Share in a cup of French cheer

However, there is clearly something in the view that you can persuade yourself and others into an economic hole and, equally, encourage most people out of one, or at least convince them it's not as bad as the doom-mongers say.

Proof of this theory was France's recent Carrefour International du Bois in Nantes, now rated as one of the most successful exhibitions for the wood industry worldwide. Europe may still be afflicted by double-dip recession and wrestling with the euro crisis, but the exclusively timber show recorded record exhibitor numbers, with its area dedicated to timber building products expanding by a mightily impressive two-thirds.

Visitor numbers were the same as two years ago, but that still meant that the CIB attracted 10,000 visitors from 68 countries, a total the organisers were more than happy with. The number of UK visitors was static too, but that followed a 35% jump in the number of timber traders who crossed the Channel to Nantes for the 2010 show, and there was the added issue this year that the event was the
same week as the Golden Jubilee bank holiday.

Exhibitors quizzed by TTJ acknowledged that business was challenging, but said it was still there to be won and that the ambience of the show itself gave morale and even sales a lift. Gathering 500-plus timber businesses under one roof with the confidence to launch new products and invest in marketing, helped, as one exhibitor said, to "lift the spirits". "It showed there is still energy and innovation in our industry," he said.

As BRE chief executive Peter Bonfield emphasises with his usual enthusiasm, a certain event now under way around the country, gives the UK timber sector a major reason all its own to lift its head above the economic storm clouds. The London Olympics not only showcase what modern timber products can do; featuring prominently in several of the main arenas, and across the Stratford site in the form of joinery, bridges, gates, decking and, of course, the all-wood McDonalds restaurant. In addition, as previous TTJ coverage has underlined, the Games also represent a triumph in terms of timber procurement. It showed this industry working together to ensure every bit of timber used in Olympics developments was 100% third-party certified as legal and sustainable, a major achievement which has drawn plaudits from the Games organisers and environmental NGOs alike. This accomplishment also won praise from Olympics contractors, who want to use it as a procurement model for other projects. That, says Dr Bonfield, is the timber industry's very own Games legacy and it must now make the most of it!

The Olympics timber procurement initiative has also been entered for the Environmental Achievement category of the TTJ Awards. And the latter, of course, are another reason for seeing the timber industry's glass as half full rather than half empty, underlining its achievement, ambition and business excellence. The deadline for most TTJ Awards categories has now been extended to August 10, so ignore the doom-mongers, get your entries in and give us all another thing to cheer about.