Author: Deborah Castellanos
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Appealing a Refusal and Whether to
I remember sitting in a drafty community hall back in ’94, watching a group of lovely, well-meaning neighbors crumble into silence because a developer had waved a glossy blueprint in their faces. They thought they needed a high-priced solicitor and… Continue reading
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What the Planning Decision Notice Means
I remember sitting in a drafty parish hall back in ’98, watching a perfectly reasonable group of neighbours go grey in the face just trying to decipher a single piece of council correspondence. They’d been told they needed a solicitor… Continue reading
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A Fundraiser That Does Not Lose Money
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, staring at a stack of glossy, professional-looking brochures that promised we needed a massive marketing budget just to sell a few lemon drizzles. It was a total waste of… Continue reading
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Recording Someone Before It Is Too Late
I remember sitting in Mrs. Gable’s cramped living room back in ’94, watching a well-meaning university student struggle with a tripod and a microphone that cost more than my first car. He was so preoccupied with the technical settings that… Continue reading
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Counting the Money Twice
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, watching a well-meaning volunteer try to manage the summer fete’s bake sale while juggling three different tea trays and a heavy metal biscuit tin. By the end of the… Continue reading
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When a Dbs Check Is Actually Required
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in 2004, watching a perfectly lovely lady—someone who had lived on our street for forty years—get turned away from our new youth gardening project because we hadn’t handled the background paperwork… Continue reading
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The Conversation Nobody Wants to Have
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, watching a perfectly good community garden project wither away because we were too polite to tell our treasurer he was essentially a ghost. We all sat there, sipping lukewarm… Continue reading
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Cataloguing Six Boxes of Papers
I remember sitting in a damp church hall three years ago, surrounded by a mountain of water-damaged ledgers and loose photographs from the 1974 Parish Council. The local historian had insisted we needed a specialized software subscription and a professional… Continue reading
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Raffles and the Rules That Apply
I remember sitting in a drafty village hall back in the nineties, watching a well-meaning group of neighbours fall apart because they’d spent more time arguing about the “correct” way to register with the council than actually selling tickets. They… Continue reading
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Where the Small Local Money Actually Is
I remember sitting in a drafty church hall back in ’94, staring at a pile of glossy brochures from big national charities that felt about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Everyone kept telling us that to get a project… Continue reading
