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