Always celebrate

I mentioned our International Jazz Day in a recent post but I didn’t expect to mention World Intellectual Property Day here. I work at IP Australia and I was surprised to find Dirk Zeylmans entertaining staff at our Great Inventors Barbeque. I shouldn’t be surprised because Dirk pops up frequently around Canberra. This time he was playing standards in a drumless trio with ANU students Jordan Tarento and Chris Vanderweel. As well as the band, there were demonstrations by inventors of windmill pumps and mango peelers and stubby-holder gloves and more and presentations and awards from our senior managers. It’s modern corporate practice to celebrate achievements and it’s a pleasant way to catch up with fellow workers who you don’t see every day. It’s also a good way for the organisation to put out a message, in this case innovation (IP Australia is the Australian regulatory body for patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder’s rights). I noticed several people with journalist pens and pads and video cameras and audio recorders. And I'm sure it was Lyn Mills (who also pops up frequently around Canberra) who was photographing for the Canberra Times social pages. Dirk Zeylmans (tenor) played standards with Jordan Tarento (bass) and Chris Vanderweel (guitar).