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Culture Corner

A little Slice of IPA Life Sean Hannigan , VP (Cultural & Communications)

The Covid-19 crisis has been an unprecedented experience for everyone. It was heartening to hear about some of the interesting, and innovative ways that IPA Members spent their time. For me, the first few months were indeed very interesting. I had been working at Leicestershire Police HQ, since returning from a five year career break. Like most colleagues, I did not expect Thank you all for your patience with Zoom and allowing me to deliver 1:1 training, which has at times been hard work for all, and in nearly all cases quite hilarious. As a good friend used to say to me “Every day is a School day “and thinking about it at the minute that is so true.

So, what have I been doing? Well, to look at Social Media, you would think all I do is drink coffee at 11 am several days a week. I do that via Zoom, which even the House of Commons has now taken up. Our very first National Coffee Morning was held on 25 March, and it was a fantastic experience to see friends face to face again, have a chat and catch up. Following on from Zoom Coffee, I was so pleased to be able to help Branches, Regions, and other IPA groups to hold meetings which I hosted from a very sunny Frankfurt. Over the first four weeks of the lockdown, we held 50 Zoom meetings, with 353 participants. Some Regions have now purchased their own Zoom Licence, while others have successfully used Zoom free (40 minutes limit) to hold Meetings and Coffee Mornings.

the rapid changes that were about to descend on us. Another milestone for me was my retirement from the Police, on of all dates, the 1st of April, which caused a few giggles. As the date drew closer, the true extent of the pandemic was becoming clearer. I flew out on St Patricks Day, catching one of the last flights to Frankfurt, before many air corridors closed. So, now, I am a Pensioner, at an earlier age than I expected. I am so lucky that I have the IPA, our Members, the Staff, the structure, and the honour to serve as Vice President. Without the friendship this great organisation offered, I am not sure I would have been able to cope with my rapid retirement from Policing.

As part of the NEC I have been delighted to try and do as much as I can to keep the Association as cheery as I can and keep folk involved. Please get involved as much as you can and stay in touch with each other. Now is the time to really show the Service and Friendship that Arthur Troop envisaged.

The Digital Archive has arrived but is a wee bit empty Sean Hannigan , VP (Cultural & Communications) You may be aware that we had begun an ongoing programme of scanning documents and photographs from our wonderful Archive onto an external hard drive. I am incredibly grateful to Tony and Annie Berrington for the tireless work they did on this project, and the help given by Harvey Whittam on spare days he had. Like many things, their work at Fox Road has been halted by the Social Distancing measures. W hen we eventually get back on track , this valuable work will continue, and we will hold a two day Archivist event to supplement the team who are already holding the fort. If you

wish to help and be trained, then please email me. I am excited to announce an extension to the Digital Archive Project, which will gather digital items from Members, Branches and Regions. These will fall into five main categories: • Documents (Minutes, Agendas, Newsletters, Correspondence etc) • Photographs • Audio Recordings • Audio Visual Recordings • Miscellaneous Digital Items (Images of Patches, Pins, Clothing, Caps, Hats and indeed IPA memorabilia, the list is literally endless.) The concept is to build up our Section UK Digital Archives, so that eventually any member can search their own Branch and Regional Information. If you want further Information, then please get in touch. Sean Hannigan, Vice President, email address vphannigan@ipa-uk.org

POLICE WORLD Vol 65 No.3, 2020

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