more on The Lecture

Would you believe it ? Walking to the lecture with my trusty staff and it starts to rain . Now you would expect amongst all of us ; employees of an umbrella body , that we would have had an umbrella between us ! But no . the Chief Executive went unshielded from the inclement weather . What would my friend , Robin Bogg make of that I wonder?

I was flattered to get such a great turn out for the Lecture . I hope the messages will go out far and wide .The role the sector can play as an economic force in healing society's wouns, in building recovery and preventing a rpeat is crucial . if you have not yet got a copy see the Blog below and run one off .

I saw Rosie Chapman there from the Charity Commission , and trust she will take back the message about the need for Governance reform and an enabling approach to payment of trustees when charities want this . David Freud , in his as yet unennobled state was there . A great person , and a great mind . Various of my Futurebuilder trustees , The Chair if The Big Lottery Fund ,and lots and lots of members who are the reason I am doing all this . Oh , and my sister Lucy . Lucy ( not to be confused with my other sister Sara who is on her 13th book on teacher induction ) is an accountant and works at Deloitte . She arrived at the last minute to avoid the embarrassment of big brother introducing her to everyone. It meant she missed the rather splendid lunch . Serves her right. But at least I was able to embarrassingly mention to Mary Riley how she should be a partner!1 Brothers eh !!

Good also to see Ian Charlesworth in his new incarnation at Futurebuilders. I notice that on Saturday the Guardian revealed that the Charity Commission have been making use of the so called " spying powers "in the recent surveillance Act . interesting . Not sure how appropriate that is but I'm sure we will be told . Still , I though , if they are using these to uncover what has been going on with the Shaw Trust who so shockingly removed Charlesworth then it may have been worth it . Incidentaly , when will we see the report on their investigation? As the recession bites the need for proper process for Chief Executives and their jobs becomes more important .

Richard Reeves was a superb Chair for The Lecture in the glorious surroundings of the Deloitte Lecture Hall .Richard has nice mix of humour and thuoght provoking ideas. Mary Riley , Senior Partner of Deloitte ,said this is no time for the amateur charity.How right. And Nick Hurd MP was a real star turn . He has an excellent speaking style. Engaging and thoughtful and with a real sense of passion for the cause .He has a strong commitment to sustainability and the role of our sector here is paramount. We are lucky in our sector to have Nick as the sector spokesperson . No doubt he will be in the Cabinet. Alongside Lord Freud .

Then its back to the Office for a warm thankyou to all the staff and a glass of bubbly for the brilliance of the workers who make it all possible . I offer to read them my lecture , but strangley this generous offer is not taken up.......