I recently went to a free screening of the movie, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. It’s directed by Lasse Hallstrom and stars Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristen Scott Thomas (she was particularly funny in this!).
I don’t mean to reveal the plot in this post but rather to look at the important communications aspect of it. In a nutshell – a visionary and very wealthy sheik (from Yemen of course) wants to bring his hobby of salmon fishing to the deserts of Yemen, believing it will enrich his people’s lives. Such a crazy idea is met with opposition from the UK government initially before being viewed as potentially successful PR initiative. However, the people in the Yemeni desert are very opposed to these radical ideas which are meant to bring prosperity, a new food source and water to their lives.
Long story cut short, the main characters basically ramrod their way into Yemen, built the facilities to contain the fish, the rivers to keep them alive and the dam to manage the water flow. They did this with no money spared, everything you could ask for with the best engineers in the world and materials at hand.
Yet in spite of the best laid plan that had millions of pounds tossed at it, the best possible people who could help plan and build such a facility, and the best sources supplied aka salmon provided, the leaders of this project forgot one very important thing. Communications. In this case communicating with the affected parties who were overall not happy and tried to pull the plug permanently on the project. A good corporate social responsibility plan would have done wonders for this project in getting the local people onboard and fully supportive of this initiative. Not only would the local people see and reap the benefits the project would provide, getting them involved would have engendered a sense of pride and better relations with the foreigners of radical ideas. Something that Ewan McGregor’s character realised at the end.
Other than that it was a good movie – subtly funny with an interesting storyline.
Ghetto fabulous – one laptop in Tesco bag please
Felt like a real chav today coming home from work. Well you would if you had to carry your laptop in a Tesco grocery bag!
Desperately trying to avoid the IT chaps at work, I ducked and weaved my way out of the building. You see I have loads to do and needed to do it somewhere quite i.e. home. I write best in quiet not noise aka work.
My biggest fear was not the shame of looking totally ghetto carrying a laptop around in a plastic bag. Oh no, I was oblivious to curious stares from passer-bys, unless I thought they were looks of thievery for which they got The Eye. I was mostly concerned about not dropping the blasted thing. In my last job, I would be in direct violation of the stringent Health, Safety, Environment and Security (HSSE) rules in case I dropped it on my foot because that’s naturally what happens when you don’t carry a laptop in a case or cover apparently. The same applied for not hold the handrail going up and down the stairs – you will automatically trip and fall flat on your face.
However, a rainy, chilly day is perfect for slipping, tripping and sliding along the uneven roads and pavements. Especially for an accident prone person like me. I clung to that Tesco bag, held it tightly against my chest and dashed for the free seats on the tube, being mindful of course that I didn’t slip in my attempts to reach said seat. Walking down the stairs was trickier. First my handbag slowly slipping, then my feet being too big for the steps and finally the mad rush of passengers behind me, all determined to knock me over.
This adventure finally reached its close when I got to my building, unlocked my flat and gingerly laid the laptop down. Then of course I had to bang my knee against the bed and spend five minutes hopping around and swearing incessantly. At least the laptop is safe! And luckily I do have a laptop bag here at home to safely make the return journey to work tomorrow.
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Posted by kmartinwrites on April 17, 2012
https://kmartinwrites.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/ghetto-fabulous-one-laptop-in-tesco-bag-please/