There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple too.
And up in the nursery, an absurd little bird
Is popping up to say, "Cuckoo cuckoo!"

Regretfully they tell us but firmly they compel us
To say goodbye to you.

I have been writing blogs and articles and comments for PR releases for the UK200 Group for 10 years, perhaps longer. All for the love of it and now I’ve come to what I have determined will be my final blog. Whether this will be a tear jerker or a sick maker who knows? Having retired from full time employment almost 6 years ago I have decided to hang up my pen (strictly my keyboard) in the interests of trying not to outstay my welcome and everyone needs to move on. Having outlasted almost all my peers I thought I might leave a record of some of the highs and lows of my memories of the UK200 Group. The expurgated version of those none memoir memoires was distributed at the 2015 annual conference.

Only one person’s name was used in that vignette, the founder of the group, David Turnbull. A maverick, whose infectious enthusiasm drove the group from a standing start to a pulsating first conference in around 12 months. So determined that everyone knew what was going on in those early years that every committee member got a pack of minute from all meeting on perhaps a weekly basis. One dreads to think how many acres of forest disappeared into those bulging envelopes. Of course that was before the use of the internet. It is a sobering thought that I am talking about a time when some of our members were still at school and possibly not even born.

There are so many names and images from the past 30 years or so as I think, fondly, of my involvement with the Group. I will not list the icons who helped shape the Group and me. But you might or might not recognise, David, Wilf, Ritchie, Graham, Peter(s), Bill, John(s), Dennis and so many others who became friends. There is one image, I recall, from a very early conference of a staid middle aged pipe smoking member accompanied by an eye catching statuesque auburn haired beauty. It was only very much later that I learned that she was probably his secretary.

But, No, I am not going to dish the dirt, further. Those early days were invigorating to be part of but today is equally exciting. The world is now a very different place from the early years of the Group. Professional regulation is tightening, though whether it is any better is a matter of opinion. I have heard little on the subject of ethics but they are just as important as many of the other skills assiduously taught. If you don’t believe me read the professional hearings page of Economia (what an awful name for a magazine, it sounds like a skin complaint) and reflect on how our fellow professionals find so many ways to get themselves in the mire.

Back in 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, as president, I spoke at the conference gala dinner and recounted a probably apocryphal quotation attributed to Calvin Coolidge at his memorial service in 1933.

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than the unsuccessful man with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the world.

But the UK200 Group is uniquely placed to be a shining example to all our professions and thus we, you, have to carry the banner for the professional and business standards on into the 21st century. So, press on.

A little time ago I wrote a blog entitled, “This could be the last time”. Now that last time has arrived. So I wish you and the Group well and say that I did it my way and wish you all so long and farewell.

Tags: UK200

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