LONGBOAT KEY & EDINBURGH

We had an excellent family Xmas with our girls, their partners, all our grandchildren and one of our daughter’s in-laws. The house was full and full of fun. To top that, Stoke City beat Everton away at Goodison Park. Our joy was complete.

Old Year’s Night was spent with friends and the following day ~ 1st January ~ we flew out to Tampa and on to Longboat Key on the Gulf of Mexico for a relaxing 10 days. During this time, Sue (Professor Sue Cox) flew on to an AACSB meeting in Austin, Texas, where the weather was distinctly Nordic: freezing and grey.

We both re-engaged with work on our return. Sue announced her retirement as Dean of the Lancaster University Management School (LUMS). She steps down at the end of the current academic year but will remain with the University as an Ambassador and will also maintain her professional roles. She is standing down after guiding LUMS to triple accreditation (again) and maintaining its place (again), through the REF, as (arguably) the UK’s leading Management School.

On 29th January, Sara MacLennan and I met with Janice Preston, Macmillan in Scotland, to brief on progress on the SCOT-PAIS project and discuss the next steps. The meeting, held in Macmillan’s offices in Edinburgh, were both friendly and constructive.
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