Text A: an original contemporary practice extract.

The junior dance group was warming up in the community centre hall when members of the chess club arrived carrying boards and clocks. Both groups believed that they had booked the hall for the evening.

The caretaker checked the paper diary and the confirmation emails. The chess club appeared in the diary, but the dance organiser had received an email confirming the same time. He apologised and explained that the centre had made the mistake. He then asked both organisers how much space they needed. The dancers used the hall for another half-hour while the chess club set up in the café area. When another class left, the dancers moved into the smaller studio and the chess players took the hall. Before going home, the caretaker added both arrangements to the centre’s electronic calendar and sent new confirmations.

Text B: an original contemporary practice extract.

The school orchestra arrived for its rehearsal and found the public-speaking club preparing chairs in the hall. The site manager examined the booking form completed by the orchestra and a message that the school office had sent to the public-speaking club. Both groups had been told that the hall was available.

Rather than sending one group away, the site manager asked the two leaders to describe their plans. The orchestra needed the hall to arrange its instruments, while the speakers could begin their warm-up activities in the library. The leaders agreed that the orchestra would rehearse first and the public-speaking club would use the hall afterwards. The site manager wrote down the revised times and asked the office to correct the shared booking calendar.