Yearly Archives: 2024
Looking back, looking forward
For many of us, there is a lull between Christmas and New Year. It may not have the festivities of the holidays themselves, but equally, there’s none of the pressure. The equivalent of the Thursday night out vs the party … Continue reading
All at Sea
Summer is over and with year-end festivities still to start we are in that bit of a lull as the nights (and weather) draw in. Despite the descending gloom it also seems the perfect time to get away, a bit … Continue reading
Where’s my Cheese?
There was big news this last week in case you missed it. No, it was not the budget, it was that nearly £300,000 of cheddar cheese was stolen by fraudsters. It seemed this was the leading story on all the … Continue reading
Embracing thinking… carefully
All of a sudden it seems to be events season (yes there is an event season). I have been on the road quite a bit recently, and away from the office. Whenever this happens what always strikes me is just … Continue reading
The Future? From the Back of the Bus?
It’s been a hectic few weeks; there seem to be events everywhere. It really does feel like there is a ‘conference season’. As overwhelming as these can feel, by listening, closely, we can often use these to pick out many … Continue reading
Making a Pitch for Excellence
This week I was at the annual CSA conference, held this year at St George’s Park in Burton, Derbyshire. An interesting agenda and discussion of course… albeit with a slightly disturbing update on the economic outlook for the UK. It … Continue reading
Less of a Blur – more surge pricing
Saturday was the release of Oasis tickets for general sale in the UK. Now I would not say that I am an Oasis fan really, but having spent time in Manchester in the early 90s, it did evoke a certain … Continue reading
Spring out of Summer
There is always a day when you notice it, usually mid-August. There is a slight cool breeze in the air, more amber hue to the sunlight, or a chill when you open the window in the morning. You suddenly realise … Continue reading
… so boring
This week, I was struck down by the lurgy. Not the normal run-of-the-mill sniffles, but the proper ‘I need to go to bed’ feeling type, which is unusual. Although I did test negative for COVID, it did bring back memories… … Continue reading
A Japanese lesson… or two
The last couple of weeks I have been away. For one of those weeks, I had the delight of a journey across Japan. Japan is a country I have been to before, but only briefly for work many years ago, … Continue reading
Setting your mind racing
There was a big event in the UK last week, for those that didn’t notice. No, I am not talking about the general election, Wimbledon, or even England (scraping through) at the Euros. No, what I am talking about is … Continue reading
Don’t be toast – small things matter, sometimes a lot
Every Saturday, I find myself playing the role of ‘taxi driver’, needing to take a trip into town to pick someone up and give them a lift. As is the nature of these things, it can involve a bit of … Continue reading
Awards Season – Making it count
It is nearing the end of exam season and in the last couple of weeks, I have also spent some time marking… judging industry award entries. As always it has been an interesting process, with lots of close entries, which … Continue reading
That Friday feeling… on Thursday
Why is it that short weeks always feel longer than longer ones? It never ceases to amaze me, and that was exactly what happened this last week, being the second bank holiday in May (in the UK). I am not … Continue reading
Purdahtory
So that is it, a General Election has been called in the UK. Ahead of us we now have 6 weeks of campaign, wall-to-wall TV coverage, lots of promises and being told how things will be so much better if … Continue reading
Inflection Inflation
This week, I’ve been out and about again, discussing, solutions for customers in financial difficulty. It was all very interesting. Yet outside of the event itself, what struck me was how the price of everything has leapt up, there has … Continue reading
Search is dead, long live search
It was a bank holiday this weekend, and, for what felt like the first time this year, a strange, warm orange ball appeared in the sky. Travelling into town, this had clearly caught everyone with a sense of surprise. Everyone … Continue reading
Time flies – eventually
Last week I had an evening trip down to London. As it was after work, after a full day and with the travel, well I felt like skipping it… it would be easier to stay local. However, a casual unrelated, … Continue reading
Track to the Future
It was only a quick question… “if I forward an email, can other people see that I have done so?” ‘Pretty straightforward’, I opined… yet on further thought, it was a much smarter question than I gave credit for… and … Continue reading
It’s dark outside
This past weekend, I spent some time on YouTube catching up on talks and stumbled across an excellent concept from Maggie Appleton and her talk at the FFconf conference in Brighton relating to the Dark Forest theory and our interactions … Continue reading
The Digital Frontline – A Retreat to Reading Books
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending an event around resilience, in the world of consumer duty and cyber threats, in Manchester. All very interesting, and I walked away with the feeling that what we think we know is … Continue reading
January Fever – Emerging from hibernation
January has ended, and it certainly felt like a long month. I’m not sure why, but after the holidays, time seems to slow down, even though everything is super busy. The saying goes, “Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself,” which, … Continue reading
Litter-ally Different
There were 2 and now there is 1. One of my cats sadly passed away last year. Now I am fully aware that anything cat or dog related seems to break the internet, who would have thought, but sad as … Continue reading
Clutching drains
Just what makes us so judgemental and is it getting worse? Over the holidays, we had the wonderful delight of blocked drains (on Christmas Eve…timing eh) … fortunately it was only the kitchen sink, so not all was lost and … Continue reading
Looking forward to 2024?
It lasts but a moment, that fleeting time between the end of 2023 and looking forward to 2024. By the time the 2nd rolls around, and certainly by the end of the week, the wheels will have started turning again, … Continue reading
