Are the Barnet Tories a bunch of misogynists?

In a blog yesterday, Mrs Angry makes the accusation that the Barnet Tories are a bunch of misogynists. It is quite clear that they have a few people who are misogynists, but is Mrs Angry being fair? Lets look at the evidence. She has also regularly made the point that the few Tory councillors who are female are knocking on a bit.

It is clear that the Tories would benefit from a bit of new blood, but this is true of all three parties. To be fair to Richard Cornelius, he has only really had one opportunity under his leadership to select a candidate in a winnable ward and he selected a young muslim woman, who got soundly trounced. Perhaps even more alarming was the clear evidence of  a backlash against the selection from a large core of traditional Tory voters.

Another interesting point to consider is the fact that if the previous Leader, Lynne Hillan hadn't died of cancer, then Barnet Council would actually have a female leader still. I wondered how Ms Hillan would have reacted to Brian Coleman's hag jibe?

If we look at the key roles in Barnet there are 3 Tory MP's. One of these is a female -Theresa Villiers. Of the other two, Mike Freer is gay and in a civil partnership, so we can hardly tar Mike Freer with the "old school" label. In fact for all the criticism I have levelled at Mike Freer, the one thing I would never accuse him of is being insensetive to inclusivity.

The other post is the MEP, who is Marina Yannakoudis. She is a rather bright and bubbly personality and I don't think anyone would describe her as a misogynist.

The other post of note in Barnet is the Mayoralty. Last year it was Councillor Lisa Rutter, who is anything but a dull old fellow. This year the deputy Mayor is Councillor Kate Salinger. This position was clearly awarded by Richard Cornelius in an attempt to make amends for her appalling treatment over the expenses hike. It has been alleged that her treatment then was perhaps the premier example of misogynist Barnet, but given that Lynne Hillan was leader and in charge of the monstering, this seems a bit of a tenuous call.

In actual fact, I don't agree with Mrs Angry's analysis. I think the problem is a completely different one. I think that the Barnet Tories have lost the ability to attract talent. If you were a bright, young ambitious Tory, would you want to nail your banner to the Barnet Council mast? Not a week goes by without a scandal. At a recent GLA visit to North Finchley, I was talking to one of their press officers. I mentioned this blog and he said "Oh yes, I used to read it all the time". I was quite flattered. He then explained that this was because Brian Coleman was always featured. He gave me the distinct impression that his job was far easier now with Mr Dismore in the job.

Strangely enough, it wasn't awlays like this. The Barnet Tories used to be a hothouse for young talent. The Battersea MP, Jane Ellison was one example of a career launched in Barnet. Another example was Caroline Clapper, who defected to Hertsmere Council.

It is quite clear to me that the local Tory party are in deep doo doo. There is a distinct lack of activists who are coming through the ranks. As a result, they are getting a very low caliber of candidate. Even more worrying is the fact that the most talented councillors, such as Mark Shooter are pushed to the fringes, whilst intellectual lightweights such as Dan Thomas and Tom Davey rule the roost.

As to the current cabinet, there are also female members. Helena Hart is probably the most capable member of the cabinet. Sadly the other, Joanna Tambourides is completely hopeless and every time she speaks, shows just how out of her  depth she is.


So in total we have

MP's - 3 in total - 1 female (33%)
MEP's  -  1 -1 female (100%)
Council Cabinet 9 - 2 female (Less than 25%)
Tory Councillors - 37 - 9 female (less than 25%)
Mayor & Deputy 2 - 1 female (50%)

In my opinion, the root cause of this terrible underrepresentation is down to the fact that the proposition of being a Barnet Tory is not appealing. What sane and intelligent woman would want to have to set next to Brian Coleman as he foams at the mouth and calls people hags? What sane young woman would want to be the only one in the club under 50? I think that anyone wanting to make a name in politics (such as Jane Ellison did in the 1980's & 90's) would give Barnet a very wide berth.

And I think that it is time that the Leader, Richard Cornelius woke up to the fact that whilst he probably is horrified to be called misogynist by Mrs Angry, when he tolerates Brian Colemans behaviour and presides over a party with such massive under represenation of women, who make up 50% of the electorate, he really only has himself to blame for the charge.

Fixtures announced - Barnet vs Nick Walkley

Yesterday was the day all football fans have been waiting for. No not Spain vs Croatia, the league fixture list. For us lucky residents in Barnet, there is a far more important fixture being played. This particular game has been going on for a couple of years and shows no signs of ending. It is not 11 vs 11 but appears to be 1 vs 320,000. Worst of all the 1 person seems to be winning. I talk about none other than Nick "The ego has landed" Walkley.

I bumped into a friend who works for Barnet Council last night, at the local M&S. They told me a truly bizarre story, which I wouldn't have believed if it wasn't for the fact that the said person is a very responsible and sensibile individual, who's job requires a degree of discretion and trustworthyness. "I read your blog about the APSE seminar and the people who were attending it. Did you know that there are rumours that Richard Cornelius sent Sachin Rajput along, because Nick Walkley had banned him from attending". I asked the obvious question "Who told you this?" I got the obvious reply "Nick thinks that Corny sent Rajput along to see what it was all about, he is really pissed off". I said "hang on a second, I thought Richard Cornelius was Walkleys boss. He should be able to do what he likes". The reply was rather disturbing "You really don't understand Barnet then, do you". So I asked "Did you witness all of this?". The answer came back "The penny has finally dropped in Barnet. Many people who thought One Barnet wouldn't affect them have suddenly twigged that they could be out on their ear in a few months. What has happened in legal has shaken everyones trust in the executives" (Barnet legal has been flogged off to Labour Harrow Council and many staff have found that they have been effectively demoted. Others are now faced with an extra hours journey each way to work). 

Now I've no way of knowing whether this analysis is true, but lets consider the facts. Had Walkley been enthusiastic about the APSE seminar, he would have encouraged Cornelius and the rest of his team to attend. They could have then had a proper discussion about the relative merits of the proposals. Had no senior Tories attended, then it would have been quite clear that they had boycotted the seminar on a party line. The fact that Sachin Rajput, a senior cabinet member attended, can only indicate that the political administration was, if nothing else, curious to find out what was being proposed. The idea that Rajput went along without Cornelius blessing is, quite frankly, ridiculous. The choice of Rajput to attend is also rather interesting. Unlike some of his colleagues, Rajput is not particularly ideologically motivated. He has a far greater appreciation of detail than many of his colleagues and would listen and process the information properly. Richard Cornelius knows that Rajput is far more likely than his cabinet colleagues to give him an honest opinion of whether there was some merit in what APSE were proposing. The other attendee of the seminar from the Conservative side was Councillor Lisa Rutter. As the outgoing Mayor, she is also one of the most sensible and likeable Conservative councillors. If I was Cornelius and I had to send along a couple of people to check it out, I'd pick these two. They are both discreet and open minded about the issues facing Barnet. I could quite imagine Richard Cornelius adjourning to a quiet corner of a local hostelry with them to ask their opinion and to get it. 

It is 100% clear to everyone who knows the history and the politics of Barnet, that the One Barnet program is officer lead. Nick Walkley sees it as the way to make his name as a CEO and to make his CV bomb proof. There is widespread hostility to the program in the Barnet Council workforce and the wider community. Even Conservative Councillors are deeply worried about many aspects of it. The more in touch ones realise that it is likley to cost them the adminstration in 2014, as the One Barnet program gives the opposition a cause to rally around. The early examples of the program have been a disaster. So far it has been a complete disaster. Four years into the program, millions have been spent and no savings at all delivered. The political whirlwind has started with the outsourcing of the parking contract to NSL. The Barnet Eye is hoping to publish details of a very interesting story in relation to this later this week. What is clear is that wardens are behaving ever more aggressively as targets have to be met. 

The bottom line with all of this is that the Leader of the Council, Richard Cornelius is the democratically elected figurehead of Barnet Council. The 320,000 people of Barnet put him in the job and gave him his £37,000 allowance for one reason. This is to make sure the executive of Barnet Council act in the interests of the people of Barnet. There are no circumstances where the Executive should ever be in a position to "tell the Leader what to do". If there is any truth whatsoever in the story I was told, then in effect we've had a coup d'etat in Barnet and the 320,000 people of Barnet are being failed. 

For the avoidance of doubt, lets just remind ourselves what the APSE seminar was all about. They promote excellence in public services and were outlining ways to cut costs and save the taxpayer money. I cannot understand why the Leadership of the Council and the Executive weren't falling over themselves to at least hear the ideas being suggested. As it stands, the best we can hope for is that when Councillors Rutter and Rajput had their little chat with the Council Leader, they gave him an honest and frank assessment of what they heard. 

The time has come for the Leadership of Barnet Council to do what it says on the tin. They should show leadership and start acting in the interests of the people of Barnet. It is their job to make sure that the CEO, Mr Nick Walkley acts in the best interests of the people of Barnet, not in the best interest of his CV. 

Barnet FC kick this season off with a trip to Port Vale. I hope Barnet Council kick the season off with a journey back to sanity. 

 

Barnets newest Library and newest Music studio

Yesterday was a proud day for me. I opened a new studio complex in Mill Hill. This is the culmination of 33 years of hard work. It is a vicious irony that it opened three days after the death of one of the guys who helped me get it off the ground and supported me in musical career over the last 33 years. Still, wherever Paul is now, I'm sure he's tinged with pride. It may (or may not) surprise readers of the Barnet Eye that I am a successful businessman. I hope that it comes as no surprise that I believe that companies have a strong social responsibility to their staff, their community and especially the young people in our community who have less opportunity than the rest of us.

Stuart, Adam and Darren posing

Let me tell you a few things about my staff. I employ nine people, mostly part time. Two of my staff joined the company after long periods of unemployment due to severe industrial injuries. Both were unable to work in their former professions. Another member of my staff , who has worked for me for 12 years, originally started on "work experience" from the former Edgware School (now London Academy).  He was unhappy at school and at 14 was severely struggling. The school sent him to us as a last resort. He has become a massive asset. He is a talented musician and went to night school, gaining the qualifications he missed out on at school. He is now a qualified professional and works for us evenings and weekends. Another of my staff is a student at University, who works evenings and weekends, so that he doesn't have to rely on debts and loans.

I suspect that some employers would not have even bothered looking at these talented people.  They would have missed out on fantastic assets to their company. All of these guys along with the rest of the staff have, made a vital contribution to my business and on such a proud day I pay tribute to them.

We also support other businesses and people who are doing great things in the community. I am proud that the first session in the new complex was run by SoundSkool. This organisation provides music training for young people, free of charge. They are offering a ten week course in DJ'ing, MC'ing, Rapping, Music Technology, Singing and band skills. SoundSkool is the brainchild of inspirational Simon Gordon, who has spent years building his organisation. These courses have generously been funded by http://www.ltdltd.com/ - who have sponsored the scheme. I must also pay tribute to the Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Lisa Rutter who has been a staunch supporter of Simon Gordon and Soundskool.

Sound Skool tutors meet the kids

Yesterday saw the first day of the new Soundskool term. The young people were inducted and met the tutors. Although my contribution to the scheme is merely to rent Simon a studio or two and give him a bit of a discount, I am so proud to be associated with the project.

The picture to the left shows Simon meeting the 30 or so young people who enrolled for the scheme. His team of tutors are pictured with him. I'm so pleased that these guys were the first people into the new studios.

The new shop

You can find out more about my studios at http://www.millhillmusiccomplex.co.uk/ I don't use this blog to flog my business usually, but I'm sure you can understand how proud I am of what we've achieved. As well as music rehearsal and recording, we sell musical instruments. We will also be opening a video and multimedia suite at the complex in MAy, with Greenscreen and a hard infinity wall.  We have had masses of interest, following our wraparound on the press newspapers.

The extensive selection of books

And so on to the other grand opening in the London Borough of Barnet.

Yesterday also saw the opening of Barnets newest library at the Arts Depot at Tally Ho Corner, Finchley. It was quipped that this was the second of my two openings in a day in the Borough. Somone  suggested that this was the response of Barnet Council to the opening of the peoples Library at Friern Barnet, initiated by this blog.

The childrens reading area

I am always pleased to see the opening of a new library and this one is no exception. It has been criticised for "having less books than the peoples library". To me this misses the point. I like libraries of all shapes and sizes. I'd like to see a small library like this in every town centre, working with the larger 'landmark' libraries.  As this library was my illegitimate child, I had to be present at it's birth. Sadly, rather like many illegitimate babies in the Victorian Era, it's birth was greeted with a degree of embarrassment. There was no grand fanfare, no proud Robert Rams beaming saying what a fine achievement it was. I turned up expecting sandwiches and champagne at 2pm. Sadly, I was alone. No press, no crowds, just me a librarian borrowed from Church End library and a Barnet Council manager.

The noticeboard

To mark the event I asked if I could take a few pictures. "No, you have to arrange this in advance, anyway who are you and why do you want to take pictures" was the stern answer. I responded "I'm Roger Tichborne from the Barnet Eye. I thought you'd want to publicise the opening and I formally request that you let me take a few pictures in five minutes time, is that possible". Mrs Manager from Barnet was suddenly a bit more helpful (must be my twinkly blue eyes and naughty grin). She said "I'll see what can be done" Off she trotted. This allowed me to have my wicked way with the rather nice librarian (no not like that, you have a filthy mind).

Without the boss around (smart move that), I was able to have a friendly chat. She told me that the librarians from Church End library will be working a rota to cover the arts depot. It also transpired that the librarians at the Arts Depot don't have access to the Boroughs Library cataloging system. And where are the crowds? At this Mrs Manager returned. She suddenly realised her schoolboy error in leaving me alone with her librarian. She said 'you can take pictures of the library, but not any of the people here'. I said "There aren't any apart from you. Can I take your picture?" She said "No". I said "surely you should be proud to be opening a new library?" She retorted "no pictures"

The only signage for the opening

I then pointed out that there was no proper signage and there had been no proper signage. She retorted "We didn't have much time to plan the opening". I said "How long?" She replied "I can't say?". I said "Were you planning it before you shut Friern Library?". This is the money question. She knew it. "No, we were not allowed to". At this I smiled, yup, no DNA test needed, this Library is my baby. Conceived by this blog in a drunken throw of passion on the night of the closure of Friern Library. It's not Robert Rams baby, although he may like to think he's the Dad. I snuck in and had my wicked way with her Mum, Friern Library, whilst he was out with his mate Brian Coleman putting up parking charges.

Barnet Council may not want you to know about it, there were no signs up to announce the launch. They may not want to have an opening party. But this library, like her Mum down at Friern, are community assets. Me and her mum  (Mrs Friern Barnet library) love our baby. And the people of Friern Barnet love her mum, so the next job is to get that library reopened. Tally Ho Library is like a tiny little baby, it needs loving and nurturing, to find her place in society. Her mum is a fiesty, wicked woman who refuses to die.

And I give you this guarantee. I will fight to the end for all my girls !!!!!!!

Is Barnet Council run by lobotomised zombies? The Barnet Cash lottery

Picture courtesy of scoutnetworkblog.com

"Times are hard", "We are all in it together", "They believe money grows on trees", "Labour are very good at spending other peoples money". These are all phrases that I've heard local Conservative Councillors use in relation to myself, other bloggers and the opposition. What they keep very quiet about is just how completely useless and profligate they are with your cash, if you are lucky. The Barnet Tory Councillors sometimes remind me of an army of lobotomised zombies, who are very good at responding to basic commands (such as "put your hand up now to vote for this idiotic policy") but who are seemingly incapable of actually thinking about anything they do or what effects it has on Barnet. They seem to have no problem at all holding diametrically opposed views on issues at the same time. For example overdevelopment in Cat Hill (LB Enfield) is bad. Over development in Brent Cross is good. Some may call this being two faced (as the councillors who oppose this are representing people near Cat Hill).

Let me explain what their basic mantra is. This is that if they keep council tax down, then they will get re-elected and keep their generous allowances and perks. If you are from a Conservative persuasion, you will probably say "quite right too". Then all of a sudden, you find that the methods they use, hit you in the pocket. Let me give  a couple of examples. CPZ charges have been hiked massively. Now the likes of Brian Coleman, who are responsible, don't have much CPZ in their constituency. It won't affect them, but plenty of other Tories do. These lobotomised zombies aren't prepared to even think about the effect on hard pressed families, many of whom are Tory voters. by squeezing the 10% here, they can save a wider tax rise for the rest. If you are a Tory voter in a CPZ, affected by the changes, you are the sacraficial lamb, your cash paying a subsidy for a few even more wealthy residents council tax, who don't live in CPZ's. Then there is the pay by phone parking changes. Brian Coleman beleived this would save money. Sod the OAP's and other people who can't for whatever reason use it. The guys who work for me used to drive to Mill Hill Broadway to buy lunch. A 15 minute parking charge was 30p. Now it's a pound. Thats £250 a year just to buy a sandwich. They have voted with their feet and now buy their sandwich at the garage on the A41. All the small sandwich shops lose out. The rumour on the street is that Barnet parking revenues are down by 7%. If you drive down Bunns Lane during a working day, you can tell where the parking zone ends. Cars are parked in sidestreets where they used to be parked in the statiomn car park. It seems that Colemanballs didn't realise that people would vote with their pockets.

But just as there are losers, there are winners. After the last Council Cabinet resourses meeting, I had a beer with Mr Mustard, another blogger. I asked him what he thought Barnet would try and sneak through on a DPR as the council shut for Xmas. We speculated, but we were wildly wrong. Mr Mustard, ever eagle eyed, spotted this - http://lbbspending.blogspot.com/2011/12/1000-well-spent-or-waste.html - Barnet Council are giving Brian Colemans favourite vicars son £1,000 to write a song for the queens jubilee. This is an outrage. Unlike my fellow bloggers, I think that money spent on the arts such as this is money well spent. Where I have an issue is the method they've chosen to allocate it. Surely they should have said "We'll have a competition locally to write a song for the jubilee and the winners will get £1,000 towards equipment for their school or college". That way everyone would have become engaged and young people would have been inspired to be creative. Such tunes are invariably unlistenable dirges, so at least give everyone a bit of fun.

Then there are the "special" companies, who operate without contracts and seemingly get all manner of highly lucrative work, much of which is unneccessary and overpriced. We've seen two examples (both exposed by bloggers). These are Metpro Security and RM Countrysides. Between these two companies, Barnet Council has spent £4 million pounds. Neither has a contract. When Metpro's contract was cancelled, it was revealed that many of the services they were providing were deemed unnecessary. Kerching, your money down the bog. I emailed all of the Barnet councillors about Metpro before XMAS. I asked for them to call an emergency council meeting to debate the latest revealations. I got 16 read receipts and not a single reply from the Conservative group. One councillor - Maureen Braun, deleted the email without reading it. One may ask what value Councillor Braun adds, if she can't even be bothered to read an email marked urgent, concerning a scandal that has cost the council £1.4 million?

I don't expect Barnet Councillors, especially Conservative ones, to agree with me about everything. I don't expect them all to reply when I send an email marked urgent, detailing a scandal that bloggers were praised by the Tory local government minister for their role in exposing. I am however amazed that not a single one got in touch to either say "Yes this is terrible we'll do something" or "No, you've got it all wrong, it's all in hand".

This leaves us with the impression that they are useless. What I can't comprehend is why, when Barnet Council must realised that the Barnet bloggers are in control of the local agenda, that they don't engage and try and build trust. I can almost see the likes of Brian Coleman sneering as they read this "in control of the agenda, ha ha ha". Any Conservative Councillor who reads the local papers, will have seen 52 weeks of negative stories this year. These have all started in the blogs of Barnet. Private Eye has yet again pilloried Barnet in its end of year awards. Local businesses and residents are reading the blogs in ever greater numbers. My blog readership has doubled this year, with well over 250,000 hits. That is more than the population of Barnet. October was the peak month this year and February was the quietest (as it has 3 less days, this is not surprising).

I don't really ask much of our controlling group of Tory councillors. If they simply did their job, for which they are paid a decent allowance, and made sure Barnet Council was properly run, that would be enough. The Barnet bloggers read the DPR's and reports. If we can why can't  they? We spotted the Metpro and RM Countrysides scandals, yet we don't get big fat allowances. We read the reports that are supposed to be discussed in committees. We turn up to meetings and they are ignored. It is clear from the few questions that ever get asked that the majority of committee members don't even bother to read them. I have come to the conclusion that many Barnet Councillors just treat the issue of being a councillor like winning a lottery. A bit of extra cash and the odd night out with their friends.

I sent a questionaire to all Barnet Councillors, asking what contribution they had made. I said for every returned copy I'd donate £5 to the mayors appeal. Two Conservative Councillors replied - Brian Salinger and Sury Khatri. All the Lib Dems did and two Labour members, Barry Rawlings and leader Alison Moore. I will be sending Councillor Rutter, the Mayor a cheque for £35. To be honest, I am rather disappointed at this response. I have to ask whether they didn't respond out of embarrassment at their lack of contribution? And I thank and commend those councillors who took the time to respond.

Barnet Council : Live in action at Hendon Town Hall 12/4/2011

Here is some video footage of Barnet Council in action last night at Hendon Town Hall.


As ever the stupidity of Barnet Council Council is unbelievable. They voted against a debate on MetPro, passed a motion in favour of Col Gaddafy's property rights, voted against allowing a debate on Pinkham Way Incenerator to be held first (inconveniencing the vast majority of people in the public gallery who'd come especially for this), and supplied a whole chain of non answers to members questions. As ever we had the pantomime of the Mayor telling us to stop filming and us ignoring it because he can't legally stop us. We also had the new private security force in action. Rather than paramilitary uniforms, they had nice suits and smiles. Maybe it means nothing, but it certainly gave the impression of democracy.

I suppose that if I have to single out a Tory Councillor for being an arse, Councillor Brian Gordon must win the honour for his insulting comments about the residents protesting outside about Pinkham Way. Sadly I missed this question on my video. Also missing was the Leader of the Council, Lynne Hillan. I hope she is on holiday again and it is not something more serious

A special mention to Mayor Anthony Finn, who finished his term. He didn't do a bad job and had the sense to slap down Brian Gordon, which was most appreciated by the public. I suspect that in another Council, with different colleagues, he's probably make a great councillor. The incoming Mayor, Councillor Lisa Rutter sat next to him. I suspect she probably was thinking that next time it'll be her job to keep order and keep things moving. I wish her all the luck in the world, as she'll need it.

Sorry for the shaky, blurry pictures. When they finally get rid of this ridiculous charade and broadcast and archive meetings, we'll all be happier. Oh and I'm now the proud owner of the Coffin for Barnet Council Services. More on that later.

Deputy Mayor of Barnet Visits Sound Skool Project in Mill Hill

The Sound Skool project in Mill Hill has been helping young people develop their musical talents. Deputy Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Lisa Rutter, visited the project to see what was going on and meet some of the young people involved, as part of Youth Music week. She also popped in to see a Rock United Workshop and see some young people recording a track at Mill Hill Music Complex Studios. All activitues were part of Youth Music Week in Barnet and were free for the Youngsters involved of Youth Music Week.

Rock United are now taking bookings for their Xmas courses. Sound Skool are also looking for young people aged 14-18 to take part in their next 10 week course.

A Hectic and very musical day

It's 23:45 as I write this and I'm home, I can have a glass of wine and relax. I've been on the go since about 9am. It was the Mill Hill Music Complex Open day in association with Youth Music. We had a day of activities such as youth music workshops, recording sessions, live performances. We have two main youth music projects at the studios, Sound Skool which is run by YMCA for 14-18 year olds not in education or training. This is a ten week course and the options are Live Instruments, DJ'ing, MC'ing, Music Technology and Singing. We run a sampler workshop and showcase as part of it today. We also had Rock United, which is a holiday time paid course open to anyone, running band workshops. For the performance section of the show, we had Barnets esteemed Deputy Mayor, Lisa Rutter and her Consort Mark pay us a visit. She was suitably impressed by the show and was very friendly towards everyone. I suspect I could have sold her consort a guitar if I tried hard enough. It is fair to say she made a few friends today. Perhaps the most amusing moment was when one of the carwash customers came down and saw her car. Noticing the mayors emblem, he asked if it was a royal visit.

She also spoke to the team producing the new Barnet Youth magazine, lead by a young man called Yehia, who is a fine example of a Barnet student. Yehia's family fled from Uganda 15 years ago as refugees. They now live in Burnt Oak. Yehia is a student at the London Academy and hopes to become the first student from the Academy to do the PPE course at Oxford. His teachers recommended him and I hope he succeeds. His youth magazine has 17 people involved and they certainly impressed the deputy Mayor with their energy and enthusiasm.

When I'd finished my stint at the studio, I picked up the children and went down to St John the Evangelist church in Waterloo, where my good lady was performing a concert of music with a Magic and Horror theme. She plays with the BBC Elstree Concert Band . There next Concert is Monday 13th December at the Allum Hall in Borehamwood. The theme will be film music. A great night is guaranteed.

A busy if very rewarding day.