The President Writes.
I hope that you all had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year. I have spent the last month in Australia and it has been very hot, so I spent two weeks exploring Tasmania where the weather was much cooler, very like an English summer. It's a beautiful place very mountainous and forested, with lakes and waterfalls, and much of it inaccessible by road. Now I have to think of getting back to the English winter and into "work mode". In November the Council received an offer for Corrosion House from the tenant occupying the top floor. Initially this was refused, but the offer was increased to one which was very favourable. After much consultation with Past Presidents, and the individuals involved with the initial purchase of the building, Council decided to sell, which will realise a substantial return on the initial investment. This money will be ring fenced in a separate fund to facilitate the setting up of new headquarters. In the meantime, the interest earned will pay the rent on temporary office accommodation. A lease has been negotiated on offices in High Street, Leighton Buzzard, the details of which will be published when all the legal documentation has been completed. The branches continue to put on a varied programme of activities, the details of which are published on the diary page and/ or on the website. I hope many of you will support the branch initiatives which are aimed at furthering continuous professional development which is essential for Professional Members and those thinking of becoming Professional Members. Our links with the Science Council allow us to offer Chartered Scientist status to those members suitably qualified, we also have a route for those members who would prefer to be Chartered Engineers. In addition the branch activities provide opportunities for social networking. For those members looking for more formal training we provide a varied programme of training courses through our training partners ARL

Brenda Peters President - Institute of Corrosion