As you may know we have been running Step Up, a project aimed to help young people form Sidney Stringer to get more involved in the community and build their leadership.

On March 1st we held a community conversation day for the Step Up project. We invited different people from the community to come along and be questioned by the young people. Officers from the police, the fire service and Street Pride came, as well as a local councillor, and someone from Hillz FM - plus several local people who are active in the neighbourhood. The day went well, without any hiccups. The young people asked some brilliant questions and got great answers; when the grown ups had an answer, that is.

On the whole both the adults and young people enjoyed the day and found it very informative in a informal way. But for me the best part of the day was to watch the police and some of the other more serious professionals let their hair down and join in - especially when singing a song led by one of our volunteers.