Ladies who lunch

Last summer, the chairmen of Epping Forest and Uttlesford Councils and myself found ourselves seated at the same table at Layer Marney, at an event hosted by the Chairman of Essex County Council. We realised that it was fairly unusual to have three women chairmen of the three councils that make up West Essex, and thought that it might be a good idea to jointly organise a lunch - in the week of International Women's Day - to celebrate women in public life in Essex.

So today's the day, at the end of a lot of planning and preparation. Museum manager Chris Lydamore has kindly allowed us to use the Museum for the lunch, and we have about forty guests - women mayors and chairs of Essex Councils, women council cabinet members and committee chairs, women clergy, women magistrates. Marcela, from Prague 15 district, is also here, as are our guest speakers.

Valda Edmunds from BAA Stansted has brought along Alex, one of the young people who went on a trip Valda organised to refurbish a school building in India. They've brought pictures on their laptop of the project before, during and after, as well as of the sights of life in India they encountered during some seriously extensive bike journeys. Their presentation is lively and informative - and Valda tells me afterwards that she's looking out for host families in the local area to accommodate visiting young people for future exchange visits.

Our other speaker is Anne Wafula Strike. I've come across Anne before, but never heard her speak to an audience - and her personal story, from polio as a child in Kenya to paralympic athlete representing her country in Athens and preparing for Beijing, is amazing and humbling. You could hear a pin drop as she talks.

Then it's time for a light lunch and a chance to look round the beautiful Museum gardens. Our guests are very impressed with the venue, which has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years - and all in all it's been an excellent way to celebrate the role that women play in public life here in Essex.