First Contact With Richard Banks

Yesterday, Richard Banks from Microsoft's offices in Cambridge braced the cold and flew up to Dundee to host a workshop with us and talk about how we were advancing with the project.

I found Richard's input really positive, and it was really helpful to get a totally fresh and new perspective on how we were progressing. One of the things Richard talked about was how he thought the "Work" aspect of the brief could be interpreted. From this, I was able to see how this constraint could be more easily fitted in. A large part of something to be classed as work, is determining whether or not it has any public relevance and is of any value to the public. This is of course not saying that walking the family dog, or looking after the grand kids is not work. Personal family stories are really great and should be cherished and passed down through the family, but what broader social value do they have? How else gives a damn that this is where you found your old kitchen table? Should people care? I don't know. I feel that for this project, with its definite WORK theme, we must be able to give work some sort of definition without being callus and brutish.

What are your thoughts on the issue of what is work? When is enough enough, and older people should be allowed/encouraged to move out of the workplace? Should they be?

Let us know.

P