Lord Kalms follows up my Tech Guys complaint

Posted by on Oct 10, 2007 in updates | 27 comments A week ago I wrote here about the disgraceful service I was experiencing from Tech Guys, who have had my laptop for two months and failed in that time to replace its broken screen or communicate with me what was happening. My experience with them was a nightmare. Little did I know that it would end up being investigated by Lord Kalms (pic)himself. He is the life president and former chairman of...
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We get David’s biopsy results today

Posted by on Oct 9, 2007 in updates | 18 comments David and I are heading off to Great Ormond Street Hospital today to get the results of his bone biopsy. We are really keen to complete his treatment before he starts university next year, but the chances are it will take much longer. David has just started two weeks work experience at local accountants Price Bailey and feels bad about taking the second day off, but he has no choice. He is keen...
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Should Al Gore win Nobel Peace Prize?

Posted by on Oct 9, 2007 in updates | 30 comments Despite what the sceptics think about climate change, Al Gore has considerably raised its profile throughout the world, he is passionately devoted to initiating international action on this. The latest controversy is whether he should win the Nobel Peace Prize because of his outstanding work. He has been nominated for the Nobel prize jointly with Sheila Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit activist...
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Learning about inspired leadership

Posted by on Oct 8, 2007 in updates | 9 comments "Responsible Leadership" is the title of an event I am attending in London this afternoon, billed as The Echo Summit. We all know that strong leadership is inspiring while weak leadership is de-motivating and unproductive; we saw the contrasting effects of this with Gordon Brown and David Cameron over the last week. Now I shall hear the experts speak about it. Echo Research, which...
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Do you give something back to society?

Posted by on Oct 8, 2007 in updates | 4 comments I strongly believe that individuals should give something back to society, that those of us fortunate enough to have good health and possess valuable skills should use them in a voluntary capacity to help others. This is why I am a trustee of Headway Cambridgeshire, which helps rehabilitate brain injured adults. We should not take our own well being for granted. None of us can tell if one day...
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Do Italian men make good husbands?

Posted by on Oct 7, 2007 in updates | 24 comments I’m all for close family ties. But there comes a time when a boy has to cut himself free from his mother’s apron strings. In Italy, that time seems to have been considerably prolonged as more than a third of Italian men over the age of 30 live at home with their parents; this is blamed on sky-high apartment rents and bleak job prospects as much as a liking for mamma’s...
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Camona Orgille – the missing

Posted by on Oct 7, 2007 in updates | 1 comment It’s almost the first anniversary since Camona Orgille vanished in Jamaica. The 13-year-old went missing while walking home from school in October, 2006. She was in the vicinity of the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory talking to her cousin on her mobile phone when the cousin heard her scream. He tried calling her back with no luck. He then called the police who searched the area but found no sign...
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From Hollywood to Hull

Posted by on Oct 5, 2007 in updates | 15 comments I took an exciting call from my thespian son James’ agent today, he has been invited to audition for a film role, he must speak with an American accent and, wait for it, if successful, will be required for filming in Los Angeles for FOUR months. I immediate thought of Hollywood, is that what she meant, I wondered? I’m not even thinking about the practicalities of this yet, about his...
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Should the UK invest more in space exploration?

Posted by on Oct 5, 2007 in Uncategorized | 16 comments With so many pressing demands on our purse strings, is it realistic to expect the UK government to provide more funding for space travel? I suspect Quasar 9 could instantly provide a thousand and one reasons to justify this as it is his specialised subject. The UK is a member of the European Space Agency, wikipedia lists us as the fourth largest contributor paying 239.3 million euros. According...
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David is on the "write" track to win

Posted by on Oct 4, 2007 in Uncategorized | 15 comments I always had beautiful handwriting until I started learning shorthand. I dread to think what a graphologist would make of it’s shapeless, sprawling angles, what conclusion would be drawn from it about my character. It is a subject I find intriguing. The Times also thinks so and managed to obtain David Cameron’s notes following his blinding off-the-cuff speech yesterday. They asked...
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Revealing inner emotions on National Poetry Day

Posted by on Oct 4, 2007 in updates | 3 comments I’ve been drafting a press release today for CHASTE – Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking in Europe – in response to yesterday’s announcement by Home Secretary Jacquie Smith about the police crack down on human trafficking . I happened to mention that today was National Poetry Day. So CHASTE’S inexhaustible founder and chief exec, Dr Carrie Pemberton, suggested I...
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Sex trafficking on my doorstep

Posted by on Oct 3, 2007 in updates | 13 comments It’s chilling and gripping and happening virtually right on my doorstep, according to Murphy’s Law. Do watch the last episode tonight if you don’t mind being shaken out of your comfort zone. It’s on at 9pm, BBC1. It makes me feel so uncomfortable, these young, innocent women are so very helpless. It is well documented that we have thousands of migrant workers in East...
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My advice to you is – steer well clear of Tech Guys

Posted by on Oct 3, 2007 in updates | 27 comments I am having a nightmare experience with Tech Guys, and I want to warn you what service to expect if you take your computer there for repair. You will find them sitting comfortably in PC World stores, proudly promoted at the top of their website. I found them via a list of recommended dealers passed on via Sony following the advice of our insurance company. For some reason, Tech Guys are number 1...
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How can the EU improve its image?

Posted by on Oct 2, 2007 in Uncategorized | 9 comments I  feel sorry for Margot Wallstrom, she has an impossible task -  to make the EU popular with citizens in all its 27 member states. As the EU’s Communications Commissioner, she has just published an updated communications strategy to make the EU more appealing and easily understood. One of the proposals  is to get both MEPs and member states to agree on communication...
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£1 million inheritance tax threshold

Posted by on Oct 1, 2007 in Uncategorized | 12 comments I’ve been to a couple of parties recently where the subject of inheritance tax has cropped up. Ageing parents are anguished at the thought of the Chancellor’s coffers reaping the rewards of their lifetime’s hard work and prudence because of the £300,000 inheritance tax threshold. But concern over their future financial needs makes the elderly hold back from giving money...
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The price paid by political bloggers

Posted by on Oct 1, 2007 in Uncategorized | 6 comments I would like to pay tribute to the brave bloggers of Burma who risked their liberty to keep us updated on anti-government demonstrations, being forced underground to avoid detection. They have now been silenced by a brutal regime which switched off the internet. These brave bloggers have certainly infuriated their military rules. At first, the regime responded by blocking individual Burmese...
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