Uncharacteristic quiet on the blogging front while assessing the state of the Irish dental industry (and drawing parallels to banks and economic woes) My English dentist retired last year,  so what I hear you say – so I had more years with this guy than with any other personal or business relationship to date!  25 to be precise.

With a raging abscess I could put it off no longer and called a  local dentist I used before.  Who could not see me for a week, and bless his cotton socks when he did see me wanted another week before he could put me out of my misery – and the princely sum of €1600 – or €75 for an extraction as a cheap alternative. Excuse me? Ok so sell me this!  No, I never saw the dentst after the x ray and a rather embarrassed receptionist attempted to make the sale and advised me on a price basis that the extraction might be better – ‘in the year thats in it’.

Picture me, howling in pain and  waiting another week for anything to happen at all – two weeks in, no meaningful advice or leadership, hurtling towards a decision that affects my ability to eat for the rest of my lfe. NOW does this remind you of the economy? Thought so.

End of part 1 , exited dumbly to car, wept a little, as you do.  Picked up the phone (resisting the temptation to order said UK dentist out of retirement)and called a client. Denteast  do dental work in Dublin and in Budapest and like a lot of people I thought this was just cosmetic stuff.  Far from it.  Lovely dentist showed me the x ray, presented the options and had me mostly sorted within 48 hours – a Sunday appointment (thats the carrot folks!) – and now has me contemplating a dental break in Budapest to get things back in order.  Apparently I can have a whole new mouth for just over twice the proposed root fee from my local….. and the Hungarian technology was miles ahead … and I can get my tax back just like it was Ireland.

We had our moment of glory and great craic afterwards – in the SFA Small Business Awards this year it was generally agreed that all those shortlisted were winners – a great package of training, networking and publicity that still has the phones hopping. I basked in reflected glory sitting alongside the overall winners Connemara Seafoods.

Category winners were:  

MANUFACTURING AWARD: Ecocem

FOOD & DRINK AWARD: Connemara Seafoods, Highly Commended  Cully & Sully

SERVICES AWARD:  Surecom NS, Highly Commended Sea Cargo Services

OUTSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS:Home Instead Senior Care, Highly Commended: Flúirse

BEST IN HR DEVELOPMENT AWARD: Kevin Dempsey Distributors

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR :  Megazyme International , Highly Commended Aerogen

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY :
Winner: Java Republic, Highly Commended:Westport Woods Hotel & SPA

EMERGING NEW BUSINESSES: ETIC Solutions , Print Delicious , Chic Commodities , Engineering Documentation  and Gael Energy .

Heard myself on Newstalk Down to Business this weekend and actually think I might be acquiring an Irish accent, which is a concern to me as a paid up Yorkshire Nationalist.  However this weeks post has to be about THE speech and Biffo.  Call me a bit soppy but I quite like a politician with faults who confronts them. Raised as I was with the first generation of Thatcherites anything is better than the handbag approach.

So he made the right speech to the wrong audience at the wrong time – do we not always risk that? I was so impressed I almost (but not quite) texted Newstalk with comments that morning. Sorry guys but the Yorkshire genes do not allow the expenditure of 30 cent on a text – and I was late for the meeting already. Anyway Biffo socked it to them and I for one am impressed.  Who reading this has not woken up 3 months into a job and realised that they did not need the PR people or the speech writers. And done what seems right at the time.  Anyway they will be toasting him in Clara this weekend , and we are after all an island of tribes….

And I have failed in my resolution not to tackle politics in this blog….