Donal OHanlon

Hi,

 The weekend was spent enjoying a pint on Friday with my pal, followed by a hectic Saturday where a long list of household & garden chores were achieved.

I went out for an Italian meal on Saturday night, unfortunately it was not of the usual high calibre I’ve come to expect from local restaurants: Half an hour for a drink (from a waitress who spoke no English whatsoever); minimal drinks selection; lack of attention from waiting staff; a maitres d’hotel who kept sending food back & snapping at his head chef etc. We shan’t be rushing back!

Ref’d a match at Heaton Park on Sunday, not the greatest standard, but went ok, with only 1 yellow card. A 1-1 draw was a fair result.

Delivered leaflets on both afternoons, and spent some time looking for a good summer holiday. Also picked up some photos that I took with my 35mm for the family over Christmas. Mostly of the whole group of kids my siblings have produced - I’m disappointed with the results, but this is mainly because my siblings kept coo-ing at the kids and drawing their attention away from the camera! I’ve learnt that I need to prepare better for such assignments, and get the parents well out of the way in future!

In my normal work, we often  refer to “5S” in terms od Health & Safety. As a Councillor, it’s much more like the 5P’s - “Poor preparation precedes pathetic performance” (there are more “P’s” that could be added in, but that would be guilding the lily!)

Thus, I have spent a little time since my last post reading reports, checking facts & figures, preparing questions etc. I’m not the most methodical researcher, but when the germ of an idea is there, I can usually draw it into a suitable fomat, after a bit of research. Forthcoming meetings include Audit, Children’s Services, Full Council & Town Centre Regeneration. The life of a Local Councillor is not the most glamorous of part-time occupations/hobbies, but I do feel I can put some of the skills learnt in my full-time career to good use.

(For those of you not familiar, 5S is a Japanese system for good workplace management - Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu and Shitsuke). Translations vary, but many accept it roughly as - Sift, Sort, Sweep, Sustain & Self-discipline.

Regards,

Donal