Author: Craig Smith

Feeling the energy generated by a live audience has been in meagre supply for as long as we care to remember. But we may dare to dream, with the vaccination roll-out representing light at the end of the tunnel. Pilot sport and music events have been the trailblazers, paving the way for our ears to be treated once again en masse to the clank of the turnstiles, our eyes to be fixated on the safety curtain, and our noses to inquisitively enquire or be repulsed by the smell of event catering. With meticulous planning and our continued cooperation, the multi-coloured plastic seats of stadia and the more luxurious supporting structures of the dress circle will soon be once again inundated with our hindquarters. Join me as I take a trip down memory lane and relive ‘the good old days’ before rebooting the sat nav and planning new adventures.  

Always being open to trying new things is a cornerstone of continual learning. As the Team GB mantra for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games attested, ‘Better Never Stops’, which is why I have dipped my toe into the water of appearing on a podcast, among other learning adventures.

If you would like to hear more about the following, then it is time to boil the kettle, pour your favourite hot drink, and join Kirsty Major and I.

Firstly, other networking platforms are also available (that’s that out of the way!). The testing times brought to us courtesy of our modern-day nemesis, the COVID pandemic, have seen us all at the whim of networking sites to keep in touch with our family, friends and colleagues. Whether it be Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google’s Hangouts Meet, Cisco Webex or another of the many purveyors of interaction, online networking has enriched our lives of late, which begs the question, are you ready for a return to the old-style in-person meet up?

Join me as I detail the pros and cons of our increased tech usage, and evaluate its impact on our lifestyles.