win by just 0.03 seconds. This gained him the nickname of "The Head Waiter". At the victory ceremony, Wottle unconsciously forgot to remove his baseball cap. This was interpreted by some as a form of protest, but Wottle later apologised. His signature cap was used for practical purposes. He sported long hair at the peak of his career, so the hat kept his hair out of his face. After realizing the cap was part of his identity, he wore it for the remainder of his career.

Anyway, when we do the google search to see the video I discover that Dave Wottle is now an admissions tutor for an American University and lists his personal e-mail address. My friend who I am doing this with says that Mr Wottle would be really pleased to know that his 1972 exploits were still being remembered today and before we know where we are I am composing an e-mail. I talk about the race and my running for charity and the blog. To my surprise I get a lovely encouraging reply from the man himself which was really nice. Here is an extract:-

"I really appreciate your kind note. It’s always great to hear that the Munich 800 meter race has value beyond the race itself. I’m also glad to hear that you are still running…with or without a cap."

So good on you Dave for what you did in '72 and for being polite enough to respond. Perhaps he will be reading this too. Anyway our lyric today comes, of course, from the Spencer Davis Group and sings us out for the weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLPUmkJoarY&mode=related&search=

The Graduate

Another busy day which started with a brief introduction to the invigilator who is down for the day to audit and verify the work we have commissioned to deliver the certificate in community volunteering. Things seem to be moving ahead well and the partnership with Tomorrows People and the Youth Development Services is beginning to offer accreditations to exisiting volunteers. Indeed our first graduate from the programme has completed the certificate. I then have a series of meetings with colleagues. I have a meeting with the Coordinator for the Youth Council as I have agreed to facilitate a seminar looking at the provision of a Youth Hub for the Town and try to interest service providers and key strategic partners in the concept. It has felt a little like knocking one's head against a brick wall so far but trying to keep positive and optomistic is very much part of our role!! I then support a group in an investigatory meeting which is in the form of a learning enquiry into its health and safety procedures. Thanksfully the incident did not result in an injury but the group want a robust process to learn and refine its approach which is good. I am deliberatly blogging in general terms here to respect confidentiality but give a flavour of the work I am doing. I then catch up with Fran oour Community Network Development Officer and we discuss a change of position from the County Council in folloiwng up from a big Every Child Matters Conference we ran a few months back. I don't suspect anything machiavellian here its just that the Head of Integrated Children Services who was the strategic lead for our partnership work in this field left to take another job. This left a few loose ends and new colleagues with whom we need to start from scratch. As ever a few steps backwards - or at the very least marking time - before stepping forward. Anyway a delightful evening spent completing PCT Questionnaires on the 4 projects we get a funding for. Anyway to celebrate the fact that we have a volunteer who has now got a proper qualification as a result of our LEGI project our lyric reference is from the graduate!!. And here are the Lemonheads singing it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6KLpIDbfTw

Come to match my skill to yours

Today I spend some time catching up with myself as this is really the first day I have in the office for some time. A communications meting where we spend some time talking about how a voluntary organisation with limited capacity can distribute information and keep a check on what goes out and how we can offer a service which meets everyones needs. I then move onto to an induction meting with the new head of Community Partnerships - we touch base on some common issues but time intrudes on our broader strategic discussion. A quick catch up with the results of the audit meeting (they seem happy with us). A quick briefing on the issues I have to cover to launchy the skillsmatch website, various e-mails to ensure I am up tol speed. I then go to the White Rock Theatre. There is an old showbusiness joke that you play the White Rock Theatre twice in your career - once on the way up and once on the way down - I can only say it was good to be back!

I catch up with Rose HVA's volunteer organiser who invariably provides me with good advice about which novels to read and movies to see. We exchange notes on Atonement (which I have seen and Rose hasn't) V for Vendetta (which Rose has seen and I haven't) and The Book of Dave which is the latest will self novel which we have both started but not really engaged with yet. I speak at the launch and hope I got the main points accross. The organiser seemed pleaseed anyway which is nice. Our lyric today is a Genesis song too obscurte to be listed for a video link but here is a better known tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTdU9m3nhu8

All Together Now..

Sunday night and I am updating the blog. My RSS feed reminds that on October 15th is BLOG ACTION DAY in which all those reading or writing blogs will be doping something TOGETHER. Here's the link if you want to get involved. http://blogactionday.org/ Anyway the lyric reference gives me a chance to here The Farm again. I saw them live at the Crypt when their career was on the way down rather than up but their signature tune sounds as fresh as it did the day it was penned here it is in a rare live version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEUv-rR-TD8&mode=related&search=

Praise You

Saturday beckoned with an early morning run with the dog over the Country Park and then on to a seminar to give a presentation. It's a funny thing this ipod business and it creates some very surreal moments when there is a difference between what you hear and what you see. Actually I have just finished a book (The Hip-Hop Years) which is a history of the rap and hip hop movement. This means I have been relistening to a lot of 80's and 90's rap. Including the seminal 10th Anniversary edition of the 1988 album Straight Outta Compton from N.W.A. They, were the rap collective that brought together Dr Dre, Ice Cube and Easy E who later dominated the West Coast rap scene. It is the hard core emergence of a completely new musical form which caused much controversy when it was released all those years ago. Anyway, in my ears is the kick drum dominated vibes of South Central Los Angelas gangland as I enter a room with a number of vicars drinking tea - a totally unreal juxtoposition! For today I speak at an event which launches Church and Community Week and a local initiative (Hope '08) which aims to link local churches with community activities. Hopefully what I say is informative and gets accross the contribution churches and other faith groups have made to the VSC both past and present. It is a nice group of people - lots of energy - although time defeats us as the workshops could have done with a little longer to make real progress. Anyway our lyric today is from Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) the video to this just always makes me smile!! Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULVQOneeZE

You can be my partner

Another partnership day with collegues cross county.

An early morning visit to the office responding to the urgent and the essential. To Wealden and a Dynamics of place workshop which I was not looking forward to and had agreed to having been pestered. Actually, this proves to be an extremely fruitful day and a new way of looking at the issues we face economic, housing, community in a new(ish) way. Very well facilitated and bringing together representatives from LSPs throughout the County. Despite my usual cynicism about such events we all work rather hard and produce some discussion which is actually rather creative about some key problems for the County. I still bang on abouty my key issues at the moment which are:-

1. The importance of understanding the informal economy
2. The value and improtance of community activism and how vest to support it
3. That those at the bottom of the pile (not suprisingly) have a different value base and, not suprisingly, do not believe the stories they have been spun (value of education, the harder you work the more successful you will be et al) and find their own ways of getting by.

Finally, I remind some people that one of the reasons people do not acccept low paid work is that they do not find the prospect of doing an unsatisfying job for 40 hours a week attractive when it will only net them about £12 more than the benefit level and frankly nor would I. Must find a way of making these points without sounding like some naive young socialist in the student union batr. Gravitas perhaps but, hell, why bother!

Anyway the journey back with two colleagues from the Local Authority. They are both good at their jobs and, thankfully, also good company so we put the world to rights on the way back. Tommorrow (saturday) and a conference with Church leaders looking at the role of the Church and Community. So long as I don't get struck by lightning or exposed like the child in Damien II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNZrTgskUrI) I will report on the blog again tommorow.

Anyway our lyric today is The Stones and Tumbling Dice an absolutely brilliant song from the Exile on Main Street Album. If you have never heard this you are seriously missing out. Here is a video of The Stones doing it live in one of the larget concert venues in the world in Brazil. CYA!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3hCbFqRHKk

My Partners in Crime Hit me for my nickels and dimes

To the East Sussex Strategic Partnership and a curious dispute which has all the potential to significantly affect part of our work which might need to be scaled down as a result of a serious mistake on the part of either the Government Office, the County Council or both depending on whose version of events you accept – the e-mail battle between them is still raging as I write.

It is all a bit complicated to explain but think of it like this…

Imagine that the County Council, Borough Council and Government Office go out for a meal together. For the sake of argument in this analogy HVA is the bistro manager. A four-course dinner is ordered and the first course arrives and is enjoyed. Compliments are sent to the chef and all seems rosy. When the second course comes to the table a dispute arises about who is actually going to pay for the meal. Not us, say the Government Office, but you said you would say the County Council (waving it's LAA Agreement), oh no we didn’t and on it goes. The Borough Council say that we might have paid for the meal but we didn’t know that we would have to and the money we would have used is being spent on other things. HVA, by this time are playing the part of the waiter, trying to be patient but growing increasingly irritated by this unseemly dispute between the various layers of local and regional government. Eventually someone turns to the waiter “could you give us some really small portions for the remaining courses and maybe between us we might pay for it…if we can find the money”

You get the idea and for the remainder of the financial year it looks like salad rather than steak!! Part of me appreciates the problem and I want to work towards a constructive solution. Part of me also feels like placing the whole thing in the hands of the Local Government Ombudsman and letting them pick over the entrails of this little piece of maladministration. Anyway pleasing that the partnership saw it as very much a shared problem which should, hopefully break the log-jam.

Anyway by chance I join other members of the HVA team on the train as they are returning from another meeting before I duck out at Warrior Square and attend a meeting with Housing Services. This is a complicated discussions about how to preserve a service after a voluntary organisation closes. As it is to do with Bonds, rent guarantees and cash deposits it is all very complicated. Finally catching up with a member of the Neighbourhood Renewal team as we compare notes on the future of community engagement and preserving the best elements of all we have learnt through the njeighbourhood renewal process. Much change afoot and not a lot of it particularly positive. Tommorow another journey beckons but thankfully the Hastings LSP Cooridinator and her colleague come to the rescue with an offer of a lift. The County wide perspective - difficult though it may be appears to be is becoming increasingly important which accounts for my prescence in all parts of East Sussex this week.

Anyway two positive things happen in what is otherwise frankly a rather piss-poor day. Firstly outside a charity shop in a box for 50p is the Black Grape debut - and only - album proving that there was life after the Happy Mondays for Shaun Ryder and secondly I receive a box of chocolates as a thank you from the ESSP for facilitating a workshop at last weeks assembly.
Anyway thanks to the fans who responded with their own suggestion as to the lyric that best describes the East Sussex Strategic Partnership. I've gone again for Bob Dylan and here he is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-xIulyVsG8

We?...All Links in the Chain

Another fairly hectic day with a team meeting followed by a quick briefing on the Links meeting I am due to attend this afternnoon followed by a management meeting and then hitting (again) the coast train to Lewes for the LInks steering group. This is an initiative to get the public involved with the NHS and is a replacement for the Public Patient Involvement Forums which, in turn were a replacement for the old Community Health Council. Anyway the Government's bright and new public involvement approach is coming - so long as it receives Royal Assent in the next parliamentary session. This is expected but I hear talk of a General Election coming from the Labour Party Conference which would delay any parliamentary programme for a while - and possibly forever if there is a change of government . There is a steering group looking at the structure and process for East Sussex and the best and most transparent way of tendering for this service. Despite the best efforts of all involved it is desperately boring as we discuss the pre tendering qualification process and the contract specification. A redeeming factor is that I discover a really old pressing of a live Eva Cassidy album in a charity shop in Lewes which I listen to as I write this. Anyway our lyric comes from the late Tupac Shakur (2Pac) who was one of the grittiest hip-hop artists, a significant talent cut short by being the victim of a drive by shooting for his pains. His unique take on the urban world is to be found found here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xIMfbjhw6k

Tommorow a meeting of the East Sussex Strategic Partnership beckons so goodness knows what I am going to use as a lyric reference!! Answers on a postcard please.

And I've been working like a dog

By anyone's standards today was a very busy day. You know one of those days when you start running about 10-15 minutes late and never quite catch up with yourself. Anyway much of today exemplifies how difficult it is for a local voluntary organisation to become an employer and have all the things in place to be legal and "good practice". Today I dealt with three employment related issues on behalf of HVA members in quick succession. Although HVA don't really offer an employment law service my previous experience as a legal practitioner in this field (a veteren of over 80 employment tribunal cases) means that this is an area I sometimes get involved with. We began the day with a TUPE (transfer of undertakings protection of emloyment) issue and how the transfer of a contract needs to be accompanied by the transfer of staff from one organisation to another. The next group had a performance management issue and we discuss the most appropriate ways of measuring and evaluating team performance. We then move on to a restructuring issue and what happens in employment law terms when organisations need to fundamentally cut their coat according to their funding cloth. A quick dash back to the office and catching up with the outcome of meetings yesterday and a discussion about the volunteering project (which I am late for). Then a quick discussion about the team away day before I dash off to the University of Brighton. Here we discuss the supervision of disssertations. It is sometimes strange moving from an environment which is exceedingly practical into a more academic arena but I enjoy the challenge and really like supporting community work students at the end of their degree course. I have two students to supervise both of whom I know and thankfully have topics which are interesting. Back home about 7.00pm. Anyway the lyric reference is - as if you hadn't guessed the Fab Four and here they are singing it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Gl3i6qAYo must say I am glad to be back home and writing this with a glass of wine at my side.

May your feet be forever swift may you have a strong foundation

Bob Dylan provides us with our lyric reference and the Foundation in question is the Sussex Community Foundation which I attend this evening. Today was a day of meetings about communications (discussing the latest newsletter with John HVA's Information Worker) and discussing voluntary sector involvement with the new integrated Children Services Framework. Actually, Carlton the newly appointed East Sussex County Council officer in charge of all this is actually the same person I worked with years ago setting up leaving care projects when he was involoved with NCH and I ran a youth homelessness charity - it seems like another age. The Community Foundation by the way is a mechanism by which those who have money (wealthy individuals and companies) give money to community groups throughout Sussex. We have the grant giving board this evening which makes it a long day ('tis in Lewes) but there is always something pleasurable about giving away other people's money. As I leave to rush for my train Florence the Administrator for the Foundation whispers -" really enjoying your blog" so another convert to the revolution. Anyway, here is Bob singing the song from which todays lyric is drawn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il-WqilLCPM

Rock Lobster

The B-52s Classic gives us the perfect combination of fish and music to seamlessly introduce my weekend activity at the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival where I attend the jazz breakfast to see one of Hastings best musicians Lianne Caroll. All the tickets were sold out but they told us that some tables were available outside where we could hear the music. Actually this proved to be a better deal as it was a lovely ,morning and we rustled up some coffee and toast from the angling club which meant seeing it all for free instead of the £8.50 ticket. Anyway the event itself was terrifically relaxed with a lot of wandering around tasting food and generally meeting the people you run into when there is an event on. It was one of those days where Hastings looks and feels like a really nice place to live. The B-52s perform their classic here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szhJzX0UgDM if you are interested.

WITH EVERY MISTAKE WE MUST BE LEARNING

This morning a mandatory Action Learning Set meeting for those projects - of whch we have one - which are funded through the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative. I say mandatory but attendance is poor with the committed and interested always there but with some notable absentees. We run through 2 case studies and a general catch up of the LEGI process. Would be nice to get more input as those who are engaged are those who already liaise well. But at least I was able to commit some funding to resource some training which another project was finding it difficilt to fund. Back to a pile of paperwork as usual pre weekend. The annual audit is also in full swing so we have to remember not to lock the auditors in when we leave for the night. Unfortunately the work will probably stretch into the weekend as I have a presentation to prepare which is not even conceived let alone prepared. But there you go.

Anyway todays lyric reference is a classic http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=T7qpfGVUd8c&mode=related&search=While%20my%20Guitar%20Gently%20Weeps%20-Eric%20Clapton-%20George%20Harrison

Time to plant seeds of reconstruction

A meeting of the Board of Hastings and Bexhill Rennaisance Limited which is the delivery arm of a body called SEASPACE - the Regeneration Company for Hastings - which is building a range of regeneration projects accross the Town. Ironically, I find myself on the board of the very company which will, in time, be knocking down our premises, which is a little like a turkey signing up for a Christmas Club I guess. Anyway we review the range of activities some of which are clearly on track like the creative media centre which is now fully let. The refurbishment of the Marina Pavilian continues to cause concern and is locked into an unfortunate vortex of delay and dispute. The end is in sight but not before time as SEASPACE are taking a big hit in the press over delays to its completion. To be fair some of the problems were unforeseen at the start of the project but that doesn't affect the public view that they have seen a building site for too long.

At the meetings conclusion I raise the issue of the Construction Charter. This is a Local Enterprise Growth Initiative project run by the Borough Council which, along with all the other LEGI projects we are helping to peer review as part of an Action Learning Set. I had assumed that as the company doing most building work in Hastings and as a major agent for the regeneration process SEASPACE/HBRL would be partners to the Charter - which aims to maximise the training of local people amoungst other laudable things. Unbelievably I was wrong and will be advocating for this to change. It seems unbelievably contradictoryif the very body seeking to regenerate Hastings isn't leading the way on this. I have asked for a detailed explanation and we shall see where it takes us. Surely it is the process of regeneration asd well as the final results that should benefit the local community!

Our lyric today comes from Pearl Jam. Architects - together with Nirvana and Soundgarden - whatever hapened to them - of the 1990's Seattle "grunge" sound. Here they are in full flight http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=t1CgfTOZpzU

I Still Remember

A very pleasant task opened my day to give an introductory talk at the Ore Valley Forum away day. They are planning their future activity and role over the next stage of their development. Unbelievably, the forum is now 14 years old and I was asked to speak as I am the only person still around who was at its inaugeral meeting when I was a young(ish) Labour Councillor. The OVF came out of a period when the Ore Valley had its fair share of issues - indeed a mini riot hit the headlines in the early 1990's which made service providers sit up and try and build a better dialogue with local people. That led to some real Action Planning an Estate Action programme. It was ice to share memories with people who were involved in those early years. Some really interesting work going on and some real grassroots activism which is getting results. It all looks a bit uncertain because of the debate over Neighbourhood Renewal Funding etc. I hope I was able t get the message accross that it is the people and not the programmes which will ensure that a strong community voice that shapes the future of the Ore Valley. As ever I had to leave to make another commitment but hope to join them later in the day.

The lyric today comes from Bloc Party - I bought the album yesterday and here they are but be warned they are LOUD... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=M0wcnKOfsu0

If you build it...they will come

With apologies to Field of Dreams I am amazed at how having a blog brings together people with similar interests. Welcome Laura Whitehead a freelance web designer and fellow CVS Director from Devon who has her own blog - heaps more impressive than mine by the way. Like me Laura has 2 cats and a dog which means that she is kind to both people and animals (a big plus point in my opinion). Today I attended a meeting of the East Sussex Assembly to facilitate two workshops with the East Sussex Strategic Partnership. A full day but met two people who regularly read the blog. For ages you feel that you are prattling away to yourself and then you find that you have an audience!!! A few more like minded people and we will start planning the revolution.

If you didn't get the Field of Dreams reference see the great James Earl Jones give "that speech" by clicking on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDyM4CfExXU

I briefed the Sherrif (but I did not brief the Deputy)

Today we welcomed the Queens representative in East Sussex in the form of the High Sherrif who had been told about some of the work we have been doing with the asylum seeker/refugee communities and our broader community cohesion actiuvity. A visit and briefing was arranged and HVAs Community Cohesion worker Habibah, myself and Angela who has responsibility within Hastings Borough Council for cohesion work spoke at length about the issues raised. There are some pretty big questions here. What is the best way of making new communities feel welcomed? How should public services respond to specific needs which do not attract additional funding? and how can this all work in a context of high deprivation. An interesting discussion and I found the high sherrif to be well informed and had prepared extensively for the visit. Tomorrow looks like a day from hell as I found that I have four commitments all in different parts of East Sussex some of which will have to go by the wayside. A problem of high demand combined with limited capacity but we shall see.

And in case you need reminding just how good our lyric reference was just watch this...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WO2T42clWs

let's get together and feel all right

Well that was the NACVA conference then. An interesting couple of days catching up with the more national picture. Interesting contribution from Iain Duncan Smith - former Tory leader - who has been spending his time looking at issues of social exclusion and ways of tackling it. Having spent most of his political career either creating or supporting the conditions that made for so much social exclusion and community alienation it is, at least pleasing to see that he has a commitment to clearing up some of the mess he had such a hand in creating during the 1980's/1990's. Anyway the "quiet man" seems to have had a bit of a road to Damascus revelation and feels that small community groups, civic activism and reaching out the excluded is now the way ahead. IDS put his case well but missed a huge point which I raised at the end of the session. The whole existence of an underclass won't be sorted out by a little more reaching out and much of the writing in the US has examined the way in which the inner city underclass have effectively abandoned the idea of being embraced by the mainstream - given that it shafted them in the first place. There was no mention of the informal economy or the way in which many communities in poverty are topping up their income and finding their own way of surviving. It was also really nice to see people at the conference who - wait for it - had actually read this blog. Paul from the ICT Hub was met face to face which was good and others were very encouraging.

Anyway here is the thrust of what IDS is saying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmp5VN9kulg

To release the pressure we need a holiday

Rose, HVAs volunteer organiser won the lyric competition of a few posts back. Genuinely impressed that Rose could identify a fairly obscure Elvis Costello song (Everyday I write the book) from the 1983 Punch the Clock album. Or so I thought, until I was told that Rose had simply 'Googled' the lyric: an act a little similar to Ben Johnson's 100 meters in the Seoul Olympics methinks. Must be stricter about the rules in future!! Still Rose does have a good taste in music so is let off just with a yellow card this time.

Madonna sings us out of the blog for the next couple of weeks. A final flurry of activity to ensure that I have done everything I need to do, that others know what they need to do when I am away and those who do not know what they are doing in the first place are left well alone. Blogging activity is now curtailed until my return.

Anyway to see and hear Elvis Costello sing Everyday I write the book simply click on this link
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QsxZjLVQraM

Blog Soon

S

The Birds Will Still Be Singing

I feel I should have introduced him earlier but HVA is probably the only CVS is the country with its own mascot. Basically, Leonard the Seagull (see picture on right side) was previously the mascot for a - now abandoned - Passport To Leisure resident discount scheme run by the Borough Council. Unfortunately a new administration combined with a series of budget cuts did for Leonard who was made redundant. Through the involvement of our volunteer bureau Leonard became a volunteer with Hastings United Football Club and leads out the team during home games. So grateful was Leonard for the volunteering opportunity given to him by Hastings Voluntary Action he agreed to become HVAs mascot as well. Commenting on his new position, Leonard said:- "If it wasn't for HVA I don't know where I would be. I was devastated when I lost my job with the Council and was at risk of descending into a vortex of daytime TV, crack addiction, meaningless one night stands and petty crime. I now feel I have regained my purpose in life and wake each day with a smile on my beak." Leonard is now working towards his Level 1 Certificate in Community Volunteering as part of HVAs Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) programme.

Take it to the Top

have just e-mailed Kevin Curley Chief Executive of NAVCA (our national body) to get the message out to other CVS Directors about the blog and how it might be a strand of a more general information strategy for a CVS. If Kevin checks out the site he will also feel right at home to see himself mentioned and to know that seconds after sending an e-mail he can also feature in the blogging world.

And yes I am sad enough to remember the obscure 1981 New York disco hit which gives us our lyric reference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fefrF9ngwOo

Consider Yourself Part of the Furniture

Another Service Level Agreement negotiated this time with the Hastings Furniture Service - a local charity recycling furniture and making it possible for those on low incomes to stretch their money when setting up home. I have a lot of time for the work they have done and it was nice that they have responded to an advert in Hastings Community News to seek funding to offer some accredited training to their volunteers via our LEGI programme. As a result volunteers can get their Health and Safety "ticket" which is an essential item if they want to work in related industries. We are also upping the amount who are appointed first aiders as part of this process. through this they can complete most of the entry stuff to then go onto the Certificate in Community Volunteering which we also offer. It is becoming clear to me that - in a Town where over 40% of the adult population have no formal qualifications - opening up some unusual yet relevant pathways to learning becomes ever more important. The link betwen volunteering and learning is proving a positive starting point and interest in the LEGI programme is growing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LzmdovYoAI

All your compliments and your cutting remarks are captured here in quotation marks

A special prize for the person who guesses the lyric! Anyway a lengthy interview took place with the Government researcher in which I was asked to review the Neighbourhood Renewal approach warts and all. In a nutshell there is quite a lot of positives I report including a greater resident involvement in service planning and exploring the nuances in different geographical areas which will need to be addressed in different ways. Data collection is more precise. On the negative side a bemoan the fact that a programme which was designed for the long term dwindled into another short term intervention with the same sustainability issues as all the others. I criticise the process for failing to resource neighbourhoods with resources from NRF to undertake their own mini-commissioning exercises to buy in those additiona,l services where and when they were most needed. On the community engagement side there is a mixed report some great ideas but a failure of delivery expressed in successive cuts to CEN funding and an elimination of the small grants process which made so much happen at a neighbourhood level. I speak about the importance of The Firm Foundations model as a basis for community activism and the attempts we have made to get others to adopt this as a fundamental principle to engender action at a neighbourhood level. I speak about the frustrations of hitting my head against that particular brick wall and the collective failure to understand the relationship between NRF and mainstream spending in such a way as to be precise. At the moment some core services are running towards the edge of a cliff without the slightest idea of what will happen next. On the LSP itself I explore the good the bad and ugly in terms of its performance - or otherwise - as the Towns strategic vehicle. At best there is a genuine will to form a partnership approach and at worst it is superficial and naive with political posturing and figure skating over the surface of complex and multi faceted issues. Not sure what difference submitting into these research studies is but maybe the message might eventually get through. Wasn't it Albert Einstein who said "if we knew what we wer doing it would not be called research would it!!"

Interview, who's interviewing who

A very old Carly Simon tune that one. Anyway today I am being interviewed as part of a research study for the Department of Communities and Local Government or whatever their called this week, It is a large research study about the effectiveness of the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal which is a programme tackling deprivation in the 88 worst areas in the country. I will blog my thoughts later when I know what questions they want to tackle. After that I have the joys of the LAA review group, a monitoring visit to a project delivering part of the LEGI programme as well as a lot of admin to go through. When I started this job I used to make myself a list of things to do the following day. I now make a list of which lists I should look at!!

The future's here catch me on computer software

A really really obscure lyric from Wu-Tang-Clan (80's rap band) gives us our theme and I have just spent an interesting 40 minutes or so being trained by our information worker on the use of the new database. Got to hand it to John who is bringing our management of information up to speed and enabling us to make sense of our contacts in a meaningful way. We have spent a lot of effort building a mass membership but this brings with it some information flow issues. We are developing an approach to build relationships with individuals within groups rather than just the groups themselves. This is useful because people tend to wear a number of hats in the VCS and understanding the range and scale of their involvement is key. Anyway I feel on top of the process - or at least sufficiently so to ask the right questions!!!

And in their most unadulterated form here are Wu-Tang-Clan (usual hip-hop/rap parental advisory sticker applies to this post by the way) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMkOEtOR2GU

Footballs Coming Home

A pleasant evening last night at the Pilot Field where, as the guest of sponsors Hastings Heritage, I watch Hastings record a satisfying 4-0 victory over Maidstone in the first home game of the new seaon. A bit of a treat sitting in the Directors box with a cup of tea at half time in the boardroom and a drink after the game - how the other half live eh? Actually what is rather impressive is the amount of voluntary effort the club harnesses at all levels. There is a good community feel to sport at this level and the boardroom actually doubles as a study centre during the week deliverying basic skills and ICT programmes. All the youth teams are all run by volunteers and that involves a lot of effort. It was also rather nice to catch up with a couple of former HVA staff and trustees. Paul - formerly a PPI Development Worker is a regular at the Pilot Field and has also been known to double as Leonard the Seagull the clubs mascot when the mood takes him. Also Steve Thorpe a former trustee of HVA was acting as Chief Steward so it was good to have a chat with them. Hastings United have their own website which is regularly updated if you want to check out their progress during the season http://www.hastingsunitedfc.co.uk/ And just in case you forget why football is called the beautiful game just watch this...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2TY-hN8x0s

Slave

Slave was, I think - dredging the memory cells - a Rolling Stones tune from about 1966. This year, marks 200 years since the abolition of slavery and locally I have just taken a decision to offer a small amount of sponsorship to the Friends of Africa and the Caribbean group to help them put on an exhibition reflecting slavery past and present. I got a message throuigh the Council's BME Development Worker that they had raised 90% of the money but had faced some unforeseen costs. I then ran into James Johnson the Chair of FACE who has put a great deal of work into setting this up and offered to help. For those reading this who are local to Hastings the exhibition runs from 14-16 September at the Friends Meeting House with a Guest speaker at the launch event @ 7pm on 15th September. We will probably carry a feature on this event in the next Hastings Community News.

National Health

Who remembers this little known 1960's track from The Kinks eh? Not HVAs funding adviser that's for sure. Anyway this morning saw a meeting of the Health and Social Care Forum a network facilitated by HVA to ensure a strong voluntary sector voice on the Healthier Hastings Partnership Board and other Social Care bodies. In a packed agenda they examined LINks - the new public involvement process being brought into being by our esteemed Govt, the PCT's own involvement strategy, their own AGM, Transport, the CVS Partnership and the future of the Expert Patient programme. probably in need of an asprin after that little lot. The whole issue about public involvement in health is proving to be alittle contentious at the moment with the need for some serious joining up to be done. We have seen the creation of the Commission for Public Patient Involvement, the development of Public Patient Involvement Forums accross the country, the abolition of the Commission for Public Patient Involvement and the stripping of many of the formal powers which the forums had. It appears that LINks (Local Involvement Networks) are the answer but having lived through the last ill-thought out attempt we will wait and see. At a local level though it was good to see some collaborative work being done between the Public Patient Involvement Group and the Health Forum. I then left the meeting to get back to the office as the Heavens absolutely opened and got soaked. Coincidentally I took shelter in the SHELTER charity shop and in return bought a strange CD I had never heard of before "Anne Von Otter Meets Elvis Costello" goodness alone knows what this collaboration will actually sound like mind you but 99p was a small price to pay for the experiment.

Special Delivery

P Diddy provides our lyric today proving how street cred and hardcore we can be in the old voluntary sector. For our purposes the special delivery refers to the contribution made to public service delivery by the voluntary sector. In this regard we have always argued that VCS involvement in service delivery makes it more efficient and improves its reach - particularly to parts of the community which have not previously taken up services. Well this view is supported by new Government research quantifying the impact of Voluntary sector involvement and suggesting that the long term effectiveness of service delivery, value for money and efficiency would all be enhanced if Local Government embraced a real creative approach to the Voluntary and Community Sector. The research Improving the Delivery of Mainstream Services in Deprived Areas: The Role of Commuinity Involvement is available from the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit by clicking on this link www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/publications.asp?did=1561

Contagious...its just Contagious

Who remembers the Isley Brothers Contagious was one of their lesser known hits from the 1960's. For our purposes it refers to one thing being kind of infectious and leading to another. This blog is having a strange and infectious effect on those who read it. A number of people have commented on it and 2 have stated their intention to start their own. Rose, HVA's volunteer orgasniser is beginning a blog called "Volunteering is Good for the Soul" so when it has a link we will publish it here. So we seem to be starting a blogging revolution within the voluntary sector.

(Not)...OK Computer

The miserable Radiohead provide us with our lyric link and computer are very much the issue. HVA are having a new server fitted by our computer boffins so we are off line temporarily. Also, my home computer got kind of ill a few days ago and is now in computer hospital being repaired so all blogging activity is being coordinated from work.

Monday morning was a quick update with everyone, a communication meeting + visit to the printers with John HVA's Information Worker. This was followed by a pleasant conversation as members of the team we folded and despatched the monthly newsletter. This was followed by induction meetings with the new coorindator of the Childrens Centre and the Health manager from the PULSE project. I will blog in detail about PULSE as a seperate item as it is a really interesting health initiative which HVA were instrumental in helping to create to improve health outcomes for young people under 25 and has brought in over £2m worth of funding to Hastings during its lifetime. Anyway we are looking towards equipping groups of young people with skills and qualifications to become peer mentors as part of the LEGI programme and we discuss how this might work. Seems to me common sense dictates that young people will probably prefer to get information from other young people and all the research backs this up. There is a really good group of volunteers doing workshops in schools etc which we might expand on - we shall see.

Our House...In the Middle of Our Street

The song is Madness and the topic is housing where I have had a meeting with the Bond Board to discuss their role and how to ease access to private sector accommodation by those on benefit or very low incomes which are rarely landlords favourite given the number of "no benefit" signs you see in letting agents windows. It's always good to talk to Melanie the manager of this charity to get a briefing on housing issues and a particular problem which is going to hit Hastings in January. Basically, the Government are on a drive to make indivisduals take more responsibility for the transactions the state makes on their behalf and wish to scale down the amount of direct Housing Benefit payments which go directly from Local Authorities to Landlords. Therefore after Jan 08 the payments will be going directly to tenants with very few exceptions. This is causing some considerable consternation among landlords - amny of whom rather like the direct payments as a way of avoiding rent arrears and may make access to accommodation more problematic. Additionally whilst there is nothing intrinsically wrong with making tenants more responsible some are particularly vulnerable or may face other problems which may make it difficult to manage money. I guess if you are a heroin addict a regular sum of £250 or £300 might make them think about prioritising their little bags of fun rather than paying the rent. The most vulnerable can be exempted but it is a complex process and noone is quite sure how vulnerability is going to be defined. With Melanie I explore what kind of intervention might assist this and we agree to meet with SHELTER and the Hastings Representation and Advice Centre to pursue this. Off to the Dentist and then onto the staff BBQ this afternoon. Once a year we have a get together and the weather is being kind for us. For those who have an interest the run over the Country park this morning was accompanied by the first Stereo MCs album. Coincidentally running in the opposite direction was the person who sent such nice comments about my blog so we wave knowingly. Amazing who you meet when you run. About 2 months ago I ran, almost literally, into Johnny Depp over the Country park.