We've had a few inches of snow in Wiltshire, the schools are closed, the lane is impassable, the garden is desperate for a snowman and the office will remain closed today. We're still open for business though so please give me a call on 07720 297515 or email as usual.
I've seen poverty, but never experienced it. Living in Bombay (as it was called back in 1985) the drive from the airport to downtown involved passing by shanty-towns and beggars with limbless babies pressing themselves against the window of the air-conditioned Mercedes as we stopped at the traffic lights. We were always told not to give money because of reasons which I really don't want to publish as I have no way of verifying.
Working with the folk from the Scarman Trust (now 2QAB) in recent years has given me a little more insight into the thoughts of how we can help with poverty here in the UK. It's not just about a lack of money and personal effects but also about communities with a lack of power and control over their environment.
What was clear from working with the team was that pity and outside consultants were not what helped communities. It was primarily about providing members of those communities with the skills and knowledge they needed to take control, the skills they needed to transfer the knowledge they have around the community. Too often they had seen well meaning government funded agencies descend on a community, spend money, depart and leave the community in the same situation of deprivation and lack of control as before.
Yesterday saw the launch of the YouCanDo Guides from The Scarman Trust at Westminster Central Hall. The highlight of the day were the stories from six ordinary (or extraordinary) people who have helped change their communities.
The smooth running of the day was somewhat disrupted by one of the speakers, Ian Bone, who disregarded the usual rules of Westminster conferences by dishing up a few uncomfortable facts about the following speaker, David Blunkett MP. The biggest shame was that neither Blunkett nor Parmjit Dhanda, Minister for Community Cohesion, could make time to attend the event earlier and hear the stories from real people who are actively involved in changing their communities as opposed to just listening to those who are more inclined to merely talk about it. The event was filmed so I hope that they will take time to watch at a time convenient to them.
Gallomanor have been heavily involved in the Guides for the last few months. We were asked to produce the marketing materials for them including the YouCanDo website at www.youcando.org.uk. It's been an intense few months as we've worked with the Scarman team to tease out the details of the Guides which are the bringing together of decades of experience in helping communities change.
There are nine Guides in total ranging from the all-encompassing Guide to Asset Based Community Development to the rather precise Guide to Community Finance. The Guides are designed for local authorities and other organisations interested in community cohesion to use with their staff and with community members.
You can read all about it at the site and also download the materials we've produced.
As part of a Ministry of Justice funded Innovations Fund project, we're involved in giving a presentation tomorrow to a group of Councillors at Norfolk County Council on the ways that are / could be used to engage with constituents via the internet.
Here's the long list I have at the moment. Has anyone any suggestions to add?
Top t'internet ways for Cllrs to engage with constituents:
1. Blog
a. Personal e.g.
Mary Reid
b. Group e.g. Maida Vale Conservatives
c. Corporate
(council run) Brighton and Hove Councillors
2. Static Website - e.g
Councillor.info, VOICE, bespoke build
3. Facebook e.g. Susan
Gaszczak
4. email lists e.g
Nick Palmer MP
5. txt lists (OK not internet but digital enough) e.g. Steve
Webb MP
6. MySpace - Steve Webb again
7. Twitter - anyone using
this?
8. I'm a Councillor, Get me out of here! (OK a
little biased but valid)
9. LifeSwap (ditto)
10. email
hotline (e.g. Ask Daniel)
11. Instant Messaging
12.
ePetitions
13. Discussion Boards e.g Issues Forums, TalkSwindon
14.
Webcasting
What else have I missed? I appreciate that some of these
examples may not be best of class so if you have any suggestions for what is
best that would be helpful. Please email or leave a comment.
I'm normally far too quick to complain and not quick enough to praise, so when I get really good customer service I ought to shout about it.
So let me introduce Tony West, our friendly TNT driver. 
At 7.20am this morning there was a knock on the door at home. Tony was there with a couple packages that were due to be delivered to the office. He knew that if he took them to the office there would be no-one there and a card would be left and we wouldn't them until the next day.
That's what I call customer service and it is good business for TNT because the picture is of Tony picking up a couple of boxes which contain some of the things he dropped off this morning. Thank you TNT.
I recently produced some spreadsheets for an elderly relative to see how long they could afford a care home before having to sell the house they have lived in for 30 years. I was horrified by how quickly the money goes. Care is not cheap.
A good client from one of the Local Authorities we work with has been taking time off recently to look after his wife who needs some hospice care. It really is not cheap, but very much needed. I've just donated to the Jo-Rassic Challenge. Maybe you could too. http://www.justgiving.com/jorassicchallenge
It was great! During the day there were stalls, lovely food and lots of performances, including African and Cuban dancing, performance poetry and storytelling and our Weakest Think. The African dancers made Shane get up and dance with them, which was worth working on a Saturday just to see.
One of the most memorable acts was Laurence Hoo, a performance poet who's work was about the problems of children growing up in the inner city and the failings (in his view) of Bristol City Council. He's self-published a book of photographs and poems called Inner City Tales. He wasn't necessarily the best performer, but his passion and commitment really shone through and the book is affecting.
The Weakest Think went down well, the Ann Robinson role filled capably by Tor Hodgson - Scarman worker by day, lead singer in a ska band by night. I particularly like one song they did about festivals ("I want to be in a field full of hippies/ Hang on, I hope they're not FASCIST HIPPIES!").
The winner of the Weakest Think was Daniel Tuttle of START (Students and Refugees Together), a charity based in Plymouth. They wanted the money to extend their garden, where they grow organic veg for their 'Cultural Kitchen' and provide meaningful and enjoyable work for refugees. Photos (and maybe even video clips) to follow in due course.
I thought what especially worked about it was that there was a defined amount of money and people had to think, 'What could I do for £150?' In a way, you got much better suggestions than if you just ask people open-endedly what they'd like. The other two finalists were both great ideas too.
Laura wanted the money to print and post out a resource pack for parents of visually-impaired children - apparently often people struggle along without realising that they can get free spoken word books, or that there's a special mouse you can buy that will automatically resize text on your pc. And knowing these simple things can make an enormous difference to the quality of life of their children.
Tony wanted the money to pay for employer's insurance, so that he could take on volunteers at his mental health advocacy project. He's got three volunteers lined up, but no insurance so he can't use them! That, to be honest, got my vote, as the biggest amount of difference the money could make. I think we might try to find him a bit of money anyway, 'cos we're lovely.
Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol
12.30-5pm
Sat 31st March
We will be putting on a show at The Scarman Trust South West's 'Increase the Peace' gala day and benefit gig (go here and you can download the flyer from top right - I know the link seems to be saying 'CONGRATULATIONS October 3', but when you open it, it is the flyer for the event).
The daytime event has workshops, dance and storytelling and, err, us. We're giving away *£150* to fund a community activity, 'cos we're so nice. Instead of us just deciding who the money will go to (as that wouldn't be very participative), we're running an event called 'The Weakest Think' where the audience and contestants between them get to decide where the money goes. On the day we'll ask for submissions, and 5 hopefuls picked out of a hat will explain their idea and answer questions. There'll be three rounds of contestants voting off 'the weakest think' and then the audience has the final say.
Hopefully it will be a co-operative (and transparent) method of decision-making. Possibly even funny. The woman who was going to be presenting it dropped out, but someone else from The Scarman Trust has stepped in at the last minute. I'm quite disappointed, I was looking forward to Shane in a ginger wig. Don't you think some photos would brighten the blog up a bit?
But anyway, if you've got any bright ideas of community-building stuff you want £150 for, then get yourself down there.
The evening bit (9pm-2am) is more of a benefit gig type thing. There are lots of people playing at it, although sadly no Billy Bragg, so what's the point of a benefit gig without St Billy*? I've never heard of any of the people who are playing, but young people might have. And anyway, the Scarman Trust are cool, and who wouldn't want to 'increase the peace'?
*Disclaimer: Personal opinion only. This may not reflect the view of Gallomanor Communications Ltd. Well, OK, so it totally doesn't. Shane does not appreciate the genius of the Bard of Barking, preferring instead the over-blown faux-Irish posturing of the Saw Doctors. Yes, I know, criminal, isn't it?
We received a cautionary tale this morning about what not to put into emails:
"My wife recently had her email address blocked by the school where her sister teaches because she put three kisses at the end of a message, the filter obviously understood this to be relating to adult content, other numbers of kisses apparently work."
In future we'll remember to restrict ourselves to two kisses on our emails. xx
...which almost never last past January. Instead I've got a new job, working full time for Gallomanor, which means changing nearly everything in my life, so who needs resolutions to create change?
I've been freelancing for Gallomanor off and on for three years. My main job during that time has been working as a TV producer, making science programmes. I've had a lot of fun working in telly (although, tbh, there's been a surprising amount of standing in muddy fields in the cold and other glamour-free activities) but it is, well, kind of pointless most of the time. Everything everyone says about dumbing down and TV commissioning editors patronising the audience is completely true. Haha, I can be as rude about the tabloid-chasing, coke-snorting, hoxton fin-sporting, vacuous tossers as I like now!
Anyway, I decided that I cared much more about engaging young people with local democracy than making TV programmes and that I love working for Shane (he's intelligent! He really cares about what he's doing! It's really not like telly...). So I talked Shane into giving me a full time job. This does mean I'm PAYE for the first time in six years, and I've had to move from Edinburgh to Somerset, which is all a bit scary, but random challenges make life fun (or at least that's what I'm telling myself). Also, the office here is dead cold, and I'm starting to suspect that Shane is easier to work from 600 miles away, but hey you have to take the rough with the smooth...
So, I'd like to say, a very happy New Year to all of you, many of our clients will have 'met' me already through I'm a Councillor, so hello to those I know, greetings to those I don't and I hope we all enjoy working together. Wish me luck!
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