Another entertaining week

On Tuesday next week, Miang and I leave New Zealand for a couple of months. We will be based in Cambridge UK. Our departure comes after a hectic flurry of activity, which culminated in a dinner at Government House last night, at which Andrew Coy was honoured with a Blake Emerging Leader award. The picture shows Andrew, his wife Mel, and me (wearing my 2007 Blake medal). In the NZ Herald story this morning, the report read
"A technology explorer of sorts, Magritek CEO Andrew Coy is turning a "physics phenomenon" into a successful business product.
Earlier this week I addressed the "Peter Cullen breakfast", at which Wellington movers and shakers turn up to be entertained at 7-30 am. On Wednesday I flew to Gisborne for the day, to address business and community leaders at a forum run by the Eastland Community Trust. Thursday brought addresses to the Economic Development Conference in Wellington and then Federated Farmers in Rotorua in the afternoon, after which I flew to Auckland to overnight before a TVNZ studio interview early Friday morning. By lunchtime I was back in Wellington to join Miang at a special lunch organised by Wendy McGuinness, at which I was given the task of setting out some of my ideas over lunch so that the 16 or so guests could engage in a wide-ranging discussion about New Zealand's future. Wendy is probably New Zealand's "most connected" person and the people she had managed to assemble were all extraordinary achievers. Amongst this group were Jeremy Moon, the founder and CEO of "Icebreaker", Lloyd Morrison of Infratil, and Fran Wilde, chair of the Wellington Regional Council. Needless to say, the exchanges were stimulating and insightful. One of the big issues was whether New Zealanders are just too gloomy and pessimistic to buy in to the sort of change we seek. Wendy asked me for comment afterwards. and my response was:

"We simply push on, ignore the pessimism, and lead by example. Then suddenly we find ourselves surrounded by success and telling ourselves that it was always meant to be this way. We often do not notice the dramatic changes that are taking place when we are in the heat of the battle. It is only afterwards that we see predestination."

Today, is time to pack. But I do want to finish this posting with a delightful image, one from my childhood, and sent to me by Chris Clark, whose persistence in the National Archives has paid off. Take yourself back to the 1950's, with the influence of the war still apparent. Bertie Germ was rampant and needed sorting. Fruit and vegetables were the weapon of choice.