A common language

It was an interesting time at the Dairy UK dinner recently. Long used to Jim Begg’s more modulated Scottish accent, I found myself listening to Robert Wiseman speak and being unable to understand him. I would’ve asked my fellow guest at the table, but he was Scottish as well and suddenly I was stuck in the land of the Scots.

Every once in a while my Babelfish fails me and I find myself at sea. Being American, I’m just not that good at accents. Add that to my increasing deafness in large rooms with lots of people talking all at once, and well, all I can say if you see me just smiling and nodding at you, you should repeat yourself.

I eventually figured out what he was talking as my ear tuned in, and I started to wonder what the team at Müller make of the man when he turns up. Do they hire a Scottish/German translator?

That being said, he was there with a point to make. So when he said, “I didn’t think the industry’s need to consolidate would include me,” it was crystal clear.

A lot of people in the British (including Scotland, you can’t leave the union, where would English teams get their football managers?) dairy industry are waking up to the fact that consolidation in the European dairy industry does include them.

And why not? Our industry is attractive to foreign investment and cows love it here. And no matter who buys who, the language of dairy is common to all.