Honours, disappointments and a New Year

Posted by on Dec 31, 2010 in Blog, News | 4 comments Congratulations to Labour MP Anne Begg who is to be made a dame in the New Year honour’s list. She has been rewarded for her services to the disabled and her work on equal opportunities; she was vice-chair of the rarely held Speaker’s Conference which made recommendations on promoting more disabled parliamentary candidates, as well as women MPs. I have met Anne a couple of times and...
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11 Social Media Trends for 2011

Posted by on Dec 29, 2010 in Blog, Social Media | 7 comments I agree with all the predicted trends forecast in this article about the 10 social media trends for 2011 which I share with readers here. However, I have added another to make it 11 trends to include the use of mobile barcodes derived from QR codes, which are used via mobile phone apps  to instantly access contact details and is being used by advertisers on TV. I think it is so slick, and award...
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The greed of London Underground drivers

Posted by on Dec 26, 2010 in Blog, updates | 16 comments How greedy can you get. London Underground train drivers are on strike today because they want triple pay and a day off in lieu for working on Boxing Day. Aslef members chose to strike today to deliberately disrupt Boxing Day outings in the city, to maximise misery for commuters and devastate our crippling economy even more knowing it will keep shoppers away from the sales. A restricted service...
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Remembering the families of missing people

Posted by on Dec 26, 2010 in Blog, The missing | 2 comments We all share the desperate anguish and heartache of the family of architect Joanna Yeates who vanished on 17 December after buying a pizza from Tesco in Bristol.   Police yesterday found the body of a woman near a golf course in Bristol and the circumstances of her death are suspicious. This case is a tragic reminder about the countless families around the world who still have no answers about...
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Families and Christmas

Posted by on Dec 23, 2010 in Blog, Personal | 16 comments I can’t imagine a Christmas without family. It’s become a ritual that we spend Christmas Day with my sister in my home town of Wisbech and everyone visits me on Boxing Day. We try to gather as many of the family together as possible. But it’s each to their own as I have three friends who have decided against a family Christmas Day. One couple in London (with grown up children)...
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Blogging and Iain Dale

Posted by on Dec 23, 2010 in Blog, Social Media | 2 comments I was stunned to learn recently that Iain Dale, who I regard as one of the best bloggers in the UK, is giving it up, but I can understand his reasons totally: The truth is, I no longer enjoy blogging and I think that this has been evident for a few months now to my readers. I hate the backbiting that goes along with it. I hate the character assassination that is permanently present. I no...
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Booking my first Ted X event

Posted by on Dec 22, 2010 in Blog | 3 comments I’ve just booked up for my first Ted X event. I went to a networking party in Cambridge last week and those two syllables were on many people’s lips. “Have you booked for Ted X yet?” I was asked numerous times. I must admit I am a Ted X novice, but I really like its ethos of the world’s leading thinkers and doers sharing their knowledge in an 18 minute speech. TED...
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Share the Joy

Posted by on Dec 19, 2010 in Blog, sponsored post, UnrulyMedia | 5 comments I wish I had seen this festive video before I did my Christmas shop at the Body Shop last week. By playing it, you will be able to click on the video which will take you to their Facebook site where you can download a 30% discount voucher. Also, why not play it and see if you recognise any familiar faces, why not Share the Joy...
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Tonight’s royal Thursford Show

Posted by on Dec 18, 2010 in Blog, News | 5 comments I hope Kate and Wills wore their thermals this evening at the spectacular Thursford Show as it’s freezing there! They are likely to be sitting on hard tiered seating, and can count themselves lucky if they are close to any heating, if their experience is anything like mine. Brrrrrr! Despite this, Thursford is a magical place which everyone should experience in the festive season once in...
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Creating my personal mobile barcode

Posted by on Dec 16, 2010 in Blog, Social Media | 6 comments I’ve just created my personal mobile barcode. It is known as a QR code and this configuration of black and white squares holds my personal professional details – my identity, in effect – which can be scanned via an app on a smart phone and will direct you to my website . You can also create your own barcode too for free via this link. I learnt about it today from Alan McInroy of...
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Should web links be free?

Posted by on Dec 15, 2010 in Blog, PR, Social Media, updates | 2 comments I’ve been following the latest  saga regarding paying The Newspaper Licensing Agency for sharing web links. Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of the Public Relations Consultants Association, explains via a video interview why they are appealing to the Court of Appeal against a ruling which decided that media monitoring agencies should pay for using web links. Mr Ingham describes it as a...
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Congratulations first direct

Posted by on Dec 13, 2010 in Blog, Sponsored Post, UnrulyMedia | 2 comments Congratulations to the internet bank first direct for topping the 2010 Which? table for providing the best customer service out of 75 big household names, including John Lewis, Boots and House of Fraser. I linked to first direct a couple of months ago when they highlighted their Buddy app and spoof videos to demonstrate how they go the extra mile to help customers. The bank has now been rewarded...
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Did Shrien Dewani kill his honeymoon bride?

Posted by on Dec 12, 2010 in Blog, News | 27 comments I find it impossible to believe that beautiful Anni Dewani was cold bloodily murdered by her newly wed husband on their honeymoon in Cape Town. They looked the perfect couple, so happy and in love. Anni was brutally short dead after she was shot dead when the car she was travelling in with her husband was carjacked by two men. Courts rely heavily on forensic evidence, and yet the body of Anni...
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Awaiting a cheque from Waitrose

Posted by on Dec 12, 2010 in Blog, Headway | 2 comments I had a phone call from Waitrose yesterday asking me who they should make the cheque payable to. I had no idea what the caller was talking about, until she informed me that we were one of their Ely store’s nominated Community Matters charities of the month. It was about six months ago that I had filled in the application form on behalf of Headway Cambridgeshire – we have strong...
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Bitter sweet victory for Rosie Wilson’s fight against suicide internet sites

Posted by on Dec 10, 2010 in Blog, Headway | 4 comments I had the pleasure of joining Rosie Wilson yesterday at The Dorchester where she won a national Headway Campaigner of the Year award for her determined fight to stamp out suicide internet sites. Her lovely daughter Ziggy had tried to commit suicide in June 2007 aged 23 after scanning a number of internet sites that provide detailed instructions to young people about how to kill themselves, even...
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On the 1st Day of Cutmas ….

Posted by on Dec 9, 2010 in Blog, university, video | 10 comments I have just spent two days in London and, although I missed the rioutous student demo against tuition fees, I did stumble across some festive students yesterday outside Somerset House who were singing their protests with a parody on our favourite carols.  It’s very mild compared to some of the scenes from today, though I feel students have every right to feel angry as they face a future of...
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Missing out on meeting Julian Assange

Posted by on Dec 7, 2010 in Blog, News | 7 comments Every now and again I think it would be useful to have membership at a London club, but I don’t think I spend enough time in the City to justify it – though I will be spending the next couple of days there. One that appeals to me is the Frontline Club – a haven for media folk, particularly journalists, and it would be right up my street as their speakers and events sound...
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Government urged to review family law and secret courts

Posted by on Dec 6, 2010 in Blog, News | 8 comments I was invited to attend the a parliamentary meeting regarding family law last week, but was unable to attend. Sam Smith went and has contributed the following report – and concludes that much needs to be done to overcome secrecy regarding family court hearings. Guests at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Family Law last Tuesday were left uninspired after questioning members...
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Why don’t we support young people?

Posted by on Dec 4, 2010 in Blog, university | 13 comments I remain convinced that the tripling of university tuition fees is regarded as an easy option for government to recoup funds towards the deficit, that today’s brightest young people are being unfairly targeted. I was also unconvinced by Danny Alexander’s defence of this massive increase on BBC Question Time, and a superb John Sergeant claimed that our government had coped before when...
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Disgraced former MP David Chaytor admits expenses fiddle

Posted by on Dec 3, 2010 in Blog, News | 6 comments At least disgraced former MP David Chaytor will be home for Christmas as he faces jail in the New Year after admitting thee charges of falsely accounting his Parliamentary expenses totalling just over £20,000.  It carries a sentence of up to seven years, though leniency is expected to be given for his guilty plea. It’s a sad day for politics, but a good day for justice, and the public...
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Russia 1, England 0

Posted by on Dec 2, 2010 in Blog, News | 6 comments Russia is desperate to prove to the world that it is a new nation which has shrugged off its past reputation, though there are still no answers about the mysterious deaths of Alexander Litvinenko and Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Why did FIFA turn a blind eye to this in choosing Russia to host the 2018 World Cup? Our own Winston Churchill was quoted in their presentation to demonstrate how...
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Abbeyfield’s mission – caring for the whole person

Posted by on Dec 1, 2010 in Blog, My videos | 2 comments This is a video I produced of Abbeyfield’s launch of its future housing strategy for elderly people, driving forward its mission to combat loneliness. Chief Executive Paul Allen explains that their goal is to care for the whole person – “their body and soul” – and the importance of community links, companionship and their valued volunteers. Other speakers include...
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