For my cousin Tracy... Red Nose Day movie

"RED Nose Day" movie from the BBC

Good riddance ‘third-sector’

...hello Civil Society

So a new government, a new way of politics? It’s too early to tell if real change will empower community and voluntary groups to serve local places from this new Con/Lib Dem government.

One welcome change that has come about almost immediately is the dropping of the ridiculous habit of branding our organisations the Third Sector. I have not heard the police or borough council call themselves Second Sector, and for that matter have you ever heard a business refer to themselves as First Sector?

The problem with the phrase third sector? It meant very little to the majority of the nation. Those of us employeed in the so called third sector had to explain the mantle we gave little regard to.

At a recent Safer and Stronger partnership meeting where an entusiastic participant suggested a need to strengthen the THIRD sector, I piped in and stated if the expectation from the SECOND sector could be realised with investment from the local FIRST sector, we would all be content that the FOURTH estate would give us more publicity to promote our stronger selves.

The Conservative manifesto included plans to invest in the civil society:

· Using funds from dormant bank accounts to create a Big Society Bank to provide new finance for charities and social enterprises.

· Train a new generation of community organisers and support the creation of neighbourhood groups.

· Hold an annual Big Society Day to encourage volunteering.

The challenge from Voluntary Action Swindon is that the new prime minister, and our two new Conservative MPs will keep to their word and invest in this thing they call ‘Civil Society’. We will be watching, we will be lobbying, we will be working collaboratively to make it happen – I hope you will join us.

gosh have not been on here for a long time!

It's funny how when you have little to say - some people still say a lot.
Well I have not had much to say... and so have not posted much of late.

I have a post on my mind... lets see what happens!
I trust readers won't think I am saying a lot, when in reality I don't have much to say