Re-union in Hamburg

19 years ago, 10 young(ish) people started in marketing in P&G Newcastle. 2 of us met up again in Hamburg. Silke Voss as she was then, Silke Grell as she is now, was a rather crazy East German who prior to joining P&G had been studying in, of all places, Stoke-on-Trent. She drove her ancient blue Citroen around Newcastle with gay abandon and with a rather laissez-faire attitude to road signs, pedestrians and other drivers. Fortunately she has not changed and it was great to catch up with her, Al, and their children Franka and Lukas. The children all got on well, especially Gilleasbuig and Lukas, even though it did take Lukas a little bit of time to get used to the "physicality" of the Peterson boys.

Hamburg is a very impressive city. The children immediately noticed how clean it was, especially after places like Cairo. The economic prosperity is evident. Geography helps, as Hamburg is one of the biggest ports in Europe and has great access to the rest of Europe through road, rail, and river connections. Many international companies have their offices in Hamburg, including my old friends at Unilever. They have one of the most high profile offices in the city. I hope it costs them a fortune!

Much of the Chinese trade Europe come in containers and Hamburg has capitalised on its port to make the most of this unique opportunity.

Hamburg also has a history and tradition of trade and it is a city where there is a true "merchant" class. There is a German term for it which I will not try to repeat, but it implies more than just trading to make money. There is a responsibility which comes with trade, to give back and invest in the long term future of the community. This sense of sense of civic pride and duty is seen in the remarkable new concert hall which has been financed primarily through local private investment.

Above all you get the clear sense that there is a plan and that the plan will happen as it is based on sound foundations. Hamburg is well placed to continue to prosper. It is investing in infrastructure and private investment is following with new apartments springing up around the port. Unlike London, the river-view apartments look onto a working port! Even Roman Abramovich is having his yacht refitted here.

For most of our stay it rained, giving the children a taste of what life may be like in Scotland. They were initially happy as it was preferable to the 40 degree + weather in the Balkans. However this quickly wore off and they were soon moaning like true Brits.

We had 4 wonderful days in Hamburg, watching Germany lose to Serbia, eating ice cream, playing football in the garden, and enjoying the company (and great food and wine) of our friends. It was a super reminder that with good friends, even if you haven't seen each other for 10 years, you just pick up from where you left off all those years ago as if nothing had happened in the interim. A huge thank you to Silke, Al, Franka and Lukas. As Iona would say: "Danke Franka!".