TIME IS WAITING

I woke in the night to an almighty clap of thunder rolling down from the hills, the brilliance of lightning bouncing off the walls – and a couple of freaked out cats jumping on the bed. Now, I love stormy weather but when you think the tempest is breaking right over your head you do tend to wonder if the roof is sound and the house wind and watertight.

I don’t think, looking at the gathering gloom this morning, we have seen the back of the rain today either. And I’m not complaining – but I’m not up to my oxters in flood water either! My thoughts go out to anyone who is and I hope you dry out soon and that remedial repairs can find a way to stop the water getting in another time, particularly as it looks as if we are going to have to get used to the recurrence of what we once thought of as once-in-a-hundred-years’ weather events.

That’s certainly the case for the village where we lived when I was little. Ballater, which year after year, nestled safely in a bend of the River Dee in the Highlands, coming through winters of deep snow and the violent spate of the resulting thaw. Then Storm Frank hit in 2015 - and the river re-routed itself through the centre of the town, carrying huge static caravans off in the direction of Aberdeen. The flooding ran on for those forty miles leaving devastation in the wake of its angry waters.

People – as they do in other places hit by natural disasters – got on with the clear up, the tense conversations with their insurers and rebuilding their lives in the confident belief there wouldn’t be a repeat performance in their lifetimes. But last week brought not so much a Seven Year Itch as a full-on rash of raging waters racing down from the Coyles of Muick. Aberdeenshire wasn’t alone. APS is, as you know, registered in Edinburgh and many parts of the city were also under water.

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The majesty of Nature, in all her moods, never grows stale. But it clearly can’t be taken lightly either. I know many of you work on mitigating the rising tide of risks we are likely to see. So, it might be worth taking a look back at some of the webinars we have been hosting on Hidden Hazards, Human Risks. All our webinars are available to watch again so, if you miss one on the day, you can always catch up at a time to suit you. The APS information bank is growing and our experts are available as part of your membership – there is no additional cost, no matter how many times you view.

Our events also have the benefit of being something you can take with you anywhere you go.

This time last week I was heading to the national Constructing Excellence awards in London. I arrived in my posh frock and heels. The venue was mobbed – even if it did look like a downpour of blokes in dickie-bows than merely just an evening raining men. The industry really needs to think a bit more about diversity!

APS was the sponsor of the national health, safety and wellbeing award. The association had been involved in the regional judging so I can say with some certainty that all those shortlisted were winners in our minds. But only one entry could lift the trophy and that went to F M Conway for their occupational road risk programme. We will be featuring them in a future edition of the Project Safety Journal so don’t expect to see them in the new magazine when it pops into your inbox soon.

Our immediate past president, Jonathan Moulam, presented the award. And a great night was had by everyone. Everyone, that is except our president, Ray Bone, who was actually on the ticket to be doing the honours. Ray was taken into hospital with a severe stomach bug and is not long home – I know you will be pleased he’s on the mend and I will let him know you are thinking of him.

I don’t suppose catching up on any APS events he may have missed is foremost on his mind for the moment. But, in his own way, he does illustrate how we cannot always dodge the wrath of nature. Although, sometimes, it can be harnessed for the good.

So, taking an enormous stretch with my metaphors, I’d like to point you to a series of APS events that are new to book at www.aps.org.uk/events . APS Energy Week starts on Monday 23 January 2023 and for the first time the association will be taking a whole week to focus in depth on a single subject. We will have webinars, podcasts and live events covering everything from planning to nuclear power. This is something extra and the regular webinars and CPD sessions will continue as normal.

What isn’t normal, however, is an additional general meeting we are holding for members only on Wednesday 14 December 2022. You will be getting a deluge of information from us about the meeting over the coming days. I urge you to take a look because it sets out how we hope to improve the governance of the association.

What seems like a lifetime in the past we asked you what you thought about APS, its Board and its Council. We asked so the association could serve you better and because we wanted to make things more accessible and more accountable. We listened to what you told us and have been working on proposals that aim to deliver the things for which you asked.

It is your association so we are asking you to consider if the proposals fit the bill. It hangs on your vote. I know it can seem as if organisations are as immovable and immutable as Mother Nature but we have listened. And I hope this, at least, will be something positive and really only a once in a lifetime event!