Monday 5 Monday – Sunday 11 May 2008
It’s a Bank Holiday Monday and its baking hot outside for a nice change. Not that I plan to enjoy it as I spend the morning at work before nipping across to the venue for our dinner dance on 17th May in Telford along with J and meet up with Sue Williams Lee, the West Mids President to finalise arrangements for the evening itself.
Up early Tuesday morning to beat the traffic that gridlocks around Birmingham between 7 and 9 arriving in plenty of time for the Lancashire and Cheshire AGM in Bury where Clare Jenkins takes over the chain from outgoing Council Member, Angela Storey. Following a very nice late lunch with the rest of the association executive, I play a round of golf with Messrs Chapman and Shang who I have known since my days of studying before heading back down the M6 to arrive home by 9’ish.
Another early start Wednesday sees me on the road by 5.30am to ensure I get to Harrow on time for a ministerial visit they are having from James Plaskitt, DWP Minister, who is down there to announce an extension to the VRA pilot of which my authority is also a pilot. There is loads of TV and press interest and in a full morning, I also attend the local college along with Carol Cutler to meet their latest intake of new trainees (many who have been long term unemployed or had enforced changes in career) and are being taken through an intensive training programme. After a quick photo shoot and chat, we enjoy a lovely lunch before I am back on the road, roof down as the great weather continues and get back into work for 4pm eventually leaving just before 9pm to get home just in time for the apprentice and to do my packing.
Thursday sees me up early for a 5am start at the laptop getting in work for 7.30am when the doors open and a number of meetings with the Chief Executive and auditors all before heading up to Worksop for a meeting and discuss the forthcoming inter association competition on 30 June. Leave by 6pm for the drive across the Pennines arriving in Llandudno where I meet up with David as we are both in town for the following days North Wales AGM. He has been looking at future conference venues in the North West with Gary and we have an impromptu meeting locking up the guesthouse at the request of the owners who go to bed at 11pm and continuing our discussions over breakfast the following morning.
The North Wales AGM is well attended and we have some really good discussions following my address before we retire to a course for an afternoon’s golf with 8 of the executive. The good weather finally breaks as the mist comes in off the sea (this doesn’t happen in the Midlands) but we get round, enjoy a quick meal in the clubhouse before I make the 3 hour journey home.
Saturday morning, I pop into work for a few hours before we drive over to Birmingham for some lunch and to see Tommy Steele in Doctor Doolittle. It is the first time I have ever left a show at the interval as Tommy has definitely seen his best days and the most productive part of the day is getting some card for the association menus we need to print. Saturday night is spent with a nice bottle of wine before retiring to bed early following a very energetic week.
Sunday is spent in work in the morning before visiting both sets of parents in the afternoon which gives me the first opportunity to inspect the raft that Julie's dad is building for the forthcoming raft race we are doing for charity on 22 June. All I will say is Fred Dibnah has nothing on Julie’s dad. The night is spent catching up on some IRRV work I need for the following day for a meeting I am having with Equita around my other charity event of the year.
Monday 12 May – Sunday 18 May 2008
In with the cleaners again and another day involving a series of meetings, including one with the representatives of the “Tell Us Once" team from the DWP working through lunch before leaving mid afternoon for a meeting with Paul Sharpe and Barry Powell from Equita where we finalise arrangements for the charity golf event I am doing with them from 29 August to 1 September (more of this later) before returning to work for another late shift.
Spend a very long Tuesday at work mainly in meetings and catching up with the events of recent weeks before driving up to Yorkshire on the Wednesday to attend a training event they are running and their AGM where Lisa Rawson is installed as President taking over from Alan Fane. Get home by 9.30pm (thank goodness for Sky Plus as "The Apprentice" has started!)
In very early again as I have to leave for a planned afternoon meeting in London with all the association reps. Well that was the plan as after a four hour shift I get to Nuneaton only to find that major problems on the railway mean the main West line is shut and I have no alternative but to return to work. Everything works well in the end as I am able to join the meeting by teleconference for a meeting where we make some very positive progress. The unexpected afternoon of work extends into the evening and I am very grateful for this unplanned opportunity. Home and having written the 114 name cards for the Saturday night dinner places I retire to bed
Friday involves a series of meetings in the morning before heading over to Rugby for a meeting with reps from Coventry, Nuneaton, and the hosts to finalise the regional fraud proposals we are to recommend to board. Back into work for a few hours to put a slide pack together for the keynote address at Collection and Enforcement as David rang me in the afternoon to advise the minister had needed to pull out before collecting the menu cards from the print room for the following days association dinner J and I have been responsible for organising.
Up early Saturday and nip into work for an hour after packing up the car with everything needed for the evening. J takes Louis off to a music festival he is playing in and Gary Watson joins me to drive over to Telford for 11am in time to get everyone off for the golf by midday. Despite a couple of late cry offs we have an enjoyable if slightly damp game and by the time we get in J and Sue have arrived and with the hotel laid out the room which looks great. This is the first time we have used this venue and I am sure we will be returning. Nothing else to do but have a few social drinks with arriving guests. The evening is a great success and we attract more people than ever before and the dancefloor is still full when the music stops at 1am. We have raised over £500 for Sue’s charity and we finally leave the the bar at 2.45am and there are still plenty of people up.
A lie in for us sees us up and at breakfast for 10am and me in work by 1pm for the afternoon on the keyboard arriving back by 5pm. As President I am a member of the Performance Awards Panel for the first time this year (a nice change from entering) and my crate of over 100 entries arrived during the week which all needs reading and scoring. Hence I spend the rest of the night and until 2am the following morning wading through the first 6 categories before retiring to bed as I need to be up and away by 7am as I have been invited to play golf at the Celtic Manor on Monday.
Monday 19 May – Sunday 25 May 2008
Up by 5.30am and after only 3.30 hours sleep, I am back on the road by 6.45am and arrive just outside Newport by 9am and which is very close to Caerleon where we held the National Revision course for many years. Spend the next hour and a half making a few calls and completing the 7th category in the car park before spending a very enjoyable afternoon looking out across the beautiful South Wales countryside and my golf improves as the round develops. Unfortunately, I cannot stay for the dinner in the evening as I have to get up to Harrogate for the Collection and Enforcement conference so away by 5, I get home by 7 as the traffic is good, unload and repack and am back on the road by 8.15pm arriving at the hotel just before 11pm. Meet David and Gary in the bar for a quick catch up and although I promised myself I would not have a late one, get talking with exhibitors and delegates and finally retire just before 4 having put the Civil Enforcement industry to rights !
Up early, and irrespective of what time I go to bed, I complete my next category in my room before opening up the conference with the key note address following the ministers unfortunate late withdrawal. It seems to do down well and having chaired the remaining morning sessions spend the afternoon completing my final PA category, write a few ideas for the speech in the evening and catch the last few sessions of the day. The Formula One night sponsored by Equita is a great success and I am sure the photos will prove this as again the dancefloor remains full pretty much all night and well into the early hours. We launch the charity golf event that will see me play 4 Ryder cup venues over 4 days but more of this in insight in July. For the first time, I would think fish fingers have made it into a conference dinner menu as a surprise starter but it is a lovely touch from Equita and shows someone reads my blog ! It is another late night networking opportunity in the bar but again I am up with the larks, this time to work on the annual reception invitation list which needs a review this year so invites can be issued.
Spend the morning visiting all the exhibitors (30 or so) and having my picture taken, visiting the nearby Harrogate centre with other members of the conference sub committee which shows real potential before catching the last few sessions. At 4pm, the doors are locked and the PA panel starts. Chaired by Colin Thrower, it involves 5 of us comparing notes and debating a long list for visits from which a shortlist is then drawn up of finalists. It promotes some interesting discussions and opinions but we are generally in agreement and by 7’ish we have broke the back of 6 categories breaking to take in the football match for most whilst I catch up on my e mails of the last few days with one eye on the score. It only gets interesting for me when it gets to penalties and having reduced my outstanding e mails to 15 from 75, I retire to bed satisfied and early for the first time this week
The following morning after a breakfast meeting sees the panel conclude its work by 2pm and Gary, David and I make a second visit to the Harrogate centre which looks a real contender for the 2010 annual conference. Leaving at 3.30pm, although I hit traffic on the way back, am home just gone 7pm and after a few hours catching up with J spend a few hours finalising the invite list to discuss with David who I am with the following day.
On the early train with J, we arrive in London where we have a meeting in Whitehall with the Tell Us Once team before hosting them for lunch with other senior DWP officials which is a really nice event. Back to Doughty Street, we agree diary commitments over the coming months before retiring to the penthouse (or the flat in Doughty Street) as J and I are staying overnight to take in a few shows. Quality time together in this very busy year is a premium so we have a really great night taking in Les Miserables which is fantastic. Anything that can keep my attention for 3 hours without my mind wandering or me fidgeting has to be exceptional
Spend a few hours in the morning catching up on e mails before we venture into the West End, book a couple more shows for when we are down next in early July and some lunch before going to see Jersey Boys, based on Frankie Valli and the 4 seasons. Again this is a real foot tapper and whilst not as intellectually stimulating as Les Mis is very good, a real “feel good” show. Away for a long journey back as due to essential repairs we have to go home via Leicester which involves an hour coach journey, this gives me the opportunity to do a Powerpoint presentation for a forthcoming talk as the train is pretty quiet.
Spend all morning on Sunday at work before arriving back by 2pm as my mum and dad come for lunch. Spend the night booking travel arrangements for forthcoming trips on the internet before spending an hour in front of the TV as I have only just got round to watching last week's "Apprentice" having been so busy of late
Bank Holiday will see me in work Monday and Tuesday so I better sign off and go to bed ! 20 weeks to go and loving every minute of my year
Bob
It’s a Bank Holiday Monday and its baking hot outside for a nice change. Not that I plan to enjoy it as I spend the morning at work before nipping across to the venue for our dinner dance on 17th May in Telford along with J and meet up with Sue Williams Lee, the West Mids President to finalise arrangements for the evening itself.
Up early Tuesday morning to beat the traffic that gridlocks around Birmingham between 7 and 9 arriving in plenty of time for the Lancashire and Cheshire AGM in Bury where Clare Jenkins takes over the chain from outgoing Council Member, Angela Storey. Following a very nice late lunch with the rest of the association executive, I play a round of golf with Messrs Chapman and Shang who I have known since my days of studying before heading back down the M6 to arrive home by 9’ish.
Another early start Wednesday sees me on the road by 5.30am to ensure I get to Harrow on time for a ministerial visit they are having from James Plaskitt, DWP Minister, who is down there to announce an extension to the VRA pilot of which my authority is also a pilot. There is loads of TV and press interest and in a full morning, I also attend the local college along with Carol Cutler to meet their latest intake of new trainees (many who have been long term unemployed or had enforced changes in career) and are being taken through an intensive training programme. After a quick photo shoot and chat, we enjoy a lovely lunch before I am back on the road, roof down as the great weather continues and get back into work for 4pm eventually leaving just before 9pm to get home just in time for the apprentice and to do my packing.
Thursday sees me up early for a 5am start at the laptop getting in work for 7.30am when the doors open and a number of meetings with the Chief Executive and auditors all before heading up to Worksop for a meeting and discuss the forthcoming inter association competition on 30 June. Leave by 6pm for the drive across the Pennines arriving in Llandudno where I meet up with David as we are both in town for the following days North Wales AGM. He has been looking at future conference venues in the North West with Gary and we have an impromptu meeting locking up the guesthouse at the request of the owners who go to bed at 11pm and continuing our discussions over breakfast the following morning.
The North Wales AGM is well attended and we have some really good discussions following my address before we retire to a course for an afternoon’s golf with 8 of the executive. The good weather finally breaks as the mist comes in off the sea (this doesn’t happen in the Midlands) but we get round, enjoy a quick meal in the clubhouse before I make the 3 hour journey home.
Saturday morning, I pop into work for a few hours before we drive over to Birmingham for some lunch and to see Tommy Steele in Doctor Doolittle. It is the first time I have ever left a show at the interval as Tommy has definitely seen his best days and the most productive part of the day is getting some card for the association menus we need to print. Saturday night is spent with a nice bottle of wine before retiring to bed early following a very energetic week.
Sunday is spent in work in the morning before visiting both sets of parents in the afternoon which gives me the first opportunity to inspect the raft that Julie's dad is building for the forthcoming raft race we are doing for charity on 22 June. All I will say is Fred Dibnah has nothing on Julie’s dad. The night is spent catching up on some IRRV work I need for the following day for a meeting I am having with Equita around my other charity event of the year.
Monday 12 May – Sunday 18 May 2008
In with the cleaners again and another day involving a series of meetings, including one with the representatives of the “Tell Us Once" team from the DWP working through lunch before leaving mid afternoon for a meeting with Paul Sharpe and Barry Powell from Equita where we finalise arrangements for the charity golf event I am doing with them from 29 August to 1 September (more of this later) before returning to work for another late shift.
Spend a very long Tuesday at work mainly in meetings and catching up with the events of recent weeks before driving up to Yorkshire on the Wednesday to attend a training event they are running and their AGM where Lisa Rawson is installed as President taking over from Alan Fane. Get home by 9.30pm (thank goodness for Sky Plus as "The Apprentice" has started!)
In very early again as I have to leave for a planned afternoon meeting in London with all the association reps. Well that was the plan as after a four hour shift I get to Nuneaton only to find that major problems on the railway mean the main West line is shut and I have no alternative but to return to work. Everything works well in the end as I am able to join the meeting by teleconference for a meeting where we make some very positive progress. The unexpected afternoon of work extends into the evening and I am very grateful for this unplanned opportunity. Home and having written the 114 name cards for the Saturday night dinner places I retire to bed
Friday involves a series of meetings in the morning before heading over to Rugby for a meeting with reps from Coventry, Nuneaton, and the hosts to finalise the regional fraud proposals we are to recommend to board. Back into work for a few hours to put a slide pack together for the keynote address at Collection and Enforcement as David rang me in the afternoon to advise the minister had needed to pull out before collecting the menu cards from the print room for the following days association dinner J and I have been responsible for organising.
Up early Saturday and nip into work for an hour after packing up the car with everything needed for the evening. J takes Louis off to a music festival he is playing in and Gary Watson joins me to drive over to Telford for 11am in time to get everyone off for the golf by midday. Despite a couple of late cry offs we have an enjoyable if slightly damp game and by the time we get in J and Sue have arrived and with the hotel laid out the room which looks great. This is the first time we have used this venue and I am sure we will be returning. Nothing else to do but have a few social drinks with arriving guests. The evening is a great success and we attract more people than ever before and the dancefloor is still full when the music stops at 1am. We have raised over £500 for Sue’s charity and we finally leave the the bar at 2.45am and there are still plenty of people up.
A lie in for us sees us up and at breakfast for 10am and me in work by 1pm for the afternoon on the keyboard arriving back by 5pm. As President I am a member of the Performance Awards Panel for the first time this year (a nice change from entering) and my crate of over 100 entries arrived during the week which all needs reading and scoring. Hence I spend the rest of the night and until 2am the following morning wading through the first 6 categories before retiring to bed as I need to be up and away by 7am as I have been invited to play golf at the Celtic Manor on Monday.
Monday 19 May – Sunday 25 May 2008
Up by 5.30am and after only 3.30 hours sleep, I am back on the road by 6.45am and arrive just outside Newport by 9am and which is very close to Caerleon where we held the National Revision course for many years. Spend the next hour and a half making a few calls and completing the 7th category in the car park before spending a very enjoyable afternoon looking out across the beautiful South Wales countryside and my golf improves as the round develops. Unfortunately, I cannot stay for the dinner in the evening as I have to get up to Harrogate for the Collection and Enforcement conference so away by 5, I get home by 7 as the traffic is good, unload and repack and am back on the road by 8.15pm arriving at the hotel just before 11pm. Meet David and Gary in the bar for a quick catch up and although I promised myself I would not have a late one, get talking with exhibitors and delegates and finally retire just before 4 having put the Civil Enforcement industry to rights !
Up early, and irrespective of what time I go to bed, I complete my next category in my room before opening up the conference with the key note address following the ministers unfortunate late withdrawal. It seems to do down well and having chaired the remaining morning sessions spend the afternoon completing my final PA category, write a few ideas for the speech in the evening and catch the last few sessions of the day. The Formula One night sponsored by Equita is a great success and I am sure the photos will prove this as again the dancefloor remains full pretty much all night and well into the early hours. We launch the charity golf event that will see me play 4 Ryder cup venues over 4 days but more of this in insight in July. For the first time, I would think fish fingers have made it into a conference dinner menu as a surprise starter but it is a lovely touch from Equita and shows someone reads my blog ! It is another late night networking opportunity in the bar but again I am up with the larks, this time to work on the annual reception invitation list which needs a review this year so invites can be issued.
Spend the morning visiting all the exhibitors (30 or so) and having my picture taken, visiting the nearby Harrogate centre with other members of the conference sub committee which shows real potential before catching the last few sessions. At 4pm, the doors are locked and the PA panel starts. Chaired by Colin Thrower, it involves 5 of us comparing notes and debating a long list for visits from which a shortlist is then drawn up of finalists. It promotes some interesting discussions and opinions but we are generally in agreement and by 7’ish we have broke the back of 6 categories breaking to take in the football match for most whilst I catch up on my e mails of the last few days with one eye on the score. It only gets interesting for me when it gets to penalties and having reduced my outstanding e mails to 15 from 75, I retire to bed satisfied and early for the first time this week
The following morning after a breakfast meeting sees the panel conclude its work by 2pm and Gary, David and I make a second visit to the Harrogate centre which looks a real contender for the 2010 annual conference. Leaving at 3.30pm, although I hit traffic on the way back, am home just gone 7pm and after a few hours catching up with J spend a few hours finalising the invite list to discuss with David who I am with the following day.
On the early train with J, we arrive in London where we have a meeting in Whitehall with the Tell Us Once team before hosting them for lunch with other senior DWP officials which is a really nice event. Back to Doughty Street, we agree diary commitments over the coming months before retiring to the penthouse (or the flat in Doughty Street) as J and I are staying overnight to take in a few shows. Quality time together in this very busy year is a premium so we have a really great night taking in Les Miserables which is fantastic. Anything that can keep my attention for 3 hours without my mind wandering or me fidgeting has to be exceptional
Spend a few hours in the morning catching up on e mails before we venture into the West End, book a couple more shows for when we are down next in early July and some lunch before going to see Jersey Boys, based on Frankie Valli and the 4 seasons. Again this is a real foot tapper and whilst not as intellectually stimulating as Les Mis is very good, a real “feel good” show. Away for a long journey back as due to essential repairs we have to go home via Leicester which involves an hour coach journey, this gives me the opportunity to do a Powerpoint presentation for a forthcoming talk as the train is pretty quiet.
Spend all morning on Sunday at work before arriving back by 2pm as my mum and dad come for lunch. Spend the night booking travel arrangements for forthcoming trips on the internet before spending an hour in front of the TV as I have only just got round to watching last week's "Apprentice" having been so busy of late
Bank Holiday will see me in work Monday and Tuesday so I better sign off and go to bed ! 20 weeks to go and loving every minute of my year
Bob
