Ian Godden

The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World are well documented and understood. There is perhaps more debate on what we should classify as the Modern Wonders of the World.  I am keen, in complete contrast to this thinking about the Wonders of the World, to debate the ‘Oddities of the World’ instead. I am not […]

We are strong believers that Scotland will benefit very significantly in the next 50 years from creating a wood-based economy. Not so much because the price of wood has soared in the last six months by 22%, although that helps, nor even that the UK is (ridiculously) a major importer of wood despite having seriously

Many artists have been tempted to take their paintings down from the wall to add a few finishing touches. The same with authors to edit their books. So the question is, with hindsight, what might we have said differently in our book, Scotland 2070- Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. As three less well-known authors, we are

In our book, Scotland 2070- Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, we do not address specifically the issue of education. Not because we believe it is unimportant, quite the contrary, but because there is a risk of putting ‘the education cart’ before the ‘market horse’. The UK and the USA both share approximately 14th place in the

Our book, Scotland 2070, is a plea to pursue six big opportunities over 50 years. For those who say, “that’s all very well but what do we do now to deal with Covid?”, here is our response. “Don’t waste a crisis. Kick start major investments for these long-term goals.” First of all, how about we

I was trained to think linearly as an engineer and businessman in my early days. Later I had to make a major adjustment to the more chaotic world of entrepreneurialism and pioneering activity. This non-linear attitude was reinforced by commuting in chaotic cities such as London.  Any faith I once had in straight lines were

‘Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt’ Herbert Hoover We often find that ex-politicians and retired economists are able to give an objective and wiser perspective once free of the spin required to protect the vested interests of their main job. I like two such economists in particular, both with very

I am reminded constantly from my chemical engineering background that Oil and Water do not mix easily. That is, unless emulsifiers are added to the two naturally repelling liquids to create an emulsion. A delicious mayonnaise comes to mind. The critical question, in writing our book, Scotland 2070- Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, was not about

Michael Green, a well-named architect to promote environmental material, has given a great illuminating Ted Talk, ‘Why We Should Build Wooden Skyscrapers’. He states that we are at the beginning of a revolution in building skyscrapers with wood, a skill required if we are to continue to urbanise at the pace we predict without damaging

What disappoints us about many aspects of the debate about Scotland is the simple lack of imagination and optimism. No John Lennon song, Imagine, to stretch the mind. Little vision of what we could do in the future. A procession of negativism about running out of fossil fuels or not, having a poor balance sheet