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Una fiesta espanola!

Very excited to be part of a small team implementing a Spanish evening @ClubWorkspace @BarleyMowCentre. Anyone with an interest in anything Spanish from language to films is invited to ‘Juerga para aprender espanol on Thursday 7th February at 6 p.m. There’s no charge and it should be a lot of fun. My lovely Spanish teacher, Astrid Mengod, will be there to help anyone who’d like a little help with their Spanish - no matter what level - and it’s an excellent opportunity to network with people with whom you know you’ve got something in common. Want to know more? Just...
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The virtual agency thrives

A couple of years ago a colleague and I started a virtual full service agency, Strategy Hub. At the time it was a reasonably new idea and we still find that people visiting the website (www.strategy-hub.co.uk) are intrigued by the principle. Under our virtual roof are experienced PR professionals and other experienced communicators, along with a range of other service providers. It works remarkably well. Since the inception of Strategy Hub more and more virtual agencies have come into being - many focussing specifically on PR. It makes huge sense for both the consultant and the client. No-one...
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Sorry, no salad, it isn’t summer

I happened to be in M&S in the Trafford Centre last Friday and, as I was with someone much older, aceded to her wish to have a cuppa and a bite to eat in M&S. The queue looked daunting, but in fact a smiley queue manager ensured we were seated in just a few minutes. I set off to collect our food and drinks, and headed to a chill cabinet emblazoned with the words ‘Sandwiches, Salads and Sweet things’. Great - pick up the sandwich for the older lady, and an M&S salad for me - just like I usually do in Chiswick. Except - where are the salads? I looked and looked but no...
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Guess who I had in the back of my cab

Well, it was me in the back of the black cab this morning and, oh dear, did I ever regret the travel mishaps on my way to a meeting that meant a cab was my only hope of arriving on schedule. To say the driver was loquacious would be a gross understatement. He was the archetypal cliche of a taxi driver. Opinionated, racist and unstoppable (except at every traffic light which miraculously turned red as he slowly approached it.) It’s been so long since I’ve been in a black cab that I forgot that, unlike the cheerful mini cab drivers I usually encounter, the drivers are a grumpy bunch...
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Know what you want before you ask for it

How many times have you met someone at a party and, for want of any other small talk, asked them what they do for a living? Right, we all do it, it helps break the ice. But equally, how many times does your companion ramble on about doing this and that, and quite a few other things too, and when you probe a little further and ask who, in the main, are his clients or customers, says ‘Oh, just about everyone, really’. Is this the way to engage your audience? Is this likely to lead to new or enhanced business? Absolutely not. But it’s lamentable how many people, in a business...
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West London, a no-flyover zone

The BBC have given up including in their traffic alerts the daily gridlock that now subsumes much of west London . Yet those of us living in the area (Chiswick in my case) have had our daily lives totally disrupted for several months now by the part closure of the A4 Hammersmith flyover. Last week was half term and the roads were noticeably quieter, but traffic was still awful in Chiswick. This week, with many schools now back, I was literally unable to turn out of my road yesterday morning (car essential on that day) and it took twenty minutes to cover the first mile. Buses are backed up -...
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Networking part 3

Just back from a hugely energetic room full of 4N networkers enjoying breakfast at One Kew Road, Richmond. So many people to talk to that I’m bound to go back to meet them properly next time. Have made a date to go to the Hammersmith meeting on Tuesday, too. That will make two ‘Full English’ in one week! Disaster for waistline and cholesterol but brilliant for the brain.
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4Networking

I’ve joined 4Networking which seems to have been a good move.  Lots of different branches to visit for breakfast at the civilised hour of 8 a.m. Lots of different people to meet and my membership is already paying dividends.  One important reminder from a fellow member today is to keep this website up to date!  More next week.
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Very off-topic. Gorgeous house available

Not my usual sort of post, but please follow this link if you, or anyone you know, might be interested in buying a simply gorgeous house in south west France.  It belongs to very good friends who would love to sell it to someone who relishes the peace and charm of this beautifully restored Maison Maitre.  Fabulous pool and views to delight you.  Click http://www.bolton-by-bowland.com/sauboires.htm and you’ll see what I mean.
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My 15 minutes’ of fame!

If you’re a news junkie you can’t have missed me last week.  BBC Radio London, BBC London News, Daily Telegraph and BBC Breakfast!  What a cornucopia of media attention for a Chiswick marketing consultant. The reason for this celebrity?  The King’s Speech.  Despite the spin put on Lionel Logue’s speech therapy for George VI in the movie, The King’s Speech, it turns out that perhaps his speech impediment was not as ‘cured’ as we are led to believe.  Back in 1941 my father, then a lowly sound engineer at the BBC, was called on to edit out the fluffs...
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