I had the pleasure of hosting two meetings this week, in
my Village Areas. Two very different meetings, at the extreme ends of the working day.
On Tuesday morning I was up at dawn to meet with local business people from
the Village area of Strawberry Hill, over eggs, bacon and coffee at the Golf Club. What's the Community Links Officer doing
running business breakfasts you might ask? Well, once upon a time.. Back in December '13 I ran a
community meeting for residents in Strawberry Hill (SH for here on..apologies for the shorthand). One of
the outcomes from that meeting was a desire from the community to see more
support for local businesses, and to see them more involved with the SH
community.
At the meeting we heard that there are thought to be over 100 small businesses working from home in SH. The Council's Economic
Development Team is keen to support the development of business networks across the borough. Building this on to my interest in seeing how all local people could do
their community bit, I see this as an excellent fit for
Community Links.
I was really pleased to welcome 14 businesses to the
meeting, on top of which I also received keen apologies from a further six. Everyone I
spoke with was grateful for the opportunity to come along and introduce
themselves, and were keen to see what happens next... Of course what happens
next is up to those that are involved in the group, but my colleagues Susan and
Sean and I will be on hand to support them realise their ambitions.
During more regular hours, Lynette attended a 'Dementia Friends' Information
Session at Twickenham Library. Here's what she had to say about it:
"I would really recommend everybody taking part in this free short
session (approx. 1:30hrs). It was so
informative and really made you think what it is like to have dementia, and how this can affect your daily activities. It is a cleverly put together interactive
session that offers tips and ideas on how you can interact with people who suffer from this
horrendous disease, who you may meet when you are out and about. I came away with more insight and a much
clearer understanding of how I can help make these people's lives just that
little bit easier, and feel more confident in carrying on with public life. My pledge is to
spread the word about this truly wonderful training throughout the communities
of Richmond."
This short video tells you all about it:
Later in the week I hosted an evening community meeting
in St Margaret's, which brings together quite a mix of local people who all
seem to have one thing in common - they care passionately about St Margaret's. There is a
growing challenge though - acknowledged by some of the regular attenders as
well as myself, and that is that each meeting feels like a 'first meeting'. New
ideas and new faces are very welcome, but it also means there isn't a sense of
progress. The 'original' members were unable to pursue their original project
idea, but have agreed to look at others. I'm happy to continue to work with this,
but I fear that good will and passion will soon begin to run low if there
aren't some tangible projects to get stuck in to.
What we need in this group is
someone who is willing to take on the role of 'lead'. Perhaps, somewhat
ironically, this is currently falling to me.. But it cannot be me as I am
neither local, nor is it a long term solution! I am looking forward to carrying out the main action of this meeting though...organise a 'green walkabout' of St Margaret's, for local residents to point out opportunities they have seen that have potential for 'greening up' either through a flower bed, patch of grass or a hanging basket.
Until next time!
