Wildewire

It has taken two weeks, but I finally feel comfortable that I have not made a mistake inviting my young lodger to stay in my house. Crunch came one night when, as I went to bed, I found myself picking up car keys and a couple of other items to hide them in my room. I was laying in bed unable to sleep so i got up, woke him up- he'd been sleeping on the sofa downstairs and told him that it was bloody obvious there were things he had been keeping from me and as a result I found myself filling in the gaps with all sorts of unpleasant potentials. That conversation ended amicably with him deciding it would be best for him to find his own place in Consett where he was heading when I met him. It was also obvious that he was not (just) getting over drug use, but that he is actually profoundly depressed. It is ironic that my friend who is THE artful dodger had suggested that the lad signed on and played the mental illness card. I of course dismissed this course of action but it is clear th...

So... I had my annual review at work. One year since starting and the improvements are obvious- not that I am actually claiming responsibility for all of them, but my contribution is clear. However: I am NO better off personally than I was when I started: I am still in as much debt and to cap it all, I find myself having to defer to people in superior positions who I think can barely do their jobs to do things I have done habitually for years... But then; they probably discovered before me that there is no actual point in excelling in a local authority job unless your ambition is to climb that particular greasy pole. Do well, and the most you might expect is a positive comment on your permanent file. -How thrilling. And, what more can one expect when working for public money?... A wage commensurate with the job would be nice. Liberation may have come in the shape of a grant offering up to £50,000 for running costs of eligible projects I discovered. I found our Leadgate Engine Shed ...

So, things have changed at the project I've been supporting for the last three  years: the owner of the building has indicated that she needs to sell it and will still sell it to the charity I have been trying to help set up anonymously - for MUCH less than she could get from a developer . Now, its chocs away and we're off! This is NOT the way I wanted it to happen, but needs must and we've decided to risk a (hopefully) quick crowd-funding campaign to buy the building: Save the Leadgate Engine Shed  It is very much at the "preview" stage: I accidentally made it "live" when I was trying to send the link to a potential "Lead Donor". So what you see there is work in progress, it will be completed when the drone footage a supporter shot today (in uncharacteristic glorious sunshine!) and the recorded comments from local people are edited and uploaded, I think the project will be irresistible. The amount of support for the project is growing an...

So, a guy came into work the other day asking to use computers as he was homeless and needing support. He is now my lodger. When he said he had carpentry skills and experience I thought of the Engine Shed project. I told him I was looking for lodgers and invited him to the Engine Shed to meet 'the custodian' who also thought this lad was 'the right sort' (gave him loads of food from the food bank) I drove back to Newcastle and... well; it seems to be working out. It is certainly 100% better than the recently vacated Radical Faerie who had been living with me until the beginning of the week when my patience finally evaporated... He is damaged, so not really his "fault" but it was frustrating to have someone in my house who would only communicate with me when he was drunk and who spent the rest of the time reacting to me as if I had done him some serious harm. Replacement lodger is a bit younger- I think he has accepted that I want nothing more from him th...

Last November, I was introduced to some ex-military veterans who were making items from wood as well as painting etc, as part of their recovery from PTSD/ transition back to civilian life. My expectations were low, so I was very pleasantly surprised by what they brought in to show me. I was immediately determined to create a pop-up gallery/shop for them at the earliest opportunity. A little later, I found out that a touring exhibition about the Durham Light Infantry was looking for a new venue AND that a local folk duo had a show based on world war one songs they wanted to present. All three came together and we even got the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of County Durham to attend and to present a plaque (made by the other veterans) to a 94 year old who was decorated for his part in the Artic Convoys in World War II. It has been a great success: the vets have been invited by visitors to other residencies and talks and they've been able to advise families who've shared that they ha...

I will have worked for my public sector employer for a year next week and it has been almost everything I feared it would be. Income is up, spending is down, visitors are up, more money has been made from hiring out space, there are 5 new retail or business tenants, local people are more involved and engaged, there are very few negatives about the place in the public realm and, due to a wizard wheeze courtesy of my superior; the big-spending problem department run by a stubborn, insecure supervisor with limited experience will not be my responsibility very soon. That will mean that the operation I run will be in profit which was the two year aim of the job. I have struggled to get a handle on the public sector procedures. Like my previous experiences of working with/in the public sector; the emphasis is on procedure and appearances rather than logic, practicality and common sense. No training is provided for labyrinthine procedures created in house, yet 'one' is expected ...

This has been a difficult week: I have made a lot of contacts with different groups; I even drove all the way to Teesdale  to a Visitor Network meeting and arrived late having got lost.  I came back on the opposite side of the valley I drive past to get to work . It was stunning. I arrived at the meeting as they were gloating about their "hidden gem" status. My first contribution was to suggest that patting themselves on the back for being "hidden" was counter-intuitive for a visitor network because people just don't know about the region- people in Newcastle and Durham are as ignorant of the area as Londoners which makes the job of promoting it more difficult ("derr")... It has been a week of meetings which have disrupted my aim to have a draft budget to work on next week before producing a draft development plan for my boss the following week. I am finding the council's systems as frustrating as I expected. I understand the need for security ...