Editorial*


T. Johnson (GB), Editorial CommitteeT. Johnson (GB), Editorial Committee


We have often been struck by the phenomenon of what one could call the “amazing awareness syndrome”. By this is meant that having just acquired a new car, for example, you as owner become aware that the roads are full of the same model of car as your new one, when before your purchase you had hardly noticed that model at all. We could itemise other examples of the syndrome, for example elections. Many of our members have recently experienced regional or national elections in their particular Member State. And there are more to follow, not least in Germany and Great Britain. Our members will also be aware that our Institute is not alone, for we have recently had an election of our own. We now have, as in say France, a newly elected governing body, in our case Council which held the first meeting of its three-year term in April in Munich, see the Report of the meeting elsewhere in this issue. There is a saying in English that “a new broom sweeps clean”. There is also a Chinese tradition of having a national tomb sweeping day. We are sure, however, that our Institute is rather livelier than a tomb, being vibrant and healthy, and that the outgoing Council left the Institute in good shape, with no need for subsequent sweeping. However, we are confident that our new President, Francis Leyder and his team, aided by the various Committees of the Institute, will have constructive new aims and initiatives for the benefit of us all. We wish the new Council well in its endeavours for the next three years, at the end of which we are sure that there will be no tomb to sweep!


* This Editorial was written before the General Election in the UK.