Exidex meeting notes from 11th August 2021

For the Augustidex we sat outside at South Mill Arts, in the sunshine!

A small but perfectly formed group of Exies met up on a quiet Wednesday afternoon at South Mill Arts.?

Topics and ideas took their usual unexpected and free-flowing direction, starting with the effect that changed working practices might have on our town. During the pandemic many people were forced to work from home and this has become the norm for some. Flexible working is far more likely to be common than it was in the past, with people maybe working two or three days a week in their office and the rest at home. As such there are a number of people who are looking to move further out of London and many of these people are looking at Bishop’s Stortford as a possible location (with a twice-weekly commute being much more bearable than an everyday grind!) This has increased already severe pressure on local housing stock, particularly at the higher end. This is being counterbalanced by huge numbers of new build houses, but these tend to be at the smaller or medium sized end of the market. Fields are being used to build thousands of new houses here and nearby are never going to be reversed, but the houses are all in great demand and this is central government policy that local people are largely powerless to resist. We all agreed that the new houses should all be built with as much green energy as possible with solar cells on the roof, electric car charging points as standard, top grade insulation and air source heat supply rather than fossil fuel where at all possible. We each need to let local, district, county and national Government know that we expect these things to be included as standard, and I call on you all now to make your wishes heard!

We then spent a little bit of time talking about the Pingdemic – as one of the Exies had been notified of a contact who had tested positive. The rules are constantly changing and it can be hard to keep track but we think we have got it all straight now. We were pleased to be sitting outside at a good distance from one another though!

Apart from that we just had a nice relaxed catch-up about all sorts of interesting things, none of which I can remember. One thing that is important about the Exidex though is that there’s no pressure – it’s not like a sales networking meeting where people feel that they need to push their own agenda. It’s a chance to take a breath, reflect for a while on how we all are and think up some good ideas.

Exidex (The Experienced Individuals Ideas Exchange) is a project based in Bishop’s Stortford where Experienced Individuals "Exies" typically meet up in a comfortable and relaxed place (when allowed) to brainstorm and exchange ideas about how to make things better.?

?Exidex is for people who can identify with one or more of the following:

?● not in work

● motivated by being pro-active

● may have taken early retirement or a career break and are now looking for something stimulating and productive to do

● would like to gain employment by offering their skills and experience

● whose children may have flown the nest and are now looking for new opportunities

● in a job that is not making the best use of their relationships and capabilities

The ideas that the Exies bring do not necessarily have to be revenue generating business ideas – they can be in the charity sector or anything that the Exie feels will be interesting. The aim is to create the buzz that can be found in small groups when ideas are floated, refined and gather momentum before spinning off with a life of their own.

If you or anyone that you know could fit the description, please do visit the website www.exidex.com or get in touch with us at [email protected]

We look forward to meeting you at the next Exidex meeting. The date for this is Friday 10th September, venue to be confirmed nearer the time but most likely back at South Mill Arts. Have a good month!