Congratulations to our latest 92-year-old media star

Posted by on May 25, 2012 in Blog | 2 comments For the second time in just over a week, a nonagenarian has beaten off stiff competition from young rivals to scoop a top media award. Congratulations to Elaine Morgan, a 92-year-old writer with the Western Mail, who won the Columnist of the Year Award 2011 in the Regional Press Awards. Earlier this month Beryl and Betty, aged 86 and 90 respectively (pic), stunned the nation by winning the best...
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eduroam celebrates a decade of wifi internet access for students around the world

Posted by on May 24, 2012 in Blog, PR client | 0 comments With two sons at university, I imagine they take their instant wifi access on their campus for granted. The first secure roaming internet access of this kind was launched 10 years ago by eduroam® which has today been celebrating its landmark achievement at the prestigious 2012 TERENA Networking Conference – with special recognition for the role of Klaas Wierenga (pic) who first identified...
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The complexities of registering herbal products

Posted by on May 22, 2012 in Blog, PR client | 1 comment What determines whether an herbal product is registered as food, a cosmetic or for medicinal purposes? My client Greer Deal, Director of Global Regulatory Services (GRS), a UK based consultancy to the life science industry, will highlight the complex regulations involved with this when she speaks  at the Vitafoods Europe Conference in Geneva on Thursday, 24 May 2012. The main flavour of her...
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The Cambridge Phenomenon book

Posted by on May 21, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments I feel a great sense of pride living and working around Cambridge among some extraordinary people and their innovative businesses which have made a difference to all our lives, from the birth of home computers and bluetooth technology, to the creation of round teabags and pioneering drug discovery. The story of The Cambridge Phenomenon, 50 Years of Innovation and Enterprise, has just been...
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Would you plan a DIY burial for your loved one?

Posted by on May 21, 2012 in Blog | 26 comments I had no idea about burials laws until coming across Wendii Miller, a Cambridge graduate, who carried out her own DIY burial for her 98-year-old mother Doris, even digging the grave after collecting her corpse from Grimsby Hospital mortuary and driving her mother’s remains back to her to a burial site outside Harrogate. Wendii, who drove her mother’s body in the back of a camper van...
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Congratulations to Mark Zuckerberg and his bride

Posted by on May 20, 2012 in Blog | 3 comments Within hours of Mark  Zuckerberg floating Facebook on the stock exchange, he surprised us all by getting married in a low key ceremony in his garden to his longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan who had just graduated from medical school. I’m so happy for them both, it’s the perfect end of a perfect week for them both. I have just visited Zuckerberg’s Facebook site where more than...
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Peter Carter, eelman extraordinaire

Posted by on May 19, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments I enjoyed catching up with Peter Carter today, the country loving eelman, and the only person in the UK to still carry out his trade the traditional way with willow eel traps which he makes himself. His shop in Outwell, Cambridgeshire is stacked with fascinating memorabilia for country lovers and attracts interest from around the world. I was there a few months ago when he was filmed by a...
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Studying for a Masters In Management, UK

Posted by on May 18, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 0 comments London Business School Masters In Management Economies around the world are relying on strong business acumen to survive the present decline. While a strong workforce equipped with experience and skills is vital, they crucially need visionary leaders at the top to steer their business to success. It is also essential to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs. The London Business...
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Even celebrities fail to adopt

Posted by on May 17, 2012 in Blog | 1 comment I’m so very proud of my client Francesca Polini for her success in becoming recognised as a leading spokesperson on adoption reforms. Following our considerable campaigning success in the UK,  Francesca’s fame has spread to the United States and her story of adopting from Mexico has been included in a new film made by Sir Elton John. This is her latest blog post about the film. Not...
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Helping Europe’s thalidomide victims to connect

Posted by on May 16, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments This year marks the 50th anniversary of the horrendous thalidomide drug catastrophe which left thousands with congenital limb deformities which shocked the world. A pan-European organisation is next week launching a new website called DysNet to connect thousands of families around the globe whose lives are affected by thalidomide and and limb differences. It will provide the latest information...
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Concerns over special educational needs reforms

Posted by on May 15, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 2 comments Plans to provide personal budgets for families with special educational needs has raised concerns with Janet O’Keefe, a speech and language therapist who is also an expert witness for families during tribunal appeals against their local authorities. The minister for children and families, Sarah Teather, outlined the proposed reforms which she said this would prevent parents being forced to...
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Champneys boot camp – the big weigh in

Posted by on May 12, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 8 comments Final day, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. We queued nervously for our weigh in this morning after our 7am run/power walk, the last at the end of an exhausting, but exhilarating, week. I was determined to wear the same jeans I wore for my first weigh in and not cheat by jumping on the scales with light weight joggers weighing 3lbs less which would give an inflated result. At the end of  my...
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Champneys boot camp, day 7

Posted by on May 11, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 2 comments Day 7, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. Today is our last day and after a week of extreme exercise, pushing myself beyond my pain barrier, sacrificing tea, coffee, alcohol and bread, surviving on 1500 calories a day, I was also able to enjoy a daily therapeutic treatment which made boot camp all the more tolerable. The day ended with a range of pampering treatments included in the programme;...
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Champneys boot camp, day 6

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 0 comments Day 6, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. There is a tremendous bonding among our group, a strong feeling of comradeship and mutual support which has built up during the week. If one exhausted boot camper feels they cannot move another muscle, they are always given the encouragement they need by their group to boost their motivation. It’s something we have all experienced, even the...
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Champneys boot camp, day 5

Posted by on May 9, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 1 comment Day 5, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. We are wearing Ki Fit armband monitors throughout the week which record how many calories we are burning throughout the day during all our activities, as well as our sleep pattern. Last night we were given some feedback, and it looks quite promising, despite the setback from my injury on the second day when I pulled a muscle or ligament, when there was...
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Champneys boot camp, day 4

Posted by on May 8, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 1 comment Day 4, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. We are half way through the week now and the pain is beginning to hit hard as our punishing fitness routine – six house of activity a day – takes its toll on our bodies and we begin to hurt all over, especially our thighs and bottoms, which is not surprising after around 200 each of squats, lunges and press-ups  in the last few days, though...
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Champneys boot camp, day 3

Posted by on May 7, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 11 comments Day 3, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. The strict exercise and diet regime is beginning to have an impact. One of our fellow boot campers left a class early yesterday, and later successfully pleaded for a side dish of beetroot in addition to her calorie counted lunch which was included with an alternative meal choice on offer as she really fancied it, and was determined to have it. Another...
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Champneys boot camp, day 2

Posted by on May 6, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 1 comment Day 2, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. I suffered a major setback today. After our 7am power walk, and the best breakfast I have ever had (more on this later), we headed for a local playing field to play Kwik Cricket, but a modified version which involved all team members running with their fellow boot camper who was batting. During the warm up exercise when I was teamed with a very...
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Champneys boot camp, day 1

Posted by on May 5, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 2 comments Day 1, Champneys boot camp, Henlow Grange. It’s 9.30pm and I still haven’t unpacked my bags. My newspapers which I picked up this morning remain crisp and unopened. Since arriving at Champney boot camp at Henlow Grange  at 11am, I’ve not had a minute to draw breath. My reason for joining the week-long group is to shed a few pounds and improve my fitness level, and the programme...
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The Cambridge Phenomenon book launch

Posted by on May 4, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments I am looking forward to receiving my copy of the bumper Cambridge Phenomenon book hot off the press any day now. It marks the extraordinary history surrounding the cluster of innovation, technology and life science companies operating in and around our beautiful university city over the last 50 years. There are now around 1,000 technology and biotechnology companies in the cluster and more than...
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Why sharing science is smart

Posted by on May 2, 2012 in Blog | 1 comment I’m delighted to learn that David Willetts, the minister of state for universities and science, will tomorrow announce plans to make publicly funded research accessible to readers free of charge, most possibly in public libraries. He believes that as his department spends about £5 billion each year funding academic research to further human knowledge and discover, the public has a right to...
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Ladies, would you join boot camp?

Posted by on Apr 29, 2012 in Blog | 2 comments Having read how Woman’s Hour presenter Jenni Murray piled on the pounds again after losing 5 stone on the Dukan diet, and recently joined Weight Watchers to start all over again (I must confess I am a lapsed member), I wondered if she had considered boot camp to help kick start her diet and renewed healthy lifesytyle. I am a guest of Champneys Boot Camp at Henlow Grange next week and am now...
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Is Madeleine McCann still alive?

Posted by on Apr 25, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments This is how Madeleine McMcCann looks today, according to police who have issued this age progression picture to show her as a nine-year-old and to mark the 5th anniversary of her disappearance on 3 May 2007. I think she looks older than nine,  I’m not sure how accurate these age progression images are. But what the release of this picture does is provide hope to Madeleine’s parents,...
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Abcodia’s partnership for pancreatic cancer biomarker discovery

Posted by on Apr 23, 2012 in Blog | 1 comment I’m delighted to learn of Abcodia’s latest partnership with BIOUNIVERSA Srl, a spin-out from the University of Salerno, which aims to advance the development of the BAG3 protein biomarker for use in the early detection of pancreatic cancer. BIOUNIVERSA has strong scientific evidence that suggests that serum BAG3 is elevated in patients with pancreatic cancer at the time of clinical...
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Social Media Influence 2012

Posted by on Apr 19, 2012 in Blog, Sponsored Post | 0 comments I’m looking forward to attending the latest Social Media Influence 2012 conference in London on 12 June which is now in its seventh year. I remember attending a couple of their first events and was thrilled to be in the company of fellow bloggers, a rarity back then in the UK as we were a much rarer breed in those days. I remember smiling to myself as PR delegates in the audience asked the...
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