Following a summer that was dominated by furlough and compulsory holiday, the last quarter of 2020 is proving extremely busy. After a brief time back in the actual office in September it’s been back to working from home and with the current national lockdown in force that’s unlikely to change until next year – and …
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Evolution and adaptability
I was reading an article in a national newspaper recently on provision of pain relief during childbirth. The comments on the article quickly became polarised – and unpleasant. When one woman commented that she and her child would have died without medical intervention, one responder claimed that this would have been “Darwinism in action”. In …
From FlyZero to Hero
Summer 2020 has been, to be blunt, unproductive and deeply frustrating. A combination of rolling furlough, the necessity to use 80% of holiday before the end of September (which realistically for parents of school age children means before the end of August) and short periods of working from home in temperatures over 30 degrees inside …
The future of conferences?
When I think about the past few months and whether I’ve noticed any improvements in my quality of life as a result of the lockdown and Covid-19 – I can’t say that my answer is all that positive. It was undoubtedly pleasant cycling on roads that were virtually free of traffic and it was convenient …
First times, Last times
Today is my younger son’s last day at primary school. In ordinary times this would be a major moment – a milestone in his life. In the current, peculiar times we are in it is still a major milestone – yet many of the ways it would normally be marked have had to be changed. …
Time’s Arrow
The human experience of the passage of time is something that we all grapple with. We have access to the past through our own memories and our collective and individual records whether in the form of writing, art, drama, music, buildings or artefacts. We are living in the present. Yet we have no way of …
The New Abnormal
Today I went back to work for the first time in five weeks. Except that, I didn’t really “go” anywhere, other than the dining room. I didn’t see any of my colleagues except over cameras and I didn’t speak to anyone face-to-face, it was all phone calls, Google Meets and emails or instant messages. Whilst …
Seven fat years, seven lean years
Yesterday, Airbus announced 15000 job cuts from its Commercial Aerospace business as part of the ongoing battle to survive the Covid-19 crisis. The announcement was not unexpected although seeing the numbers in print was always going to be bleak. When I originally joined the aerospace industry in 1997, I recall the consensus view at the …
Plane talking
Some years ago, I watched an interview with former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She was asked how she dealt with the challenges of interacting with leaders and government ministers in parts of the world where women were not routinely in positions of authority or expected to be talking on equal terms with men. …
Combat aircraft and how to judge their value
Yesterday evening, I attended the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Sopwith Lecture (virtually of course!). This year’s lecture was delivered by Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence & Space, the title was “European defence and security in a post-Brexit and post-Covid-19 world”. Broadly the lecture went through several topics. First, it covered the potential for reduced defence …
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