When I was establishing my firm, some of my friends had jobs where they always seemed to be jetting off around the world and, I admit, I was occasionally envious. When, infrequently, I flew somewhere, I was always filled with great excitement and I wondered what it would be like to become blase with the process. In the 1980s, I had an opportunity to become a 'frequent flier' when the multinational giant, Philips, invited me to provide technical and training assistance on their initiative to secure railway telecommunications work. This initiative was based on their cable company in Holland.
This company had long-established facilities for making all types of complex copper telecommunications cables but heavy investment in optical fibre research had also make them one of the world leaders in this emerging technology. Nowadays, of course, optical transmission is everywhere, relied upon by computer networks, the internet, cable television and telephony. Back then, you got the sense of being at the 'leading edge'. I tried to help them with understanding the rather curious requirements of railway telecommunications systems and finding ways of adapting their existing products to be able to put together a well-engineered package. My firm had other commitments, of course, so I promised two days a week in Holland.
It worked like this. Every Tuesday, I was up early and my partner drove me to East Midlands Airport where I would check-in for the one hour flight by F27 turbo-prop to Schipol. A walk would take me to the railway station to catch a train to Utrecht. Here I'd change for a second train to Alphen-am-der-Rhein. Here I caught a local train, alighting at my destination, Waddinxveen. A walk of about a mile brought me to the offices where I arrived around 10.30 a.m. I'd work all day, stay late to make up for my late arrival, then walk to the station, catch a train and walk to my hotel. Next morning, I'd be in the office early, work all day then return to Schipol (three trains, again) and catch the evening flight back to East Midlands Airport, where my partner would meet me. I kept this up for 28 weeks and loved every minute of it, but I was a lot younger then! The experience didn't succeed in making me bored with air travel and I still sit glued to the window as if it's my first flight!
I met some wonderful people working in Holland and had some great times. One day, I'll tell you more.
