This search on the city council's website really was for 'eurocities' and not, as they feared, 'atrocities'. I'll save that one for another day....
It did find a few references, too - but none of them were about the trip that Leader Barbara Janke has just taken to the four-day Eurocities Conference at Zaragoza. That doesn't seem to be on record anywhere.
Barbara's big Zaragoza opportunity was to join a panel discussion where she could share with fellow leaders "the process of developing Bristol's identity, and the consequences of building an internationally recognized city brand". That may be why she took our newly appointed Director of Place Making along with her.
I see that one Steve Woods has been wondering about the value of trips like this (perhaps remembering how they jetted off to Copenhagen for the Climate Change conference, and came back to twitter about an innovative bicycle wheel that we knew about anyway). Steve wants to know if anyone else went to Spain and what it all cost us, so he's put in an FoI request.
He misses the big questions, though. After the Conference closed on Friday, there was still 24 hours entertainment available for anyone not rushing back home. So did Bristol's finest hang back for the guided Zaragoza bus tour? Or the dramatised tour? Or the tapas tour? Or the Saturday morning Chocotour ("Let yourself be sweetened and discover Zaragoza’s chocolate tradition in some of the city’s most well known chocolate cafés").
I think we should be told...
6 comments:
Hi Pete
Thanks for mentioning my FoI request. Perhaps you'd like to supplement my questions to the Counts Louse by submitting another FoI request incorporating the matters I omitted.
I'm still awaiting an acknowledgement from BCC for my request. As these are normally fairly quick, I'm wondering if they're trying to bury it.
Best wishes
Woodsy
Pete
I've also put down a question for full council on 16th Nov about the trip
Deadline for questions now passed, but statements can be submittd up to noon on the 15th
Mark Bradshaw
Hi Woodsy
I've had no acknowledgement either, to the FoI request I put in on Oct 24 about the Green Space Plans. Either we're blacklisted, or they're having trouble keeping up.
Perhaps if I was to ask whether Barbara waited in Spain for the Chocotour, it would be the last straw. I won't do it!
Hi Mark
I always have high hopes when I see a well-framed question is being put at council - but almost every time, I'm disappointed by the non-answer. Still, I'm sure yours will keep us entertained as we wait for the AGSP motion.
Pete
Yet another episode in the 'global cities' big business bonanza, just like Stuttgart 21 and Ashton Vale.
By artificially stimulating rabid competition between urban areas, the powers that be can ratchet up the pressure on the public, guaranteeing themselves perpetual excuses for turning citizens lives upside down, evicting us from our homes, concreting over our green spaces and totally re-engineering our environment just exactly as they want it to be. At the same time they hoard up ever huger piles of money for themselves (the real minority); ever more money and ever more power.
And anyone who dares to object can be branded a killjoy and someone “standing in the way of progress and plenty for all”.
Hi Pete
A quick update for you: Bristol's overpaid, part-time Director of Place contacted me via Twitter to inform me of his & Junket Janke's travel arrangements. Apparently, they had a rush trip, leaving earlier than the end of the programme and not even stopping for the chocolate trip.
I responded by directing him to this post and its comments, but I see he has not followed my advice.
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