Germany dispatch

Just home from four days in north Germany, revisiting the site, ten years on, of my father's demise on a cruise ship as it entered the mighty locks at the western end of the Kiel Canal. Caught by a gust of wind as he went on deck to view that impressive feat of engineering, he fell and struck his head on a steel stanchion and suffered a brain haemorrhage. He was airlifted to a nearby neurosurgical unit in the town of Heide, but was found to be brain-dead. Three days later his ventilator was turned off. My mother and brother (who had flown out on hearing the news) were there, but I was not. I was home looking after my practice as my other partners were on holiday. Ever since I have bitterly regretted not dropping everything and going there myself.


So last week, ten years almost to the day, my brother and I drove the 542 miles to Heide to pay tribute to his memory. It was a good time, even though the feelings were obviously mixed. Complex family dynamics (don't go there) in the 80s and 90s found us estranged, so this was a brilliant "reunion" of sorts, an opportunity to catch up for the lost decades when we barely spoke. Dad would have been proud of us.


I think he would also, like us, have been highly impressed at the way the Germans have embraced sustainable energy sources. On our road trip we saw literally thousands of wind turbines, and hectare after hectare of solar cell arrays. No fracking for them it seems. Germany recycles more than 80% of its domestic refuse, whereas we barely manage 25. Why do we lag so far behind them in these vitally important matters? Because we are still in the thrall of the oil companies of course, and other outdated modes of thinking that keep us locked in the ideas of the 20th century when we should, like the Germans, be looking to the future. Let's get our act together Britain, while there's still time!