Talent and Ambition

What fantastic talent we have in our young people. This week has been a complete treat because in among all of the important meetings with members, managers, our partners (police and health), two stand out events have taken place.

Our fantastic young people

Brighton Youth Orchestra at All Saints Church

Last Friday night at All Saints Church in Hove I was privileged to hear the most fantastic concert by Brighton Youth Orchestra. This was the last leg of their European tour and they were on fantastic form. About 90 musicians conducted by Andy Sherwood, gave us a wonderful eclectic programme that included a piece called Pines of Rome by Respighi, who I had never heard of, as well as more well-known Shostakovich and Elgar ending with a wonderful lively rendition of Lord of the Dance. The sheer musicianship and enthusiasm combined with the wonderful acoustics of the church made it a truly fantastic end to a long week.

Then on Tuesday night we were able hear the summer jazz night by Brighton Big Band. Again it was a fantastic evening displaying more talent, enthusiasm and a wonderful programme of modern and traditional jazz, this time conducted by Brighton & Hove Music Arts very own Peter Chivers.

Brighton Big Band

Lewis and Ash in Brighton Big Band

 

Continuing with the theme of Young People and their talent and ambition, earlier in the week Pinaki Ghoshal and I were at a meeting at BACA (Brighton Aldridge Community Academy), discussing the progress that the school is making and the fantastic offer that it provided both in educational terms and sporting opportunities. Looking out on their wonderful playing fields, it is a shame that this school is not yet fully occupied and I very much hope that over the coming years the numbers will grow to capacity so that the educational and sporting offer reach the maximum number of young people.

 

Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA)



Dorothy Stringer pupil Ciara Dunne and her dad Theo

On Wednesday, a Dorothy Stringer pupil Ciara Dunne had come to work with her dad, Theo as part of a “Take your children to work” initiative by the school. Theo works in the childcare workforce development team supporting early years services, and asked if Ciara could come and meet with me briefly. I hope she enjoyed her day and learnt a great deal more about the value of public service and the importance of living our values, every day. I certainly enjoyed meeting them and Theo’s manager Andrew Parfitt.

Then today, I met Issie Morgan, daughter of Nicky Cambridge, policy development officer, who is also at Dorothy Stringer who joined us for a meeting in my office.



Me with Martin Warren, Issie, Corinna Allen and Thurstan Crockett

Celebrating Rise’s work

 

With Gail Gray, Rise's chief executive

This week the charity Rise, whose strap line is “Freedom from domestic abuse”, celebrated 20 years of providing sanctuary and support in Sussex. Many of us were invited to join in a celebration at Donatellos early in the week and I was pleased to be part of those celebrations and to recognise the important work of Rise with women, children and families. I have come to know Gail Gray, the organisation’s chief executive quite well.  I am always impressed by her knowledge, commitment and calmness in the face of  the challenging work that the organisation does. They have recently won the GSK 2014 Impact Awards, and if you look at the video here you will see of something of why. The short piece of work that Rise has done with the health service and particularly the ambulance service to identify victims of domestic abuse is particularly interesting.

Preston Barracks regeneration scheme

Away from the music, Rise celebrations and many meetings, this has been a week of positive announcements for the city including the closure of the deal to sell and develop Preston Barracks, a site that has been ripe for development for a considerable time. I am delighted with the work that has been done with developers, university and by colleagues in the council who have worked tirelessly.  I look forward to this regeneration scheme joining a number of others to help to keep our city vibrant and developing.

 

Preston Barracks site

Our budget for next year and the Corporate Plan

Of course, all of this work is taking place while we focus on our funding gap next year and beyond.  We are developing a Corporate Plan to cover 2015-2019 and will be talking to staff, partners, residents, businesses and other stakeholders about their priorities for the council and the city within the context of the financial challenge we are facing.  The impact of the enormous gap of around £25million a year for the next four years cannot be underestimated.  A briefing sheet and information is being prepared and everyone should make sure that they understand the impact the funding reductions will have. 

Finally if you read this before Friday night, do consider going to hear the Brighton and Hove Actually Gay Mens Chorus who are singing in St Andrews Church on Waterloo Street on Friday and Saturday evenings. Returning from the big band on Tuesday night we had the unexpected delight of hearing the chorus rehearsing and as ever the sound was magnificent and enticed us in from the pavement. I will also be returning to look at St Andrews, which is a beautiful church, here is a picture to tantalise you.

St Andrews Church
 

Enjoy your weekend.

Penny