I don't need no pressure on

Today 12 December conspired to be a real day of deadlines with us bashing out expressions of interest for the new Area Based Grants initiative. There has been much work for Jill and I which occurred at the same time as the preparation stage for the Annual Review which also needs to be submitted and loads of other things. As if that wasn't enough through my home letter box on Tuesday came an almighty crash as a large package almost knocked the dog out. 'Twas the long lost dissertation from my university student who I tutored at an early stage. Good to see it finally submitted but it is, well long and will require a detailed read. The university are keen for a quick marking turn around as they seem to break for Christmas just after bonfire night - so it looks like Saturday will be spent working. And Sunday the 100th Anniversary Marathon is finally here - not before time really as it is really starting to get cold and I am a bit sick of pasta and those Carbo-Gel things.

Last week Hastings Voluntary Action won - FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW - the inter-agency quiz championshipwhich is run each Xmas to raise funds for a local youth drop in centre. Only by a single point though. I can't claim to have added much to the effort - although I was on the team - and bow to the general knowledge of others who really proved their worth more than I did. I think the only meaningful things I contributed was knowing the name of the goal-keeper who broke his neck during an FA cup final and naming the first Elvis Costello album. Strange thing General Knowledge isn't it? facts which stick in your mind but which serve no apparent purpose. For example, I know that the B-52s come from Athens Georgia which is the same town which REM come from. Quite how this fact will ever be useful I know not but there it is lodged in my brain forever. In contrast, remembering the 4 digits for the cash-point and not confusing them with the burglar alarm code (as I did 2 days ago) is beyond me.

What else, employment issues loom large again as I advise a group who are about to become an employer for the first time having achieved their first substantial funding award. I try and go through the things they will need to have in place without making it seem too daunting. This morning was a meeting of the regeneration company wherre I was reappointed to the board as one of their independant directors. There's me representing the Voluntary Sector and two business people representing the views of local commerce. Actually its been really interesting and I've learnt a lot about how these huge capital building programmes actually work from the inside. All in all its just like running a voluntary organisation but with far far more noughts!!

Anyway enough rambling - off for the weekend and as for the lyric reference what else http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xtrEN-YKLBM

All Over the Place

The title hear refers to the amount of cross county travel I have been doing rather than the state of my mind (I hope). A few things have been developing and the commissions are finally published from Hastings Borough Council so we can submit Working Neighbourhoods proposals soon. Actually commissioning has been at the forefront of our minds and we have recently submitted to the Borough Council for what used to be our "core grant" which is now a commission crossing 2 specific service areas. The PCT were in monitoring mode too which meant a lot of paperwork to be submitted.

Apart from that we had a well attended seminar at which the Community Network launched its new constitution and electoral arrangements for the future. Well received too, with many who had previously been on the edge of the representational process keen to regiater their intention. At a county level Speak Up (the County wide Voluntary Sector forum) is gathering pace and bringing some shape to the whole issue of VCS representation. One of the key bodies we relate to is the East Sussex STrategic Partnership which met this week in the rather grand Council Chamber in Bexhill. I was told that Bexhill was the model on which the Dad's Army town of Walmington on Sea was based. It did have that kind of feel to it too. The ESSP reviews the Local Area Agreement and comes up with a model for the distribution of the reward money if any is received as partof this process. The Compact Review results are presented concisely by my colleague (another Steve) from Age Concern. There is much praise for the fact that East Sussex won a commendation at the recent Compact awards - I use this opportunity to request that partners consider engraining the compact within the culture of their organisation by including a reference to it in their standing orders or governance documents. I give a pledge that HVA will change its mem and arts at our next AGM to reflect our continuing commitment to partnership and the compact. I then dash back to the office to ask Pauline (our financial administrator and expert on our constitution) how I actually do this! It is more complex than you think - so much for me and my big mouth. What else. I must pass on some sad news which is that we learnt of the sudden death of John Appleyard the chair of the Hastings Seniors Forum and involved with much else besides. John was a fan of HVA and gave a lot of his time to voluntary activity at a Borough and County level. He will be much missed and I pen a tribute to appear in the next newsletter.

What else any spare moment seems to be spent pounding the streets of our fair Town in preparation for the 100th anniversary Hastings Marathon. I am running this for the unit where my grandson Jacob had his operation. There is a small charity which supports parents whilst their children are having major heart surgery. I ran 15 miles last weekend and this Sunday we go for 20. People have been kind pledging money and if you want to join them feel free to leave a comment here or email me at steve@hvauk.org

Education Education Education

Well whats been going on?

No less a figure than Kevin Curley - the Chief Executive of NAVCA has joined the HVA Facebook group and thinks it may be the first of its type in the entire Country. To think when I first knew Kevin he was unaware of what an ipod was (and used words like Gramophone and "Home Service") and here he is now a pioneer of New Media with Facebook and podcasts to his name.

Yesterday I was asked to attend a joint meeting with a funder and a group with a very good project but one which is facing some compliance issues. We offer support and may be asked to become more formally involved but we shall see. If I am honest the week has gone with a bit of a blur with lots going on - I have been a stranger to my desk so this Friday is a bit of an admin catch up. The Board papers have to go out and there are lots of them this time as there are some decisions about the CVS Partnership structure the new premises and the agreement of HVA Environmental and Public Interest Disclosure (whistleblowing) policies to be agreed.

This morning it is a meeting of the LSP Learning and Skills Theme Group where we talk education reform and learning. We are keen to get training for community activists seriously addressed so I attend these quarterly meetings to sniff out some opportunities. We take an update on the serious issues affecting education in Hastings. Much change is afoot with a federation structure for local secondary schools and an Academy in the offing. Things need to change as 4 local schools have 30% or less GCSE attainment (5 A-C grades including English and Maths). The Government have recently issued an edict that any school not achieving 30% by 2011 will be listed for closure - so the stakes are fairly high. At the meeting I meet a manager of Job Centre Plus who tells me he enjoyed reading the blog so only appropriate that he should now feature in it!

So another week ends and seeing as I have spent part of the day talking about education here is a classic video to start the weekend

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d0y3jCbDv08&feature=related

Art for Arts Sake...Money for God's sake

Today I wake feeling a bit sore from yesterdays efforts. I ran the first ever Bexhill Half Marathon which would have been lovely on a summers day but given the rain and appalling wind felt like running the wrong way in a wind tunnel. It is all good preparation for the big one on December 14th the 26 miles of which I have ludicrously agreed to run to raise funding for the St Thomas's childrens surgical unit where Jacob had his heart operation. I creep into work to catch up with a Fran who has just returned from travels in China. Thereafter it is a whole succession of meetings and then some preparation for a big members meeting of the Arts Forum in the evening at which I have agreed to act as their independant chair. They face some financial challenges and the Committee needed to bring their membership up to date with their plans. We have been adivsing together with a business coach who is helping them cut coat according to cloth as it were. As ever artistic people find creative ways of raising money and an auction and fundraising event are planned. The committee, on realising the extent of the problem have worked tirelessly to get on top of it and I wish them success with this little video.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5ICh235gj0o&feature=related

On again on again...

Looking back over the past weeks make me realise what a varied time it has been. We are in the middle of seeking to secure some train to gain funding to resource our staff development programme so we have been revisting our business plan with the help of a local adviser from the Enteprise Centre. It is all fairly general stuff. My casework is throwing up some interesting but complex issues from an organisation with significant financial issues to another in which we are trying to implement some proper systems to record activity so that the group can account to its funders in an effective way. In the meantime I am advising on a few employment law issues. I evaluate with the coordinator of the PULSE project a recent drama production around the issue of youth homelessness which they funded. Actually a good piece of theatyre a cut above a lot of the agit-prop stuff of this type you usually see. I caught the performance at the White Rock and it had a well researched script and was performed by professional actors. Apart from that there is some cover for a colleague on long term sick live so my working life is a little hectic at the moment. Some really good news from the volunteering passport side as another of our students is moving into permanent paid work and is the first person in the entire country to achieve the new Level 3 Certificate in Community Volunteering. That whole area of work was an idea conceived when I was running the Hastings Marathon which is translating into a really classy intervention. I indicated that there is lots to my job including advising Jill (HVAs deputy director) about a new hairstyle. She is preparing for a visit to 11 Downing Street as part of the East Sussex Compact delegation who have been nominated for an award.

Nothing if not varied

A pretty random day full of appointments. Firstly a discussion and review of our porposed commissioning response to the Borough Council which will need to be in shortly. Thereafter it is an induction visit with the Councils new Community Cohesion Officer where we discuss this important and sensitive area of work and ways of apporaching it in light of recent and tragic events in the Town. Then it is onto a health workshop where we discuss the best way of interfacing the services of the new walk in medical centre planned for the Town and related VCS support services like alcohol drugs and debt counselling. This is a difficult one as GPs have so little time and referall pathways need to be spot on. We make some progress and the convenor of the workshop makies a special trip to HVA to thank us for our involvement later in the day so we must have given good value. I also review a few cases with members of the team who are supporting groups at various critical phases of development. I then call in at a couple of placements where a couple of our volunteering passport students are based. I enjoy a conversation with a group of volunters who run a charity shop about how and why they got involved. I am considering writing up some of these stories for the UN International. Volunteering Day. Tonight I am supposed to be doing a 7 mile run as part of my marathon training but I seem to have picked up some kind of virus on the place back from Greece so how far I actually get may be open to question.

Keep the faith

It has been what you may call a challanging week all round. The economy is in freefall and the bankers and city people all look like the preverbial is about to hit the fan big time. Workwise I am covering the bases and speak at the launch of a local inter-faith forum. I am genuinely touched by the ffort everyone makes to bring this off and meet moslems, christians, buddhists students from the international village with everyone learning and really enjoying the experience. I was a little nervous, being something of a heathen but I talk about the values that underpin all the major faiths - a kind of doctrinal DNA if you will. It seems to be well received. On the work front I am in the middle of a squabble with the local authority and its Director of Regeneration and Planning. We met for a drink and are now squaring up to each other in writing about some transitional funding arrangements which were - or were not - agreed some months ago. I hate this kind of exchange but hope we can focus on the future in a way that is constructive. Actually, the Director in question is someone I rather like and it seems a bit odd to be "at odds" with each other on this one. Anyway despite our frequent allegations of compact breaches and exchange of e-mails I dedicate this rather lovely number from a jazz festival to the spirit of comon sense. I give you...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89nKf1zCSfc

And Off It Goes

Today is stage 2 of the looming lottery deadline. I awake to 8 urgent messages on my mobile phone from our property lawyer. He has deeds of transfer leases and partnership agreements for me to review and is worried because his server went down and caused a significant delay. So I spend the day reviewing, raising questions and writing confirmation letters to get everything moving. In the meantime, Glyn our contact at the Borough Council (who incidentally has been brilliant throughout) coordinates planning permissions, architects drawings and suchlike.

Apart from that I provide an induction briefing to the Brighton Housing Trust who are envisaging some work in the Hastings area and are launching a training project. I then sit down with one of the mental health bridgebuilder team who is about to embark on a community development degree - then it is a planning meeting about a fund we are seeking to establish to encourage corporate giving. A brief catch up with messages and the most urgent faxes and e-mails and on the practical side a visit to the bank to get petty cash to keep it all ticking over. In recognition of the enormous work undertaken by Glyn I drop off a bottle of wine as a small token of our thanks. On my way the first Death in Vegas album screams out at me to be bought for a mere 85p from the Shelter Charity shop. I listen to its dynamic and diverse beats as I write this.

In the meantime it is now 5pm and our lottery plans are now on their way to Newcastle - all should be well as I signed it with my lucky pen!!!

Talking of lottery check this out...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJReSZKKGNw

Today's the day

My working life has been revolving round keeping the general plate spining going and also working to submit a detailed business plan for the Community Asset Transfer project. Well today was the day and I dutifully hand over the plan to Glyn from the council who is our partner on the project. By the end I was pretty sick of the sight of the thing and anyone who menitons service charges rental footage or business rates to me over the next week gets smacked in the mouth. Apart from that I chair a team meeting and advise one of the companies who are bidding for the new medical centre about how to build relationships with voluntary organisations in a coherent fashion. Then onto a discussion about the community bridgebuilder project and then back to the e-mails that could not wait.

I decide to celebrate by buying myself a big piece of steak to cook only to find that the butchers/greengrocers ion the Old Town is now closed down. Here in Hastings Old Town we can buy lots of arts and crafts but not, apparently a pork chop! There is now no local butcher which is a shame as my hopes of a steak disappear and the only thing to eat is some vegetarian bolognnaise. I put on some running gear and stride out to the Marina Pavilian and back to the sounds of a new Dubstep podcast I have subscribed to be. Dubstep beiong, of course, the best music to run to as I am discovering. Maybe something about the beat replicating the heart-beat I guess.

Hastings Comes to Terms With Itself

Much of the tone of this blog has been fairly light hearted commenting on happenings in the community sector in Hastings. None of that today, as the whole town is coming to terms with a truly awful incident in which a visiting language student from Qatar was killed over the weekend.

There is huge media interest and some of the early reporting was wildly inaccurate. A racist incident in or outside a kebab house led to a chase and then, depending on which report you read, a serious assault or a fatal fall. There is much debate about whether there is a problem with racism in the Town. In terms of the majority of people I would say absolutely not but there is an under-belly of the most awful racism and xenophobia in the Town which shows its ugly face from time to time. When we used to publish BME News I used to get personal racist hate-mail and there is clearly a number of hard-core racists out there. The BNP target Hastings during election periods and at the last election they gained a higher proportion of the vote than during previous times. There is also a lot of grief faced by ethnic workers in fast food outlets and late night garages. A little while ago I called for the kebab houses and fast food outlets to be embraced by the Council's Bar Watch ("banned from one banned from all") to show solidarity with those who run and work in them. This was being 'looked into'.

As far as the future is concerned I sometimes think that it is a time for honesty an realism and for the Town to come to terms with what this all means. There is much political denial defending the Town against the media claims made about it which, I guess, is appropriate. But in this there is also a need to face the facts and I am reminded of a comment made about bullying in schools - simply put, it asserted that a school which took a view that bullying "doesn't happen here" simply became a delay to the problem being addressed.

Thanks for reading - now watch this...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mB3pDYTne0

Van the Man

A quick update to say that I have been neglectful of my blog because I am that busy I make the winner of the 100m meters in the Olympics look slow, wasn't he incredible. WOnderful to watch and it just seemed so effortless. ANyway today has been business planning for the new building arranging cover for a colleague who won't be with us for a while, signing off the BASIS bid and attending a meeting nof the Executive Delivery Vehicle the monthly meeting of all the Chief Executives from the main agencies. I find myself in the unusual position of agreeing with Roy Mawford the Borough Councils CHief Executive on a couple of issues. This must mean I am either getting soft or he is. Answerson a postcard please. We also receive our business consultant to help with the planning for the new building. Apart from that I complete a monitoring form for an evbaluation meeting I have next week for one of our projects and generally catch up with people. I also show willing by folding the newletter with colleagues and generally catch up. Adam - who used to work from HVA on the ICT side joins us and is pursuaded to fold for a while.

I run the country park this morning to the sounds of a fantastic live album from Van Morrison - I am not generally a huge fan of Van and Man as it were but Nothing can stop us if a wonderful album which you should hear. Here is an extract from the same tour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SP60n9v2YM

So Easy (not)

It's been a little while since I posted some music for you all to listen to so hear is a track "So Easy" by Royksopp - a Norwegian electronic band (I say band but there are only 2 of them) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu684V2lB3Q&feature=related. It has no meaning apart from the fact that this was the music that accompanied my morning run over Hastings Country Park and has been in my head all day. Today we press on with the business plan for the Community Asset Transfer and I make contact with Carl from Barking and Dagenham CVS who is in a similar position to us. ALso going through the Community Strategy refresh process at the LSP Officers group. I also brief the manager of the Towns services for Migrants about the Councils commissioning process and how the advice agencies can strengthen their role. It is a useful discussion.

Worth the effort

I am a little out of sequence in my chronology but I must tell you about my recent day out with members of the Saxon Mount Youth project. Regular readers of this blog will be aware that for the last 2 years I have run the Hastings marathon to support this initiative providing a youth club for young people with special needs. This time we raised over £500 for young people to choose something they wanted to do. Thjey decided that a day out to Chessington World of Adventures and this was duly planned. Unfortunately it was the only day in a 2 week period during which it chose to absolutely tip dsown with rain. From dawn til dusk without a break. Even the staff were dressed in wet weather gear and looked miserable as they staffed the rides. The young people themselves decided that a little bit of (torrential) rain was not going to spoil their fun and proceeded to act as if it were a summers day. They had a great time and many young people achieved "firsts" - these are little tasks which increase confidence or improve skills in dealing with situations young people find difficult. All in all a really good day and well worth the marathon effort.

Getting the message out...

There is usually a paralell between how busy I am and how often I get a chance to update the blog. My service to you, dear reader, has been shoddy of late because of the sheer volume of work I am tryiong to wade through at the moment. Highlights recently have included the HVA Board meeting, 2 audits, cover for the Health and Social Care Forum, the reprovisioning of a local day centre (where we have been trying to support VCS tendering) our own relocation proposals. And, of course the day to day round of e-mails faxes and conversations which try and keep the place ticking along in a coherent fashion. We were also trying to fit in a crazy gold challange with the Hastings Trust and an Old Town History Walk but they were victims of our general business and will have to be rescheduled.

I also volunteered to assess a Duke of Edinburgh expedition around the countryside near Jevington which took up much of Saturday and Sunday.

I have written an article about this blog which now features as part of NAVCA's (our national association) review of good practice. I have always thought about writing up the impact of this blog and some of the effect it could have. So if you are a visitor to this site as a result of reader CIRCULATION then a hearty welcome to you. We have also been meeting with the new providers of a Hate Crime Support Service (supporting victims rather than perpetrators of course). When they visitors one of them mentioned how much he enjoyed reading the blog. You will understand why they were promised our full cooperation and support. Apart from that Jill (HVAs depuity director) is in the midst of producing a BASIS bid to strengthen activity around financial advice and funding support. This build on some of our existing work but rolls out the model accross the whole of East Sussex. Consortium or partnership bids are often the most problematic as they require much discussion and the building of real consensus. For myself I am beginning to complete the business plan for our new building which is going to take some time. We have only recently received the drawings from our architects which will then allow us to see the kind of spaces we are looking at and the kinds of rent they might go for. We are trying to achieve a balance between viability and affordability so the margins will always be tight. This is one call we have to get right so worth putting some time into it.

I must close by mentioning an engagement I attended over the weekend which was the official opening of the History House in the Old Town. This new history centre has been developed almost entirely by voluntary effort under the umberella of the Old Town Preservation Society good to see a packed venue for its opening.

An Update

Quite a lot to report on as much is going on at the moment. Another audit takes place and we pass with a good report as our systems and progress seem to be robust. The project has been commended as a "best practice" model and has exceeded its outputs so we were operating from a position of strength. But the word audit is still enough to make one feel uneasy and check the files to make sure everything is in order. It appears that it was and we have a pleasant visit to verify our systems. Apart from that it is to and from to Lewes to keep up to date with the Community Foundation. It is the Annual General Meeting with some good progress to report. From a standin start two and a bit years ago the Foundation have distributed over £300,000 to groups accross Sussex. It is also pleasing that the Foundation has been awarded the major contract to administer the Governments Grassroots Grants and Endowment Challange. Our association with the Sussex Community Foundation has been a good use of my time as I feel we add value to an organisation which ios strategically important for the County.

What else...of course - the new building. I chair a Team meeting to discuss in detail our requirements and how we might seek to organise ourselves. It is good to have people like Pauline who has long standing experience of managing our own buildings but also James who developed and managed a multi-functional community space. Then it is back to Lewes to spend all of Friday interviewing prospective grants managers. It is a good panel and there were some quality candidates so we have a good discussion about this appointment. It is challenging role and picking new staff members for small organisations where flexibility and versatility are needed is always a challenge.

Our Compact meeting takes place with the Council - their formal response will go through the usual process but it was a useful exchange of views. Given that we met for almost 2 hours made it feel like progress could be made but the playing field will still need to be levelled. I thought Jill and I did an OK job of presenting our case but time will tell. This morning I spend some considerable time with one of our member organisations who have some medium to severe compliance issues with part of their funding. They are doing the work, of course, but the systems needed to prove it and comply with a detailed funding agreement need some serious attention. I then have a break and walk the dog before returning to work for an evening session. We are working with Terence Higgins Trust to support them in creating and offering a local 1 hour HIV testing service and it is the first monthly session tonight. It is a pilot which will run for 3 months (3 sessions) and a quick evaluation to see if there is the uptake and/or need for a regular service.

Remember My Name

The lyric reference is from Eminem and is probably unrepeatable. It records the fact that a few posts ago I described a meeting and - fingers moving faster than brain - got someones name wrong. As I enter the Area Management Board this evening I am approached by Jan - who I blogged about for some strange reason as 'Karen' - to correct my abject error. It is one thing to forget someones name but the height of rudeness to call them something entirely different! The only thing I can say in my defence is that I have searched high and low for any lyric references to Jan - not too many available I am afraid. There was a surf duo from the 60's called Jan and Dean but this was the pre video era. The best I can do is Jan Hammer and the theme from Miami Vice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47XaK4XJxFQ) it is just so 80's - and not a little camp - but you might enjoy it. Apologies Jan.

What else? On Saturday I am in Fairlight to attend the 10th anniversary of the Fairlight Youth Club. Years ago my wife Sue was a youthworker in the area and together we wrote the Lottery bid which provided the funds to open a club and provide a portacabin on the village green for young people of the village. Thinking back, it must have been one of the very first lottery grants after the launch of the National Lottery. Keith HVA's grants officer - and big fish in the world of Fairlight Amauteaur Dramatics - is also there so we all sit on hay bales watching the music.

A nice event to attend as there is live music. Two local bands both if which by chance we know provide the soundtrack. The first - four young women who are sisters Sue (my wife) took on an exchange trip to Germany. The second features Terry who plays with his son and provides a good and diverse set. He, along with the mis-named Jan is one of the Area Coordinators for Hastings. I asked them to play "the day we caught the Train" by Ocean Colour Scene - a favourite band of mine but they have to cut the set short to attend a stag do. Can't remember Elvis ever doing that but there you go. Shame, because people were dancing. Anyway just to remind Terry to play this song more often here are the boys themselves doing their trademark number http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf5gGwGVaTk enjoy.

An Update

The sheer scale of our task in delivering the Community Assets Transfer project becomes clear on Friday. We have the preliminary "scoping" meeting with the Development Trusts Association to begin to develop the fully costed proposal, design brief and planning permission. It is more about establishing a timetable to fit all the pieces of the jigsaw in place - and in time. We had originally conceived of a timetable which meant that we would be submitting towards the end of October (this was thought of as tight but achievable). However, clarification with the Big Lottery reveals that the effective date for submission is now at the end of September which really piles the pressure on. Lots to be done but I have a lot of confidence in project partners so we begin to look at the "whose working on what" elements of the process and feed in our work plans of what we will be doing. As ever, it is the formalities which are time consuming such as a written partnership agreement to describe our respective roles and responsibilities. It will rely on some legal work to be completed at speed which is not always the Borough Council's 'gear of choice' but we shall see.

On the recreational side it was a sheer delight to see Jools Holland in concert and jamming with an exceptional group of musicians. It was also a fine evening which permitted a picnic which was great.

On the good news/bad news front we will shortly be saying goodbye to Jan who has looked after our health work by supporting the Health and Social Care Forum. Sad that we lose a really effective worker - and member of the winning HVA quiz team. But nice to have played a role in the next stage of someones professional development.

Apart from that I co-design an Employment Law training course with Pat our group support worker and generally catch up on issues affecting a couple of the groups we are jointly supporting. We also welcomed Sue to work this morning wearing a medal and a rather proud grin on her face. She did the Race for Life yesterday (5miles in 50 minutes) raising over £300 in the process.

What else? I guess I should record the fact that another birthday has passed and I am now a whopping 47 years of age!! Nice card from the team though which was much appreciated. A sobering thought to remember that by the time he was my age Mozart had been dead 20 years!During his short life he composed over 600 hundred pieces of music spanning opera, chamber music, symphonies, diverdimenti, sonatos, concertos and a requiem. Here is my favourite Mozart moment from the impeccable Shawshank Redemption. A wonderful aria from the Marriage of Figaro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAJ2skOJvdY proving - if proof was needed - that beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places.

When all the Clowns that you have commissioned

The lyric is from a pretty obscure Bob Dylan track. It took a bit of finding (from the Highway 61 Revisited Album) and is the only one I know of which refers to commissioning or being commissioned. It commemorates the visit to HVA by Jocelyn and Jan from the Borough Council where we talk about their forthcoming commisioning process. It is a good discussion and I sense there is a real wish to make the process as VCS friendly as it can be. Moving from ghrant funding to a more commissioned approach sounds simple but raises quite a few complex issues. Peter (HVA's Funding expert) and I raise a range of issues from VAT to TUPE and some of the unforeseen implications of moving in this direction. It is really useful that the Council are using us to test out their plans before they are decided as we can often - hopefully - offer some useful insights. The other good thing about the meeting is that Jan - without prompting - says how much she enjoys reading the blog. I reply by saying that she will now feature in it. So thanks Jan nice to know that there are real people reading this.

Here is Bob Dylan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8CXskzlr2E&feature=related

The Graduate(s)

Officially I am supposed to be on holiday but I come back for a single commitment. This is the “graduation” ceremony for the first cohort of students to achieve their qualifications as a result of participating in an HVA project called the Volunteering Passport. It was a simple idea I had when I was running the marathon actually which was to try and use what is good about the Town – its volunteering and community spirit – to tackle one of its problems (the number of adults with no formal qualifications). From this simple notion we have almost 100 people achieving or working towards a qualification. Anyway, I compare the event, the Mayor gives out the certificate. The vent goes really well and is rather moving as the learners themselves took to the stage to speak about their participation in the project. One person talks about over-coming a serious brain injury, another how volunteering helped to overcome the death of a family member. At the end of the event there is a big photo-call and I am standing next to one of the youthworkers who literally has tears in his eyes. I arrange through Mary at HVA for some "surprise" flowers for Sandra and Jan who have worked hard to support the candidates through this process which they are delighted with.

Sometimes in the work I do I sometimes wonder about whether it has an impact. This was a day in which – hand on heart – you could say that you had made a real difference. In the words of Colonel Hannibal SMith from the 1970's TV show The A Team "I love it when a plan comes together".

Lyric, what else - as if you couldn't guess but The Graduate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL6HK1YP9pQ

Audit Time

An audit of one of our projects takes place. Being funded by numerous funding sources means that we are constantly being monitored and the subject of various compliance visits. This one is extensive but we are given a very clean bill of health. Actually it is a useful opportunity to talk about the fundraising project itself which has – thanks to Peter – been really successful. An investment of £40,000 has realised an inward investment to the Town of over a £1.3 pounds.

On the Road Again

I am blogging “out of sequence” as it were as quite a lot has been happening since my last update. My travels take me to Southend to be briefed by the Southend Community Foundation about a fund they have established to encourage local giving. This is helpful because I am seeking to develop something similar for Hastings. I drive over with Alan our volunteer who has an impressive CV as a senior communications expert with the post office as well as a history of editing local and regional newspapers. He brings both a good range of skills and a healthy objective which we will find useful. He also quotes REM songs which puts him a few notches up on the credibility scale as well. We are shown into a hugely impressive building which is the headquarters of one of the Foundations major Donors – part of the Olympus Group which make specialist medical equipment. A building custom designed for the needs of the people who work in it with lots of intelligent little features to make their lives easier and create little designed corners and areas for meetings or conversations to take place. A useful briefing takes place at which we hear about the do’s and don’ts of how they went about developing a local fund. I return to Hastings in time to dash to an AGM of one of our members which I had agreed to chair.

My job as Director of HVA takes me to some strange places - perhaps no stranger than the place I find myself today. Court 4 at Hove Crown Court. Fear not, dear reader, I have not erred or committed some act of outrage. I am here to witness a sentencing. Over a year ago HVA - or rather its first class group support worker Pat - uncovered a strange set of transactions in the accounts of one of our members (for whom we were conducting an Independant Examination). Well one thing led to another and we had uncovered a fraud. We have supported the group through the entire process. Many voluntary groups run exclusively by volunteers would have "thrown in the towel" but they have soldiered on much to their credit. The Police were only the verge of dropping the case due to lack of evidence but we complained and persevered to bring the matter to its conclusion. Hence my visit to the crown court. Its a long running saga finally over. Although the evidence is overwhelming a guilty plea on the part of the person concerned takes the matter beyond doubt. Hit it...http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzV_0l5ILI

"In the morning and the evening 'til the end of the line"

Monday brings a discussion with the chair of the Community Network and Fran - HVA's Network Development Officer about the community empowerment white paper and the feedback both HVA and the CEN would like to give the Govt. There is lots of good stuff in the White Paper which uses the right rhetoric but details of how this will be arranged and, crucially, how it will be resourced are sketchy. Our experience was that the old community empowerment fund - coming directly to the VCS with lots of flaxibility was probably the closest the Govt have ever got to an empowering funding regime which put resources precisely where they could best be used.

From there I see Sandra, the coordinator of our volunteering passport project which accredits volunteering activity and enables participants to secure a qualification. We have a success story on our hands as the first cohort of students have graduated and the verifying body see us as national "best practice". Indeed they have decided to use us as a case study example of how to do it. We plan a small ceremony to award certificates during National Volunteering Week.

From there it is a quick dash to the station to catch the train to the Board meeting of the Sussex Community Foundation. I buy - for the first time in maybe 20 years - a copy of the NME. Now I was used to the old style version where the print came off on your hands. Now in 2008 it has been revamped and has all gone glossy/upmarket and the writing isn't as good. Free copy of the new Coldplay single though - although as this is on vinyl I will have to give it away as I do not own a record player. Also on the music front I pick up for 50p a copy of the first - and I think possibly only - album by Cornershop. You may remember this band as they were more widely noticed after the success of a Fatboy Slim remix of their song "Brimful of Asha", a song writtten as a tribute to the prolific Indian playback singerAsha Bhosle and the entire Indian music industry in general. Norman Cook mixed the track without charging a fee because he liked it so much.

Anyway I digress the Board meeting discusses Endowment funding grassroots grants and progress towards levering money from the wealthy in the County. Apart from meetings it is a day trying to catch up with e-mails cheque signing and letters.

The evening is spent over a drink where I am briefed about the Youth Service Review as I have to prepare for a special meeting of all the area boards at which this will be discussed. This is partly my responsibility as I raised some quesations about how the funding formulae works and whether this unwittingly loads money away from the most deprived parts of the County. The meeting will review how these services are being delivered and funded.

In the spirit of opening choice and the empowerment white paper. Here on the HVA Directors blog you can feel empowered to make choices of your own by picking from either:-

the original Cornershop version of the song here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QBbKMoKiIg

or

the Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) remix here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XniTypXFje4

The Choice is yours - feel empowered!!

And all I really want is some justice

Lyric today is from Alanis Morrisette and the justice in question is an Employment Tribunal case involving one of HVAs members. It brings home just how vulnerable small organisations are when they are legally challanged. It costs over £2,500 to instruct a solicitor to prepare a case and represent at one of these hearings. Let alone the costs of an award made against a group which could threaten its very future. It is for this reason that very ocassionally I brush off some professional skills as an Employment Law practitioner and step into the advocacy role.

This one is a little hurried as I don't actually hear that we are going until I receive a panicked phone call the day before. As a consequence I don't see the full trial bundle until I get into the car to be driven over to the hearing itself. These days are always full and not without their unique stresses as there is a lot at stake. Seven witnesses later plus closing arguments and we a wait for a decision. This eventually comes and the case is decided in our favour which is a huge relief for the Trustees concerned who have been involved with this matter for a long time. The lunchtime also presents me with a copy of a PJ Harvey album for £2 as well. HVA derive no funding for this aspect of our service but it is one of those days when you feel you can make a difference. Certainly the implications and risks for the group were significant and it was the right thing to do in offering to represent them.

Apart from that I resolve that as my desk and I have been strangers for a good few days now I feel that I need to look through everything on my desk rather than just snatching up the most important items. Perhaps monday.

Here is Alanis with our lyric reference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXCCv5ngyI0

I want to be elected...

A classic Alice Cooper song introduces the aftermath of the local elections. For ages, the Council seemed paralysed by being in "purduh" (or whatever it is called) with no real decisions being taken and no strategic issues being addressed. No change there you may think, but I would rebuke you for your abject cynicism. I have always believed that within each tired and flaccid Local Authority there is an active and radical one waiting to come out.

More than usual the local elections were awaited with some excitement. Ironically, the Sunday before the elections I ran a 5 mile road race in support of the local hospice. It started at the Town Hall and I spent some timechatting to Kevin the Councils marketing manager who I know well. We discuss what is likely to happen and both agree that this election will be a difficult one to call. As a former local politician who did not have a bad track record in calling elections I really did not know which way this was going to go.

Anyway, there is a huge political change in Hastings from a "hung council" to a, well, slightly different "hung council". Interesting individual results though, as one seat - and ultimately the whole Council is literally decided on a lottery. The Old Town ward is tied after 6 recounts and in situations like this the Returning Officer literally pulls a name from a hat. There are some who argue that the performance of Local Government in Hastings might actually be strengthened by picking all 32 councillors this way but that again would be a cynics viewpoint and I urge you not to adopt it.

John, our information worker does stirling work to ensure that all new Councillors receive a welcome letter from us as probably the first piece of official mail they get after their election which portrays us as an organisation which respnds to political change quickly. We will do new member briefings no doubt to the new Councillors in due course.

While I am talking information I should record a small piece of CVS history as we have become the first CVS in the country - we think - to record its own podcast. Actually I had a Sunday afternoon at home and download the software from a free Linux source called Audacity. I thought I would give it a quick go just to see if the programme worked. Before I knew where I was I had recorded a 25 minute unscripted podcast about local VCS issues. You feel a bit self-concious at first but you soon get "into the groove" as it were.

I bring a copy into work and give John an opportunity to listen. We are now working on how to get its memory size down to manageable proportions. Check the website soon and you may be able to download me to hear in the comfort of your own home or via your ipod. It is entirely experimental of course but it does open up other possibilities to offer some briefings on line and maybe find new ways of reaching our members. We shall see.

Alice over to you my friend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jggm7VWqhLs

We're in the Money

I know, I know it has been an absolute age since the last blog update. No excuses really except that things have been a bit busy on the work and personal front. The non work headlines are that both Kate and Lorna my step-daughters now have small babies who contrived to arrive within 48 hours of each other. On the work front I completed some teaching at the University of Brighton which I do every year. Not very many sessions but the always fall in the same week. There is a 2 day commmunity work theory into practice course followed by a young people and the law workshop at the end of the week. A tiring period with all the travel to and fro but it forces me to keep in touch with the theory and read around an community development issues. Often I find that the most interesting work is going on outside the UK. Anyway during the second day I am in the middle of teaching when I receive numerous texts and missed calls on my mobile phone. I can feel them but it is only at the coffee break that I can find out whay I am in such demand. Fearing for some family emergency I was suprised and delighted to learn that it was the news that our commuinity assets transfer proposal was approved and a building plus £750,000 to convert it into the resource which both the Town and the VOluntary Sector deserve is ours. A real achievement down entirely to partnership work - credit entirely due to Glyn from the Council and Mel from the Trust for helping us to turn a last minute decision into a robust proposal. I give a press quote which is embargoed until the official announcement.

There really can only be one lyric reference to support this news and here it is complete with classic Busby Berkley routine hit it girls...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqbuS7U1SWQ

It's the end of the world as we know it

Perhaps not the end of the world but at least the end of the financial year as we know it. A strange administrative phenomonen which results in a range of service providers realising that they have unspent cash in their coffers and then deciding that the vol sector is the place to utilise. No problem there but it does result in a lot of of running around and frantic e-mails about service level agreements and what-not. Apart from this it is also the busiest time of the eyar for the training I undertake for the University of Brighton. I only work there about 5 days per year but 3 of the days are in a single week which means I am on a train from Hastings to Falmer. 2 days community development and half a day teaching a module on young people and the law.

Wednesday saw me to the first meeting of the advisory group which is advising the Council on how to spent the money it has been given from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The background to this is that, in a masterstroke of strategic planning, the Borough Council planned on the basis that Hastings would no longer feature in the indices of deprivation (wrong) and would no longer receive additinal funding as a result (also wrong). It restructured its own activities creating massive disruption on the basis of its earlier analysis (completeley wrong). As a consequnce when it is announced that Hastings is still a poor place and will receive money we need to embark on a process to allocate it. There is much scraching of heads over this (profoundly wrong).

The Council are at pains to point out that it is the body who will decide on the allocation of Working Neighbourhoods. This is a good job as they have raided the till, as it were, to support its own restructuring. They have also convened an advisory group or partners to help in this process. This is either a genuine attempt at partnership or a cynical attempt to justify a series of decisions which have already been taken - depending on how you view it.

I attend the meeting in the conference room at Priory Meadow shopping centre. It is an eclectic discussion - a few ideas but no real progress on the complex issues we have to address. I leave somewhat frustrated that the key issues remain unaddressed. In Hastings we are rich in data and the measurement of poverty but poor on analysis (a point I make at the meeting). We know the impact of what is happening but not the reasons for it or, most crucially, what to do about it. The employment and economic problems of Hastings are not sudden (they have arisen over more than 3 decades) but there is a struggle to diagnose them or attempt to articulate what can be done - even with a cash injection of over £3m. For what seems like the 50th time I talk about the importance of the third sector and the need to understand the informal economy in order to plan a way forward for the Town. I leave the meeting unable to feel that a single decision has been taken or that a clear way forward is within our grasp. On a slightly more positive side some transitional arrangements are planed to take forward some of our funding. It has been neccessary to highlight to the local authority the inconsistency of their approach taking lonog term decisions over their own structure but offering a mere 12 weeks funding to the sector. More of this is accessible via our website if you really want to know the details.

I am somewhat cynical over the Council's ability to respond to reported breaches of the compact. We have one already filed which has so far taken 9 months and still awaits a response. I have briefed Alfie my 11 year old grandson about this issue - in case I am no longer around when a reply is received. He in turn has given me an undertaking to pass the information to his as yet unborn children should the issue not be resolved. So the compact breach of 2007 will be passed down father to son through the generations until a reply is received from Hastings Borough Council.

Here is a UCLA high school students personal interpretation of the REM song from which we derive our lyric reference. Not bad in my humble opinion so enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0c6VnT-TLw

Back to the Grind

After the marathon I have to say that I didn't feel too bad and the legs held up well. After a couple of days break I gently started running again midweek. Apart from that its been work all the way with an awayday to cement progress on the CVS partnership. This is a project to build stronger and better joint activity between the 4 CVS in East Sussex. We had a review period with all the trustees and Chief Officers which gave a mandate to move ahead with the creation of a new legal structure. What else, much to report on the health front with the Health and Social Care Forum having a successful conference and the appointment of a new host to support the embryonic LINKS process. It is early days yet but HVA have been supporting the transition through Jan our Health Development Worker. Lots of preparation for the Review of Area Boards and an evening meeting to look at proposals for maximising community input. Basically there are 4 area boards in HAstings which examine service delivery and try and align it to the needs and issues of each neighbourhood area. HVA have a staff member shadowing each board so that vol sector issues remain on the agenda. My view is that the process will only be operating to its maximum effectiveness if the Boards have some resources they can deploy but I appear to be a lone voice in this. Saturday also saw us visit a pub in Hollington to see a colleague Terry play in his band. Apart from enjoying their set there is an ulterior motive as we are searching for a good band to play at Sues birthday celebration much later in the year.

I've got a little list...

OK here by popular demand (well one person asked me about it) is the play-list which I ran the marathon to. For some reason it was just a great soundtrack to the run. Here it is:-:-

Step It Up - Stereo MCs
Thru Ya City - De La Soul
All Together Now - The Farm
Rubberneckin - Elvis Presley
Smile On - Dee-Lite
Missing - Everything But the Girl
Visions of You - Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart
The Man Who Told Everything - The Doves
Dance this Mess Around - The B-52s
Where is the Love - Black Eyed Peas
Heroes and Villians - Brian Wilson
LoveFool - The Cardigans
Mulder and Scully - Catatonia
God Shuffled His Feet - Crash Test Dummies
All Nighter - Elastica
Praise You - Fatboy Slim
I Can't get with that - Fun Lovin Criminals
Knockin on Heavens Door - Guns 'n' Roses
Main Offender - The Hives
Step On - Happy Mondays
Eton Rifles - The Jam
Run On - Moby

Step On

The big day arrived with lots of rain and drizzle. Fortunately it was not too windy and I took the dog out to test the temparature. Forced myself to eat porridge (yuk never liked the stuff) and then almost an entire packet of jelly babies - apparently they are high on the type of carbohydrate you need for an endurance work-out combined with the suger rush for energy. Sue then takes me to the start where I pop into a local pub to use the loo and have a cup of coffee. I meet two other runners from Lewisham. The run itself went well. I was aiming for about 2 hours and I stopped my watch on the finish line at 1hr 59m 52s which is as near as you can get I guess. It all went as well as anything that long can go. No really bad patches and lots of support along the way. Peter HVA's fundraiser was spotted early on the course and I saw lots of other people throughout the course. Finally the entire family had gathered in the Old Town so it was nice to have their collective support. I stuck around at the finish to see other people go through thefinish line. Nice to see Erica finish in good spirits with Felix and Robin - one of HVAs trustees. My little Ipod machine through which I monitor my training told me that I had consumed 1,672 calories during the run. So it was onto the Jenny Lind for a meal to put some of them back. Overall the body stood up well and many many thanks for those who supported me. Talking of support I also had the most fabulous playlist in the ipod which I have painstakingly compiled from my running activities over the last couple of months. This made the whole task a lot easier than just listening to the sound of your own breathing I will publish it on here tomorrow. Our lyric reference is from the Happy Mondays one of the songs that helped me on the run.

Tapering Down

To work where another full day beckons. I meet with 4 new health workers we are employing to facilitate a project with the local Healthy Living Centre (PULSE) to design and promote key health messages to young people. There is overwhelming research to suggest that young people respond to other young people on issues relating to their health pareticularly on issues like sex and drugs and rock and roll. Therefore, 4 new health trainers are being trained as we speak to take on this role. It is an exciting project.

On the marathon front we are in "tapering" mode which basically means that the week before the marathon itself you do little except stretch, eat and save your strength. No training you can do in the last week can imporove preparation or performance but it can certainly damage it if you pull or twist something.

Taking something out of your routine which has been a big part of it leads to something which marathon runners call "taper madness". The fact that you have nothing do to except to count the days down to a big (and gruelling) event leads to some odd behaviour. I learnt this from someone I met running who told me the story of his entry in the New York Marathon. It was a big deal as I believe from what he said that he had a family association with someone who died in the Twin Towers disaster in 9/11. Anyway running the New York marathon was a key date in his calender and he described his experience leading up to the big day. Firstly, he said that he had convinced himself that any twinge or the most minor ache - which most people in their middle years get every day - was, in fact, the onset of a major injury which would prevent him from running. Secondly, he also managed to convince himself that any loved one friend or colleague was in fact the bearer of a cold or virus which he would certainly contract and prevent him from running. He told me that he treated everyone as if they were "typhoid Mary". This reached such manic proportions that he spent virtually the entire flight from Gatwick to NYC with a napkin over his mouth. Strange behaviour indeed. I don't think that I am suffering from any of the extreme symptoms of "taper madness" but if I do exhibit any behaviour this week just ignore me and remember it is all for a good cause. On which note we are up to about £500 sponsorship so far so it is all looking OK for the big day.

A Windy Day

It is blowing a gale here and, I gather, most of the country. The walk with Maddy (the family dog) involves hopping over fallen trees and branches together with the recycling bins which are all over the place distributing litter and cans evertywhere. The Council haven't quite got to grips with what happens to their nice recycling bins in very windy weather. Anyway, today involves a lot of catching up as last week I was a stranger to my desk - my work taking me to virtually every part of East Sussex. There are hundreds of e-mails waiting mosty of which want to sell me viagra! I draft a letter to the Borough Council about a breach of the Compact arising from the enmtirely inconsistent way they have treated the voluntary sector in their recent decisions. My last compact breach report still awaits an answer after almost 7 months. We will wait and see as this may be a real test of the local Compact arrangements. There is lots of concern within the networks and forums and among our membership and probably only right that we should use the Compact to address these concerns.

What else? I spent a good part of the weekend working on transitional funding arrangements for posts within the organisation which require a detailed work programme for the next 3 months. And I do my last long run before the marathon. All the books tell you to taper your running in the last week which I guess is wise advice. Anyway the prospect of getting blown over - as the wind really is that strong - doesn't appeal. Erica who does some of HVA's design work and who is also doing the marathon wrote a really nice article in the Hastings Handbook. My running is cited as an inspiration to her entry. Not ever been a role model before. The article suggests that I have gone from Labrador to greyhound which I guess is true except that my reduction in size has not been accompanied by an increase in speed. In running terms I still remain, and will always be, a "plodder". Anyway there are few lyric references to greyhounds but here is Parklife by Blur - the cover to this album did feature a greyhound I recall which is as close as I can get - enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQw6AKC-AR0

A Catchup

For a minute there I thought the HVA blog was going to become one of the dormant blogs you never see updated. Lots has been happening in the CVS world so let us see where to begin. Firstly we have our AGM which is well attended and provides useful intelligence to help us review the kind of services we want to provide in future. It is a good morning and finishes on time. I hope I was able to do justice to the work of the team who have done much this year in very uncertain times. As I speak the council are still in the process of restructuring and after threats of massive cuts which caused much concern they have now done a Duke of York and marched their troops down the hill again with more modest reductions. The are unaware that much trust and credibility has been sacrificed on the alter of political posturing but there you go. We take part in the Day Services Review which was pleasing in that members of the Health and Social Care Forum do themselves proud and maybe the Active Age Centre which Age Concern Hastings have been advocating for no longer seems such a pipe dream. On which note I spend most of Tuesday interviewing for its new Director. It is a full day but a good appointment is made. It needs a good person as Ian's boots are big to fill. As well as steering the organisatiohn back from the funding brink he has also chaired the multi agency service providers group for older people as well as being a community activist in his won right in the Ore Valley.

Today it was the East Sussex Strategic Partnership and the agreement of the Integrated Community Strategy, LAA targets and then onto Lewes for a meeting with the Chief Executive and Fund Development Manager for the Sussex Community Foundation. We discuss the grassroots grants bid and ways of getting endowment money. On the way back I run into Peter HVAs funding adviser and we travel back to Hastings talking about VAT and Charities, Small Grants, Running Marathons, Old Town Politics, Fishing Communities and Museums.

My journey to both Eastbourne and Lewes nets me 4 Albums by artists as diverse as The Strokes, Kanye West, Jools Holland and Simply Red. The Kanye West album (College Drop Out) is my companion on a 5 mile run along the seafront - the marathon is just over a week away and Sunday will be my last really serious run. All the books tell you to "taper" in the final week which basically means cutting back on the mileage and putting your feet up. Am ending the day listening to a classic Portishead album (Dummy) which has to be one of the best albums of the last 20 years in my humble opinion. This is as good as it gets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg1jyL3cr60&feature=related

Gimme Shelter

The morning is spent visiting the new community bridgebuilder premises in central st leonards and discussing the induction of the 3 new workers we have appointed. It is an exciting period to see the small project we started all those years ago expand into a team with its own manager and 3 year funding. Onwards to a less positive meeting with a group who are in financial difficulty to say the least the next three months cashflow is going to be absolutely crucial and I try and help where I can. We identify some possible ways forward. Then it is an employment issue with a group followed by a quick visit to the office to submit comments to the Borough Councils draft ec0nomic inclusion strategy. Home for a brief break and then to a meeting of local churches where I have been invited to discussing homelessness, poverty and the moral agenda. It is actually rather a well attended meeting with lots of people involved in work with rough sleepers and asylum seekers. I give an analysis of the homelessness picture since Cathy come home and the current deficiencies of our housing and support system. It is followed by a highly intelligent debate which is wide-ranging. I would find the Rolling Stones video for our song lyric but as I am a bit knackered you will have to take my word for it it is a great song.

One Hit Wonder

I am reminded by Jan - a loyal reader of the Blog - that I have been lax in keeping it up to date. It really has been a bit busy in the world of the CVS with much to report so here goes.

The saga of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund rolls on at todays Executive Delivery Group with some general recognition that the logistics are going to be difficult. Introducing a new funding regime with sufficient time to make it robust but in a way which can also make best use of the NRF projects which contribute significantly to the local agenda. It is a circle that simply cannot be squared in the time the Council have left and they are very much seeing it as "their show" reminding everyone that they are the controller of the cash rather than the partnership of previous. It is also all mired in a HUGE political row which is becoming more acrimonious with each passing week. The politicians have taken to copying the whole world into their e-mails as the accuse and counter accuse accross the internet. I advocate for transitional money to apply so that we can make some real sense of this out of the heat of the current situation and after the election issue - for we have local elections looming - is settled.

I have also been bid writing like crazy as Monday was a key deadline for 2 proposals one to support an enhanced county wide Hate crime reporting service and the other to continue our community cohesion work. It is an all day Saturday job with some early work being done to the budget in Eastbourne on Monday morning. This is then whisked up to London by hand to meet their 5pm deadline. We cross fingers and wait and see.

I have also been asking for money in two key respects. Firstly it is marathon time again and I am running for the Saxon Mt Youth project and secondly I am tapping all the rich people in Hastings to start a fund for small grants. Can't say too much yet but it is generating the kind of interest I had hoped and I am optomistic about this project. Anyway the title of todays blog entry is based on my playlist for this evenings run. I put together a list of one hit wonders - bands who had one hit only. My personal favourtite of all time (I know not why) is the 1978 "Uptown Top Ranking" reached number one in February, 1978, after much early championing by John Peel. Ironically I am just finishing his autobiography - which is more than he did as he died without completing nthe manuscript. It is finished by his wife who writes well and affectionately of him, the music and his radio work.

A piece of trivia Althea & Donna became the youngest female duo to reach the pinnacle of the UK chart. There you didn't know that but if it comes up in next years inter-agency quiz we are prepared. Peter - we can't bank on it being prefrab sprout every year. Over to you girls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcz_YjR3LKQ

Just give us the f***king money...

Bob Geldofs immortal quote during Live Aid reminds me of the challange of getting money from those who have it into the hands of those who need it.

So it is off to Lewes for a preliminary meeting with officers of the Sussex Community Foundation - the Robin Hood charity we helped create which takes money from very wealthy companies and individuals and distributes it to very poor community groups. It's developing well and in addition to the £125,000 we have already given out we are on track to top a quarter of a million by the end of the financial year. At this stage we are taking money and giving it out but the long term aim is to establish a permanent endowment fund the interest of which gives grants forever. I have recently been turning my attention to how this approach could work in Hastings and be aligned with the uniqueness of its local economy. Clearly, our local business context is significantly different from many other parts of Sussex and has a lack of very large private sector employers like American Express in Brighton or very wealthy individual donors. Therefore, a different approach is needed. With this in mind I have been meeting with the Foundation and we have reached an “in principle” agreement to establish a specific Hastings Fund to increase local giving and providing a focal point for work in this part of the County. In time, the intention would be to develop an endowment large enough to enable a permanent source of grant-giving independent of Government programmes and supported by a local Hastings grants panel. The agreement enables me to go seriously after some founder donors and engage with local employers. Its a big challange but as they say - even the longest journey...

Take it away Bob http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l5tvQ_SrO8c

Soul Man

To Brighton for a much needed weekend where we catch up with friends we have not seen for virtually a year. We go to The Motown Story at the Theatre Royal (after the pub) which we booked for on the chance that it might be good. In fact it was great - a sensational 7 piece soul band and 4 really talented singers recreating thewhole sound of that era (Temptations, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, et al). We ended up moving from our seats to the light gantry for the second half of the show to have a boogie.

Anyway back to work with a bump on Monday with lots going on. Deadlines looming I am afraid so I am being a bit of a boring person by working at home. Who'd have thought that years of studying the most beautiful literature in the English language would find me filing out forms talking about projects, outcomes and outputs and matcherd funding. There you go.

On the upside I am asked to facilitate 4 workshops on young people and the law at a big Youth conference. This is something I have done over the last few years. When I was lawyering I was amazed how little training youth workers get in the law. This is despite young people often coming up against it and often go through the criminal justice system as either victims or suspects. Anyway I developed a training module which has proved surprisingly popular and I have taught it at universities and to different staff teams and at ocassionally at conferences and seminars. I am asked to deliver this on Saturday and- as it is outside the day job - I am asked what I would charge as a fee. This is tricky but I say the first thing that comes into my head "I'll do it for a 30gb Ipod Nano". They agree so I am being paid with a little box containing a brand new Ipod for my music. How appropriate.

Lyric reference to commemorate my little dance on the lighting gantry hit it Sam and Dave http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j2mzeyGZ8Y

A Big Day

An big day as our lottery project gets the once over from their appraisal team and we are scrutinised fairly intensively to see how we shape up. We take a tour of the proposed new building (3rd this week) and go through every bit of the business plan. Our organisations too are underscrutiny but thankfully we are able to demonstrate that we aren't going to put the money on a horse running in the 3.15 at Haydock Park. Glyn (Hastings Borough Council), Mel (Hastings Trust) and I do quite a good job in responding to the questions and it seems positive. Only time will tell but it was nice to get it over as today has been a bit of a key date. Another piece of good news is that we have won the employment tribunal at which I represented one of our members. Or at least the other side have capitulated and withdrawn their claims. It was a rare outing into a court-room for yours truly bursing off my metaphirical wig and gown as it were but pleasing to get a positive result. Tomorrow I go to Brighton to teach a group of MA students about change management from a voluntary sector perspective. There is lots to get accross and the process forces me to review some theory in light of what we do as a charity and the day to day realities of the VCS.

The people have spoken and declared that Frddie Mercury is the best live act so over to you Mr Mercury. Here he is doing a brilliant live version of Under Pressure which, as I shall tell the students tommorow is exactly what it is like in the Voluntary Sector. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faUuwRDRrqA

Here Comes the Rain Again

A real Noah/arc-building kind of a weather day which never seemed to let up. Soaked on the way into work which sort of set the tone for the whole day as I am behind schedule and can't seem to find the groove as it were. I begin to sketch out our consultation repsonse to the Borough Council's restructuring proposals. I can't see the consultation making much of a difference and - despite the best of intentions - can't avoid being cynical about the direction they are taking. I write a bid trying to secure funding for one of our posts which may or not be funded through whatever succeeds Neighbourhood Renewal. The local authority have simply got this one badly wrong and are in a state of atrophy when there should be real leadership. There is talk of a stakeholder conference but it all seems a bit late, a bit stale and a bit, well half-hearted. The highlight of the day are some real gems in my CD Purchasing. I don't often bang on about the music which moves me - each to his or her own I say - but if you ever get a chance to listen to an album by Lucinda Williams called "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" (Oxfam £1) do so - you won't regret it believe me. I call in at the barbers to see Steve have a chat and a hair cut. We become philosophical and rather strangely discuss the music we might like played at our respective funerals. He (an ex lead singer in a band) went for The Who (Won't Get Fooled Again) I go for the only song which pops into my head (an obscure Noel Coward number from the 1930's called "the party's over now").

Anyway the rainy weather precluded any running activity but I was unable to settle to anything at home and as Sue was working decided to pick the only 40 rain-free minutes of the whole day and go for a brisk run along the seafront. Apart from almost being blown over it was actually rather an exhilirating experience the sea was really kicking up and it kind of matched my mood!! A favourite Primal Scream album on the ipod a desolate pier and deserted prom - I think I was the only soul abroad as Shakespeare would say.

After a day in which it has rained, according to the weather website, more in 24 hours than in the last month combined, there can only be one lyric reference to use...Annie, Over to you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PscogedAWTI

Bah...bah...bah...bah...Build

Work this week is dominated by buildings. How to transfer them how to refurbish them, how to plan a complex project. This is the Community Assets Fund programme and we are being assessed by the Lottery on Thursday. Having got the collective bit between our teeth I am beginning to believe that we have the makings of a strong project on our hands. The building we are looking at is in much better condition than I thought it would be in and this should make the money go much further. We are beginning to think in terms of a larger footprint encompassing a bsement and a massive garage area. This could create a new home for HVA after 2009 as well as incubator units for emerging groups. Apart from that I am in the middle of a funding bit to continue the Cohesion activity we undertake. Lyric reference today is the oft forgotton Housemartins who were a quality outfit during the 1990's and gave rise to the founder members of The Beautiful South and Fatboy Slim here they are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ7cXaGNdw8

Simple Pleasures

It is amazing how a simple act can cause such happiness. This was the case today as Jill (HVA's Deputy Director) had her head down over the AGM and conference. As she had a new ipod I offered to fill it up with music as she has not yet got into the mp3 swing of things. Minutes later it was like a different person - happy with hours of new music.

An update

Yesterday was a busy day with our first team meeting of the year followed by a train trip to Lewes where I have 3 meetings in quick succession. The first is with Jaan whose dissertation I am supervising and we spend a pleasant hour talking about tackling deprivation in deprived communities, labelling theory and the impact of Anti-Social Behaviour orders. I then make my way to the Sussex Community Foundation to talk about setting up a Hastings Charitable fund to which local businesses could donate and resource small community projects. I then deal with a couple of problems by phone and discuss the away-day for the Healthy living centre the board of which I share. Then back for a committee meeting with a local group. Whilst in Lewes I discover an absolute cornucopia of CDs for sale for a mere 25p each in a charity shop. At that price you simply cannot go wrong. My haul nets a range of albums including the massively influential debut album Marquee Moon by Television (widely hailed as the first ever punk/alternative album). Here they are doing a signature tune if you are interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw80nob1MvQ In the meantime a few posts ago I mentioned the podcast guru Dr Bob from Utah whose podcasts I have been listening to of late. He sent a really nice e-mail back and had obviously taken the trouble to look at our website as he was very appreciative and intereested in the work we do. So what with Dr Bob, and the 1972 gold medal winner Dave Wottle the celebrity readers of the blog have increased by a massive 100%.

Join the Elite

In between the Christmas cards and credit card bills I received a piece of post which caused enormous merriment in our household and might be worth sharing. It is from the people who produce Who's Who. I am informed that they are producing (believe it or not) a Who's Who of the UK Business Elite and my name is to feature "in recognition of business achievement and a contribution to the business community". I think what they have done is done a trawl via Companies House of all the Directors of companies who have a turnover of over £25m. As I am a Director of SEASPACE (the regeneration vehicle for the major capital regeneration programme in Hastings) this must be how my name occurs. So yours truly now takes his place alongside Richard Branson and the key business leaders of our nation. You can imaguine that within the Manwaring household this was the cause of much amusement and general piss-taking. Lyric today is from the very hard-core (and loud) Deftones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUjoiXDl418

A Recommendation

I don't normally recommend things willy-nilly but this is a little cool product and has the benefit of being practically free. It is a unique podcast called jogtunes indie podcasting which fills your mp3 player with a playlist specifically designed for running consisting of a warm up - a bit more high intesnsity and a cool down. It is created by a Doctor - and runner - from Utah called Dr Bob who trawls all the free access sites to find good music, measures the BPM (Beats Per Minute) and creates a 45 minute show designed for runners. Here's the link http://jogtunes.com/jti/jtiabout.php

I have run to these shows for a few months now and they are really well put together. Like much else in the podcasting world it is free to the internet community - although you can support or donate if you want to. Thanks Dr Bob.

New Years Day

So 2008 creeps onto the stage in a little bout of cold weather. We are told to expect snow which will mean the East Sussex County Council gritting lorries will go out late, fail to grit the roads you need for your journey or claim it was simply "the wrong sort of snow". I lived for a while in Wisconsin and Canada which get seriously cold and when it really kicks in they take it all in their stride even to the point of digging little plateus in the parks and filling them with a few inches of water so that people can skate!! In the UK a little flurry of cold seems to close down the entire nation.

Running-wise, the Xmas and New Year period has seen me out most mornings. Having a dog does really improve your discipline as on the mornings when you don't really feel like it the hound insists. I have noticed an increase in the number of runners since the new year so there are a few resolutions being enacted I guess. My New Years Resolution is to spell better on the blog and edit posts before publishing - reading some of the spelling errors in previous entries gives the impression that I am randomly hitting the keys with my fists.

Anyway on the work front we are easing ourselves back into things. I went in between Xmas and the New Year to catch up on the e-mail traffic and generally sort out the things I need for a quarterly monitoring returns. These are usually done from home - where I write - as I can get twice as much done without the phone going off and it is relatively detailed work. Posted 2 new Wicki pages so that we can collectively respond to the Councils restructuring proposals. This has now developed into a major political row as Councillors appear aggrieved at how badly the process has been handled. It has been referred back to the Cabinet to have another go at getting it right. AGM season is almost hear and I open up an invitation to the HVA team to highlight issues they want me to cover in my Directors overview. As for the lyric reference if you hadn't already guessed it is the boys from the northside of Dublin in full flow enjoy... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQaFue_KvoQ