Weekly Record 57 (6
February)
04 Feb, 2011
PLEASED TO BE
HOME....
Was it really only
four weeks ago that I was waking up to sunshine, golden sands, the white
surf, rainbow lorikeets outside the apartment window, delicious fresh
seafood cooked on the barbeque and wine at its finest selected
personally from the Hunter Valley ? Once I had got over the
terrible jet lag, I found I slipped into the Australian way of doing
things very quickly. ?No worries? - something that you hear
being said all the time, is not a clich? it really does seem to be a
way of life. I had an amazing time, and it was true that
surfing became my new hobby. I am not sure that I completely
mastered the whole balancing technique on my board, and where to put my
lip balm and other important items that I carry around in case of
emergencies, became a bit of a worry for me, and may have distracted me
somewhat from the whole concept of catching the breaking waves and
mastering the different techniques: the Slice and Duck; the Eskimo roll
(I was best at this !) and the Shoot and Scoot ! But really
there is no place like home, at least for me, and it was nice to return
to all that is familiar. So a belated but none the less
sincere Happy New Year to all of you.
The week is routine
enough which means that there is plenty of time to catch up on things
that were put to one aside before Christmas. One of the
larger documents that arrived in the post before my departure was the
annual Risk Assessment. A much anticipated document !
Our current Risk Assessment is reviewed every twelve months by an
expert, and the report is then sent to me. I just popped it
in my ?Rainy Day Folder? but I don't think I can avoid it any longer.
I know that this is a fundamental requirement for us to have in place,
and to take seriously - which we do - but do we really have to assess
the step ladders each time we use them, and do we have to have a
management procedure in place to ensure that chemicals - bleach, washing
up liquid etc, etc - are assessed every time they are used.
It seems, my friends, that indeed we do ! All the hours that a
small dedicated group of staff have sat around the committee table
trying to work out the distinction between a hazard and a risk, and then
deciding on suitable measures to prevent, loss, damage or injury is not
my idea of fun. But looking at this latest tome it looks
like we have done more than satisfactory and we have exceptionally high
standards. It is keeping them up now. The
Cathedral is a safe place for staff, contactors, volunteers and visitors
to be !
A couple of special
items this week to note. The Archbishop will be with us on
Tuesday to celebrate the 5.15pm Sung Mass for the fifteenth anniversary
of the death of Archbishop Worlock - can it really be fifteen years ago
? On Saturday evening at 7.30pm the University of Liverpool
Chamber Choir are holding a concert in the Cathedral which I encourage
you to come along to. Curtis Perriman, one of the Gentlemen
of the Choir is the Director and it promises to be an interesting
programme of works. Whilst this is going on in the
Cathedral, there is a Fund Raising Dinner for
Madeleine
McCann being held in the Crypt.
It is almost four years since the little girl went missing from the
family's apartment in the Algarve region of Portugal and we continue to
remember the family in our prayers at the Cathedral.
Claire Hanlon
Assistant to the Dean |
