At Curve (Rehearsal Room 3, to be precise) this morning, attending Leicester UK Candidate City of Culture 2017 Bid Development Workshop.
The groups working on different aspects of the final bid are well represented here today, sharing ideas, strengthening team spirit, consolidating our unity of purpose. The meeting is opened by City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and led by members of the team responsible for writing the final bid.
There's an impressive level of commitment, creativity and inventiveness among all those present, reflecting a palpable sense of engagement, enthusiasm and interest among an increasing number of people from all walks of life in the city and county.
In one of the breaks I speak briefly with the Mayor about the article in the Independent on Sunday's New Review, which included a few comments from him. He was happy with it - and particularly pleased to see Leicester described as "the most diverse city on the planet"! Several other people mention the article, all of them saying that as well as being a good thing in its own right, it will surely boost our UK City of Culture 2017 bid.
Peter Popham's article about Leicester is published today in the Independent on Sunday's New Review magazine. His piece is entitled "We're all in this together: How Leicester became a model of multiculturalism (even if that was never the plan)". You can go straight to it and read the whole piece for yourself (and comments by readers) by clicking on the title of the article above.
The Independent on Sunday is not the easiest newspaper to find in Wigston. After trying out quite a few shops, I get my hands on the last two copies in the Co-Op Food Store in Bell Street. But when I get them home, there's no New Review with either of them! I take them back for a refund and start searching again, rather late in the day. Thankfully, there are two more copies in the Tesco filling station. *Phew!*
The article is illustrated with photos of Surinder Pal Rhai (President of the Leicestershire Council of Gurdwaras), Cllr Manjula Sood (Assistant City Mayor and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths) and Jawaahir Daahir (Chair of Somali Development Services). The one of Manjula is particularly good, standing magisterially in the Council Chamber.
I'm a bit surprised that none of the people to whom I introduced Peter on his first visit to Leicester don't appear in the article. But he has included many good interview subjects with good quotes from all of them. On reflection, I think that Peter probably treated that first visit as an initial reccie and got down to business when he returned (with a photographer) a few days later.
I'm happy with this - and look forward with anticipation to how it's received by other people in the city.
