Dear friends and professional colleagues,
I hope I find you all fit and well as I start to pen my eighth president’s page, it’s the end of November and I’m now well into the second half of my year as your president. Christmas will be here soon with all the usual festive indulgence and social events! Can’t wait! (Although by the time you read this, Christmas will be but a happy memory.)
On 17 November I was at a well-attended and excellent Northern Region CPD event entitled ‘Renewable Energy in the Built Environment’. This was presented by Narec, who are independent energy consultants based in Blyth in the north east of England. Narec is creating a world-class research development and demonstration hub for the offshore wind industry. They have a state-of-the-art centre for the testing and commercialisation of next generation reliable technologies for the wind energy industry. The speaker, Alex Savidis, talked in detail about the various drivers for low carbon and renewable energy; for example, climate change, energy security and fuel poverty. He also gave a great overview on renewable energy technology which is currently available, namely solar, wind, biomass and heat pumps. He then spoke about current and planned financial incentives such as Feed in Tariffs, Renewable Heat Incentives/Renewable Heat Premium Payments, Enhanced Capital Allowances and Reduced VAT. He gave a detailed example and case study around feed in tariffs and the implications of the proposed reductions in FITs. The talk ended with an interesting question and answer session, followed by the usual nibbles and networking opportunity.
On 19 November my good lady and I travelled to the wonderful city of Cambridge to attend the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) Annual President’s Dinner Dance. I managed to shoot myself in the foot good and proper by failing to give adequate notice to my good lady that the event was black tie and long dress! I could have sworn I’d told her but I apparently hadn’t! I ended up telling her the day before! How much notice does a lady need, for goodness sake! About two weeks, it transpires, and I now have the pleasure of buying her a new dress to teach me a lesson!!
The dinner was held at The Great Hall at Girton College in Cambridge. The college was built in the 1800s as a ladies only college, and sited two miles out of the town centre, with the aim of distancing the young ladies from the gentlemen students! Great idea, but I bet it didn’t work! The hall looked straight out of a Harry Potter movie with its wonderful architecture and high ceiling; and was attended by around 250 distinguished guests from our industry. I had a most enjoyable evening and was between Francesca Berriman, the Chief Executive of CIAT, and Brian Law, the Chief Executive of the Association for Project Safety.
The welcome to the dinner was given by Simon Ward, the CIAT East Anglia Region Chairman, who introduced the Mayor of Cambridge, Councillor Ian Nimmo-Smith, who during his speech admitted he had studied at Oxford! This was followed by an excellent dinner. We then heard excellent speeches from outgoing CIAT President, Barry Le Beuvant, and incoming President, Colin Orr. The evening ended with some music and dancing, then back to the hotel at around 1.00am for a nightcap. One funny moment during the evening was when the Toastmaster announced one of the speakers as being from the Chartered Institute of Agricultural Technologists. Where are the tractors parked, I thought! It was great to see all attendees saw the funny side of this!
As we awoke to glorious sunshine on the Sunday, Linda and I took the opportunity to take an hour and a half open top bus tour of Cambridge, where we learned about the history of Cambridge in general; and the education system of 31 colleges and two universities; and how it all works. Previous presidents had told me the CIAT dinner should not be missed and they were right.
On 24 November I headed down to London to attend the NHBC 75th Anniversary Lunch, the venue was 8 Northumberland Avenue, and there was a great opportunity before the event to network during a drinks reception with the 400 or so movers and shakers from our industry. I was fortunate to have some glamour on my table, in the name of Diane Marshall, one of our recent Past Presidents; we took the opportunity to have a good old catch up on all sorts of current issues.
The event commenced formally with an opening by the incoming chair of NHBC, Isabel Johnson, who was in her first day in the role. She did a great job and gave an overview on the history of NHBC and what it does; she then introduced the Right Honourable Danny Alexander MP, who spoke at length about the current state of affairs in the UK and global economies, and how housing and construction are at the heart of it. He also very diplomatically gave a few snippets on what we could expect in the government’s budget announcements the next week. We then had an enjoyable lunch and opportunity to talk to table guests; the event ended with an informative, light hearted and entertaining address by Nick Robinson, the BBC’s political editor. It was then a taxi back to King's Cross and the train back up to Northumberland.
As I close this month I’m due to head off up to Glasgow with my Northern Region colleague, George Armstrong, to attend the Scottish Region AGM on 7 December. I’m also due to head to HQ in Northampton on 13 December to attend the quarterly business review with HQ staff and my presidential colleagues. I’m also hoping to attend as many regional AGMs as possible in the New Year, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible.
Finally this month I take this opportunity of wishing all ABE members and staff, and your loved ones a happy and prosperous new year. And, as the song goes, ‘things can only get better’.
Here’s looking forward to the opportunities life brings us in 2012.
Kind regards to you all,
Colin
January 2012
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