It was something of a shock to travel from Durban to Norwich in early December 2023. Firstly, the difference in temperature was considerable; secondly, although there was a fair amount of rain in Durban, there was also sunshine. For the first week in Norwich, we had virtually no sun, just unremitting grey days; and thirdly and finally, I had been away for a long time, nearly six months. Regular readers of the blog know the reasons for my extended stay, and I won’t go into them again.

I flew from South Africa on Monday 11th December. I left the flat at 1.30pm to catch a 4pm plane to Johannesburg. This was a wise decision as roadworks have greatly increased the journey time to the airport. In Joburg I waited six hours for the Amsterdam flight. This, on the other hand, was an absurdly long connection time. I chose to travel early as I was terrified of missing the flight. I had used all my airmiles to upgrade to business class and did not want to lose that option, although rebooking in economy was feasible.

The flight was straightforward. I only watched one film, the recently released Blackberry. This is the story of the establishment of the ground-breaking tech company Blackberry. The reason I was keen to see it was because it is set in Waterloo.

When I left Durban at the end of 2013, it was to take up the Chair in Global Health Policy at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in Waterloo. The BSIA is ‘an institute for advanced research, education, and outreach in the fields of global governance and international public policy.’¹ It was established in 2007 by Blackberry co-founder Jim Balsillie and is located on the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) campus, with which it partners. The school is a collaboration between CIGI, the University of Waterloo (UW), and Wilfrid Laurier University (Laurier).

The film tells the Blackberry story from about 1996 to the 2000s. It was underwhelming but seemed reasonably accurate. The ineffectual nature of some Canadians, institutions and systems was well portrayed. The story, very briefly, is that Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, two computer geeks, develop a handheld email delivery system. This is initially called Pocket Link. The pair pitch the idea and product to investors, who are less than impressed. Jim Balsillie gets involved; indeed, he is one of the people they had pitched to. He drives the company forward to commercial success, although, at this stage (that covered by the film), in its development, he is constantly battling to get more investors.

The key message of the film is that this worked. Blackberry fell into a sweet spot in the market at the right time.

“At its peak, BlackBerry had 45% market share and had earned it’s “CrackBerry” label in the business world. Apple’s 2007 introduction of the iPhone not only rocked the BlackBerry company, it shook up the world. … BlackBerry has become a Case Study in Business Schools, although the fast-paced and pressure-packed world of tech continues to require a balance of decisions focused on current markets and never-ending innovation for the future.”²

What was interesting was the importance the company had for the development of Waterloo. By the time I moved there Blackberry was no longer a technical leader nor a major employer. However, its shadow loomed large over the town. The Balsillie School was mirrored by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics founded and funded by Mike Lazaridis in 1999. The Perimeter Institute, as it is generally known, is a short walk from the Balsillie School, across a major road, the railway line and river. It had an outstanding staff restaurant and BSIA employees had ‘dining rights’ there. I should note that the walk was always the same distance but in summer it seemed short while in the depths of winter months it could seem a long way and required caution.

I have, in past blogs, waxed lyrical about the wildlife in our Norwich garden. The hedgehogs are not visible at the moment, but the birdlife is amazing. Today I watched the bluetits at the bird feeder. There are some species who eat from the feeder, for whom it was clearly not meant! These include the crows and pigeons although the latter are more likely to wait on the ground and pick up seed there. There are at least two grey squirrels who steal bird food. While their acrobatics are amusing, they break the feeders! There were two blue jays about this morning, and I have seen them attack a pigeon. As Alfred Lord Tennyson said, ‘Nature is red in tooth and claw’, even in peaceful Norwich.

The past two days have also been lessons in dealing with frustration. On Saturday I took the bus into town, using my bus pass, which makes it an economically costless outing. I had a list of things I wanted to do and get. I failed miserably. On Sunday I drove in early and parked at the Forum in the centre of Norwich. There was plenty of parking and it was a painless journey. By the time I left there were queues of cars waiting to get into the city.

I wanted to get new running shoes/trainers. My current, extensive, walking means a pair generally lasts about nine months. That mission was accomplished, but only after I had located the shop which had moved from where I thought it was. It is now in Norwich’s newest mall. Yesterday I tried to get a broad pen nib, effectively using this makes writing look as though it is in italics and it is more readable. I got nowhere. On Sunday when I took the pen into the shop, I was able to find someone who understood what I was talking about, and there is now a nib on order.

My shopping list on Saturday included a Filofax diary for 2024, but I came away with a page a week on one side and notes on the other. This was definitely not what I had in mind, so I took it back to the shop to change it. They did not have the one I was looking for. I compromised with a ‘week over two pages’ but said I would try in one other shop. This had the right one. I then headed back to get a refund on the one that I had just purchased.

Finally, I needed to get a form stamped by the police to confirm that I am alive. This is an annual requirement for the receipt of a small pension from the Swedish government. Over my career I did a great deal of consultancy work for the Swedish government and the deduction of the equivalent of National Insurance was compulsory. The central police station is opposite where I parked. I discovered it is undergoing refurbishment and is closed. I will have to drive to the interim police station, some miles away, in the market town of Wymondham. All in all, I got everything done, but none of it was straight forward! The last thing I had hoped to do was visit the library in the Forum, but I had just ten minutes left on my parking ticket so that has to wait.

In the run up to Christmas I am pondering what plans for 2024. We need to go away and that should be rail or road. I will certainly have at least one long trip to South Africa and am seriously thinking about moving from Durban to the Western Cape. The infrastructure in Durban needs serious investment and I was appalled by a sewage leak a few roads away that lasted for months. When I left the leak had stopped but there was a huge hole in the road, and no one expects the repair to be completed any time soon. It is all rather depressing. I would hugely miss the neighbourhood and the local coffee shops. But…

1. https://www.balsillieschool.ca/about/
2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21867434/reviews (accessed 16th December 2023)