Meet six of The Staff Republic family and discover their pasts and passions! Here they've created all the collages, blogs and online content to show you why they're so good at what they do, and why people remember talking to them.
So whether you are made of ROCK!!! or marshmallow, there are some things in life that have a common denominator recognised by man and mouse alike. For those of you who think they have seen it all when it comes to be surprised and adorably cute, this will melt you….
Without further ado, on this glorious balmy summer evening I give you SURPRISE….......
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Posted on June 30, 2010
Now we all know that Robert Green gained notoriety last Saturday for all the wrong reasons but let’s not be too harsh on the man, have you seen these howlers:
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Posted on June 15, 2010
Well it’s been a busy few weeks with one promotional job or another, an Event Manger’s work is never done as they say!!!
So is this to be the summer we have all waited so patiently for, hot glorious sunshine, the type where we the great British actually take time preparing to sunbathe, safe in the knowledge that it won’t cloud over in 10mins. So instead of the usual ridiculous panic ridden strip followed by a 100m dash that even Usain Bolt would be proud of, to the nearest patch of doggy doo free grass!!, we can gracefully skip and dance, our bodies sun-kissed whatever we do…
I rather think it will be!!, so here we are with the World Cup upon us and our opening game as inspiring as our confidence in the weather, maybe Mr Green could look forward to some sponsorship and an advert for Anchor butter, something along the lines of “Butter Fingers strikes again!!” Or maybe “I Can’t Believe He’s not Better”, considering he made the opening line up!!
So I am patiently waiting to get my new phone the HTC Desire, I have been educated that if you wait for something you value it more, what they don’t realise in the world of mobile phones is that there is a reason why you should buy it asap and that is the longer you wait the less it’s worth!!! Hey it’s all character building stuff..
So working on some busy campaigns at the moment, as with all event managing if you have a great product a great message and a hard working team the public will always be inspired to listen and motivated to make changes in their lives, changes to what they purchase. It’s all down to conversation, you just can’t give out a leaflet and say thank-you, it would be like going to the cinema and watching the opening credits quickly followed by THE END!!!
Anyway I digress and as mentioned at the top our story continues down at Pantry Manor where love blossoms for the new Doctor Ryan with Nurse Val, but what’s this!!! His shy, conservative exterior hides an evil darkness that will descend on Badger’s Wood women folk, hoo hoo hoo ha ha ha ha ha hoo hoo hoo, ouch my throat!!!!
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Posted on June 15, 2010
Well, it’s that time of year again where I have to dig deep, sorry dig deeper into my pockets to find the money to cover my car insurance!!!
So whilst my internet journey took me to the very depths of price comparison websites, the twisted maze that seduces with promises of an even better deal on the face of it, only to slap your face with a wet kipper should you fall for the enticing initial premium, that of course omits essential parts of the cover that you really need!!
Since when did car insurance policies slide under the surgeons knife, dissected into neat little packages, so whilst the initial premium put to you seems both reasonable and competitive, on closer inspection reveal - Ahh!!, no courtesy car cover, no legal expenses cover, no NCD protection cover etc etc etc!!! . Many days later once these have all been added, you are handed a re-mortgage form in order to raise the necessary funds!!
Anyway, much frustration and venting later, a compromise was met, never needed that kidney anyway….
So to the lighter side of comparing the markets, found this out-take video from Compare the Meerkat which was very amusing, enjoy….....
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Posted on May 08, 2010
So I love my movies and this is one that has leapt out from under a stone!! Did’nt hear anything of it until just a couple of weeks ago and yet it is being pitched as a mighty beast of movie that is being hailed an “epic” already!!!
What makes this so much fun and ultimately so interesting to watch is that the main character is a mere mortal, a life transformed with the dream of being something more, so much more….
After a brutal ass-kicking on his first attempt our plucky hero through sheer determination and a lot of life-saving medical help becomes the urban knight in shining armour “Kick-Ass”.
It is at this point, if you hadn’t already realised that this film’s action is glued masterfully together with side-splitting comedy!!
I have just watched and thoroughly enjoyed Kick-Ass and you have to admit it stirs up a little adrenaline within you, thankfully most of us know where fiction meets fact!!
Humorous acknowledgments to Superman, Spiderman, Batman and the like are also expertly thrown into the mix, gently satirising the genre while at the same time paying tribute to what has gone before in the comic cannon.
Combine that with some hilarious interplay between D’Amico and his gang of hoods, and you’ve got some of the most smart, sophisticated and downright hilarious dialogue yet written for a superhero flick.
For that very reason, Kick-Ass is as good a superhero movie as has yet been made—storytelling of the very highest order, crafted by experts who know, love and treat the subject matter with the respect it deserves.
The result is utterly compelling from start-to-finish; an adaptation that perfectly captures the anarchic nature of the comic while at the same time eliciting unexpected emotions from a film about a crime-fighting kid in a wet-suit…… what are you waiting for the world needs you at a cinema near you!!!
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Posted on April 07, 2010
Late last year I was proud to manage a campaign with a fantastic team that was for the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (0800 917 2368 hey - still know the number off by heart!!!)
The team at COI have just put together an awesome video and it’s only fair that we share it with you. So let the actions speak louder than the words and please, pass on the message…...
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Posted on April 01, 2010
Just once every 20 Blogs a little self-indulgence is allowed, ok every 10 blogs, ahh come-on your killing me, is it that often…..... I need my therapist!!!!
So I have a little time off with my lovely wife and California beckons, in particular Los Angeles where our beautiful daughter lives with her talented husband, talented as he is a drummer in a band and boy does he spank those drums, I left with extreme motion sickness after one his gigs!!!
Now if you are going to La La land and more importantly you are me, then you have to pose…. and that means having a killer set of wheels ( it’s a guy thing!!) so a 4.6litre Mustang convertible left me shall be say aroused!!! A growl that was more impressive than if King Kong had a momentary lapse of concentration and suffered the embarrassment of flatulence, this was a head turner!!!
With our main base in LA, I quickly started plotting a variety of locations to travel to; The Hills, Sunset Boulevard, Las Vegas, New York, London……..!! Thankfully my wife was with the remind me of how ridiculous I was getting and we settled for San Diego and Las Vegas amongst other more local sites……, thank the USA that they don’t share our fuel prices!!!
So you have to admire the Americans when it comes to Customer Service, every place we visited, it’s that kind of attitiude I love to replicate when doing promotions in the UK, when your having fun, it’s contagious and this makes experiential marketing so much more rewarding as well. Involve your crowd in everything you do and they will in turn want to be involved in whatever you are promoting. The experience staying with them once you have moved on.
Living the Dream…......
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Posted on March 16, 2010
So just like most men I have a fascination for gadgets and technology, you have got to look to the future….right….just me then!!!
Let me show you another angle, ladies I know you like your fashion and as mentioned us guys we like our boy toys, if the world were a perfect place we could combine these desires!!!..... Wait a minute, we can!!!
This little beauty due for release later this year means that you can wear a bluetooth earpiece without either taking someone’s eye out with the boom microphone or suffering the sniggers of those who compare you to Robocop..( in which case the boom mic could come in useful I guess!!)
Ok, so here it is, it’s called the O.R.B, don’t ask me why!!, maybe it has something to do with the fact that it is actually a mini-transformer, and no, guys that doesn’t mean you get a complimentary mini Megan Foxy lady and girls no mini Shia n the Buff!!, It starts as a spherical Ring which you can wear on your finger and through a simple twist becomes an s-shaped earpiece, genius, and the spec is pretty impressive too. Good sound quality, waterproof, stylish - can be customised to match those shoes… The Orb has a flexible OLED that will display the caller information, calendar items, and voice-to-text information. So the next time you receive a ring, you can look at your ring. Oh lordy lord you have to admit how cool is that…. still just me, wow your a hard crowd to please..
Well the last fact is that you don’t have to mess around with it too much, as the Orb uses bone conduction technology. Some of you have not seen bone conduction before, but it is a way of transmitting sound directly into the brain through touch, sound a bit weird but hey got your attention finally!!
So if you like the look of it, keep your ears to the ground ( I know, no pun intended!!) and look out for this beauty in a few months, not too expensive either.
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Posted on February 17, 2010
II was made aware by a good friend of mine Steve Sheekey of a race that takes place every year for people who whilst not physically challenged are certainly mentally challenged!!, it’s called the “Tough Guy Race” and took place a few days ago in South Staffordshire, England….
The prerequisite that you sign a disclaimer form that simply states “It’s my own Blo*%y Fault I’m Here” really says it all….. however this did not stop 5000 complete lunatics throwing their sanity to the wind and surrendering their sensibilities to the mud underfoot!!
A race of extreme obstacles, this 8, yes EIGHT mile obstacle course has been called the “most dangerous taste of mental and physical pain.”
Competitors knew what to expect when they signed in. The course includes downhill sprints, muddy climbs and even wading through icy “bog” waters.
The event was founded in the 1980s by an ex-soldier who was worried that British men were losing their “manliness.” Though I think in that icy cold water, most of their manliness made a hasty retreat back into the depths of their pelvic girdles, faster than a sex change in it’s latter stages!!
So, here I am stood in the cold wind running a campaign for Organ Donation, suddenly feeling a lot cosier and warm. It would seem that sometimes it clearly is necessary to compare yourself to someone a lot worse off. You have to admire them and behold that there are now more women getting involved in the race, I guess there to show their manliness as well!!
Anyway, I have yet to hear back from my friend if he actually found the courage to enter this years event, I know that he was keen, it was a question of whether he would have enough time to train beforehand. Maybe he did and is still being hosed down after becoming so ingrained with dirt!!
The winner was Paul Jones, 40 years of age, 30 when he started the race!! And he claims the Prize which is full Bragging Rights when he returns to work, unquestionably the alpha-male, that is of course when his testaments come back out again later in the spring!!
Enjoy the video………
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Posted on February 02, 2010
Finally a tv series gets the very public recognition it deserves, which one I hear you cry (that being those who glanced nonchalantly over the title of the blog), well it’s Dexter.
I accept that some of you may not have heard of this tv drama from across the pond but this one is different, it has an accumulative thrill that grows with every episode, now I know that all good tv dramas have a plot that thickens with each twist and turn, however this one leaves you questioning whether the lead guy is either bad to the bone or acceptably / justifiably good!!!
How often is the good guy a serial killer!!. Now I like to start the day with thoughts of murdering a bowl of cornflakes, making me a “notorious cereal killer” in my neighbourhood, but hey this guy chops up people, bad people (like that is some kind of acceptable justice!! ), but still people. His angle to dangle that keeps him one step ahead of the electric chair is that he works for the Forensic Department with the Miami Police Department.
And…...so you see it starts to get interesting, because just how good is he and just how many steps ahead of the rest of the members of his Police Department is he!! At times you even feel for him, wanting him to get away with it, such is his gentle demeanor and the fact that all his victims are murderers themselves!!
Wow there are some pretty big bolders heading for the glass in this glasshouse of a drama!!
So to the recognition, Michael C Hall plays the part of Dexter and has finally won an award, a Golden Globe no less, this week. When you watch your first episode you see where I am coming from, this guy when in character has an approachable warmth combined with an almost retarded vacance to him that makes him appear completely harmless, you are drawn in by this, so much so that the moments of barbaric behaviour almost wash over you, it is really scary!!! I have read many blogs by the makers and they agree the intention was to get people to talk about topics like vigil-antis, good vs evil etc and boy they hit the nail on the head!!
So Dexter is in its fourth series now, so plenty to catch up on, you will not regret it..
This week and I make no connection with the above as it’s a serious campaign, I am managing a campaign for the NHS to get members of the public to sign up for Organ Donation. I know it sounds like a grisly link from above but did you know that you could save up to 9 lives when you pass on and that sadly 3 people a day die waiting for an organ!!
If you have been thinking about it and havn’t got round to it for one reason or another check out Organ Donor Registration or call the Organ Donor Line: 0300 123 23 23 for more information.
Well that’s it for this week, I will be out braving the cold and rain again tomorrow, saving lives with the NHS campaign. You see the thing about promotional work is that regardless of temporary discomforts like bad weather you are almost amongst your friends, working in a professional environment with the constant reward of enriching peoples lives, be it a information based campaign like this one or introducing members of the public to a new product just out. Every job is different with new information, a new product, a new environment all this giving you a creativity and excitement about your day, how cool is that…....
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Posted on January 20, 2010
Now there will always be those for whom intelligence eludes, the small minority who everyday are depriving a village of an idiot!!!
Couldn’t resist having a cheap laugh at the expense of a few mere mortals, who checked out of the hospital too early at birth, it’s an interesting way to rave about the new Sherlock Holmes movie, show you both ends of the spectrum so to speak!!
I was totally blown away by Guy Ritchie’s latest work, now I know that I obsess with films, but only the blockbusters…. Robert Downey Junior injects some spice and danger in Sherlock, for years we have seen the great detective with the curling Meerschaum pipe, the tweed cape and the ever-present deerstalker hat, not so any more dear Watson. This is a bare-knuckle fighting impresario who combines his unique intelligence with some kick-ass!! Dr Watson too finds himself in an entirely different modus operandum, throwing much of his heritage away all in the name of danger outside of the rules!!
So behold the Numpties…...
And then for those of us who know Sherlock Holmes to be one of the greatest detectives and not a housing project, the trailer for a a masterpiece of a movie, check it out….
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Posted on December 14, 2009
So here I am, suddenly reminded that mother nature clearly has the upper hand and boy does she spank hard sometimes!! I know and not a chequebook in sight!!
I am currently managing a campaign for the Central Office of Information, ( Government dept. BIS !!, need anymore coded info!! ), where myself and a small team are ploughing and seeding the beautiful land of this country with much needed information about the new Pay and Work Rights Helpline.
So geographically we find ourselves in Tom Jones’ Green Green Grassland of Wales last weekend, with a tune in our voices and an eeeeeerrrrnnnormous gale/storm plunging this part of Great Britain back into something biblically fantastical!! Of course the metereologically minded were having the time of their lives, flood warnings, excessive excitement on the weather reports on tv, exageration no longer being part of their vocabulary!!
Well, they were’nt wrong as I travelled back with my fellow workers in a van and trailer along the M4, negotiating the flyovers from Swansea ( and when I say flyovers I do quite literally mean something from the Wizard of Oz!!) and of course the tentatively and optimistically opened Severn Bridge!!
OMG, it bears repeating…. OHHHH MY GOOODDDD!!!, as I was driving across the said bridge, both the van and trailer were thrown into the next lane and there was nothing I could do as Mother Nature gave me a spanking!! , thankfully there were no other vehicles in that lane, but there was that moment where we all grabbed each others hands and said how much we loved each other!! , it was the stuff of Airplane the Movie!!
A clean set of underpants and a nervous larf later I regained my composure, reassured my passengers that they were in capable hands and the journey continued, all of us feeling that turning up the radio was the solution whenever there was a problem whilst driving!!
Wow, so there you have it, a moment whilst out spreading the good word of the Pay and Workers Rights Helpline of sheer white knuckle hysteria, overcome by quite obvious heroism by myself and my team, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the world of Showbusiness, it’s that the Show must go on and you gotta leave your audience Blown Away!!!!!!!
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Posted on November 19, 2009
Many years ago I served in the Royal Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller, my first posting being RAF Chivenor and this was the final phase of training for fighter pilots in the Hawk aircraft.
As this was a relatively small airfield we the Air Traffic Controllers had a great relationship with the trainer pilots, let’s say there was much banter!! Early each morning there would be a weather sortie carried out to determine the local area’s weather ( big surprise!!) but also the ranges, cloud cover, visibility, assesment of which training sorties could be carried out each day etc etc. Now the fantastic thing about knowing the pilots so well was that you could blag a Jolly ( free back seat flight ) when the pilots took the aircraft up for the hour to check out the local area. How amazing was that, to be able to fly at up to 550kts and 48000ft and acceleration that would make your eyes water was the bees knees!!
I was lucky enough to be able to fly 6 times in the back seat, briefly taking the stick on one occasion, so as to be able to show-off that I had very briefly taken control of a fighter jet, but that was it!!
Hats off indeed to the guys who fly these jets for a job both in combat and non combat missions.
Which brings me to a great story which has recently emerged, that finally the Red Arrows who coincidently fly the Hawk aircraft have just recruited their first female pilot. Flt Lt Kirsty Moore is her name and watch out for her at a show near you, girl power…..
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Posted on October 17, 2009
So here it is…, I have friends in very high places and when I say that I mean those who are over 8ft tall. He may be made of very soft material but give him a call and you won’t be disappointed….
All sounds very menacing does’nt it, not so , this is the campaign for the COI, promoting the Pay and Workers Rights Helpline
It’s a fantastic campaign, we have something really valuable to hand out, only a few days into the campaign and it has quickly become evident that many employees just don’t want to rock the boat and having a Powerful friend who can speak to their employer so that they don’t have to is the light at the end of the tunnel that for years was perceived to be the glint in the eye of their unreasonable employers.
So for the next 10 weeks we will be touring the length and breadth of the country spreading the word and the new Helpline which has just been set up, would seem rude not to mention it, so if you need any advice or assistance drop them a line 0800 917 2368.
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Posted on October 03, 2009
Throughout the summer I have been very lucky in that I worked on a campaign that toured all the great music festivals, V Fest, Reading, Bestival, White Air…., I know it was tough but I’m made of stronger stuff and saw it through!!!
Managing a large team, it was our job to give out confectionary whilst DJ’s played sets behind us and we encouraged people to have as much fun as possible, so you see for someone like me, it was clearly a case of having an “in case of emergency, break glass” set of restraints handy!!
Could this possibly get any better, could you possibly be any sicker with jealousy….... oh yes, here comes the money shot…....... The Weather was gorgeous, it was if the islands of Great Britain had somehow become lost in a meteorological fantasy, sunshine galore and much sunburn all round!!!
Well that’s it folks for this one, from a marketing and promotional angle this was one of those jobs that you have to have a good old fashioned wallow in the oasis of self-indulgence, here’s some of the wacky moments:
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Posted on September 18, 2009
In New York City…...........There Is A School…......Where Any Dream…......Is Possible….....!!!!!!!
Wow, as you watch the trailer, these are the words that are thrown, or should I say catapulted at you!! Now it’s either going to be one of those “Eye of the Tiger/ Rocky Balboa” moments or you are just going to larf your way off the back of the sofa!!
For me it initially started as the latter, though as the trailer continued I found myself quickly righted, with composure and drawn into a world where you suspend belief, where there is a reality beyond the walls that house you, but to you that reality is rigid, robotic and formulaic. You however want to sing and dance through life, as if you are a dolphin gliding through a shoal of unsuspecting fish!!
I’ve been there, New York City a few years ago, not the High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts but the wonderful American Academy of Dramatic Arts was my home and my family, a crazy bunch of guys and gals who all wanted to be stars!!
So it’s with affection that I trained my eyes on the trailer and of course with an objective mind watched what on the surface appeared to be a great remake of the original movie of the 80’s.
Saw it last week and was not disappointed, it’s well overdue, with a spate of dance movies of recent this one was the epicentre. Check it out ya all, it’s very refreshing:
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Posted on September 11, 2009
Twitter Ye Not !!!!, I thought I would resurrect Frankie Howard and bring him arphing and ooophing into my blogs!!
Well now, that was yesterday, but for today a Twitter virgin I may be, so Twiiter Ye May is where I am at today!!
Having spent the last few days being a slightly disturbing avid follower of some of the more popular Tweets, I feel that this is a community I am confortable with. There is the element of control, that is as long as you don’t tweet after partaking in activities that will leave you way past that signpost that introduced you to a little place called “Inebriation”. Lovely, idylic little village where all the properties are rose coloured, everyone is gorgeous and they all tell you they love you….....repeatedly!!!
Now what is good for someone like me is the marketing, a limit of 140 characters, this allows me to be brief and get still enjoy that release I hear so many talk of. Bearing in mind that I have enough hot air, that had Richard Branson approached me to fill his balloon, he would have successfully crossed the Atlantic, this is something of an adjustment, but a healthy one at that, its all about the tease.
So one that I found very popular was Snoop Dogg’s, there’s a whole new language being created there, words even Shakespeare would’nt have created, well maybe if he had visited that little village mentioned previously, but hey it’s definitely enlightning in small doses!!
I will reveal my Identity once I am up an running, not while my Twitter Cherry is dangling so precariously at this early stage.
This guy really needs to find Twitter, just so as to be littttttle more discreet!!!!
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Posted on August 13, 2009
Everyday, some might say almost religiously I stagger into the kitchen flick on the television and tune into Sky News, this allows me to journey comfortably from the Land of Nod to Reality, as my ears are gently massaged with a variety of news strokes…..
Imagine my horror when the unimpressionable, young, naive newsreader that is Charlotte Hawkins uttered an obscenity, all be it by accident, but a classic display of oral pottiness nonetheless!!! A shower of milk, rice crispies and exhaled air ensued, before me the breakfast bar scarred with masticated food ( get down cats!!, that’s not for you!) the air around me a dark shade of blue!!
Hiliarious really, don’t you just love it, these poor newsreaders going over the same stories every 15 mins, we could forgive them for being a little tired, all those early mornings!! And, then suddenly, your not just a newsreader anymore, oh no, now you are a Global Star on You-Tube, yeah, wonder how long it will be before one of the trusty editing staff will, ohh, crikey, a slip of the fingers, how did that get uploaded!!! Possibly!!
So it got me thinking, just how often does this happen, do they have a board with each presenter clambering for that Global recognition, all for the wrong reasons of course.
Well, here’s a few, starting with Charlotte’s, that’l make you larf:
And just because I am an absolute child:
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Posted on August 07, 2009
Just when you thought you had heard everything, along comes Reuters with this little story!! :
Cash-strapped Cuba says toilet paper running short
Cubans receive a subsidized food ration from the government each month that they say meets their needs for about two weeks.
President Raul Castro told the National Assembly last week that the government had cut its spending budget for the second time this year and has been renegotiating its debt and payments with foreign providers.
Cuba has long blamed the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against the island for many of its economic problems. It also said that last year’s hurricanes did $10 billion worth of damage that forced the government to spend heavily on imports of food and reconstruction products.
Castro, who replaced his ailing older brother Fidel Castro as president last year, also has complained that Cuba’s productivity is too low.
He has taken various steps to boost output, including putting more state-owned land in private hands and pushing for salaries to be based on productivity.
That’s the story but hey, do you not return to a time where Dinasours roamed the landscape if you run out of one of life’s essentials, TOILET PAPER!!!
So I’m guessing that it’s not that bad and this is a bit of bad publicity that will in turn generate more sales of newspaper that will in turn provide more paper ( at least of some sort!!) to families, so that they may IN TURN have ..........., well you get the jist of it. Now that’s clever marketing….
Ahh, after all that I see where the problem lies….
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Posted on July 31, 2009
Wow, well that was hard work, had to clear so much earth initially I thought I had hit oil at one point!!
The final job was to clear all the foliage around my deck as I have been told it’s the easiset way to make your deck look bigger!. , and it’s a sight to behold, even got adventurous and built a pergola above it, phew, there was no stopping me, well or so I thought!!!.......
There came a point where something inside me, that little voice that know’s it all, no, not my wife!!, one that says you better save some of that wood, have you seen…......THOSE CLOUDS!!!!!!!
Had we really gone back to biblical times, was this a calling, first Moses, then Evan Almighty!!, now DIY enthusiast Josh Connor….!!! Was the rest of the wood ordered really left over to build an Ark, were those clouds so thick that they could release a deluge of water that would last for 40 days and 40 nights, or had Josh simply had one too many glasses of lager that afternoon, blaming it on the need for refreshment and rehydration…...
Yes, I know you will clearly be very surprised, but yes it was the latter. I know, I can see the shock in your faces!! Certainly they were the meanest clouds I had ever seen, and meterolgically speaking ( not easy to say after those lagers!!) they were charging Goliaths and this David knew which way to turn!!, take cover…...
Blimey, did we ever see rainfall like that, I did’nt know whether ( I know bad choice of word!!) to run for it or swim for it….. Many, many, many hours later it finally stopped, only to be followed by even more days of rain, don’t you just love the Great British Summer!! As always at the beginning of the year heavily marketed as another scorcher!!
So maybe the Ark was’nt such a bad idea!!
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Posted on July 23, 2009
Boyz love Toyz and when it comes to this little beauty, it’s a major distraction!!!
Had to wait a painful, nail-biting, hair-extracting 3 weeks for the HTC Hero smartphone, counting each day as the big tease that is Orange, adjusted the release date 4 times, can you imagine the torture…...... Well, you kinda had to be there!!!
Those who drop to they over chaffed knees and pray to the god Iphone may have to change their religion in my view of course, I strongly feel that we have a gladiator in the room with the HTC Hero.
Iphone always won the applause largely due to their simple yet impressive interface, which allowed for multiple uploading of applications and the ease of use with so much information and technology effortlessly at your fingertips… That was then, this is now and there’s a new sharpshooter in town, and he/she’s a HERO.
As you will see from the footage, this has an unbelievable user interface that allows you to totally personalise all the screens available to you, all 7 of them!! Instant access to social sites, widgets replace applications and there’s a whole new world out there….
So they say a picture paints a thousand words, well feast your eyes on this…....
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Posted on July 16, 2009
Now, once, every so often a chick flick grabs my attention, a rom-com that is well acted, there is clear chemistry between the two leads and it really looks like everyone is having fun, both in the creating and the filming of. That film ladies and gentlemen is “The Proposal”..
It’s genius, Ryan Reynolds has definitely found his niche with rom-coms and it seems a perfect match with Sandra Bullock, as the two pull off a classic in my view. The very obvious vitreal that they regard each other with in the early stages and the chromatograpical reveal of their true colours as the story unfolds, how they have to give off to those around them a picture of undiluted love and to us the audience the continual reminder that this is painful!!!
This is just a short blog as I have the tendancy to go on and before you know it I’ve told you the ending!!! So I won’t mention that in the end the aliens come down and everyone is abducted…....Doohhh
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Posted on July 09, 2009
As work is a bit thin on the ground at the moment!!, I have turned my hand to some DIY around the house, more specifically around the outside of the house, “Decking”, it just has to be done with Summer nipping at your short-sleeve shirt tales!!
Man is never happier than when working with his hands, creating something, building something, working the soil beneath his feet!! O.M.G, well that may be the case normally but when a 30 degree heat turns soil into stone quicker than a Medusa with Attention Deficit Disorder, you’ve just gotta reach for a cold beer and indulge in a little more planning than initially intended!!
Many hours later!!, well you’ve gotta keep hydrated in this heat, I have managed to get my hands on what would best be described as a 5’ long crow-bar with a sharp point at one end, this is usually used for breaking up concrete, perfect, “let’s go to work”.
Ok, so blisters are for wimps, but at this rate I’m going to need skin grafts off my back-side for my hands, but determined as I am, I WILL shift this earth in preparation for the frame-work that will mark the Holy Grail of Decking!!
My concentration was disrupted by a little ripple of applause from some neighbours, the actor in me rising to the occasion to take a bow, only to realise that my once flexible vertebrae have now have decided to completely reverse the evolution process and return me to a time a few million years ago when walking on all fours was the accepted modus operandum. An embarrassing and pathetic nod of gratitude from my static, arched posture and it’s back to the grind!!
Hurrah!!!, it’s cleared….. I got my second wind and with the determination of a possessed mole, enough earth is shifted, tomorrow the framework goes down, and then the best bit laying the decking boards, well almost the best bit, which of course is enjoying a cold glass of white wine as the sun sets and my joints enter in the recovery phase!! You could call this field marketing of sort…
Well, of course there will be photos of the finished product when it’s all complete, just wanted to set the scene, nothing more enticing than a “TO BE CONTINUED”.
Here’s a pic of it so far:
Ha ha, as if, just wanted to impress you at this early stage, more to follow, like the boards I know you’ll be riveted…...
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Posted on July 02, 2009
Of course the other problem with all this lovely weather is that it brings out the Transformers and do they bother with factor 30 suncream, do they heck, it’s straight in there with the engine oil!!!
So, the curious and impatient child in me is counting down the days til I have enough pocket money to go and see Transformers 2 this Friday. After the first with it’s breathtaking special effects and excellent work by Mr Shia Labeouf and Miss Megan Fox, I was hooked. From all accounts Michael Bay has pushed the boundaries yet further with this second instalment and if it were not for the fact that I am located in a peaceful Starbucks, I would scream out loud!!! Ah what the hell…........, sorry luv, you’d almost finished it anyway!!!!
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Posted on June 24, 2009
Incredibly, has’nt it been warm and glorious this week, many people caught off-guard looking upwards at this strange spherical bright, yellow object suspended in the sky, I later learned on a news channel was indeed the sun!!!
As with the Great British tradition, sun creams are flung in the opposite direction as people strip themselves of their now uneccessary clothing, knowing that every minute counts in this country, you could get down to your last sock to be greeted by hailstones!!!
However the marketing guys for suncreams have apparently done their job this year with an increase in awareness of lets say the obvious dangers of skin cancer that people that people are all too ignorant of. I truly am a convert, practically marinating myself in the stuff, well they now tell me the sun ages me!!!, cant have that now…
So again we are led to believe that this will be another excellent summer, that is after the predictions for the last 2 years that were given by some guy called Noah who had an extremely large boat, even bigger than Roman Abranovich’s!!! I must be honest I have a feeling that this year could be the one, if wonderful summers are indeed cyclic then I’m pretty sure we’ve done a full 360 on this one.
On that note I will be dragging out my bicycle from the garage, propping it against the fence where I’m sure I will admire it from afar, admire it from afar and you guessed it admire it ........... Ah well, think of all the calories used in getting it out from the garage, a keen athlete me, just don’t know when to put the exercise regime away!!!
So for all of you, like me, who are feeling the pinch from this annoying economic slump, rejoice I feel there may be more than a glimmer of hope of a beautiful summer this year, Yeayyyyyy…......
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Posted on June 17, 2009
Its Monday afternnon and there is a distinct chill in the air, the sun dominantly rules the blue sky above me with what little cloud there is beating a cowardly retreat as if they had mutated into surrendering white flags, so warmth there was!, however the odd dramatic shiver accompanied me like a dark shadow…....
So the scene is set, before me the entrance to one of London’s plushest hotels and then forthwith through numerous over-polished grand doors and I am sat amongst 30 other eager spectators for a private screening of
“Drag Me to HELL”
. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen Sam Raimi is back doing what he does best, dramatic pause…. HORROR!! I am in the enviable position of being able to see the film 2 weeks before it is released and then post film, if we have’nt all perished, there will be the individual vox-pops by us the promotional people to camera, that will later be edited and used to promote the movie.
The lights go down and the film begins, though initially you can’t help but notice the 2 cameras with night-vision, trained on us for our every pathetic reaction. The distraction passes and quickly I am absorbed, this is how horror used to be, the thrilling crescendos of suspense that you try to predict the outcome of in your mind to avoid a big girly squeal, ahhppphhh, nah, did’nt see that one, there goes another shriek!!! Thankfully we are all bonded by this misfortune and as such smile at each other with muted relief and gratitude, only to be panicked back to the screen by the orchestral thump of the next scene.
Wow, 2 hours later and I have to say that I thorougly enjoyed the movie. In a few words what first springs to mind is the age old adage “Bad things happen to Good people”, I’ll tell you one thing, you’ll think twice before turning down that Lucky Heather next time it’s offered to you!!
Many would say that “Pigs would Fly” before a producer would ever go back to the old school of Horror filming making, but it appears that in this time of
“Swine Flew”
, Sam Raimi clearly has a flock of pigs at his studio…
Drag Me To Hell Vox Pop
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Posted on June 10, 2009
Oh how the responsibility of looking after cats, really isn’t a responsibility at all. What a life they have!!
Up early this morning, any planning of my day always starting with the essential feeding of the fur babies, their ritual thanks and their hasty dash upstairs to avoid detection and in so doing avoid being put outside for the day. So I think to myself , well there they are taking their daily sample and running off to blend into their surroundings to avoid detection, isn’t that so often the case with people, the memory of that sample fading post swallow!!
So what if I were to chat to the cats before I served up their meaty morsel, what if I held them for a while, salivating, anxiously listening to what I had to say, not knowing whether it was all going to be worth it, but with every waiting moment, with every change in voice pitch and tone, every movement of my arms it was becoming ever more exciting……. Finally heres the meal, they feel they know the full recipe and the origins of the meat, though they don’t even speak my language let alone spell experiential marketing!!
Will they remember me tomorrow for the free sample or for the experience they had.
Cats and People are they really so different.
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Posted on June 03, 2009
Has my train of thought pulled out of the station.
Here I am, finding myself complimenting the tube system of London. Now normally I am a conscientious driver, feeling that the cost of driving will always be outweighed by the sense of freedom enjoyed. Although I find myself when driving occasionally in traffic jams, I am able to outmanouevre these with TomTom.
So, back to the tube comment, yes what a joy, I was able to listen to music, plan ahead for the rest of my day and although it was particularly busy on the carriage what a joy to discreetly stare at people and gleen from them how they react to stimulus around them.
From this I could deposit even more ways to approach people into my promotional bank. When a new person arrived, each would react in a different way to his arrival, what was it they did that made us more receptive to them, or what made us dismissive.
Tell you what, I have a glass of what the former is drinking, the latter tastes too sour for me!
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Posted on May 27, 2009
Well the forecast was supposed to be gloomy today, isn’t it a lovely surprise when the sun continues to battle its way through the cloud, proudly proclaiming I am the champion!!
So often in this country the forecast is either biased towards a miserable windy,wet day so that if the sun comes out and stays out we are even more delighted.
Is it that we have become grateful sponges for the smokescreens that life throws at us and are willing to accept untruths if the day at some point blossoms with a ray of pleasant relief!! How about if I was to approach you and offer you something that was exactly what it said on the tin, I didn’t have to tell you that it was raining, to then win you over by giving you a quick blast of sunshine just as you were about to walk away!!
Let me win you over with some conversation, a message that is straight down the line, it will be exactly what it says on the tin and when you try what I am offering it wont be out the relief from …… it will be what you want.
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Posted on May 20, 2009
