sent from: London, UK. destination: Madrid, Spain

A few years back I was involved in a project to unify disparate working methods at a vfx studio. It involved everyone speaking the same language, trading the same currency, an all or nothing game. We used the integration and adoption of the Euro as a model for how we might do this. If hundreds of millions of people can agree to use one currency, how hard can it be to get 300 people to do the same? Answer: too bloody difficult, and no one was willing to budge. If it succeeded, it’s only with a radical redefinition of success. Every week we would meet to come up with a new plan to save the project, and every week everything would go up in flames. SO, back to that Euro, and this week Sarkosy and Merkel are meeting yet again to come up with a plan, to keep this “Mind Your Language” class from going hopelessly off the rails, more than it already has, anyway. Truth is, I miss pesetas.