I am writing this immediately after the Christmas break. It’s a strange time of year – a bit like springtime is for plants and animals. Throughout nature winter time is a period of dormancy, hibernation perhaps, but us humans just carry on, day after day, on the treadmill. Except for a week or so in December. Then we can stop spinning the plates, slow down, allow our leaves to fall before accelerating up to full speed as the smell of the fireworks subsides and life returns to normal.

What do we have to look forward to in 2017? Well, it depends on your point of view. Everywhere we look we have uncertainly and that is supposed to be bad for us. Is it? Maybe it’s not good for the stock markets but a little uncertainty adds a touch of spice doesn’t it? Perhaps not everything in 2017 will turn out well, but it will be interesting. And the removals business worldwide is affected by the social and political climate unlike any other industry on earth. Fascinating times!

It makes me wonder when people trot out the adage that getting good staff is difficult because the business isn’t sexy enough. I disagree both for the reason above and for the unequalled opportunities for international travel this industry provides for those who wish to take advantage of it. If you have a mind, and you belong to the relevant groups, this year you could head off to FIDI in Dubai, OMNI in The Seychelles, LACMA in Puerto Vallarta, Britannia in Sorrento, EuRA in Warsaw, Young Movers in Riga, FEDESSA in Berlin, IAM and PAIMA in Long Beach, BAR in Cardiff and EUROMOVERS in Edinburgh. All great locations and fabulous opportunities to do business and learn together while adding incalculably to your own life experience.

For me this business is unique in its variety and opportunity. I urge you all to recognise and take advantage of those opportunities as they present themselves. We pass this way only once. And if you start to fret about Brexit, Trump and the global instability of which they are both perhaps features, just remember that mankind is often at its best when faced with adversity. Most of the time we tick through life using a fraction of our true capabilities. Maybe 2017 is our opportunity to demonstrate of what we are truly made.

I wish you a happy, healthy and inspirational year.