Djanogly Jamboree

Just docking back with the mothership following a midweek jaunt down to Nottingham. Nice city: lots of green spaces, all the shops you could want, friendly taxi drivers and proper pubs.

Was joining in with East Midlands Division and EMBOC in their afternoon of AGMs and assorted entertainment. Great to see partnership working, enthusiatic professionals from different sectors in the area. Venue was Djanogly City Academy School, a big name for a high-ceilinged venue, rather like an aircraft hangar I thought! Alarmingly quiet without pupils but I can imagine how noisy and hectic it must be on a ‘working’ day. Our main venue was the drama studio, had to suppress instinct to start my Lady Macbeth or Much Ado routines…

Had encouraging thoughts from Joan Bray, EMBOC, who had had a difficult morning with flooded electrics and whatnot at Nottingham Central Lib, but still managed to show great passion for the profession and its future. Madeline Cox reported on a study visit to the British Library where she researched some Nottinghamshire astronomers. Turns out they all thought the sun was inhabited back then by a ‘differently organised race’ – I thought it was librarians who were ‘differently organised’! Alison Barlow shared her experience of IFLA In Durban, including some evocative photos and a moving video of one of the speakers recounting a saty in solitary confinement in which books (and especially Moby Dick) became a lifeline.

I joined this random cast with my own stories and snaps under the heading of ‘kissing with confidence’ – thinking about performance anxieties and how professional involvement can boost confidence and extend your skills. Not sure I was very coherent but hopefully the message came across that professionals should be proud of their achievements and that it’s easy and fun and worthwhile to get involved in the wider profession.

Not sure I’m very proud of the backlog on my work desk, though I’m trying to beat the mess and made some physics book vanish quite successfully this morning.

Tonight it’s packing for a few days in Spain visiting family – plus I have to plant some strawberry plants which chose exactly the wrtong day to be delivered!

Rainy afternoon

I’ve spent the afternoon emailing Divisions with feedback on their Divisional Plans. The 2008 programme for the group is considerably more inspiring than the miserable weather I can see from my study window! There are intriguing events, appealing pub quizzes and walks, visits to all manner of interesting workplaces – army libraries, cathedrals, colleges, the BBC and more.  The Framework of Qualifications is in safe hands with our dedicate team of Candidate Support Officers – look out for a course near you. We continue to reach out to students, to under-represented groups and to our whole membership, whether it’s through events, informal get-togethers, meetings, social technologies, newsletters and more. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at our May National Council and hearing more about the work on the ground.

But I can’t just stand here blogging all day – I need to warm pizzas and pour wine in readiness for the second episode of the new series of Doctor Who. (Oh stop sighing, it’s my blog and I’ll obsess if I want to!) Just for the record, yes I did enjoy the first episode, yes I do think Donna will work out fine as a companion (I loved that she had a boot full of suitcases ready packed, including hatbox), yes the Adipose were silly but who cares, that’s entertainment! (Cue Jam intro…)

The best laid plans of mice

Eddie Izzard does a great routine in which he unpacks the rodent section of that well-worn saying “the best laid plans of mice and men gang oftentimes aglay” (OK Scottish people, don’t hunt me down if I misquoted that!!) If I remember rightly, it includes a bilingual pastiche of The Italian Job (“vous n’avez que faire sauter les portes”). Anyway, look it up, it’s hilarious.

This afternoon I’ve been reading the 2008 Divisional Plans (OK, just those five that have actually been submitted. I’ll be nagging the other seven Divisions this week!) It’s fantastic to see the work that is going on – inspiring events… intriguing visits… fresh air and exercise… newsletters and e-experiments… committed personal suppport to qualifications candidates… reaching out to partner organisations and local LIS schools. All this good work carried out by our network of volunteers, who all have day jobs, lives and fingers in so many other pies they can only be working for Dundee’s own Desperate Dan. Activists are wonderful people; have you hugged one lately or told them how much you appreciate their hard work and energy? And we even have our own yoghurt. I like the prune one, personally. Keeps you regular. A bit like business planning processes.

My garden is being invaded by baby rabbits. I wonder what’s in their best-laid plans?