The Last Word

At the recent Global Boards Conference & Exhibition in London, UK, the conference social evening was held in a function room above a local pub. As delegates left the conference venue for the three minute walk it was raining. At this point, one delegate from Germany made a classic British weather joke. "So... you haven't managed to sort out that problem with the rain yet?" he asked. "No." I replied, quite seriously. "We haven't." He probably wasn't expecting a serious answer.

The UK hadn't solved any problems with its recent 'Winter Storms' at that point. The weather had been causing havoc all over the UK since late December 2013, when the first low pressure systems started to pass across the country. The River Thames flooded to record levels (one of many rivers to burst its banks), the Somerset Levels have been 'lakes' for almost two months now and travel chaos has been widespread. The Cemex UK plant at South Ferriby was flooded. There has been thunder and lightning, hail and even tornadoes in London. It's not all bad news though: Roof repair firms and umbrella salesmen are working overtime.

Since accidentally turning on BBC Grandstand at the age of eight, I have been hooked on Formula One (F1). Watching Nigel Mansell breeze to the 1992 World Championship in the dominant Williams FW14B was the perfect introduction for a young lad to this exhillarating sport. The 3.5L V10 Renault engine in the Williams produced 760hp and was one of the most technologically-advanced racing cars ever built.

It's probably fair to say that F1 is a bit of an addiction for me. I have fallen in and out of love with the sport but still feel compelled to keep watching. For some periods the 'racing' has been very bland, with whole seasons lost to dominant teams. (Get well soon Schumi!) There are disputes that take years to resolve and a steady creep to 'new markets' that seem to neither want nor have the money to host this wasteful pastime.

Happy New Year to all of our readers. If you are a new reader to Global Cement Magazine, Welcome. If you a regular reader, then welcome back to the magazine - yes, it really is Global Cement Magazine that you hold in your hands!

As you can tell, we have had a full redesign of Global Cement Magazine to give it a fresher and more modern look. We hope that it makes the magazine even easier to read - and for you to find the information that you are looking for.

A few days ago myself and my colleagues went to the funeral of our long-time company administrator, Margaret Masson. She was known to many subscribers and other readers of Global Cement around the world. Margaret passed away after a valiant battle with cancer: her infectious laugh - more like a cheerful cackle - will be missed by us all.

At Margaret's funeral, one of the readings was 'Success' by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The poem gives a list of actions and reactions by which one might deem your life to have been a success, including to laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons; to earn the approbation of honest critics; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm; and to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived: 'This is to have succeeded' says the poem.

Hopefully you won't have noticed, but Global Cement is a magazine (and newsletter, website, global cement directory and series of conferences) produced in the UK. I say that I hope that you won't have noticed, because we do try not to concentrate too much on what is happening in the UK, even if we do receive a lot of information about 'local' events. Hopefully, we have as much on happenings in other interesting parts of the world - we try to, at least.

However, please forgive me if I start off my column this month by mentioning two trends in the UK that could soon be manifested elsewhere around the world: Extreme anticartelisation and a forthcoming electrical energy crunch.