Craig I realise that you would like more visibility on the front page. The problem was that the Google calendar doesn't work well that small. I tested it out already and when you mouse over the days it cuts off the text, which i next to useless. This is because it displays in an iframe (can't avoid this).
There is a component that works as an event manager for Joomla 1.0 (the system being used for the front page and articles sections). However Joomla 1.5 has just been released and upgrading from 1.0 to 1.5 is a complicated process. I don't want to rely on old components. I plan to update the site for security and maintenance reasons to the new system. If I was to build the site again I would probably use a different system, but we are stuck with this for the time being.
Alternatively I could put a box (module) above the polls or as you say remove the polls. Which contains links to the upcoming events or at least outlines in bullet form the next events with dates.
I know you don't find the polls useful, but I find them useful for understanding what features and things members like. I could also use the forum polls I guess.
Cheers,
Gavin.