A truly beautiful singer......

I was very lucky to be given a copy of the new Adele album "21" yesterday. I have only managed to listen to it from beginning to end just the one time so far, but I already know she is going to become a favourite listen wherever I go be it in the car, on my lovely trains journeys (see previous blogs), to help pass my time whilst watching long Judo training sessions my daughters attend or just to relax to around my home.

What I love about Adele is that whenever you hear her on radio interviews or see her on television programmes she is just herself, fun loving, down to earth and what you see is what you get. She also hasn't been "found" by taking part in of any of the "Talent" TV shows that appear over the Summer/Autumn months!! But you can be sure that they would have used her "Make you feel my love" single at some point in the series.

She is also one Artist who can actually sing live and is up there, with some of my other favourites which include Jay Kay from Jamiroquai, Muse and Kasabian........

At just 20 years old I truly hope that she is around for many years to come and what a fantastic listen and well done Adele. I just hope that I will get the opportunity to actually see her live when she next tours.

Even the dire can inspire

I like gardening. I like it very much. But at this time of year when it's raw and bitingly cold it's hard to find anything particularly appealing about spending time outside. Plants are flattened from the snow, the so-called 'prairie planting' we were all encouraged to take up due to global warming doesn't seem to like weeks of sub-zero temperatures covered by snow. There are big gaps everywhere where I'm sure there used to be plants.

And yet underneath the slimy rotten leaf mould are the tiniest beginnings of new growth and green tips of daffodils poking through the surface. And in just 8 short weeks the garden will have burst back to life and be a blaze of bright yellows, purples and greens under a snowy canopy of cherry blossom.

But for now I have to brace myself to go out and do all the boring, unpleasant 'must do' jobs which underpin that glorious future. Like cutting back the brambles which grow through from the hedge on the other side of the fence. So sharp, no matter how many layers of clothes I'm wearing they still manage to poke through with their hideous spikes; so springy they bounce back and scratch me in the face. And worst of all they can never, ever, be beaten, they just have to be contained. If only I'd kept on top of those brambles last year they wouldn't have managed to grow to labyrinthian proportions and tangled themselves so firmly everywhere. Yet even in the face of this most miserable of jobs there's something strangely therapeutic and satisfying as you cut and then begin to pull, and pull and pull and slowly the bramble begins to come loose - it just keeps on coming until a staggering 20' of lethal thorns later it's out. Repeat that a few more times and you can actually see the original plant again.

So the moral of this story? Sometimes you have to do the things that are dire to achieve the things that inspire.

And you want to be paid?

Just need to have a rant, and I will be fine again...
I still find it extraordinary how some customers (me) are treated.
I called up a company to come and fix an aerial point to our house - 30mins after their agreed calling time, I rang to find out where they were - I got the usual fob offs, and he turned up another 25 mins late - no apology - just blamed someone else. Cost of service £100
In a cab, the driver took the totally wrong route, was speaking to his mate on the mobile and had the heating on sub-arctic, the dared charge me £14 for what should be a £4 fare. Cost of taxi (negotiated) £8
In Boots waiting to pick up some photographs on the hour service. I return after 55mins to be told they haven't put them in and can I come back an hour later still! Cost of prints £8.50.
The sheer gall, and ever increasing blatant disregard to customer service is something that Mr Harry Gordon Selfridge Snr esq would be turning in his grave over. It is little wonder that people are trying to spend less - not so much because of the economy, but down to the fact punters are becoming less satisfied with the service they receive. But this does play into the hands of those who offer a premium service - word of mouth, increased and loyal custom - happy days.
We call it the Service Profit Chain - or if you like, doing business the correct way!

January Blues

Is there a more depressing month than January?

Christmas decorations come down

No money

Huge sales meaning impossible congestion everywhere

Blue monday (supposedly January 17th, which is statistically the most depressing day of the year)

Foul weather

No energy

Failed resolutions

5 months till summer

11 months till Christmas :-(

Only four more days to go, phew!

The Woodreed proposition in practice

I was particularly interested in last Wednesday's episode of the new series 'Mary Portas - Secret shopper' on Channel 4. Not only because I think she is a really charismatic lady who talks a lot of sense but because in this episode she highlighted the importance of employee engagement on running a successful business – something us Woodies bang on about on a daily basis and fiercely believe in.

The company in this case were Pilot – the female fast fashion clothes brand . In a mission to uncover why one of the outlets was underperforming Mary took it upon herself to go undercover with a camcorder, interview shoppers and spent time with the employees. The crux of the problem was revealed – the staff were completely unmotivated, no thought or planning had gone into sharing the company vision with them and they had no reason to be evangelists of the brand. The result? Poor sales and a dire customer experience from start to finish.

Once this was established Mary got to work – trained the girls in the art of customer service, got them excited about their roles and importantly involved the MD so he could inspire and lead them. The changing rooms were kitted out and the place tided up but the key difference was that the staff now cared about their company – they felt proud, excited and inspired to be there which had a direct and positive impact on performance.

It’s a great example of the Woodreed proposition at work...your internal audience is just as important as your outside one and your employees are customers too – ignore them at your peril. Take the time to understand them, their mindset and their understanding of your values. Develop an effective internal communications strategy that flows from the top seamlessly around the company and most importantly what we would add is ensure that brand is at the heart of all this. Make sure what you say you are is what your people say you are. Then there’s no stopping you.

For more info on the show visit

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/mary-portas-secret-shopper?ppc_secretshopper_google_Mary_Portas_Secret_Shopper

One in a Million

I would like to credit this blog to someone who I believe deserves it. There are few people in this world that you can really say are a lovely person. An honest person who takes pleasure in helping and making others happy. Well we have the pleasure of one of them here in the Pantiles, Tunbridge wells.

You may have heard of the heavy snow fall we had during December. Almost a foot of snow reached us in only a few days and stayed around for a while. This of course caused chaos, people fleeing from work half way through the day trying to get home before they were stuck. Amongst all this we had someone who was looking out for us making sure everyone had half a chance to get home. I ran to my car and Frank the car park attendant was digging the cars out and brushing the snow of the windscreens. He is such a happy, cheeky chappy. He always wishes you good morning and cracks a light hearted joke to make you smile before you start work. There he was working until the last hours jump starting cars and helping anyone he could. After a few days of him being our saviour I asked him why he did it, his response was “I like my job, why not help someone and make them happy. Because of my job I can help someone get home to their family, that’s got to be worth it hay.”

It’s really refreshing to hear such genuine kindness and consideration. So from me, a regular patron, thank you very much Frank. Hopefully all your kindness will one day be repaid.

The end of the affair

My Blackberry and I underwent a trial separation last week. It wasn’t him, it was me. (It really was me, I left him at my parents)

After the initial panic has subsided I decided to use it a bit of a personal social experiment. I had been thinking for a while how ridiculously reliant I had become on it - My blackberry, my crutch, my technological cigarette. And with no blackberryette patch as yet on the market, there was no other route available - I just needed to go cold turkey.

And you know what? In a way not dissimilar to when I gave up proper smoking another lifetime ago, it felt really quite liberating. The freedom to not be endlessly texting, tweeting, emailing, inexplicability checking the facebook status of some girl I worked with a million years ago who now lives in Belgium who I never really liked in the first place.

During our 4 days apart, I went to meet a friend in Brixton on the train. All I did the whole way up was read…an actual book made of paper and everything. I was alone with my book and my thoughts, not connected to anyone at any time. It felt quite naughty like I’d run away. I was totally opt-out. No-one could contact me I had all the power.

There was one annoying moment where I needed to call my Brixton playdate and let her know I was early and had the indignity of actually having to using a public phone box (surely the exclusive preserve of the drug dealer these days?), but apart from that it was brilliant.

We are back together again. We are happy but frankly it’s not the same. He’s stopped sleeping in my room and we are seriously thinking about discussing whether we will go on holiday together this year or if he’ll be home alone. It’s not all over for blackberry and me, but I have certainly redefined the terms of our relationship, he needed to know who was boss after all.

Well done Ricky!!!!!

With the press speculating about Ricky Gervais going missing during his delivery at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards recently, and it being reported that certain nominees and winners were annoyed at some of his material about them, it now turns out it wasn't true; he had after-show drinks with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, two of the supposed recipients of the attacks.

I'm a real fan of Ricky 's humour, and I really admire him to sticking to his OWN* script and not one drafted out by a team of sickly botoxed fake tanned Hollywood writers.

Apparently Robert de Niro and Halle Berry were killing themselves laughing . Yes he was on the cusp of offence but that's him, that's what he does best. His humour is so unexpected and rampantly witty, ideal to puncture the Hollywood egos that were strutting their stuff on the night.

And if it was so uncomfortable for everyone last year, why did they invite him back?

It was, in hindsight, a terrible conspiracy against him, it wasn't the truth.

But to me the truth is that he's inspirational, brave and immensly funny.

* With Stephen Merchant of course

'Knowledge is Power'

The famous phrase scientia potentia est is a Latin maxim meaning 'knowledge is power.' Commonly attributed to Sir Frances Bacon.

Schott's Almanac is a very popular Christmas stocking filler in our household. It is very common while sitting around the table over Sunday lunch for dad to pipe up, 'did you know that....' or for mum to say 'well I never, I didn't know....'

So when I came across a new graphic's newspaper Eight:48 what a revelation for my general knowledge.

Each issue focuses on a different theme relevant to the current creative scene. From, 10 leading designers, illustrators and product designers opinion's on the future of print to a theme on poster design, what better way to keep in touch with the creative world and heighten my general knowledge. A must read if Eight:48 is new to you. http://www.eight48.com

Roll up! Roll up! Roll up!

What an amazing collection of talent. From the opening act of a mad Norwegian, Captain Frodo, forcing his body through two tennis rackets to the sublime acrobatics of a wet denim clad adonis sitting in a bath (eat your heart out Nick Kamen) via an assortment of performances ranging from grotesque, to erotic to just downright breathtaking, La Soiree's burlesque show in a big top on the South Bank was just awe inspiring.

That a group of young performers have worked to perfect such offbeat talent and skills in a world of homogenised, cowell-esque and hollywood-ised mediocrity is just wonderful.

Even the location - a building site being used temporarily as a home for the season - was creative. And the big top was a stunning wooden, art nouveau constuction - beautifully lit, and perfectly atmospheric.

The season has been extended to the end of February and I am happily making an unashamed plug - http://www.la-soiree.com/ for further details.

Here comes the bride...

On Saturday 18th Dec I looked out my window and watched the falling snow cover the streets. Nick, my family and I were due to leave for Scotland on the Sunday for a magical week away. We were going to get married and spend Christmas there.

Despite loving the snow, this was at its most dangerous. And it wasn’t stopping.

We had been taking calls all day from our parents and family asking us to be prepared to cancel the wedding. We decided to stay calm and carry on.

Conditions worsened but we got there in one piece!

However, the conversation with our trusted registrar brought us back to reality. Despite assuring us that she would be there whatever the weather, she now warned us that she would only be there if the weather allowed her.

My wedding party assumed I was calm, but I was intensely traumatized.

Planning my wedding was a real test of character and I'm glad that I passed that test. I managed to get through it without stressing anybody out or having a tantrum.

It was about Nick and I working as a team, together remaining positive and determined to have the best day of our lives, whatever.

Inspirational Mum

It may seem rather odd that I have chosen my Mother to blog about – but since her fabulous and humbling Thanksgiving Service at the majestic Chichester Cathedral, it has dawned on me just how inspiring she was. Not content with schooling in beautiful Blackpool, she went on to study at Liverpool University. Doesn’t seem too impressive in itself, but when you consider this was on the cusp of the end of WW2, it puts this single-mindedness and commitment into perspective.

After being wooed by my Dad (and she made him work for it!) she dutifully followed him around the country, and in course, raised 4 fabulous children (from Shrewsbury to Chichester via Truro). In those days, it was the men who worked, and the women brought up the family. I don’t think she bore a grudge to this, but as soon as she felt able, she embarked on her personal crusades.

She turned her hand to local politics and became a City and District Councillor, was elected Mayor of Chichester in 1994, was Chairperson for the W.Sussex National Institute for the Blind and RSPCC, was always involved with the community and was responsible for the twinning of Chichester with Ravenna. She visited HK to drum up business for the College of Technology where she lectured communications and taught French and was Chair of the Graduate Womens Society.

She taught me that you just need to apply yourself to things, for them to happen.

She read the paper everyday and insisted the radio was a highly under-rated form of information.

She also taught me never to take on a German Shepherd with nothing but a canvassing form in your hand!

She was the most inspiring lady I have had the pleasure to know, to love and call my Mum.

Spot the difference

I came across this rather interesting juxtaposition of articles the other day...

It got me recalling a few years back when MySpace was all the rage and Facebook was its inferior, less popular competition. It just goes to show how quickly the tide can turn and trends and brands shift in our minds and our usage. I think at the heart of this is the continual effort made by Facebook to keep things fresh - adding new features and keeping it relevant to its audience. It appears MySpace is just withering away as it is no longer innovative or appealing. An interesting lesson in the importance of not letting your brand go stagnant I feel.

#sattc

or to put it another way #thearchers

Who would have thought that a radio 'soap' celebrating its 60th anniversary edition would have celebrated the occasion with a breakthrough into the Twitter generation?

But thanks to a considerable amount of PR the loyal listeners to Radio 4's everday tale of country folk were hyped up fit to burst in anticipation of the bumper episode on Sunday January 2nd. And most surprisingly for what you'd

expect of the audience demographic they took over the airwaves of Twitter and #sattc was a top trend globally. Quite staggering.

So #sattc? Shocks Ambridge To The Core. The preamble to Sunday's edition teased that some mega event would take place which would literally shock the Archer's village of Ambridge to the core and have repurcussions for the next decade. Strong stuff and guaranteed to ensure even the less than devoted listener was glued to their radio with a stiff drink to hand.

Yes, I had a very long, and icy cold G&T and listened in horror as Nigel Pargiter, the nicest, funniest and silliest cast member went up on the roof on an icy, windy night in a mission to remove the New Year banner. And yes, of course he plumetted to his death with a blood curdling scream, already a popular ring tone download http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B2Y2akllSk&feature=player_embedded

And Tweeter par excellence, Stephen Fry tweeted 'Nigel Pargiter! No!! No no no.! Anyone but Nigel. 'palms to cheeks in Munch like scream'

Great stuff. The chattering classes have become the twittering classes.

I prefer reading and feeling books.

I felt very sad and disappointed that The Amazon Kindle 3 was the second most successful 2010 Christmas present, a fact that I could scarcely believe given that newspapers and magazine publications are still as popular as they were before the digital revolution.

Personally speaking, actually getting hold of book in whatever form, celebrating it's textures and weights, is as exciting as the contents itself.

I recently acquired a second hand edition of "The Oxford Book of English Verse" published and printed in 1931.

1300 pages of beautifully written literature but embedded in a gorgeously produced hard backed book. Do you know what? The pure tactile indulgence I experienced when I touched and felt this object induced me to read poetic verse to my creative partner.

It wouldn't been the same if I'd suddenly got my newly acquired Kindle out and have to search for the relevant author, age, publishers name etc to find it. By the time I'd got it up on my screen she would have gone and made herself a cup of PG Tips!

Kindle? A Kon surely?