Well that's another interesting week coming to an end.
The Live final of the Deloitte Financial Services Rising Star Awards 2008 took place here in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
The judging panel comprised Stewart Stevenson MSP, Philip Grant, Rob Topley, Ewen Munro and Simon Thompson.
The finalist were:
Christine Cairns - RBS
Yvonne Collins - National Australia Group (Europe)
Ashley McCurdie - Abbey
Mark Mercer - Bank of Scotland
The winner and Rising Star 2008 as decided by the judges was ........... Mark Mercer.
Many congratulations to you Mark.
Mark was also awarded the Fairbairn Trophy for the best presentation.
This vote was decided by the audience.
Well done to all the finalists.
As the judges said the standard was remarkable and it was no mean feat to reach the final.
Mr. Brown was in fine form and managed not only to keep everything together but entertained the audience at the same time.
A bit of a rising star himself as you will find out over there in Belfast tomorrow.
Wednesday saw another Introductory Day here at Drumsheugh with a new group of students embarking on either the Certificate or Diploma in Financial Services in attendance.
Some new catch phrases emerged from Wednesday's session such as:
"It's a marathon not a sprint" or "Think long-term"
I managed to invent a new phrase last week.
After spilling some water on a document I remarked to a colleague
" I will let this dry out and then we can have a chat about it"
She thought this was some new business speak.
It wasn't, but, I think it could be in the right circumstances!!!
Michael (Time for a sprint)
