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Helping
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Special Offers Two
for the price of One on our new Influence Skills Course - next course is the
17th February in East Sussex.
Click here for more
details Links Here are several links that will hopefully fill a
wet weekend in January: 10 News Stories that should be published on
April Fool’s Day that are in fact true Photographs from the year in the UK Google’s take on the year Tags: 2010, 2011, Review, Thoughts, Blog, Newsletter, Change
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Thoughts about 2010 Well here it is, the
beginning of a new year and the second decade of the 21st Century.
As I look back over 2010, it has been a mixed year with highs and lows. There
is no doubt that the world is different both globally and in the UK. The year
was memorable for a number of things and does seem to have passed amazingly
quickly. Here are some of my personal observations, The
weather – we do love it! It was a year of highs and lows.
High levels of Snow and Ice – lots of it and low temperatures. We had
significant falls of snow in January and we were hit with Artic conditions in
November and again during December. The forecasters predicted the “barbecue
summer” – woops! Some areas, such as the North experienced weeks of rain and
others had a warm early Summer. Maybe our weather is no longer a subject of
casual moan. The
Coalition – what an interesting
time we have had – two parties governing us. At the General Election we all
agreed with Nick (I doubt that is the case now) and yet the campaign may be
best remembered as Gordon Brown’s lows – his gaffe about the woman in
Rochdale and the sad post hung-parliament malaise. Within weeks public spending was slashed by £6
billion in a bid to avoid the same fate for the UK economy as that of Greece
and now Ireland. This seems to have worked, even if this has heralded age of
austerity and a return to protests – is this Cameron’s Pole Tax? Do we have more to look forward to? A Nation expects - World Cup Glory. England poor, the final poor. The high was
undoubtedly Spain victorious against the grossly unpleasant tactics of the
Dutch. There were some remarkable
teams in 2010. My favourites include:-
March was an interesting month – it was unusually
quiet on the Ashdown Forest. Not because of a lack of visitors but the lack
of planes. The culprit was a volcano spewing ash into the atmosphere in
Iceland that grounded all planes across most of Europe; real chaos theory in
action. It has been a year that disaster
has not been far from the news – Ann Widecombe on
Strictly Come Dancing, seriously – Pakistan Floods, Haiti, Chile and China
Earthquakes and a relentless heat wave decimated Russia’s wheat fields. Technology in 2010 seemed to be dominated by Apple – the
launch of the iPad was greeted by all the geeks who
thought it would bomb. It didn’t and with the continued domination of the iPhone – we cannot live without having apps for the iPhone. Congratulations to Apple. Microsoft are going to kill the Wii, The Kinect adverts suggest all those Wii
periferals will be redundant in 2011 – Microsoft
suddenly back as “cool”. Goodbyes in the year- A number of well known actors and
actresses left the stage – Jean Simmons, Dennis Hopper, Lynn Redgrave, Tony Curtis, Simon MacCorkindale
and Leslie Neilsen. Others to depart this planet –
Alexander McQueen, JD Salinger, Sir Norman Wisdom
and Big Brother has run its course and now leaves our screens – whatever we
think about it – it changed our television lives. There has, or will be,
goodbyes all around at 192 quangos.
And finally goodbye to England’s dreams of hosting the World Cup. Hellos this year – The sprinkler dance arrived
with its celebration on the pitch after the England team retained the Ashes.
Kate Middleton – we can all look forward to a bank holiday and a royal
celebration of their wedding in April next year. Hello to Robbie Williams who
returned to Take That and of course Lady Gaga – her dress sense a highlight
of the enterainment in 2010. Wikileaks
have made us all think and a story that is certain to continue in 2011. Looking
forward – what can we expect from 2011? On the immediate
horizon is the prospect of the Royal Wedding. This will help mask the
Government’s austerity package. No doubt the 29th of April will be very quiet on the
roads as we will be glued to the tele. Shops will
shout “disaster” rather like Craig Revell Horwood at Anne W. Personally I may nip to IKEA to enjoy
a queue free moment. Germany (and France) will flex real muscle over the
Euro. I can see major problems for the Europroject. It is possible
that the Eurozone will fragment. Germany and Nordic
countries creating the Nordmark? Austerity will generate more protest
– expect riots, especially when it warms up in Spring and Summer. America
will begin to focus on who might challenge Obama. Sarah Pailn
will emerge as the front-runner – interesting choice – right wing, moose
killing mum as president? The countryside Alliance will re-emerge in the UK
to attempt to get the fox-hunting ban lifted – personally I hope not. I also
believe there will be a challenge against the smoking ban in pubs. Again, it
has been a pleasure to eat out without reeking of cigarette smoke. The momentum for the Olympics in 2012 will build – expect sport to be in the
headlines. No doubt the UK media will begin to shift attention away from FIFA
to IOC and our readiness to host the Games, Will Vince
Cable hold the balance of power in the Coalition? I suspect not in
2011. The Coalition will start to unravel towards the end of the year as the
Austerity measures bite and unrest grows. I believe May 2012 will be when our
next general election will be held. Afghanistan will remain high on the agenda – will the US pullout be significant –
yes, although not for the actual troop numbers. There will be an upsurge in
violence and therefore less troops leaving. I hope that the Palisstine issue is resolved – I fear it will not as Isreal difies its main ally and
the Palistinians find alternative routes to seek a
resolution - more bloodshed in the world. Is it me, or are natural disasters getting bigger?
An almost safe prediction is that there will be several this year and one potentially very close – Iceland. The volcano
next to the one that created 2010’s dust cloud is a major cause for concern.
It last erupted in 1918 and it usually erupts every 40-80 years. So is
overdue. On the business front, it will be another
tough year. VAT increase, Public Sector cuts, Currency speculation, banking
regulations, etc. will be hurdles to get over. That said, remaining
optimistic and seeking opportunities is the only way for us all. 2011 will be
challenging and no doubt fun. Happy New Year Craig |
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