from number one to number ten

downing street sign. photo: steve woods. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/woodsy

it’s been one of those weird weeks with a mix of good news and high pressure in equal measures. so when rebecca took a phonecall mid-meeting and announced there was someone on the other end asking if i was planning on meeting gordon brown and peter mandelson for drinks on monday evening, i assumed it was a wind-up.

but it wasn’t. and so myself and steve bromham of scarborough IT-consultancy save9 will be turning up at no.10 downing street this monday. apparently the evening is to congratulate businesses succeeding despite the recession although our invitation is, of course, due to scarborough’s renaissance partnership winning the grand jury prize for britain in the european enterprise awards.

the situation became even more bizarre when i received another phone call late today saying that there were a few people the prime minister would like to talk and be photographed with specifically and could i email over a quick biography and photo so they’d be able to pick me out when i arrived. i am seriously wondering if they’ve got the right person…

still, it’s an honour nonetheless, not least to represent scarborough, the town that has been so good to me. i shall be encouraging the PM and secretary for business, innovation and skills to pay us a visit sometime. i’m thinking that surely it’s good for a government during a recession to be visiting the most enterprising place in europe… a coastal town in the uk? the invitation to downing street is also a good excuse for me and the family to make a short break of it and ‘do the sights’. sorry, no sense of urban cool here – we want to see soldiers in shiny helmets strutting about on horses in front of the queen’s house thank you.

hastily-written media release: media-release-ea-and-save9-at-no-10-v19-06-09

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