Suzanne Fletcher's Blog

Our Fair Trade meeting was a time to go over what had and hadn't worked well.  We were disappointed that the Fairtrade bus on February 29^th had not been reported in the local press, nor had the brilliant meeting with the cashew nut producer on 3^rd March.  Readers of the blog will have read all about it, but pity about everyone else!  Plans for future events were made thought, and eventually the message will get through. 

As always Julia and I were pleased to meet with the Bishopsgarth Association of Residents for their  monthly meeting.  However we were very upset to go along to the beck side after the meeting to look at some problems with paths and find that most of the 500 or so trees we had planted on 26^th November along with residents and school children had been broken down.  We will be lucky if many survive.  Everything we did in the planning of all of this was in partnership with the School, local residents and Council, so all will be upset at this mindless vandalism.  Rather too upset to think of the way forward after this.

I looked for the results of the vote on Post Offices in last night's debate in Parliament.  Our local MPs have had their pictures in the local paper and lots of coverage, especially Dari Taylor on saving Oxbridge Lane Post Office.  As I said in my speech at the Council meeting, this is all very well, but if one gets saved, another closes, and it is no good sending letters and presenting petitions to Government, they need to be told "your policy is wrong".

So what did our local MPs do ?

Frank Cook MP, Stockton North, voted with the Government.

Dari Taylor MP, Stockton South, was not on the lists at all so was not there.  I was not surprised, the entry on "They Work For You" says "Hardly ever rebels against her party, so even if there I doubt she would have stood up for her constituents against the government whips.

The Tories needn't gloat either - the post office closure programme started when they were in power.

it is the day after the concern about where to we get our fuel for transport from.  We spent an hour and three quarters sat in a huge traffic jam on the A19 as there had been a crash and the frequent bulletins on Radio Tees told us that 900 gallons of diesel were spilt and had to be cleared before we could move.  We were on our way to see our grandson in his school play and not one bit pleased, to say nothing of spending the night before being concerned about saving fuel!  It could have been worse of course and been part of the accident.

We made the play with minutes to spare, and, of course, he and the play was brilliant.  We did like the 7 dwarves with their chant of "reduce, reuse, recycle" as they went about their day.  How apt.

If you, or an elderly relative of yours had received a letter from the landlord saying that the rent was going up by nearly £30 a week what would your reaction be ? Some very worried phone calls from residents in our ward led to a meeting with them today.  I thought that if I saw the letter from Erimus Housing I would be able to explain it to the residents of the sheltered housing for elderly people.  But no, I could explain some things about the Government's "depooling of rents", and longer term issues, but the letter was not at all clear on a number of things.  The letter should not have been sent without a proper meeting with residents beforehand, and telling the Councillors would have helped.

A later meeting, a café scientifique discussion on the use of biofuels led to even bigger problems to solve - but thankfully we were there to learn more and be able to ask questions, not make the decisions.  Rarely in lives today, we had time and space to actually think   I used to think that biofuels were the way forward in dealing with environmental issues, and all being able to use our cars as before with no damage to the environment.

However there is nothing so simple.  The title of the discussion was "Are biofuels an ecofriendly but immoral source of transportation fuels" ? The question is, is it right to use land to grow crops for fuel and not food ? especially as a lot of land used is in developing Countries ?  I didn't know that from mid April 2 ½ % of fuel must come from renewable sources, leading to a greater amount in the future.  As most of the crops are seasonal there needs to be storage facilities.  There is transport from where it is produced, and many of the Countries are not politically stable.  Palm plantations do not have any other vegetation so good-by biodiversity.  There is, however, another possible way forward with the strange name of Jatropha.  Apparently this tree will grow where crops will not, can be irrigated with waste water, is drought resistant, and is so poisonous that no-one would ever eat it, including vermin whilst it is stored.  It isn't the complete answer as it is labour intensive to harvest, needs to be stored, and onlyl grows in tropical areas a long way from here in Countries with other problems.  There may be a way forward with algae, but even so, there is not really a clear and workable answer and we cannot just go on wasting the earth's resources.

Those who know me will be amazed that I am a patron of the Africa Sports Embassy.  Probably the only link I have with sport.  However I strongly support getting young people involved in a good team sport, and playing with and against people of other cultures and race.  That is how the John Owen Trophy came about, and it was our first meeting for planning this years match.  Watch this space! And no, I will not be donning African football shorts and socks as I did when I was Mayor - I will leave that to the incoming Mayor - John.

"Foreigners coming here, bringing their foreign ways with them".  That is a common phrase often spoken nowadays.  Today, in Middlesbrough, we met a refugee from Iraq who is now able to be settled here permanently, and we have met him just once before. We were trying to find out when a place we were parked in front of opened.  He offered to take us back to his home and have a cuppa whilst we waited.  That is hospitality in a real sense, and a "foreign way" that has been brought with him.  Sadly many others from his Country are now being rounded up to be sent back, even though for many Iraq is still unsafe, and not in the least hospitable at the moment.

In the evening we had a wonderful treat, Verdi's Requiem sung by the Cleveland Philarmonic.  Wonderful and beautiful - but could have done without the sounds of "a Saturday night out on the town" ranging from shouting to sirens being heard in the quieter parts.  We really do need a more suitable venue for such magnificent local talent and performances.

I pondered on how the evening was made up of so many people with different skills and talents, even including us as the appreciative audience, and each being allowed, encouraged and enabled to play their part.  What a wonderful result.  Now if only we could have a world like that, where everyone was appreciated for what they could offer, the best brought in everyone, and we all did it together!

We had a really interesting morning on a training session on the Council’s GIS (Geographic Information System).  This is an excellent resource for us to be able to look up locations, individual addresses identify street lights, land ownership andmuch else.  I couldn’t operate as a good Councillor without it.  This morning we learnt even more tricks – like getting the number of the street light, and how to e-mail officers with exact locations of problems.  Down to earth stuff we need to do our jobs properly, better than a hundred strategies.  We also found out about part of the system the public can  link into – brilliant stuff, have a look if you live in the Stockton area (or elsewhere and tell your Council this is what you want!)  Everything from a map at 1:1,000 to the local weather and nearest doctors surgery, to say nothing of all the details of the ward councillor.

I finally got round to reading the Fair Trade Cook Book that my son and  family gave me for my birthday, it all looks yummy, but I was really pleased to see a recipe from Stockton on Tees – the Newtown Resource Centre recipe for vegetable biryani.  I made it for our party at New Year and very good it was too.

When a Cabinet system for Stockton was first mooted by the Labour group it was going to meet in secret.  The Lib Dem Group made an enormous fuss about the "Secret Seven", and thankfully it did allow the public to sit in as a result of this.  Tonight was a change from the usual presentation of strategies, and everyone knew all about what was being discussed.  The closure of Park View Nursing Home in Thornaby was first, followed by the selling off of Thornaby Town Hall.  They were all there, local councillors not on Cabinet, local residents, family of people in the home, staff from the home, residents association and heritage group.  Nobody was happy with the results, but at least it was all in the open and people had a chance to have their say.

I recalled when our group proposed spending money allocated to preserving Holy Trinity Church ruins in Stockton on Thornaby Town Hall instead.  It was around 20 years ago, and there was no support for this with our alternative proposals for Holy Trinity at the time.  That cannot be undone now, but I do think the opportunity to follow up what the local people of Thornaby want to do should be pursued further.  We hear a lot from Government and Council about people having pride and ownership in their communities - and look what happens when they try to.

Now for the last bit of catching up on what happened at Liverpool at the weekend.

I really enjoyed the Housing Debate where Andrew Stunell MP urged us be angry about the housing crisis.  He also spoke of the need for a 4^th option so Councils could borrow and build just like Registered Social Landlords and Arms Length Housing Organisations like our Tristar.  We need to be bold and take risks to make progress he said.  I agree - and I don't need encouraging to be angry!

A mini debate on fuel prices followed.  The CAB had reported that there was a 30% increase in fuel debts, and what is the government doing ? Closing down Energy Watch in the autumn!  We heard of the need for houses for rent to have to provide a performance certificate for fuel costs, as the EU has wanted us to - but of course our government is turning a blind eye.  A lot of passionate speeches about the need to tackle fuel poverty were given, and rightly so, along with practical and real solutions.

The finale of Conference is always the leaders speech.  I was going to need to catch a train to avoid buses because of Sunday workings so needed to leave before the end and so watched it on the large screens in the hall outside.  I was flanked by a dad and a baby on one side and a dad and toddler on the other - The ever helpful staff at the ACC Centre carried a comfortable chair for me to sit on - times are moving on! 

So I left Liverpool wishing I was staying longer, there was lots I would have liked to have seen, and I'd have liked to soak up the atmosphere too.  Most of all, though, I was struck by that real passion and pride that people there had for their City.  There is no better advert for a place than its people.

Still catching up from Conference at the weekend in my entries below, but I am struck at how much resonates with the Budget.  Some headline good news, with real problems below the surface and the poorest in our society losing out the most.

Julia Goldsworthy is our new Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesman for local government, so I was all set to hear what she had to say.  I know things are bad, but she had some hard facts that brought it into focus.  There are 352 pages of lists of quangos-a not elected by any of us, we usually don’t know who they are, what they do, how much each spends, of how to complain – but they are there making big decisions about our lives.   The total spend of all of the quangos, she told us, is more than the NHS and defence budgets rolled into one,  there is a democratic deficit and they read like a “bad hand at scrabble”.  She went on to tell us that the Department of Works and Pensions made £400 MILLION, yes, £400 MILLION out of mobile phone calls – this means things like people claiming Job Seekers Allowance from their mobile phone, and many people on very low incomes use a mobile phone.  Does anyone know, and does anyone care ?

Faceless Britain was the fringe meeting for the evening, and it was Julia Goldsworth again, this time in a listening mode, along with Danny Alexander and David Boyle.  Just how many Party Conference sessions are there for the “top table” to actually listen ?  “Faceless Britain” was about the new way that so much is done by distance.  The growth of 0844 and other numbers was cited as a huge problem costing people millions, and wasting endless time hanging on to the phone; call centres did  not actually deal with people’s problems.  One person said how the number of appointments where the patient didn’t turn up without informing the clinic had increased since an 0844 number had been introduced.  Just who are the winners in all of this – need we ask ?  it is the bureaucracies making much vaunted savings, at the expense of those who may need help the most.  Some (Lib Dem run!) Councils said how their “one stop” shops allowed people to be able to go in and actually talk to someone about the issues.  Citizens Advice Bureaux were cited by many as the only place there was to go and talk to a real person about many problems including complicated benefit problems that just could not be sorted out on the new phone systems, never mind afforded.

It all seems a very long way from all the hope and expectations at Liverpool at the weekend.  Roll on the revolution!

Another "out all day, day".  A committee, then interviewing representatives from the Voluntary and Community Sector for the "Task and Finish" Group, followed by meeting on the future meetings of the group, looking through a planning file and a mass of e-mails and phone calls to return before ward surgery. 

I've written some more about the Party Conference below.  You can, of course, see it all without my comments on the website by following the link.

Vince Cable, in a superb speech combining wit and wisdom, spoke of the big difference between "tax payers and tax dodgers".  The super rich (some!) are dodging taxation which is immoral and costing our Country £millions, and many "non domestic" residents are managing to not pay anything at all.  After 10 years of deciding what to do, Brown is planning something like a poll tax where all will pay exactly the same - from the multi millionaires to people who may be a shop owner.  The Tories had agreed with this approach.   He said that those making a killing out of tax loopholes should "pay up or pack up".  Quite right too!  His speech led to a very spontaneous and well deserved standing ovation.

A debate on the future of Legal Aid followed.  This crucial service can "make or break people's lives".  A new fixed fee way of working spells disaster for many with complicated cases, and will discriminate against those in rural areas where travelling time will add to the costs.  The problems for Citizen's Advice Bureaux and law Centres was highlit by Alan Beith MP, as they are struggling under the transitional arrangements and will be hit badly - meaning of course that their clients in need of vital advice and help will suffer.  It wasn't the only time that the phrase "a government that knows the cost of everything and value of nothing" was used at conference.  The person summing up put it well "there is no justice without access to justice".

There were 6 lunchtime fringes that I really wanted to go to, but Shelter with Adam Sampson had to be the one.  Not that it was a happy story.  Although housing conditions are generally better, that last 30 years have seen the waiting list go up.  There has even been a greater loss of rented social housing with this Government than the last.  He did commend the Liberal Democrats for their consistent lead in tackling the issues both at Government level and locally where we had influence.  He also spoke of the repossessions crisis, with 3 times more in the last 6 months.  He was particularly annoyed that when Caroline Flint chose to announce publicly about evicting tenants from social housing she chose to do it on a platform organised and paid for by Shelter.  I do wonder just where these Labour politicians get the nerve from.  Heather Kidd from South Shropshire spoke of how they were tackling the housing crisis, using the planning process.  It was imaginative and workable, but sadly we cannot use it here in Stockton as we just do not have the planning policies ready to use here.

Health Policy was the key debate of the weekend, and excellent it was too, with so many contributors and good speeches I'm not going to try to pick out good quotes.  I was particularly pleased to see a move to remove control from Central Government to locally elected Health Boards that would be locally accountable.  Given the problems we are having with the proposed new Health Centre at Clarence Street some local accountability would be most welcome, to say nothing of a number of other issues.  I spoke on the importance of hospices receiving a lot more funding for their core services.  It is appalling that basic things like nursing services are having to have funds raised locally, when such fundraising should be for the "extras" that a hospice can give that makes such a difference to people at the time they need it most.  I was surprised at how many people came up to me and agreed with what I had been saying, so glad I made the effort.

Star wars seems to have hit my desk - I've only been away 3 days and piles of papers, books and e-mails have scattered around, so much for my good intention of writing about Conference.  So just the first installment.

The first debate I attended was on ballistic missiles - which were aptly described by a speaker as " Weapons of mass Destruction that you can see".  I was horrified to hear how many American troops were on our soil without any proper information to or scrutiny by our own Parliament.  Information had been sneaked into Parliament as part of 27 announcements on the last day of parliament, in an underhand move supported by the Tories.  There were strong pleas to scrap what is going to turn into "Star wars", and pleas for local people at Menwith Hill, near where I used to live, for local people to start having a say in what was happening, and that North Yorkshire was not part of the USA.  There was a resounding agreement to all of that.

Friday 7th to Sunday 9th march 2008

Party Conference time, so on the train to Liverpool.  I was disappointed to find my hotel so far out, but set off in good spirits for the "15 minute walk" to the City Centre.  I was struck with the way that houses earmarked for demolition in a regeneration scheme had the boarded up parts painted with different designs for every block.  I certainly made the area look better, but I must admit to being rather fed up of them after 30 minutes!

I arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral, otherwise known as "Paddy's Wigwam" after 45 minutes, and exhausted though I was by then, it must say it was breathtaking, and a wonderful and beautiful experience to walk round.   After this it was the Anglican Cathedral, linked by Hope Street, and whilst of a different era, great things had been done with the interior.  I had started off the afternoon vowing never to come to this City again, but was distinctly warming to it.

The Conference was, we were told, at the ACC Centre, but we all soon found that the taxi drivers only know it as the "Arena".  Rather windswept, and we were the first people to use it so a few teething problems.  However the view over the Mersey was wonderful, and I have never come across such helpful staff at a conference centre.

I had a great weekend, and I so enjoy meeting new friends ( what a set of young people we have coming into the Party, good fun, good company, and the makings of good Liberals), as well as meeting up with old friends from many years ago.

I am going to write tomorrow (I hope!) about the political content more, but suffice to say for now that we went through the gamut of policies for Health ( key policy, must have been listening to our problems here with the PCT!); Housing (Good progress on one of my big interests); Legal Aid cutbacks; Ballistic Missiles;  and Fuel Prices.  Add to this "fringe" meetings on homelessness with Shelter, and "Faceless Britain" (I'll write about that one tomorrow).

Then there was Party business.  President Simon Hughes was making awards to long serving dedicated members, and he talked of 2 sisters.  I knew straight away this would be Beth Graham and Claire Brookes from the Skipton and Settle area where I lived at one time.  Both worked so hard, both standing for various parliaments 5 times each, and Beth stood, winning every time, 25 times in local elections.  Beat that!  Claire used to give rousing speeches at conference, usually getting a standing ovation and we have missed her because of bad health.  Simon told us that Claire had died that morning.  A very sad moment, and James Keeley, the promising candidate for Skipton & Ripon accepted the award on her behalf.

We did everything.  Laughed (Vince Cable's wit, and the Glee Club), and cried (Claire's death).  We were angry at injustices, and celebrated new ways forward.  We talked (most of the time!) and we sang (Glee club again).  We reminisced, but most important we planned.

As I left, I did feel I wanted to return to the great city again, just for "leisure".  My biggest memory is not just the magnificent buildings and sky line, or sights not yet seen, but how the people felt about their City.  Immense pride.  I have never before come across people so proud of their own City, ranging from the taxi drivers to others I met.  I did wonder if people came to Stockton, would the taxi drivers extol the virtues the same ?

I was pleased to have been able to move a proposal tonight about the proposed closure of sub-post offices, and delighted that all Councillors from all parties supported it.  More below.

Before full Council it was a hectic day, with the good and bad sides of our Health Service, so much so that there was just no time for me to use public transport to get to James Cook Hospital for my appointment, and I was grateful that John drove me.  I had to leave a "full and frank" meeting about Clarence Street Surgery I was having with Julia and the PCT to arrive late for my hospital appointment (I had rung to confirm they were running late though).  I was on the phone on the way there to a senior officer about the planning decision on Clarence Street being made that day, had to run (don't think it is allowed really!) along a corridor to get to my appointment and take another call when I got there from planning.  No boring wait to see the doctor!  Who would be a Councillor.

The news at the hospital was good - I have had psoriasis diagnosed by GPs for 4 years, and really suffered in the last year.  To miss many episodes out it was decided that it definitely was not psoriasis, had lots of tests, and I'm not too sure what has been causing things - but can cope with what is left of it after advice and prescriptions from the excellent service I have had at that hospital.  A big thank you.

From there to the Council meeting.  It was very lively for a change with questions and rebuttals flying.  I'll give the outline of what I said on the Post Offices.

This round of closures is affecting us right across our Borough, from rural, to suburban to deprived areas, and we all know how valued the Post Office network is amongst our communities, particularly by the elderly.  Some people may ask why I am moving the proposal as we do not even have a Post Office in Elm Tree - despite great efforts in years gone by.  The queues affect everyone, and the more Post Offices that close down, the more people have to not only travel further with a lot of inconvenience, but when they get there they have to queue for a long time.  Indeed a very long time, and that can be painful and difficult with no chairs to rest on.

But who cares ? The consultation period has been cut from 3 months to 6 weeks, which shows how much they want to listen.  The criteria does not take into account local geographical factors - the very thing people are complaining  about.  The Post Office has been starved of investment for 20 years, and 7,000 have been closed by both the Tory and Labour Government.  No-one but the Liberal Democrats have been putting forward proposals that give options for business expansion of Post Offices, or options for employee shared ownership.

What are our MPs doing ?  I really am fed up of the hypocrisy, passionate please, petition collecting & presenting, and photo opportunities (including one where the wrong Post Office was superimposed on a photo!).  It is all very well for them to campaign for one to remain open - it will only result in another one up the road closing as the Government is insisting that 2,500 must close this round.  Why are they not challenging the Government to change the system ? why have they not been telling Blair and Brown that these damaging closures must stop and bring in real investment where we build on the valuable social assets we have.  We want their views on the network change programme, and we want to know what are they going to do about changing the rules and the system, instead of posing for photos ?

All members from all Parties did agree to this.  We will see what the MPs have to say.  Hopefully it will prod into some real action.

A famous visitor to Queen's Campus of Durham University.  I was accompanying John who was there as Deputy Mayor, and once again met the Chancellor, the author Dr Bill Bryson.   It was good to meet Bill again (I invited him to Stockton town centre when I was Mayor) and to talk to him and senior and junior members of the two colleges about what Town and Gown could do together. 

After an excellent buffet lunch, John and some other oldies and a group of students set off in a coach to show Bill our nearby countryside from the top of Roseberry Topping.   I would have liked to have gone with them and felt an evious twinge as the coach set off, but there would have been bigger twinges from body parts had I tried !  I walked through the High Street to my meeting instead and the biting cold wind with snow made me quite grateful for a warm room instead.

As I had lent John my camera I feel entitled to show the photo, just as though I had gone up, though!

Surrounded by students, L to R, "Snow Man", Bill Bryson & the Principal of John Snow Coll. (Prof. Martyn Evans) 

Yesterday I wrote about it being a small world, and today it came together as we gathered at Queen's Campus, Stockton to hear Juan Aviles from El Salvador speak to is in Spanish, translated by Jana who is German on Fairtrade cashew nut production.  It was fascinating, so I'm going to write quite a bit, as well as post a selection of the photos.  If you haven't time to read on, take my word for it, buying Fairtrade makes a real difference to people's lives who produce the goods.  The University had kindly allowed us to have a stall in the entrance of the Ebsworth Building and Jenny Medhurst and her helpers had put on a splendid display of many products to eat, wear and look at from around the world.  All Fairtrade of course - there is much more to it than tea and coffee, and even nuts.

Juan, with his able translator Jana, showed us pictures of cashew nut production.  We were all amazed to find that the cashew nut did not grow hanging from a tree or underground, but came from an apple like fruit.  To those of us with memories of going nutting meant a nice wander down country lanes picking hazel nuts and cracking them, it was a surprise to find out how much hard work and different tasks are needed to produce the nut we know and love in the packet.  They used to be cracked with stones but the Fairtrade co-operative had bought 25 cracking machines to greatly increase the amount of whole nuts that fetch a higher price.  After roasting each nut has to be individually peeled before being graded, sized and packed.  This was the women's work, and although it seemed very tedious, there were good conditions and they were not allowed to work more than 8 hours a day, or the co-operative would lose its Fairtrade status.  We saw pictures of a meeting of all the staff who were deciding on what to do with the "Fairtrade Premium" (the extra you pay for a Fairtrade good).  Infrastructure, machinery and water supply had to come first.  It was something of a shock to find that in this c-op, where there were proper working hours and the workers were paid as much as the minimum wage, education for the children was an aspiration not yet met.  They are working on new uses for the fruit, and wine, jam, juice and vinegar are all in the pipeline.  So next time you buy cashew nuts (look for the brand name, Liberation), remember that by buying Fairtrade you are paying for a minimum wage, better working conditions, and a sustainable future for the people that toil away to provide us with our nibbles at our leisure.  Could we really enjoy them if we knew they were only cheaper because of people being paid below the minimum wage in bad conditions ?

Chris Eddowes from Hartlepool told us of how her and her husband were living for the fortnight on only Fairly traded and locally bought food.  Brave!  She told us of the struggle they had to actually find what local supermarkets had to offer, and no-one appeared to have a list at each store.  She extolled the virtues of Asda Fairtrade oranges and Ben and Jerry icecream, told us of Wychwood beer, but her last words were "you have to search".  The benchmark of how successful our campaigning is, will be how much easier it is to buy these goods each year as they become more readily available.

Our Stockton chair of the Fairtrade steering group, Maureen Rigg, had worked very hard to put the evening together, including the problems around the change of speaker.  She told us that retail sales in the UK had now risen to £half a billion - and 81% increase on 2006!  We hope that after tonight we can move forward as a group and make even more of a difference.  If you are reading this and live locally, get in touch if you want to be involved in any way.

Finally, a word of thanks to Jenny Medhurst who has worked so hard over the last 25 years or so to get us to where we are now.  She has campaigned tirelessly, and as she reminded us, the huge difference made by the big leaps of the major supermarkets and beginning to make would never, ever have happened without all the campaigning that went off on the ground by every day people.  Here she is with Juan in his t shirt.  If you cannot read the words it says " Liberation, this T-Shirt is 100% Fairtrade, just like our nuts"

I realised what a small world it is today, when our young grandchildren called in and quickly spotted Brazil and Morocco on our globe, as they are learning about them at school.  Friends at Church had been travelling on business, and Hungary, Italy and Belgium tripped off the tongue.  I've taken a call from friends in the USA, and made on to Africa.  That is just 2 days!

However I do wonder what sort of world , or rather Country, we live in where the state is increasingly dominating all.  We had a modern take off and mini drama of the Bible story where the blind man is made to see.  He was told that he would need a license to be able to see, and learn to see properly and given lessons.  "look up to important people, down to mere beggars".  A good point was being made as the talk went on about the theology of this.  Was it really that far fetched to think that we had to be "licensed" and "approved" by Government for all manner of activities ?  Are we (as Councils) being told that not only do we have to deliver services to people and communities in a way that Government tells us how to do it, regardless of what people want and need ? and is the next step how we (as individuals) look at things ?  I really would like to think this is not around the corner, but I wouldn't be too sure.

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of a celebration at Elm Tree Community Centre.  Today was a training day for the committee and staff with our external consultant who has done so much to help us to get this far.  I must admit to groaning on the way there that this was yet another Saturday there.  However it was good, it was interesting, it made us all think about how we take on our roles in "governance" for the Centre.  Anything you really think about is bound to be better, and we were urged to remember that we had a plan.  Revisit it, update it if necessary, and stick to it was the advice given.  Probably good advice for a lot of other things too, as we lurch from crisis to crisis in so many areas.  Worth spending a day reflecting and learning.