The title of this blog is not some reference to the events currently unfolding at the Commonwealth games although like my previous blog, it does have some sporting content. I should also warn you at the outset, that this missive is longer than usual, but it has been a while since I last wrote, so bear with me.

My last blog - 'The ref must be blind' - proved bizarrely prophetic. It was not without some irony that David James watched from the other side of the pitch this time as Frank Lampard's shot crossed the line during this summer's world cup. On this occasion, it seems that the only people in the world that failed to spot the ball cross the line after crashing off the underside of the crossbar were, again, the ones that mattered, the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistant Mauricio Espinosa, but enough said about that.

In fact the whole world cup episode is probably best forgotten from an English perspective, and as a nation we did our best to quickly erase the 4-1 defeat to Germany from our memory. It was as early as the morning after England had limped out of the competition that my local pub removed the St George flags that adorned its frontage.

However, while the England team's woeful performance may not have shown our country as a football giant, it did provide us with a golden opportunity for two of our other national pastimes to shine: namely our sense of humour, with the team's performance becoming the butt of numerous jokes (What's the difference between the England team and a tea bag? The tea bag stays in the cup longer!), and, our all time favourite pastime, being armchair critics.

Everyone it seemed could have done a better job at team selection than Fabio Capello, or had a granny that is a better goalkeeper than Robert Green, or was a more effective striker than Wayne Rooney. While the merits of such claims are debatable, it was undeniably a wonderful opportunity for those not actually on the pitch to express an opinion about those that where actually directly involved. We all knew where they had gone wrong, and took great delight in saying so.

Of course, a person expressing their opinions from the sidelines is not only restricted to sporting events. I was reminded of this the other evening when a fellow diner at a trade dinner belittled our industry's trade associations and professional institutions for their initiatives and the services they offer. When I asked him if he was involved or played an active part, he said that he didn't and never had done, after all "what was the point?"

It is a shame that our industry is so strong in many ways and united in common goals and yet so few are willing to give up their time and take an active role in the industry bodies. I know myself, from serving on a number of IoR committees, that there is always a shortage of volunteers willing to serve on them.

All this brings me to a quote from a film that I watched last night called 'The World's Fastest Indian'. It is an inspiring true life film about a New Zealander Burt Munro who spent years re-building a 1920 Indian motorcycle - a bike upon which he set a land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. The film is more interesting than it perhaps sounds here and I recommend it to anyone who likes to see people fulfil their dreams against seemingly impossible odds. In the film, Burt (wonderfully played by Anthony Hopkins) quotes Theodore Roosevelt - "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena..."

I suspect that for all the readers of this blog, the chances of playing for England are remote, so to watch from the sidelines is all we can do. However, to play an active role in our industry is another matter. More than that, it is essential, if we want our industry bodies to truly represent us, that we join in and play our part. Each of us really do have an opportunity to make a difference. What is more, we can share knowledge and learn at the same time. So, I hope to see you at the next evening paper, on one of the committees, at an exhibition, or may be at the next industry dinner!