Below are the 11 most recent journal entries recorded in tenuki57's LiveJournal:

Monday, February 25th, 2008
12:15 am	I need my head examined On Friday 29 February, along with an unknown number of other people, I will be sleeping out in a car park in Clifton Catherdal to raise money for CCM and - we hope - generate a bit of publicity about homelessness. (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 9th, 2007
11:53 pm	Alan's Home We went to Pip's (Sue's sister's) 50th birthday party, and picked up Alan. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
9:13 pm	Off again Just about to go on holiday again - this time to Southern Spain. Hope to get some sunshine... (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 24th, 2007
2:52 pm	Measurement and Targets Actually, the previous entry was really updated yesterday - despite claiming to be posted in December. It was updated from a GogleDocs account, which seems quite impressive to me... (Comment on this)
Friday, December 1st, 2006
2:25 pm	Crisis Centre Ministries: Measurement and Targets Introduction We live in a world in which the measurement of performance and the achievement of targets matter a great deal. However, target setting and performance measurement are not part of our culture, and many aspects of what we are expected to do by the statutory authorities are either very difficult or impossible without totally changing our activities and culture. We encourage feedback from our clients and volunteers. There are feedback forms in the coffee shop and a letter box to post them into. There is a book for the volunteers to write their feedback, and other forms for more detailed records about specific meetings and events. Our trustees sometimes hold feedback events in the shop, when they talk with the clients and write down their responses. But all this work rarely produces anything more than a confirmation of what we already know from our face to face meetings with clients, and from the times we spend as staff and volunteers reflecting on what we do. Measurement is not important Measurement is not part of our culture. Where it matters, we can measure and record the results: for example, the food hygiene standards require us to record the temperature of the fridge at the start of each session, but all record keeping is an uphill struggle. We work primarily through volunteers, and volunteers work with us because they want to make a difference to people. They are not motivated to keep records or compile statistics. The handbooks say things like "You need to be clear whether you are making a difference to you target group", but when I spend time face to face with a homeless person, I know that I am making a difference. I don't need statistics on his racial origins or current mix of illegal drugs to tell me. I am making a difference to an individual, not to a member of a group. We can't measure the important achievements One basic problem is that the most important aspects of what we are seeking to do cannot be measured. How much love is shown? How far do people feel accepted? Yes, you can do surveys and questionnaires, you can ask people to rate our effectiveness on a scale of 1-10. But none of this really means anything. You can't trust the answers our clients give to surveys and questionnaires, and what they are comparing against will be changing on a weekly basis - if not a daily one. Whatever we do, the clients appreciate it and say it is good, so the feedback does not measure our performance in any significant way. We can't measure what we achieve We work alongside many other organisations. You cannot tell how much of any measured effect is due to us and how much due to other people: it is a team effort. We can't measure everything that is achieved We know something of what is achieved: someone is fed, someone can sleep in a B&B overnight, someone is found a place in a rehab scheme, and so on. But how do you decide the scope of what is achieved? We feed someone. That is the immediate achievement. But because they are here being fed, they are not on the streets, possibly begging, possibly committing crime, possibly harming someone else, possibly making lots of paperwork for the police and insurance companies. Because they have nutritious food inside, they are healthier, so less likely to need to access the hospital and other medical services. Because they are talking with other people who have been helped, they are more likely to get help with their drink and drugs - if not tomorrow, then maybe next week or next month. Every action has consequences, and the consequences of the consequences continue indefinitely. The people we help have friends, families, children, who lives are all changed by what we do. But how do you define the scope of what we achieve? The children of the married couple who met because they were getting help through us - where do they fit into the language of measurement and achievement? We can't measure what does not happen A great deal of our work lies in preventing bad things from happening, but you cannot ever measure something that does not happen. Of course, you can guess, estimate, compare with other cases, and so on. But you don't actually know what would have happened, and even if you can make a reasonable guess, the knock-on effects inevitably become less certain. We don't know who we are helping We help people without knowing who they are. Our clients often have a vested interest in remaining anonymous. They may be wanted by the Police. They may owe the Council for unpaid Council Tax; they may owe several different former landlords for unpaid rent and for the damage caused when they smashed up or set fire to their flat; they may owe their street mates for items that were lent and lost/sold; they may owe their dealer. They may have grassed up someone who wants revenge. They may be hiding from someone who believes they were grassed up: whether or not it is true is quite irrelevant. They may be avoiding the Child Support Agency. They may be hiding from former wives, partners, boy/girlfriends, or children. Our clients lie. Sometimes they just can't remember the right answer; sometimes they have a reason to give an inaccurate answer; sometimes they are suspicious that the right answer will be used against them in some way; and sometimes they lie out of habit or because there is no obvious reason to tell the truth. We do not set targets for our clients We do not decide up front what we intend to achieve with and for any individual. We work with people on their priorities - and these can change from week to week. We do not impose a timescale on people: changes take as long as they take. Trying to make them happen faster to achieve an external timetable does not help. This is not to say that we do not care if change takes place, or if it is slow - we want our clients to change, and to change as fast as possible. But we don't pretend to know what is possible for them. We do not, in general, set targets and goals for our clients: we seek to understand their goals and help them achieve them. Where we do set goals, they are a way of helping the client to understand what we are doing together and to focus on some key areas. Achieving the goals never becomes a goal in itself: the question is always, what is in the best interests of the client? While it is sometimes helpful to have goals to aim for, our emphasis is on the journey and how people develop and change step by step, not on whether goals were achieved or not. A goal may motivate a client to undertake some helpful activity. If the goal is not achieved, the activity was still helpful, and we want to celebrate that rather than focus on the failed goal. Our clients constantly feel they have failed, and any setting of goals must be carefully managed if it is to be a positive experience for them. What matters is the person, not the target; the process, not the achievement; the relationship, not the performance. We believe that if we treat people the right way, the right effects will happen in time. We don't set targets for ourselves Organisations measure their performance by means of targets. But targets may not be appropriate, or they may be insufficient. They may even be counter-productive. A target may be inappropriate. Normally, it is good for our clients to be on the Bristol Housing Register. But some people will never get accommodation that way, so for them there is no point. Getting them on the Register because it is one of our targets is a waste of time for them and for us. A target may be insufficient. For our clients, almost every target is. The fact that you have achieved it may count for nothing, or next to nothing, to one person, while it is deeply important to another. A target may be counter-productive. It may never be helpful for an individual, or it may just not be the right time. Counselling is often helpful for our clients, but sometimes it raises memories and stimulates feelings that cannot be controlled or managed at the moment. To provide feedback on this document, please visit our web site: http:www.crisis-centre.org.uk (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 30th, 2006
1:16 am	A Reminder... ... we are writing up most of what happens on the main web site, so do visit and let us know what you think: www.hazelden.org.uk. Enjoy! (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 9th, 2006
1:10 am	The letter from the hospital arrived on Monday, describing my latest consultation at the endocrinology department. It is mostly interesting for what it leaves out. (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 5th, 2006
11:02 pm	The Year So Far For those who do not follow the links, here is the current version of the family news... January 2006 Monday 2: The family goes to see "Aladdin" by Philip Pullman. Tuesday 3: Back to work for Paul and Sue. After work, Sue drives Alan back to Warwick and stays the night before driving home. Thursday 12: Sue went back to Frenchay for a brain scan, to see what they left behind after the surgery last year. We should get the results in a couple of weeks - in theory. Anyone want to offer odds? Sunday 15: An odd experience. After speaking at Holy Trinity, Bradley Stoke, a chap comes up and asks if I remember him. It is Chris Budd, who was studying Maths at the University of Surrey the same year as me. He is 'still looking' and recently started going along to a post-Alpha group at the church. I'm invited to come along to the group. Friday 20 - Sunday 22: The Hightgrove Men's Weekend Away, at the Woodcroft Christian Centre, Chepstow. All in all, a good time, even if we did spend much of a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon walking through an unlit railway tunnel. And even if the 5-a-side produced more bruises in an hour than I have accumulated in the previous 5 years. We so rarely get the chance to spend time together. This is sad, but also a worrying comment on our priorities. February 2006 Sunday 5: Sue and I both made it to Highgrove this morning. Nothing planned for the afternoon, so we went for a short walk along the Avon, and then drove to the Orpheus to see Memoirs of a Geisha. Very disturbing, in several ways. Parents selling their children; children brought up to be high class prostitutes; selling a girl's virginity to the highest bidder; women whose entire existence is devoted to giving pleasure to rich men; and one sub-plot is about nothing more than hidden paedophilia. Most of the plot is about envy, spite and desperation. It's one of those films I'm glad I have seen, and it is probably a very accurate presentation of some aspects of Japanese culture when it was set, but not a film to enjoy. Monday 6: The St Pauls Crime and Disorder Forum was cancelled, so I had a spare evening. Sue and I went straight from work to the Orpheus to see Mrs Henderson Presents. Some beautiful and moving performances, and the scene with Judy Dench and Bob Hoskins dancing on the roof of the theatre was superb. I commented to Sue afterwards that there was more feeling in that one scene than in the whole of the Geisha film yesterday. Wednesday 15: Sue and I are booked to spend two nights at a hotel in Worcester - a special deal she found through her MoneySaving friends. On the way, we dropped Ian off with his friend Tyrone, went back home to pick up my phone which I had forgotten, then got the car washed, and back homne for Sue's handbag which she had forgotten, then off for real and up to Worcester, stopping for a break at a supermarket in Tewkesbury on the way. I suggested that we have the cheap meal - beef stew and dumplings - to keep her credibility with Sue's MoneySaving friends. She replied that it was too early to eat, and anyway, she intended to enjoy her food while we were away. I could have the stew and dumplings if I liked. We made do with a coffee and biscuit. After reaching the hotel (following a significant detour to find petrol), I went for a sauna while Sue unpacked, then we had a delicious meal in the restaurant, and watched most of 'Intolerable Cruelty' - Sue had seen it before, and filled in what we had missed. Tremendously enjoyable light entertainment. Thinking about it afterwards, the song 'April' at a wedding was wonderfully appropriate. Thursday 16: Off to Oxford, to spend the day there with my parents and brother. We were nearly half an hour late, whch would have been embarasing if not for the fact that my parents were still in London! They eventually arrived after a dreadful journey, and we spent most of the afternoon in the Ashmolean. Have to go back. They confirmed that my father has Carpel Tunnel Syndrome in both his wrists. They will need to operate, but will do the wrists one at a time - I assume, so that he has the use of one hand while the other is recvovering. Friday 17: Back home via Tewkesbury. We decided to park in the long term car park (it's free, but a longer walk from the centre), and wondered what was the large building we were parked behind. Wandered along a footpath, and came out on a supermarket - lo and behold, the one we had stopped at on the way up. It seems we were fated, so we went in and I had the beef stew and dumplings after all. Not brilliant, but not at all bad for the price. After that, we wantered around Tewkesbury until it was time to go home. We only popped in to the Abbey for a few minutes, but they were about to have a funeral and had to leave. Delightful sculpture in the Abbey grounds, children sitting down ina circle with the soles of their shoes touching. The Old Baptist Church, a walk along the river, a bookshop, some more coffee, and it was time to go. A beautiful place, and lots more to see. The boys had not missed us, and Steve was not too traumatised by the experience. So, all in all, a success. Saturday 18: Sue had a letter this morning from the hospital, with an appointment to talk about the results of her brain scan: Wednesday 26 April. Sunday 19: Preaching at St Lukes, Brislington this morning. Terribly exciting, as they were using a new order of service and celebrating communion from a table in front of the pulpit for the first time. I was to do the Gospel Reading, which involved processing down to the middle of the Transcept (I think!), with someone holding the book while I read from it. Which was fine, except that the book didn't include the phrase I had to say at the end of the reading! We just stood there. I whispered "I know I need to say something else, but don't know what it is!" and eventually someone passed me an order of service, and I said the right words for the response, and we processed back. After the trauma of the reading, the sermon was a piece of cake. Coffee afterwards in the Church Hall, and met several interesting and wonderful people. I forgot to mention the meal tickets during the service (again), but someone reminded me and bought a book anyway. Tuesday 21: Sue was off to London today, to learn about databases. Lucky her! I had my next appointment at Endocrinology, the main details of which are on the Paul's Health page. In the evening, we had a Community Project Open Meeting at Highgrove. It was supposed to be about the PRC Council House development in Sea Mills and an update on the local ASBO situation, but for a technical reason we couldn't do the latter part. However, the first part took all evening anyway - maybe 75 people there, lots of good questions, and a high level of interest in keeping local people involved in the process. Saturday 25: I set up a blog (http://tenuki57.livejournal.com/) so I can post replies to Alan's blog as something other than 'Anonymous'. Sunday 26: Rob Parsons at Highgrove this morning - an excellent talk, as always. I am so impressed by that guy. After lunch, Sue and I take Ian off to his first cricket practice at Henbury Leisure Centre. We waited - the session was from 3 to 4:30 pm, so hardly time to go home and do something before coming back. I thought of swimming, but then realised I had swimming trunks in the car, but no towel. He enjoyed the session, so it looks like this will be our regular Sunday afternoon activity for a while. After nets, Ian persuaded me to play cricket with him by the Trym. It was freezing. I was dressed in two coats, but he claimed to be comfortable in a tee-shirt. How does he do it? Just noticed that the page counter has just overtaken the original page counter (recording the home page only): 46640, as opposed to 46548. Don't know why, but it feels like a significant event... March 2006 Wednesday 1: The BT Engineer in all day today, upgrading the CCM phone system at last. A few hiccups, but by the end of the day we have some new phones, one fewer line into the building, and for the first time since I've been there, it all works. The bad news is that he ran late and has to come back tomorrow to show us how to use all the facilities. So I have to come in to the office instead of working on the MTh. Thursday 2: Phone home tonight, and Mum said that Dad has just received his appointment for the first operation to fix a wrist (not sure which one they will do) - 7 August. He wishes it was sooner, but is glad to have a date. Roger has applied for a few more jobs online, but no more interviews this week. Another fascinating conversation with Ian, this time touching on what Muslims and Mormons believe, and on the timing of the end of the world. Saturday 4: Made it to the Prayer Breakfast at St Edyths (first Saturday in the month) for the first time in ages. Back home, then working on some documents for the CCM trustees' meeting on Monday. After lunch, played cricket with Ian over the road for 45 minutes. Not to be too modest, I thrashed him: 7 the first innings and 5 the second (it was really 7, but he wouldn't accept two runs were valid), while Ian could only manage 2 in the first innings and 9 in the second. After accepting defeat, he continued to bat, and made a duck, then a few more runs on his third and fourth innings. He took it very well. In the evening, Sue and I went to Westbury Park Methodist Church for a 'Big Sing Thing'. It was a superb evening with Paul Heppleston, an Associate Member of the Iona Community, leading us in a variety of songs. Most of them were new to us, and for most of them we sang harmony in various combinations. On top of which, there was a gentle journey of spiritual reflection guided and illustrated by the songs. I shared a little about CCM and our work at the start of the second half, and they took up a collection for us. Wonderful people! Sadly, Sue had one of her repeated headaches, and had to leave at the break. (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006
11:54 pm	Another few entries... (Comment on this)
Monday, February 27th, 2006
12:43 am	Just added the latest entry on our family news page, and updated some of the earlier entries for the last few weeks. (Comment on this)
Saturday, February 25th, 2006
1:57 am	First entry It's rather late, so I'm just going to say that most of the family news will continue to be posed on our web site: www.hazelden.org.uk. (Comment on this)