Nature is incredible!

Although, like many things in life, we often need a reminder to fully appreciate it.

So, I can’t say I was surprised when footage of a robin went viral this week…

The red-breasted favourite was coming-in to land on food that was in the palm of someone’s hand. And the whole thing was caught on a high speed camera, providing amazing detail when replayed in slow motion.

I love robins (we have one that regularly visits our garden). But even I didn’t fully appreciate their agility, until I saw the video. The camera had captured every intricate manoeuvre, twist and turn as the bird launched itself across the garden and homed in on the food.

The level of visual detail was amazing!

I guess sometimes we need technology to be able to truly understand and appreciate what’s right in front of us. And speaking of technology, this week I attended the Retail Technology Show (RTS) in Olympia. Would you believe it was cheaper to fly from Manchester to London than catch the train? Madness!

At least the journey was entertaining. Whilst queuing to board the plane, an excitable chap in front ran over, looked straight in my direction and asked to take a photo. He didn’t want a selfie with my mug though. It turned out that Ryan Giggs was standing just behind me!

It was the morning after Man Utd beat Sheffield Utd 4-2, after twice going behind. So I’m sure he was feeling happy. If only he knew they would finish 1-1 against my beloved Burnley a couple of days later, his smile would have been a lot more strained!

Just like Burnley, who with 14 signings and 4 loanees have certainly made the most of this year’s transfer budget, All-Tag^® has become masters of “sweating the assets.” In fact, it’s thanks to this approach that we’re in a position to start recruiting as we continue our journey for prudent growth. Looking at the amount of interest we have garnered following Retail Risk – London, we are going to need the extra capacity pretty quickly, which is a nice position to be in.

As for RTS, well that also served up a few surprises. Not known for attracting senior risk people, it was great to bump into Geoff Chaplin – former UK Managing Director of WIS International. He might not have quite the same celebrity status as Ryan Giggs, but he’s still a legend in our industry! We are both motor racing fans, so are never stuck for conversation. See you at Le Mans, Geoff!

Walking around the show, it was good to see a continued emphasis on sustainability. It reminded me of how ahead of the curve All-Tag has consistently been in this field. Our market-leading AM anti-theft labels continue to be at the forefront of the sustainability movement with great performance, great sustainability credentials and better market share than anything similar. Although there is no room for complacency. As I said in last week’s article, we have no intention of taking our foot off the accelerator any time soon…

So, all in all, it’s been an interesting few days.

This week’s celebrity encounters will certainly provide an amusing anecdote to share at my next dinner party. Talking of which, I’ve just seen my little friend perched outside – the robin that is, not Ryan Giggs!