Private: Publications

PESGB May 2006

Mon 01 May 2006

Category: Magazines

A few words of wisdom from Aberdeen?

Spring has sprung – or so I thought until I saw the weather forecast – and with it comes the annual trek north for the PESGB Council to hold their traditional Aberdeen meeting. Another tradition is that the Aberdeen Director is let loose on this Editorial Page. So I should start by welcoming the Council to Aberdeen and I hope they find the beer to their liking. A warm welcome (well I hope it is warm by the time you read this) to the massing hordes descending on the Granite City for the DEVEX Conference and Exhibition. A tremendous amount of hard work has gone into preparing what will be another excellent meeting of minds and ideas and sharing of experiences. Congratulations to all members of the DEVEX Committee and others who put the time and effort in to ensure the event ‘s success.
It is tempting, when given a blank sheet of paper, a captive readership and editorial freedom, to let loose with both barrels with one’s personal moans and gripes about the industry and dole out what passes for wisdom. However – I have read too many ridiculous missives of that sort (NOT in this column of course) that I shall resist. Besides, being a committed explorationist and knowing that being wrong most of the time is an occupational reality, I’d probably regret every word! (Got to tell you this though … one of my former bosses retired a few years back and wrote the usual ‘wise old man’ tripe in a well known journal about what is wrong with the industry, exploration especially, and how it should be done. The halls were echoing to the outrage from his long suffering underlings about why the expletive didn’t use his influence to DO it right when he had the chance’) Oh now I’m getting all upset!
Instead let me sing the praises of … well you …. the members of this august body. Like many people in the ’80s I joined the PESGB because my employer at the time would pay for the subscription of all societies as long as the employee paid for at least one with their own cash. The PESGB was the best value in town and so I joined. Other reasons for joining in those days
included making sure you could get tickets for the President’s Evening and get the Jobs Bullet. …. sorry … the Newsletter delivered to your door. To put it bluntly I was not the most active of members for a number of years but kept up my membership and have always beenan avid reader of the Jobs Bulle …. sorry … Newsletter.
When I moved back to Aberdeen towards the end of the last century I became more involved in the Society and have been cheered to see the high turnouts at the regular meetings, the contributions made by members to the running of the Society and the selfless attitude taken by most in their support not only for the society but for the membership as a whole through the
networks and friendships that develop. Please keep up the good work and spread the word to your colleagues – young and old – especially young – we need more fresh ideas!
Now, regular readers will know that our beloved President Chris Flavell is a passionate sports fan. I feel I must maintain another tradition by signing off with a comment about Wolverhampton Wanderers and the English Rugby and Cricket teams: they are all rubbish.
Ta ta

Frank Barker
Director Aberdeen