60 Years Ago....

...the economy in the UK was in dire straights. That's at least the view of Alistair Darling, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The Chancellor has insisted that it is his duty to be straight with the public, after telling a newspaper that the UK faces its worst economic crisis in 60 years. Alistair Darling told the Guardian the downturn would be more "profound and long-lasting" than most had feared.

Thanks Alistair!

So as Pingar steps up its sales and market entry strategy for the UK, Alistair speaks out. But all is not doom and gloom despite his best attempts to talk the economy down.

There remains a scale in the UK that is simply unimaginable in NZ. I have spent most of my working life in London and know what a downturn means. I also understand the opportunities they throw up.

Pingar's ability to improve productivity in the enterprise is well-timed. As is Pingar's ability to help content owners monetise their online real estate. And with the exponential shift of traditional advertising channels to the online space, our market entry could not actually be better timed.

But let's go back 60 years. By my own reckoning that takes us back to 1948 and the reconstruction years, post WW2. Sure, some rationing was still in place, but the National Health Service was being conceived and from the news clips I have seen, a sense of regeneration was everywhere.

Next month, I expect to spend time in London. It will be interesting to get a sense of the downturn now articulated by that man Alistair. I guess our own takes on that may not exactly match.