SHADES OF OPINION

Let's face it, committees have had a very bad press. They are also the butt of a great many jokes. A couple of examples should suffice.

'A camel is a horse which was designed by a committee' (Sir Alec Issigonis).

'A committee is an animal with four back legs' (Anon).

I once found myself in the position of chairing a committee no doubt because I had done something very wicked in a previous incarnation. One of our tasks was to oversee the redecoration of our bridge club.

Having learned the word 'delegation' when I was about three years old, I immediately organised a sub-committee to handle the issue of choosing the colour to paint the walls. They reported back in due course to say that they had selected a shortlist of four colours but felt that this issue was of such import that the entire membership should vote on it.

The four colours were daubed side by side on a wall and voting forms were placed nearby. Everyone made their choice and at the next committee meeting, we counted the votes for the four shades. Two of the colours, received 5% of votes between them and the other two which were quite similar, at least in my eyes, received 48% and 47% respectively.

The voting was so close that the committee were reluctant to disappoint the 47% of members who had lost out so narrowly and so it was decided that the two colours, being so similar, would be mixed together and the resulting hue would then become our new wall colour.

You will not have failed to notice dear reader, that this meant that no-one at all had voted for the colour which soon surrounded the members as they sat playing bridge, seemingly unaware that their opinions had been (paint) brushed aside.