Julie's on-line Christmas Card can be viewed properly by clicking on the headline above. 
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Julie's and Colin's Christmas Lights!
As you can see below, the Holden household has got into the spirit of Christmas!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Julie's Christmas Update!
The past two weeks have mostly been about the build up to Christmas, and the Institute and Associations all know how to build up to the festive time very well.The 11th saw David Magor and myself go to the East Midlands' Association Christmas Lunch in Oakham in Rutland, The Chairman of Rutland Council also attended the lunch but had to leave early to attend a greeting of the troops at a nearby Army base where troops had just returned from a tour of Afghanistan. I expect no less of an excuse from anyone else that needs to leave an event early, so take note!!
The lunch was great fun culminating in a round of Happy Birthday to David and the presentation of a fabulous birthday cake from the Association. I have never before seen David lost for words, so that was a first indeed. David had no idea that anyone knew it was his birthday and was therefore most surprised. Sadly we had to leave all too soon to get home at a reasonable time and Gary Watson was entrusted with the cake to return to HQ for David, which I am pleased to say got back in one piece.
On 15th the benefit faculty board met by telephone conference. As Council members we also sit on the faculty boards by right. We can sit on two and this week saw meetings of both the Benefits Board and Local Taxation board. Unfortunately I had to give apologies to the LTR board the previous week as I attended the Surrey Treasurers meeting in Kingston the same day (Well, I have to work for Tandridge at least sometimes!)
The 16th saw me off to Edinburgh once again for the third leg of my great Scottish pre Christmas adventure. No snow this time, it was actually quite mild, but it was a very early start that got me to Gatwick for the 6.30 am flight. I met with Rob De Felice from Gandlake at the airport, although we were both somewhat bleary-eyed and had a second breakfast (but then the BA one was a bit too early anyway) when we arrived at the hotel in Edinburgh for the Gandlake Focus day. Tandridge is a Gandlake customer and as I am away for the next user group in England in January, it was an opportunity to take part in the day in Scotland. The focus group is about sharing ideas with the supplier and each other to share good practice and help develop enhancements for the future. It was a great day with sessions lead by David Magor and Bill Sproul (from Gandlake) helping to kick some ideas around. As always I found it useful and a good networking opportunity.
The evening saw the Scottish Christmas reception and this was held at the Scottish Parliament building. We were lucky to have a brief tour by Alison McInnes MSP, our host for the evening, and the debating chamber and other committee rooms really are very impressive. It was nice to see some old friends and colleagues and to say thank you to supporters of the Institute in Scotland, we were also able to present a small Gift to Maureen Collins from Glasgow City Council, winner of a Gandlake student bursary. John Gandley was able to present the gift as we were so pleased to have them present at the reception. We had a lovely dinner with them afterwards and then walked back to the hotel (with some slightly dodgy directions that made a five minute walk last ½ an hour)! But no harm came to anyone and we made it back safe and sound eventually!
Last Friday was the Institute Christmas party and it was indeed an honour to attend. I met with David and Gary to clear up a bit of business before the “festivities started” and then at 11.00 sharp we started Gary’s quiz, for a large part of the morning we worried that “the A team” (David, Rachel Toombs and myself) might actually win, but a last minute substitution when Gary had finished his quiz and my own offering was the final round, saw us slip back somewhat and the team of Evonne, Mark, George and Shola pipped us at the post. Well done to them!
We then popped off to the Blue Lion around the corner from Doughty Street and had a great afternoon which of course included a secret santa round. Although we couldn’t quite work out why Evonne had been bought a purple space hopper, at least her Santa had been thoughtful enough to provide some plasters for the inevitable!
For those of you who know me, know that I love the Christmas season and our house is always festooned with lights, I shall post some pictures to show you the full effect shortly. I wonder how many other Institute members do similar? Would love to see your offerings….
This week will see me at work for the three days before Christmas and then a four day break. The Institute Official E-Christmas Card went out today, the savings from not sending actual cards will be going to my chosen charity which is the St Peter and St James Hospice in Wivelsfield, East Sussex. I shall post more about the charity as the year unfolds.
May I wish all of you a peaceful and blessed Christmas and all good things for the New Year. I shall do one further update before my holiday in January, so stay tuned and try not to over indulge too much over the holidays.
Some photographs from Scotland
Above : Julie at the Gandlake Scottish Focus Group meeting - IRRV Chief Executive David Magor addresses the group.
Above : Julie with Alison McInnes MSP and Scottish Association President Hillary Kelly.
Above : Julie with Scottish Association President Hillary Kelly.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Very tartan fortnight!
Well what a busy and very tartan two weeks it has been.
Last week I was in the office until Thursday lunchtime and then I was off to Gatwick to fly to Glasgow for the Scottish Traditional Chinese karaoke evening in Dumfries (yep, you did read that right!). We had a brilliant evening, the Chinese was second to none, but the karaoke…. Well, I can’t sing at all, but before the end of the evening Hillary Kelly had lead the challenge with “Sweet Caroline” and I had responded with “You don’t have to say you love me” and even duetted with past president Allan Traynor on my favourite ever song “The Summer of 69”. However we were all upstaged by Bob Mackay's performance of the donkey song, don’t ask me ask him.
The following morning we went off to the forum meeting which saw the Chairman (Allan Traynor) and Reporter (Mike Peterson) both of many years, stepping down from the posts. Allan has moved to the Midlands and Mike to a different role at City of Edinburgh Council. The Association recognised their past commitment and presented them with a gift of thanks. I also addressed the meeting and spoke of the work being carried out on the education strategy. After a few questions we had to leave in order to make our way home at a decent time. David was driving and we dropped Allan off on the way. We were able to get lots of work done as I had my laptop with me and although you may think that the President and the Chief Exec spend a lot of time together, it really is snatched time and this was a great chance to spend 4 hours working, discussing strategy and firing off emails. David dropped me at Didcot Parkway at 5.30 and I still didn’t get home until 8.30 but it was still an excellent use of the day. I got home to an empty house as hubby and youngest were out playing badminton, charming home coming, I had to make my own dinner!!!!
This week was Scottish Benefit Conference and Colin and I flew on Tuesday afternoon to Edinburgh and then on to a very cold and white Crieff, meeting up with Allan Traynor and his partner Dee at the airport. Allan is the most superior sat nav that I have encountered to date, getting us to Crieff in record time. The conference had an excellent mix of DWP officers, auditors, fraud experts and LA benefit practitioners. It was my privilege to open the conference and make a few observations as to the challenges facing benefits especially in the current economic climate.
I am on record saying that the Scottish Benefits Conference is my favourite of the Institute's annual events. This year did not disappoint at all and I maintain that it is the “kick off” to Christmas with great fun on the Wednesday night as we danced the night away to the disco. It was yet another late night and I was chairing all day on the Thursday so I had to be up and awake for the 9.30 start, no problem as I slept like a log and was up in plenty of time. It must be said that so were the delegates and I do pay them tribute as they never fail to amaze me with their dedication to this particular conference, and despite the bad weather warnings and more snow over night, almost everyone stayed to the end.
The snow did stay away in the morning and we were able to leave and get back to Edinburgh in good time.
Friday was my day off (I work a 9 day fortnight) but I still had a teleconference with David and Kevin Stewart, however proving my multi tasking abilities during the phone call I put the shopping away and did the polishing during the span of the phone call. Hoorah for cordless phones!
I have been off to the Christmas food and drink fare at Ardingly this weekend and am pleased to report that I have just about finished my Christmas shopping, all a bit manic, but with these clod and frosty mornings I certainly feel in the mood this year, how does the song go… “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas….”
Until next time, take care …
Last week I was in the office until Thursday lunchtime and then I was off to Gatwick to fly to Glasgow for the Scottish Traditional Chinese karaoke evening in Dumfries (yep, you did read that right!). We had a brilliant evening, the Chinese was second to none, but the karaoke…. Well, I can’t sing at all, but before the end of the evening Hillary Kelly had lead the challenge with “Sweet Caroline” and I had responded with “You don’t have to say you love me” and even duetted with past president Allan Traynor on my favourite ever song “The Summer of 69”. However we were all upstaged by Bob Mackay's performance of the donkey song, don’t ask me ask him.
The following morning we went off to the forum meeting which saw the Chairman (Allan Traynor) and Reporter (Mike Peterson) both of many years, stepping down from the posts. Allan has moved to the Midlands and Mike to a different role at City of Edinburgh Council. The Association recognised their past commitment and presented them with a gift of thanks. I also addressed the meeting and spoke of the work being carried out on the education strategy. After a few questions we had to leave in order to make our way home at a decent time. David was driving and we dropped Allan off on the way. We were able to get lots of work done as I had my laptop with me and although you may think that the President and the Chief Exec spend a lot of time together, it really is snatched time and this was a great chance to spend 4 hours working, discussing strategy and firing off emails. David dropped me at Didcot Parkway at 5.30 and I still didn’t get home until 8.30 but it was still an excellent use of the day. I got home to an empty house as hubby and youngest were out playing badminton, charming home coming, I had to make my own dinner!!!!
This week was Scottish Benefit Conference and Colin and I flew on Tuesday afternoon to Edinburgh and then on to a very cold and white Crieff, meeting up with Allan Traynor and his partner Dee at the airport. Allan is the most superior sat nav that I have encountered to date, getting us to Crieff in record time. The conference had an excellent mix of DWP officers, auditors, fraud experts and LA benefit practitioners. It was my privilege to open the conference and make a few observations as to the challenges facing benefits especially in the current economic climate.
I am on record saying that the Scottish Benefits Conference is my favourite of the Institute's annual events. This year did not disappoint at all and I maintain that it is the “kick off” to Christmas with great fun on the Wednesday night as we danced the night away to the disco. It was yet another late night and I was chairing all day on the Thursday so I had to be up and awake for the 9.30 start, no problem as I slept like a log and was up in plenty of time. It must be said that so were the delegates and I do pay them tribute as they never fail to amaze me with their dedication to this particular conference, and despite the bad weather warnings and more snow over night, almost everyone stayed to the end.
The snow did stay away in the morning and we were able to leave and get back to Edinburgh in good time.
Friday was my day off (I work a 9 day fortnight) but I still had a teleconference with David and Kevin Stewart, however proving my multi tasking abilities during the phone call I put the shopping away and did the polishing during the span of the phone call. Hoorah for cordless phones!
I have been off to the Christmas food and drink fare at Ardingly this weekend and am pleased to report that I have just about finished my Christmas shopping, all a bit manic, but with these clod and frosty mornings I certainly feel in the mood this year, how does the song go… “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas….”
Until next time, take care …
Friday, December 5, 2008
Scottish Benefits Conference 2008
An update by Julie on her attendance at Scottish Benefits Conference will be covered in her next update, but meantime, here's a few photographs from this highly successful event!
Below : A couple of photographs from Crieff, where the Conference took place - luckily all speakers made it to the Conference - as did almost all delegates - very lucky in fact, given the weather conditions.
Below : Julie with Rob De Felice of Conference Sponsors Gandlake.
Below : Julie with Rob De Felice of Conference Sponsors Gandlake. 
Below : Julie with some of the DWP speakers. 
Below : A lively exhibition area. 
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A few photos from Dumfries!
Below : Julie and IRRV Chief Executive David Magor at the IRRV Scottish Association and Forum's Chinese Karaoke Night in Dumfries!
Below : Past President Allan Traynor and Scottish Association President Hillary Kelly
Below : Julie addresses the IRRV Scottish Association and Forum Joint Meeting
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Photographs to go with Julie's latest update!
Above : Julie with President of the East Midlands Association, Alistair Townsend
Above : Awards in Birmingham
Above : At the awards in Birmingham Saturday, November 22, 2008
A busy two weeks it has been by no means!
Friday last I attended the Association of Chief Estates Surveyors' centenary luncheon. It was a lovely lunch in the crypt at the Guildhall. However, I think I was most impressed over the comparison with our own Institute. We celebrated our 125th Anniversary in 2007, so we are of a similar age of ACES. However, in comparison with our 5000 membership, ACES has only 400 members. We must step back on occasion and consider the attributes of our Institute. We often say what a small organisation we are, but, in comparison with others, we must appear actually quite large.
This week saw a rare attendance at a Forum day on Monday. As always I was really pleased to see that many of the attendees are happy to contribute to the information exchange and that the coverage was as good as ever. I am sure that those of you who do subscribe to the Forum really find them of value and those of you that don’t - maybe it is time to give it a go?
Tuesday - we had a syllabus review group at Doughty Street and got our teeth in to the format of the new corporate examination structure. Most of you will be aware of changes to the certificate examination are being finalised and it was time to turn our attention to the remainder of our qualification to make it relevant and adding value to our members and potential members today. We have some audacious aspirations for the qualification with each stage resulting in a recognised level of qualification with transferable elements for outside qualifications at the higher levels. I shan’t say anymore other than it is quite exciting and this will be driven forward over the next few months.
Wednesday - I travelled to Birmingham in the evening for the World of E-learning Awards, where the ESA module of Euclidian was up for a rapid learning award. Sadly we didn’t win but it was a fun evening (including service highlights such as the plates were piled up in front of diners on the table to be cleared and the poached pairs being so undercooked that they were all but pinging off the plates as diners attempted to carve them by spoon or fork, perhaps we would have been more successful with a chain saw? - must remember to pack one for future events).
Thursday saw a very early start as we left Birmingham on the 8.00 am train in order to make it back for the Examination and Assessment Board meeting at 10.15 in London. I was able to do some e-mails and work on the laptop on the way so it was 2 hours well spent. The Board was considering the final tweaks to the certificate syllabus and discussing matters such as transition for existing students who may be caught up in the change. You see, when you change a syllabus or structure, there are many elements that have to be considered to ensure as smooth a path of change as possible.
After the board meeting, David Magor and I met with the Institute's accountants for an update on our financial position and then we had a lunch date with past president Tom Dixon, to talk about a liaison event between the RSA (of which Tom is the current President) and the IRRV in January. The day did not end there as after lunch David, Rachel, Colin and myself met up at a potential venue for the annual reception in June to see if it could meet our requirements. As you know the venue is kept as a surprise until much nearer the date, but I will say that I hope that those of you who attend will have a fun evening and if David's and Colin’s reaction at the venue was anything to go on, I think it is safe to say that you will!
Colin and I finally got out of London at 5.30 (having arrived at 9.40am!) and had to hope the train wouldn’t be delayed as we were due to meet Colin’s Brother and sister-in-law from Gatwick and then go out for dinner. As it turned out they hopped on to our train at Gatwick so we all arrived home at the same time!
Friday was my 10th day and so I did not have to fly off to work first thing - a good job as we were off at 12.30 to attend the East Midlands Association dinner that evening. What should have been a 3 hour drive turned in to 4 and a half, largely due to the volume of traffic and roadworks along the M1 but also as he instructions we had to find the hotel told us to take the third exit off the roundabout (or Traffic Island as they call them in the Midlands). However, not only do we call the “roundabouts” by different names in the south we seem to have a different method of counting. Now I know that maths is not my strong point, but I defy anyone to exit on Junction 24 of the M1 and find the Hilton Hotel on the third exit! It is actually the 2nd exit, but, because there is a dual carriageway entry and exit on the roundabout for the prior exit (which I count as one not two) it is somewhat confusing! There are four roads that lead off this roundabout and I am now well acquainted with all of these roads as it was “Murphys” law that proved the last one that we tried was the right one! We arrived at the hotel a little frazzled but with plenty of time to unwind and relax before the dinner.
The black tie dinner was excellent with over 130 guests. We were all delighted to see that Gary Watson was able to join us, looking fit and well and very much on good form! The band and disco after the dinner were really good and the dance floor was full most of the night.
Our table nearly set off the fire alarm as the CEO managed to place his charity envelope a little too close to the tea light and it was only when we saw the plume of smoke rising that we realised he had actually set fire to it! David didn’t win in the raffle I suspect that his entry was somewhat charred!
The Raffle raised over £700 for Alistair Townsend’s chosen charity of the paediatric unit at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, a worthwhile charity and fabulous support from those in attendance. I have asked that Presidents/Chairs of the Associations do adopt a local charity for any fundraising at their events as I think that local people are happy to support local charities and this was an excellent example of this.
This week saw a rare attendance at a Forum day on Monday. As always I was really pleased to see that many of the attendees are happy to contribute to the information exchange and that the coverage was as good as ever. I am sure that those of you who do subscribe to the Forum really find them of value and those of you that don’t - maybe it is time to give it a go?
Tuesday - we had a syllabus review group at Doughty Street and got our teeth in to the format of the new corporate examination structure. Most of you will be aware of changes to the certificate examination are being finalised and it was time to turn our attention to the remainder of our qualification to make it relevant and adding value to our members and potential members today. We have some audacious aspirations for the qualification with each stage resulting in a recognised level of qualification with transferable elements for outside qualifications at the higher levels. I shan’t say anymore other than it is quite exciting and this will be driven forward over the next few months.
Wednesday - I travelled to Birmingham in the evening for the World of E-learning Awards, where the ESA module of Euclidian was up for a rapid learning award. Sadly we didn’t win but it was a fun evening (including service highlights such as the plates were piled up in front of diners on the table to be cleared and the poached pairs being so undercooked that they were all but pinging off the plates as diners attempted to carve them by spoon or fork, perhaps we would have been more successful with a chain saw? - must remember to pack one for future events).
Thursday saw a very early start as we left Birmingham on the 8.00 am train in order to make it back for the Examination and Assessment Board meeting at 10.15 in London. I was able to do some e-mails and work on the laptop on the way so it was 2 hours well spent. The Board was considering the final tweaks to the certificate syllabus and discussing matters such as transition for existing students who may be caught up in the change. You see, when you change a syllabus or structure, there are many elements that have to be considered to ensure as smooth a path of change as possible.
After the board meeting, David Magor and I met with the Institute's accountants for an update on our financial position and then we had a lunch date with past president Tom Dixon, to talk about a liaison event between the RSA (of which Tom is the current President) and the IRRV in January. The day did not end there as after lunch David, Rachel, Colin and myself met up at a potential venue for the annual reception in June to see if it could meet our requirements. As you know the venue is kept as a surprise until much nearer the date, but I will say that I hope that those of you who attend will have a fun evening and if David's and Colin’s reaction at the venue was anything to go on, I think it is safe to say that you will!
Colin and I finally got out of London at 5.30 (having arrived at 9.40am!) and had to hope the train wouldn’t be delayed as we were due to meet Colin’s Brother and sister-in-law from Gatwick and then go out for dinner. As it turned out they hopped on to our train at Gatwick so we all arrived home at the same time!
Friday was my 10th day and so I did not have to fly off to work first thing - a good job as we were off at 12.30 to attend the East Midlands Association dinner that evening. What should have been a 3 hour drive turned in to 4 and a half, largely due to the volume of traffic and roadworks along the M1 but also as he instructions we had to find the hotel told us to take the third exit off the roundabout (or Traffic Island as they call them in the Midlands). However, not only do we call the “roundabouts” by different names in the south we seem to have a different method of counting. Now I know that maths is not my strong point, but I defy anyone to exit on Junction 24 of the M1 and find the Hilton Hotel on the third exit! It is actually the 2nd exit, but, because there is a dual carriageway entry and exit on the roundabout for the prior exit (which I count as one not two) it is somewhat confusing! There are four roads that lead off this roundabout and I am now well acquainted with all of these roads as it was “Murphys” law that proved the last one that we tried was the right one! We arrived at the hotel a little frazzled but with plenty of time to unwind and relax before the dinner.
The black tie dinner was excellent with over 130 guests. We were all delighted to see that Gary Watson was able to join us, looking fit and well and very much on good form! The band and disco after the dinner were really good and the dance floor was full most of the night.
Our table nearly set off the fire alarm as the CEO managed to place his charity envelope a little too close to the tea light and it was only when we saw the plume of smoke rising that we realised he had actually set fire to it! David didn’t win in the raffle I suspect that his entry was somewhat charred!
The Raffle raised over £700 for Alistair Townsend’s chosen charity of the paediatric unit at Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, a worthwhile charity and fabulous support from those in attendance. I have asked that Presidents/Chairs of the Associations do adopt a local charity for any fundraising at their events as I think that local people are happy to support local charities and this was an excellent example of this.
I was very pleased to be part of the event and I would like to say a big thank you to all who were there for making us feel very welcome, especially the exec members who proved (especially in comparison with the events from earlier in the week) how very brilliantly the IRRV stages social activities.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Greetings blog spotters!
Another two weeks have passed and it is time to let you know what I have been up to.
Last week was Institute activity free so I was pleased to be able to drop by the vintage car rally (London to Brighton) on Sunday 2nd to watch some of the old cars. Living on the route of the original rally (you remember the old film Genevieve with Kenneth Moore?) Colin, myself and a couple of friends try to make it a tradition to cut along to London Road to sit in the Continental Café (run by the wonderful Inga who serves homemade goulash to keep you warm) spotting the cars and waving to the occupants. Sometimes you are treated to a breakdown and other times just a cloud of smoke! But it is all great fun, and the condition of the cars shows the great care and love that the owners have for their cars. I have included a couple of photo’s to show some of the cars.
I spent the early part of this week on some management and leadership training that we are carrying out at Tandridge DC. We were talking about strategies and how these should best be communicated to an organisation. It was really good and there were lots of hints and tips that I am looking forward to putting in to practice. Thursday saw me meeting with David (having travelled to town dressed ready for the Black tie Rating Surveyors' Association dinner that evening and enduring some very peculiar looks from fellow travellers), to discuss some upcoming events later this year including the programme for next year's International Conference.
David and I walked the fifteen minutes to the Chancery Court Hotel, luckily it wasn’t raining and I managed to get there without being too windswept. This event was the first outing for the Presidential Medal – albeit without the chain which is still being re-gilt and engraved with the names of the last few past presidents – it also now has a nice new green ribbon. The dinner was a fabulous affair with many other Institute members present, Tom Dixon (Institute Council member and Past President) is currently the RSA president and it was lovely to see him hosting and enjoying such a successful evening. Tom and his Vice-President regaled the assembled with a very funny skit based around US media coverage of Gordon Brown taking over the premiership from Tony Blair, centring round the very different approaches of electing the leadership of the two governments.
Last week was Institute activity free so I was pleased to be able to drop by the vintage car rally (London to Brighton) on Sunday 2nd to watch some of the old cars. Living on the route of the original rally (you remember the old film Genevieve with Kenneth Moore?) Colin, myself and a couple of friends try to make it a tradition to cut along to London Road to sit in the Continental Café (run by the wonderful Inga who serves homemade goulash to keep you warm) spotting the cars and waving to the occupants. Sometimes you are treated to a breakdown and other times just a cloud of smoke! But it is all great fun, and the condition of the cars shows the great care and love that the owners have for their cars. I have included a couple of photo’s to show some of the cars.
I spent the early part of this week on some management and leadership training that we are carrying out at Tandridge DC. We were talking about strategies and how these should best be communicated to an organisation. It was really good and there were lots of hints and tips that I am looking forward to putting in to practice. Thursday saw me meeting with David (having travelled to town dressed ready for the Black tie Rating Surveyors' Association dinner that evening and enduring some very peculiar looks from fellow travellers), to discuss some upcoming events later this year including the programme for next year's International Conference.
David and I walked the fifteen minutes to the Chancery Court Hotel, luckily it wasn’t raining and I managed to get there without being too windswept. This event was the first outing for the Presidential Medal – albeit without the chain which is still being re-gilt and engraved with the names of the last few past presidents – it also now has a nice new green ribbon. The dinner was a fabulous affair with many other Institute members present, Tom Dixon (Institute Council member and Past President) is currently the RSA president and it was lovely to see him hosting and enjoying such a successful evening. Tom and his Vice-President regaled the assembled with a very funny skit based around US media coverage of Gordon Brown taking over the premiership from Tony Blair, centring round the very different approaches of electing the leadership of the two governments.
Today has been Remembrance Sunday - I very proudly watched Colin lay wreaths at both the Church Service and then later at the war memorial in Wivelsfield on behalf of the Parish Council (he is a Parish Councillor). Every year the familiar words of the service and the hymns and music we hear never dim the feelings of loss and immense gratitude for the sacrifice made, in so many conflicts and wars, distant and more recent. Those four words are so poignant and never lose their edge, and so as we mark 90 years since the end of the first world war. We shall never forget.
Some photographs to go with Julie's latest update!
Tom Dixon and his VP "skitting the american media" : Credited, with thanks, to : Robert Brown Director at Sanderson Weatherall
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Update : 25th October 2008
I left home on Friday morning to catch the 06.15 train to reach Keele University where Lindsay Frankland had organised a S/NVQ day for new students. Despite each leg of the journey on the way up encountering delays I still arrived in good time, having met up with Michael Hopkins from HQ on Euston Concourse.
It was great to open the day and to (hopefully) encourage the students with their studies and their on-going career and involvement with the Institute. There were 32 students and reps from NVQ centres present, they worked their way through practical exercises involving nails and a block of wood to underpin the point of “competences” and although light-hearted the message was well delivered. This exercise was run by Judith Johnson an external verifier for the NVQ’s for whom I have to thank for the photographs (as I forgot my camera). Actually it was Lindsay that was snapping away, although he was seen to raise a blush when instructed by one of the attendees on near completion of the balancing task - “not to flash”!
I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the students as I was able to pass on a few remembrances from my own student days. Although there were no competence based qualifications back then (it was exam or nothing), I am so pleased that we now offer a much greater range of study method to reach our technician membership criteria.
Michael and I left at lunchtime as we were booked on early afternoon trains and after a bit of confusion at the ticket office managed to get Michael’s ticket amended to allow us to travel on the same train to continue earlier discussions about the progress on the new syllabus for the certificate examination and the full professional qualification. More on this will follow over the next few months as the Law Research and Education committee as well as the working groups firm up the proposals and syllabus.
Last night I managed to meet up with some girl friends for dinner, there were four of us and it was amusing to note that at one time or another all four of us have been members of the Institute! One of my dinner friends, Sarah Sears has recently taken over the expert content updating role for Euclidian and she was telling us about odd hours of the day and night that she was doing the updates.
Today saw me having a rare Saturday all to myself, besides the obligatory housework that had to be finished, I managed a trip to the garden centre (all the Christmas lights and trees were there already!) and a nice long walk with the dog, I think the dog was impressed anyway as I don’t often get many chances to walk her at weekends these days. I am currently indulging in “Strictly” for the first time this season, the Viennese Waltz is one of my favourite dances and the girls frocks are beautiful.
Ah well that’s about all for now, the honeymoon is almost over, as November shows the diary really to be filling up, so updates may become much more frequent.
A quick update on Gary Watson, who as most of you will know, fell ill just before annual conference. He is at home recuperating and we hope to have him back with us soon, I am sure that you as well as all of us, continue to wish him godspeed in his recovery and look forward to his return to HQ.
It was great to open the day and to (hopefully) encourage the students with their studies and their on-going career and involvement with the Institute. There were 32 students and reps from NVQ centres present, they worked their way through practical exercises involving nails and a block of wood to underpin the point of “competences” and although light-hearted the message was well delivered. This exercise was run by Judith Johnson an external verifier for the NVQ’s for whom I have to thank for the photographs (as I forgot my camera). Actually it was Lindsay that was snapping away, although he was seen to raise a blush when instructed by one of the attendees on near completion of the balancing task - “not to flash”!
I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the students as I was able to pass on a few remembrances from my own student days. Although there were no competence based qualifications back then (it was exam or nothing), I am so pleased that we now offer a much greater range of study method to reach our technician membership criteria.
Michael and I left at lunchtime as we were booked on early afternoon trains and after a bit of confusion at the ticket office managed to get Michael’s ticket amended to allow us to travel on the same train to continue earlier discussions about the progress on the new syllabus for the certificate examination and the full professional qualification. More on this will follow over the next few months as the Law Research and Education committee as well as the working groups firm up the proposals and syllabus.
Last night I managed to meet up with some girl friends for dinner, there were four of us and it was amusing to note that at one time or another all four of us have been members of the Institute! One of my dinner friends, Sarah Sears has recently taken over the expert content updating role for Euclidian and she was telling us about odd hours of the day and night that she was doing the updates.
Today saw me having a rare Saturday all to myself, besides the obligatory housework that had to be finished, I managed a trip to the garden centre (all the Christmas lights and trees were there already!) and a nice long walk with the dog, I think the dog was impressed anyway as I don’t often get many chances to walk her at weekends these days. I am currently indulging in “Strictly” for the first time this season, the Viennese Waltz is one of my favourite dances and the girls frocks are beautiful.
Ah well that’s about all for now, the honeymoon is almost over, as November shows the diary really to be filling up, so updates may become much more frequent.
A quick update on Gary Watson, who as most of you will know, fell ill just before annual conference. He is at home recuperating and we hope to have him back with us soon, I am sure that you as well as all of us, continue to wish him godspeed in his recovery and look forward to his return to HQ.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Julie's latest update!
What a busy week I have had, but not all of it has been Institute related!
Last Friday I met David Magor and his PA Rachel to discuss diary dates and set up a few important things to allow the presidential year to work smoothly (setting up an account with the car hire firm for example!). For those of you who think that the Institute always eats in the most salubrious of places let me advise you that we did go for lunch in a very sweet little Italian on Gray’s Inn Road (just round the corner from the Institute), the speciality of the day was penne al arrabiata with sausages! Plain, simple but yummy!
I had to rush back from the meeting to make sure that I was home well before 7pm as I was treading the boards at our local village hall, where the “Pewmongers” were putting on a music and sketch review called “artistic licence”. It was great fun, and although occasional lines were dropped or props were left behind (we discovered 2 minutes in to opening night that the bell used to summon the “artists wife” was still sitting on the piano backstage), but a great time was had by all and yours truly was singing in the chorus and doing a little acting and poetry recital. It was a bit of a different stage to the one at Manchester central two weeks ago, but it was none the less nerve wracking.
Monday saw my first official engagement as president - I left work at lunchtime and drove for four and a half hours (minor panic at the Severn Bridge when just for a moment I thought that I had no change and the toll bridge only takes cash!). I drove to beautiful Llandrindod Wells for a Seminar that was taking place on Tuesday. The Seminar was attended by almost all of the authorities in Wales and there were over 40 delegates present. We talked about the funds awarded to the Welsh Authorities by the Welsh Assembly Government for benefit take up campaigns. I made the point that the rest of the UK is very envious that a further £3m will be distributed to the Councils over the next three years for them to take forward take up initiatives. There were some excellent examples of innovation and proactive partnership working, which now needs to be picked up by all Councils to ensure that we are promoting income maximisation in our communities, especially in light of the current economic situation. I left Wales with many ideas scribbled on my note pad that I intend to look in to further, sadly however I don’t have the funding to implement many of the ideas, but will see what we can do within our existing budgets!
For those of you that want to see the full report on the work carried out so far the Welsh Assembly Government has compiled a report which is available on their website http://www.assemblywales.org . I can’t commend it highly enough, as any assistance in helping people to claim the benefits that they are entitled to has to be a great idea.
The diary is starting to fill up, so I will be back soon with a next instalment - until then may your glass always be half full.
Last Friday I met David Magor and his PA Rachel to discuss diary dates and set up a few important things to allow the presidential year to work smoothly (setting up an account with the car hire firm for example!). For those of you who think that the Institute always eats in the most salubrious of places let me advise you that we did go for lunch in a very sweet little Italian on Gray’s Inn Road (just round the corner from the Institute), the speciality of the day was penne al arrabiata with sausages! Plain, simple but yummy!
I had to rush back from the meeting to make sure that I was home well before 7pm as I was treading the boards at our local village hall, where the “Pewmongers” were putting on a music and sketch review called “artistic licence”. It was great fun, and although occasional lines were dropped or props were left behind (we discovered 2 minutes in to opening night that the bell used to summon the “artists wife” was still sitting on the piano backstage), but a great time was had by all and yours truly was singing in the chorus and doing a little acting and poetry recital. It was a bit of a different stage to the one at Manchester central two weeks ago, but it was none the less nerve wracking.
Monday saw my first official engagement as president - I left work at lunchtime and drove for four and a half hours (minor panic at the Severn Bridge when just for a moment I thought that I had no change and the toll bridge only takes cash!). I drove to beautiful Llandrindod Wells for a Seminar that was taking place on Tuesday. The Seminar was attended by almost all of the authorities in Wales and there were over 40 delegates present. We talked about the funds awarded to the Welsh Authorities by the Welsh Assembly Government for benefit take up campaigns. I made the point that the rest of the UK is very envious that a further £3m will be distributed to the Councils over the next three years for them to take forward take up initiatives. There were some excellent examples of innovation and proactive partnership working, which now needs to be picked up by all Councils to ensure that we are promoting income maximisation in our communities, especially in light of the current economic situation. I left Wales with many ideas scribbled on my note pad that I intend to look in to further, sadly however I don’t have the funding to implement many of the ideas, but will see what we can do within our existing budgets!
For those of you that want to see the full report on the work carried out so far the Welsh Assembly Government has compiled a report which is available on their website http://www.assemblywales.org . I can’t commend it highly enough, as any assistance in helping people to claim the benefits that they are entitled to has to be a great idea.
The diary is starting to fill up, so I will be back soon with a next instalment - until then may your glass always be half full.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Photographs from Performance Awards NIght!
Here's a photograph of Julie from the IRRV Performance Awards Night taken by the Digital Paparazzi. You can see a host of photos from Awards Night on the IRRV website (just click on the headline above!)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Julie's first blog update!
Well here we go with my first blog update since taking the Presidential “baton” from Bob on Thursday night.
It was a fabulous night although I must admit to some nerves before getting on stage for the handover. I hope that those of you who were there enjoyed the US presidential election spoof, for those that want to see the full version (only a clip was shown on the night – as the full version was a bit too long) it has been added to the blog. You can change the name and spoof your friends too if you like!
After the handover, we were able to congratulate some winners of the evenings awards and commiserate with the “runners up”. There are no losers at the finalist stage of the performance awards as they have all proved themselves to be without a doubt excellent in their field, unfortunately the trophy can only be given to one entry though, but I hope that they will re enter and try again in future years.
Friday morning I arranged for some pictures of the new Senior Vice President Geoff Fisher and Junior Vice President Kerry Macdermott, they will appear in a future “Insight” to make sure that all members are aware of the succession for the Presidency.
As well as the President's chain I also brought a cold back from Manchester (must have been all that rain - did it stop all week???), so I spent Saturday on the couch finally getting to watch the previous Sundays Redskins v Cowboys NFL match (Redskins won – Yay!), and getting through a box of tissues.
With red nose covered by a large amount of make up, I went down to Lancing today for my official presidential photographs, but not before the vicar in my local church had announced to the congregation my ascension to president and asked if I would please wear my tiara(!) to church soon. I’m not sure he completely understands the Institute, I wonder if Geoff and Kerry would be pleased if I had the chain altered to a tiara instead?
It was a fabulous night although I must admit to some nerves before getting on stage for the handover. I hope that those of you who were there enjoyed the US presidential election spoof, for those that want to see the full version (only a clip was shown on the night – as the full version was a bit too long) it has been added to the blog. You can change the name and spoof your friends too if you like!
After the handover, we were able to congratulate some winners of the evenings awards and commiserate with the “runners up”. There are no losers at the finalist stage of the performance awards as they have all proved themselves to be without a doubt excellent in their field, unfortunately the trophy can only be given to one entry though, but I hope that they will re enter and try again in future years.
Friday morning I arranged for some pictures of the new Senior Vice President Geoff Fisher and Junior Vice President Kerry Macdermott, they will appear in a future “Insight” to make sure that all members are aware of the succession for the Presidency.
As well as the President's chain I also brought a cold back from Manchester (must have been all that rain - did it stop all week???), so I spent Saturday on the couch finally getting to watch the previous Sundays Redskins v Cowboys NFL match (Redskins won – Yay!), and getting through a box of tissues.
With red nose covered by a large amount of make up, I went down to Lancing today for my official presidential photographs, but not before the vicar in my local church had announced to the congregation my ascension to president and asked if I would please wear my tiara(!) to church soon. I’m not sure he completely understands the Institute, I wonder if Geoff and Kerry would be pleased if I had the chain altered to a tiara instead?
Official duties start next week, so I look forward to updating you on these as we go…..
(Pictured below is Julie with Kerry -left - the Junior Vice President and Geoff - right - the Senior Vice President) 
Friday, October 3, 2008
Gospel Choir at Performance Awards Dinner!
There will soon be an update from Julie about IRRV Annual Conference and the superb Performance Awards Dinner, after which Julie was inaugurated as the new IRRV President ... so update and photos to follow! Meantime, here's a short clip of the superb gospel singers from a super IRRV night!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
10 things to know about Julie!
1 - She was born in Germany2 – She supports the Washington Redskins American football team
3 – She did a year's work experience before retaking her A-levels at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, never re-took her A levels but stayed on for five years in Benefits at GYBC
4 – She is married to Colin, another IRRV Corporate Member, who she first met when she was an IRRV tech student
5 – She did an excerpt reading of the 4th Harry Potter book on release day for WH Smith
6 – She has two step sons and a golden retriever called Luna
7 - She has been to every mainland state in the USA
8 – Her house looks like Santa’s grotto at Christmas because of the number of lights inside and out!
9 – She met the Queen when she was 8 years old
10 – She is up for anything daft to raise money for charity and has taken part in the race for life for many years, as well as sleepwalks (in PJ’s at midnight)!
Some photos of Julie ...
Above : Recent picture of Julie
Above : Julie addresses IRRV Scottish Conference 2008
Above : Julie at the Trevi Fountain in Rome - 2007
Above : Julie and husband Colin
Above : Julie with Colin and her parents
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