It is Sunday night and I am sitting down to write my final blog entry having just watched the x factor which has determined the “final 12” to will perform every Saturday night now through to Xmas (how sad am I!)
Having arrived back from Manchester late on Friday afternoon, I have spent the weekend mainly in work as I prepare for life post Presidency sorting out my desk and collating some final thoughts and reports on the conference that will enable us to build on what was an incredibly successful week albeit it lost a little of its shine with our Deputy Chief Executive, Gary Watson’s admission to hospital on the eve of the conference opening.
Not that you can keep a good man down and he kept David, Caroline Hopkins, Paul McDermott and I on our toes all week with his missives and lists delivered from his hospital bed in Manchester which ensured that to most the conference glided like a swan across the water as along with the rest of the staff we paddled furiously beneath the surface. But in adversity, I always say this brings the best out of revenues and benefits people and whilst it was with great sadness that Gary could not be with us in person during the week, his spirit kept us going enabling us to deliver a great event but more of that later.
Just as a quick update, Gary had a minor operation last week and was transferred to another hospital closer to home yesterday (Saturday) where he is being held whilst some monitoring of his progress is taking place. I know from the number of people asking after him at conference and who wanted to sign his many cards how popular and special Gary is to everyone and we are all hoping that he has a speedy recovery. The biggest problem we are having with him is his insistence on trying to answer his e mails but it was great that he was able to follow the performance awards from his bedside on the live link we had put in place across the website on the Performance awards evening. This had an incredible 2000 hits in the first few hours of results being announced. See the IRRV website for all the latest pictures from the night
And so to my exploits in my last two weeks as President
Monday 22 September 2008 – Saturday 27 September 2008
I returned to Luton on Monday morning to check in just before 6pm (very Déjà vu) but again not without incident as I only narrowly made the check in time by minutes by underestimating the very early M1 Monday morning traffic. However, arrived in Berlin and after a short taxi journey met up with David where we make the short walk around to the Canadian embassy built almost in no mans land near Checkpoint Charlie and the former wall to attend a 2 day event hosted by IPTI (International Property Tax Institute) that concentrates on advising the Canadians around how the invited countries deal with the issue of our equivalent of Central List payment in lieu. It is bizarre but the embassy stands in a square where all the other buildings are in fact false fascias over scaffolding as Germany faces the problems of rebuilding the city whilst still faced with another 26 years of paying off unification debts. Unfortunately any time to sight see was lost by arriving a day late but what little I see of Berlin (primarily the dunkin doughnut shop and a big square with more false buildings in than real ones) is incredibly impressive.
After a full day in session, I have a quick meeting back at the hotel with David before taking in what is best described as a “German Berni Inn” for dinner before hitting the sack. The following day, is another full day in session giving an impromptu 45 minute paper along with David and Paul Sanderson from the VOA (It’s a good job I have kept my NDR knowledge very current through my tutoring role). A local Berlin dinner of one of my favourites, liver and bacon and another strudel, I decline the offer of a cultural tour of Berlin as I am up early for a morning flight back to Luton enabling me to get back home for lunchtime and a full afternoon and evening doing some proper work and some IRRV work in advance of the conference.
Thursday sees me catch the train to London as I have an early morning meeting at Doughty Street with Gary and David before we head off to London Bridge to a lunch as guests of the ATT (the Association of Taxation Technicians) returning late afternoon to conclude our morning meeting before getting changed into black tie and a dinner in Kensington as guests of the Institute of Internal Auditors who are celebrating their 60th anniversary at their conference. Back to the penthouse at Doughty Street by 11.30pm, I am up early at 6 and start my slides for my Presidential address the following week. David arrives and as the staff pack up the 43 boxes to be driven up to conference in a lorry by Gary (he is a jack of all trades), I leave with David as we are attending a tripartite event with the VOA, LGA and ourselves to spend a day discussing how we develop improved links and services between Local Government and the Agency. It is a well-attended day and is very productive with some very useful output that will be worked on over the coming months. Another mad dash from the venue to Euston sees me catch my train literally by seconds to avoid having to wait an hour for the next one. There is definitely a theme developing here having now nearly missed a plane and train in recent days. In just before 7pm, its fish finger sandwiches and I am absolutely shattered so am in bed by 8’ish after a long soak in the bath.
Up early, I am first in the queue at the barbers even beating the pensioners, collect my suits from the dry cleaners and pick up a new dj. I have ordered before nipping into my mum and dads to confirm arrangements for the following week. Back at home, I go into work for 3 hours and tie up some things that need doing as I prepare for my final week out of the office at conference. Home and a quick shower, we are guests at Dave West’s wedding (CAPITA) in Coventry where we are on the same table as last year's President, Allan Traynor and Dee, and Judith and Ray Keech. You can never escape the Institute wherever you go! Knowing what a busy week lies ahead, we leave the party by 9pm, take in the x factor recorded from earlier in the evening before collapsing into bed.
Sunday 28 September 2008 – Sunday 4 October 2008
We have a busy Sunday morning finishing the packing and trying to remember everything for the week (both in Manchester and at home) as we have Council meetings in advance of the conference and finalise arrangements to get Louis up to us on Thursday as he, my mum and dad and brother and wife are joining us for the Performance Awards event. All I can say is it’s a good job we have a 4 by 4 with all the stuff e need to take and whilst J finishes the necessary jobs, I nip into work to do some absolutely last minute things for the week ahead. We stop off on the way up to Manchester at the NEC where the “Place in the Sun” exhibition is being held as we prepare for life post presidency and something to do once we have some free time to enjoy !!!!! (which is going to be a real novelty) and 4 hours later, head up to Manchester and our base at the Midland Hotel arriving by 5pm.
We kick off the event with a nominations meeting to elect the new junior vice president who will be National President in 2010/11. We only have one candidate to consider so the meeting is not too long and it will be great that Kerry McDermott from Pembrokeshire CC, one of my closest friends in the Institute is elected. His journeys in his year are definitely going to be “challenging” as it takes him 60 miles or so before he even hits a motorway from his base on the beautiful coastline of Wales so blog entries should be entertaining planes, trains and automobile stories.
Along with fellow Council members, we have dinner in a local Italian restaurant before leaving at a very reasonable hour to prepare for the Monday of meetings and the pre conference golf competition sponsored by IBS. Before meetings kick off at 8am, I check my e mails of the golf start times, traditionally around 2pm to find to my horror it has been changed to 11am so after the first hour and a half on the commercial services committee I make my excuses, jump in a taxi and am on the first tee for pictures (in the rain) at 10.45am. Posing for the pictures, I take a right handed stance for Andrew, the photographer who insists on me hitting the ball. Call it beginners luck, or sods law, but my right-handed drive goes straight as an arrow and about 150 yards plus. My proper left handed drive whilst going somewhat further is sliced to the left but somehow I manage to find the edge of the green in 3 and sink the long putt for an opening par! The rest of my golf matches the weather, in and out but we have a great time with Ray Dart from Halton BC playing incredibly well to take the spoils for the third time in his career (although it must be his 25th annual conference he has attended). Return to the Midland, to hear that Gary has been rushed into hospital having had problems in the night (he has not been feeling too good for months but as anyone who knows Gary he has kept battling on to ensure the show this week went on and has really suffered in silence) but he is in the best place and I have some impromptu meetings with David and Caroline to plan the week minus a very important player on our team and begin to work out who will do what. In essence, Gary is so organised it proves easier than we think as everything is meticulously labelled sometimes more than once !
J and I settle for a quiet night in with room service necessary as I still have to finish my paper for the next day (nothing like being prepared). I rise at 6am for breakfast and prepare for the day ahead that starts with my final act as President in my council role by chairing the Full Council meeting which starts at 8am. At 10am, I attend the traditional Association Reps meeting which takes longer than normal (lots to talk about) resulting in me going straight to chair the Annual General Meeting in the main conference hall at 11.30am and the start of the conference week begins in earnest.
Before I know it, I am opening up the conference delivering my key note paper which I am really pleased goes very well and then chair the rest of the afternoon sessions before opening up the conference and awarding the golf prizes. With David, I jump in a taxi and head up to the hospital to see Gary who is in good spirits and having already given David a long list of “things to do” earlier in the day, we get another two long lists of things to do (typical Gary Watson!) and why he is so important to the institute.
Back by 7.30pm, a quick change and I join CAPITA at the Hard Rock café for their traditional Tuesday night out to open up the conference week for delegates. Again in bed by a reasonable hour (two nights running and at conference unheard of) I get up early to answer some e mails before having a breakfast meeting in my room with David, Caroline and 2 of the IRRV staff to discuss the day ahead, as well as things to do (including Gary’s lists). It is a much longer meeting than usual for obvious reasons but finishes just in time for me to catch J’s session in the main hall which I promised her I wouldn’t attend (but I am glad I did as she did great) before joining David, Fraser and Caroline in the Great Central Hall to run through the visuals for the Thursday night and agree operational things now it is possible for the first time to translate the laptop images into reality. We agree a number of changes before I am back in the main hall where I chair the late morning session including Steven Timms MP who has responsibility for welfare reform in the DWP which also involves him presenting the £1,500 Gandlake bursaries to the three successful applicants. I then escort him around the awards village where he is genuinely interested in the 4 benefit finalist teams and having posed for pictures, he leaves with his entourage by 1pm. I grab a sandwich on the move and meet up with David and Colin Thrower, chair of the awards panel at the hotel where we sign the finalist and winners certificates for the Thursday and grab the opportunity to discuss a few more details about the following night in Gary’s absence. The three of us then do the now traditional walk round the Performance Awards village for photographs and conversations with each of the finalists who as ever have put in a massive amount of effort to demonstrate their excellence. They truly are all winners in terms of what they are achieving and this year sees the village busier than ever.
Afterwards, I head back over to the GMEX to check on progress before taking in a meeting with one of our key sponsors who we have a longstanding meeting booked with. Before I know it, I am showered and changed and heading out to the Students Graduation event sponsored by Rossendales at 6.30pm which takes place in the nearby Raddison hotel. It is a night I always look forward too as a delegate so as President it is even more especial as I have the honour of awarding the new corporate members and individual prizewinners with their certificates before we sit down to a very enjoyable meal and dancing till late. We leave in torrential rain for the short run up the road and I am soaked by the time we get to the Midland where we catch the last 50 minutes of an ABBA tribute night sponsored by Inform 360 degrees which is another packed event. IRRV delegates certainly know how to enjoy themselves and means my first late night on the week as we get to bed just gone 1pm.
Up at 6.30am, the breakfast meeting starts at 7.30am (and more lists from Gary) and sees us finish just after 9am and straight into a meeting with the organisers of the night which involves agreeing some further tweaking. Along with Caroline, I head off to do a tour of the exhibition which due to the number of exhibitors which is great news has to be undertaken in two parts as we have to break to again approve the changes we agreed in the morning.
Breaking by 1pm, I meet up with afternoon speakers, Gerald Ratner and Dave Moorcroft and agree how they wished to be chaired and they both deliver great sessions that are very well received by delegates. My dad who has arrived with my mum for the evening even asks a question! J takes Louis around the exhibition and he cleans up on all the stands with x-box games on and walks off with 3 prizes.
Finishing at 4am, I return to the G-Mex for a walk through of the night with sponsors and iron out some last minute issues which means I do not get back to the hotel until 6am and after another quick shower and change (again another constant theme and a good job I haven’t got much hair to wash), I am back at the venue to kick off the drinks reception at 6.30pm and pose for pictures with all the finalists and my table which is finished just as we are called to dinner.
The night passes in a blur as I take on the role as host and the musical entertainment of the IDMC gospel choir and “Now 80’s” (some of who used to work for me) ensure a brilliant night is had by all. The food and venue provide the perfect support act to the real stars on the night, the finalists (see website for pictures) and at 2am when it is all over for another year the dancefloor is still packed. The bar is heaving back in the Midland and we finally get to bed just gone 3pm, but chainless having passed the baton over to Julie Holden at the end of official proceedings on the night and I know she will have a brilliant year.
So on reflection, In total I have done 108 days of official IRRV activity according to my timesheet at work and have worked enough hours in the days I have been in or whilst out e mailing off site to cover 66 days of them. I have also used 25 days of my annual leave. With the weekend working I have undertaken during my year and that brought forward days, this has amounted to 68 days so I end the year still way in credit but very thankful to my employer, NWBC for giving me the opportunity to fulfil all these engagements and work incredibly flexibly in what has been the highlight of my working and professional career.
David set me 36 things to do at the start of the year (although the list seemed to grow) and most have been completed or started so I hope that my year will have made a difference and whilst I am a little sad it has come to an end, I have achieved everything and more I set out to achieve and my body is definitely telling me it is time to slow down and get life back to normality whatever that means!
Not that I rest for long as Friday morning sees me up at 7am as I have foolishly agreed to do a paper on the shared service morning we ran which is well attended and received before packing the car and bidding farewell to Manchester. Home by 4pm, we unpack before both falling asleep for a few hours after what has been a very hectic last few weeks (possibly year).
Saturday sees J up and she takes her mum and sister to Birmingham shopping for wedding outfits whilst I get into work for 10am and put in a long day which I repeat on Sunday so I can turn up to work on Monday ready to start my life again post Presidency.
I was hoping to visit Gary on Sunday but his transfer to Romford was delayed by a day so will have to wait until next weekend to see him but we will keep the website up to date of his progress most probably via Julie's blog.
So as I sign off my final blog entry, it has been a pleasure to share my year with you and will be a fantastic keepsake of what has been an incredible year for me. To share it with J has been great and without her, I could not have done everything I have done as she has kept the house, Louis and day-to-day stuff going to enable me to work hard and play hard. It is now time for us as we prepare for our forthcoming wedding in January and a well-earned 3 weeks honeymoon. She is my rock in every way.
Not that I won’t be doing any IRRV stuff as college courses start again and with Gary’s absence, I will do as much as I can along with the other staff and rest of Council to ensure he can make a speedy recovery without the worry of what’s going on back at HQ (this will possibly be the biggest challenge of all keeping him away). Gary, I know you will be reading this and along with David, you have helped make my year very special and thank you both for your hard work and support.
So my year has been about “Reaching for the Stars” and I have achieved everything and more I hoped for when I set out on my journey last year in Brighton. Keep reaching for your own stars and hopefully I will see you all very soon.
Take Care,
Bob
Having arrived back from Manchester late on Friday afternoon, I have spent the weekend mainly in work as I prepare for life post Presidency sorting out my desk and collating some final thoughts and reports on the conference that will enable us to build on what was an incredibly successful week albeit it lost a little of its shine with our Deputy Chief Executive, Gary Watson’s admission to hospital on the eve of the conference opening.
Not that you can keep a good man down and he kept David, Caroline Hopkins, Paul McDermott and I on our toes all week with his missives and lists delivered from his hospital bed in Manchester which ensured that to most the conference glided like a swan across the water as along with the rest of the staff we paddled furiously beneath the surface. But in adversity, I always say this brings the best out of revenues and benefits people and whilst it was with great sadness that Gary could not be with us in person during the week, his spirit kept us going enabling us to deliver a great event but more of that later.
Just as a quick update, Gary had a minor operation last week and was transferred to another hospital closer to home yesterday (Saturday) where he is being held whilst some monitoring of his progress is taking place. I know from the number of people asking after him at conference and who wanted to sign his many cards how popular and special Gary is to everyone and we are all hoping that he has a speedy recovery. The biggest problem we are having with him is his insistence on trying to answer his e mails but it was great that he was able to follow the performance awards from his bedside on the live link we had put in place across the website on the Performance awards evening. This had an incredible 2000 hits in the first few hours of results being announced. See the IRRV website for all the latest pictures from the night
And so to my exploits in my last two weeks as President
Monday 22 September 2008 – Saturday 27 September 2008
I returned to Luton on Monday morning to check in just before 6pm (very Déjà vu) but again not without incident as I only narrowly made the check in time by minutes by underestimating the very early M1 Monday morning traffic. However, arrived in Berlin and after a short taxi journey met up with David where we make the short walk around to the Canadian embassy built almost in no mans land near Checkpoint Charlie and the former wall to attend a 2 day event hosted by IPTI (International Property Tax Institute) that concentrates on advising the Canadians around how the invited countries deal with the issue of our equivalent of Central List payment in lieu. It is bizarre but the embassy stands in a square where all the other buildings are in fact false fascias over scaffolding as Germany faces the problems of rebuilding the city whilst still faced with another 26 years of paying off unification debts. Unfortunately any time to sight see was lost by arriving a day late but what little I see of Berlin (primarily the dunkin doughnut shop and a big square with more false buildings in than real ones) is incredibly impressive.
After a full day in session, I have a quick meeting back at the hotel with David before taking in what is best described as a “German Berni Inn” for dinner before hitting the sack. The following day, is another full day in session giving an impromptu 45 minute paper along with David and Paul Sanderson from the VOA (It’s a good job I have kept my NDR knowledge very current through my tutoring role). A local Berlin dinner of one of my favourites, liver and bacon and another strudel, I decline the offer of a cultural tour of Berlin as I am up early for a morning flight back to Luton enabling me to get back home for lunchtime and a full afternoon and evening doing some proper work and some IRRV work in advance of the conference.
Thursday sees me catch the train to London as I have an early morning meeting at Doughty Street with Gary and David before we head off to London Bridge to a lunch as guests of the ATT (the Association of Taxation Technicians) returning late afternoon to conclude our morning meeting before getting changed into black tie and a dinner in Kensington as guests of the Institute of Internal Auditors who are celebrating their 60th anniversary at their conference. Back to the penthouse at Doughty Street by 11.30pm, I am up early at 6 and start my slides for my Presidential address the following week. David arrives and as the staff pack up the 43 boxes to be driven up to conference in a lorry by Gary (he is a jack of all trades), I leave with David as we are attending a tripartite event with the VOA, LGA and ourselves to spend a day discussing how we develop improved links and services between Local Government and the Agency. It is a well-attended day and is very productive with some very useful output that will be worked on over the coming months. Another mad dash from the venue to Euston sees me catch my train literally by seconds to avoid having to wait an hour for the next one. There is definitely a theme developing here having now nearly missed a plane and train in recent days. In just before 7pm, its fish finger sandwiches and I am absolutely shattered so am in bed by 8’ish after a long soak in the bath.
Up early, I am first in the queue at the barbers even beating the pensioners, collect my suits from the dry cleaners and pick up a new dj. I have ordered before nipping into my mum and dads to confirm arrangements for the following week. Back at home, I go into work for 3 hours and tie up some things that need doing as I prepare for my final week out of the office at conference. Home and a quick shower, we are guests at Dave West’s wedding (CAPITA) in Coventry where we are on the same table as last year's President, Allan Traynor and Dee, and Judith and Ray Keech. You can never escape the Institute wherever you go! Knowing what a busy week lies ahead, we leave the party by 9pm, take in the x factor recorded from earlier in the evening before collapsing into bed.
Sunday 28 September 2008 – Sunday 4 October 2008
We have a busy Sunday morning finishing the packing and trying to remember everything for the week (both in Manchester and at home) as we have Council meetings in advance of the conference and finalise arrangements to get Louis up to us on Thursday as he, my mum and dad and brother and wife are joining us for the Performance Awards event. All I can say is it’s a good job we have a 4 by 4 with all the stuff e need to take and whilst J finishes the necessary jobs, I nip into work to do some absolutely last minute things for the week ahead. We stop off on the way up to Manchester at the NEC where the “Place in the Sun” exhibition is being held as we prepare for life post presidency and something to do once we have some free time to enjoy !!!!! (which is going to be a real novelty) and 4 hours later, head up to Manchester and our base at the Midland Hotel arriving by 5pm.
We kick off the event with a nominations meeting to elect the new junior vice president who will be National President in 2010/11. We only have one candidate to consider so the meeting is not too long and it will be great that Kerry McDermott from Pembrokeshire CC, one of my closest friends in the Institute is elected. His journeys in his year are definitely going to be “challenging” as it takes him 60 miles or so before he even hits a motorway from his base on the beautiful coastline of Wales so blog entries should be entertaining planes, trains and automobile stories.
Along with fellow Council members, we have dinner in a local Italian restaurant before leaving at a very reasonable hour to prepare for the Monday of meetings and the pre conference golf competition sponsored by IBS. Before meetings kick off at 8am, I check my e mails of the golf start times, traditionally around 2pm to find to my horror it has been changed to 11am so after the first hour and a half on the commercial services committee I make my excuses, jump in a taxi and am on the first tee for pictures (in the rain) at 10.45am. Posing for the pictures, I take a right handed stance for Andrew, the photographer who insists on me hitting the ball. Call it beginners luck, or sods law, but my right-handed drive goes straight as an arrow and about 150 yards plus. My proper left handed drive whilst going somewhat further is sliced to the left but somehow I manage to find the edge of the green in 3 and sink the long putt for an opening par! The rest of my golf matches the weather, in and out but we have a great time with Ray Dart from Halton BC playing incredibly well to take the spoils for the third time in his career (although it must be his 25th annual conference he has attended). Return to the Midland, to hear that Gary has been rushed into hospital having had problems in the night (he has not been feeling too good for months but as anyone who knows Gary he has kept battling on to ensure the show this week went on and has really suffered in silence) but he is in the best place and I have some impromptu meetings with David and Caroline to plan the week minus a very important player on our team and begin to work out who will do what. In essence, Gary is so organised it proves easier than we think as everything is meticulously labelled sometimes more than once !
J and I settle for a quiet night in with room service necessary as I still have to finish my paper for the next day (nothing like being prepared). I rise at 6am for breakfast and prepare for the day ahead that starts with my final act as President in my council role by chairing the Full Council meeting which starts at 8am. At 10am, I attend the traditional Association Reps meeting which takes longer than normal (lots to talk about) resulting in me going straight to chair the Annual General Meeting in the main conference hall at 11.30am and the start of the conference week begins in earnest.
Before I know it, I am opening up the conference delivering my key note paper which I am really pleased goes very well and then chair the rest of the afternoon sessions before opening up the conference and awarding the golf prizes. With David, I jump in a taxi and head up to the hospital to see Gary who is in good spirits and having already given David a long list of “things to do” earlier in the day, we get another two long lists of things to do (typical Gary Watson!) and why he is so important to the institute.
Back by 7.30pm, a quick change and I join CAPITA at the Hard Rock café for their traditional Tuesday night out to open up the conference week for delegates. Again in bed by a reasonable hour (two nights running and at conference unheard of) I get up early to answer some e mails before having a breakfast meeting in my room with David, Caroline and 2 of the IRRV staff to discuss the day ahead, as well as things to do (including Gary’s lists). It is a much longer meeting than usual for obvious reasons but finishes just in time for me to catch J’s session in the main hall which I promised her I wouldn’t attend (but I am glad I did as she did great) before joining David, Fraser and Caroline in the Great Central Hall to run through the visuals for the Thursday night and agree operational things now it is possible for the first time to translate the laptop images into reality. We agree a number of changes before I am back in the main hall where I chair the late morning session including Steven Timms MP who has responsibility for welfare reform in the DWP which also involves him presenting the £1,500 Gandlake bursaries to the three successful applicants. I then escort him around the awards village where he is genuinely interested in the 4 benefit finalist teams and having posed for pictures, he leaves with his entourage by 1pm. I grab a sandwich on the move and meet up with David and Colin Thrower, chair of the awards panel at the hotel where we sign the finalist and winners certificates for the Thursday and grab the opportunity to discuss a few more details about the following night in Gary’s absence. The three of us then do the now traditional walk round the Performance Awards village for photographs and conversations with each of the finalists who as ever have put in a massive amount of effort to demonstrate their excellence. They truly are all winners in terms of what they are achieving and this year sees the village busier than ever.
Afterwards, I head back over to the GMEX to check on progress before taking in a meeting with one of our key sponsors who we have a longstanding meeting booked with. Before I know it, I am showered and changed and heading out to the Students Graduation event sponsored by Rossendales at 6.30pm which takes place in the nearby Raddison hotel. It is a night I always look forward too as a delegate so as President it is even more especial as I have the honour of awarding the new corporate members and individual prizewinners with their certificates before we sit down to a very enjoyable meal and dancing till late. We leave in torrential rain for the short run up the road and I am soaked by the time we get to the Midland where we catch the last 50 minutes of an ABBA tribute night sponsored by Inform 360 degrees which is another packed event. IRRV delegates certainly know how to enjoy themselves and means my first late night on the week as we get to bed just gone 1pm.
Up at 6.30am, the breakfast meeting starts at 7.30am (and more lists from Gary) and sees us finish just after 9am and straight into a meeting with the organisers of the night which involves agreeing some further tweaking. Along with Caroline, I head off to do a tour of the exhibition which due to the number of exhibitors which is great news has to be undertaken in two parts as we have to break to again approve the changes we agreed in the morning.
Breaking by 1pm, I meet up with afternoon speakers, Gerald Ratner and Dave Moorcroft and agree how they wished to be chaired and they both deliver great sessions that are very well received by delegates. My dad who has arrived with my mum for the evening even asks a question! J takes Louis around the exhibition and he cleans up on all the stands with x-box games on and walks off with 3 prizes.
Finishing at 4am, I return to the G-Mex for a walk through of the night with sponsors and iron out some last minute issues which means I do not get back to the hotel until 6am and after another quick shower and change (again another constant theme and a good job I haven’t got much hair to wash), I am back at the venue to kick off the drinks reception at 6.30pm and pose for pictures with all the finalists and my table which is finished just as we are called to dinner.
The night passes in a blur as I take on the role as host and the musical entertainment of the IDMC gospel choir and “Now 80’s” (some of who used to work for me) ensure a brilliant night is had by all. The food and venue provide the perfect support act to the real stars on the night, the finalists (see website for pictures) and at 2am when it is all over for another year the dancefloor is still packed. The bar is heaving back in the Midland and we finally get to bed just gone 3pm, but chainless having passed the baton over to Julie Holden at the end of official proceedings on the night and I know she will have a brilliant year.
So on reflection, In total I have done 108 days of official IRRV activity according to my timesheet at work and have worked enough hours in the days I have been in or whilst out e mailing off site to cover 66 days of them. I have also used 25 days of my annual leave. With the weekend working I have undertaken during my year and that brought forward days, this has amounted to 68 days so I end the year still way in credit but very thankful to my employer, NWBC for giving me the opportunity to fulfil all these engagements and work incredibly flexibly in what has been the highlight of my working and professional career.
David set me 36 things to do at the start of the year (although the list seemed to grow) and most have been completed or started so I hope that my year will have made a difference and whilst I am a little sad it has come to an end, I have achieved everything and more I set out to achieve and my body is definitely telling me it is time to slow down and get life back to normality whatever that means!
Not that I rest for long as Friday morning sees me up at 7am as I have foolishly agreed to do a paper on the shared service morning we ran which is well attended and received before packing the car and bidding farewell to Manchester. Home by 4pm, we unpack before both falling asleep for a few hours after what has been a very hectic last few weeks (possibly year).
Saturday sees J up and she takes her mum and sister to Birmingham shopping for wedding outfits whilst I get into work for 10am and put in a long day which I repeat on Sunday so I can turn up to work on Monday ready to start my life again post Presidency.
I was hoping to visit Gary on Sunday but his transfer to Romford was delayed by a day so will have to wait until next weekend to see him but we will keep the website up to date of his progress most probably via Julie's blog.
So as I sign off my final blog entry, it has been a pleasure to share my year with you and will be a fantastic keepsake of what has been an incredible year for me. To share it with J has been great and without her, I could not have done everything I have done as she has kept the house, Louis and day-to-day stuff going to enable me to work hard and play hard. It is now time for us as we prepare for our forthcoming wedding in January and a well-earned 3 weeks honeymoon. She is my rock in every way.
Not that I won’t be doing any IRRV stuff as college courses start again and with Gary’s absence, I will do as much as I can along with the other staff and rest of Council to ensure he can make a speedy recovery without the worry of what’s going on back at HQ (this will possibly be the biggest challenge of all keeping him away). Gary, I know you will be reading this and along with David, you have helped make my year very special and thank you both for your hard work and support.
So my year has been about “Reaching for the Stars” and I have achieved everything and more I hoped for when I set out on my journey last year in Brighton. Keep reaching for your own stars and hopefully I will see you all very soon.
Take Care,
Bob
Now the Immediate Past President of the IRRV
Above : Scottish Conference in session!
Above : What is the collective description of a gathering of Past Presidents, a Pride ?
Above : With Jimmy Anderson 
Above : With Monty Panasar at Lords. My bowling tips obviously served him well !!! 
