I've just woken up [with a slightly fuzzy head] and feel compelled to blog on a great night..... Paul Reynold's birthday party.

Firstly, my sore head is all Paul's fault as he very generously supplied a free bar all night. This is a double whammy as a free bar to a Glaswegian is like dying and going to heaven [where there is a free bar!!] Enough said.

It was great the see the Saltire Fellows there and again meet some of their partners.  This time last year, we were all at business school in America, getting ready for our 3 month externships and when I jogged a couple of memories, we chatted about it, it and all came flooding back.  When I looked at each of my colleagues and considered where they were then and the huge growth in them professionally and personally - it takes your breath away. That, for me at least, is the power of the one year Saltire Fellowship programme.

Simon Boyle as usual was first up to entertain us, while Ian Stevenson snapped away for his photo blog.  The memories Ian captured last year were priceless. I do hope we have someone like that in this year's class.  Not to mention his huge intellect!!  I remember at Babson in some classes initially, I could never keep up with Ian's brain power and I suppose would get miffed as a result.  By the end of the four months however, I loved listening to him taking on big arguments with the best business academics and blowing them away.  And they loved it also....

All the Fellows have dipped into different sectors at different levels:  working on pre-money valuations for investment VC funding, organising and running commercial aspects of businesses, growing significantly within the companies they were in and of course - opening their own businesses.  Lesley Sutherland with Touchstone Solutions.  Well done you!  And now Paul's announcement that he is going it alone.  I'll be his first customer.  But he can tell you when and what it is :)

We left last night with handfuls of balloons for our girls.  We only just squeezed them into the taxi.... Thanks Paul.

I had a great night and I am getting really excited to meet the next crop of Fellows.