The last month has been like no other month I can remember.
Today was supposed to be our AGM▸ in Taunton yet - looking at that as the sun rose this morning, I cannot imagine popping down to the station and making the trip as had been in my diary for so long. Whoever you are reading this, wherever you're living, whether you're in some form of isolation sitting things out, a key worker, or supporting the vulnerable, thank you for doing or taking that community action and, please, look after yourself.
Ten days ago, I wrote a brief paper for the conclusion of the
CCIF▸ grant and it struck me as being a reasonable
bullet point summary of the year just gone - a "chair's report" if you like. It's at
http://www.passenger.chat/coffeeshop_ccif_report.pdf . I have resisted the temptation to write a text on each bullet point as there is coverage already of them on the forum for you to read as you wish.
I don't know what the next year, the next decade - even the next month - will bring. I can't remember, ever, being so unsure of the future. The last fortnight has been a whirlwind of preparations and planning, of changing things around and helping to inform and be informed. I anticipate that may change over coming weeks with frantic activity giving way to boredom where days run into each other and we have to look things up to see if it's a Saturday or a Thursday.
As that frantic activity eases off, and corners are turned and things change that might give some clue as to the future Coffee Shop organisational plans. As I write, they are still very much as suggested in mid March:
So is the AGM cancelled, postponed, or replaced by something else? I don't know; probability is that we'll have some sort of online checkpoint event/ meeting later in the spring - but a decision on the detail of that is a few weeks away. Most likely we'll use a "Meet the Manager" style session as "Meet the team", but pre-loaded with publications so there's little to surprise anyone on the day. One of the joys of the Coffee Shop is just how engaged member are all the time - our annual event is not "the one chance to meet the team" that it is at so many traditional AGMs.
I would not be surprised if increased forum activity over recent weeks also tails off to a much quieter period. I have already noted that much of the daily
GWR▸ operation / service specifics, the fare enquiries, the reduced train length issues have dried up. With well under 1 in 10 people travelling, with 2 trains an hour replaced by one train every 2 hours in places, there simply isn't the volume of travel there to produce the volume of enquiries. Those who are travelling are on their regular way to key work, without new journey questions. It was good to see yesterday's post thanking the operational and planning teams for continuing to run the railways being liked by members in numbers we rarely see (
http://www.passenger.chat/23191 )
And after that quieter period as we emerge from our burrows? Goodness knows what world we find ourselves in, with the law of unintended consequences in full play. Threads are running already looking forward not one step to further reductions and restrictions, but two steps to a new world - and let's see if we can help make it a brave new world - high quality, clean, safe, thoughtful, environmental, caring, enjoyable. Goodness –
I sound like a Miss World competitor hoping for World peace!Thank you - to everyone - Admins, moderators, data managers, regular member, lurkers, and anyone who's reading this as their first ever Coffee Shop thread for all your help, support, contributions in the past, and into the future. It's a real pleasure being "webmaster" here and I look forward to continuing with that or a changing pleasurable role in an active 'Coffee Shop' type social media into the future.
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