Random thoughts and photos of my journey through life…
… on that courtyard garden from yesterday’s post.
In the brief moments when I was back at the hotel, I noticed that the courtyard was used by businessmen for team-working. It was interesting to look down on them and wonder what they were doing.
You can also see towards the back of the photo that overall view was less than ideal!
Zooming in a little closer to the top left of the garden you might just be able to make out a seagull? A friend of his will feature in a later post…
6 Comments CherryPie on May 26th 2010
For the duration of the conference we were staying in the Jurys Inn which is very convenient for the railway station but as I mentioned before, it is a short walk from the town.
Booking in was almost as chaotic as last year, but after a while a manager took charge and managed to speed up the booking process and get the queue down. When I got to my room the door was open… I found out from the housekeeper that it wasn’t quite ready for my arrival and she asked me if I could come back in 10 minutes. This wasn’t an option as I had a meeting to get to and it would have made me late. We agreed that I could get unpacked and that they would finish my room after I had left for the meeting.
The rooms are very nice and spacious. Unfortunately I was so busy I forgot to take my own photo, so you will have to make do with one from the Jurys Inn website. The room I stayed in looked almost identical to the one above except that mine had a single bed in addition to the double bed. When I turned the lights off at night I noticed that one of the spot lights was glowing pale green and casting an eerie green light over the room. I persevered with it for a couple of nights but found it rather creepy and I had visions of aliens abducting me in the night.
I reported it to reception and had it replaced. The helpful maintenance man who replaced the bulbs for me said that some other guests had complained of the same thing. He replaced them with a slightly different type which he assured me wouldn’t were better and thankfully they turned off properly when I flicked the off switch.
I am still supposed to be on a diet so I won’t mention the delicious breakfasts 
8 Comments CherryPie on May 25th 2010
This year the MoD Group Conference was held in the Holiday Inn which was a long trek from the Group hotel. Business started at 9 in the morning and finished at 5.30 in the evening with an hour for lunch. Once again I was on the Standing Orders Committee which ensures the conference runs smoothly. The conference wasn’t very lively and most motions were carried without a debate.
Some of the key motions that were put to the conference:
Anti Cuts
The Group Executive Committee (GEC) raised a motion that highlighted the significant reduction of staffing level since New Labour came into power. It also mentioned the independant review of MoD civil servants that is headed by Gerry Grimstone which will lead to more cuts.
The motion called for the following:
The motion was carried without debate.
Atracting New Members
The motion called on the GEC to invest time, publicity and funds to ensure that there was a full network of regional committees to support and mentor activists at a branch level.
This motion was heavily debated and ultimately the branch agreed to remit the motion and allow the GEC to look into the issue.
Standard PCS Logo
This motion called for the standard PCS logo to be used on all official communications to ensure that it didn’t look like the Group was operating independently from the National body. After a heated debate the motion was lost.
Defence Training Review
This motion instructed the GEC to campaign against the Department working towards getting approval for package 1 of the Defence Training Review prior to the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review. This motion was carried.
Other issues discussed were; constitutional amendments, anti-cuts, pay, organisation, industrial relations, equality & diversity, campaigning & privatisation, MoD Guard Service, environment, terms & conditions, personnel, policy and recruitment, learning & training, staff surplus and valedictory. The list of motions can be found here.
The outcome of the motions is as follows: A1 – carried, A2 – carried, A3 – carried, A4 – carried, A5 – carried, A6 – carried, A7 – carried, A8 – carried, A9 – Remitted, A10 – carried, A11 – carried, A12 – Lost, A13 – carried, A14 – carried, A15 – remitted, A16 – carried, A17 carried, A18 – carried, A19 – carried, A20 – carried, A21 – carried, A22 – carried, A23 – carried, A24 – carried, A25 – carried, A26 – remitted, A27 carried, A28 – remitted, A29 carried, A30 – carried, A31 – carried, A32 – carried, A33 – carried, A34 – carried, A35 – carried, A36 – carried, A37 – carried, A38 – carried, A39 – carried, A40 – carried, A41 – carried, A42 – carried, A43 – carried, A44 – carried, A45 – remitted, A46 – carried, A47 – carried, A48 – carried, A55 – carried and A59 carried.
In addition to the motions and debating there was also a session on organising around and industrial dispute. Everyone was encouraged to join in and share experiences and successes from the recent industrial action.
10 Comments CherryPie on May 24th 2010
My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
Thich Nhat Hanh
18 Comments CherryPie on May 23rd 2010
The journey by rail to Brighton wasn’t too bad despite the engineering works. We managed to avoid having to change to a bus half way through the last leg of the journey, although we were rather alarmed when the train stopped and then appeared to be heading back in the direction it had just come from.
Both the Group and the main conference were a little tame this year with many motions getting carried without any proper debate. Both conferences had key people missing. The MoD Group conference was missing it’s President, Chris Dando, who had recently fallen over and broken his shoulder. The main conference was missing the General Secretary, Mark Serwotka, who is undergoing tests in a London hospital for a heart problem.
I only attended one fringe meeting this year because most of them didn’t appeal to me. This made it easier for me to find time to eat and network with people from other branches. The fringe meeting I did attend was called ‘Anti-privatisation’ which discussed the privatisation of public services. I managed to get an unexpected round of applause when there were problems getting the slide show started, so I got up and helped out.
I nearly forgot to mention that I walked an astounding 43 miles over the week. I clocked up 10 miles in one day alone!!! Due to a lack of planning the group hotel was over 2 miles away from the Group conference venue. The Brighton Centre where the main conference is held is also quite a trek, but thankfully not quite so far.
It was a hectic but fun week and after the scramble through London with our luggage, we caught the leisurely Wrexham & Shropshire train which is like stepping back into a different era. Just what we needed after such a hectic week. Now all I need to do is gather my thoughts and catch up on some sleep After which I shall post in more detail about some of the issues that were debated.
16 Comments CherryPie on May 22nd 2010
The Zodiac clock at Snowshill Manor is a perfect example of monthly.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
18 Comments CherryPie on May 21st 2010
On one of my recent visits to Attingham Park I learned about wallpaper tax, I must admit it was a new one on me! It seems that those in power always had ingenious ways of taxing the people.
Wallpaper used to be a very expensive commodity, and was subject to a tax: each sheet was stamped by a tax-inspector, and then tax-stamped again if the paper was stained, or coloured, with a ‘DUTY CHARGED ON PAPER STAINED’ stamp The sheets of wallpaper at Attingham are stamped twice, with the crest of GR for George III and the date 1807. *
The room guide who was telling visitors about the wallpaper and stamps explained how some people would get around paying the full amount of tax. They would just get the top and bottom pieces of wallpaper stamped (it used to come in squares and not rolls) and so only paid part of the taxes due. When the tax inspector came round he usually only checked the corners of the top and bottom pieces. It seems some things never change
*From the national trust guide book.
8 Comments CherryPie on May 20th 2010
