Safeguarding?

I have just entered another world!
After a lifetime avoiding governor meetings in Calderdale I am sat in a meeting at the Heath training centre in Halifax waiting for what promises to be a serious talking to about our need to safeguard children. One would have thought it would be no brainer... however as one of the topics points out safeguarding involves locking external doors and fire officers assume they must be unlocked.
The depressing thing is that this is not really about safeguarding children but rather passing inspections.
So will children be safer after today?..I doubt it.

Arena of Dreams

I am at the manchester arena for joseph birthday treat... to see, in the distance Michael McIntyre a comedian. Iam not sure what the capacity is but it's full and I guess there are more than 10000 people here.
What must it be like says catherine to have so many people want to listen to you.
I wonder if this kind of entertainment rally was even possible before the stadia were built.
It really is a case of build it and they will come... Like building a market square when you don't have a market.

karaoke

I am at a karaoke night at Catherine's school... We sing Thank you for the music by Abba. People applaud... politely!
What is lovely is the mixture of cultures. Funny how music brings us together. Perhaps whenever there is a need for conflict resolution we should sing together before we talk.

Ninjas

Finaly I wake up two hours into an early morning comute to Melton Mowbray for the action for market towns conference. Early morning comutes are always interesting confirming that I am an owl not a lark.
It was a 6.20 train at Mytholmroyd and a group of passengers all wearing black with brief cases, and scarves around their faces for the cold... corporate ninjas on the way to some city killing.
Now I am nearing Peterborough and the wraps are off and the morning sun is blazing and I am beginning to wonder how I got here!

Trust

Great consultation gathering at Hebden Bridge Town Hall today with those key ingredients of creative group work, friendly and open facillitators and lovely buns. We all got very excited at the possibilities.
Tonight that was followed by a rather tetchy Hebden Bridge community association meeting... which was about lots of stuff but really about trust.
Trust is at the heart of so many projects... and lack of trust behind the failure of many others.
Trust can take years to build, and minutes to lose and if I think about it that might keep me awake at night...
So best not think about it.

Fiddling

My hard drive is full and because it’s full I can’t remove any of the files! I have spent a frustrating few hours trying to put this right with no success.
My capacity to lose hours fiddling about with computers appals me.
It would be nice to think that without computers we would have nothing to fiddle with ... but I can just about remember my dad standing on one leg holding up an arial trying to tune the TV in . No doubt before that it was the cats whisker on the radio.
Primitive peoples sit around the fire fiddling with that.
Did Jesus live a fiddle free life?
There is that story of Jesus drawing in the sand when the woman caught in aduitery’s fate was being decided...
There seem to be lots of times when he is with people but not teaching or healing or doing stuff...
Is our aim as Christians to have a life that is full of activity or is the occassional moment of distraction allowed?
Don't know...
Back to fiddling with my computer.

A bright beginning

Somewhat buoyant today after a very successful opening of the square and facilities. Tom Reorden the chief executive at Yorkshire Forward came along with over fifty people, mostly friends and supporters from our various partnerships. We had two mayors and sunshine which everybody say the usual thing about me fixing the weather.
There were lots of lovely things said but the one which made me think most was when Tom talked about how Yorkshire Forward worked best when they helped local groups to realise their vision, rather than bring one of their own.
If only others had grasped that vision.

Tired

Very tired today after a busy day yesterday. PCC had been moved from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m. because it's "easier for people to get to." Unfortunately "people" didn't find it easier in relaity and we had half the number we should have had. A later meeting also meant we had a later ending and so I was veery sllepy at 9.20 p.m. when we ended.
It was a bit of a difficult meeting.

• we need a new treasurer because our current one is moving south soon.
• we have a bit of a financial crisis
• the tower has developed a few menacing cracks
• someobody is not happy with something
• we are hopeful and happy about our future as we look forward.

Pretty normal then. Frustrating and inspiring all at the same time!

As St Paul writes: "I am Frustrated but not crushed!"

Conkers

Is it just me or are there a lot of conkers on the ground this year?
Maybe it’s been a bumper year for them, with the weird weather we have been having lately anything is possible. I always thought it a shame that there was nothing else you could do with a conker, like make conker jam, or conker pie. It seemed a shame that so beautiful an object had so limited a use. However I heard recently that during the war school children were paid to collect them because they were used in the manufacture of bullets, something to do with the wadding in the gun cases but I am not sure.
Maybe there are a lot of conkers because the children have stopped playing with them... which would be a shame. They were always such fun, and well, yes a bit dangerous. Not so much the game itself, although you could “take someone’s eye out with it” if you tried really hard, more dangerous were the concoctions we came up with to harden the conker. Boiling in vinegar was a favourite of many but petrol was also mentioned by one friend and of course nail varnish and superglue.
Whatever the reason they are beautiful and always set me in mind of a meditation by Mother Julian of Norwich who when praying one day found a hazelnut and holding it her hand she thought about how God held her life in his hand.
“In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it. The second that he loves it. And the third, that God keeps it.”
A simple truth but one which is a comfort whatever we may face at this time.
So the next time you pass a conker, pick it up and as you hold in your hand think of your own little life held safely in God’s life. Made by him, loved by him and kept by him. You might like to keep it in your pocket as a reminder.
Or if that doesn’t do it for you, why not play conkers with it? You might end up with a champion!
James Allison 2009

Gildersome

To Gildersome today for Diocesan Synod, the governing body of Wakefield Diocese. It can be a depressing experience, especially when they follow that organisational problem, consultation by presentaton... Here's a twenty minute powerpoint of what we are going to do... All those in favour raise your hands...
Today it was better, beginning, because we are a church body with communion, which was, as always moving.
The bishop followed with an impressive presidential address and a great quote : "if Dawkins thinks that religion is a dead corpse then why does he keep kicking it!" Another good point was that here had been a shift in the last century so that the redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor now accepted by everybody.
Back to old ways with a presentation for approval on clergy pension matters... but I feel encouraged.

Progress?

Three assemblies, lots of love and a creative afternoon in the study prepared me well for chairing a meeting of the Upper Calder Valley Steering Group. An interesting gathering of keen regeneration types from across the valley and those from local government who seek to support them. It was great to hear how things were coming together and many of the projects outlined in our twenty five year plan are beginning to happen.

So no problem then...

Not exactly, we are still a small number

We still receive many complaints of the "but I will lose my parking place kind."

Still progress is being made and we are still talking.

Early Days

Following the "success" of my bl0g about my travels: aroundtheworldinninetyishdays.blogspot.com I thought it was time to have a new start and so here it is. It's going to be on our entrepeneurial activities but also on my thoughts about being an entrepeneurial christian.
What does that mean?
Not sure but it means that I am really busy and need to go and do an assembly right now. As it is on being practical I better nto be late...