Week 13 lockdown: Getting outside

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Chris Warburton

This week, with the nice weather and relaxation of restrictions I have been able to get out a little more… and judging by the increased traffic noise so have most people. This has been a welcome relief from the last 13 weeks… yes 13 weeks… it is hard to believe really. Observations from this week.

  • I have been continuing in my quest to recreate the Pret-a-manger menu. This week, pain au chocolat and croissants. Needless to say, the first attempt was well… not great… unless you like ‘well fired’ baked products…. also known as burnt. Still, this is how you learn I suppose!
  • Listening to commercial radio, stores are starting to advertise to get people to return.. “the size of our store allows for greater social distancing”.. it is all deadpan and serious and really sounds like a dystopian sci-fi movie. The times we are living in are quite something
  • At work this week there has been a marked decline in the prevalence of on-video calling? Video calling and being on screen is tiring. I wonder if we are subconsciously starting to balance when we are on vs not to manage this… (or we just like the beards and working in sweatpants!)

Another week ahead… have a good one everyone… @chris_w_tweet

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Economic impact starts to bite: Weekly Roundup – June 12 2020

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Chris Warburton

The main story this week has been more economic news, and not so great really.

The UK economy has shrunk by 20%. It’s the biggest contraction ever, making for some stunning graphs. This one here showing the depth of the downturn in stark terms vs what we have seen historically, it is quite something (click image for original article)

And the UK has also been projected to have some of the worst impact overall, with or without a secondary peak.

All of this is adding up to a tough time for the UK economy, and some of this fallout is now being seen, with significant job losses starting to be announced.

This is expected to have knock-on impacts in the house prices market, and indeed other associated markets such as vehicles. could also be impacted if dealers as an industry don’t hold their nerve….. and a valuation reduction, will impact profitability and potentially even some business models for companies making secured loans. This is one to watch.

On the digitalization front this continues (more to be written on another time). However, have been trialing a new video format. The first one is up, with an interesting chat I had on Robotic Process Automation, link here.

Have a good weekend everyone… @chris_w_tweet

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Week 12 lockdown: Slowly does it

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Chris Warburton
Do I really want to return to commuting...

Lockdown continues to slowly ease in the UK, it is increasingly hard to remember when out… Queue lines are closer and everything feels very laissez-faire. Tensions abound, however, with demonstrations in the UK and around the world. A cause which has caught the eye and support of many of us here.

With the throngs on the street, together with crowds on the beach and even VE day, you just wonder if this is building for another pandemic wave…. maybe the summer, sun and fresh air will help… I still hope this is the case. Here are the lockdown themes for this week.

  • With the easing of lockdown, have trying to arrange some trips out. However have actually struggled to get time in the diary; a zoom catch up here, a video evening get together there… so not much different to normal really…!
  • I realize I really have discovered new things (and suppliers) as a result of lockdown – ones that will continue. For example my local flour mill of all things (during the flour shortage), really very good – made fresh pizza this week, which did not help the diet plan!
  • Work wise everyone is still planning for the upcoming wave of work. Very busy still, but somewhat eerie. We have been refreshing our guidance and also pulling together a few video shorts which will hopefully be out soon.

The week is about to start… have a good one everyone… @chris_w_tweet

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