Free Food, Free Entertainment

On Sunday I took the family to a nature reserve by Christchurch Harbour. The weather, for a change, was pleasant.

We ended up on a busy footpath picking blackberries. By the end we had a couple of kilogrammes of them. I mention it was a busy footpath because there was no sign that anyone had been picking before us.

In these austere times, you can have blackberries, for free. Have you seen how expensive they are in the supermarket?

So, blackberry picking, so what? Well here are some advantages:

1.       Already mentioned, expensive in the supermarket, you can have them for free.

2.       For a family, this is a cheap/free afternoon out. Makes a change from staying in or the highly expensive options for entertaining the kids. No family? Then a cheap way of spending time with your mates. Where we were blackberrying there is a splendid old pub nearby for a post picking pint. Or you can just go with your partner for some quality time. It is relaxing to talk while performing a simple task.

3.       Blackberries are full of anti-oxidants, they are very good for you.

4.       Walking and picking – gentle exercise is good for you.

5.       You can follow up by cooking pies, making wine or saving money by using blackberries in the way you want.

And do not forget other free foods such as elderberries and sloes. Only chase fungi though, if you know exactly what you are doing.

www.technicalwriter.org.uk
© Writer4Business 2011

Mall impressions for business

While once on a business course at Milton Keynes’ excellent Chamber of Commerce, I was told of a plumber.  He had a branded van (and recall my thoughts on driving those here). He kept his van spotlessly clean.

He was never without work. People associated the state of his vehicle with high standards and reliability.

So we should look at how others see our businesses – be it online or in the material world … what little nips and tucks can we make to encourage a good impression.

If you have any more ideas on this please share them below.

www.technicalwriter.org.uk
© Writer4Business 2011

Branded Vans and Cars – have you missed the human element?

There is a small van, its owner lives in a street close to me. This means every month or so I am dismayed to see it appear in my rear view mirror. Dismayed as its image becomes larger and larger until it fills the mirror, the van being now very close to me. This is while I am driving the maximum legal speed for the area – 30 mph.

A year or so ago the breakdown service Green Flag published the results of a survey on dangerous driving. Ironically it declared that tailgating – driving perilously close to the car in front – was voted as the most dangerous driving practise. Why ironic? Because that van that habitually tailgates is covered with Green Cross branding.

Irrational or not this certainly puts me off ever using Green Flag's services.

This is not isolated – whenever I see poor driving using a car or van with bodywork promoting some brand, then I immediately feel hostile towards that brand. For instance when I used to drive back from a particular job, often at some point of the 30 mile run I was overtaken by two
Ford Civil Engineering vans who were obviously each other; driving (to my mind) in a reckless manner. Surely it would be better to find these lunatics unbranded cars?

So, do businesses make any kind of check of driving attitude and ability before handing over the keys of a branded vehicle?  Do they ever follow up by checking how well it is actually being driven? Does it even occur to them that poor driving in their vehicles might be making making a poor impression?

Or is it just me who is bothered?

www.technicalwriter.org.uk
© Writer4Business 2011

Who’s Seasons (thoughts on season names for Doctor Who)

The second part of this year’s season of Doctor Who started today.

Now few would argues that 2011 contains one season, split into two parts, rather than two discrete seasons. But what do we call the season?

Officially, the BBC calls it Series 2 – the second season following Matt’s Smith’s debut in 2010, which was Series 1.

As an aside here I do not like calling a season Series x – as I see it the series is the programme as a whole, split into seasons, which usually comprise of each year’s output (or production block if you like).

But to confuse things, when Doctor Who returned in 2005, the Christopher Eccleston months were also called Series 1. This numbering went on to David Tennant’s final Series 4 (this last series included the 13 programmes in 2008, and the five special episodes that concluded on January 1 2010).

The BBC decided to restart with Matt Smith’s debut with another Series 1 to mark the start of a new production team as well as new Doctor. Despite this listing magazines tend to exercise common sense and call the 2011 run Series 6.

Steven Moffat, the current showrunner for Doctor Who acknowledged the confusion, and tried to help by referring to the 2010 run as ‘Series Fnarg’. So today we watched Series Fnarg+1, or more accurately Fnarg+1B.

Myself being a long term fan cares not for all this. My solution is simple – We are currently watching Season 32 (or 32B in you will) – Season 1 having started in 1963 on the day after Kennedy was assassinated. Now there is another story.

© Writer4Business 2011

Shall we take a charabanc to the aerodrome?

Not according to new editions of the Collins Pocket Dictionary.

A dozen words have been declared as obsolete, and as such are being removed from future editions of the Collins Pocket Dictionary. This is partly to make room for new words entering the English language, we can reveal in this blog.

These dozen words will not disappear forever – you will still be able to find them preserved in larger editions of the dictionary – included for “historical interest”.

Of course, who says Collins has the authority to decide what words are in and what are out? That debate is far outside the scope of this blog, otherwise we could be here until I become a subject for alienism.

It does seem heartrending, though, that a wonderful word like charabanc may no longer be officially be regarded as part of everyday English. It seems so comforting, like jam roly-poly and custard.

And Aerodrome – seems such an apt phrase for airfields too small to be fully regarded as airports. If I owned a small aircraft facility, I would far rather it be an aerodrome than airfield or airstrip.

So, those twelve newly obsolete words in full:

Charabanc – an aircraft landing area typically smaller than an airport.

Alienism – the study and treatment of mental illness.

Charabanc – a motor coach for days out or sightseeing.

Cyclogiro – a particular aircraft that never really took off.

Drysalter – a dealer in certain chemical substances such as dyes and gums.

Fun fur – items such as coats made from easily available furs such as rabbit.

Stauroscope – device for studying crystals under polarized light.

Succedaneum – something that can be used in place of another, such as a medical drug.

Supererogate – to do more than is required.

Wittol – A man who puts up with his wife’s unfaithfulness.

Woolfell – The skin of an animal such as a sheep with the fleece still attached.

Of the above, Microsoft Word 10 recognizes: alienism, fun fur, succedaneum, wittol and woolfell.

Get your free advertising on Radio4

Get your free advertising on Radio4

Yesterday (Sunday 21 August) I caught a few minutes of a documentary on Radio4 called ‘How to Write a Personal Statement’. It covers the importance of a personal statement when applying for university, and how a good one should demonstrate abilities and help win you a place.

At present it is still available to listen to on Iplayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b013fmcn

As luck would have it, I turned the wireless set on when personal statement writing services were discussed. Of course this means paying an agency to get someone to write your statement for you. The position of the documentary was that this is less than moral. After reading out a handy price list, they interviewed a spokesperson for such an agency. This spokesperson defended in the indefensible by mentioning that their ghost-written statements are merely examples intended to guide the student. Yeah, right.

But taking a step back, I am sure the agency is delighted how things went. Yes they were put in a bad light on Radio4, but disapproving listeners would not consider using them anyway. However I am sure there were a few listeners to the programme who will go on to take up their services, or pass on the agency’s name to someone who might.

You will of course have noticed that we are not using the agency’s name – they have had more than enough promotion.

Just to clarify, writing personal statements is not something we would do at http://www.technicalwriter.org.uk/ – because we are cursed with a moral compass (oh sometimes I wish we were free of it). We do proof read academic work, but the student must always issue us with the work to proofread/edit. We have been asked to write academic coursework on behalf of a student, but we refused.

Why do some businesses want to fail?

You have a specialist shop, or semi specialist – of the top of my mind I can think of a vacuum cleaner parts shop, a lock spares shop and my local post office.

They diligently open their doors 9-5 Monday to Friday. Then on Saturday they close early at twelve.

That so many bricks and mortar businesses do this I find it crazy. Many, many people work get to work well before 09:00 and home well after 17:00 Monday-Friday. That means that for them these ‘businesses’ are effectively open for three hours per week.

Put in a commitment (taking kids to sport) or – heavens above – a choice (I like to do housework Saturday morning) and it becomes a problem getting to the shop at all.

Why don’t these enterprises close for a half day, or even a full day during the working week, when those that can access it will generally have a lot more leeway to pop in at a different time or day?

I remember once needing a vacuum cleaner bag – I popped to a shop one Saturday afternoon – it had closed. I noted its opening times and returned a week later - half an hour before it was due to close. The owner had decided to close early anyway. Some businesses really do not deserve to survive.

I do make it a policy to try to avoid shops that practice this – I do not want to be put under pressure to try to access them during the tiny window that leave open for so many.