Welcome to my blog. Having taken over from Allan Traynor who started this craze I have taken up the challenge to continue with a weekly journal of my activities, both presidential and work.
Thursday 11 October – Sunday 21 October 2007
Taking over as President on the night and more importantly my team winning a Performance award and narrowly missing out on a second, meant it was one of the proudest days of my life (even if the David Brent dancing as part of the inauguration ceremony was on the dodgy side). No doubt, the video clip of the dancing and the one I did with some local school children will no doubt make the blog but hopefully not you-tube.
The night showcased the IRRV for what it is. We have worked hard in recent years to make these events fun, different and inclusive. Last week we achieved all this and more. I am bias but having attended a number of award dinners, none gets near ours. Who else could boast of a night that attracts over 900 people, an evening’s entertainment that had everyone out of their chair enjoying covers of Queen being played on bag pipes and tables full of the staff, not just the managers who deliver the best services in the country celebrating their success. The challenge is to make Manchester even better! (One for Caroline Hopkins, the new Head of Commercial Services who takes over this role)
The week at work (which has included 2 Sundays and a full Saturday to keep on top of things) has been very hectic. We hosted 2 visits from other Councils keen to learn from our successes, had a couple of meetings around the feasibility study we are undertaking into Shared Services with Coventry CC and across Warwickshire which we are due to report on in early December and a meeting with Community Transport providers.
On Thursday afternoon, I flew up to Scotland for my first official engagement in Grangemouth attending the 2 day Revenues Symposium. An incredible, 3 hours door-to- door journey and I caught the last speakers of the day. It was great to be able to acknowledge the achievements of Allan Traynor, the immediate past President at the evening meal attended by over 50 people. On Friday morning, I gave a paper on the future of Local Government Finance with a Scottish twist as the lead party, the SNP have set up a working party to prepare for introducing a Local Income Tax and abolish Council Tax. Plenty of food for thought and we await the soon to be issued consultation paper with interest. (note: I must remember to do up my flies next week for my second talk in Kettering on Wednesday 24th)
I bet you can’t wait for next week's exciting update, but wait you must !
