Wednesday 1st October: A coffee with Paul & Mike in the morning, and Paul confirms that Chris Wallis will not be at the meeting this evening, he was not much taken with the last meeting.

Apparently Mike, Charles & I are known as the Three Wise Men, well at least they got something right.

We discuss a location for 3rd November meeting, and Mike gets a room at The Wheatsheaf FOC, thanks Dan Lacey. We also discuss our 40th event, and recommend that Mike gets a date sorted fairly soon; he's on the case.

In the afternoon I spend time on fireworks, setting up a press article in the Rutland Times, contacting Reverend Aldous who confirms that we may use Oakham School Chapel for our 2015 Festival of Carols, and contacting Jackie Friar and Fay Taylor at Lands End and Mecc Alte respectively, to see if they will allow their car parks to be used by the public on display night.

I'm just glad I'm not involved in organising fireworks this year.

Well the volcano erupted, Robin Bickers delivers a petulant performance after I try to talk to him. Your programme framework is too prescriptive, will make too much work, I won't do it...........and then storms out.

I had found out from Bob Lucas that there is to be a Programme meeting on 23rd October, which I can make, so I invite myself along, John Reid agreed that it would be a good idea, so Robin had little choice.

The man isn't engaged with Lions, certainly not with the Officers, and definitely not with me. I decide that I am not going to try and engage with him. A pincer movement with the Officers having more say over the programme and communicating with his team directly will hopefully marginalise him, he may even decide to resign, I live in hope.

He has a team of seven, Bob Lucas, who does contribute, Mike Crosland, who I suspect can contribute, and then John Reid, Rob Wilkinson, Nigel Campion and Graham Kent, the last four either unwilling, or unable to contribute.

I'm glad it has come to a head, don't need to pussyfoot round him any more.

David Ford and Michael Gillon deliver their questionnaire, and it is well thought out. Apart from David describing it as a strategy for the golf club, the evening goes as well as I could have hoped; Charles thinks it was brave of me to let it fly, but then people have to have their head.

John Reid thinks I'm trying to change too much, too quickly, after all I didn't give Jayesh five minutes to speak; he thinks I should have allowed Social & Programme the opportunity to read out their reports. I think John has a very rigid view of what should happen, and consequently any slight shift, is too much change, too fast. Actually John is very complimentary, and says I'm doing a good job, so I feel a bit like an X-Factor contestant, they only care what Simon Cowell thinks, not the others.