Eastern Peak Moors Consultation 3rd Meeting (2)

The third meeting of this series was billed as being about recreation. I had expected the first two to be more or less identical as they were in different venues, but it was a surprise to find that this was another repeat of the same presentation. Now they may have argued that the attendance list was largely made up of people not at the first two so they would have to go over some of the same ground. But I would still have expected to see some emphasis on recreation. Odd. And by now the placing of comments on velcro-backed leaves alongside branches with questions is now feeling tedious, although I understand that some people were new to this particular exercise. Interesting that valuable 30 year old primary school techniques eventually find their way into adult situations, though some of the people may have been doing this sort of thing since they were eight.

My idea of a grown up consultation would involve an opportunity to engage in serious dialogue, possibly initially in groups smaller than the larger numbers there on Tuesday; and to start with a blank sheet allowing participants to be free spirits and allowing those who have good ideas to put them across. This is not something that endears itself to any manager who by definition wants to direct affairs towards his own chosen endpoint.