Apparently depending on what phase of sleep your in our boides behave differently. Basicily when we're in a deep and peaceful sleep we're not moving, and when we are in REM or dreaming sleep we're moving and twitching about; the nearer we get rise and shine time the more restless we become.

You set your alarm and the Sleep Cycle app wakes you, in a half hour window just before it goes off. The idea is that you wake peacefully and refreshed, awaking during your lightest sleep/dream phase, ahhh.  You also get a graph of sleep pattern to look at and show your friends.

Sleeping is a serious problem in the UK with nearly a third of us having problems; just look at everyone on the tube in the morning.

I had a go with this a couple of times. First night actually got less sleep because I was worried about my phone exploding and catching light to my bed in the night (the phone has to plugged into the mains and put on the corner of your bed to work). Second night just thought it was a bit weird having my phone watching me sleep, and got even less snooze time. 

Oh well, the graphs look cool though.

So, Wednesday 27 January saw the unveiling of the much talked about, iPad. Pretty much everyone knew that Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) would, in his usual black roll-neck attire reveal a touch screen device, however, the negative responses to the iPad has been rather amusing.

I'm not too sure what people were expecting but the iPad is an amazing mobile device. I think people have forgetten that Apple already produce a brilliant range of powerful laptops for serious work (MacBook, MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air), so it's obvious the iPad is designed to be a mobile multi-media device, and the fact people keep saying it's just an over-sized iPhone couldn't be more wrong either, if anything it's more akin to that of an iPod Touch. 

The way I see it, it's a device that you will use mainly at home; as an organiser, address book, photo album, something to watch TV and films on in bed, or read news and books on. This is why the cheapest of the range ($499) is wi-fi only, yes there are merits of having 3G so you can use it on the move, but to be honest, the way things are going, (Guardian App for the iPhone is a great example) you will download all the news content, magazines, books, music and videos at home, using wi-fi and your computer via USB, before you go on your journey which means you'll have access to everything you need without needing to connect to the internet. Plus it has a 10 hour battery life, which again is a great break-through in battery technology, so I'm sure we'll see this having some kind of positive affect on iPhones in the near future.

And finally, it looks stunning, no one can surely deny that, the amount of other devices out there that are desperately trying to look as good as Apple simply just don't cut it, why? Because they have to alter their design just enough to avoid copyright infringements and in doing so create something lacking in any grace or desirability.

You'll all see, the start of great things to come!

Sherbet Fountain                                     Magic Marker

When I picked up the sweet talcum like delicacy I was crest-fallen, "this is not a Sherbet Fountain" I screamed to myself "this is a Magic Marker dressed up to look like a Sherbet Fountain". The soft paper-wrapped cardboard outer that I had loved as a child was now a hard plastic exterior housing and what I could only imagine to be of non-edible ink-based matter more akin to a felt pen than a childhood memory. The licorice head too was plastic and capped shaped, again leading me to believe it was indeed a Sherbet Fountain facsimile of a Magic Marker.  My mouth had been watering at the prospect of tasting the beautifully sweet and light white powder dusting my tongue with the licorice stick of pleasure.  But no, my mind screamed, this is a Magic Marker of the inedible variety.  Deeply disappointed, I sulkily pulled at the 'magic-markeresque cap with the reluctant intention of sniffing the inky-based solution as a poor substitute for the taste of sugar.  And, low and behold, my confused mind became even more befuddled. 

The Sherbet Fountain masquerading as a Magic Marker was indeed a Magic Marker masquerading as a Sherbet Fountain.  If I was disappointed before I was totally pissed off now. As a soft supporter of the save our planet party I was appalled at the disgusting use of hard plastic packaging, which would take a millennium to decompose and which undoubtedly the recycling blokes would turf out of my black box of plastic bottles, wine bottles, tin cans and cardboard discards. A plastic tube designed and engineered to accommodate one stick of licorice and a mere few grams of sherbet, of which the costs of the content must have been severely out classed by the cost of the packaging, left a bitter taste in my mouth.  And, if I had spent my own money on the offending article, rather than nick it from one of my children, I would have been even more offended.

Such was my distaste that I didn't even eat it.  Which upset me even more.  String the packaging department up, shoot the product designer, sack the production controller.  And bring back my soft paper-wrapped childhood memory of a Sherbet Fountain.  Please.    

A decade that will be defining for this country

A decade that will be defining for each of us

This film, in a small way, has set out to reflect this moment in time
in a way that is personal to us as individuals

We are sure it will reflect some of your own personal goals too

Everyone at Fox Kalomaski wishes you a very successful decade

We'd love to hear about your ambitions for the new decade too. What have you set your sights on and what will you achieve?

Share it with us in the comment box below.

Well here's a little example i found this morning about a WPMI-TV television network and an electronic billboard in the states. 

http://bit.ly/8ARtl8

Date: 25 October 2009

Weather: Blue skies with cirrus clouds

Catering offer: One mobile eaterie 

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: None

Irrelevant item of interest: Llama in adjacent field

Dwell time: 1 hours 35 mins

Guest currency: Taiwan new dollars (TND)

Total spend: £11.50 (609.7 TND)

Number of items bought: 5

Average item price: £2.30 (121.9 TND)

Most expensive item: Toy car - £5 (265.1 TND)

Budget buy: Toy car - 50p (26.5 TND)

Credit crunch discount: 30% Using the 'Do it for a fiver?' gambit

Find more car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Radio - 70s, beverage can design, Pepsi, FM/AM, partly blue, made in Hong Kong, working 

Toy spaceship - 1977, Klingon Battle cruiser, Dinky, blue with firing photon torpedo (yellow plastic disc) 

Toy car - 60s, Man from U.N.C.L.E, 'Thrush buster' Oldsmobile, blue, made in Great Britain 

Date: 30 July 2009

Weather: Partly cloudy with cumulus clouds

Catering offer: A wide selection of mobile eateries including homemade samosas outlet

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: Watch battery fitting

Dwell time: 2 hours 55 mins

Guest currency: Cuban convertible pesos (CUC)

Total spend: £9.50 (14.41 CUC)

Number of items bought: 8

Average item price: £1.18 (1.79 CUC)

Most expensive item: Toy car - £5 (7.75 CUC)

Budget buy: Vintage  calculator - 50p (0.75 CUC)

Credit crunch discount: None

Find more car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Toy figures - New, Gonks, assorted selection, plastic, made in China 

Electronic calculator - 70s, CBM, Model 776M, LED display, with leatherette case

Pocket Microscope - 60s, pen design, 25X, made by Compound Optical Industries

Vintage toy car - 1956, tin plate, with original rust, manufacturer unknown

Date: 9 July 2009

Weather: Blue skies with a few altostratus clouds

Catering offer: A wide selection of mobile eateries including a fine pizzeria

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: None

Dwell time: 3 hours 9 mins

Guest currency: Kenyan shillings KES

Total spend: £8.60 (1090.6 KES)

Number of items bought: 5

Average item price: £1.72 (218.1 KES)

Most expensive item: China pot - £5 (634.1 KES)

Budget buy: Vintage  car brochure - 10p (12.6 KES)

Credit crunch discount: 18% using the "will you take a fiver?" gambit

Find more car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 4 stars

Bought this week:

China pot - 50s, Beetroot design by Sylvac, made in England - complete with lid

Propelling pencil - 60s, 7UP promotional graphic and amusing floating bottle, includes lead, working order, made in Denmark

Car brochure - 1969, Renault car range by Renault 6pp fold out, more stylish than the actual cars

Vintage watch - 70s, Sekonda, with day, date and 26 jewels, strap not included (photo as wearing suggestion only)

In celebration of the Bahamas’ hosting of this year’s Miss Universe event, our experiential promotion kicked off in glamorous style with Miss Universe GB and 10 Beauty Queens on the Millennium Bridge.  The event attracted journalists from the UK’s national newspapers as well as thousands of onlookers.

Then throughout the week, 5000 beach towels were laid out across London with competition entry details to win a trip to the finale in the Bahamas.

Participation in the promotion has been phenomenal with more than 27% uptake.

Competition winners will be announced on www.bahamas.co.uk

Last week whilst I was enjoying some credit crunch beers (six for the price of one in a pub) in Regents Park, with a frisbee and some of the more stylish and sporty agency types, my wife had gone a bit upmarket down the road at the York and Albany  - Gordon Ramsay's latest eaterie. Nothing unusual in that, but as my wife and her friend (Hullo Mand!) were enjoying their meal, they noticed a pair of well groomed ladies on the table next to them ordering the meat platter for two. Not so odd until... the two ladies then brought pre-packed supermarket salads out of their handbags and put them on their plates with Gordo's meaty selection! I hope they didn't ask for mayo and what a pity Mr Ramsay wasn't there because I'm sure some free form culinary swearing would have been on the menu. It's credit crunch BYO!

In fact it was a rather brilliant day the glorious weather helped and the noise warning did come in handy as I gently adjusted my ear plugs. However nothing had prepared me for the engine sound that followed, with finger fully poised on the record button I think you'll agree that I captured the essence of the day perfectly..

Date: 23 May 2009

Weather: The sun has got its hat on!

Catering offer: A wide selection of mobile eateries

In-field entertainment: Yes, but thankfully the country and western man was on his comfort break, bouncy pirate castle

In-field services: Mobile phone unlocking

Dwell time: 1 hour 45 mins

Guest currency: Costa Rican Colones CRC

Total spend: £12 (10,942.28 CRC)

Number of items bought: 5

Average item price: £2.40 (2188.14 CRC)

Most expensive item: Toy aeroplane - £7 (6,9383 CRC)

Budget buy: Biscuit tin - £1 (911.62 CRC)

Credit crunch discount: 0% 

Find more car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Toy plane - 50s, Gloucester Javelin, by Dinky, made in England

Toy plane - 60s, De Havilland Comet airliner, BOAC livery, by Dinky, made in England

Tin box - 60s, Playbox biscuits by Peek Freen, of England, biscuits missing

Tin box - 60s, Ronsonol lighter fuel by Ronson, of Leatherhead Surrey, fuel missing

It does get noticed... but what comes along with that I think is negative, desperate and maybe reckless advertising which I think harms the whole brand.

Does it work for you...

in the mean time visit http://www.futuresonic.com/

or follow activity on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Futuresonic09

Outraged taxpayer of Aldeburgh

The Importance of Humour in Advertising

I believe the key to funny advertising is assuring the humor is appropriate to both product and customer, humor tends to be those that consumers have to think the least about and maybe products that are relatively inexpensive...... what do you think,,,,?

Date: 3 May 2009

Weather: Bit parky

Catering offer: A wide selection of mobile eateries

In-field entertainment: None 

In-field services: Key cutting

Dwell time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Guest currency: Thai Baht

Total spend: £11 (THB 579.25)

Number of items bought: 6

Average item price: £1.83 (THB 97.19)

Most expensive item: Electronic game - £5 (THB 265.73)

Budget buy: Key ring - 50p (THB 26.52)

Credit crunch discount: 17% 

Game reduced from £6 to £5 using the low risk 'what's your best price?' negotiation technique

Find more car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 4.5 stars

Bought this week:

Toy robot - newish, Thunderfighter, transformer type robot, made in China

Hand held game - 1982, Game & watch, Donkey Kong JR, by Nintendo, Pat pending

Key ring - 60s, plastic, metal and enamel, S and A of London, keys not included

Book - 1965, Aircraft of WWII, published by Hippo books, 3/6 old money

Toy car - 50s, Model unknown, blue and rust coloured, made in Japan

Ashtray - 60s, Empire State Building, paint on smoked glass, by Howz Art

Watch Six Degress of Separation on BBC i-player here

Date: 19 April 2009

Weather: Not a cloud in the sky

Catering offer: Indoor cafeteria

In-field entertainment: Zoo

In-field services: None

Dwell time: 2 hour 30 minutes

Guest currency: Slovakian Koruny

Total spend: £41.20 (SKK 1,406.32)

Number of items bought: 5

Average item price: £8.24 (SKK 281.27)

Most expensive item: Sign- £40 (SKK 1,365.60)

Budget buy: Booklet - Paper emphemera 20p (SKK 6.82)

Credit crunch discount: 20% 

Sign reduced from £50 to £40 using the risky 'walking away disinterestedly coming back later' negotiation technique

Find more car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 5 stars

Bought this week:

Enamel sign - vintage, Bristol cigarettes, 5 by 1.5 feet, manufacturer unknown

Electric fan - 60s, Pifco Model 1063, red with plug, made in England, working

Paper emphemera - 60s, model kit header, Hawker Hurricane MKIV by Airfix, torn

Cutlery - vintage, cheese knife in box by Thomas Turner, made in Sheffield

Hardback book - New, Top Gear's Midlife Crisis Cars by Matt Master RRP £9.99

Location: Bromley, Kent

Date: 13 April 2009

Weather: Misty

Catering offer: Hot snack vans

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: None

Dwell time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Guest currency: Vietnam Dong

Total spend: £12.50 (VND 328,896.34)

Number of items bought: 4

Average item price: £3.12 (VND 73,614.83)

Most expensive item: Game- £10 (VND 263,151.65)

Budget buy: Booklet - 50p (VND 13,157.75)

Credit crunch discount: None

Booter rating 3 stars

Bought this week:

Board game - 30s, Tri-tactics, tactical game by HP Gibson & sons Ltd

Tea card album - 60s, Wings of speed, world record planes, presented by Lyons Tea, 20pp, complete

Tea card album - 60s, Wings across the world, airliners by Lyons Tea, 24 cards, complete

Guide booklet - 60s, Model car profiles by Spot-On, by Tri-ang, only 7 cars - in colour

each missive now includes purchasing data converted into a guest currency and the cheapest item is also highlighted.  A new haggle discount index will also be included when a price reduction was negotiated by our accredited car boot auditors.

Location: Chingford, Essex

Date: 5 April 2009

Weather: Balmy

Catering offer: Hot snack van

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: None

Dwell time: 45 minutes

Guest currency: Albanian Leks

Total spend: £1 (AL 141.19)

Number of items bought: 1

Average item price: £1 (AL 141.19)

Most expensive item: toy - £1 (AL 141.19)

Budget buy: toy - £1 (AL 141.19)

Credit crunch discount: None

Booter rating 2 stars  

Bought this week:

Toy animal - Vintage, Walrus, painted plastic by Britains of Britain

The ordinary folk in the UK have been misled and  systematically deceived by our banks, pension funds and insurance companies over the last 20 years and the Government has just given them a smack on the wrist, a warning to do better and £500 billion to keep them employed. And the rest of us have been told to keep quiet and get on with our lives as best we can.

Well the French said no, we will not put up with this we are not going to let these people carry on as if they are invulnerable to this money crisis. How dare they stay comfortably employed while ordinary workers live in fear of losing theirs. How dare they pay themselves bonuses out of the money we have given them.

Gordon Brown is weak and no leader of ordinary men. He really does not understand the meaning of fair play, honesty nor plain common sense.

If he does not control these money men then he will lose control of the people. The French have shown the way.

If the UK go to the streets on this I will be there with them.  

What Can Retail Learn from Travel?

(It’s All Down to Trust)

          Consumer price perception is real – in the eyes of the consumer – but is not necessarily borne out in the reality of the point of sale.

          In grocery retail, the temptation today is for premium brands to compete with discount stores.  Such an urge to descend into an unseemly gutter brawl is damaging to the premium brand value and based on the assumption that you have to pander to those consumer perceptions.

          The real need is to communicate a VFM/quality/service message revealing that discount stores do not actually give better value.  Consumers are just misled (or mislead themselves) into getting what they pay for at discount stores.

     I offer this basic necessities-of-life example: a tin of tomatoes at Waitrose is full of high quality product; a tin of tomatoes at a discount store is not quite full and with thin red mush, too.  And look at this luxury necessities-of-life example: Chablis at M&S is a credit to the Chablis brand; Chablis at a discount store disgraces the famous wine label.

          And just because there’s a recession doesn’t mean that shopping has to be a bad experience – shoppers will always appreciate good service.  The proof is out there that service really does make a difference. So, savings are exaggerated and not worth the culture shock of poor surroundings and service.

         To abandon the principles that created a great brand is to abandon the future of that brand

          But in the travel trade, by contrast, with a different sales structure, it’s the

     opposite story.

           Many want to fly on an economy airline but no-one wants to use one that can go bust and leave you stranded.  Or use a bucket-shop holiday package firm with the same result.

     Travellers want the reassurance of strong travel brands.

          Also, travel agents are the front-line retail protectors of consumers from such mishaps – these high street specialists are much less likely to go the discount route for fear of the immediate dangers to their customers.

          The essential difference here is that in travel, consumers stick with brands they trust, while in retail, consumers are tempted to abandon brands they trust. At the same time, premium retailers themselves contemplate ditching the very characteristics that generate trust.

     So, a new marketing strategy is required for premium retail brands to capitalise on what makes them respected: value + quality + service = trust.  The need is to change consumer perceptions of value, because it’s a long, slow climb back from the gutter.

"Out of this world duffing... top marks!" Gideon Coe Radio 6Music

The talk chaired by Dominic Mills, editorial director of Haymarket Business included four leading professionals from the marketing and advertising industry who gave short talks on where they saw the future of outdoor advertising heading.

John Slatkin from Titan Outdoor presented stats and figures about the growth of digital outdoor advertising and how people where spending more time than ever outdoors, and the opportunities that this presented.

Mark Greenstreet, MD of evolve spoke about the growing awareness and the effectiveness of  digital media and how it could add to a campaign. His talk was backed with facts about increased dwell and the general positive response digital media has had with a wide age range of the general public.

David Bedwood of award winning agency 'Lean Mean Fighting Machine' gave the most amusing talk, sharing his experience with clients and showing some inspiring ideas and uses of digital media from exploding billboards to kicking Big Macs into someone's face.

Lastly, Greg Grimmer, founder of HMDG rounded up the talk with some examples of how flexible digital media can be. Using examples of Tag Heuer’s recent campaign with Lewis Hamilton, which used time sensitive messages. In a matter of minutes of Hamilton winning the championship, a "Congratulations Lewis" message was displayed.

Overall the main impression I took from the event was that digital out door advertising doesn't have to completely replace traditional advertising, but it can add to a campaign. It also has the advantage of being flexible and easily updated. But the impression in the industry is that its expensive and there's not enough research to justify the spend, which is a bit of shame.

A few links to some of the examples used and some of the talks, as well as some other stuff I've found,

Greg Grimmer's talk
http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/Greg-Grimmer-Presentation-from-Digital-Life-Out-of-Home-Seminar

Jon Slatkin's
http://www.ipa.co.uk/Content/Jon-Slatkins-Presentation-from-Digital-Life-Out-of-Home-Seminar

Frog game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ZMMe9rlkI&feature=related

Exploding billboard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb4yEa6l6I4

Tags time sensitive messages
http://www.jcdecaux.co.uk/news/?id=249

Which means that with inflation heading for 0%, bank rate heading for 0%, salary increases heading for 0% and petrol prices going down to 80p?  then so long as you are in a job the future for most of us should be looking very very bright.!

So why isn't it?

Because the media tells us that we are all heading for oblivion  through unemployment , death by debt or serious illness from not being able to borrow money.

BUT... It is not us that needs the doctor.

It is our businesses that are suffering, because the banks will not support them as they should, which means our businesses are now struggling to support us and we get worried so we ease up on our spending.

The Govenment can borrow £120 BILLION, the taxpayer (us)now own 57% of most of the UK banks and yet we are still not allowed the money to grow or run our businesses.

Why? Can somebody please explain?

So, if we follow the lead set by Mr Darling I will be going out next week and spending shed loads of money in order to make a reasonable level of savings from the VAT reduction, thereby reducing my cash reserves and the ability to meet my regular liabilities, the little things like utilities, petrol, food and clothing for the family (the latter two which don't attract VAT in the first place). But I needn't worry 

because I can always go to my bank and ask for a loan to get me through the rough times!  What do you mean the banks aren't lending any money... preposterous!

And then after say three years and you decide to sell the car the chances are that its value may well have dropped by 50%!

Why do we do this? Name any other really major investment we make where we are quite happy to lose up to + 50% of our money? And we often repeat it!

According to the media, property prices have dropped by 15% in the last year. Yet they have grown by at least 300% since 1991. 

So as long as you didn't buy your property in say the last two years what's the problem if you lose 15% or even more?

But if you buy a new car...........

The media once again create a fear of doom and to what end?

It was a truly excellent launch of a magnificent retail operation and frankly we should be proud that it is in our city .

That said all the press news is about recession and the likelihood of consumers just not spending at all and  not spending in this temple of shopping.

But they all miss the points

The first being what was Westfield meant to do? Cover the whole thing in bubble wrap and say let's wait till times are better. It had no choice, but to open and it did so with tremendous enthusiasm and style.

What is the consumer going to do? Well they are going to visit in their thousands. They will, during that visit, decide for themselves whether they will spend their money there or go back to their previous shopping destinations. They will decide whether Westfield is for them or not and then carry on with their lives.

The question that has not been investigated properly is will there be enough spenders to sustain our shops if we are going to be living through a recession in 2009?

The answer is yes for many and no for some, but this issue applies to all shopping centres and high streets throughout the UK.

If the area in which the shopping centre/high street resides suffers from increased unemployment in 2009 then they  will suffer.If the area, does not then it will survive ok.

It will be the regional economic demographics of a centre that will determine its success next year not the social grades.

How can Westfield not be a success in its catchment of London?

The fear of unemployment (and actual unemployment) will stop people spending. It's the not knowing that is stopping people spending. Nothing else.

Gas bill or new shoes?...come on its a no brainer. Prada or Office? Now that's a different dilemma.

BECAUSE if the banks don't start lending money, your company starts losing control of its day to day cashflow needs and then it has to start cutting its overheads to work within whatever cash it can generate independently.

Which means businesses start laying off staff. Which means that if you are employed you will be fine in 2009 and if you are unemployed you will be stuffed.

In 1991 we had high inflation, high interest rates, low salary increases and growing unemployment but at least the banks lent you money.

Without cashflow businesses go bust. When banks stop lending money businesses go bust. And yet the rest of the economic statistics suggest all will be well!

What is the rescue plan for the man in the street Gordon.?

It looks like you've given all the lifebelts to the people who threw us in the water.

Date: 18 October 2008

Weather: Bit nippy

Catering offer: Doughnut and jacket potato vendors - no ice cream van this week

In-field entertainment: No country and western singer - Yee-ha!

In-field services: Key cutting

Dwell time: 45 minutes

Total spend: £6

Number of items bought: 3

Average item price: £2

Most expensive item: Money box - £3

Cheapest item: Map - £1

Find more essential car boot facts and figures at carbootjunction

Booter rating 3.5 stars  

Bought this week:

Money box - Vintage, owl, by Denmead potteries, brown china ,takes old and new money

Map - Vintage, Ramblers map, published by Geographica, Epping Forest, 1/6 old money

Figurine - 2005, Chiro, by Hasbro, manga style, Hyperfocre hero with thunder punch!

Date: 11 October 2008

Weather: Balmy

Catering offer: Doughnut and jacket potato vendors plus.... an ice cream van

In-field entertainment: Country and western singer - again

In-field services: Tarot card reading

Dwell time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total spend: £14

Number of items bought: 5

Average item price: £2.80

Most expensive item: Decorative bowl - £7

Cheapest item: Watch - 50p

Booter rating 4 stars  

Bought this week:

Alarm Clock - 60s, musical, plays theme from 'Bridge over the river Kwai', made in Japan

Wrist watch - 1989, Swatch, broken glass, needs battery  

Decorative bowl - 60s, fern pattern, by Burleigh Ware, glaze slightly crazed

Board game  - 1965, Cat and mouse, by Waddingtons, one mouse missing an ear

Music cassette  - 2002, Only for the barmy, by Jethro, 2 cassettes, also available on CD

Date: 4 October 2008

Weather: Bright 'n' breezy

Catering offer: None

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: None

Dwell time: 25 minutes

Total spend: £22.60

Number of items bought: 6

Average item price: £3.76

Most expensive item: Car brochure - £7

Cheapest item: Toy car - 10p

Booter rating 3.5 stars  

Bought this week:

Thermos flask - 1925, Bakelite, by Thermos, No.24 jug, missing stopper

Car brochure - 60s, Ford Anglia Super, a product of Ford Motor Company, Dagenham

To read more from the BBC on Mandelson's dramatic 3rd return

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7650195.stm

Mention Dubai, and one of the first things that people mention is the Palms, or the World, or the Universe… The developer Nakheel (translating as ‘Palms’) has succeeded in forever altering the very shape of Dubai, creating man made structures dredged from the sea bed to create the iconic islands well known now for being visible from space.

What can we take from this?

Well, where money and passion go hand in hand the - frankly implausible - can suddenly become a global icon. Incredibly, Nakheel were simply given the land off shore (yeah, that’s right, the sea) when Dubai was divided-up between developers. From this totally inauspicious start they have succeeded in surpassing all expectations. see more from Nakheel here

However in my mind this isn’t the pinnacle of the audacity of Dubai development. In terms of sheer credibility, raising land from the sea becomes almost commonplace when some of the more ‘ambitious’ projects being mooted in Dubai are considered:

DUBAILAND™ 

Dubailand will cover an area of 3 billion square feet when completed and estimates a population of 2.5 million people once fully operational. This includes the creation an area to be known as "Restless Planet", a Jurassic-Park style area  with giant, animatronic versions of over 40 extinct species –including obviously our favourite dinos. visit Dubiland's website here

The Burj Dubai

Is astonishingly the world’s tallest structure and that’s before it’s even been completed, the eventual height is being kept a secret for the moment,  a rough estimation suggests there will be around 164 habitable floors! See the world tallest building here

Burj Dubai                                                  Downtown Dubai   (Artists impression)                                       

Or how about a revolving skyscaper??? Not for those faint of heart, the 68 floors will rotate around a central axis, generating electricity as it revolves. Another seemingly incomprehensible vision which is soon to grace reality!

Or perhaps an underwater hotel is more to your taste?

Dubai is an exciting place to visit, and when considering destination branding, lets face it, Dubai provides a very unique case study for all consultants and practitioners.

Dubai’s planners and developers have successfully created some of the most iconic structures in recent history – manoeuvring the destination firmly onto the world stage in what seems a very short period of time.

However the big question remains; will these developments stand the test of time? Do people want to visit the desert to see modern skyscapers or are they after something more, some culture and heritage. Perhaps we are seeing Dubai’s new culture being created before our very eyes. Can they be considered long term successes that drive footfall to this new destination, or will these ‘gimics’, such as The Palms having carved a niche in public awareness – continue to do so in future generations?

In a land where vision, money and a desire to stand out is the norm it’s difficult to predict what the future holds. Indeed as Nakheel’s own advertising asks at the moment: ‘What next?’

Date: 28 September 2008

Weather: Foggy then sunny 

Catering offer: Burger vans

In-field entertainment: None

In-field services: Key cutter and mobile phone unlocker

Dwell time: 57 minutes

Total spend: £1.10

Number of items bought: 2

Average item price: 55p

Most expensive item: Stamp case - £1

Cheapest item: Paperback book - 10p

Booter rating 2.5 stars  

Bought this week:

Paperback book - 1996, Riding the rap,  Elmore Leonard, Published by Penguin, includes plastic wipe clean cover

Stamp case - Vintage, Stainless steel case, engraved with enamel Bournemouth emblem, postage stamps not included

We'd like to draw your attention to a new and artistic feature currently gracing our office walls; The Foxkalomaski Art Gallery featuring five framed artworks created by various hidden artists within our agency personnel!

The pieces of work are individually priced and available for you to buy with frame. All profits of each piece sold will be donated to a charity chosen by the artist.

Here is a list of the five framed works available for you to buy today; left to right:

Little Nugget by Sevgi Safer

£50 incl. frame
All profits will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity.
Registered Charity No. 235825

Ramblin Jack by Scott Wolfe

£70 incl. frame
All profits will be donated to NDCS.
Registered Charity No. 1016532

Forgot Dreams by Niki Wolfe

£50 incl. frame
All profits will be donated to NSE The National Society for Epilepsy.
Registered Charity No. 206186

Tree by Scott Wolfe

£60 incl. frame
All profits will be donated to NDCS.
Registered Charity No. 1016532

Little Snout by Sevgi Safer

£45 incl. frame
All profits will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity.
Registered Charity No. 235825

If you're interested to buy any of these works, please contact our office switchboard on 020 7691 8090 and we'll gladly process your purchase and donation!

Or even better, pay us a visit at the office and allow yourself a closer look! There are currently 10 of each available

Feature | Browsers

Google launched Chrome last week, their first effort at webbrowser. On very first inspections it looks clean, simple and easy to use like most of Google's apps. Immediately after launch Google has had to amend its data capture policy - they'd forgotten to remove a clause stating they could use any information submitted within the Chrome browser. This has been removed now so you can expect normal privacy levels. I'm road testing Chrome at the moment and will let you know how I get on.
(download Google Chrome here)

I am also testing out Microsoft's latest version of Internet Explorer, IE8 beta 2 has, in my opinion, really moved microsfts browser offer on considerably. Firefox's also recent release of Firefox 3 (download Firefox 3 here)  has influenced a number of features wihtin IE8 (see the tutorial video here), and knowing Firefox has trillions of add-ins I'd imagine there are all the things IE8 offers and more out there for Firefox. However, I absolutley love the accelerator feature which means you can affectively use info on one page with another site without leaving your current page, highly useful for locating places on maps without opening a new tab or window, just right click and up pops a map. Web slices are also a cool feature that allows you to add another level of tabs so you can keep an eye on websites you regularly visit, the webslice is fed information and updated live so a simple hover over the tab and you get a quick look at what price your new stereo equipment is going for and if its time to bid.

Download IE8 beta 2 here

Normally browsers are given very little time, but they are now showcasing how important they are in helping us search, filter and organise the web. Competition always drives development.

In a recent report from the US, Jeff Grau, Senior Analyst at eMarketer, highlights the fact that more and more people are returning to the high street travel agent to book their holidays rather than booking via the web. “Customer dissatisfaction with online travel agencies (OTAs) stems specifically from unfriendly booking engines and navigation tools. With few points of differentiation, OTAs have a hard time building customer loyalty and have driven travelers right into the open arms of traditional travel agencies — and new online competitors, travel websites built around user generated content,” says the study.

So, if there is already movement towards dealing face to face with an 'expert' on the high street rather than a clunky booking engine on the web, what effects will the demise of XL, Zoom, EOS, SilverJet etc have on customers who prefer to book their travel direct and are therefore not covered by ATOL - Air Travel Organisers' Licensing?.  This also raises the question; 'are the majority of passengers even aware that when they book direct with an airline that they do not have the protection and security of ATOL if their chosen airline defaults?'  In such an event the passenger is left stranded and unless their travel insurance or credit card company, given that they used a credit card to book the trip, returns them to their country of origin or refunds the money for future travel plans, the customer has to pay over again.

It is widely recognised that the web is an excellent tool for carrying out research and price comparisons, but until there is protection for passengers booking their flights direct we might just see consumers returning to the high street travel agent in larger numbers.  40,000 or so stranded XL passengers who booked direct with the airline might just agree.  

Date: 14 September 2008

Weather: Sunny spells

Catering offer: Burger vans and vegetable stall

In-field entertainment: Pirate themed bouncy castle and country and western singer

In-field services: Will making stall

Dwell time: 2 hours

Total spend: £12.20

Number of items bought: 22

Average item price: 55p

Most expensive item: Tea card book - £3

Cheapest item: Paperback book - 10p

Booter rating 4 stars  

Bought this week:

Board game - 1967, Chutzpah, a sort of Jewish version of Monopoly by CFC games of Chicago, unplayed

Toy plane - 50s, Dinky, Meteor jet fighter, Meccano Ltd, made in England, needs respray

Transformer - Vintage, Friedland C75, 12 volt bell and chime, untested

Plush toy, Newish, Were-rabbit, from Curse of the were-rabbit, starring Wall ace and Gromit cracking

Tea card book - 30s, The kings and queens of England 1066 to 1935, by John Player, one penny old money, watermarked

Paperbacks - Assorted, x15, includes 1962 Rave for a roughneck by Hank Janson, vintage pulp fiction, pages loose

Music Cassettes - 70s and 80s, pre-recorded, London calling by The Clash, Substance by New Order, Fact 200c

England are on the way to winning the World Cup, Theo is going to be the next David Beckham.

Did I just see pigs flying ....no, can't be... that airline recently went into administration.

Football and football commentary come from a planet far away in a universe that we know nothing about,a place where the glimmer of hope becomes the shining light of reality in 90 minutes only to die four weeks later when another 90 minutes brutally snuffs out that light and puts Theo back in the poverty stakes on a mere £20,000 a week.

It's in the game.

Living and working in London you expect to be accosted fairly frequently by disorientated tourists asking for directions to this square or that museum.  Recently, however, I have noticed a change in these direction requests.  It’s not Buckingham Palace or the Tate Modern that they are seeking, instead they are desperate to lay their eyes on that famous London landmark – Primark.  It seems that Primark, in all its cheap and disposable glory, is fast becoming London’s premier tourist destination.  Once rated the least ethical place to buy clothes in Britain by Ethical Consumer magazine, I find it highly distressing that for the outside world, Primark is not only the face of British fashion, it is the face of Britain!

Read more about how Primark's profits beats the doom and gloom on the high street here

Read more on Primarks unethical practices here

Date: 16 August 2008

Weather: Partly cloudy

Catering offer: Burger vans plus a jacket potato trailer

In-field entertainment: Pirate themed bouncy castle and country and western singer

Dwell time: 1.75 hours

Total spend: £14.70

Number of items bought: 11

Average item price: £1.33

Most expensive item: Wrist watch - £5

Cheapest item: Toy train - 20p

Booter rating 4 stars (minus half a point for country and western singer)

Bought this week:

Toy train - newish, Peppa Pig , plastic, with sound effects, Made in China

Deco Vase  - 30s, mint green, with handle, china, made in England

Space toy - 2005, Star wars, X Wing, plastic, from Burger King

Vintage game - victorian, Royal Series, Halma, cardboard, missing pieces, one penny old money

Vintage dexterity puzzles - 50s, Cogwheel and Pondsnag by Journet, glass and wood

Wrist watch- newish, Paul Frank, needs batteries

Door plaque - 60s, china, made in Harlesden

Deodorant  - new, 3x Nivea for men, aqua, 250ml made in Germany

I was then somewhat confused and spent the next 15 minutes debating whether I should leave an additional tip but decided on principle not to. After all, my bill stated that service was included - and I paid it, what the restaurant does with it is not really my problem?!

However, 2 days on, I'm feeling quite guilty and not very happy with the restaurant for placing me in this minor mental torment.

Where does the 'service' amount I paid go then if not split between the staff? Should tipping not be a discretionary act based on the specific service you receive? Should the waiter have told me his woes or kept quiet saving me from any guilt.

Am and tight or am I right?

Your thoughts....

Location: Collier's Wood, Essex

Date: 3 August 2008

Weather: Sunny, windy and then rainy
Entrance fee: No

Catering offer: A comprehensive range of burger vans

In-field entertainment: Bouncy castle and centrifugal sphere ride

Dwell time: 1.5 hours

Total spend: £54.90

Number of items bought: 5

Average item price: £10.98

Most expensive item: Grundig radio - £50

Cheapest item: Toy car - 20p

Booter rating 4 stars

Vintage toy car - 1971, Matchbox, Superfast, bright orange, Mazda RX 500, windscreen cracked

Both the US and UK Governments realised at the beginning of last year that unless they dramatically 'cooled' the property market the whole economic structure of the two nations would eventually explode/implode with the mountain of mortgage/credit card debt that was being accumulated by increasing numbers of people, (of all types), who in no way could pay off such debt through normal salaries/wages income etc

SO they conspired with the banks to create a situation, whereby in return for the Governments' agreements to bail out any bank that went wrong, the banks would agree to 'stop' lending money to the general population and to businesses.

SO the banks stop lending money, house prices start to stabilise and come down and those who cannot afford to borrow can no longer get loans. Stability returns to the market place and some realism starts to evolve. True a certain number of folk will either lose their homes or be in negative equity, but they are in the minority and the Governments will cope with them.

What they have successfully achieved is to bring back some sanity to the 'lending/borrowing ' culture that is actually destroying the credibility of both economies, not in reality growing them. What they didn't plan for were the increases in food prices etc...but they did want and plan higher fuel charges, 'cos it stops us driving (and polluting) and it still provides huge and growing tax revenues to the Government. The recent 2p tax drop is irrelevant to the issue and is merely a PR stunt to keep us sweet.

Ultimately, the worst that is going to happen to most of us is that our home values come down to more realistic levels, people will still be able to borrow, but only at levels they can really afford and inflation will settle at above 2.5% but it won't go beyond say 5% WHICH FRANKLY, IS NOTHING.

The downside is that we will all have to go through some economic pain for the next 12 months, but it is minor pain compared to the possibility that a one bedroom flat in London might end up costing say £400,000 and consumer debt would be so vast that the UK and USA economies would both go bust in a future real recession created by the growth of China, Russia etc...but that's not due until 2013.

So why won't the Tube people let those lovely Proctor & Gamble people and the lovely soft drinks folk distribute samples of their cooling products either at points of entry or on the platforms. I know they made a pathetic attempt to distribute water last year, but I am talking about having fixed places all over the tube map where companies can sample their marvellous products at relevant seasonal times, just like the buskers have their own spaces. Probably some planning law against it. Phoar what a scorcher!

Date: 13 July 2008
Weather: Sunny
Entrance fee: No

Catering offer: None

In-field entertainment: None

Dwell time: 1.25 hours

Total spend: £7.30

Number of items bought: 6

Average item price: £1.21

Most expensive item: Tea cards album - £2.50

Cheapest item: Vintage electronic game - 50p

Booter rating 3 stars

Bought this week:

Vintage hand held dexterity puzzle - 30s, Journet, Ping-u-ringit, glass loose

Toy robot - new, handsome and stylish, clockwork, made in China, tin, missing key

Vintage electronic game - 1983, Nintendo, Game & watch, Mario Bros, might work

Vintage comic books - 60s, assorted war and science fiction, from 1 shilling old money

For a limited time only, there are 3 interesting additions to Bedford Square, I’ve nicknamed them the ‘Banana’, ‘Speaker’ and ‘Wave’.

Wave’s my favourite, as for me it works as a sculpture and interacts with its audience making me walk round it following the curves and geometric shapes.

SPEAKER                                                                     BANANA

WAVE

I’m a fan of happening upon random works of art and even more so with my new camera phone so check it out and I hope to share more findings soon…

Which is your favourite...?

[Tas, aka Anthony Tasgal, is a Strategic Planner and a Course Director at the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) as well as a lecturer at Bucks College of Creative and Design.]

Date: Summer 2008 review
Weather: Not raining
Entrance fee: Occasionally

Catering offer: More often than not

In-field entertainment: Frequently

Average dwell time: 2.25 hours

Total spend: £182.35

Total number of items bought: 93

Average item price: £1.99

Average booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought before the start of this season's Car Boot Bulletin:

(Not included in statistical data but shown as a visual resource for future reference)

 

Vintage transistor radio - 60s, Sony TR 84, coral pink, with original price tag $69.95, not working

Advertising promotional item - 50s, Exide car battery desk tidy, bakelite, bits missing

Vintage Toy - 60s, Sutcliffe submarine Sea Wolf with box, tin, clockwork, bit missing, not working

My wife used to be a closet News of the World reader until she got upset at their 'outing' of a cross-dressing bank manager, who subsequently lost his job and probably a great deal more too, after which she, my wife, refused to buy or read the newspaper ever again. I must admit it did confuse me rather as I thought that that was the kind of story she read the paper for in the first place!

However, whilst I'm a great believer in freedom of speech and I support the concept of free press, it does piss me off terribly when on the receiving end of incorrect media reporting, as happened to Fox Kalomaski recently at the hands of the trade press. There is a fine line between responsible reporting and creating news for news sake and it strikes me that some journalists, hopefully the minority, don't give a monkey's what happens from the fall out created when they lob a misquoted piece of editorial into the marketplace.

It was always my belief that journalists wanted to do their jobs in the first instance to help inform the public about the real things going on in life all around them and if they continue to report inaccurate stories, which basically means they're not doing their jobs properly, then I strongly suggest they should apply for a fictional scriptwriting job on Eastenders.

Date: 29 June 2008
Weather: Cloudy
Entrance fee: Yes

Catering offer: Hot snack outlets - burger vans and soft beverage bars

In-field entertainment: none

Dwell time: 3.25 hours

Total spend: £12.20

Number of items bought: 16

Average item price: 76p

Most expensive item: Shorts - £3

Cheapest item: Vintage toy tank - free

Booter rating 4.5 stars

   

Date: 22 June 2008
Weather: Sunny with chilly wind
Entrance fee: No

Catering offer: Hot snack outlets - burger vans and bbq plus greengrocer

In-field entertainment: none

Dwell time: 1 hour

Total spend: £29.75

Number of items bought: 6

Average item price: £4.95

Most expensive item: Toy tank - £22

Cheapest item: Vintage cutlery -5p

Booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Toy tank - 50s Dinky Centurion, with box, tank has been in wars, made in England

Travel cutlery - 60s, four pieces in vinyl pouch, foreign

Hand held game - 1976, pocket bagatelle, Spiral score, space theme, made in Singapore

Vintage board game - 30s, Motorace, complete, British made

Wrist watch - 2001, Swatch, blue, made in Switzerland

Comic strip book - 1999, Dilbert, Don't tread in the leadership, printed in Frome

Euro 2008 was not on my intended TV list viewing list this weekend but it became the only tele that I consumed and enjoyed, mainly due to the wonderful performance of Holland over France on Friday which I sat watching with my son (he who still insists on wearing his M&S pants on display ('Fashion - It's Pants' blog April '08).

There are two issues that I pondered after watching a brilliant recovery by Turkey over Czech Republic (will Petr Čech ever live that fumble down!) that endorses the fact that English football is overrated and the players overpaid. The first is the clear difference in the lack of fouls that seem to be commited by European players (OK, I know that most of the top player in our league are foreigners but when they play for their national sides they seem to be more respectful and restrained) and the games I watched just flowed and were thoroughly entertaining. I can't remember the last time I ever thought that about an England game.

The second thought that bothers me is not just that the England team were not good enough to play at this international level, but that it seems that they couldn't give a damn about it. Where are the players who should be standing up and admitting that they didn't do their best for their country in qualifying, but that they will try harder next time, and setting the kids of today an example that whilst it's OK to fail there is pride in representing your country and it's not just about the money.

Maybe I'm wrong and it's all the Manager's fault and if it is then let's hope Fabio Capello can do something worthy with his collective of millionaires that call themselves footballers.

Location: Farningham, Kent

Date: 15 June 2008
Weather: Sunny with chilly north easterly wind
Entrance fee: Yes

Catering offer: Hot snack outlets plus bread and vegetable retailers

In-field entertainment: 3 bouncy slides, a bouncy castle and a tannoy system

Dwell time: 2.25 hours

Total spend: £11

Number of items bought: 9

Average item price: £1.22

Most expensive item: James Bond PS2 game- £4

Cheapest item: Vintage paperback -50p

Booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Vintage tin - 50s, Peek Frean's Cheeselets, biscuits not included

Paperback book - 1959, When the gangs came to London, unabridged, 2/6 old money

Dexterity game - Tomy Aaaaghh!, size C battery included, challenging

Toy car - 1971, Matchbox, Citroen SM, red, needs respray

Vintage tile - 60s, fish pattern, green, abstract, felt on reverse

Board game - 30s, Waddingtons 64 Milestones, board missing

PS2 game - 2005 James Bond, From Russia with love, RRP £34.99

Boot shapers - new in box, Dasco, Aaromatic velour with Actifresh®

Bird food - 4 bags of seed, assorted

It’s that time of year again when men of a certain age ease their cherished classic car out of the garage, give it a comprehensive polish and then cruise down the highways of Britain to park in a field and break out folding chairs and a period picnic basket. Conversations often start with “you don’t see many of those these days” and “that’s a nice one” Then you drive back home and put the car back in the garage until next time. All very civilised, but these jaunts could be coming to an end. With the way fuel prices are going, taking a ‘60’s Rover 3.5 coupe that does less than 15mpg further than the end of the drive could become too expensive for many enthusiasts. Sad because pottering around in old cars is a great British day out. 

To give you an idea of how much fun you can have - here is a photo of my Humber Sceptre MkII at Bewl Water in Kent.

Exercising and stretching regularly leads to a more relaxed, happy and alert individual. So how do we do this when we're sat at our desks all day long?

Easy we thought - desk exercises anyone can do under the privacy of their own desk as regular as you like

Here are our 5 (one for each day of the week) suggestions to help improve your Work and Wellbeing level

Why not give it a go yourself....

Day 1 - Monday - Neck and Shoulders

Day 1 has been removed due to health and safety.

Day 2 - Tuesday - Wrists

Day 3 - Wednesday - Back

Day 4 - Thursday - Legs

Day 5 - Friday - Ankles

*Kim's (our in house aerobics expert and Head of Client Services) disclaimer:

Please speak to your doctor before undertaking any new kind of exercise regime or if you have any injury or condition that might affect you participating in exercise classes. The exercises depicted here are just a bit of fun and are not intended to be copied literally. They may actually do you more harm than good. Either way, probably about time you stopped watching videos and got on with your work. If you really want to get fit - go to the gym!

Except we didn't get home until three hours later as we missed the last train home at 1.45a.m.

Why? because the infrastructure for leaving Wembley and getting on public transport is simply awful, unstructured and painfully inept. How are the public supposed to get home from the Olympics in 2012 when we can't get people home from Wembley today?

The whole process is flawed, build it and they will come, but God help them if they want to leave.

Cycling to work saves you money, impacts less on the environment and enhances your wellbeing and fitness.

So, think about this, by doing one thing, riding to work more I can reduce my travel bill by leaving the car or oyster card at home, decrease my monthly outgoings and at the same time I can benefit the planet, my wallet and my fitness right now.

Now, who’s looking forward to that sweaty journey home on the tube…

Location: Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Date: 8 June 2008
Weather: Not a cloud in the sky
Entrance fee: no

Catering offer: none

In-field entertainment: none

Dwell time: 0.5 hours

Total spend: £14.20

Number of items bought: 9

Average item price: £1.51

Most expensive item: Bakelite desk tidy x 2- £5

Cheapest item: Bakelite beaker - 20p

Booter rating 2 stars

Bought this week:

Toy car - 50s, make unknown, rusty 
Board game - 1969, L- game by Edward De Bono, mint in box

Dexterity puzzle - 60s  Baffleball by Joyment, maddening

Inkwell - 30s Glass and bakelite with spare green lid by Vetos

2 x Desk tidy - vintage bakelite, maroon, British made

Reference book - 1984, World war 2 in pictures, over 500 stunning illustrations

Beaker - 30s, coloured bakelite, as new

Children's book -The bad tempered ladybird, colour by Eric Carle

Now, it goes without saying that I was shocked with what I encountered when entering Bravissimo’s three floors of prime west end retail space.

I could not believe that the top heavy store was actually not so top heavy! The large basement was split into spacious changing room space with comfy sofas for bored boyfriends – fair enough I thought (whilst sipping chilled water and flicking through a magazine). The ground floor was superbly racked with essential merchandise like lacy bras, leopard print thongs, corsets and other luscious lingerie plus extremely helpful sales staff.

Finally, I walked up the stairs to the top floor and was shocked to find an area solely dedicated to the history of Bravissimo’s marketing campaigns. I felt a right tit going up there to have a closer look – but that was purely accidental! There was not a suspender or pair of panties in sight, just leaflets and posters displaying Bravissimo’s lingerie advertisements from the early days to the present. The marketing material was extremely interesting though, (I was particularly drawn to the summer 2007 bikini photo shoot – who knew that triangles could stretch that far?)

However, for a place with such great assets, surely the vast top floor space could be used more productively? What about adding another revenue stream? How about adding a coffee shop? Or a perfume counter? What about displaying more stock? Or maybe even a pole! I’d encourage you all to go down there this weekend and judge it for yourself. By not utilising their retail space effectively I feel they are making some really big boobs!

It's a sad day when innovative thinking is overcome by poor market conditions. The untimely and sad demise of Silverjet, following closely on the heels of EOS and Maxjet, is sure to get more than its fair share of boardroom and dinner party conversation time. Those who originally doubted the fortunes of the innovators will be clucking "I told you so" to anyone who'll listen and those who admired the spirit of originality and the daring-doers will be mourning the loss, however what would be interesting is to determine how many of us admirers ever actually bought a seat with any of these airlines. And, no doubt, British Airways, Virgin and all the other corporate airlines will embrace the small hole left by these competitors and the probably reluctant return of those business passengers.

In the mid 90's a friend developed a business plan to launch a company specialising in private air charter only to be scuppered by the Gulf War and concerns that people would stop flying, which, on commercial routes they did for a relatively short period. Fast forward a few years to the early 00's and a TV news programme reported on the success of a private air charter company called Air London. This company had been going a few years before the Gulf War but it attributed its rapid rise and recent business growth to none other than the Gulf War itself. When private individuals and companies were reluctant to fly corporate airlines during that particular era of conflict the safe choice for them was private charter. Bad market conditions for the airline industry during the mid 90's played right into the hands of the innovators and entrepreneurs of that time but my friend lost out on a great opportunity. As they say, timing is everything.

The fact that the model for the business class only airline has suffered a major blow at this particular time in history is possibly just a case of appallingly bad timing. Let's hope that market conditions will, over the years ahead, allow the innovators and entrepreneurs back into the market.

Location: Basildon, Essex

Date: 1 June 2008
Weather: Overcast
Entrance fee: no

Catering offer: Hot and cold snack outlets plus fruit and vegetable retailers

In-field entertainment: Bouncy castle

Dwell time: 3.25 hours

Total spend: £13.50

Number of items bought: 10

Average item price: £1.35

Most expensive item: Vintage toy car - £7

Cheapest item: Vintage car brochure - 20p

Booter rating 4.5 stars

Bought this week:

Toy car - 60s, make unknown, battered 
2 Model kit catalogues - 70s Matchbox, 50 pages, well thumbed

Paperback book - 1945  The Aerodrome, Penguin, fiction, unabridged

Car brochure -Mid 60s Renault Dauphine, small

Toy car - 1976, Batmobile, plastic,  with dynamic duo, missing part

Puzzle - 1978 Incredible Hulk, tile type, tricky

Space ship - 1980, Corgi Buck Rogers fighter, missing missiles

Reference book - 1997, Matchbox toys, A guide to... 112 pages

Watch strap, new old stock, leather, black, chrome finish

If you didnt see it, here it is

Having just returned from a three day break to Bruges and Brussels I want to tell you that the train has to be the future for European (at least) travel. Excepting security delays that are the blight of all foreign trips it was difficult to fault the train experience. However the final nail in the proverbial coffin for air travel will be when all major destination stations are of the St Pancras standard of customer comfort. Unfortunately most rail stations remain dark, miserable and rundown locations with no toilets, shopping or edible catering. Get this right and goodbye airlines for me for ever.

Location: Chigwell, Essex

Date: 24 May 2008
Weather: Sunny spells, windy
Entrance fee: no

Catering offer: Hot and cold snack vans

In-field entertainment: Yes - Country and western singer

Dwell time:2.25 hours

Total spend: £19.20

Number of items bought: 11

Average item price: £1.74

Most expensive item: Shooting stick - £10

Cheapest item: Robot puzzle - 10p

Booter rating 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Shooting Stick - newish by Gamebird of England
Clock Radio - vintage 70s electronic made in Hong Kong in original box

Robot Puzzle - vintage 70s plastic made in Hong Kong

Reference book - The Dumpy book of Aircraft with over 1200 illustrations

3 Paperback books - assorted fiction

Phrase book - 60s Italian, non fiction by Collins

Graphic novel - Batman volume 2, fiction

Carpet bowls - vintage 50s, 'The indoor carpet game', complete

Board game - 1968 Saga as selected by the Design Centre London, complete

.

When I was young, fashionable and trendy meant looking smart and we proudly wore a range of clothes from mohair suits to Crombie overcoats, two-tone and Sta-press trousers, brogues and loafers, Ben Sherman and Brutus shirts. They were fashion statements and we looked the part.

I'm sorry but I can't get my head around what my son and too many boys aged anything from 11 to 20+ think as fashionable and trendy i.e. wearing their trousers around their knees! I understand the jailbird analogy (no belts or laces) but it just doesn't look good to or on anyone, apart maybe from Paris Hilton and even then...

It seems that a different pride mentality rests with the many of today's youth and maybe this is part of the problem that we're facing in the streets of London at this time i.e. a lack of pride.

I must remember to ask my son how proud he is of showing the world his M&S pants.

These predators include the well known “Taxious Inspectoratum”, which can spot a 10p tax break at a thousand feet. Of course, even when safely inside the security of its travelling nest the consumer is never safe from the “Petrolia Stationaria”, this predator has a particular unsavoury way of swiftly draining consumer’s pockets then laying the blame elsewhere.

Predators come in all shapes and sizes, and the ever vigilante consumer must always keep one eye open to protect the nest, especially from the “Televisionphoneinious”, this predator actually enters the home nest and influences the poor consumer to interact with it via a mating call, which so often is wasted and pointless.

The predator I watch out for comes when it is least expected, when we consumers are off guard, feeding and relaxed. It is known as the “Fifteen percentum servicechargegrium”. What a monster, it just takes and takes, but rarely gives anything extra in return.

So I caution all consumers who are out searching for bits and bobs for the nest, watch out for predators, spend wisely and always save for a rainy day or a bad winter.

Location: Hereford, Herefordshire

Date: 11 May 2008

Weather: Sunny

Entrance fee: None

Catering offer: Burger van

Dwell time: 0.5 hours

Total spend: 1.50

Number of items bought: 2

Average item price: 75p

Most expensive item: Fan 1

Cheapest item: Flower pot 50p

Booter rating: 1 star

Bought this week:

Electric fan - vintage 60s Pifco, blue

Plastic flower pot - vintage 60s Dialene Bettermold, blue and white

Location: Ross on Wye, Herefordshire

Date: 11 May 2008

Weather: Sunny

Entrance fee: None

Catering offer: Burger van and homemade cake stall

Dwell time: 2.75 hours

Total spend: 16

Number of items bought: 11

Average item price: 1.45

Most expensive item: Comic books 5

Cheapest item: Dexterity game 10p

Booter rating: 3.5 stars

Bought this week:

Board game - vintage 50s Skid-o by Pepys - not complete

Board game - vintage 40s Contack by Waddingtons

Board game - vintage 40s Millionaire by Sessions of York

Card game - vintage 30s Speed by Pepys - missing instructions

Dexterity game - vintage There was an old lady who lived in a shoe - round

Paperback book - fiction

Hardback book - fiction

Digital multimeter - new by Toolzone - working

Sticker book - vintage 1966 Horse and pony - complete

Comic books - 1992 Lobo Infanticide - Issues 1-4

Coffee table book - 1991 The ultimate guitar book by Doring Kindersley

Has anyone worked out that when petrol reaches £2 per litre (or £8 per gallon or a mere £64 to fill up a Mini)  that home deliveries will be so expensive that purchasing from the internet will become impossibly uneconomic...in many cases the delivery cost will be far more than the actual value of the goods. Does this mean that the demise of the 'white van man' will be concurrent with the demise of internet retailing? Or have I missed something in the equation? Or should retailers hang on to their bricks?

Bought this week:
Tin plate car-vintage 60s Mustang
Biscuit tin-Vintage 50s Christmas theme
two way extension - white, working
Tea card book - 70s Brooke Bond, The Police Force, complete
Large Enamel sign - vintage, Paramount fireproof walling
Phenolic belt buckle - deco era
Hand held video game - vintage Sub Chase by Mattel, not working
2 paperback books - fiction and non fiction
Wrist watch - 60's Ingersoll needs attention
Model Airplane kit - vintage, Saab J21A by Heller unmade in box

My son loves playing football, 24/7 if he could. Yesterday saw the culmination of a season of dedication by a pretty ragged bunch of 12 year olds. The first few matches at the beginning of the year gave them the experience of loosing by anything up to 8-0 but they bounced back every time with boundless enthusiasm and energy and their manager and coach both deserve medals for their belief in the boys and sheer endurance. That belief and endurance earned the team a place in the cup final this May bank holiday.

Meanwhile, on Saturday night I took the family out for dinner to a restaurant in north London and my son was dumbstruck when he saw we were sitting next to Arsène Wenger (Arsenal’s manager for those not in the know). Rather than ask Mr Wenger for his autograph for my son I asked for some wise words of wisdom to give a young lad on the eve of his first ever cup clash. After asking what position my son plays Arsène fixed him in the eye and spoke these very words (in a very thick French accent). “When you wake up in the morning you will believe that you are the best player on the pitch”. My son, brimming with excitement from this encounter, sent emails and texts to his team mates to inspire them with these same words.

The next morning the team met early for the 12:45 kick off. Arsène’s words conveyed, including thick French accent, in the changing room and the boys were indeed inspired. I’ll save you the running commentary from the game but it was great, even better than the Arsenal Everton match on Sunday. They were indeed, to the very last man, the best players on the pitch that day and deserved their 3-2 win and the exhilaration of lifting the cup in their first ever final.

It only took Arsen Wenger a few seconds to inspire my boy with a very few but well chosen words, if we could do something as simple and effective for each other every day, just think what we might be able to achieve together.

The event had speakers from all different professions and backgrounds; some who were interested in the educational benefits, some sceptical of 'online' activity and some people like Danny and myself, seeing how this techonolgy can aid and push the world of retail, travel and leisure.

One thing that really interested me is a web site called dopplr.com

To explain it in the easiest way is probably this sentence from the web site itself:

"Dopplr lets you share your future travel plans privately with friends and colleagues. The service then highlights coincidence, for example, telling you that three people you know will be in Paris when you will be there too. You can use Dopplr on your personal computer and mobile phone. It links with online calendars and social networks."

SSo in terms of the travel industry I think this is a very clever and nice way to share your experiences. The thing I also like aout Dopplr is their understanding of personal data and people's concerns about it getting into the wrong hands. They address this in a very simple way, it's up to you how much information you reveal, who you share it with and best of all if you decide you don't want to continue using the service, you can 'delete' (not de-activate) your account and they send you, all of the data they have collected on you, but it's wiped from their server. Responsible.

There is plenty of other insights and ideas that I will share with you once I can decipher my notes.

The theme Social Futures - Online, Mobile and Unplugged is explored by leading figures developing the next generation of social media alongside artists, researchers, opinion formers, futurologists, technologists and scientists from the digital culture, music and art communities.

To see live video footage streamed live from the event via my mobile visit my qik page

9.35am Thurs 1st May 20008

Hello from Manchester - We've arrived

A blown tyre, torrential rain and sleeping on a roundabout, well not literally, but close enough to know the difference between the sound made by Pirelli and Goodyear! So a sound night sleeps ready for some brain stretching talk on Social Media!

Road side recovery     Niki in Manchester             Futuresonic goodie bag

13.14

Wow, it's lunchtime and my brain needs a break and some time to digest this morning's intro, it has been very illuminating while not quite what either Niki or I was expecting. Matt Locke has run the introduction seminar/presentation in a Richard and Judy style chat on sofa's with experts given 5 minutes to profer their point of view on online and offline social interaction and 'space'.

Strangely, there is a strong contingent against social networking, in its present form at least which has surprised me, but has actually made a lot of sense. Are Friends Electric queried Matt Jones of Dopplr, Matt holds Facebook et al in contempt, the fad of joining all the social networking sites sumounted to little more than an online popularity contest, accepting friendship requests from those people that were not even your freind when you knew them in the real world is not the way forward - purge your friends now!!! Dopplr and Matt's ethos is based on connecting people around an interest or goal.

Session 1 - The expert panel

James Wallbank of Access Space in Sheffield vehemently argued against online networking and relationships, attributing poor social skills and society's youths inability to hold a conversation in the real world as the fault of the rise of online communications! Access Space revloves around technology however, just bring people together to share interests and skills in the real world.

I thought I was here to hear how amazing Social Media is?! Oh well, James made some sound points however and as was the ongoing theme of the weekend, we, the users, will and need to balance our online with offline interactions, transactions and relationships.

Gerd Leonard, repeatedly summed up the back lash to the internet and the way it is changing the world in the simplest terms, "It's new, deal with it". Gerd, a media futurist, discussed 'The end of control' as move from centralised owners of knoweldge and content to nano-distibution. How do corporations control their product, particularly relevant to the music industry, and similarly how do brands control what is said and how people use their brand? Gerd is confident or current knee jerk reaction to the expanding and sharing internet will all be sorted out in the 'shuffle'.

I'm not 100% sure when and what this shuffle is but I like the sentiment.

We also heard from Shannon Spanhake on utilising the power of the many through technology; Chris Heathcote from Nokia, discussed the future of mobile and Ravikant spoke of the emancipating effect of user generated content such as blogs and forums in India to bring a voice to the lower classes.

We we're working...see

We attended the Urban and Social Media talk this afternoon which focussed on how the concept of 'space' and how humans interact within given spaces, rural and urban, and how this alters the way we live our lives. With over 50% of the worlds population now living in Urban areas (there are now 27 megacities, cities with 10 million people or more) how is this affecting our relationship with 'space'. And subsequently how are we begining to link the outside world with the virtual world through technology, for example the use of GPS and geo tagging images and reviews, places of interest, structural warnings etc etc as well as the change in the way we connect with the city via laptops and mobiles. We are now able to talk to inanimate objects and make decisions on the spot based on their response!

This seminar really opened my eyes to practical and hugely beneficial ways of using social media technology. Shannon Spanhake's scheme to use mobile phones with tiny air pollution monitors demonstrated the benefit of scalable technology, rather than have 3 air pollution monitoring sensors for a city of 8 million Shannon was pioneering the use of thousands in South America. An amazing example of the power of the 'crowd' to change social policy.

More to come check back.....................

And so we once again listen to the rallying cries of the politicians for whom the streets of London are paved with gold.

It would seem that those in the centre will vote for Ken and those on the outside for Boris. Why?

Because the media say Ken appeals to the countless minorities who live and work in inner London and Boris represents the affluent majorities that do not? I do not think so, practically that must be rubbish. I think it is simply because Ken puts two fingers up to everyone and Boris doesn't. Remember we are all mere sheep silenced by the sound of the wolf when he howls...

Graffiti is a complex and controversial art culture that has taken a massive revolutionary turn in recent years. Once perceived as a a defacing nuisance it has now, with the fame of street artists like Banksy and Obey, taken a complete 360 turn to become a fashionable form of outdoor art, commissioned for major advertising campaigns such Coca Cola's Sprite can design launched a few years ago and Volvo's new ad campaign launched just recently. Some may say commercial exposure is a good thing for street artists while other's claim it's defeating the object of the graffiti culture - a rebel's sport. What are your views? Are we simply glorifying public sabotage?

Here are some other comments on the subject and check out Temper Does Grafitti

Sao Paulo before the ban

I was wondering what it would be like to live in a world with no outdoor advertising, wouldn't it be boring? What would I read on the tube? What would distract me when I'm sat in a traffic jam? Or what would decorate the boundaries of our favourite sporting events? Wembley would look somewhat bear without any hoardings!

Sao Paulo now

If there was no outdoor advertising there would be a lot of empty space in need of some care and attention, outdoor posters and alike seem to me to be the laminate floor of the outdoor space; cheap, easy to lay and looks good for a short time! Very soon it becomes tatty though - what could we use these spaces for if outdoor advertising were banned permanently, and we had no 48 sheet posters to paper over the cracks.

I hear many folk (mainly those that don’t work in advertising) complaining about advertising interrupting their TV watching experiences, how exposure to billboards, fliers, posters, press advertising etc is saturating not only our personal spaces but more and more our social spaces. Would we be better off with less or no advertising confusing and dirtying the enjoyment of our open and outdoor spaces like they have in Sao Paulo.

Despite the headache we all get from all this visual clutter and the associated estimated 3,000 messages we see each day, perhaps advertising is actually a release, a form of art and expression, one which can entertain and amuse, and even be interactive, even when you're on the street. These Ads that were on the streets of Sao Paulo are very intriging, adding to thr social space

We are always going on about cut-through and unless your outdoor ad features cutting edge design, then despite how useful the information is, it is unlilely to grab their attention and be retained, you must entertain, amuse or inspire just like Nokia have managed with this interactive bus stop.

Now of course, there's not a single answer, and many a director I know could write a book on the subject, especially when presenting to the board on current poor performance.

From the well accepted "its the weather factor", through the old stand-by of "consumer spending is currently restricted due to higher domestic costs such as fuel, food, mortgages, baccy and booze",to the sophisticated, "consumer reactions are proving unfavourable to seasonal ranges supplied", and if all else fails there is always "a resurgent Marks and Spencer is buying consumer market share", however, one of my favourites is "if you think we're doing badly lets compare ourselves with company X".

However, I do wish, that more often in board rooms across the country, those with the power to make a difference would simply say "You know what, part of the problem is that we are just not spending enough time, energy or money into training and developing our most important sales aid, our people".

We can all tell tales of poor customer service that's easy, but people are for the most part, generally hard working, conscientious and enjoy their jobs, so I ask those retailers who are currently suffering poor sales, rather than look for excuses, look at your people and ask yourselves "are we really giving them the right tools to do a great job?"

Recently, while killing time waiting for a train, I conducted (by default) my own price comparison research at a central London rail station in shops quite literally within spitting distance of each other, I found the same Innocent Smoothie priced at £1.79, £2.00, £2.09 and £2.25 in four different stores.

Now, on this particular day I had time to browse and compare prices, but that's not the point… surely the owners of these shops want to be seen to be offering 'value', (of differing levels of course), but that said, the store selling the Smoothie with a 46p premium isn’t offering a higher value/better quality product than the one flogging it at £1.79. All I can see it is offering is a way to rip me off. And maybe that store is ripping you and me off on other products as well.

Perhaps commuters who are stressed and harassed just don't care as much as the supermarket shopper. But I think it’s more likely that the retailers are quite prepared to premium price their, normally, time-poor commuters! Congratulations, however, to Innocent on their comprehensive distribution!

I spent a lovely family Easter weekend in the Gloucestershire countryside, walks with the dog in the country, quiet village 'gastro' pub lunch on Saturday (the restaurant was packed), popped into another remote 'gastro' pub in the just as remote village of Sapperton for a drink with the wife and dog early on Sunday evening to learn that they had had a full sitting at lunchtime and every table was booked for dinner that evening too.

The previous week I frequented a very busy wine bar in Charring Cross on Wednesday and a packed pizza restaurant on Thursday. I can draw three possible conclusions from this short piece of consumer research: a) everyone is following me to the best places to eat and drink b) the credit crunch hasn't crunched yet for middle England (or middle London) or c) everyone is drinking and eating themselves into oblivion as the end is nigh!

Which brings me on to the piece in Saturday Mail by an octanagarian scientist who warns that we're too late to halt the damage to the planet and that by 2048 the world will have changed beyond recognition and that we should all emigrate to Australia or Canada. Could be a good opportunity for Tourism Australia to create a new campaign entitled "Where's the bloody ozone now"?