MEETING: Town Hall, 8 June, 2005
Date: 8 June 2005
Characters: any
Location: Town Hall
Status: Very public
Summary: Announcements are given, and then the floor is open.
Completion: incomplete
Mafalda pinned up her hair, as it was getting long again (probably she should see if there was a local hairdresser, because the last time she'd tried a Shearing charm herself, "crooked" hadn't been the word for the result), and pulled on a light-weight but reasonably formal robe over the trousers and loose shirt she'd worn today. She had to be formal; she didn't have to be too bloody hot.
The meeting time was in just twenty minutes, so she had time to walk, which after another day of sitting at a desk was welcome. She walked purposefully but without rushing, and arrived in plenty of time.
The first order of business was a pair of announcements, and then she hoped the floor would remain open for community comments. She'd heard rumblings about a couple of larger events upcoming, so probably others would also have announcements; beyond that, even if nothing actually got decided it was good to hear what issues were on people's minds.
She went in the back door and checked her collar and hair in the little mirror, then went out and took her seat at the front of the room, pulling out her sheaf of notes.
Once a crowd had gathered, the council called the meeting to order and offered her the floor, so she stood.
"Hello," she said, looking around the room. "Before the meeting, I've asked for a few moments to make two announcements." She met the eyes of a young witch at the front of the room. "I'm certain many of you have observed that our electrical system is once again functioning. I don't know about any of you, but I've become quite fond of the micro-wave device, and am glad to have it back. This work was accomplished by the cooperative effort of a team of wizards who developed a method of making the Muggle power-creation device draw on magic. The result is a hybrid. We control it, because it is magic and is no longer connected to the original Muggle …I believe the term was generator? However, the many Muggle devices in this town, and others you may at some point acquire if you choose, given the funding to do so, will work as intended because the power itself is Muggle."
She paused. "It was really quite a brilliant bit of work, and the architects deserve our thanks."
She stopped for a moment as there was a murmur of agreement in the room, then went on. "Unrelated to that, some of you may have noticed the presence of Goblins in town. There is an international group of them working locally and in the remains in Diagon Alley to build a new bank." She held up her hand to forestall the likeliest question. "They don't report to me, but they apparently wish to keep me apprised. At this point, from what they've told me--on those occasions I've clearly understood; my interaction with the one who came over from Riyadh is less than perfectly clear--they still have no good reason to believe they can recover most of the contents of Gringotts of London. Many of the vaults' security charms have been twisted in ways even the Goblins aren't sure they understand."
"Therefore," she went on, "they are working to create a bank space here while they continue to explore the ruins. Perhaps in some weeks or months they will have more information to share, but as I thought perhaps some of you had observed their presence, it was worth mentioning."
She nodded and looked about in case anyone had an immediate question, then moved back to her seat, leaving the council floor open for other announcements and comments.
Characters: any
Location: Town Hall
Status: Very public
Summary: Announcements are given, and then the floor is open.
Completion: incomplete
Mafalda pinned up her hair, as it was getting long again (probably she should see if there was a local hairdresser, because the last time she'd tried a Shearing charm herself, "crooked" hadn't been the word for the result), and pulled on a light-weight but reasonably formal robe over the trousers and loose shirt she'd worn today. She had to be formal; she didn't have to be too bloody hot.
The meeting time was in just twenty minutes, so she had time to walk, which after another day of sitting at a desk was welcome. She walked purposefully but without rushing, and arrived in plenty of time.
The first order of business was a pair of announcements, and then she hoped the floor would remain open for community comments. She'd heard rumblings about a couple of larger events upcoming, so probably others would also have announcements; beyond that, even if nothing actually got decided it was good to hear what issues were on people's minds.
She went in the back door and checked her collar and hair in the little mirror, then went out and took her seat at the front of the room, pulling out her sheaf of notes.
Once a crowd had gathered, the council called the meeting to order and offered her the floor, so she stood.
"Hello," she said, looking around the room. "Before the meeting, I've asked for a few moments to make two announcements." She met the eyes of a young witch at the front of the room. "I'm certain many of you have observed that our electrical system is once again functioning. I don't know about any of you, but I've become quite fond of the micro-wave device, and am glad to have it back. This work was accomplished by the cooperative effort of a team of wizards who developed a method of making the Muggle power-creation device draw on magic. The result is a hybrid. We control it, because it is magic and is no longer connected to the original Muggle …I believe the term was generator? However, the many Muggle devices in this town, and others you may at some point acquire if you choose, given the funding to do so, will work as intended because the power itself is Muggle."
She paused. "It was really quite a brilliant bit of work, and the architects deserve our thanks."
She stopped for a moment as there was a murmur of agreement in the room, then went on. "Unrelated to that, some of you may have noticed the presence of Goblins in town. There is an international group of them working locally and in the remains in Diagon Alley to build a new bank." She held up her hand to forestall the likeliest question. "They don't report to me, but they apparently wish to keep me apprised. At this point, from what they've told me--on those occasions I've clearly understood; my interaction with the one who came over from Riyadh is less than perfectly clear--they still have no good reason to believe they can recover most of the contents of Gringotts of London. Many of the vaults' security charms have been twisted in ways even the Goblins aren't sure they understand."
"Therefore," she went on, "they are working to create a bank space here while they continue to explore the ruins. Perhaps in some weeks or months they will have more information to share, but as I thought perhaps some of you had observed their presence, it was worth mentioning."
She nodded and looked about in case anyone had an immediate question, then moved back to her seat, leaving the council floor open for other announcements and comments.