April 2011 Archives

Last week, I was invited, as part of a select group of bloggers, to dinner with the BBC’s Economics and Business editor, Jeremy Hillman.

Jeremy and I happen to come from the same law school, and he just completed his MBA. So we had plenty to talk about! I also met his boss, Francesca Unsworth. They’re both from the BBC headquarters, not the local office, but what struck me was how friendly and unassuming they were.

Interacting with representatives from the BBC made me look back at how I’ve grown up with this institution. As a child, my mother would awaken me to the sound of BBC radio. When I moved to Bristol, I didn’t have a television set but I continued listening to radio, particularly for the news, Parliamentary sessions and any interesting developments in music that I didn’t get to hear back in Singapore.

When I did go over to a friend’s place with a TV set, I would split my sides watching BBC programmes like Goodness Gracious Me!

Then the Internet sprung up. In the mid 2000s, I became addicted to BBC’s Sportdaq (now closed), earning wads of cash as I bought shares in the hottest sports celebrities. Now, thanks to the situation that has given cause for consternation to football fans in Singapore, I rely mainly on the BBC for belated football news. I did opine that I was unable to watch some football videos, since I wasn’t in the right territory ;-)

Now, I will be keeping a closer eye on their Asia Business section, knowing that it is helmed by a capable fellow alumnus!

I also told Jeremy that my impression of the BBC was that it is seen as fair and independent. Judging from how other major news agencies have increasingly been bought over and consolidated, with vested commercial interests, an institution that provides an impartial opinion becomes all the more critical.

Travelled to Spain (Granada, Valencia, Cuenca, Madrid) and Thailand. Saw 2 world heritage sites in Spain. Had 4 massages in 2 days in Bangkok before flying back to Singapore.

Decided to look up an English friend from Bristol whom I haven’t seen in over 10 years, and drop her a note. Delighted to hear back from her. Now thinking of getting back in touch with a couple other nice Brits.

Confronted a thorny issue head on, emerged with some bruises but am recovering with thicker skin. After cooling-off time was given to consider my suggestions, I found that some of my words were taken into consideration, so it wasn’t too bad after all.

Over time, I’ve noticed it’s funny how I can hint that someone’s displaying a behavioural problem, but that person thinks I’m referring to ‘other people’ and agrees with me that they do have a problem - without pausing to think about themselves. This happens more often with people who have enjoyed positions of authority, as they have increasingly fewer counterparts who are in a position to tell them off, and staff will usually not argue with them. Maybe, though, in the long run, letting them depersonalise the issue by viewing it as a third party is a better way at leading them towards self-realisation!