Taking the dog for a walk first thing in the morning can be SO therapeutic and such a good time to reflect on life (as long as I’m not rushing off to work). It’s good for the sole. I’ve been taking the mutt over the Hogs Back recently for early-morning weekend walks, looping down onto Pilgrims Way, then back up the hill and along a small woodland trail on the top before heading back down to a morning cuppa.
Another Boing 737 crashed soon after take-off this month. An Ethiopian Airlines flight this time, going down into the Med with no survivors. All sorts of questions were being asked about the latest version of the aircraft (737 Max) as it is exactly same model that crashed into the Java Sea in October (killing all on board). The flight patterns looked too similar to be a coincidence. The Ethiopian airliner went down on 10th March and the next day Ethiopia grounded their 737 Max fleet, followed by China and Mongolia. The US administration and the FAA seemed to be in denial. By close of play on 12th March the EU and about 10 other Aviation Authorities around the world had grounded 737 Max fleets under their remits. Eventually the US followed suit on March 13th along with most other authorities. So here we are, by the end of the month, there is recognition that the cause is likely to be either a manufacturing or more likely a design fault in the ‘Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that got through US quality procedures. MCAS is basically an advanced automatic ‘safety’ system that takes over from the pilot when the onboard computers think that something has gone wrong. Oohps! Surely it’s imperative that the final resort is for a human to take control (not a computer)? What if the sensors or systems that inform the computer are faulty? Either way, big questions are at last being asked about how the ‘safety net’ failed, i.e. the effectiveness of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and how it implements its quality assurance processes.
My pipeline of professional work is looking increasingly fragile at Sky as I am now down to bi-weekly contract renewals. So am just starting to look around for alternatives. I wanted to deliver this programme we’ve been trying to get signed-off, but time is running out to get approvals through for this FY. I think I’ll be gone by the end of the month. I will miss the people and the views from Sky Studio.
Mid-month, school children around the world ‘went on strike’ as part of a global campaign to raise awareness and encourage action on climate change.
The EU agreed to delay BREXIT until May 22nd to give the UK more time. Theresa May and her government remain in disarray as May faces defeat after defeat. Theresa May’s withdrawal bill was rejected for the second and then a third time this month. Surprised that she didn’t get the message the first time.
The break-away group of politicians from both main parties that formed the ‘Independent Group have re-branded to be called ‘Change UK’. I don’t understand why they didn’t join forces with a well established party that has an ideology that is more compatible with theirs. Surely by establishing a new political party they will dilute their overall political clout and cause more chaos by splitting voters across multiple small parties instead of one big party? What’s wrong with the Lib Dems and why aren’t they hoovering up these centrists?
There was another big ‘Peoples March’ against Brexit, this time over 1 million people turned out. We didn’t go this time, but all singed the online petition to revoke Article 50 along with about 6million other people. This will be debated by Parliament early next month and I’m not holding my breath. It’s fair to say that Brexit hangs in the balance this month and anybody’s guess if we’ll be leaving EU or not, with or without a deal. I reckon we’ll be leaving, sooner or later.
