This evening I had a fascinating training session at the Subscription Rooms in Stroud on how to make scrutiny work - ambitious scrutiny - how to raise the bar for serious change rather than looking for slight improvements. No doubt more of that in coming blogs as I sit on one of the Scrutiny panels - but wanted to note last nights' Green party AGM....
Photos: Kathy Dimock, aged 100 being interviewed by BBC, Green members arriving, the most incredible carrot cake, falafels and more, John Marjoram reading Caroline Lucas' statement welcoming Kathy and then presenting her with flowers and lastly John Meadley talking about Green business.
Well it was a good evening - see news release here (which includes the statement from Caroline Lucas MEP and more about the evening)...the evening started with Kathy Dimock being welcomed to the party - I had a brief talk with her - sort of excing talking to someone who has seen so much!! And very refreshing - she has never joined a political party before but wanted to join the Green party....that was followed by a talk by John Meadley about business - it was a good talk about greening business and I intend to try and write up some of it for the Glos Green party website.
After that was more cake - and it was very good cake - then Green party officers like John Marjoram as Coordinator and myself as Press Officer gave short presentations about the last year - I rather threw together some stuff - bits included...over 100 individual letters and 180 news releases sent to local papers: over 80% of those will have found there way into at least one of the 6 local newspapers....the Gloucestershire Green party website is updated virtually daily with news items and reports.....It has led to many phone calls from press picking up on items (apparently a BBC Glos reporter says he looks at this blog everyday) plus numerous emails and comments about particular issues and comments - one I liked last week: "Still enjoying your blog which is the best thing since the late lamented Dennis Mason's SNJ." I also noted the 15 or so consultations that we've taken part in - local and national like on flooding, Sustainable Community Strategy consultation, Brimscombe Port Area Action Plan etc etc....and more but it is late now and I want bed so quickly to finish this ramble...
After those presentations more bits of boring AGM and then the votes for positions - Elinor Croxall replaces John Marjoram who wont be going into even slight retirement - he seems more energetic than ever and wants to work more on the Town Council stuff. I am back in for a seventh year as Press Officer but have noted my enthusiasm for someone else to help...
1 comment:
Just got this in an email:
London cannot match that, but seven years ago a woman joined over the web. I emailed her to try to get her along to our local meetings, but she said she was too old and deaf. When the Getting To Know You form (this form is no longer used-alas) arrived, I found that she was born in 1911 and had joined because of the bombing in Afghanistan. She is still a member and we are presenting her with some flowers for her 97th birthday, next week. She still drives and had a letter in the paper recently.
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