Yesterday I walked past (as I often do ) the splendid offices of Ofsted here in Bristol and scowled (as I always do) at the line outside which reads with boastful falsehood: “Raising standards, improving lives.” Ofsted is a quango, …
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How to go broke – a beginners’ guide
Did you smile at the title? After all, nearly all new businesses go broke anyhow. Who needs a guide? There are two reasons. First, if you’re going to fail, why waste time? Why spend more sleepless nights that you need? …
Read MoreHow to get paid more. Lessons from a fishmonger
Today we went up the road to order some fish. We went to a place called Rockfish. It’s so tiny more than three customers make a crowd. Also you have to be patient. When we came in the man there …
Read More“Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue”
Nobody was better placed to define hypocrisy than Oscar Wilde. At the very time he was imprisoned, the prime minister, Lord Rosebery, was widely believed to be homosexual I wonder what Oscar would have thought of the great phone-bugging hoo-ha. …
Read MoreWhen I come back as an insect …
… I will go into financial marketing and become a giant in no time. Almost all of it is staggeringly bad. An ad for Societe Generale in Money Week is headed NEW SUPER 10s. Just right for introducing a new …
Read MoreJam yesterday – shit tomorrow … the trouble with democracy
“For this relief much thanks” – Hamlet. I had an uneasy feeling that you might find not hearing from me for over a week is rather like a holiday, but a friend wrote asking what had happened. Well, I’ve been …
Read MoreIs it free or isn’t it? To me it reads exactly like a big fat lie. And other things that don’t seem right
“Why pay for Wi-FI when you can get it for free?” said the message that appeared on my screen. It was there because my connection with the BT Home Hub – God, how I hate these names – had vanished. …
Read MoreOne of the great mysteries of the universe – and what it costs. Plus an opportunity if you are a charity
Two weeks ago I was interviewed by bvo.com – the bv stands for business visions, or in my case nightmares. Actually it was a rather good interview, but it’s not up yet – I think they’re still removing the bad …
Read MoreThe cloud of unknowing – more damn “creativity” than I need, thank you kindly. Plus Call Centre Frolics
I would be astounded if you hadn’t seen umpteen references to The Cloud. There have been ads and posters promoting it all over the place. I have actually been benefiting from it unknowingly. But the one thing I have never …
Read MoreIsn’t it time your dog had his own wristwatch? And how about Stink-o-vision?
Don’t laugh. I’m fairly serious. Last week I went with my beloved to a splendid restaurant near us in Bristol that was running a Portuguese evening, and this is one of the useful ideas we picked up. The wristwatch in …
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