Radio interview

Today's the day I leave for a weeks' holiday with Nick, but just before we set off I give a brief interview over the phone to BBC Radio Essex about Harlow's Cultural Diversity Festival. It'll be taking place on Sunday 5 August, at the Chinese Centre at Lower Meadow.

The Chairman of Essex County Council hosts a reception

The traffic leaving Harlow is as bad as it usually is at rush hour, so we travel the cross-country route to the charming Layer Marney Tower, near Colchester, for the Chairman of Essex County Council's reception.

Nick and I have visited Layer Marney before - we popped in last summer after a day out in Dedham - but other guests haven't, so after having been introduced and accepted a glass of wine, they wander off to climb the tower or visit the little church nearby.

Meanwhile, Nick and I join other guests in the marquee, where the barbecue is being prepared. Fortunately the rain has stopped and the sun has put in an appearance, but the cooking is still taking place indoors, and as the sausages and burgers sizzle the smoke becomes thicker and thicker, until someone opens some of the side flaps of the marquee to let the air in.

County Council chairman Gerard McEwen makes a typically witty and amusing welcome speech; unlike myself, who has only one year as chairman, the County Council chairman gets two - it's Gerard's second, and he'll be handing over to his successor next year.

We queue for our food and join a table, with our friends from Epping Forest and Uttlesford councils, and some guests from other parts of Essex. It's so pleasant, we stay longer than intended, and don't leave until about half past nine.

Waltzing Matilda

I'll let you into a little secret. If you see a photograph in the local press next week of me dancing the night away, remember that all is not always what it seems; when it comes to ballroom dancing, I have two left feet.

The same can't be said for the nimble-footed senior citizens of Harlow, who have turned out in large number to the GPCA building on Abercrombie Way for the Harlow 60th Anniversary tea dance. The cash bar is open at four o'clock, the DJ puts the first tune on, and everyone's away.

Harlow Council (in the shape of Gill from the council's leisure services and David from the regeneration unit) has organised the event, but the Great Parndon Community Association has kindly provided the building and the afternoon tea, which is served at about five o'clock. I spend some time circulating round the tables, talking to residents and hearing their stories about the early days of the new town.

When everyone's seated with their tea and cake, I make a short speech, and introduce the live band, the Jive Aces. They kick off with In The Mood - which, it appears, everyone present is. I wish I could stay, but unfortunately I have to leave for another event.

An aspiration is a joy for ever

For the last couple of years I've chaired the meetings of the Harlow Business Forum, and it's something I've particularly enjoyed doing. It's a special pleasure therefore that the Forum are the first group with whom I'm discussing my project for the year - raising aspiration for Harlow's young people.

The Forum meets at 4:00pm in the Council Chamber - about 20 representatives of local businesses are there. I introduce the two other speakers, Rosemary Bill from the East of England Brokerage Consortium, and Joanna from the council's Regeneration Unit.

I'm the first speaker, as well as the chairman for the meeting. I've prepared a PowerPoint presentation, yesterday evening after having been out to the Basildon Festival. In preparing for my talk, I've found a wonderful quotation from Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island) which I think says a lot about my project.

"An aspiration is a joy for ever, a possession as solid as a landed estate".

I explain my reasons for choosing the project, and present some statistics about GCSE grades in local schools. These show that, although we're improving much faster than any other area in the East of England, we've still got a way to go to reach the regional or national average for the percentage of local pupils achieving five A*-C grades at GCSE including English and maths.

The debate that follows is interesting and lively, and throws up lots of ideas which I'm sure will shape the project and the report I produce at the end of it. Is aspiration all about academic achievement? (No, of course not, although I'd expect Harlow to want to at least be average in the proportion of young people getting good GCSEs and access to further and higher education). Does low achievement mean the same thing as low aspiration? (Not necessarily, although I point out that it's a bit like being a long jumper - you reach where you aim for).

The meeting divides into small groups to look at some of the issues further. Some interesting points emerge. The shortage of apprenticeship-style opportunities for local young people. The fixation with the cult of celebrity, which rewards people in the most unlikely and extravagant ways for not very much, and completely distorts young people's perception of how life works. The importance of parental role models in motivating and encouraging children.

There's lots more, and the flipcharts on which people have written their thoughts are taken away to be typed up later. It's been fascinating, thought-provoking, and very, very useful.

Rosemary is next, talking about the Skills Pledge, and how companies can get involved in committing themselves to raising the skills of their staff. It's something the council is actively considering signing up to (interestingly, the first question that gets asked in the question and answer session after Rosemary's talk). It's about supporting staff to improve their basic skills, including literacy and numeracy, and achieve at least a Level 2 qualification.

Then Joanna updates the Forum on the various regeneration projects in the town - the renewal of Staple Tye, Prentice Place, Clifton Hatch and Old Harlow; the Town Park masterplan; and the town centre north redevelopment.

After the meeting closes at six o'clock, we adjourn downstairs for sandwiches and fruit, and the chance to talk some more. The Forum's next meeting is in three months.

Support

What sort of administrative and secretarial support does the Chairman of the Council need to carry out his or her duties?, council officers Nigel and André want to know. They're carrying out a review of how staff support for leading councillors is organised, and they want to hear my views as Chairman about how it works for me.

Councillors in Harlow are volunteers. We get an allowance, and can claim the travel costs of going to meetings, but it's well below the minimum wage, and certainly isn't enough to be a job of work - even though the workload is there. That means that most of us have to work (part time, like me, or even full time) as well as attend meetings, help residents with their problems and complaints, read reports, work on council policy, take part in the local organisations we represent the council on, as well as trying to live a vaguely normal life. So any administrative and secretarial support we can get to make life easier is invaluable.

As Chairman, I tell Nigel and André, there are really five areas in which I need support - preparing for meetings of the Full Council, which I chair; organising my attendance at events hosted by other organisations and other councils, and arranging events here in Harlow; work with my chosen charity; my project or theme for the year; and dealing with correspondence.

The pre-meeting that takes place before Full Council, which was introduced a couple of years ago, has improved the running of Full Council meetings enormously, and I'm happy with how that's going.

Attendance at other people's events needs quite a bit of Joan's administrative time - answering invitations, arranging transport, and sending thank you letters out afterwards. The events here, hosted by the chairman, take a serious amount of staff time to arrange, without which they just wouldn't happen.

Working with my charity is an important part of my role this year. Some councils have more staff resource to put into fundraising for the chairman's charity than we do - but we still manage to make a few thousand pounds each year for a deserving cause.

My theme this year - raising aspirations for our young people - will take a lot of time, and require a lot of administrative support. There'll be an advisory group whose meetings will need to be arranged; visits to businesses and schools; other ways of sounding people out and gathering information; and drafting and issuing my final report. Angela, administrator to the Head of Community Services, will be doing a lot of the administrative work for this.

Finally, a change to the way correspondence is dealt with will be helpful. I get letters and circulars addressed to me as councillor; as Chairman of the Council; or sometimes as Leader of the Council (which I was, but haven't been for over two years now). I don't mind opening envelopes, but if they come from the Civic Centre to me at home in the post, then I find they're not really for me and have to take them back in again so that they can be sent out to someone else, that really is not only a waste of postage but quite a delay in getting the right letter to the right person. We agree it would be more sensible if all my post (other than that marked Private or Confidential) could be opened at the Civic Centre so that I only get what's relevant to me.

Basildon Festival

It's the second day of the Basildon Festival, and we've been invited to visit. We arrive at about three o'clock, in time for Pimm's in the VIP tent. The Festival is home this year to the European Paintball Championship, which we pass on the way in to the car park - I've never been paintballing but I'm not sure that it's best to get involved while wearing the official chain of office!

The live music is in full swing on the main stage, and large numbers of people are visiting the stands, drinking at the beer tent, or just basking in the sunshine. At the VIP tent, we chat with mayors and chairs, or their deputies, from around Essex - Rochford, Maldon, Southend, Tendring, and of course Basildon itself.

The Chief Executive of Basildon Council introduces the council leader, who makes a short speech to the assembled VIPs, before handing back to the Chief Executive who talks about Basildon's plans for reaping the benefits from the 2012 Olympics.

Nick and I spend half an hour among the stalls, especially the Retired Greyhounds Trust and the dogs in the arena (who are attempting the agility course with various degrees of willingness and success, causing great amusement for the audience). Then, all too soon, it's time to leave for the journey back to Harlow.

Chinese Day at the Museum

When we arrive at about ten past one, events are already getting under way at the Museum. The cooking equipment is already set up, and - although the sun is shining brightly - the musicians are installed under their canopy in the Museum yard.

Mr Man kindly fetches us a cup of (English) tea, and treats us to an impromptu demonstration of how to cook Kung Po Chicken, one of the dishes on the menu today. Apparently where we in the West go all wrong is not to parboil our chicken and vegetables first, before stir-frying them. While the parboiling is going on, he heats up another wok, puts a sprinkling of oil in, then his sauce ('here's one I prepared earlier'), a little more oil and some rice wine, adds sliced ginger and onion, then the drained parboiled chicken and vegetables, and finally some cashews, before piling it all onto plates.

I watch six young girls performing some Chinese dances with fans and ribbons, then queue up for lunch - the aforementioned Kung Po Chicken, plus stir-fried beef, noodles and other delights. While I eat, there's a Tai Chi demonstration - and I have a chat with the Museum manager about the success of the special events at the Museum and his plans for future activities there.

I've noticed that the musicians' scores on the music stands aren't written in Western musical notation (the standard five line stave) but are rows of numbers with straight and curved lines over and under them. I ask one of the musicians, and he kindly explains that this is a Chinese system of writing down music. He's been transcribing songs like the Beatles' Yesterday into this system, and explains to me how it works.

For some time now the sky has been threatening, and at about twenty past two it starts to absolutely pour. I have to get away to a meeting, so we make our goodbyes and dash to the car in the heavy rain.

Full Council

The Full Council meeting starts at 8 o'clock, but - having arrived home at quarter to six from a meeting in London, had a bite to eat and dashed straight out - I'm at the Civic Centre at half past six for a pre-meeting. It includes the leaders of all three groups, plus the Chief Executive or strategic director, and officers from legal and governance support services. The aim is to be clear who is doing what so that the meeting runs as smoothly as possible.

After their respective Group meetings, councillors start to gather in the Council Chamber in the minutes before the meeting. I'm announced, walk onto the dais and invite councillors to be seated. It's a warm evening, so I invite them to remove their jackets ('or indeed anything else consistent with public decency' - which raises a small chuckle).

Only a couple of minutes in, we hit a snag. The Annual Council meeting in May appointed a list of substitute members for the Standards Committee, but the minutes of the meeting don't show the list. However, it appears that the Standards Committee can't have substitutes anyway, so the council has to agree to correct the minutes by adding the list we nominated at the last meeting, and then immediately pass a resolution to delete them again. It sounds silly, but it's the most straightforward way to deal with it.

There are four questions from the public - two each from two residents - but we're told that one of the questioners unfortunately can't be at the meeting, so under the council's rules her questions don't get accepted. The remaining two are asked and answered.

Then it's on to motions for debate - there are two. The senior officer to my right keeps a list of who has indicated that they want to speak, and I invite them one by one, checking that they keep to their allotted five minutes each. Some have to be asked to 'draw their remarks to a close'. The first motion has seven speeches and takes just over half an hour; the second has 17 speeches and takes almost an hour. Both are defeated.

The next item is titled The Main Debate, but in fact takes far less time than either of the motions. The leader (or other senior councillor) from each of the three groups gives a five minute speech about some of the major work undertaken by the council last year, and the main issues facing the council this year.

It's now a quarter to ten, there are quite a few items left on the agenda, and I'm beginning to get worried that I'll have to use the council's two-hour rule. This says that two hours after the start of a meeting, the chairman must ask all councillors present whether they are happy to continue with the business, or adjourn the meeting.

However, the remaining business takes only a few minutes - references from committees and a couple of councillor's questions are straightforward. We appoint three members to the council's Budget & Performance Working Party, note the minutes of recent committee meetings, and it's all over just after ten to ten.

Renaissance

I've been invited to the launch of Harlow Renaissance's business plan, at Parndon Mill.

Harlow Renaissance is the new partnership agency set up to work with local residents and organisations, both on short term regeneration programmes in Harlow - such as the plans for Prentice Place and Staple Tye - and on preparing for longer term growth and renewal for Harlow.

Today's event has been organised by Harlow Renaissance staff - and Nicky, Louisa and Ostap welcome the guests (there must be at least a hundred) to the lawn outside the art gallery. A large marquee has been set up, but the weather is so beautiful most people are content to stand outside chatting.

Harlow Renaissance certainly seems to be enthusing, encouraging and involving people from all walks of life in what's going on in Harlow. In addition to Renaissance and council people, there are guests from all sorts of organisations here: Alan Whittingham from AD Architects, who work with Harlow's major organisations on their building projects; Brian Spencer, the council's independent Standards Committee chairman and a governor of the college; Janet Green from the Lea Valley Park; Michael Hargreaves from the Government Office for the East of England; Nila Hibbert from Harlow Ethnic Minorities Umbrella; and many, many more.

Not least, Sally Anderson and Roger Lee from the Mill itself are there, mingling with the guests and encouraging people to visit the studios. Sally and Roger can be justly proud of what they've achieved at Parndon Mill - many visitors today appear not to have known of its existence, but the event today has certainly opened their eyes and I'm sure they'll be coming back to see the artwork in the studios and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

There's drink and canapés - I have a couple of glasses of water, and something interesting that turns out to be a miniature toad in the hole, a small circle of batter with a slice of sausage in the middle.

At six o'clock we all adjourn into the marquee, where Harlow Renaissance chairman John Spence, chief executive Andrew Bramidge, and council joint leader Cllr Chris Millington give brief speeches about Harlow Renaissance, the work it's doing, and the plans for the future.

After a small glass of white wine, and some irresistible chocolate cake, a small number of us adjourn to Annie's Launch for a brief trip up the Stort Navigation and back. Annie's Launch is a beautiful narrowboat moored at Parndon Mill, which offers meeting space, cruises downstream to Roydon or upstream to the Gibberd Garden, onboard dinners or cream teas, and special events such as wine tasting cruises and art workshops. Today, however, we simply sit in the sunshine, with glasses of Pimms, and watch the world go by as our skipper guides us through the lock and up to Harlow Town station, then back on the return journey.

Harlow's certainly got a lot going for it.

Columns in the Gibberd Garden

At the museum on Friday, I was talking to a committee member of the Gibberd Garden Trust and Essex County Council's Heritage Development Manager about the grand columns in the Gibberd Garden, and I mentioned a reference to them in a book I was reading at Christmas. I've emailed the quotation to them this morning - here it is.

"The stucco columns of Coutts & Co, WC2
The pillars of the Nash-designed bank headquarters, at 440 Strand, disappeared in 1973 during refurbishment. Charles Dickens used to lounge against them, as a hungry factory boy on his lunch break, in 1824. They were resurrected by architect Frederick Gibberd in his gardens at Harlow, where, now draped in ivy, they doze their days away.
Sarah Wise"

The quote is from Iain Sinclair's anthology London: City of Disappearances (Hamish Hamilton, 2006).

EYO@50

There are two concerts to which we've been invited this evening, so we've had to choose. The one we've chosen is the Essex Youth Chamber Orchestra concert at St John's ARC in Old Harlow - one of a series of concerts celebrating the 50th birthday of the Essex Youth Orchestra.

We're greeted on arrival by Sir Robert Bunyard and his wife Ruth, who show us to seats in the front row, where we have a superb view of the orchestra. The programme opens with Sibelius' Andante Festivo - a beautiful, grand piece and one of my particular favourites (it's item 12 here). The second piece is Poulenc's Flute Sonata, with Victoria Fletcher as the soloist. It's not a work I've heard before; the link I've given isn't Victoria's performance, but gives some idea what the first movement of the piece sounds like, though with a piano accompaniment instead of the orchestra. The first half of the concert concludes with a return to Sibelius, this time his suite Pelléas et Mélisande.

During the interval we have coffee and a chance to chat with Ruth. We're also photographed with Victoria (the flute soloist), the evening's conductor Robin Browning, and Sir Robert.

The second half of the concert begins with a piece by a modern American composer I've never heard of - Charles Ives. It's called The Unanswered Question, and I have to admit that while I'm pleased to have listened to something different I wouldn't walk a mile to hear it again! Finally, the most famous work of the evening, Mozart's Fortieth Symphony.

It's great to see such talented young people from our own county, playing to such a high standard, with such a great future ahead of them.

An afternoon out in Rochford

This afternoon sees the Chairman of Rochford's garden party, in the garden of the council offices in South Street, Rochford. We set off promptly, but are a little frustrated to arrive slightly late as we're held up in a major traffic snarl-up on the M25.

There's a marquee on the grass, and a smaller tent for the young people's band that's playing as we arrive. It's a beautiful afternoon, and just perfect for a glass of Pimms as we circulate and meet mayors and chairs from the parishes in and around Rochford, as well as other guests.

We're all offered a tour of the old house that forms part of the council offices, in small groups - and when our turn arrives, we're very glad we accepted, as it's fascinating. The building was apparently investigated as it was believed to be Tudor in origin - but when the archaeologists really got down to it, it was found to be a lot older than that, dating from about 1270. Parts of the old interior walls have been left exposed so we can see what they were made of, and the old hearth has also been uncovered, with a piece of glass over the top so we can see it without damaging it.

The ancient, wood-beamed room upstairs is now the Chief Executive of the council's office - I note to myself that I'd better not tell our own Chief Executive in case he gets ideas!

We arrive back on the lawn in time for a superb afternoon tea - filled rolls, pastries and cakes made and served by local young people. We sit and chat with some of the other guests, until the auction starts. There are about nine items to be sold in aid of the Chairman of Rochford's chosen charities, from a case of wine to a cricket bat signed by the 1995 Essex team - we make a bid for one item but don't win it, and put a donation in to the charities instead.

We leave at about five o'clock, and the traffic is still queuing in the other direction heading towards the QEII bridge. I check the news on my Blackberry, and am shocked to hear that the traffic gridlock has been caused by fatal accidents on each side of the bridge, in both cases killing a child. There can be things much worse than being held up for a few minutes on the motorway.

Accolade for museum

Harlow's Museum now has the recognition it deserves, with accreditation from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council for the East of England.

I've been asked to go along at lunchtime to receive the certificate of accreditation. Of course, I'm delighted at the opportunity, and it's an excellent event. This is what I said about the museum on receiving the accreditation certificate.

"I’m delighted to receive this certificate of accreditation on behalf of Harlow Council. The museum manager, Chris Lydamore, told me recently that he was explaining to someone from outside the town what his job was, and they said - Is Harlow old enough to have a museum? Of course it is: Harlow is a new town, but new towns don't just appear from nowhere. They're built on existing places with their own history - a history which in Harlow's case is reflected in our estate names and neighbourhoods, as well as being collected here at the museum.

The museum is an example of the investment that the council is making in community resources. It forms part of a network of services provided by the council that offers affordable, quality entertainment and educational opportunities for local residents. Not only the museum, but also Pets’ Corner, Parndon Wood Nature Reserve, The Playhouse, and The Gibberd Gallery, provide opportunities for young and old alike to enjoy rich and rewarding leisure time here in Harlow.

Through the museum, the council works in partnership with the local community, and volunteers, helping to provide the wide range of activities offered here. I’ve lived in Harlow since 1981, and I have to say that in the last few months I’ve visited the museum, and its wonderful grounds, more often than in the last 26 years.

In those recent visits, I’ve seen young schoolchildren trained and acting as very informative museum guides. I’ve seen a steel band and eaten Afro-Caribbean food. I’ve welcomed to these gardens representatives of new towns across Europe, who were deeply impressed by this tranquil and historic setting in the middle of a new town. And two days ago I joined my chosen charity, Harlow Stroke Support Group, at their AGM and barbecue here. I want to commend Chris Lydamore and his team for the work they have done to develop a lively, thriving museum which is establishing itself at the heart of our community.

In recent years the council has invested time and effort to bring about improvements, raise standards, and create a positive new culture in all the services it delivers. We’ve sought to build on our strengths, and tackle areas where we could do better. This week, and the early part of next week, are the acid test. The inspectors are in, and we hope they’ll see the progress we’ve made, and what we’ve achieved.

It’s great to see the museum, as a service provided by Harlow Council, not only going for — and achieving — ‘good’, but gaining public recognition for doing so. Accreditation doesn’t mean the council, or the museum, will rest on our laurels or take our eye off the ball. There’s always more to be done, improvements to be made, new audiences engaged, and the link between the museum and its users fostered."

Stroke Group AGM

Today is the Annual General Meeting of the Harlow Stroke Support Group, my nominated charity for the year. Over 20 of us meet at the Museum for a 10:30 start, where the usual business - reports, accounts, and so on - is carried out, and officers elected for the forthcoming year.

The bad news is that the Group's application to the Big Lottery Fund has been unsuccessful, so organiser Jean and the committee will need to look elsewhere for the funding to keep the show on the road after October. If anyone knows of £30,000 a year looking for a good home, let us know!

After the meeting, we adjourn into the Museum grounds for a wonderful barbecue lunch cooked by Mustapha, who is married to one of the group members, and who has generously given his time and culinary skills to feed us all superbly. It's a great chance to sit and chat with members of the Group, and the weather holds dry which is an added bonus. There's a raffle, and I win one of the prizes, and draw the ticket for the next winner.

The High Sheriff's garden party

Back in Harlow in the early afternoon, I grab a quick bath and get ready for the High Sheriff of Essex's Garden Party at Little Hallingbury. Dave, our driver, picks Nick up from work at the College on the way, and we arrive in good time, to be greeted by the High Sheriff, Lady Diana Kemp-Welch, at the entrance to an enormous marquee in the grounds.

Lady Kemp-Welch has been involved in various Harlow initiatives, including the local charity Young Concern, and we meet several friends from Harlow as we circulate. One of the roles of the High Sheriff is to be responsible for the High Sheriff's Awards - an annual award scheme to support and reward local people and organisations who tackle crime in their communities.

Our hosts have also laid on an exhibition of paintings by Lucy Kemp-Welch; she's described as one of the foremost painters of horses - indeed, she illustrated Anna Sewell's Black Beauty - and the paintings are utterly superb.

47 different words for drizzle

The conference begins this morning with a welcome from the local President in Sénart, and a review of some of the projects that the European New Towns Platform has undertaken.

After lunch, we break into two workshops, and I join the one called Speed Dating - fortunately, it's just a chance to circulate round representatives of various ENTP member towns who are wanting to propose new projects and to find partners to take part in them.

Then it's off to the Carré Sénart to see the new town centre Sénart is building. Sénart isn't a new town as we in Harlow would know it - it's a collection of ten small hamlets or communes separated by vast tracts of empty land, with no real centre. So the local politicians have decided to build a town centre in one of these empty pieces of land, which all the communes will share. It's got a huge shopping mall and a cinema, and massive car parks, and they're building a new town hall. We troop inside the shell of the town hall where the construction workers are busy - but unlike in England, we're not offered hard hats or fluorescent jackets. The French approach to health and safety seems rather more relaxed!

Back at our hotel, we have only 15 minutes to change for dinner. We're being taken into Paris and onto a bateau mouche on the river Seine. The Eiffel Tower is visible from miles out, and the coach draws up close to it so that we can embark on the river boat for our evening meal. The boat is very ornately fitted out, including a digital piano that plays itself - the keys are moving but no-one's playing it. We eat our dinner cruising up and down the river, seeing many key Parisian landmarks. The weather is bad, and when I go up on deck as we approach Notre Dame, it's very squally indeed. Some of the representatives of the other new towns are also out there in the rain, and we share our different words for drizzle as the evening draws to a close.

A postcard from Paris

After a long journey on Eurostar, and a 40 minute suburban rail journey, I - plus one of the council joint leaders and regeneration team staff - arrive at Lieusaint-Moissy near Paris, for the second part of the European New Towns Platform general assembly in Sénart. (We hosted the first part in Harlow last month, so I'm returning the visit).

We arrive at our hotel at about 10 o'clock in the evening, local time, and eat very late.

The Show must go on

A meeting today at lunchtime to plan the hospitality arrangements for the Chairman's tent at the Town Show on 2 September. As is customary, I'll be inviting Mayors and Chairs from surrounding councils, along with other guests including representatives of my charity (Harlow Stroke Support Group), to join me for lunch on the day.

What's the difference between a Chairman and a Leader?

What's the difference between a Chairman and a Leader? No, it's not a joke - it's a question that lots of residents don't know the answer to. Today, as so often, that means I get two communications that aren't really for me at all. One is a letter about the county council's changes to mobile libraries - which I pass on to the Joint Leaders of the Council - and the other is a call about a product which the caller thinks might interest the council.

The Leader (or as at present in Harlow, Joint Leaders) heads up the council's decision-making processes - it's a political position, responsible for the strategy and direction of the council.

The Chairman is the council's civic representative, who not only chairs the meetings of the full council, but also represents the council and the local community within and outside the town. The Chairman has no power to make decisions, and even less to overrule decisions made by councillors.

It's been nice to receive so many kind congratulations from local residents on being made Chairman - but, though it's a great honour, I still find it slightly strange that I've had more congratulations on being made Chairman for a year than I ever received for becoming a Joint Leader of the council from 2002 to 2005 - a position which in fact was far more influential.

Garden party

First thing this morning the weather doesn't look promising for today's event - the Chairman of East Herts District Council's garden party at the Rhodes Centre in Bishop's Stortford. But by the time we arrive there at 3 o'clock the rain has stopped, the sun has come out, and it's a glorious afternoon.

The local cadets are on hand to salute visitors and guide them to the car park, and there's a welcome drink followed by tea, sandwiches and cakes, and a chance to catch up with Mayors and Chairs from neighbouring councils.

We stop and chat with the Mayor of Sawbridgeworth and his wife, whose 'music in the garden' event we visited last week, and with the Mayor of Ware and his wife, whom we also met at last week's event. We spend some time too chatting with the Chairman of Uttlesford District Council and her husband, and last year's Chairman of Watford Council and his wife. We meet new Mayors and Chairs too, including Buntingford and Broxbourne.

The event is to raise money for the Chairman of East Herts's charity, the Isobel Hospice, so we buy raffle tickets. We also take the opportunity to look round the museum at the Rhodes Centre, including lots of information about Cecil Rhodes and the British Empire in Africa, as well as some interesting memorabilia and insights into Victorian and early twentieth century Bishop's Stortford.