The Party's Over

It was a weird feeling on Tuesday, heading off at 04.15 for the last time in my Olympic volunteer's uniform. The Games were over and what was there to look forward to? Perhaps a trip or two to the airport, or returning cars to a BMW depot.

In the end it turned out to be the latter - although the depot was a temporary holding space at Dartford Ferry Terminal.

With a final glass or two of wine we all departed to go our separate ways - quite possibly never to see each other again.

As I said, weird.

So - to all my fellow T2 drivers at Park Lane - to all my clients - to all the other volunteers I met along the way - thank you, it was a rewarding exercise.

Park Lane

With B155 - my usual car

Returning cars to Dartford

Porkie Pies - or Total Incompetence?

Did Theresas May really believe that G4S would overshoot their target? And was Nick Buckles really in the dark about how badly his organisation was managing?

Now, I happened to have dinner with an ex-City of London police officer at the end of April. He had been considering taking up a role and had talked the possibility through with a number of his colleagues. His verdict in April was:
(a) There will be a huge shortfall in numbers;
(b) The recruitment and training process is a shambles.

I leave you to make up your own mind.

Mind you - I think I'd rather have troops undertaking security details than temporary staff who have had just 4 days training.

Barclays et al

Why did it take Bob Diamond so long to go? In every organisation I have woked for it has been the Chief Executive who has publically set the cultural norms for the business. In Barclays it is clear that there was some sort of cultural problem - even if only in the investment banking part. Mr Diamond headed up that function before he became CEO. So - he had to go. It is worrying that the board appeared to want him to remain at the helm. Are these people living in such a rarified atmosphere that they simply do not understand? I also wonder about the head of Internal Audit and his/her team. What were they doing?

Olympic Volunteering and Extra Pay for Services

Last Friday I attended my latest Olympic volunteer training day - but that's not what I want to concentrate upon in this post. I came back to headlines about bus drivers demanding extra pay and threatening to go on strike which set me thinking about the cost to many of the volunteers. Some of the people I met on Friday had come considerable distances - Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, York. One person I talked to has already agreed to rent a flat in Croydon for the duration and will be giving up her earnings as a pharmacist for the pleasure.

So, I ran a quick calculation - suppose it costs a volunteer £30 every time they come into London and that person is giving up work valued at, say, £300 per day they will have paid quite a hefty cost (opporunity cost, much of it) by the end of the process. For someone who has attended an intial interview (1/2 day), undertaken training (3 days), collected their uniform and accreditation (1/2 day) and done 16 full volunteering stints (a full day, each - all my shifts are 10 hours) then using the above costs the overall value is some £6630.

So, bus drivers, train drivers, underground workers and anyone else aiming to squeeze extra cash for, yes, probably working harder - just think about the rewards for London and the country as a whole, and think about what the volunteers are giving up to make the whole exercise a success.

There - it's off my chest.

The Swifts Are Back

At this time of year there's always one thing to worry about. Will our swifts be back? We always have a few and it's a great joy to sit out on a balmy summer's evening to watch them screaming overhead. However, their numbers have been dwindling and we fear the first year when none returns. One Monday, one appeared. By Wednesday there were three up in the sky. And over the weekend four have been providing a wonderful aerial display. Four may seem (and is) very few - but at least it's not zero.

Litter, Litter Everywhere

Wonersh is a relatively small community with a population of about 1800. It is bisected by the B2128 which connects Guildford to Cranleigh and there is a branch off in the centre of the village to the next settlement - Bramley (and the A281). Twice a year we run a community litter pick to tidy the place up. Just look at what 15 of us collected over 1.5 hours last weekend:

Most of it came from those roads I mentioned - and at the extremities of the village to boot. In other words those responsible were car drivers and passengers passing through the village, not the residents themselves. Shame on the lot of you!

Greenest Government Ever?

I've banged on about this several times. Now Greenpeace has tried to test opinion as to whether voters belive that we do, indeed, have the greenest government ever. Sadly, only 2% of those questioned appear to have answered in the affirmative. Well, well, well.