July
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Geoff Lynch review and Xitan deal before BMMG preparations on the eve of the minister’s meeting
A very much cooler day with afternoon temperatures below 70degF. The evening was quite temperate with a chilly breeze. Early to let the ducks out with Daniel and then to the office to review the mail and prepare for a personal appraisal with Geoff Lynch. Arriving early, Geoff met with me until late afternoon. I presented and agreed with him his appraisal, then discussed plans I have for converting his Xitan Shares for Comart Shares in three stages totalling some 9000 odd shares. Also a net profit based commission scheme to elevate his earnings on quota as Xitan M.D. to some £27/29K. His reaction was rather guarded but I feel that the generosity, once assimilated, is fully appreciated.
Late phone calls to the BMMG Secretary, Helen Gibbons, to check arrangements for the Minister tomorrow. All seems well and we should have both a well-attended Breakfast meeting of members and a fully representative ministerial lobby. I only regret the early hour at 8.00am for first rendezvous in London. The news today is still of the helicopter crash now that the vehicle has been recovered with 27 of the 30 missing bodies on board. A late parliament debate tonight, on MP’s pay with a real chance of defeat for the Government after many sessions of pay restraints has left MP’s behind the senior civil servants. A typhoon in the French Bordeaux and Dordogne districts.
With plans for an early morning start, an early night to bed after a hair-wash.
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Leading BMMG delegation for meeting with IT Minister Kenneth Baker
A nice cool and pleasant day. Up very early and left at 6.00am to arrive early at the St Ermin’s Hotel, Caxton Street, London. We had booked the Lancaster Room for a breakfast meeting of the BMMG which was very well supported and funded pro forma at £5/head!
In company we had John Marshall of Gemini, Mr Dane of Control Universal, Eddy Bleasdale of Bleasdale Computer Systems, Mr Humpidge of Kalamazoo, Henry Goldstein of Plessey Microsystems, Howard Sayles of Rair, Nigel Searle of Sinclair Research, Nick Willard of Systime, Graham Clifton of Transam, Bill Unsworth of U-Microcomputers, Chris Shelton of Shelton Instruments and afterwards, joining us as guests, Alan Ball of Trivector and Chris Curry of ACORN.
A brief walk to Ashdowne Place and we settle into a large meeting room where Mr Ed Carmichael, Mr Tony Keston and Dr Loveland join us with The Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Kenneth Baker. First we introduce ourselves individually and then I ask John Marshall to present the important aspects of the BMMG 5 point plan before personally putting the case of the iniquitous differential tariff duty rates that act as a disincentive to manufacturing micro-computers in the United Kingdom.
The Minister expressed support for our membership drive to increase representative status, also welcomes the BMMG initiative to expand export opportunities in Europe. Also has no hesitation in agreeing with our strategy of mutual cooperation with other bodies such as the CBI, CSA etc. He does not comment on the creative public procurement aspect of the 5-point plan but we do not press him on this issue. With regard to our major concern on tariffs and in answer to his question as to its real impact; Bleasdale, Sinclair and Rair all offer concrete evidence of its impact on production site decisions. He voices a willingness to take up this issue and push it to a speedy conclusion. He awaits the results of the NEDC working party but notes that there may be resistance from the component manufacturers and also from French and German companies because the microcomputer industry is not so well developed as here. He will also look into the recent and acute problems posed to our members by the closer US examination of export licensing and closer scrutiny by the UK Department of Trade.
Back to the office via a McDonalds in North London and there to find June back at work. Stressing a little and weeping slightly, I soon help her to forget things by the workload and urgent personnel matters. Then to draft letters for NEDC, The Minister, and releases for the Financial Times; prepare for tomorrows interview with Peter King and the trade press.
The news tonight is of the Lebanon, with Israel withdrawing its troops slightly and the country still in turmoil, even the previously unharmed Beachland Hotel is bombed by inter-Christian sect rivalry. The MPs have voted themselves a large pay rise and the crashed BA helicopter is brought ashore and transferred to Farnborough for crash investigations.
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Meetings with executives and duck economics as the dissolution honours list is named
A warm but pleasant sunny day and first to the office to review the mail and then to write a job specification for Peter King. Peter arrives on time and we spend most of the day reviewing his responsibilities, remuneration and relocation package and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each branch manager. I offer Peter a £11.9K net profit based commission package on top of his salary to total about £27/28K. Also to buy back the Manchester Shares for £5K and allow a second option on shares in The Byte Shop Ltd after UEH. Peter is wary of the commission because of the unknown assumptions of The Byte Shop Budget but realises that a huge salary element will reduce the gearing and hence the reward of doing very well.
A good session and after a brief meeting with Ian Nickson to agree a personnel review and check the status of some technical problems we are experiencing with the new Multi-Processing Systems. Then an early evening with David Fear reading another secretarial review and evaluating space requirements for the sales department. It seems my suggestion of a hatch instead of the interconnecting door could create space for two people.
Home to tea with brief contact with Debbie and Daniel with whom I put the ducks to bed. Then to set The Lady’s batteries to charging because we may well be taking out the boat this weekend. I have now been able to calculate the full costs of expanding the Duck Flock. The ducklings cost 95 pence each or a total of £11.40 for twelve of which 11 have survived. The costs of the new duck house expansion were timber (cut to size) £57and 62pence, Roofing felt bolts nails hinges etc £20and90pence – together a total of £78.52p. At 5p per egg it will take 1570 eggs to repay this housing or 1/3 of a full year’s laying!
Today the dissolution honours list is announced and (Barons) Gerry Fitt and Harold Wilson are named with a peerage also for Jo Grimond. About 25 people are killed in another coach crash in Germany and the election debates for the Labour Leadership are hotting up
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Payroll and management day at Comart before setting off on The Lady for the weekend again
A warm day with sun at first and then a more humid and cloudy afternoon. An office day spent helping June prepare the payroll information of new employees, reviews and pay increases, overtime and outwork claims. A new organisational chart for the group is inevitably the biggest ever. Meetings also with Daniel Jeffrey service manager to review personnel issues and decide how to get our very headstrong field service team into more reasonable work patterns. Also with Derek Morgan to discuss the arrangements for the new customer service building and our present problems of factory security. Lastly with Ian Nickson to establish the timescales for moving into the new Portakabins and discuss how the Development Manager could be helped in coping with the massive expansion of the department team planned for the next year.
I also, this morning, had to talk to David Woods, our management accountant, about the poor timekeeping and personal discipline of the accounts department, upon which subject two individuals had made cause to remark. All in all a good organisational day with time to call Geoff Lynch who seems broadly satisfied with my reward plans for him.
An early finish and home to find the boat nearly ready for a weekend on the river. A few last minute arrangements and we set off at 6.30, lock through Offord and Brampton locks to arrive at Godmanchester moorings 2 hours and 7 nautical miles later. After a chicken salad tea, the children are put to bed and Diana and I take an hour’s walk around the village. We have a new guide book which informs us fully about the range of period buildings dating from 1600-odd. We discover a number of new streets and small shops that we did not know existed.
The news today is of Labour Party leadership rows between Roy Hattersley and Michael Foot, further video films of the child murder district and report of the UK’s European negotiation on budgetary contributions.
Then to bed with the breeze rustling through the Godmanchester trees and the regular church clock chimes the familiar background.