Cambs police withhold migrant crime figures

Posted by on Feb 20, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments What are the migrant crime figures for Cambridgeshire? You would expect our police force to have this answer at their fingertips. Apparently not. So how, I wonder, can they strategise their crime busting operations for the county – and Wisbech, in particular? I’ve read their police priorities for 20111/14 which states at the top of its list, “studying current and emerging crime...
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Abcodia announces collaboration with VolitionRx

Posted by on Feb 17, 2012 in Blog, PR client | 1 comment Congratulations to my client Abcodia following the announcement today of its collaboration with VolitionRx to advance the discovery of blood based biomarkers for cancer. The partnership will discover and develop nucleosome-based diagnostic tests for lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancer by using the latest ground breaking technology. It is hoped that through global collaborations such as this,...
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Why impersonating a barrister became an offence

Posted by on Feb 17, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments I sadly went to the funeral of an old boyfriend this week where he was regaled for being a witty raconteur, for his joie de vivre and his talent for mimicry – especially those with a pomposity. There were so many crazy anecdotes about Martin’s life that his friends printed off an eight page booklet about them, and this story about when Martin impersonated a barrister amused me the...
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Research within the NHS – life science companies invited to share their thoughts and experiences

Posted by on Feb 15, 2012 in Blog, PR client | 1 comment I’m planning to attend a fascinating One Nucleus  Bench to Boardroom event in Newmarket on 6 March which will scrutinise how life science companies can can work successfully within the NHS, an increasing developing market, for example, the recent collaboration of the Virgin Health Bank at Cambridge University Hospitals. A workshop on this theme, entitled “The NHS – Virgin...
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A message for workaholics – make time for love

Posted by on Feb 14, 2012 in Blog | 3 comments This Valentine’s Day post is a message to all workaholics – work less hours and make time for love in your life, otherwise you could end up regretting it on your deathbed, according to a nurse who recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’. Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years...
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How should we treat stalkers?

Posted by on Feb 8, 2012 in Blog | 18 comments The beautiful young daughter of my friend’s friend was murdered by a stalker. She had befriended a Holocaust survivor who she was photographing for an assignment and he developed an obsession about her. Stalking is currently in the news following the publication of  a parliamentary inquiry which concluded that the laws on harassment and stalking are not “fit for purpose” 15...
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Charles Dickens and Cambridgeshire

Posted by on Feb 7, 2012 in Blog | 4 comments Many thanks to Cambridgeshire’s library service for highlighting connections between our much loved author Charles Dickens with our county to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth. The county’s Literature Development Officer, Helen Taylor, has chosen some very appropriate text to remind us why his writing is as relevant today as it was in Victorian England.  This is the...
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To patent or not to patent, that is the question…

Posted by on Feb 6, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and producer of the terrific Teslar electric car, is also the brains behind SpaceX, the world’s fastest-growing launch services provider with more than 40 space missions under its belt, including a £1.6 billion deal from Nasa to resupply the International Space Station. I imagined Musk would want to patent and protect his sensational spacecraft designs,...
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In support of World Cancer Day

Posted by on Feb 4, 2012 in Blog, PR client | 2 comments Today is World Cancer Day, and it is hard to find a family whose lives have not been affected by this killer disease. I have signed its Declaration in support of their campaign, along with molecular diagnostics company Abcodia,who work with innovative global collaborators to provide earlier diagnosis of cancer. World Cancer Day is using today to unite the world in the fight against cancer by...
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Irish election faces quotas for women – or funding cuts for political parties

Posted by on Feb 1, 2012 in Blog | 3 comments The next general election could see quotas for women candidates introduced in the Republic of Ireland – and political parties have been warned they could lose half of their state funding if they fail to comply. The clause is included in the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011, which says that political parties will face a cut of half their State political funding if they do...
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Walpole St Peter’s Chuch, a rare treasure

Posted by on Jan 29, 2012 in Blog | 8 comments Being born and bred in Wisbech, I lived close to Walpole St Peter for many years without realising what a jewel its church is. I discovered this special gem in Simon Jenkins‘ best seller, England’s Thousand Best Churches, where it was awarded five stars – the highest accolade – and visited it on his recommendation for the first time about seven years ago. When I first...
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Wisbech, a town in crisis?

Posted by on Jan 28, 2012 in Blog | 5 comments I visited my family in Wisbech today – the very same town which “the Baltic Mafia is terrorising” – according to this sensational report in today’s Daily Mail. Driving through the town, I passed a coach with a Lithuanian number plate parked outside a factory. A new influx of migrant workers? Or potential drug dealers, as the Mail would have us believe. I read the...
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Virgin Health Bank and Cambridge hospitals partnership

Posted by on Jan 27, 2012 in Blog, PR client | 2 comments Sir Richard Branson has launched an innovative new bank alongside Northern Rock – the Virgin Health Bank - which stores cord blood, the blood that remains in the umbilical cord after a baby has been born and is a rich source of stem cells which can be used for life saving transplants. It will be delivered in partnership with Cambridge University Hospitals and is believed to be the first of...
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A Headway friend forever

Posted by on Jan 25, 2012 in Blog, Headway | 6 comments I have just stepped down as a trustee from Headway Cambridgeshire after six years – four-and-a-half years as its chair – and am already feeling withdrawal symptoms, missing the many friends I have made there. I do think you can stay in a position too long and that there is always a right time to move on so fresh blood can reinvigorate and bring different dynamics and insights to the...
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Cannabis on prescription

Posted by on Jan 25, 2012 in Blog | 3 comments Cannabis, a class-B drug available on prescription as a medicinal remedy for multiple sclerosis patients, could also be used to target cancer pain, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis and even schizophrenia if trials demonstrate its effectiveness. What once seemed a controversial idea has now won widespread approval as Sativex, the first ever prescription cannabis-based medicine, is used in many parts...
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Inspirational woman Julie Jones meets Samantha Cameron

Posted by on Jan 19, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments I was very moved after reading today about the selfless life of single mum of three  Julie Jones who only earns £18,000 a year as an administrator, yet willingly adopted her best friend’s five children after she had died. I think any woman who can bring up eight very happy kids, works 40 hours a week and can survive on £18,000 deserves a top management job. I challenge any man to do the...
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An evening with the “beyond heartbroken” Katherine Jenkins

Posted by on Jan 14, 2012 in Blog | 3 comments Last night we took pa-in-law and Aunt Betty to a concert given by the “beyond heartbroken” Katherine Jenkins in Ipswich.  We were wondering if she would blub on stage again following her recent broken engagement, and my husband reminded me tersely that anyone else in that situation still has to get up and go to work. Katherine was a brave soldier and remained smiling and composed in...
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Cambridge academics will bypass European stem cells ruling

Posted by on Jan 12, 2012 in Blog | 6 comments BREAKING NEWS The Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, has vowed to bypass a European Court of Justice ruling that bans patents on embryonic stem cells by turning to the United States or India instead. There are 26 laboratories in Cambridge using stem cells; it has the largest aggregate of stem cell scientists in Europe. However, their future research, which...
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Stephen Hawking, Master of the Universe

Posted by on Jan 9, 2012 in Blog | 12 comments Sitting in the Cambridge University lecture theatre listening spellbound to the synthesised voice of Prof Stephen Hawking, pre-recorded for his 70th birthday symposium which he was too poorly to attend in person, I was struck by two thoughts: 1. The warmth and humour of his personality as he shared anecdotes about his family and scientific life, humble at times, and his passionate belief that...
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Stephen Lawrence verdict should make govt rethink forensic closure

Posted by on Jan 3, 2012 in Blog | 3 comments If ever there was justification for the government to rethink its planned closure of the UK Forensic Science Service, then today’s verdict for the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence 18 years ago has proved this without reasonable doubt! A conviction was secured solely on forensic  evidence after the jury was told that the case boiled down to three thing: blood, fibres and hair. These tiny...
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When did you last stay up till 3am reading a book?

Posted by on Jan 2, 2012 in Blog | 5 comments It’s been so long since I burnt the midnight oil reading a good book. So I couldn’t wait to discover whose writing it was that captivated award winning journalist Jenni Russell to such a degree of excitement that she stayed up until 3 am to finish reading her book. It turned out to be The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life, by William Nicholson, who is not only an accomplished writer,...
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Would you go on Mastermind or University Challenge?

Posted by on Dec 31, 2011 in Blog | 2 comments Did you watch Jungle Queen and X-Factor star Stacey Solomon’s surprise celebrity appearanace on Mastermind over Christmas? I was stunned at her confidence in pitting her brains against super chef Sophie Grigson, the Fast Show’s Simon Day and musician Steve Harley. After all, she does not come over as being Mastermind material. And surely brains and knowledge is what this programme is...
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Macmillan Cancer Support’s Biggest “Thank You”

Posted by on Dec 30, 2011 in Blog, PR client | 1 comment No words are spoken in this emotionally charged video, but the raw feelings of the six people it features are stripped bare as they read poignant and touching messages of thanks sent by from friends and loved ones suffering from cancer which have been published on the Macmillan Biggest Thank You. You too can add your thanks, those two little words which mean so much. Macmillan’s Biggest Thank...
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My Boxing Day boardwalk at Wicken Fen

Posted by on Dec 26, 2011 in Blog | 3 comments I was keen to try out my new Scarpa walking boots today, so we headed for the nearby Wicken Fen nature reserve this morning where we found many like-minded souls with no interest in the Christmas sales. Our Boxing Day walk was a mere stroll compared to what I am used to as we were restricted for time because my husband was keen to get to the early afternoon Cambridge United Boxing Day football...
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Let’s have some Merry Christmas cheer!

Posted by on Dec 23, 2011 in Blog | 12 comments Am I the only one who misses Christmas carols being played in our shopping centres and stores? Instead, the festive atmosphere is silent and sombre and I miss feeling that warm glow inside when I hear those lovely carols. No doubt political correctness is to blame, especially as our supermarkets are reported to shun selling religious themed Christmas cards for this reason. Even the buskers in...
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