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