Festiva Club

This is the fourth Saturday out of the last five that I've had to work in London all day; the 07:09 train from Harlow to Liverpool Street is a depressingly familiar sight now on a Saturday morning. I don't leave the office until quarter to six, and the Underground is all out, so it's a two-bus journey back to Liverpool Street, and the 18:28 back to Harlow.

I'm supposed to be at the Latton Bush Centre at seven o'clock, so I jump straight into a cab at the station and head off to the launch of the new Festiva Club. The Club has been established by local resident Margaret Lumu, whom I've known for many years since she worked for the now defunct Harlow Council for Voluntary Service.

The Club is intended to bring together people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds to organise social events, cultural awareness events and training, informal confidence building sessions and young people's activities, and encourage members of the town's black and minority ethnic groups into volunteering. I see a lot of people I recognise - including Herbert from the Youth Council, Anita from the Chinese Centre, several members of the Harlow Ethnic Minority Umbrella, and Angela Tribe. Angela and I later reminisce that we first met each other over twenty years ago when we took our then infants swimming at a local special school pool!

The launch party is a great chance to chat, and meet new people. I end up in a fascinating conversation with Dr and Mrs Abraham, who tell me all about the Indian Orthodox Church which I knew nothing about.

Margaret introduces the event, I say a few words, the food is brought on (wonderful vegetable curry with rice and breads), Angela speaks about the history of Harlow, and then it's the turn of the guest speaker, Mike Poselay from HM Prison Service HQ. Then there's a fashion show, music and dancing, the bar is open - and having been up since six o'clock in the morning, I decide I really do need to tear myself away and get home for some sleep.