Clive Best

Strange word this but in euro-speak it means harassment or bullying. To my amazement I have been the victim of this last Friday. It seems to be a human weakness that when things are not going well for someone they imagine all sorts of conspiracies, and then lash out at whoever they perceive could be involved. This is done without any logical deduction and enacted through some imagined wrongs. Communication is the only way forward, however it has to be two way.

Just spent the last two days travelling between Brussels and Aaalborg. I got up at 4am for a 4:20 taxi to Malpensa airport arriving in Brussels at 8:15. Then I had a meeting with the marketing company for EMM spinoff, actually in the airport. This meant I started work in Brussels 15 minutes before I normally get to work at home here in Italy. Afterwards lunch in a nice restaurant followed by two more meetings in central Brussels, before staggering back to the airport for (after a couple of Leffe beers) a flight to Billund. The plane was a small propella Dornier run by British Airways which flies between Brussels and Billund and must be one of the last planes to serve free meals as we move into Ryan Air utopia. Slept most of the way between wine and cognac. Then another hour to the hotel in Esbjerg by taxi and bed at midnight.

I was in Esbjerg to give a lecture so worked some more on my talk. Here is a tip on how to not have a hernia curtesy of Microsoft! 30 minutes before the talk I am editing the PPT file and decide to change the Master template to locate the institute name and details - as you do (big mistake). Then I saved it and copied it to my USB stick thus overwriting all my copies. Now when you open the file there is absoluetly NOTHING ! just one slide - the master, because dear old microsoft save the last context that you were in. AArrgghh my whole talk lost ! Crazy work to recover an old version ensued for 30 mins.

Finally all OK - then another 8 hours travelling home.

I visited Addis in July and was able to visit the Natural History Museum. The famous human fossil - Lucy is on display. She is some 4 million years old and predates all modern humans. Humanoids most likely evolved in Africa and spread throughout the world. Australopithicus, Neanderthal and Homo Habilis all evolved as separate races .

Colletta is a magical place. It is a perfectly restored medieval village in the Ligurian hinterland called the Pennavaire. Just 15 minutes from the sea and the crowds of Alassio it is set in unspoilt countryside and has a spectacular setting. The village dates back to the 13th century, but was abandoned 60 years ago when life working the land became too hard. This left the village as it was hundreds of years ago with no modern structures whatsoever. A consequent careful reconstruction coordinated by the late famous architect Carlo di Carlo took 12 years to complete. The village has fibre optic networking to all apartments and high speed internet access making it the perfect place to work and relax. The village has a bar/Osteria offering meals and refreshments, while two top class classic Ligurian restaurants are within walking distance.

A new business centre and meeting venue opened this year which can host groups of up to 50. The centre has modern projection and office facilities and accommodation is provided in apartments in the village