The Vivid Blog

The Vivid Blog http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com Musings from the world of PR & communications from our home in Tewkesbury. posterous.com Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/4xNvWR-F3Vs/friday-favourites-96688 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-96688 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">A 1930’s musical fantasy film meets 1980’s soft rock, rockin’ with Aretha, what do your friends think your job involves, dog art and anyone for chocolate? </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">– This picture </span></span><span>has been making me laugh all week. Okay, so you have to be a fan of 80’s music and American soft rock in particular (think Africa, Hold the Line, Georgey Porgey) but I am so it amuses me!</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image001" height="311" src="http://getfile8.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/APZSGEFtvgTEIwAoCTM7TOWxK3Ozf3vpwM3vYIzCyvOpkIZdAfiwoIz6XYwB/image001.jpg" width="313" /> </div> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Then there’s this clip is clip of Aretha Franklin from 1973 performing ‘Rock Steady’ on Soul Train that my daughter, Molly discovered recently. It’s been making us both of us dance round the room over the past few days…Have a good weekend everyone..!!</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wmOX_L1Txb8?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #1f497d; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: #1f497d;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></span></strong><span> – <span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">Two things from me too this week. The first is this clever ‘Dog within a dog’ photo from Jamie Klingler, </span></span></span><span class="bio2"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia; color: #000000;"><span style="color: black; font-style: normal;">Publishing Manager at ShortList Media:</span></span></em></span><em><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black; font-style: italic;"> </span></span></em></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image002" height="250" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/YGeOLpKqqEse5LFcVm5hiR6cPfh7bMcLp9G7icbip9k8s07Q4OHpje097PpF/image002.jpg" width="188" /> </div> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">The second is the humorous photos aimed at destroying the myths about certain professions. For me, the ‘</span></span>what people think we do .... and what we actually do’ for PR professionals and journalists hit the nail on the head! See <a href="http://t.co/psZROTki" title="http://tinyurl.com/7hgf8ch" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/7hgf8ch</a> and <a href="http://t.co/cHcw4W2n" title="http://bit.ly/x5sNnI" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/x5sNnI</a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></span></strong> - <span>I like anything made of chocolate and the creativity of people to create a new market is inspirational! With the Cheltenham Festival just four weeks away a new company called the Horse Lovers Chocolate Shop has come to my attention. Lots of horsey shaped chocs and yet another excuse to eat the sweet stuff. I’m sold already. Find out more via the Facebook site <a href="http://on.fb.me/zFqSYU" title="http://on.fb.me/zFqSYU">http://on.fb.me/zFqSYU</a> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image003" height="240" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/CrPOzgTkibo1jrOSFEhpJK19pGLMspDly9NIkmwKltGoph8X5nDwfzw1mfDD/image003.jpg" width="320" /> </div> </span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-96688">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-96688#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/4xNvWR-F3Vs" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-96688 Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:04:00 -0800 Careless talk costs reputations http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/hDUBAPjXyeU/careless-talk-costs-reputations http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/careless-talk-costs-reputations <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">News today that train operator London Midland has apologised for 'insensitive' tweets over a man’s death on the track raises a few questions for organisations and the way they manage their reputations. How do</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> you strike the right balance between good customer service and giving good quality information to passengers while remaining sensitive about what has happened?</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">It was a dilemma London Midland faced on Sunday when a man died after apparently jumping in front of a train at University Station in Birmingham. The company has a reputation for keeping customers up to date with news via its Twitter account. Clearly, the social media channel was a useful way to notify passengers of the apparent suicide and the likely delays caused by the man's death. So far so good in terms of intent - let passengers know what has happened, explain who the delays will affect, for how long and what's being done about it. Sounds like good customer service.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">However</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">, it was the advice given to passengers and subsequent information that caused some concern, leading to claims of insensitivity. For, after letting followers know about the possible suicide, London Midland urged customers via Twitter to ‘Go to the pub - things will be rubbish for at least the next hour.’ Other remarks included: ‘Can't stop someone jumping off a platform in front of a train I'm afraid.’ When a customer asked if the man who had jumped off the platform was alright, London Midland replied ‘nope.’ </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The company’s seemingly callous remarks were met with shock by people who read the Twitter feed. At best London Midland can be seen as using sloppy language; at worst demonstrating a huge lack of sensitivity.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">London Midland said it had received no complaints over its tweets. However, quick to make sure that the operator was taking concerns seriously and diffuse any potential for complaints, David Whitley, who runs London Midland’s Twitter page has apologized. He blamed the short 140 character limit for the way its tweets came across, maintaining, "we try very hard to provide tailored, individual responses".</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">So, the second question for reputation management is, are social media channels an appropriate way to communicate when someone has died? Having had much experience of reputation management, customer service and crisis communications management, my answer is a resounding yes – but used carefully and appropriately. In using social media channels, you're publishing information and broadcasting it to a potentially wide audience in the same way as you would in a newspaper article or radio/tv programme. Social media channels are another opportunity to publish information and monitor feedback but must not be treated in isolation. To ensure they meet the same rigorous reputation management standards, they must be part of your communications strategy and anchored within any customer service policy.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">W</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">hich brings me to the third question about how organisations manage their reputations: Do you have a crisis management strategy or plan? If so, is communication a key part of it? Do you have a Customer Service policy? If you, do the right people know?</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">I </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">find it hard to believe that London Midland doesn’t have such plans or policies so maybe Sunday’s incident was a momentary slip in standards. Or, for some reason, appropriate use of social media channels is not linked to its strategies or widely known within the company. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">London Midland delivered on its reputation for </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">keeping customers up to date with news via Twitter. This fits with its aim on its website to try to ‘</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">make train travel better every day.’ It was </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">right to apologise even though it received no complaints and should be commended for this. However, a little more care about the language used and the way it responded to customers were needed. Good crisis communications management or reputation management plans will include the things you should say in an incident.  If a crime may have been committed or legal action might follow, the amount of initial information will be limited - something emergency services and others in the public sector have to man</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">age every day. H</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">owever, lack of a crime or legal action doesn’t mean care should not be taken.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"> </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> I am sure London Midland will be more careful with its tweets in the future. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> Its<span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span> <span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>exp<span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>e<span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span>rience will be a lesson for us all.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span> <span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span><span style="line-height: 0; display: none;"></span></span>Hilary Allison</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> is a Director with The Vivid Consultancy</span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/careless-talk-costs-reputations">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/careless-talk-costs-reputations#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/hDUBAPjXyeU" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/careless-talk-costs-reputations Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:50:59 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/x2IZ86TGCP8/friday-favourites-60508 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-60508 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">The comic who’s perfected corny jokes and what life might be like in 2062</span> ……<span style="color: black;">.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></b><span style="color: black;"> – </span><span style="color: black;">I’ve long been a fan of Tim Vine’s jokes and Not Going Out on television with Tim and his co-star Lee Mack. The humour and the jokes are really obvious, sometimes embarrassingly so, but it’s a good humoured humour that offends no-one. There is no teasing, there are no questions of whether a joke is morally right or wrong and there is no swearing. So I was delighted to see that Tim Vine scooped the Joke of the Year at the Laftas  this week with his joke: conjunctivitous.com - that’s a site for sore eyes. Love it, love it, love it… You can see more about Tim and his humour on his website at </span><span class="domain"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.timvine.com/" target="_self"><span style="color: black;">www.timvine.com</span></a></span></span><span class="domain"><span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="domain"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span> – They say hindsight is a wonderful thing but I also love its opposite – foresight, particularly when it comes to our changing lifestyles. In its 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary edition, The Sunday Times Magazine looked back to scientific predictions made in 1962. Among things thought likely to happen ‘soon’ were:</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the ‘dinner pill’ – we would consume all our nutrients in the form of a single pill</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the flying car (what about Chitty Chitty Band Bang all those years before!!!)</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>monkey drivers – a robotic ‘live-in-ape’ to the household chores and drive the kids to school</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>fusion fantasy – the ultimate energy source which generates more power than is put in. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">In homage, journalist Michael Hanlon looked forward to what we might expect by 2062, including:</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>electric paint – paint that generates an electric current to feed into the grid, so a world without power stations</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the death of the automobile – as people walk, cycle and travel in computer-controlled driverless bus-taxis</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the hyperscraper – a city in the sky as vertical cities a mile or more high are built</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the dream café – at the press of a button, the room disappears to be replaced by a virtual reality destination of your choice</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the singularity – machines capable of re-engineering themselves until a super-intelligent entity emerges to take over the world</span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>machine rights – a modern-day Frankenstein with a brain that mimics a human’s </span></p> <p style=""><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Symbol; color: black;"><span style="">·<span style="font: 7.0pt Times New Roman;">                 </span></span></span><span>the perfect body – medicines that will re-engineer our musculature, metabolism and even genes. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">You heard it here first (well second, if you’ve already seen the Sunday Times magazine).</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-60508">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-60508#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/x2IZ86TGCP8" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-60508 Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:05:00 -0800 Snow-go at Heathrow - but has BAA been proved right? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/xXpF2NUtMmg/snow-go-at-heathrow-but-has-baa-been-proved-r http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/snow-go-at-heathrow-but-has-baa-been-proved-r <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span>You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t. That must be how BAA is feeling after its decision to cancel up to a third of flights at Heathrow when heavy snow was forecast at the weekend. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span>Amid predictions of six inches of the white stuff and possible freezing fog, the airport operator announced that around 200 of Sunday’s flights from the world’s <span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">busiest airport would not take off. BAA said it was doing this to ‘minimise disruption to passengers.’ </span></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Bitter memories of the criticism it got during and after Christmas 2010 would have played a major part in its decision. It was then that Heathrow grounded to a halt for four days and hundreds of passengers were stranded at the airport, unable to reach their destinations or loved ones over the festive season. </span></span></p> <h2 style="margin: 0cm;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">At the time, BAA said an insufficient number of snow ploughs meant runways couldn’t be kept open. Since then it has increased its snow plough fleet but, given the forecast freezing fog and other factors, this alone was not enough. Today, BAA admits that </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">Heathrow will always struggle to cope with snow because the airport is full. Indeed, when it came at the weekend, </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">the first serious snow of the winter led to 41% of flights being cancelled.</span></span></span></strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">After the 2010 difficulties, BAA’s Director of Communications, Malcolm</span></span><span> Robertson, said “The key thing we’ve learned from the crisis is that we need to get quality information out there, not just information.” </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span>As well as effective communication, good crisis preparation and management recognises the need for an integrated response. It must include actions, decisions and resolutions. In this case, BAA went by the book. It made a decision <span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">– taken with </span></span></span></span><span>airlines and air traffic controllers – </span><span>acted on it and communicated it.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span>Yes, it has to look at why airports across Europe continued to operate normally despite worse conditions and do something as a matter of urgency about why plans put into place to keep Heathrow operational after the 2010 fiasco didn’t work this time. If this is a long-term issue, it must address that while managing the short-term implications. And it seemed to tackle the short-term implications at the weekend.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span>As someone who has managed crises and studied their impacts, two things strike me. First, as a passenger with the choice of being stranded at an airport for days while BAA decided what to do, or being told while in the comfort of my home or hotel that flights would be cancelled so I needn’t turn up at the airport, I know which I’d opt for. Unlike 2010, the airport was not full of disappointed and angry passengers. I’m not suggesting for one minute that there haven’t been complaints. But justifiably angry passengers are a symptom of the problem. In this case BAA’s prevention was better than cure.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span>Secondly, the media response has been more informed and we haven’t had pages of newsprint and hours of broadcast time devoted to queues of passengers or those camped on the airport’s floor. Instead, media coverage has moved on and is concentrating on the far bigger issue, not just the symptoms. Malcolm Robertson’s view early in 2011 that “The key to moving these stories on is fast, unequivocal communications,” appears to have been proved right. Today’s Telegraph looks at the larger issue – why doesn’t Heathrow cope in snow? You can see it at <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9064020/Weather-chaos-Heathrow-cant-cope-in-snow-admits-owner.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/9064020/Weather-chaos-Heathrow-cant-cope-in-snow-admits-owner.html</a>  This is a far bigger issue for both BAA’s and Heathrow’s reputation and has to be dealt with. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span>And while they’re at it, can they look at why the whole of the UK seems to fall apart when we get a bit of snow? I see a UK malaise….</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Hilary Allison is a Director at The Vivid Consultancy</span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/snow-go-at-heathrow-but-has-baa-been-proved-r">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/snow-go-at-heathrow-but-has-baa-been-proved-r#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/xXpF2NUtMmg" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/snow-go-at-heathrow-but-has-baa-been-proved-r Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:31:17 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/kD94rN_B4QI/friday-favourites-68007 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-68007 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><a name="OLE_LINK5"></a><a name="OLE_LINK4"></a><a name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a name="OLE_LINK1"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">The top five regrets when we die, the b</span></a>ond between a rescued dog and a dying boy and a record label that helped changed our culture ……<span style="color: black;">.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span> – You might think that an article about the </span>top five regrets people admit when they're dying would be morbid but those revealed this week were uplifting and should make us all stop and think. They were recorded by palliative nurse, <span>Bronnie Ware, who spent several years caring for patients during the last 12 weeks of their lives. Her blog got so much attention that she has written a book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. One of the </span>most surprising things is that they are things largely within our own control. <span>There was no mention of seeing the world or bungee jumps. Among the top five were ‘I wish<b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></b>I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me’, I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’ and ‘I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.’ As Bonnie said: “When people realise their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it’s easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."  I agree. We c</span><span>an all learn something from this wisdom ……. </span><span>and more importantly, do something about it. Life is precious. You can see more (and readers’ views about their regrets) at </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying"><span>http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying</span></a><span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">The story of the Hembree family and their experience of life being precious is my second Friday Favourite this week and is linked to my first. Four-year-old Lucas </span><span style="color: black;">suffers from Sanfilippo syndrome, a metabolic disease. As it progresses, children lose the ability to speak, walk and eat. There is no cure so Lucas isn’t expected to live past the age of 15 and may be in a vegetative state by the time he is eight. Realizing that every moment is extra precious, his parents, Chester and Jennifer, decided to try to get an assistance dog. When they were told Lucas wasn’t a good candidate because of his deteriorating abilities, his behavior and the cost, the couple refused to accept the situation. They came across a posting about Juno, a Belgian Malinois dog, who was at an animal shelter in Tennessee. She was emaciated and days away from being euthanized. Chester had worked with the breed as a law enforcement officer and decided Juno could help Lucas – and be given a loving home too. He recognised that there’s something special about a rescued pet: as if it senses it’s been given a second chance at life. He started to train Juno and it soon became apparent that she had the ability to pick up on Lucas’s neurological changes and alert Chester and Jennifer when he’s about to have a seizure or if his oxygen levels drop low – both life-threatening conditions for him. As Chester says “It really feels like it was meant to be.” You can see more of this heart-warming tale at: </span><a href="http://www.thedogfiles.com/2012/02/02/lucas-and-juno-the-bond-between-a-rescue-dog-and-a-dying-boy">http://www.thedogfiles.com/2012/02/02/lucas-and-juno-the-bond-between-a-rescue-dog-and-a-dying-boy</a></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image001" height="198" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/bJNxHIJmIApVcDTOAjaD0t3X3dehnZpXyugpXVwka359wCLjTYTbO43n6Uok/image001.jpg" width="261" /> </div> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian</span></b><span style="color: black;"> – Yesterday, I </span><span>found myself going through old vinyl in many different charity shops when I came across a copy of The Specials ‘A Message To You Rudy’. I knew I had to buy it as I have so many memories of the record label, 2Tone, the music, the artists and that era. I can remember attending football matches in the late 70’s and it seemed almost  the norm for black players to receive racist chants and monkey noises, whilst on television you would have programmes like Love Thy Neighbour, Mixed Blessings and comedians such as Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson. Fortunately times have changed and I believe the effect 2Tone had on a whole generation played a big part in that, kids were watching mixed race bands such as The Specials, The Beat and The Selector regularly on Top of The Pops and seeing people of different ethnic backgrounds listening to the same music. So I would like to dedicate my Friday Favourite this week to 2Tone Records, a label which unfortunately is no longer with us, but played a big part in the culture of the late 70’s & early 80’s and brought many people together…</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image002" height="196" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/tvcPzilX25FSLzCnJEB5OTlabM0dd8sDNQqUYwebudXuLvhM6EEEsGyePECe/image002.jpg" width="261" /> </div> </span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-68007">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-68007#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/kD94rN_B4QI" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-68007 Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:19:00 -0800 Get social - but get it in your strategy! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/p490aPpTrPI/get-social-but-get-it-in-your-strategy http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/get-social-but-get-it-in-your-strategy <p> <p><em><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-style: italic;">Social media can be a great way to communicate but many businesses are missing out on its real benefits by not thinking about how it fits into their existing communications strategies. Hilary Allison, Director at PR & communications consultancy, The Vivid Consultancy, shares her views on why it’s important to make sure it does and offers a few tips to help.</span></span></em></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">I must admit that in the 26 years I’ve been working in communications and PR, I have seen a few fads. Ideas, practices and potential channels came … and went. Whatever happened to the long PR/client lunch or the press ‘conference’ for every occasion?</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">When I first read about social media though, I knew it wasn’t a fad. Yes, it would evolve, yes it would change as by its very nature, it’s a dynamic channel but, in one form or another, the idea of people connecting their thoughts, ideas and content online in some way is here to stay. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">What has surprised me though is the many businesses and organisations who feel they need to join or use social media channels for their own sake without thinking about how they fit into their existing communications or PR strategies – and without any understanding of what can be achieved. Yet often people have no plan about how they want to use them and what impact they will have on their other ways of communicating. There’s a huge number of social media channels and using any of them without thinking about the impact on your brand, reputation or communications is not only short-sighted: it can be a waste of time and effort. In extreme cases, it can undo any good work you have done with other channels. Look at the problems Eurostar experienced a few years ago when they failed to grasp the social media nettle after a train broke down in the Channel Tunnel. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">For any organisation, an effective communications strategy sets out the big picture, the framework for your communications. Linked to your business plan, it will identify your aims, objectives, messages, audiences, channels and ways you plan to evaluate it. It enables you to determine how to best allocate or develop a budget and helps you make best use of your people. In the same way that working with the media, newsletters, posters, websites and events are channels to help you communicate, the social media is a channel. Within it, it has many other channels. From Twitter to YouTube and Linked In to Facebook, there’s a variety of mobile or web-based options for you to pick from. They all provide tactical ways to share information, nurture a fan base or community of shared interests, promote ideas, get feedback or encourage a call to action. But they need a route map and to be anchored with your other channels and within your communications strategy.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">So, if you’re thinking of using social media or if you’re using it without reference to a strategy, what can you do to make sure you make the most of it? Well, here are a few pointers ….</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Step 1</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> - Look at your existing communications strategy. Is it up to date? When did you last review it? Is it time for an audit? Is it something you can do or do you need the help of a communications or PR consultancy? What if you don’t have a strategy? Well, now’s the time to develop one. We have worked with a number of our clients to help provide an objective approach in this way.  </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Step 2</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> – Who do you want to reach via the social media? Look at what’s available and who uses what. Compare it to other parts of your communication strategy. It’s a bit like thinking about your media relations work. If all your audiences read The Times then there’s probably not a lot of point spending time working with The Daily Mail. It’s the same with the social media. Choose the channels that most suits your needs. Again, a consultancy can help.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Step 3</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> – What impact is using the social media going to have on your website? It should have a positive one by driving traffic to it and increasing your search engine optimisation (SEO). But is your website up to it? Does it need a revamp? Will people engage with your social media channels only to find you website doesn’t deliver in the same way? Websites are dynamic so as well as regular updates, it’s good to review them from time to time. When you do that, can you do it alone or do you need some expert and objective help from a digital consultancy?</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Step 4</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> – Who’s talking about you or your competitors already via the social media and what are they saying about you? </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">When you’re using social media as part of your PR or communications strategy, one of the most important aspects to consider is how you’ll be monitoring the ‘socialscape’ and how you will evaluate it. Social media monitoring allows you to do several things – you can identify where conversations are happening about your brand and what’s being said; you can get involved in these conversations; you can measure the effectiveness of a campaign based on how much discussion it generates and it will help you be first off the mark if any changes in your industry are afoot or if you’re suddenly faced with a crisis. There are some great monitoring and evaluation tools out there, both free and to buy. Again, expert help is at hand.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Step 5</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> – Make sure it keeps moving! No strategy should sit on the shelf or online gathering dust. It’s a continuous circle of developing and reviewing, with social media channels a particularly fast-moving element. Make sure it continues to meet your needs and those of all your audiences. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">So, by all means get social… indeed please do – but make sure you get it all in your strategy. And in doing that, don’t be afraid to rule out certain social media channels if they don’t suit your needs. It’s about confidence in your communications!</span></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-style: italic;">To find out how we might be able to help you, contact <a href="mailto:hilary@thevividconsultancy.com">hilary@thevividconsultancy.com</a></span></span></em></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/get-social-but-get-it-in-your-strategy">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/get-social-but-get-it-in-your-strategy#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/p490aPpTrPI" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/get-social-but-get-it-in-your-strategy Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:49:51 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/-2FThf-awJI/friday-favourites-76278 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-76278 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Brand-building Medieval-style, the nostalgic joys of Lemon Puffs and never mind parking your bum, go for a park run instead…….</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></b><span style="color: black;"> – </span><span>Now we know we’re all becoming a nation of fatties.  Too idle even to get up and walk to the TV, we are now hooked on remote controls. No doubt we’ll be using them for everything soon…With obesity on the rise and the myriad of health problems that can cause I’m not surprised that solutions put forward – eat five fresh portions of fruit and veg a day, pay for obese people to join Weight Watchers and the Government’s Count Me In campaign etc – aren’t really having an impact. They are coming from the wrong place. Making you feel bad in the first place for not doing the right thing and dictating a solution. As I see it, the problem is that we’ve basically forgotten how to move and exercise and we need to change the entire culture for generations to have a sustainable effect.  That’s why the Park Run concept is such a fabulous idea.  Basically there are 5k runs every Saturday morning up and down the country and they are free.  All you need to do is register on the Park Run website and you get a bar code.  This helps the organisers record your time and gives you something to aim at week after week.  All ages take part and there are great marshals along the route to encourage you. They start at 9am and, if you live close enough, you are home by 10 enjoying a well-earned bacon (with visible fat removed…) butty. The nearest one to us here in Tewkesbury is in Worcester and there is also one in the Forest of Dean. They are brilliant and I think could do more to tackle our idleness and weight issues than everything we’ve tried so far.  The website is <a href="http://www.parkrun.com/home" title="http://www.parkrun.com/home">http://www.parkrun.com/home</a> If I was Health Minister I’d get the whole country running for our collective physical and mental wellbeing but maybe this could be the start…..</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian</span></b><span style="color: black;"> – </span><span>As we get older, we look back fondly on our youth and the memories that are precious to us. Last week, I was having dinner with some of my wife’s work colleagues when the discussion came round to food that we ate when we were young. I mentioned memories of my grandma’s house and sitting in front of an open fire drinking milk and eating lemon puffs biscuits. My wife’s friend Penny told me that you could still buy lemon puffs and next time she saw some, she would buy me some…Imagine my surprise on Monday night when Charlotte came home from work with a packet of lemon puffs that Penny had bought over the weekend for me. On Wednesday night - after spending two days staring nervously at the packet - I opened them and within moments the memories came flooding back. They still taste as lovely as I remember all those years ago…</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image001" height="143" src="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/CiCS6x6Z8WER5gd9wu0NdqaL9TVpakAf1Xf7YLhu0iKhPyPiNSDH2p1yNKpr/image001.jpg" width="206" /> </div> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span> – I love history and managed to record a fabulous three-part series on BBC4 called The Private Lives of the Medieval Kings. Presented by art historian, Janina Ramirez, the programmes revealed the riches of illuminated manuscripts. These written works of art were used as the image-builders and reputation-makers of their day, being carefully put together as propaganda to reflect power and greatness. Painstaking and expensive to produce, they were usually only ever within the reach of monarchs (because they could afford them and were among the few people who could read) so were often used by European kings to outdo one another: the medieval forerunner to ‘keeping up with the Joneses’. The manuscripts often contained painted minatures of the monarchs, usually portraying them as learned and scholarly as well as magnificent. Using pure gold and rich fabrics to edge the pages and cover the documents added to the opulence. Janina Ramirez explained that personal prayer books and then, after Henry VIII’s break with Rome, psalters, took over from manuscripts. Indeed, bluff King Hal himself was responsible for destroying goodness knows how many precious manuscripts during the Reformation. Later, these prayer books themselves went out of favour as the personal portrait took over as the way for monarch to demonstrate their power, greatness and brand by getting their faces in front of many people as possible. It made me realise that not much has changed over the years when it comes to power and reputation-building. Fascinating stuff.  </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-76278">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-76278#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/-2FThf-awJI" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-76278 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:57:31 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/6C2Z_WtskGI/friday-favourites-4812 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-4812 <p> <blockquote type="cite"><div><div><p style="text-align: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 17px;">T</span></span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">alking animals and the coincidence of coincidence……... </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> – As you will know, at Vivid Towers we’re animal lovers ….. and we have a particular fondness for the talking ones. If you remember the days of Johnny Morris and Animal Magic or you are just amused by talking animals, there few better than those on BBC's Walk on the Wild Side. There’s a stack to choose from on You Tube and this is one of my favourites - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaPepCVepCg" title="blocked::http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaPepCVepCg"></a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaPepCVepCg"></a><iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xaPepCVepCg?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Hilary </span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">– If you’ve ever had cause to use the phrase ‘well, what a coincidence’, then a Cambridge don might want to hear from you. Ever since studying probabilities in Maths at school, I’ve been interested in coincidences. Are they bound to happen or is there something more interesting at play? For example, Caroline and I have fathers who share birthdays (although not dates of birth), as do our dogs (again, not dates of birth) and we both have Yorkshire roots. We didn’t know any of that when we first became friends (indeed we didn’t have our four-legged friends then). Now Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University is asking people for their tales of striking coincidences for his study into the odds of such peculiar events happening. His examples include a man on holiday in the South of France writing a postcard to a friend, only to bump into him and be able to hand over the card rather than posting it. Then there was the woman standing in a queue talking about the actor David Jacobi, only to find the man himself standing in front of her. If you want to know more or submit examples, visit <a href="http://www.understandinguncertainty.org/coincidences"></a><a href="http://www.understandinguncertainty.org/coincidences"></a><a href="http://www.understandinguncertainty.org/coincidences">www.understandinguncertainty.org/coincidences</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">PS Talking of talking animals, how cute is this video clip of Pancho at The Donkey Sanctuary singing - <a href="http://t.co/1O9DhE1D" title="http://youtu.be/JynsbB-OInA" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://youtu.be/JynsbB-OInA"></a><iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JynsbB-OInA?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> </div> </div></blockquote> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-4812">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-4812#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/6C2Z_WtskGI" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-4812 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:10:12 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/vqOPXhJtj28/friday-favourites-34443 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-34443 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Talking animals and the coincidence of coincidence……... </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> – As you will know, at Vivid Towers we’re animal lovers ….. and we have a particular fondness for the talking ones. If you remember the days of Johnny Morris and Animal Magic or you are just amused by talking animals, there few better than those on BBC's Walk on the Wild Side. There’s a stack to choose from on You Tube and this is one of my favourites - <iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xaPepCVepCg?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Hilary </span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">– If you’ve ever had cause to use the phrase ‘well, what a coincidence’, then a Cambridge don might want to hear from you. Ever since studying probabilities in Maths at school, I’ve been interested in coincidences. Are they bound to happen or is there something more interesting at play? For example, Caroline and I have fathers who share birthdays (although not dates of birth), as do our dogs (again, not dates of birth) and we both have Yorkshire roots. We didn’t know any of that when we first became friends (indeed we didn’t have our four-legged friends then). Now Professor David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge University is asking people for their tales of striking coincidences for his study into the odds of such peculiar events happening. His examples include a man on holiday in the South of France writing a postcard to a friend, only to bump into him and be able to hand over the card rather than posting it. Then there was the woman standing in a queue talking about the actor David Jacobi, only to find the man himself standing in front of her. If you want to know more or submit examples, visit <a href="http://www.understandinguncertainty.org/coincidences">www.understandinguncertainty.org/coincidences</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">PS Talking of talking animals, how cute is this video clip of Pancho at The Donkey Sanctuary singing - <a href="http://t.co/1O9DhE1D" title="http://youtu.be/JynsbB-OInA" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JynsbB-OInA?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></a></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-34443">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-34443#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/vqOPXhJtj28" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-34443 Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:31:20 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/4mrK8H9cPgg/friday-favourites-89079 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-89079 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> –I have always admired people who explore the globe (and further afield) to find out more about its mysteries. From Shackleton to Scott, Hillary to Bonnington and Fiennes to Hempleman Adams, there are many people who have braved the elements and perils of nature in their quest for knowledge and to achieve great physical feats. Two names in particular stand out as early childhood memories – Sir Edmund Hillary and his ascent of Everest and Captain Scott and his polar expedition. I think it was probably through a Ladybird book that I first read about Robert Falcon Scott and his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole. Later, I remember reading about his letters home to his wife and to the son he would never see grow up. I can still remember the excitement I felt almost 15 years later when, as a journalist, I met Sir Peter Scott, not just because it was an honour to meet such a wonderful man in his won right but because he was Captain Scott’s son. As I sat next to Sir Peter on a small boat at The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge, it seemed that we were in another world from that of his father. This year, and indeed this month, it’s 100 years since Captain Scott and his team reached the South Pole and I’m pleased that Radio Gloucestershire will be featuring the story of a member of that team, Cheltenham-born Dr Edward Wilson. Wilson was Scott’s Chief Scientific Adviser and was, according to Sir Ranulph Fiennes, ‘the most respected man on the expedition.’ Each time I walk or drive past the house in which he was born in Montpellier Terrace, I am in awe of what he and the rest of the team had to face. It’s strange that we know quite a lot about the expedition given that media coverage would have been nothing like we get today. But there is still a lot we don’t know. On Sunday, we will get the chance to hear more, not just about the expedition but the people involved. Radio Gloucestershire’s Pete Wilson has interviewed David Wilson, Edward Wilson’s great nephew. I’ve no doubt that, given his track record, Pete will do the programme justice. He always takes a keen interest in the people he interviews and his Sunday shows focus on what’s at the heart of Gloucestershire and its communities. From 12 noon, the programme will be broadcast on the station. If that’s not a good time for you or you don’t live locally you can catch it online or ‘listen again’ via Pete’s page on the Radio Gloucestershire’s website at <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7jr">http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7jr</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> – </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">After many years of DJ-ing at weddings, birthdays & Christmas parties, I decided to find a venue where I could play the music I really love (Ska, Reggae, Latin, Funk and Northern Soul). The monthly event at The Sheppey Inn (The Sheppey Soul Shack) is increasingly becoming more popular. Since I started my little DJ hobby I have used both CD’s and more recently a laptop, which to be honest is enjoyable, but hardly very challenging and there could only be one answer… Over the past 12 months I have rediscovered my love affair for old record vinyl and at least once a week you will find me in a number of charity shops hunting down various 7” & 12” singles and albums from the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s. At the beginning of December, I asked my family to give me money for Christmas rather than presents and today a new turntable & mixer have arrived via Parcel Force for me to take my “vinyl fixation” to the next natural level. Over the next few weeks, I intend to practice DJ-ing using both a turntable and my laptop, so at some stage in the near future I can find different venues to play the music I love in the original format that they were intended to be heard….</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-89079">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-89079#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/4mrK8H9cPgg" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-89079 Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:11:23 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/vbkUWJ_Y3kA/friday-favourites-18774 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-18774 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Wearing it blue and being a trailblazer…..</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;"></span></b></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Blue Caroline</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> – </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">January is without doubt the most depressing month of the year.  The weather is cold and miserable (well apart from today when the sun is shining I guess!), same goes for your depleted bank account and ‘stretched to the limit’ credit cards and as for your waistline….But this year I’ve got something to take my mind off the downsides of January. I’m wearing something blue every day in January for Cobalt.  In case you don’t know what Cobalt is it’s a fantastic home-grown success story in Cheltenham.  As a registered charity, the aim of Cobalt is to help people affected by cancer and life-limiting conditions.  They do this in five ways - p</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">roviding state of the art imaging for diagnosis, promoting awareness and prevention of cancers, facilitating cancer screening programmes, funding appropriate medical research and providing education and training courses for healthcare professionals. </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">In January Cobalt is asking as many people as possible to raise money for them by wearing blue for a day.  I’m taking it a step further and wearing something blue every day.  That said sometimes it’s a little bit tenuous and it’s only the first week (!) but it’s proving a fun challenge. On January 1<sup>st</sup> I was tempted to go with the slightly blue tinge around the black bags under my eyes after the New Year’s Eve celebrations but I had a better idea in my delicate state.  I would rely on my engagement ring; a blue sapphire. Genius.  By January 2<sup>nd</sup> I had more energy and it was time to get back into the running for my Monday night session I wore my blue running top.  On 3<sup>rd</sup> January I rummaged through my drawers to find my blue socks and the next day  for a business meeting I wore a smidgen of blue eye shadow.  Yesterday 5<sup>th</sup> January was blue jeans day and today, Friday, is the turn of my lovely cobalt blue cardigan.  My aim is not to rely on the same thing twice and the lovely team at Cobalt has sent me a blue t-shirt so that’s there for emergencies.  I also have blue eyes so I may also need to fall back on my peepers at some stage!  Do please join me if you can. The link to find out more is <a href="http://www.cobalthealth.co.uk/fundraising/ways-to-raise/wear-blue-4-cobalt.aspx" title="http://www.cobalthealth.co.uk/fundraising/ways-to-raise/wear-blue-4-cobalt.aspx"><span style="color: black;">http://www.cobalthealth.co.uk/fundraising/ways-to-raise/wear-blue-4-cobalt.aspx</span></a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> – Being a trailblazer …. </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Michael Kiwanuka has come top of the BBC's Sound Of 2012 list….Many months ago his track ‘Tell Me A Tale’ was my Friday Fave …Vivid lead and BBC follow. See <span style="color: #1F497D;"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16266507" title="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16266507">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16266507</a></span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-18774">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-18774#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/vbkUWJ_Y3kA" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-18774 Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:36:58 -0800 Farewell 2011 Friday Faves http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/dQ9boGc8OTo/farewell-2011-friday-faves http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/farewell-2011-friday-faves <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">As we head towards the end of 2011, we’re thinking of our favourite things from the year. For today’s Farewell 2011 Friday Favourites, we’ve pulled together a few of the ‘Top’ lists of 2011 for your delight and delectation:</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">When You Tube unveiled its <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Top 10 Most Watched Videos in the UK</span></b>, top dog was … well, a talking dog of course…..with the Ultimate Dog Tease video. See it at <iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nGeKSiCQkPw?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe> Others making it to the top 10 included the Royal Wedding video spoof and the talking twin babies. You can see them at <a href="http://news.sky.com/home/technology/article/16133746">http://news.sky.com/home/technology/article/16133746</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">If you like your television adverts, the Media Guardian brought us the <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Top TV Ads</span></b>, with the gin-loving pensioner proving the most popular <a href="http://t.co/DIShDOhZ" title="http://t.co/DIShDOhZ
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/dec/28/gin-loving-pensioner-top-tv-ad-2011?CMP=twt_fd" target="_blank">http://gu.com/p/34byv/tf</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Then, if you were Jeremy Clarkson, David Cameron or Richard Keys, there were things you wish you hadn’t said – particularly when you were near a microphone…. with the <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Top 10 Gaffes</span></b> – <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/dec/28/did-i-say-that-gaffes-year?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fmedia%2Frss+%28Media%29">http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/dec/28/did-i-say-that-gaffes-year?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fmedia%2Frss+%28Media%29</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Did you have your <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favourite Face of 2011</span></b>? The BBC’s list of favourite women caused controversy when it included a lady panda who flew in from China - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16200429">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16200429</a> Its list of men caused similar rumblings when it failed to include Fenton the Dog (forever associated with the yell of ‘Jesus Christ!’) </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">For the team at Vivid Towers, it has to be Fenton the Dog for us. Like many dog owners with (usually) well-behaved canine companions, we did look at Fenton and think ‘there but for the grace of God……. <iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Dsb5HH8m24Y?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">We wish you a healthy and Happy New Year. May 2012 be a good one for you.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/farewell-2011-friday-faves">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/farewell-2011-friday-faves#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/dQ9boGc8OTo" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/farewell-2011-friday-faves Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:51:58 -0800 Friday's Festive Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/qSFIG8YpL1o/fridays-festive-favourites http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/fridays-festive-favourites <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">As its Christmas this weekend, we thought we’d bring you a few of our festive favourites: </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">We know it’s been around for a few years but this e-Christmas card from Jacquie Lawson still makes us all feel festive. She has designed some fabulous cards but this is our favourite (follow instructions and turn the volume on). See <a href="http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0263168021">http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=0263168021</a> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">And we hope Military Wives and ‘Wherever you Are’ make it to number one. If you haven’t bought the single, please do and raise some festive funds for </span><span style="color: black;">The Royal British Legion and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen Families Association.</span><span style="color: black;"> You can see more and buy it at <a href="http://www.garethmalone.com/cd">http://www.garethmalone.com/cd</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image001" height="144" src="http://getfile5.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/n7ofBMA5bapxTJn8DfkhJ9PA2hka26iyPeRLbc4xxpXZTvmPARFdBG52OtR3/image001.jpg" width="168" /> </div> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">And while we’re on the subject of good causes and goodwill, let’s not forget the animal shelters, many of whom are already full to brimming even before they have some of those unwanted Christmas puppies. On our own doorstep, Cheltenham Animal Shelter is badly in need of food and blankets so please help if you can. You can see more at <a href="http://www.gawa.org.uk/">http://www.gawa.org.uk</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">And if you’re after a seasonal stress-buster you can do a lot worse than visit The Donkey Sanctuary in Devon. Seeing the fantastic mix of rescued donkeys is always therapeutic but, given the role of donkeys in the Christmas Story, it’s particularly apt. As well as seeing the donkeys and hearing about the sanctuary’s superb work, you can enjoy great walks, many with coastal views. You can see more at <a href="http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/visit">http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/visit</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image002" height="153" src="http://getfile9.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/Kisa8UrBERJJBvebPDrKsjkOhhYqWjc8H6gdrWCW7WnXaazIcFEoHWpYhx2Z/image002.jpg" width="153" /> </div> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Merry Christmas from all at Vivid Towers, including four legged team member Chester. Whether you’re with family friends or own your own, we hope your Christmas is everything you want it to be. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Image003" height="213" src="http://getfile3.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thevividconsultancy/fICXGTHVecQxAST0HonO2bHMDYOvaJHKxZx3ov79pEyN7auHf5HhOhgKjt3m/image003.jpg" width="160" /> </div> </span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/fridays-festive-favourites">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/fridays-festive-favourites#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/qSFIG8YpL1o" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/fridays-festive-favourites Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:40:51 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/zq2ZId9unyA/friday-favourites-44204 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-44204 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><a name="OLE_LINK1"></a><a name="OLE_LINK2"></a><a name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a name="OLE_LINK4"></a><a name="OLE_LINK5"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Renting a tree for Christmas, taking the pain out of Christmas shopping and more than just a red breast …..  </span></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></b><span style="color: black;">– It’s always been important for my family to try to do our bit our bit for the environment, so for the last couple of years we have rented our Christmas tree from a company called Trees For Rent in Dorset. The company grows trees from a seed in a pot. Once they are mature, they are rented out people to use for Christmas and are collected January, either to be re-used the following year or if they are too big either replanted or offered to large companies to improve their landscape and help neutralise their carbon emissions. We have always been impressed by Trees for Rent’s customer service and helpful staff. For example, the man who delivered the tree was at great pains to explain how much water to give it and how else we should care for it. I would recommend the company to anyone who wants a traditional Christmas, but is fed up of seeing hundreds of discarded trees at their local dump in January. For more information go to </span><a href="http://treesforrent.com/"><span>http://treesforrent.com/</span></a><span style="color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline </span></b><span style="color: black;">– There’s a lot of perceived wisdom about how to do Christmas shopping.  Some have taken to the internet like ducks to water, judging by the amount of people in Cheltenham shopping recently many still seem to prefer the traditional trudge around the shops and the most organised of us do it in the January sales.  I’ve discovered another way - a half hour dash around the duty-free shops at Birmingham airport before you board your 6.30am flight. I’ve always liked Birmingham Airport but it has been improved recently, driven by the need to get people through security checks more quickly and efficiently. Now as soon as you are out of being frisked you are thrown straight into a brightly lit avenue of perfumes, presents and perfect shopping. With prices typically appearing to be 20 per cent lower than the high street, you get double the pleasure!  Then the best bit.  Having ticked off just about everyone remaining on my list and starting to worry I would be lugging a couple of bags around Belgium for the day, I was told they would package them up for me and I could collect them on my way back through later that day! Wonderful. Then on the way home another great experience. I used the biometric features on my passport for the first time. A little bit weird but it saved the long queues and a German gentleman in front of me was gushing about UK technology; now there’s a first!</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">– I’m sure we have all admired the wonderful red breasts of Robins, particularly at this time of the year but it now transpires that the fantastic crimson plumage is not just lovely to look at. Research from Spain shows that it contains a wealth of hidden information. Apparently, the size of the distinctive read bib and width of grey feathers framing it allow other birds to judge its gender and age. So next time you see a </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;">Robin red breast, just think that although we may see it as splendid to look at, it’s communicating a range of information to other feathered friends.</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-44204">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-44204#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/zq2ZId9unyA" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-44204 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:45:42 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/itLTpAh0MJU/friday-favourites-87287 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-87287 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Memories of growing up in an orchard, it’s good to talk and <i><span style="font-style: italic;">do</span></i> put your daughter (or son) on the stage….  </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline </span></b><span style="color: black;">- </span><span>There has been much talk this week about the growing trend in some organisations to ban the use of email. Atos, a technology company, has announced that it will be phasing out use of internal email by 2014.  I’m sure there are some people sighing deeply worried that they’ve only just got used to email and fearing that they’re going to have to learn something new again! But I don’t think they have much to worry about.  The decision by Atos is to move employees to more appropriate forms of communication and, shock horror, encourage people to get up from their desk and wonder over to the other side of the office and talk to a colleague as opposed to hide behind their monitor and lazily send an email. The same can happen with people communicating with customers or clients.  It’s easier to email rather than pick up the phone. But that makes communication just one way and the process becomes mono dimensional and often you get an inferior outcome. Talking enables you to immediately gain feedback from both the words used and the tone of voice which enables you to move to a resolution or sale much, much quicker. It also gives you the opportunity to develop a proper relationship and the benefits that provides – loyalty, commitment, empathy and friendship. So rather than ban various forms of digital communication – which have huge advantages – why not focus on the positive and encourage people to talk? Make that the priority and, if you can’t achieve that, consider other forms of communication.  It’s Good to Talk! (as Bob Hoskins used to say for BT…)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: Arial;"> – About a year ago, our Friday Favourites contained a Friday Frown in which I bemoaned the loss of orchards in this country and despaired at the fact that so many shops (especially supermarkets) stocked apples from abroad when we have so many fantastic and delicious varieties in this country. So I was delighted this week by the news that a new orchard has been planted in Gloucestershire. The good folk at Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust have created a new fruit orchard using 60 local variety apple, pear and plum trees at their Vell Mill nature reserve near Newent. It’s a sad statistic that during the past 30 years traditional orchards in Gloucestershire have declined by 67%. As someone who grew up in rural Worcestershire with an orchard in the back garden, I’ve always valued the privilege of being able to pick fresh fruits from trees and eat them. I well remember all the apple, plum and damson pies, jams, cakes and other delicious things my Mum used to make using the fruit from our orchard. Now the Trust is helping to make sure future generations can do the same and is supporting our health, heritage and environment by planting the 60 different fruit tree varieties, including the fabulously named Jackets & Waistcoats, Lemon Pippin and Jacob Plum. As an added touch, many of the trees were dedicated to individual people, with 12 planted in recognition of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s past Chairmen and a number for the local community. As another nod to tradition, the trees were blessed using the old custom of balancing cider-soaked toast on the branches, and adding a trickle of local cider to water the roots. As someone who has been to a Wassail or two in Somerset, that’s something worth seeing. Well done to the Trust and to BBC Radio Gloucestershire for great coverage of the planting. You can find about more about the orchard and the work of the Trust at <a href="http://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/news/2011/12/06/new-community-orchard-created-vell-mill">http://www.gloucestershirewildlifetrust.co.uk/news/2011/12/06/new-community-orchard-created-vell-mill</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian</span></b><span style="color: black;"> -<i><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></i>Having three young children means that my wife and I are constantly driving them to clubs and activities. However, all the aggravation is paid back tenfold when you get to see them take part in various events which leave you with a smile on your face and a tear in your eye. We had the pleasure of watching Joseph and his friends singing Christmas carols at Wells Cathedral. It was a beautiful event involving many local schools from around the area singing classic carols and Christmas songs in a wonderful setting. Earlier in the week I saw my five-year-old daughter Natalie take part in the school nativity play. As much as I tried, I found it hard not to cry watching her singing along with such gusto and saying her words so clearly. I also had the privilege of watching my eldest daughter Molly taking part in her school’s production of ‘The King & I’. She was absolutely brilliant in her role as one of the princesses and I felt so proud watching her. Up and down the country there must be thousands of parents going through the same emotions as I have over the past few days and it’s one of the things that make this time of year so special.</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-87287">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-87287#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/itLTpAh0MJU" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-87287 Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:10:23 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/zg11jAkQiFE/friday-favourites-73449 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-73449 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Paying with the flick of a wrist and those catchy Christmas ditties……. </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span> – With mobile phones, laptops and i-pods, it seems we’re having to carry more things than ever now. I’m all for the paper-less office but not if it means I have to carry loads more …particularly when it means I often need two extra pairs of hands to search for change, house keys, train tickets etc! So I was heartened this week to hear about a new gadget – a watch that means you can pay for things with the flick of a wrist. Watch2Pay is Britain’s first contactless payment timepiece. After loading it with up to £15 credit, you simply wear it on your wrist and use it to pay for small items rather than having to search for change. Available in eight colours, as they say, time is money …. or it is now. You can see more at <a href="http://www.watch2pay.co.uk/">http://www.watch2pay.co.uk</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></b><span style="color: black;">– </span>Some songs stick with you all your life and it doesn’t matter where you hear it, or indeed how many times you hear it, for me one of those songs is ‘The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping’. It’s such a great pop song and just hearing the sleigh bells and piano, followed by the guitar at the start of the song makes me smile and feel that I’m 12 years again. It drives my wife mad as I must play this song at least three times a day throughout December. Interestingly it was never a Top 40 hit, which I’ve never really understood, as it’s unbelievably catchy and amazingly ‘poptastic’. Altogether now ‘Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Couldn’t Miss This One This Year; Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Couldn’t Miss This One This Year…..Catch it at <iframe allowfullscreen src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hyEztz6nY9Q?wmode=transparent" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-73449">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-73449#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/zg11jAkQiFE" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-73449 Thu, 24 Nov 2011 23:44:00 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/ziLqq5q6gAc/friday-favourites-19087 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-19087 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Social justice = the social media and tireless campaigning and finding the right words …….  </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></span></strong><span> – The news that Janis Sharp has won a much deserved human rights award for her battle to present her son, Gary McKinnon, being extradited to America. Gary suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism. In 2001 he was arrested for hacking into Nasa and Pentagon computer systems from his north London home. That was the start of Janis’s nightmare and her fight to get Britain’s archaic extradition laws changes. Faced with Gary being sent to the USA on terrorism charges and a possible jail term of up to 60 years, she set to work. Now Janis’s campaign to reform laws she believes deny British people the same rights of any where else in Europe has earned her the Close To Home Award at the Liberty Human Rights Awards. The award comes at a crucial point in her struggle as Home secretary Theresa May is in the process of re-examining evidence in Gary’s case. I’m not sure which is most disturbing – Great Britain giving into America’s bullying or Great Britain being so stupid not to make the most of Gary’s talents and give him a job in somewhere such as GCHQ - <a href="http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/">http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">– </span></span><span>Anyone who knows me will know how much I detest Simon Cowell and the whole X-Factor bandwagon (I can boast in all the years it’s been on I’ve never watched a whole episode). So it’s been with interest I’ve been following the recent saga between Simon Cowell versus the Rhythmix charity from Brighton. During the early rounds of X Factor, four girls who auditioned for the programme were put together and given the name ‘Rhythmix’. A charity of the same name which operates in Kent, Surrey and Sussex helping disabled and vulnerable young people through music, complained to ITV and Simon Cowell’s company SyCo via their solicitors, leaving the charity financially out of pocket.At first nothing happened, but after the story ‘hit the press’ and the internet the ‘Rhythmix’ band as re-branded as ‘Little Mix’. The story should have finished there. However, unbelievably Syco was still trying to trademark the name ‘Rhythmix’. The charity was not financially in a position to fight Syco and a campaign was launched on Facebook and Twitter to raise funds to fight against Simon Cowell’s company and stop them. Earlier in the month as the story of the campaign once again ‘hit the press’, SyCo agreed to drop its claim to the name and last week agreed to give Rhythmix a donation to cover all legal costs. I find it awful that Simon Cowell thinks he has the right to bully a small charity over its name. It shows him in his true light. Thankfully due to the power of social media, justice was done.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></span></strong><span> - </span>I love it when some words that we think we know the meaning of aren’t quite what we thought!  A favourite is the word decimate which I hear used all the time by people – including journalists on the BBC – to indicate that something has been obliterated, wiped out, destroyed…but in actual fact it literally means to reduce by a tenth. Getting words confused is another common occurrence which can cause embarrassment or hilarity depending how generous you are feeling. A couple of words I hear confused quite often are ravenous and ravishing. Even Johnny Depp did that when greeting Angelina Jolie. Mind you perhaps he didn’t?  If she was in one of her skinny phases she probably did look very hungry…</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-19087">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-19087#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/ziLqq5q6gAc" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-19087 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:03:00 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/MBnsFop4k3U/friday-favourites-21437 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-21437 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Digging deep into your pockets, what have the Romans ever done for us and fancy a festive charity jog?</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">– </span></span><span>Once again Children in Need is upon us. Every year, I end up watching this event, cringing as various TV personalities make fools of themselves ruining classic songs or dance routines, amongst other things. At a time when it seems everyone wants to ‘knock’ The BBC, there is no doubt that every year this event raises millions of pounds for people and organisations that really need our help and support, so please get involved and give whatever you can. or more information  go to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/">http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> – </span></span>It’s that time of year again when we all gasp and coo when we see the Christmas lights switched on and we feel truly festive.  ‘OH YES WE DO’ to echo the words of another great Christmas tradition; the panto. I’ve often chuckled to myself when I’ve heard who is doing the honours at various towns and cities up and down the country.  Over the last few years they seem to have been dominated by X-Factor finalists booted out in the early rounds.  It’s the only bit of fame they are going to get I suppose.  But this year I started thinking about whether there is a link between the choice of celebrity (and I use that term loosely…) and the image or reputation the town or city is trying to portray.  Some, I think, have got it spot on.  Others are just odd and not a little bit random…for example in Oxford Street this year it was the Saturdays. They are a group. All gloss and plastic which is fine unless you dig a bit deeper for lyrical meaning, musicality or talent.  Fits perfectly with Oxford Street in my book. My least favourite place to shop in the capital.  It is brash, busy and relentless. And if you scratch the surface, there’s not a lot of substance there.  Perfect fit with the Saturdays then.  Just down the road at Westfield it was the turn of Justin Bieber.  Again a great fit.  A young pretender of a shopping centre that people flock to in their in thousands and wonder around aimlessly.  If you are over 12 that vacuous feeling is just what it’s like listening to a Bieber CD.  One that initially made my mind go into over drive was Swindon. Apparently they’ve got football manager Paulo di Canio and panto star Keith Chegwin. Not your normal mix I would say but then I thought some more and actually felt it was actually very appropriate, well for Keith anyway.  When on Swap Shop with Noel Edmunds and Maggie Philbin, Keith was unassailable. A proper star pushing the boundaries of live TV on a Saturday morning (well that’s how it felt when I was 12…) Swindon was once pushing the boundaries in the railway world.  But for both Keith and Swindon the golden times have long gone. Nevertheless the world continues and you try to make the best of what you’ve got left.  Just 50 miles up the M4 in Bath, the honours of illuminating the city have gone to John Cleese.  That’s left me properly stumped. Can’t think of any synergies between Monty Python/Basil Fawlty and the Roman/Georgian splendor of Bath. I think that might take until next Christmas before I figure that one out. Pass me the sherry – and it must be Harveys Bristol Cream - I think I think I need inspiration…(Editor’s note: The question ‘What have the Romans ever done for us?' springs to mind …. after a Harveys of course!)</p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"> </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; color: #000000; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></span></strong><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"> – Talking of it being that time again, if you fancy preparing you body against all those Christmas calories then how about heading down to Cirencester Park and taking part in a festive run or jog? Our friends at national assistance dog charity Canine Partners are staging a Santa Fun Run there on Saturday 3 December 2011. You can don your running shoes, along with a Santa suit provided by the charity, and run around the 5k route in the beautiful surroundings of the town’s Bathurst Estate. </span></span><span>If you’ve never heard about the work of this fabulous charity, its mission is </span><span>to help people with disabilities to enjoy a greater independence and a better quality of life by partnering them with specially trained assistance dogs. Having these marvellous four-legged friends can also help people into education and employment. The tasks the dogs carry out are amazing and you have to see it to believe it. The great thing is that each person is carefully matched with his or her canine partner whose welfare is also a key consideration. </span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;">The</span></span><span> cost to enter the Santa Fun Run is £12 per adult and £8 per child, which includes a Santa suit, drink and a mince pie.  You are asked to raise as much sponsorship as possible. Wheelchair users are welcome. For further information and to register, call Jill Green on 01730 716014 or email <a href="mailto:jillg@caninepartners.org.uk">jillg@caninepartners.org.uk</a> To see more about the charity’s fantastic work and how you might be able to help, see </span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.caninepartners.co.uk/">http://www.caninepartners.co.uk/</a></span></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-21437">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-21437#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/MBnsFop4k3U" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-21437 Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:11:10 -0800 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/I3bynST7TI0/friday-favourites-46786 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-46786 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Remembering those who died to give us our freedom and a new and unusual variety of pizza.…</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span style="color: black;"> – In the run up to Armistice Day, there have been several humbling radio and television programmes to remind us of the sacrifice men, women and animals made on our behalf. The programmes have been well made, bringing home the reality of conflicts by the people directly affected by them, with first hand accounts. The Lost </span><span style="color: black;">Heroes of World War 1 was broadcast on Channel 5 each evening this week, with the final one tonight. It pulled together fascinating old footage and interviews with soldiers and their families – men who had gone to fight on the continent, full of pride for what they believed was right. Among them were brothers, best friends and ‘pals battalions’ from villages, towns, clubs, factories and cities, full of patriotism, little knowing what horrors awaited them on the battlefields or the terror they would feel as they got the command to go ‘over the top’ from the trenches. Last night, Channel 5’s Bomber Boys Revealed explained the role of the RAF's Second World War Bomber Command crews while ITV1’s Who wants to be a Millionaire paired celebrities with members of the armed forces to raise forces for the Armed Forces Benevolent Fund. Each day, Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show has been broadcasting The Songs my Son Loved, when mothers of five soldiers killed in Afghanistan have been talking about the lives and deaths of their sons and the songs they loved listening to. ITV Westcountry and BBC Points West have also run or are planning stories. Today, Armistice Day, Radio 4 Extra broadcasts War Horse, Michael Morpurgo's novel set in the World War 1 about a boy from Devon trying to find his horse after it is taken to war. All of these programmes have brought home the realties of war and the utter devastation it brings. More than 25 years ago, during a drinks party at my parents’ home, I was chatting to my sister-in-law’s grandfather. After decades of not talking about it, in common with may people of his generation, he started telling me about his experiences at the Battle of the Somme. It was horrific and I couldn’t believe the contrast between the comfort of the party and our lives today and the appalling things he had seen and felt in 1916. During World War II, he was in the London Fire Brigade during the blitz, again seeing some horrifying scenes. The debates about the morality of war continue but one thing is sure – whatever your view, there is no escaping the bravery, compassion and dedication of many men, women and animals whom to paraphrase the Kohima Epitaph ‘for our tomorrow, gave their today.’ If you haven’t got one yet, please buy a poppy and wear it with pride this weekend.</span><span style="color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></b><span style="color: black;">– Nine</span><span style="color: black;"> years ago we moved to Wells. As we settled into our new home, we got to know our various neighbours, including a lovely elderly couple called Sid & Violet who shared their bungalow with their cat Foggy. Over the next couple of years, we would often end up drinking tea and eating cake in their kitchen. One day we had a knock on our door from a distraught Sid, who told us that Violet was in hospital after having a stroke. Over the few months Sid would spend every day visiting ‘Vi’ in a care home, talking and reading to her as well as feeding her. Eventually Violet died, leaving Sid after 58 years of marriage on his own with only the neighbours for company. Every day, I would check in the morning to see that his curtains were open and the light was on and, at night that his curtains were drawn. My wife and I would spend time with him making sure he was okay and had everything he needed. I remember trying to persuade him to spend his first Christmas without Vi with us but he turned down the invitation saying he would rather be on his own. On Christmas Day I went round to Sid’s bungalow for a chat. As I sat with him I asked him if he would be watching any of the films that would be on TV over the next few days and went through the list, mentioned ‘Saving Private Ryan’. He said he had seen it and would never watch it again. When I asked him why, he told me that he had been on those beaches in Normandy in 1944 and it brought back many terrible memories of seeing his friends dying around him as he ran through the sand looking desperately for somewhere to shelter from the bullets and bombs. For the next hour I sat there in awe as he told me in graphic detail what it was really like that day. When I got home, I was numb & found it hard to play with my children Molly, Joseph and their presents as I couldn’t get out of my mind every terrible detail. As time went on our relationship grew. Sid was particularly fond of the children and took great pleasure in watching them grow and waving them off to school from his Kitchen window. He adored Natalie when she was born (although I think he was a bit upset that we hadn’t followed his suggestion and giving her the middle name of Violet). I have happy memories of them sitting together and singing old fashioned nursery rhymes, with Natalie telling him he was her third Grandad (you have seen the smile on his face). When my eldest daughter Molly organised a tea party for him to celebrate his 90<sup>th</sup> birthday party, he mentioned that this was the first proper birthday party he had ever had and how wonderful it was. (His father had suffered a mining injury in Wales when Sid was very young and as he was one of numerous children, had been sent to live with his relations in Somerset, as his Mum & Dad couldn’t afford to feed him, so had a very basic upbringing without a close loving relationship). Sid passed away 18 months ago and is still greatly missed by all of my family. I’d like to dedicate my Friday Fave this week to Sid and the thousands of ordinary men and women whose bravery we should never forget. I will be thinking of him at 11am as we remember those who died in service for this country.</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></b><span style="color: black;"> –</span><span>Once again my Friday Favourite returns to the subject of my tummy and how I best fill it. Chocolate – and lots of it – has long been a tried and tested method of reaching satiety. I am also partial to pizza but it has to be a thin crust and be loaded with capers, anchovies and olives. This week I’ve enjoyed the benefit of chocolate + pizza courtesy of the Gourmet Chocolate Pizza company hand delivered to my door.  A 12 inch slab of Belgian chocolate handily sliced into eight pieces and topped with, and I quote, ‘firm creamy vanilla fudge pieces, chunky pieces of chocolate brownie biscuit and finished with white chocolate curls’. I think it’s probably worth aiming to get through the entire menu. There’s Jelly Bean Jumble, Gone Nuts, Honeycomb and Marshmallow and Strawberry and Champagne to name but a few.  Fancy one of your own?  Visit <a href="http://www.gourmetchocolatepizza.co.uk" title="http://www.gourmetchocolatepizza.co.uk/">www.gourmetchocolatepizza.co.uk</a> and tell them Caroline sent you...</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"></span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-46786">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-46786#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/I3bynST7TI0" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-46786 Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:17:25 -0700 Friday Favourites http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~3/b2C2T6oJWMw/friday-favourites-31452 http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-31452 <p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black;">Talking up the town, by George he was brave, just the job for litter louts and think before you tweet .…</span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Laura </span></b><span style="color: black;">– </span><span>As we become more comfortable sharing every element of our lives online, it’s easy to forget just how public social networking is. Often I see questionable tweets and we’ve all got a story about that friend of a friend who lost their job because of a ridiculous Facebook update. But being unaware of what you’re posting online can do more than lose you a job; as The Telegraph reported this week 63% of Britons </span>"have little or no awareness of their legal responsibilities" http://tgr.ph/rDvASQ.  This story comes from a report carried out by law firm DLA Piper – a clever bit of PR on their part. The younger generations were said to be the worst, which isn’t too surprising. Another survey referred to stated that seven out of ten people felt that special legal guidelines should be introduced for social media users. My top tip: If you wouldn’t say it on a stage in front of the whole town then it’s probably best to keep it off Twitter. </p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Hilary</span></b><span> – I was lucky enough to go along to the launch this week of Fashion and Beauty in Cheltenham or FAB as it’s known. This event, launched by The Gloucestershire Echo, is to be a fashion festival ‘set to rock Cheltenham’ between 19 and 24 March 2012. It will be a showcase of the very best in design, style and beauty as it highlights the fabulous shopping experience in Cheltenham and positions the town as a fashionable regional shopping destination. It also aims to give the town’s retailers and services in other sectors a much-needed boost. It’s all too easy in these times of economic difficulty and austerity to wallow in the doom & gloom. What we should be doing is making the most of what we have and talking up the good things in life. When I lived away from Gloucestershire, I lost count of the number of people who told me they were coming to Cheltenham for a weekend of shopping, the Cotswolds for a few days of walking or Tewkesbury for a bit of history. Friends of mine who visit Cheltenham always say how lucky we are to live here. We know from its current offers – from literature to jazz and science to racing – that festivals are things Cheltenham does very well and I’m sure FAB in Cheltenham will be no exception. Well done to The Echo, Weekend magazine and their parent companies, Gloucestershire Media and the Daily Mail, for coming up with the idea and Cheltenham Borough Council for supporting it. I do hope that not just Cheltenham but the rest of Gloucestershire gets behind it too. Look out for more information in coming days and weeks in The Echo and <a href="http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/">www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk</a></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; color: black; font-weight: bold;">Caroline</span></b><span style="color: black;"> – </span><span style="color: black;">Where we live I don’t consider litter much of a problem. You see the odd sweet paper blowing in the wind or a discarded crisp packet littering the path but it’s really not much. So I thought when I joined in a litter pick at son Sam’s school I, along with a few parents and some willing volunteers from classes 1 to 4 would have a fairly easy time. How wrong I was!  Ok, so there may not be that much immediately obvious to the naked eye but look more closely at the side of the paths and into the bushes and shrubs now losing their leaves and you see what a scruffy lot we can be. Yes, there was the rubbish you might expect – the illicit vodka bottles thrown out of site by teens, cigarette packets stuffed into hedgerows and the remnants of balls thrown for energetic dogs. But we didn’t expect to find a rusty saw, half a broom handle with the brush still attached and a traffic cone.  We collected a massive 95 kilos of rubbish in just two hours!  Someone must have dumped it but I will wager a bet for the future that none of those children who painstakingly picked up every can, bottle and piece of paper we came across will because they know how much effort they all put in to clear it up. So rather than fine people who litter, a day’s community service picking up other people’s rubbish should do the trick.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.0pt; color: black;"></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; font-weight: bold;">Ian </span></b><span>– On </span><span>Wednesday, the kids had just gone to bed and my wife was reading, so I found myself flicking through TV stations to find something to watch. Eventually, I ended up watching a documentary on BBC 4 about George Formby. Now I’ve never really found his songs entertaining and considered his ‘Turned Out Nice Again’ demeanour nothing but annoying, but there was one incident in his life, which is both amazing and very brave. In 1946 George and his wife/manager Beryl toured The Commonwealth as a thank you for the support given to Britain during the 2<sup>nd</sup> World War. They visited South Africa which, under the leadership of the National Party leader Daniel François Malan, was about to implement Apartheid laws forbidding blacks and whites from mixing together. George & Beryl played to audiences of both races and, at concert, a three year old black girl presented Beryl with a box of chocolates. Beryl picked up the girl, embraced her and gave her a kiss. This caused outrage among members of the National Party and Daniel Francois Man phoned The Formbys in their hotel and told Beryl to “Never come back to this country.” Beryl’s reply to him was "Why don’t you pxxx off you horrible little man.” Over the next few days George & Beryl bravely visited several townships. However one morning the police kicked down the door of their hotel, drove them to the airport and got them on the first flight out of the country. To do something that brave and to stand up to so cruel a regime gives me nothing but admiration for George & Beryl. What an amazing story.</span></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-31452">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-31452#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheVividBlog/~4/b2C2T6oJWMw" height="1" width="1"/> http://thevividconsultancy.posterous.com/friday-favourites-31452