Christmas 2008

It's that time of year again when itinerant panhandlers (carol singers) make their annual pilgrimage to my front door appear on my door-step attempting to sing a few strangled verses of some long forgotten carol before being sent away with a flea in their ear and a recommendation for a few singing lessons by yours truly.

The year before last as I reported in my last Christmas message some group of lads came around and made a vague attempt at Silent Night....

World Toilet Day Celebrations in Chipping Norton

As we all know last week (the 19th November) saw the celebration of world toilet day - I know 'what another crap day' - well yes actually. As we know a visit to the bathroom is a regular ritual for all of us and a person will go to the toilet about 6 to 7 times a day and with all that flushing that takes place will use around 30% of the 60 gallons of water used by an average person in the UK daily. It is something we all take for granted...

The recent banking crisis and the failure of the Scottish attempts to take over the banking world in the UK has set me thinking about the earlier attempts at setting up regional banks and in particular the setting up of the first real retail type banks in the UK. Many years ago numerous county banks were created in different parts of Britain, including Gods Country Wales. There were a number of so called drovers' banks set up in mid-Wales at that time. Drovers as in 'rawhide', the famous cowboy...

The Bardsey Crown to Return to the land of Merlin

No doubt everyone is watching with great interest the attempts by the Bardsey inhabitants (all ten of them) to have the Bardsey island Crown returned to its rightful place in Wales.
The Island is a god forsaken lump of rock off the Llyn Penninsula in the North of Wales once inhabited by Monks in a colony established there in the 6th Century by one Saint Cadfan. - and as an interesting side note is the imputed last resting place...

Recent Archaeological research shows football invented in Wales

The first reference to football being played in this country was actually in Wales over a thousand years ago. The beautiful game was watched and played by hooligans as it is nowadays was probably introduced to Great Britain by the Romans in Wales and was played in the great Amphitheatre in Silurum Venta (aka Caerleon) by soldiers of the Second Augustan Legion during breaks from sacking, pillaging and general mayhem. Watched...

The Railway Chronicles - starlet's bags under eyes forces new photo shoot

I was on the way up to see one of our northern NHS clients this time on what is now the national express line (what happened to the GNER?) - this was to be a difficult discussion about why they could not have a piece of software which is valued at well over a hundred grand installed for four pence halfpenny - but that’s not the subject for today as I must protect our beloved clients. I was reading through some...

Brown solves world hunger and financial markets in a day.

I am becoming used to seeing Gordon Brown in his many guises or relaunches (currently around number seven) giving out the impression that he is more or less single handedly running every ministry in this country. From facilitating mergers between banks, solving Clostridium difficile in hospitals, greeting our hero Para Olympians back home to lagging. It is the latter theme I would like to dwell on as I was astonished to see...

Car park Charges abolished and then chaos ensues

At the beginning of the financial year in gods country (Wales) the first minister announced that car parking fees, the subject of much controversy in the principality and elsewhere, were to be abolished. This 'lead' was not followed by the Department of Health in the UK at large who said England would not be following the Welsh example -"We have no plans of forcing hospitals in England to subsidise their car parks with resources that...

Kevin Keegan pushes World War from top news slot

I could hardly believe what I was seeing and hearing the other day when the nice BBC man opened the news with the statement ' today's top story Kevin Keegans future with Newcastle in Doubt'. Not Hurricane Gustav, Russia about to move on Poland, Brother Browns give aways to his pals up north or Alistair Darlings torpedoing the UK economy. No - a story about a second rate football manager in a northern team in some god forsaken place...

Hi BizFace,

Some more wonderful Prince Philip Gaffe posts:


My Top 5

1.0 "If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has got two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and it is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
(at a 1986 World Wildlife Fund meeting)

2.0 "Deaf? If you are near there, no wonder you are deaf."
(in 1999, to young deaf people in Cardiff, referring to a school's...

The Deathly GM Crops and The Half-Wit Prince (Book 8)

Most of the time I regard Prince Charles as an amiable affable buffoon who talks a peculiar brand of new age sentiment and claptrap and dresses in a quaint Scottish (kilt commando style) way so beloved by our American friends across the water or who swans down the racecourse in top hat waving to the assembled masses on the rails. This erstwhile Edwardian who I think at heart harks back to those times when obedient yokels tilled...

Most people who have little time for a monarchy or are of a republican orientation focus too much on the minutiae of the royals as they currently are. Worrying about a Prince Philip's faux Pas - which actually livens things up a bit except for his rather implicit racism - the minor civil list cost in the scheme of things and on the small issues. Whether they pay tax or make a contribution to our balance of payments or can possibly break a deadlock in the house of commons are not significant problems....

Where are the Republicans hiding in this Country?

As a result of the English Civil war all three episodes (1642-1651) we managed to lead the European world at that time by getting rid of the Monarchy and replace it with the rudiments of a republican democracy. Unfortunately a few years later in 1660 we let Charles the 2nd back from exile and started the Royal merry-go-round again which continues to this day with the clear threat of another Charles ascending to the throne probably...

Part 3 – Public sector tendering

Innovation

• Demonstrate competitive advantage and added value by developing innovative processes, products or methods of working. Identify and share with the customer practices and market advances which clients could use to increase performance and value but be careful that they do not run away with your IPR.
  
• Areas of innovation could include:
• Shared contracts/alternative delivery solutions (especially where there are cost savings

...

Technorati Profile

Part 2 Tendering for the Public Sector

The information to include with your proposal can be requested in a pre qualification questionnaire (often you will have to go to a portal and fill these in) or the tender itself and will include some or all of the information shown

Tip: Most of this information is generic that you know today so start drafting ‘it’.

General Information normally needed:

Company and organisational details:
Business...

Public Sector Tendering Part 1

I have been asked by a few charities I work for occasionally to post up a summary of tendering guidelines for the public sector. I have posted some notes I made when working on a proposal for the first public sector contract CrossLight went for. I have done a few of these - especially when applying to be included on framework agreements (although still have to get some business from them!!) - And all of the points below have come up. I have based this...

Cloning Hybrids argument rolls on

I still see we are being prepared and softened up to allow scientists to come what may, carry out whatever experiments they see fit, probably up to and including cloning (eventually). We have over the last few weeks seen a procession of worthies come out of the woodwork to challenge the 'naysayers' and 'latter day Luddites' who are daring to raise a yellow card by suggesting we should place some limits on what science is allowed to do. Now it surprises...