Meanwhile the exciting speakers this month were Muhammad Yunus, at the RSA. Now there's a man comfortable in his own skin, and the principle of the Grameen bank, spreading like a virus across the world.   His initial seeding was of small loans for groups of women, in Bangladesh.  Interestingly the Independent failed to mention that it was the women who Muhammad Yunus finds to be credit worthy and trustworthy.  (Independent, 10 June 2010).
 
"Coming here, the man who lends cash to people banks won't touch."
 
He made the women the owners of the loans and of the bank. Currently holding seminars in Scotland, he intends to roll out the program world wide.     Interestingly in this country, the women seemed to disappear during the election. They were all kept indoors. Who needs a burka to keep women invisible?
 
As Stuart Rose (MD of Marks and Spencer) "You've got a woman in the Red Arrows, what more do you women want? Glass Ceiling indeed!"  However Breitling, down at Duxford, have gone one better - they have a team of women wing walkers!  I love these flying metaphors, and how much freer to be a wing walker!

 

 

As ever SbS goes from strength to strength.  More brilliant rush hour concerts, a family day at Cardogan hall, and the War Requiem in London and .... with the Parliamentary choir.  Support them with donations, or by coming to the concert. The next generation of orchestral musician.  Some of last year's alumni have formed a group Idomineo, heading toward the Wigmore. Watch this space.

 

 

An opportunity to meet Clare Short at the book launch: "The Ultimate Weapon is no Weapon" at the LSE.  Fascinating spending time with academics.  The best was a tall military gentleman by the name of Shannon, a co-author.     An American, tall tanned and speaking from his perspective of countries of Africa and other parts of the world where conflict is endemic.    "Focus on the language," he said, "what is the language obscuring?" One of the audience asked if the arms makers weren't perhaps cleverer than the politicians.  The politicians came in for a bit of shtick, especially as Clare Short's mobile kept interfering with the mikes.  
 
Another language focus was Margaret Throsby's guest  Don Watson:  He's got it in for mission statements, especially written by 8 year olds in school, the whole consumer culture. "Clients and customers, not passengers and patients."  Don Watson III Author, public speaker and former political speech-writer in Australia.  He writes about the misuses of language and meaningless jargon.

"Bendable Learnings: The Wisdom of Modern Management" is published by Knopf.