Today, an idea that I have been promoting took its first tentative step over dinner at the Portland Heights Hotel. The idea is simple. For a Board - let's call it that - to be formed of prominent business leaders from Weymouth and Portland that would work up a long-term plan for the area, to sell to Government, business, politicians and any other organisations/groups that could prove beneficial to our prosperity. The dinner was kindly arranged by Martin Hamilton, the strategic director at the Tri-Council Partnership, who has recently been appointed as the new CEO of the local authority in Newcastle. It's a richly deserved promotion and I for one will miss him. We numbered 14 in all, representing manufacturing, tourism and services. I have a short introduction, after which Matthew Piles, from DCC, gave a presentation on the latest developments locally. Then, over dinner, we all chatted openly, throwing up ideas and experiences, before one highly-respected attendee took the bull by the horns, voiced his support, and suggested the Board's first meeting in January next year. I have always felt that everyone is doing their best in their individual silos, but we need to work more cleverly, more together to achieve aspirational goals that will give people more opportunities. it's early days, but it's a start.