Another busy few weeks since the last update.
I have been darting around the country concluding the visits for the performance awards shortlist and what a tough job it has been this year. I have been very fortunate to be involved with the inspections for about five years, but this year I had two categories and the standards were high, high, high! The board met on Friday to determine the finalists to be invited to the performance village in Bournemouth. Gary will be emailing out the results of this round today or tomorrow and by midweek the list of finalists will be on the Institute’s main website. For those that hove got through, see you at conference and well done! Those who are not through, remember that you had already beaten off a lot of entrants to get to that stage and you did well to reach the visit round. For those entries that did not make the visiting round, look at the submissions of the finalists and we hope to see you back again in future years!
I have also visited two more associations since the last update, we had a great day at the races on 20th July with the East Anglian Association in Great Yarmouth (wonderfully nostalgic for me as I spent my teenage years in GY and started my local government career at GYBC back in 1988). The following Friday saw us at the beautiful setting of Broome Park in Kent for the South Eastern dinner. Sponsored by Rundles, we had great fun playing the tables following dinner at a casino evening. Murphy’s law is that we were losing until we decided it was time for bed, bet the lot (to go out with a bang) and of course won!!! It was another 45 mins before we were able to drag ourselves away having finally lost the accumulated huge pile of chips on the blackjack table. My thanks to the executive committees of the two associations, for their hospitality, as they hosted really enjoyable events.
The following week was a light Institute week, but I did host two lunches, one for the senior officers at the VOA, where we said goodbye to David Park who is retiring from VOA after many years service and during that time has been a tremendous support to the Institute. We will miss David and wish him well for the future.
The second lunch was more of a “launch”, the Institute has been accredited as an awarder of the Recognised European Valuer (REV) standards. We had a press release and launch to mark the event. Hopefully it will not be long before the first award is made to an individual Valuer.
Bad news for me back at the office; the Surrey Police authority had lost their judicial review bid against the capping of their budget, so we are required to rebill for this year’s council tax, I had visions of my August bank holiday basking in the sun (well I could dream) - but instead it looks like we will have to be in the office doing the rebilling!!!! Can I just say what a bunch of stars my revs and bens officers are (you know who you are) that are wiling to come in that weekend (their choice) to do the programming and runs.
I have been lucky that I have managed to last the year without a cold or other illness (touch wood) so I suppose something had to give. I woke up one Friday morning about four weeks ago with blurred vision (it’s a bit like looking through thick fog) in my left eye. This was after a week of driving all over the country and some long days in the office so I thought I was just tired. By the Monday morning it had gotten to the point that I felt I needed to go to the GP. Coincidentally it was my wedding anniversary and hubby and I were planning a nice meal out. However GP had other ideas and referred me immediately to the eye hospital in Brighton. With fears of hours in the A and E waiting room, we hastily had a bag of chips on Wivelsfield station, maybe not the most romantic way of sharing our anniversary, but one we shall remember!
It turns out (two more trips to the eye hospital and an MRI scan that resulted in a performance visit being moved back, later) I have an inflamed optic nerve (long word ending in “itis”!) and it should get better on its own. It is a little better this weekend but I have been avoiding driving any distance and being on the PC too long, so apologies for the delayed update!
I have to go back to the consultant on 6th October, hopefully it will have healed by then and I will get the all clear (pun intended), so that is something in my diary after Conference anyway!
A very light August (thank goodness with rebilling) to follow and then an incredibly busy September. May the sun shine down on you whether you are at home or abroad during the next few summer weeks
Take care
Julie
