Learning from the past as we plan for the future

摘要

I had thought after the drama of theB-word that things may quieten. Ihad intended to talk in my conferenceopener about our fi ve-year planningwork that we have embarked on.However, it is clearly the case that mypsychic skills are not what they couldbe. We are now facing the C-word. Inthe spirit of sharing, I’ve been using theF-word pretty liberally these past fewweeks as we enter yet another turbulenttime.In mid-February we celebrated ourAwards shortlisting at the ChurchillWar Rooms and it is impossiblenot to be affected by the historicalimportance of events that happenedthere. It was mesmerising to see theold maps with coloured pins in. Theywould have had to wait days or evenweeks, I suspect, to be able to plot themovements of troops, both allied andenemy.