Rycote Park

Saturday was another splendid occasion at Rycote Park, Thame, to celebrate the 25th wedding anniversary of Bernard and Sarah Taylor. He and I were at Prep School together and he has a very successful career in company mergers and acquisitions. At least, I think that is what it is.

Bernard and Sarah have renovated the house and grounds into a most attractive estate, and the chapel is looked after by English Heritage and is open to the public at certain times.

On arrival we were ushered into a large marquee where we were greeted and mixed with the 300 or so other guests. Then we went through to the dining area and sat in our alloted places at the tables. The menu said we were to start with lobster, followed by rare beef (I can't remember the exact wording), and a pudding followed by coffee. Before we had what was to prove to be the most delicious meal, we listened to a small orchestra playing music which was associated with the house. Then we ate dinner and talked to our table companions, most of whom had been at Oxford at the same time as Bernard and Sarah and knew them from there. Only John and Fiona Smith, also on the same table, had known Bernard from being a young boy. At least I knew Oxford from my school days at Teddies.

It was also good to see others who I knew from school, 3 retired Army officers, an insurance broker in the City, one Royal Naval officer, an art dealer and so on. We went in different directions but I am glad we are all in touch.

I think the thing which stuck me most was seeing Bernard's armorial flag blowing gently in the light breeze over the house and the fact that both our taxi drivers had nothing but kind words to say about the Taylors, who are clearly have a positive local reputation.

My wife looked resplendent in her long dress and it was a pleasure to get my dinner jacket out of mothballs for this. I like black tie 'dos', but they don't happen all that often for me. No complaints, this Rycote experience just adds to the rich tapestry of life.

I will write about the celebration we went to the next day when I have a little more time.

USA and personal freedom

It is ages since I phoned my family in America so I must do it soon. I need to catch up with them. I still wonder what it would have been like if we had moved over there to live and work. It isn't easy, of course, because of all the immigration restrictions. However, we adore the USA and Canada and it does make a difference having so many relatives there. It is so BIG!
One thing that nearly pushed me over the edge and forced me to leave Wales was a suggestion, made recently, that drinking alcohol should be prohibited in order to save the National Health Service some money in treatment of alcoholism and related diseases. Ridiculous! This is way out of order and an infringement of personal freedom. Refuse to treat people with self inflicted damage, fine, but don't stop them doing it in the first place. That is centralised state control gone mad.

sunny and busy

It has been another sunny day and I have been extremely busy talking with Volunteering England about the forthcoming Olympics and Paralympics in London then telephoning a colleague to discuss the volunteering grant schemes in Wales.
We had a meeting of the North East Wales Spatial Plan Officers' Group over lunch time until about 3.00pm, when I met with our Equalities Officer to discuss it. Then I talked to our Senior Advisor who deals with the Department for Work and Pensions volunteering programme in Wales.
This was all interspersed with dealing with voicemail messages and emails.
No rest for the wicked.

Mate

Call me old fashioned if you like, but I hate being called 'mate' by complete strangers. It is bad enough from someone I know, albeit I don't know many people who would do it. From a scruffy young waiter in a Pizza Hut it is insufferable. Since when was I his 'mate'? Why does he think it is alright to say that? I am his customer and, as such, he should show a modicum of respect, particularly if he wants a tip. Oh, and my beer came in a bottle with no glass to pour it into, so I had to request one. He then gave me a choice of a straight one or a bulbous one, for which I suppose I should be grateful.
I am not asking to be called 'sir' by anyone, although I have just been called that in the hotel bar here, which was reassuring after this pizza-abuse.
In fact, I don't blame the dishevelled waiter, I blame his training, or lack of it. If he calls everyone 'mate', then why should he treat me any differently? Pizza Hut should know better though, particularly if they want their customers to feel valued and not inclined to rant on their blogs.
The intelligent reader of this will realise that I predict certain people now calling me 'mate' for a while, just to try to wind me up. That's OK, it's the penalty I will pay for honesty about how I feel.

Videoconferencing in the 21st century

I nearly forgot...Cardiff office has brand new videoconference equipment which is very 21st century. I saw it this afternoon. I can't wait to see what difference it makes to our TV reception in north Wales. However, Cardiff has a huge, and I mean huge, screen to see the one or two people we tend to have our end. We have an ordinary TV screen to see up to 12 people or so with whom I frequently videoconference when they are in Cardiff. This is not entirely sensible in my view. We need a big screen to see the bigger group. They don't need such a big one to see 2 or 3 people. We will see how it all goes...
I suspect the next time I chair a meeting of the Social Justice and Local Government Forum, on my own in north Wales, they will feel I am like 'big brother' breathing down their necks in Cardiff. My image will be more than life size.
I will have more to say on this anon...after I have experienced it all.
Overall, this is a brilliant innovation - just cut out the road noise and improve the acoustics in Cardiff and things will be hugely better.

Aberystwyth and Cardiff

Yesterday I drove down to the new WCVA Aberystwyth office, which is small and modern and in an attractive location. Unfortunately the satnav (GPS) took me to the local cemetery rather than the office so I hope that isn't some sort of premonition.
We had a meeting of all our public policy staff and then I drove on down to Cardiff with Bryan, the senior research officer.
Today I have been interviewing people who want to provide support to a youth volunteering national group and tomorrow I am travelling the four plus hours back north, via a visit to another new office. This time it belongs to a County Voluntary Council.
Overall, a constructive few days so far - and the sun is shining!

The donkey and the dog and a windy Woodfest

Poor Phil Walker, a friend in Belgium, witnessed a dog he knew being killed by a donkey yesterday. He sat with the dog as it died. What can you say?

Well, it is a cold and windy day today, for June. We were going to the Woodfest today with friends but that's off. Instead we will meet them for a coffee later.

Blogging vs Facebook

I have decided that I much prefer blogging to Facebook, but the latter has its value. Blogging is cathartic and a means of simply keeping a journal which others may choose to read, or not, and whether they do or not doesn't matter hugely. Facebook seems a bit more 'in your face', with a degree of social posturing which is uncomfortable - for me, at least. However, it has been good to discover people with whom I had entirely lost contact and I am pleased to have all the Facebook friends I have.
I shall maintain Facebook, but my blog matters to me more, for now anyway.

Beach and fish and chips

Lovely day! After I took Jennie to the hairdresser we went to the beach in the blazing sunshine and later met Rosie there. Had ice creams, met young lad who set up a stone skimming competition and then ate fish and chips on a bench, and felt guilty about it, whilst keeping an eye open for scavenging seagulls. Ended up watching Britain's Got Talent with Chris and Beti and shouting at the TV.
It is wonderful feeling as if you are on holiday when you are less than 2 miles from home. What a privilege.

English girls

When I was on the train yesterday I got chatting to a couple of lads from New York, aged about 22, who got on at Chester. They were students on their way from London, via an overnight stop in Northampton (yes, I did say Northampton) to Dublin via Holyhead. They said they would be flying home from Ireland but wished they were going back to England. When quizzed, they told me that they had met some lovely English girls and didn't want to leave them behind. Indeed, they went further and said that generally English girls are more attractive than American girls and put this down to Americans often wearing heavy cosmetics/makeup. After some discussion it was decided that English girls tend to be less self conscious. Now, what would they have said about Welsh girls, I wonder? If any American girls read this, do you think it is fair?
At some point in the conversation I said that there is one European capital city which beats London, and that is Berlin. This provoked another young man to join the conversation saying he was from Berlin and also a student. What a coincidence. I think he was a bit surprised that the last time I was there was in about 1991, when most of the wall was still standing. However, the woman in the corner, promptly chipped in that she was a Londoner. That part of the conversation lasted from Chester to Prestatyn on the train.

Cardiff

I've just been in Cardiff for a few days and found myself staying in the same hotel as three north Wales colleagues, which enriched my evenings. We stayed in the Ibis Hotel (French chain), which was comfortable enough and we discovered a Thai restaurant, almost next door, which I will re-visit. The food was delicious.
I should also say that I am now Chair of the GwirVol (youth volunteering) partnership for Wales, to which I feel highly committed. We had a meeting on Wednesday and it is clear that there are many people who value this youth volunteering work highly. Good.

Facebook

I have recently become active on Facebook and am ambivalent about it. I like this blog, but I am just not quite sure about Facebook. There is something about it which makes me a little nervous and I am not sure quite why. Perhaps this blog is simply more within my control. I will reserve judgement for now.

Private blog - not yet

It seems that my comment about this becoming a private blog is provocative. If you have views, please express them attached to the last post. I will not introduce this for now at least.

Becoming a 'private' blog? Views please

Just a forewarning - I may make this blog 'private' soon, so that it can only be accessed by people who request access and to whom I then give permission. If you have a view on this, please leave a comment. It would mean you would have to log in rather than just access the blog directly. Would that bother you?

Busy weekend

Last weekend we booked a holiday for 2 weeks in Rhodes (dry and hot I trust); sent an email booking a pig roast (awaiting confirmation); entertained a friend, Julie, and her children to Sunday lunch (new season leg of lamb); met with folk in the eatery in Colwyn Bay (tea and yummy scones) and cleaned out the Eglu. This just leaves the overflowing gutters and blocked drain to deal with as a priority.
I guess this was a routine but constructive weekend.

First egg for Hepzibah Hen

All our hens are now laying and today was the first time we had three eggs. Well done girls! Long live Hermione Hen, Harriet Hen and Hepzibah Hen.

As an aside, I should mention that Hepzibah was named after a book I owned and read as a child, by Olwen Bowen, called, believe it or not, Hepzibah Hen. I think it is still around somewhere.

David Essex - All the Fun of the Fair

Rosie and I were back at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, last night for David Essex in the musical 'All the Fun of the Fair'. We sat next to someone from Sheffield who was attending her 57th performance of this show, having followed it around the UK. I suggest that this could be seen as obsessive. Also, it must have cost her around £1450, and that is just for the theatre tickets. On top of that would be travel, accommodation and food.
Each to their own.
I enjoyed the performance - but once is enough for me.

Fairy Falls, Trefriw

Yesterday was our monthly walk with friends and their children and we went to the woollen mill and then to Fairy Falls (left), and beyond, in Trefriw. Fortunately the rain held off and it was a cool enough day to enjoy the walk up the muddy paths to the top of the hill. We just fell short of Llyn Crafnant, which we will visit on another occasion.

The day was ended with a tasty meal at an Italian restaurant in Conwy - although we nearly couldn't get there as all roads into the town were being closed off.

Balanced Scorecards and Vagina Monologues

No, the Balanced Scorecard is not some form of betting slip, but a strategic planning and management system which is used by a wide range of organisations and was invented by Kaplan and Norton in the 1990s. WCVA is now introducing it as a way of ensuring that high level aims are translated consistently and effectively into actions by individuals throughout the organisation. From time to time, I will comment on progess here.
Having spent a 'line managers' day' looking at Balanced Scorecards at the community centre in the blink-and-you-miss-it mid Wales village of Carno, I then returned to Rhyl to link up with some WCVA staff and others for a Chinese meal and a performance of the Vagina Monologues at the local theatre. I was a bit late to the Chinese because the satnav (GPS) took me to the wrong one - like the time it guided me to the old Wal-Mart site in Redmond, Oregon, just to wind me up.
I was one of about, maybe, 10 men in a full auditorium and this meant the 'gents' loo at the interval was empty whilst the 'ladies' loo had a long line of women waiting. I suggested to some theatre staff that they should temporarily convert a 'gents' to a 'ladies' so it would take the pressure off, but to no avail. Anyway, the performance was a blend of hilarity and disturbing commenatary and was an evening well spent. The whole thing was focussed on women and the vagina - what more can I say?

Minister for Social Justice and Local Government

I attended the biannual 'third sector' meeting with the Welsh Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, Dr Brian Gibbons AM, yesterday. This was in Ty Howell, the old National Assembly for Wales building in Cardiff.
Not everyone turned up from the third sector, which was a little disappointing but we had a very constructive meeting anyway. We had a discussion about 'violence against women' in Wales, which goes way beyond the existing domestic violence focus of the Welsh Assembly Government. This now seems to have been acknowledged, so policies may broaden accordingly. Credit where it is due, they are listening and responding.
I do like Brian Gibbons, he is sincere and personable.