The lighter side

A short relocation poem about tannins
by T Gaskin

Damian, based in South for sins,
Located now in St ‘Albins’.
He's finding 'tea' the major source
of feeling homesick for the North;
The water yields a heavy slick,
He serves the tea in wedges, thick.

Tetley, Typhoo, Yorkshire Gold,
(He's not very posh if truth be told)
PG, Clipper, 99 brand,
(that's 'Co-op', which the South have banned)
They all just taste of muddy water,
The tea 'don't taste like what it oughta'.
And even cups in cafés, dear,
Where you would hope the water's clear,
They put the milk in on the bag,
with water cool and high price tag.
Despite a search Home County-wide,
He's just not being satisfied.

At night, with bag and mug he roams,
and pines for brews of Northern homes.
So cheer him up, for goodness sake,
Pop in for slice of tea and cake.

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"A team of individuals who had superb acting skills but also superb faciliation skills."

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Damian Gaskin - Managing Director

Damian is the Managing Director and one of the founders of The Forum Partnership.

Building on 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, Damian has enjoyed seeking and bringing together people to form a team of which he is tremendously proud both for their expertise and their empathy.

With his team, he has designed, developed and delivered projects that have helped change people's working relationships for the better, both for clients within Government and its agencies, and for UK and international companies operating within the private sector.

Damian studied law (LLB UCL) before training at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School where he won the Shell LiveWire Award for the Most Innovative New Business in 1998.

'I hope you will know my values through how you feel if we should meet rather than through any amount of words I might write'.

What makes him happy? "People."

Lindsey Mack - Director

Lindsey is a Director and also one of the founding members of The Forum Partnership Lindsey has been working in learning and developing in the corporate world since 1996 where he has been responsible for the design and delivery of bespoke development programmes and assessment centres for a wide variety of private and public sector clients.

Lindsey has 20 years of business management experience and is a fully qualified Farm Manager. He trained at The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has performed in The West End, around the UK and in a variety of television and radio productions.

In building The Forum Partnership Lindsey combines his leadership and performance experience to satisfy a fundamental desire to help others with their personal and professional development.

His attention to the clients' needs has been fundamental to many years of repeat business.

What makes him happy? "Meeting clients from diverse cultures and sectors, and supporting them in moving closer towards achieving their individual and organisational goals and aspirations."

Steph Vidal-Hall - Head of Learning and Development

Steph is a learning and communications facilitator and coach with a background in the arts, academia and the corporate sector.

Steph joined the company as Head of Learning & Development in 2008 and, prior to this, was an associate working with individuals and groups across all sectors, where for 10 years, she was involved with facilitating training, personal development and change programs using theatre frameworks.

She holds an MA in Learning & Teaching and is a qualified Thinking Environment™ Consultant and Coach, teaching people to create Thinking Environments for their organisations, teams and lives.

What makes her happy? "Going from identifying the learning needs to hearing how skills and insights are still making a difference to individuals, several years down the line."

Associates

Our team of associates have all operated at a senior level and been successful in the business environment. They combine their knowledge of how real organisations work with the ability to use their skills as theatre practitioners and learning specialists to facilitate change, development and learning in your business. They have the business credibility to inspire delegates to engage fully.

Our team have all gone through a rigorous selection process and we run regular development days to share best practice and maintain relationships

Forum Partnership associates focus on listening, recreating the work context for the individual, asking the right questions and enabling delegates to reach and rehearse answers they can and will put into practice.