tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69239964751339854252024-03-14T07:43:38.756+00:00Roger Neill's BlogReflections on Innovation, Creativity and LeadershipRoger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.comBlogger605125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-87524166151019543182014-12-05T11:22:00.000+00:002014-12-07T08:24:20.758+00:00Writing and thinking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
I’m off, writing stuff longer than postcards for a while. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Toodle pip. </div>
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(BTW I just passed 600 blogposts. Phew.)</div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-54590856925442107772014-11-28T12:44:00.000+00:002014-11-28T12:44:33.891+00:00Complacency and the Death of Phil Hughes <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zU4aMb1T5qU/VHht1gsIksI/AAAAAAAAD8s/t45_7fn8jrw/s1600/phil%2Bhughes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zU4aMb1T5qU/VHht1gsIksI/AAAAAAAAD8s/t45_7fn8jrw/s1600/phil%2Bhughes.png" /></a></div>
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The complacent response of the media to the death of
Australian batsman Phil Hughes, not least from the BBC’s Jonathan Agnew, is
perhaps to be expected. “It’s all part of the game,” seems to be the most common
reaction. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The felling of Hughes in Sydney by a fast, rising ball
highlights the appalling design deficiencies of protective helmets. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was there in 2002 at the WACA in Perth when England’s Alex
Tudor was poleaxed by a 90mph delivery from Brett Lee. It was sickening. Poor
Tudor was never the same again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That one went through the front of the visor, whereas the
Hughes blow struck him on the completely unprotected back of the head. Both
injuries happen not frequently, but on a pretty regular basis. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It seems that helmet manufacturers are more concerned with
turning out a product that looks cool than with real effectiveness. Perhaps the
death of Hughes will prompt the cricketing authorities and those manufacturers
into producing something that’s actually fit for purpose. </div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-10658141219262737742014-11-26T08:01:00.000+00:002014-11-26T08:01:19.302+00:00What Charles means is… <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-glcicf6sXac/VHWIXCRaSNI/AAAAAAAAD8c/KkX98mxeLpw/s1600/charles%2Band%2Bmaurice.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-glcicf6sXac/VHWIXCRaSNI/AAAAAAAAD8c/KkX98mxeLpw/s1600/charles%2Band%2Bmaurice.png" /></a></div>
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Stimulated by some photographs of the early days of Saatchi
& Saatchi, the first meeting of the Garland-Compton board with them after
the ‘merger’ in 1974 came back to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the head of the table at 80 Charlotte Street was Charles
Saatchi. On his right brother Maurice and on his left Tim Bell. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It fell to Charles to speak to us. He mumbled for five
minutes or so. I don’t recall anything that he said – I’m not sure that I could
decipher a word of it. Not his thing at all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Silence fell over the room. What had we got into? This
seemed like a visit from Cosa Nostra. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Then Tim spoke up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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‘What Charles means is that Saatchi’s is the fastest
growing, most creative advertising agency in Britain. And our intention,
together with you guys, is to become the biggest, most creative agency on the
planet.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh, well that’s all right. And that’s what happened. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-11572812642237340882014-11-23T09:51:00.003+00:002014-11-23T09:51:43.807+00:00Immigration and UKIP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dennis Skinner, the Beast of Bolsovcr, says it like it is about immigration and UKIP: <br />
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30141159">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30141159</a><br />
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Never thought the day would come when I'd be cheering him on. <br />
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-30660543894546499232014-11-19T09:05:00.000+00:002014-11-19T09:05:52.115+00:00Trolls ‘R’ Us <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cH3A_uD3XWY/VGxc9Ekk-PI/AAAAAAAAD78/0Ic5zXuGBQ0/s1600/shouting%2Bat%2Bthe%2Btellie.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cH3A_uD3XWY/VGxc9Ekk-PI/AAAAAAAAD78/0Ic5zXuGBQ0/s1600/shouting%2Bat%2Bthe%2Btellie.png" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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Confronted by the latest trolling scandal, Sophie said to
me: ‘Of course, we just used to shout at the radio or the tellie when people
said things that annoyed us.’ </div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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And it’s true that the situation has been transformed by the
availability via social media of direct access to the targets. </div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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So, while threatening dire retribution on some public figure
is horrible in all circumstances, at least in our own lounge rooms no one else
is affected (aside from our own immediate family, who know already what loud-mouthed
bigots we are). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-88815548766728447412014-11-16T11:53:00.000+00:002014-11-16T11:53:28.515+00:00Getting to Yes in Europe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wKQngUIy6js/VGiP7dJE5MI/AAAAAAAAD7s/9zCs-gDgU9w/s1600/cameron%2Band%2Bmerkel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wKQngUIy6js/VGiP7dJE5MI/AAAAAAAAD7s/9zCs-gDgU9w/s1600/cameron%2Band%2Bmerkel.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">David
Cameron talks about reforming the European Union and getting a better deal for
Britain. But it seems that his only negotiating skill on view is to use
“strong-arm” tactics ‒ grandstanding, making unilateral demands and threats ‒ and
then to appear surprised that other countries are failing to fall into line. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If he
were to make any progress at all, on any of the issues that matter, he would
have to build alliances founded on mutual interest and mutual trust. This
could only be achieved behind closed doors, not in open session. In reality,
he seems to have no friends in Europe at all and minimal leverage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
fact that he seems either unwilling or unable to build these alliances suggests
that his real agenda is to create a situation where Britain’s exit from Europe is
inevitable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If this
is not the case, perhaps a basic course in negotiating skills would be
appropriate. I’d suggest starting with a close reading of Fisher and Ury’s
<em>Getting to Yes</em>*.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span style="color: #545454; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">*Getting to Yes</span></em><span><span style="color: #545454; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:
<em>Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In</em> by Roger Fisher and William </span>Ury</span></div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-48212476275104122312014-11-08T08:54:00.000+00:002014-11-08T08:54:14.833+00:00White Horse – Number 1 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SaKPv81E0Q8/VF3ZyZeyTRI/AAAAAAAAD7c/UBa6_UbBjXg/s1600/white%2Bhorse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SaKPv81E0Q8/VF3ZyZeyTRI/AAAAAAAAD7c/UBa6_UbBjXg/s1600/white%2Bhorse.jpg" /></a></div>
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I wrote about the new management of our local pub in King’s
Sutton (or gastro-pub I should say), the White Horse, not so long after they
moved in and transformed the place – food, drink, service, value, ambience etc.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I walk past just about every day, and we go in to eat there
with pleasure on a fairly regular basis, so it’s become clear that business has
steadily grown under the watchful eye of front-of-house Julie and chef Hendrik.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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What I hadn’t realised is that they are already Number 1 on
Tripadvisor out of no less than 147 eateries in the Banbury area. What a gift for our
lovely country village.</div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-12912113784013825932014-11-05T10:29:00.002+00:002014-11-05T10:29:29.634+00:00Slooshying Schubert <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UVDJAg4HLKY/VFn7fd4SLnI/AAAAAAAAD7M/VFsbdzyMyQU/s1600/anthony%2Bburgess.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UVDJAg4HLKY/VFn7fd4SLnI/AAAAAAAAD7M/VFsbdzyMyQU/s1600/anthony%2Bburgess.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Richard Sykes writes to me in response to my question (following
the Schubert Project at the Oxford Lieder Festival): <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Where were all the students in this great city of
learning...?" </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Roger, have you read <i>A Clockwork Orange</i>? Alex, reformed by
the drugs and aversion therapy to which he is subjected, finds that his musical
tastes have changed:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"It was like something soft getting into me and I could not
pony why. What I wanted these days I did not know. Even the music I liked to
slooshy in my own malenky den was what I would have smecked at before,
brothers. I was slooshying more like romantic songs, what they call <i>Lieder</i>,
just a goloss and a piano, very quiet and like yearny, different from when it
had been all bolshy orchestras and me lying on the bed between the violins and
the trombones and kettledrums. There was something happening inside me, and I
wondered if it was like some disease or if it was what they had done to me that
time upsetting my gulliver and perhaps going to make me real bezoomy."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I rather suspect that this is Burgess reflecting on his own
experience of evolving musical tastes and the ways in which we experience some
musical revelations only as we age. Certainly that was my experience with
Lieder. As an Oxford undergraduate I loved "classical" music, and
attended concerts in the city. But I would not have seriously considered attending
a Lieder recital. Now, in my late 40s, something has happened inside me, few
things give me more pleasure, and I love to slooshy Lieder in my own malenky
den and in Oxford's malenky concert hall too. In years to come, I'm sure some
of those students will, too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So good
to be reminded of the extraordinary polymathic Anthony Burgess, who regarded
himself as both composer and writer, although his compositions have rarely been
given airtime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I came to lieder rather earlier than Richard Sykes – in my early twenties ‒ but if
I’d been a student in Oxford before connecting with the genre, I’d have missed
out too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My own
epiphany came when I bought Saga’s 1966 recording of Janet Baker singing
Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Still essential listening. Here she is with
pianist Martin Isepp in Schubert’s ‘Der Musensohn’:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSbNiy5aoxY"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSbNiy5aoxY</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-17233167201724410572014-11-02T10:28:00.000+00:002014-11-02T10:28:00.334+00:00The Last of Schubert <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6d7DjLU9KEY/VFYGunfZ-9I/AAAAAAAAD68/1X_Mv2eEbpc/s1600/jonathan%2Blemalu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6d7DjLU9KEY/VFYGunfZ-9I/AAAAAAAAD68/1X_Mv2eEbpc/s1600/jonathan%2Blemalu.png" /></a></div>
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To the final concert of the Oxford Lieder Festival. My ninth
in the series <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> a
mere sampling of the 109 events on offer over the past three weeks. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s been a magnificent achievement, including all of
Schubert’s 650-odd songs <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
the first time this has been done in Britain. And not just concerts, but also
masterclasses, family events, study days, lecture-recitals, socials and so on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been the brainchild of the excellent accompanist
Sholto Kynoch, who recruited the finest singers and pianists, old and young, organised
the whole thing into brilliantly-conceived programmes, recruited a band of
cheerful helpers, performed personally in many of the events, and was around
meeting and greeting throughout. What a stunning achievement. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My own special memories? <o:p></o:p></div>
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The young Swiss baritone baritone Manuel Walser singing
Schlegel settings and the even-younger Slovenian soprano Nika Gori<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">č</span> singing Schlechta; the
Swedish mezzo Maria Forsstr<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ö</span>m
singing Schiller; Schubert’s <em>Octet</em>, brilliantly played by the Principals of the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; from the older generation, Sir Thomas
Allen singing <em>Winterreise</em> and the great Dutch bass Robert Holl singing
Mayrhofer settings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And, in the final concert yesterday, the seventy-something
year old Sarah Walker, melting hearts with a superb all-female chorus in one of
Schubert’s <em>Serenades</em>, and the last thoughts of Schubert in the Heine settings
from <em>Schwanengesang</em>, sung with profound stillness by Jonathan Lemalu (above).
Lastly the intimate playing of clarinettist Mark van de Wiel in “The Shepherd
on the Rock”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But… where were all the students in this great city of
learning? Just a fiver for them on the door. Conspicuous by their absence. </div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-2754533485451880492014-10-29T09:16:00.000+00:002014-10-29T09:16:12.842+00:00How's your German? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<o:p></o:p> </div>
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I am currently steeped in German Romantic poetry – in
particular Schiller, Schulze, Mayrhofer, H<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ö</span>lty, Heine, M<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ü</span>ller
and the Schlegel brothers <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span>
preparing for concerts in Oxford filled with Schubert’s settings of their work.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
This brought to mind one of those forks in the road that
confront us from time to time. I was working very happily for Garland-Compton
in its pre-Saatchi days, running our biggest client, Rowntree. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
They had
recently taken over a leading competitor, Mackintosh’s, and the brilliant,
glamorous young Tony Mackintosh had become leader of their merged European
division. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Tony would sweep into our offices in Charlotte Street,
brought there in his black-chauffeur-driven white limo, a vision, all blue
jeans and fur coat. The latter he would hand immediately to our receptionist,
she on the verge of meltdown, and ask for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It was all very 1969. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
In due course, Tony summoned me to <em>his</em> offices – not in
Halifax or Norwich or York, where the major factories and offices were (and
are), but in a fine Georgian house in Park Lane, Mayfair. There he invited me
to leave the agency and join his team in a senior marketing role. I was
flattered, of course, but turned him down <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> graciously, I hope. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
At one point in the meeting, we discussed European
languages. The plain fact is that, although I have some words and phrases in
most of them, I am reasonably fluent only in English. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
“How's your German?” he asked. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
“Well, I’m familiar with a good deal of Romantic poetry,” I
said, “but I’m not sure that the vocabulary would be very useful in marketing
meetings.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Here’s a sample, useful in recent days in Oxford: Abendstern
(evening star); Einsamkeit (solitude); Abschied (farewell); Klage (lament);
Weinen (tears); Heimweh (homesickness); Sehnsucht (longing); Erwartung (anticipation)…
</div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-72298162872259661112014-10-26T08:28:00.001+00:002014-10-26T11:22:49.142+00:00Hurdy-gurdy man in Oxford <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0JwBgkGOmQ/VEywRezOk-I/AAAAAAAAD6c/PdhO9QsR84Q/s1600/hurdy%2Bgurdy%2Bman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0JwBgkGOmQ/VEywRezOk-I/AAAAAAAAD6c/PdhO9QsR84Q/s1600/hurdy%2Bgurdy%2Bman.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">To Oxford again, latest in the Schubert lieder recitals.
This time it was the wonderful baritone, Sir Thomas Allen, singing the great song
cycle, <em>Die Winterreise</em> – the Winter’s Journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Schubert set this tragic series of poems by his
contemporary, Wilhelm Müller. Although the composer admired Müller’s work
immensely, he only set one of his poems as a single song, ‘Der Hirt auf dem
Felsen’, the Shepherd on the Rock. But he set two long series by the poet </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">which together established the song-cycle
as a major form within music – <em>Die Schöne Müllerin</em> and <em>Die Winterreisse</em>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Curiously, although I’ve known the Winter's Journey intimately from recordings
over several decades, it was the first time I’d heard it in the flesh. And what
an ideal introduction this was by Thomas Allen. He brings a lifetime of
experience to it, not just of singing and acting, but also of life itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The journey starts with a young man, disappointed in love,
and ends with him observing an aged street musician, an organ-grinder: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><em>There behind the village,<br />
stands a hurdy-gurdy man,<br />
with stiff fingers,<br />
he plays as best he can.<br />
<br />
Barefoot on the ice,<br />
he staggers to and fro,<br />
and his little plate<br />
remains empty for ever.<br />
<br />
No one wants to hear him,<br />
no one looks at him,<br />
and the dogs are growling<br />
around the old man.<br />
<br />
And he lets everything go on<o:p></o:p></em></span></div>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><em>as it will;<br />
he turns, and his hurdy-gurdy<br />
never stands still.<br />
<br />
Strange old man,<br />
shall I go with you?<br />
Will you turn your hurdy-gurdy <o:p></o:p></em></span><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><em>to my songs?</em> </span></div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-91382914829358836912014-10-23T14:11:00.001+01:002014-10-23T14:11:21.555+01:00Hyperventilating with Lord Carrington <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOMZS8wxsnw/VEj-DDlG7pI/AAAAAAAAD6M/AvGBkN4pwN8/s1600/carrington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOMZS8wxsnw/VEj-DDlG7pI/AAAAAAAAD6M/AvGBkN4pwN8/s1600/carrington.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Everyone associates Saatchi & Saatchi with Mrs Thatcher
and the Conservative Party, but in fact Garland Compton, in the days before it
became Saatchis, pitched and won the business in the run-up to one or other of
the previous 1974 elections. Both were effectively won by Labour, so it’s not
surprising that there’s no residual memory. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
But I recall the pitch. It was one of the most frightening
experiences of my life. The great and good of the party, led by the terrifying
Lord Carrington, were lined up in front of me, waiting for my words of wisdom.
I hyperventilated, scarcely able to get a word out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
How on earth did we win the work? I've no idea. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Afterwards, I told one or two people what had happened to me
and got consistent advice, best summed up as: ‘You’d probably be better off not
doing presentations. Stick to what you’re good at, whatever that is.’ <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Of course, that made me determined to get better at
presenting – and at dealing with my nerves in such scary situations. </div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-45724479363756135592014-10-20T10:18:00.000+01:002014-10-20T10:18:33.909+01:00Leaving Saatchi <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4LCgQTlH1eo/VETS7w5eSoI/AAAAAAAAD58/DnVR3EO7M5k/s1600/saatchi%2Bbrothers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4LCgQTlH1eo/VETS7w5eSoI/AAAAAAAAD58/DnVR3EO7M5k/s1600/saatchi%2Bbrothers.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
The recent serialisation of Lord Tim Bell’s memoirs in the <em>Daily Mail</em> with
its exposé of the ‘backstabbing, booze and screaming rows’*, put me in mind of
the difficult time I had had in leaving the firm. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
At thirty-one, I’d come to the conclusion that, to get experience as a CEO
in the advertising business, I needed to leave Saatchi and Saatchi, the hottest
agency on the planet at that time.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I had found another, smaller, agency that was looking for someone to succeed
the dashing Rupert Chetwynd as MD. And they wanted me to do that.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Back at Saatchi, I was quite surprised, when I told Tim Bell of my plans,
that he didn’t follow my reasoning at all. In fact they wanted me to stay.
And so I found myself in the presence of the legendary Charles Saatchi.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
What would it take to keep me at Saatchi’s? The offers came thick and fast.
Salary increases, trains, boats, planes. Anything you like. Oh, and by the way
we’d like you to be managing director.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
The problem with that offer was that the agency already had a whole raft of
people called chairmen, deputy chairmen, managing directors, deputy MDs and so
on. I couldn’t see that becoming MD would have any reality to it. So I declined
his kind offer as graciously as I could.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
As I was leaving his office, Charles stopped me: “I’d just like to say one
thing to you… It won’t be as easy out there.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
How right he was. In those days, winning business at Saatchi’s was a walk in
the park.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
But how was I to know that?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
*<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2777199/The-Saatchis-Mad-Men-look-tame-Screaming-rows-Dirty-tricks-Backstabbing-booze-galore-Just-ordinary-day-surreal-world-ad-land-s-controversial-brothers-LORD-BELL.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2777199/The-Saatchis-Mad-Men-look-tame-Screaming-rows-Dirty-tricks-Backstabbing-booze-galore-Just-ordinary-day-surreal-world-ad-land-s-controversial-brothers-LORD-BELL.html</span></a>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-38130092469946520082014-10-17T09:32:00.001+01:002014-10-17T09:32:51.830+01:00Wikipedia and Misia <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_9L_7-OKq4/VEDUGZqSXcI/AAAAAAAAD5s/prwHdoKN1VU/s1600/misia%2Bvuillard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_9L_7-OKq4/VEDUGZqSXcI/AAAAAAAAD5s/prwHdoKN1VU/s1600/misia%2Bvuillard.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Academics the world over remain sniffy about Wikipedia. Yet
it is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most valuable triumphs of the
internet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
What prompted this thought was a rekindling of interest in
the extraordinary life of Misia Sert. Born in 1872, she was a pianist (her
teacher Gabriel Faur<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">é</span>),
who married three times. She was a close friend of the impresario Diaghilev and
became the cultural arbiter in Paris for several decades. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Proust enshrined her in two ways in his <em>In Search of Lost
Time</em>: as Princess Yourbeletieff (sponsor of the Ballets Russes) and as the
gruesome Madame Verdurin. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
All this one can learn from the Wikipedia entry on Misia,
which I note has doubled in length and acquired a dozen footnotes since I last
googled it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Ah well. Academia has been known to give the impression of catching
up with the rest of the world – sometimes at a distance of twenty years or so… </div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-5607818555896418922014-10-14T07:00:00.000+01:002014-10-14T07:00:16.463+01:00Schubert in Oxford <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgcwMbsgl5g/VDy7t60d6wI/AAAAAAAAD5c/C_41ApPP8wI/s1600/manuel%2Bwalser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgcwMbsgl5g/VDy7t60d6wI/AAAAAAAAD5c/C_41ApPP8wI/s1600/manuel%2Bwalser.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
How blessed we are, to live near Oxford. Smaller than
London, Paris or New York, but nevertheless with so much going on. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
This month the city hosts a three-week festival – all the
songs of Schubert. Over 650 of them. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It’s an amazing feat, the brainchild of pianist-impresario
Sholto Kynoch, who has organised (and performed in) his Oxford Lieder Festival
since its inception. Most of the events are at Holywell – not a ‘concert hall’,
but an intimate ‘music room’ with ideal acoustics. Opened in 1748, is it the
oldest public music venue in the world? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
And the performers this year – a dazzling array of the
finest singers of German song, including Sir Thomas Allen, Wolfgang Holzmair,
Sarah Connolly, Angelika Kirschlager, Ian Bostridge, Robert Holl and so many more.
Plus the finest pianist-accompanists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I caught up with it at lunchtime yesterday – a recital of
Schubert’s songs to poems by the brothers Schlegel. I was looking forward to
the soprano Kate Royal, who was wonderful, as expected, but the revelation was
the young Swiss baritone Manuel Walser (above), a pupil of Thomas Quasthoff. What
an artist!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Was this his debut in Britain? It seems so. Such a future he
has before him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
And I have tickets for several more concerts in the series.
Hurrah! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-54897494490271535172014-10-11T10:10:00.000+01:002014-10-11T10:10:02.581+01:00Things that just ain’t so <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CDPWXeSqtTw/VDjzxOp5SiI/AAAAAAAAD5M/QElGmjQJ-gg/s1600/know%2Bknow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CDPWXeSqtTw/VDjzxOp5SiI/AAAAAAAAD5M/QElGmjQJ-gg/s1600/know%2Bknow.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
One of the most popular consultant visuals is the one that
divides the topic in hand into things we know we know, things we know we don’t
know, things we don’t know we know, and things we don’t know we don’t know.
It’s a useful diagnostic tool. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Of course, there’s another category, not captured by the
graph, but neatly expressed by the American cowboy Will Rogers (or was it wise
Mark Twain?): <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em>It's not the things you don't know what gets you into
trouble. It's the things you do know that just ain't so.</em></div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-86277380208510717502014-10-08T09:07:00.002+01:002014-10-08T09:07:49.466+01:00Learning from history<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9u7OopLNV_s/VDTwSsV-M0I/AAAAAAAAD48/69qA_Nxf8Rg/s1600/burke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9u7OopLNV_s/VDTwSsV-M0I/AAAAAAAAD48/69qA_Nxf8Rg/s1600/burke.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p> </div>
Some quotes we seem condemned to repeat. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I’m thinking of course of George Santayana’s most famous
line <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> from his
1905 book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reason in Common Sense</i>:
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em>Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.</em></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
But hold on. Wasn’t that one of Churchill’s? Or was it John
Buchan? <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Actually, it was the Dublin-born philosopher Edmund Burke in
the 18<sup>th</sup> century who wrote: <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<em>Those who don’t know history are
doomed to repeat it. </em></div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-80293832016807648322014-10-05T19:43:00.002+01:002014-10-05T19:43:56.299+01:00We happy few in Birmingham <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DcRq7qSLOFI/VDGRF8n7o-I/AAAAAAAAD4s/1_zym3G1Vqw/s1600/aco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DcRq7qSLOFI/VDGRF8n7o-I/AAAAAAAAD4s/1_zym3G1Vqw/s1600/aco.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
To Symphony Hall in Birmingham for the Australian Chamber
Orchestra on tour. Perfect programme, brilliantly played. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
What could be more delicious than this: one of Haydn’s most
scintillating symphonies, the 'Hen', written for Paris; Mozart at his most
profound, his last piano concerto, beautifully played by Steven Osborne; a
brand new work by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood, post-Pendereckian, wonderfully
atmospheric in that hall, and with the composer on stage with the band playing
an amplified sitar; and Tchaikovsky at his most joyfully ecstatic, his <em>Souvenir
de Florence</em>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The ACO really isn’t just another chamber orchestra. They are
world-class and have a very distinct character <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> energetic yet soulful, standing to play, swaying,
absolute unity, all in black. Tremendous audience reaction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
So what’s the problem? The hall was maximum 15% occupied.
Maybe less. Acres of empty space. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Had the Symphony Hall marketing and publicity people gone on
strike? </div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-86222110911849574622014-10-02T07:27:00.001+01:002014-10-02T07:27:31.752+01:00Not sunk in yet…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jy1nXivytjo/VCzwLkpt7LI/AAAAAAAAD4c/kMn_Yfh2-4s/s1600/not%2Bsunk%2Bin%2Bdonaldson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jy1nXivytjo/VCzwLkpt7LI/AAAAAAAAD4c/kMn_Yfh2-4s/s1600/not%2Bsunk%2Bin%2Bdonaldson.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
That’s golfer Jamie Donaldson’s response to having played
the final winning shot for the European team at the Ryder Cup on Sunday. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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‘It’s not sunk in yet…’ </div>
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</div>
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That’s what sportsmen and women say
when they achieve some important milestone. All of them. It’s become the
standard clich<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">é</span>. And
usually in answer to the same question, ‘How does it feel…?’<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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But what does it really mean? <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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‘I’ve been working very hard and don’t know how to access my
feelings at this point’?<o:p></o:p></div>
‘I don’t have any feelings now, but I might later’? <o:p></o:p><br />
‘That’s such a stock question, so here’s a stock answer’?<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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When they say it, I always wonder how it will be different
when it has finally ‘sunk in’, and how they might recognise that that moment
has arrived.. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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When it finally has 'sunk in', is the feeling usually better or worse than
in the immediate aftermath? I suppose the expectation is that it will be
better, but, for example with silver medal winners, research shows that it’s
worse – and probably, sadly, from the outset.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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How do I feel about this blogpost, now that it’s written?
It’s not… <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-58816585096748724502014-09-29T08:56:00.001+01:002014-09-29T08:56:47.310+01:00Why so many Great Aussie Singers? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LEJN2mM6SDw/VCkQqjomUfI/AAAAAAAAD4M/D_d76ChR-tM/s1600/melba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LEJN2mM6SDw/VCkQqjomUfI/AAAAAAAAD4M/D_d76ChR-tM/s1600/melba.jpg" /></a></div>
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</div>
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Last Tuesday Tony Locantro and I did a joint talk to the
Recorded Vocal Art Society in London entitled ‘More Australian Singers on
Record’. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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‘More’ because this was Tony’s second go with them – he had
previously done the premier division Aussie singers (Nellie Melba, Frances Alda,
Florence Austral, Peter Dawson, Joan Hammond, Joan Sutherland and so on). <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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This time around we featured a new range of singers, many of
them just as good as the first lot, but who had been substantially forgotten (including
the first recording of a female singer in Britain, Syria Lamonte in 1898, the
popular radio baritone Clem Williams, and two discs which may well be unique:
one of Australia’s most successful composers, Alfred Hill, singing his own most
famous song, ‘Waiata Poi’, and the great baritone, Harold Williams, in a
rousing Cobb and Co song, ‘Old John Bax’).<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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As is usual on such occasions, I was asked why it is that
Australia has produced such an amazing and continuous line-up of terrific
vocalists. And, as usual, I responded, ‘Well, I don’t really know.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Is it because there was not so much to do by way of
entertainment before the advent of television, so that people had to make their
own? Although the population was quite small, Australia had the highest per
capita ownership of pianos in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. Is that a relevant factor? Did singing become compellingly
fashionable as a social asset? Was vocal skill seen as a way of escaping from
poverty? Is the climate in some way relevant? <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Did the extraordinary success of Nellie Melba provide a
major sustaining role-model? Or was it perhaps connected with the vowel sounds
produced by Australians and the resulting <em>embouchure</em>? That was the theory of
the great teacher of so many successful young Australian singers in Paris,
Mathilde Marchesi. Maybe all of these were factors in the rise of outstanding
singers over a century and more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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When our set of four CDs, ‘From Melba to Sutherland’, is
published in a few months’ time, you’ll be able to answer that question for
yourselves!</div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-18702000880318968512014-09-23T08:14:00.000+01:002014-09-23T08:29:01.677+01:00Othello/Otello ‒ black or white? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-chzkKyhcn0g/VCEdNUKctGI/AAAAAAAAD38/J7aPviO3Qrg/s1600/otello%2Bskelton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-chzkKyhcn0g/VCEdNUKctGI/AAAAAAAAD38/J7aPviO3Qrg/s1600/otello%2Bskelton.jpg" /></a></div>
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What a problem Verdi left to us in casting his Otello. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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It’s not such a problem nowadays with the original Shakespeare.
As early as 1959 I saw the amazing Paul Robeson on the stage at Stratford
(Sam Wanamaker his savage Iago, Mary Ure a delectable Desdemona). And later (in
1989) Willard White at the Young Vic (Iago <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> Ian McKellen, Desdemona <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> Imogen Stubbs).<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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If only Verdi hadn’t conceived his Moor as a tenor, both of
those great black bass-baritones might have been just the ticket. But he didn’t.
He demands not just any old tenor, but a genuine dramatic one, with a powerful
ringing top and a baritonal timbre. What’s more, one who can act. These creatures are hard to find. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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And all that is still not enough. In our enlightened times,
it’s no longer satisfying to have a white man blacked up, often conjuring up
stereotypical black gestures and accents. Shades of the ghastly Laurence
Olivier performance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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When I saw the exciting Graham Vick production of the
Verdi with his Birmingham Opera Company a few years ago, Vick cast the West
Indian Ronald Samm in the role. Samm was good, perhaps very good. But not
great. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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So what was David Alden to do in his new production for ENO
at the Coliseum? <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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He has at his disposal perhaps the finest dramatic tenor of this
generation, the Australian Stuart Skelton, who has the ideal vocal equipment
and acts powerfully, but is oh so white. Alden has left Skelton au naturel, no
blacking up. And the result is an unforgettable evening in the opera theatre. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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And yet. And yet, there’s still something missing in this
wonderful evening, and that is the shocking fact that the Moor is black, not
white <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> a former
slave, an outsider and misfit in Venetian society. </div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-87804560818782201432014-09-20T12:48:00.000+01:002014-09-20T12:48:00.218+01:00Hills of home<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gjj86Ix4Kb8/VB1pPYDZhqI/AAAAAAAAD3s/KG8POd9ALmc/s1600/galloway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gjj86Ix4Kb8/VB1pPYDZhqI/AAAAAAAAD3s/KG8POd9ALmc/s1600/galloway.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We’ve not heard much from expatriate Scots in recent weeks. So many feel such a strong affiliation, roots ‒ and Robert Louis Stevenson, living in Samoa in 1893, expressed it all so powerfully. <br />
<br />
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blows the wind to-day, and the
sun and the rain are flying,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blows the wind on the moors to-day and now,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Where about the
graves of the martyrs the whaups are crying,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My heart
remembers how!</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
<br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Grey recumbent
tombs of the dead in desert places,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Standing-stones
on the vacant wine-red moor,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Hills of sheep,
and the howes of the silent vanished races,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And winds,
austere and pure.</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
<br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Be it granted me
to behold you again in dying,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Hills of home!
and to hear again the call;</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Hear about the
graves of the martyrs the peewees crying,</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And hear no more
at all.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I posted these verses, ‘To SR Crockett’, about the
‘Grey Galloway land’ last year, but now seems a good time to re-visit them. </span></div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-85053554157965449962014-09-16T07:50:00.001+01:002014-09-16T07:50:58.776+01:00Conversing in the car <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FvfdN7rVgZ4/VBfdqtRkT7I/AAAAAAAAD3c/oEsfIUrVx1A/s1600/Dahl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FvfdN7rVgZ4/VBfdqtRkT7I/AAAAAAAAD3c/oEsfIUrVx1A/s1600/Dahl.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I took my now-retired English teacher from school at
Uppingham, Gordon Braddy, on a day trip to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at
Birmingham University. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
We saw so many fine works there <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‒</span> Botticelli, Veronese, van Dyck, Rubens, Poussin, Dahl
(above*), Murillo, Gainsborough, Turner, Rossetti, Pissarro, Manet, Degas,
Monet, van Gogh, Rodin, Gauguin, Derain, Magritte, Hodgkin… His first time
there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The journey was some two hours by car in each direction
(including me losing my way in both directions, somewhere around Spaghetti Junction).
We talked intimately and continuously. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
At one point, Gordon remarked how good such journeys are in
promoting rich conversation… ‘much better than trains.’<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
I suppose the fact that driver and passenger sit so close to
one another, but necessarily without eye contact, has a lot to do with that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">*<span class="ircsu">Johan Christian Dahl (1785-1857, Norwegian), ‘Mother and Child by
the Sea’</span></span></div>
</div>
Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-88740587949525832432014-09-13T07:54:00.001+01:002014-09-13T07:57:16.434+01:00Conversation not Presentation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCjYHv3kuh0/VBPp63W_lKI/AAAAAAAAD3M/cPjLChyFHdg/s1600/conversation%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bCjYHv3kuh0/VBPp63W_lKI/AAAAAAAAD3M/cPjLChyFHdg/s1600/conversation%2B1.jpg" height="107" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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In a current article in <em>Forbes</em>*, my colleague George Bradt
enjoins us to give up on presentations and have conversations instead. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
My own epiphany on this subject came on a trip to Hamburg. I
had been expecting a one-to-one meeting to discuss innovation with the Unilever
marketing director there. Instead I was confronted by a phalanx of marketing,
innovation and R&D people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
‘Well, Roger, we are greatly looking forward to your
presentation,’ said Herr Marketing Director. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
Presentation? What presentation? I didn’t have one. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
‘Sorry,’ I responded. ‘But I think it would be much more useful if
we were to have a conversation.’ <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
There was much puzzlement around the room. What kind of
presentation was a conversation? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
It took a while to get going, but in the end it was richer
and more thought-provoking than any presentation, tapping into all their shared
knowledge and insight and enthusiasm. And mine too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
*<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2014/09/10/big-presentation-dont-do-it-have-a-conversation-instead/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.forbes.com/sites/georgebradt/2014/09/10/big-presentation-dont-do-it-have-a-conversation-instead/</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p> </div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6923996475133985425.post-78756783914259907102014-09-10T06:27:00.001+01:002014-09-10T06:27:55.240+01:00Scotland the Brave? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LghocIPeEo8/VA_hM3jafpI/AAAAAAAAD28/oFs4ATbwXrk/s1600/scotland%2Bthe%2Bbrave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LghocIPeEo8/VA_hM3jafpI/AAAAAAAAD28/oFs4ATbwXrk/s1600/scotland%2Bthe%2Bbrave.jpg" /></a></div>
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It’s never been easy, making a living in Scotland. In recent
decades, there has been the oil to hold up the economy and before that there
were all those UK-based public service jobs (including the army) that provided consistent
employment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, many of the Scots being fine entrepreneurs,
historically it was England and the British Empire that provided many with a
platform to exploit their talents (including my own ancestors). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Presumably the oil won’t last for ever, so, unhitched from
England and Wales – with a YES vote looking more and more likely – their best
chance would seem to be in the EU, assuming that the EU keeps them on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Scotland the Brave? My old boss, Bill Weithas, always used
to equate bravery with high risk. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s their choice. Roll on September 18. </div>
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Roger Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16716925882482994792noreply@blogger.com2