Did you, like me, slouch on the sofa all night watching the referendum count unfold, in the hope that you could stay awake the entire time? It didn’t work for me but I managed to catch most of it, just missing the announcement that Brexit had won, later falling through the non-reclined centre of my sofa and onto the floor when I opened my eyes, saw the newsflash on screen and tried to sit up too quickly in astonishment.

It’s been a lively few weeks, hasn’t it? And the fact that no-one really knew which way it was going to go, made it an even more nail-biting event. Now I feel blank.

So what’s next?

Well, Parliament’s going to debate the possibility of holding a second referendum, which means that like those in Eire some years back, we could be asked to vote again! A petition on the Government website currently has more than 150,000 signatures, so cannot be ignored.

While I don’t like a lot about the way the EU is run and the money it wastes (and I certainly didn’t like being bullied by the likes of Juncker and Hollande!) there is a great deal that’s good about it and I’m hoping that once things settle down, we can all look at things more calmly and find a way to work together for the benefit of us all. Comments made by those running the EU, show they are clearly now aware that many of us throughout Europe actually do have plenty to grouse about and – frustratingly – some are saying that the issues need to be addressed. With 27 entities debating them, it’s not going to be a quick fix though, is it?

John and I have been working very closely with our European friends and counterparts for many years now and count lots of those we’ve come to know well, as some of our dearest friends. Whether we’re ‘in’ or ‘out’, we don’t feel it’s going to make the slightest difference to our business relationships or our friendships and I hope that this is echoed by Europeans everywhere.

Something that demonstrates the benefits of collaboration, is The European Water Label and we’ve just heard that it’s running a competition to highlight the label’s strength and visibility across Europe.

To participate (and be in with a chance of winning an iPad), just upload a picture of the label – whether it’s in a magazine, at a trade show, in a stockists or printed on packaging or literature. When you see the label, use the hashtag #EWLspotted stating where you have seen it, retailer, merchant, manufacturer and also the country/area it was in.

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Yours,

Jan Hobbs