Richard Baum

Tonight is the first meeting of the Resource and Performance Scrutiny commission of the new municipal year. I was on the commission last year, as the sole Lib Dem, and here I am again, this time joined by our newest Councillor Mary D’Albert. Many of the other faces will be the same though. This appears to be the commission Councillors come to and never leave. A bit like a retirement village.

Tonight isn’t entirely a normal meeting, because much of the agenda is devoted to discussing what we’re going to do in meetings for the rest of the year. I was quite disappointed with aspects of scrutiny last year – not least the fact that after four hour meetings we often achieved little but the accumulation of vast quantities of hot air. I was disappointed to read in the annual review report that we only had 11 meetings last year. This was far more than the other commissions (we’re only scheduled to have 6), but I thought I’d spent enough time in that room to have had at least 50.

So I am going to suggest a few alternative ways of doing things this year. The agenda is so massive that it’s inefficient having all of us meeting at the same time. I think working groups looking at a small number of topics might be better, so I will suggest that. Last year this was adopted on a small scale, and I think it worked very well.

Also on the agenda tonight is a report on complaints. Ironically I have a major complaint about this report because I think it is largely a load of rubbish. It tells me very little, and the low numbers of complaints seems at odds with the experiences I hear about from residents all the time. This might be my own lack of understanding (I hope it is), but I have a number of questions which I want answering tonight.

All this assumes of course that I don’t pass out through hunger between now and then. My “bikini fit” diet is progressing in a way that makes me wish I could die fat rather than live slim. Sunday and Monday were fluids only, which passed off surprisingly well. But Tuesday and Wednesday were fluids and fruit, and by the time I got to my sixth consecutive meal of sticky, sugary tree-grown yuk I gave in and had a can of soup. It was either that or go into the garden and howl at the moon until bedtime.

So I fell off the wagon slightly. Today I am allowed raw vegetables, which means my lunch is the hugely appealing prospect of some chopped up peppers and carrot.

I’m not sure if it’ll make me live longer, but it’ll certainly feel longer.

Rick