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Here we go

Have had ‘flu these last few days, despite a jab late in what is now last year. Have been working on two books meanwhile: finishing off the 80-page collective memoir for my father, and writing the first few chapters of the new book for Earthscan. Both going well. A sense of the calm before the storm as far as 2011 goes. Not sure what my New Year’s resolutions are or should be, though have a sense that catching up with myself should be somewhere in there, alongside taking better care of those around me. Rather think I’ve been there before.

Marking a big family milestone

From a 90th birthday card painted for Tim by Peter Mills

Back earlier today from Little Rissington, where even the Volvo had trouble making it up the snowy slope to Hill House, where Elaine, Gaia, Hania and I had gone to celebrate my father Tim’s 90th birthday.

I began to show him the project we have been working on for a couple of months, an 80-page book created through Blurb and featuring the memories of his family, friends and colleagues over the decades. The title: TIM ELKINGTON: Super Man at 90–A Kaleidoscopic Portrait by Family & Friends. What a privilege, in so many ways, to be able to mark such a milestone.

On the way back through Oxford, we stopped in for a quick glass of Prosecco with Simon Beaufoy, who Gaia has been working with. (he has also been helping them with their writing projects.) Wonderful stopover. And now the holiday begins–and tomorrow I start writing my new book, hopefully. More anon.

Snow outside, cameras inside

Big Thinking

Filmed today by Mark Seddon and Andrew Psarianos for Big Think.

In the Museum of Brands

Quality Nerve food Stampede Black tie 1 Black tie 2 Normal tied 1 Normal tied 2 Green tie: Geoff (Lye) sandwiched between Geoff Kendall and his brother Gary

My sister Tessa’s fiftieth birthday today: we spoke ahead of her flying to Abu Dhabi. This evening, 15-or-so of us were all trucked across to the Museum of Brands for the SustainAbility Christmas party this evening in a fleet of hybrid cabs, albeit in a sometimes near-solid-state traffic jam, caused by the wrong sort of snow. Joint session with Volans, though with others currently overseas (on holiday or, in Amy’s case, marooned by snow in Munich) Volans was down to Sam, Jacqueline (Lim) and I. Founded by Robert Opie, the museum is fascinating, a maze of displays of a total of 12,000 branded products that have been and are the environment for generations of Britons. Wonderful evening.

Four sessions with Tetra Pak

Tetra Pak 1 Tetra Pak 2 – my zone Copenhagen airport

Flew in last night for a series of four sessions today with some 150 top executives of Tetra Pak. Great fun and subject to confidentiality agreement, but no great secret to say the area I did my sessions in was ‘floored’ in grass, which added an interesting fragrance to the proceedings.

On the flight back to London this evening, much delayed, we turned in over a spectacularly moonlit city, like something out of Avatar (like the eye in the second photo above), and the stewardess said ‘Wow!’ and came and sat beside me to watch the spectacle unfold.

Had an interesting email exchange from a speeding Mercedes crossing the Great Belt Bridge from Sweden to Denmark with Wu Qing, where she asked me how Elaine was. I replied that she was fine, but felt that I had my foot trapped on the accelerator of life. Wu Qing thought I literally had my foot stuck on the accelerator on the bridge. Happily, though, the Tetra Pak was my last major engagement of 2010 – and a quieter period now beckons, in which I start writing the new book.