Cooking?

I'm a huge fan of North African food, which means something a lot of people seem to really hate: meat with fruit! Why is pork and apple OK but lamb and apricots or prunes is frowned upon?

Other favourite cuisines are Mexican, Italian, Greek, French, Polish and Chinese. Of course I adore traditional British food, a roast with Yorkshire pud, parsnips and carrots  roasted with honey, toad in the hole, minted peas, really thick gravy and of course, really good bangers with mash. I also love Mountain food: tartiflette, steak hachet, raclette - any cheesy potato combination.
I don't do fish though. Anything that swims, I don't want to know. Who knows what it's been swimming in!

I don't cook though. Well I heat food and occasionally do a pasta dish with fresh filled pasta and a simple tomato passata.











I do however have a bit of a flair for taste combinations.
I recently got my mum, who is a great cook, to experiment a bit. She'd made some cherry shortbread biscuits which were lovely. I suggested she try them with mincemeat instead of cherries and they are now going to be part of our Xmas day.
Then I persuaded her to make apple pie with cardamoms, something she would normally only add to pears. We loved it.


I also like to really go mad and mix up things no one else would ever dream of. My favourite was minced beef with Cinzano.

If I had to choose one food that I love above all others it would be globe artichoke, boiled or steamed and served with unsalted butter. Heaven. (Don't bother with tinned or artichokes in brine. Total waste of delicious food!)

What flavours do you love to experiment with?

What do you read?

What do you read? Do you have preferred genres? 

Looking at my book shelves I have quite a lot of sword and sorcery, several sci fi (I recently got into Philip K Dick), lots of spy novels from Bond to Bourne and a variety of crime fiction. I also like Alexander McCall Smith's and Ian Banks's Scottish stories and humour; Pratchett, Fforde, Idle etc,.

I also have a lot of non-fiction. Some autobiographies - Jackie Chan, Billy Connolly and a dozen or so rock stars.   There are lots of reference books and a huge pile on esoteric subjects from space-time to the history of learning! 

What I don't have are any books written between 1700 and 1900 except Conan Doyle and Gothic novels. I also have no chick lit. 

How are your bookshelves weighted? 

Social media

I've just signed myself up to Google+. Since I already use Google email and Google Blogger to write this blog it seemed like a natural next step. So far though I'm not finding it quite as intuitive as I'd liked.

So if anyone has any tips or knows of good places to find advice please let me know in the comments below.

It drives me crazy

Are there everyday niggles that make you disproportionately angry?

The on that gets me yelling at inanimate objects on a fairly regular basis is a box of eighty matches that has a strike strip that gives out after about forty matches. My guess is that they are designed for eighty strikes but since no match ever lights first time those eighty strikes are up before the box is half empty.




I remember many a day as a kid where the loud and very rude words emanating from the kitchen or bathroom that were a clear indication that Dad was trying to do some plumbing!

What drives you to distraction that really could be walked away from in peace?

Music Formats

As a teenager I was obsessed with records. I am sure most of my pocket money went on buying albums, usually at the local Our Price store.

Once I was old enough to be allowed to go to London on my own I discovered a fantastic little store inside Kensington Market where I would spend hours just flicking through their vinyl trying to pick a couple of LPs to take home. I would wander round the whole market looking at shoes and coats, candles, scarves, models of dragons and wigs in neon colours, and I would often grab a jacket potato as well. But the majority of the time I was in that record shop.

I would also spend a couple of hours a week putting collections of songs on to cassette tapes.

Record sleeves even got books dedicated to them

Then at the end of my teens the Compact Disc began its rise to ubiquity. In a record shop rack they just don't flip in the same satisfying way, a rack would only stack them two or three deep because of that. The case art work was tiny compared to the twelve inch square glorious design you got with an LP. Album art designers (Storm Thorgerson, Roger Dean, Derek Riggs to name just three) would never have achieved such fame as CD artists.  The disc claimed to be unbreakable so there was never the same sense of care of and reverence as there was with a vinyl disc which could be ruined with a single scratch. As long as I still had a working turntable I was reluctant to replace my vinyl albums with CD versions.

CDs were easier to tape from though and I still have boxes of my compilations, and copies on tape for playing in the car.

At University I wrote a dissertation on competing music formats, describing the rise of CDs and going on to debate the relative merits of DAT (digital audio tape) and DCC (digital compact cassette)  - a debate similar to the VHS and Beta wars of a few years earlier, based as much on the access the patent owners had to recordings they could sell their formats with as the technical benefits of either.

At the end of the 90s I bought a MiniDisc machine and spent many a happy hour recording digital compilations from my CDs.

Unfortunately it was not a format that lasted and before long the MP3 took over. A music format with no physical substance at all. Artwork has to be viewed on a computer, there can be no reverence or fear of damage to something that has no form. Consequently record stores are fast disappearing or becoming game stores. My small collection of LPs, though, has become more valuable to me and I am increasingly reluctant to risk damaging them.

The march of progress moves steadily onward but those little  moments of pleasure that are gone forever are memories I cherish.

How is progress changing your world? Are you at the forefront of technological advances or do you cling to the old ways?

When and where writing happens

Hello and welcome to act two!

My good friend Maxi recently posed the question "Does a change of scene help your writing?" I wasn't sure how to answer, I don't tend to try it out. I like my cosy sitting room with a netbook perched on my knee.

Then last night, while in a hotel on a rare night away from home, my brain decided that it works best at 2am after the lights go out! I wasn't best pleased. Caffeine may have played a part as much as the location, since I have been decaf all the way for about five years but there was only full caffeine tea available yesterday.

Taking notes

So as I settled into the nice comfy pile of hotel pillows my mind decided it was the perfect time and place to start writing. It becomes a terrible dilemma. Do you turn on the light and jot down some notes, or dictate to a handy mobile phone? Or do you try to remember what the great idea is as you go to sleep? My mind decided it needed to make a note. Cue scramble for the unfamiliar light switch, a pen and paper and some notes in scrawl that would make a doctor blush. Off goes the light and settle back down. And another idea strikes. Another scramble and more scribbling. Settle down again, and guess what? After about six of these note making fumbles I gave up and made some hot chocolate - what a blessing hotel kettles are. Finally, at nearly 4am, I got to sleep.

I could have tried to sleep and hope I would remember, but I have made that mistake before. About a year ago, after some weeks of struggle, I was lying in bed when suddenly a MacGuffin sprang fully formed to my mind. I was so pleased that this straightforward solution answered so many story problems I was convinced it would still be there in the morning.

How wrong I was. I still can't remember what it was and that story has not progressed.

What I need in this age of technology, is a sound activated dictation machine that then prints out a perfect rendition of the words I speak. I think it can be done with a lot of cash but the cheaper options I have tried have let me down.

So last night I got four hours sleep. Not enough! But I do have about eight pages of notes that I might just be able to decipher and get a chapter or two out of!

Do you get midnight inspiration? Do you keep a pad by the bed? Or are you on the crest of the technology wave and downloading your thoughts direct to an implant in your hand?

New Diary, New Start

Many many years ago when I was a student, I bought myself an academic year diary running from July to July. Because every year my diary ends in July I have always replaced it in the middle of the year, rather than at the end.

Blank pages full of potential

It is nice to open up a new diary, full of blank pages to fill, full of potential. I also think it is actually quite nice to do it at this time of year as well, rather than in December when there is all the chaos of Christmas to deal with and when everyone is wondering what the New Year will bring. I think by June all that optimism and potential has been a bit squashed by the frenetic and relentless rush of life carrying on apace. 
Having a new diary now is a small moment of peace, taking stock and thinking and planning afresh. 
Do you have times that make you step back form life for a moment to think a bit clearly again?

Hamlet

The other day my mum happened to ask me "of all the Hamlets you've seen, which did you like best?"

Not an easy one to answer on the fly. So I thought I would try to answer it here instead. 

In roughly chronological order (I have had to look up dates as regrettably I've not got programmes for most of the performances):

Iain Glen in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Filmed in 1990 but I don't think I saw it until 1998. Not a full Hamlet as it is a play based on the two minor characters that are friends of Hamlet but end up betraying and then being betrayed by Hamlet. Although a comedy, Iain Glen plays Hamlet straight but with a lightness that lets the intelligence of the character shine through. It has become my all time favourite film and I recommend it every time I am asked about films. This is the first time I really felt I had to get to know the Dane better. 
Toby Stephens 2004, directed by Michael Boyd at the old theatre in Stratford Upon Avon (it's been rebuilt now and I really want to go). The ghost was quite extraordinary, being a broken down, anguished, hobbling man painted white with tremendous sound effects accompanying his every move. Toby Stephens is often cast as a man full of contempt borne of an instinctive sense of superiority. This Hamlet was all that, with an anger at the injustices he faces that was full of intensity. 
Ben Whishaw 2004, directed by Trevor Nunn at The Old Vic, London. This was a fairly extraordinary production in that Hamlet had an innocence and despair that I think other performances have not majored on, preferring to cast him as scheming and in some cases gleeful about his plotting. It was also the first I saw that was in a modern setting, though was not as sparely staged as the Toby Stephens version. At the time I thought it was marvellous but it has since been overshadowed by other performances.
Ed Stoppard in 2005, at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford. I was particularly keen to see this version, Ed being the son of Tom who wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It also featured Anita Dobson who is so far my favourite Gertrude, played as a belligerent, put upon wife who is sick of being told 'Gertrude, do not drink.' It shone a different light on her, a wife who is a chattel, who is not complicit in Claudius' machinations.
Kenneth Branagh on film filmed in 1996 but I think I saw it in 2007. I think this is a tour de force. It is the full four hours but really doesn't feel like it. The performances are all top notch from Derek Jacobi as Claudius to Billy Crystal as the gravedigger. The setting and costume is perfect and Branagh makes a dashing Prince in his black garb. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is unable to go to the theatre. Branagh, as with his other adaptations, has found a way to make the language sing, and there is not a single phrase that is difficult or awkward.
David Tennant (twice) in 2008, directed by Gregory Doran at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon and the dvd of the production. This was a very funny production, in modern dress, with some stand out moments such as a slightly drugged Hamlet bound to an office chair and rolled around the stage before his banishment. Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius made the old man forgetful and confused, his speech to Laertes about how to conduct himself fragmenting as his mind wanders. Patrick Stewart was also a memorable Claudius. The DVD is not filmed on the stage but in rooms of a stately home and works well.
Jude Law in 2009, directed by at the Wyndhams Theatre, London as part of the Donmar West End series that included: Derek Jacobi as Malvolio and the brilliant Ron Cook as Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, Judi Dench in Madame de Sade (which I didn't get to see), Kenneth Branagh as Ivanov which was a sublime piece of theatre. Unfortunately this Hamlet was very forgettable and I remember little except Law sitting in front of a wall for one of the soliloquys.
Michael Sheen in 2012, directed by Ian Rickson at The Young Vic in London. This was a very different staging, set in a 20th century asylum. The Young Vic is a brilliant space for a claustrophobic performance, and at times the whole room was plunged into pitch darkness. The clever use of a greatcoat to signify the ghost/Hamlet's madness and the stage being wholly removed to present a pit into which every one ends up dying were infinitely more memorable than most of the actors though. Sheen and Benedict Wong as Laertes being the stand outs. Claudius was quite oily and slick in public, the contrast to his private moments being very effective. I also took part in the pre show walk, wherein we entered the theatre from the back and walked through rooms set up as rooms of the asylum; the library, gym and others, peopled with members of the cast. This was rather subtle though and I am sure many people on the walk missed almost everything.
In the Michael Almereyda film of 2000, Ethan Hawke is a film student, allowing him to replay soliloquys to himself on his laptop. The setting is New York and many of the locations are ultra modern apartments. Claudius is head of Denmark Corp and the ghost is seen in CCTV footage. It is a much abbreviated text but is very stylish and innovative. Ethan Hawke is moody and petulant, perhaps befitting of a rich kid who wants for nothing in the modern world.


I haven't seen the Kevin Kline film version. I really want to see the Laurence Olivier and Richard Burton films. I am very envious of my dad who saw Peter O'Toole on stage in the 60s. I need to watch the BBC version from the early 80s as I am intrigued to see Patrick Stewart as a Claudius who is younger than Derek Jacobi as Hamlet. I would love to see it on stage at The Globe in London and I think Tobias Menzies would be fantastic in the role (he has done it in the past apparently).

All in all, I would absolutely recommend the Kenneth Branagh film to anyone, whether new to Shakespeare or a lifelong fan. Of the stage plays, it would be a toss up between Toby Stephens and David Tennant. I might go for the latter as so many of the other performances were so good, in particular Oliver Ford Davies.

Have you seen Hamlet? What are your memories of any you have seen?

Feet!

I've recently decided that the trouble I get with my feet when standing for a while can't possibly be a result of aging, I'm not that old, or of a lifetime of wearing heels as the pains are in the wrong places. So I plucked up the nerve to go to a specialist and have been told it is plantar fasciitis. It's not the best news but it does mean that with the right exercises, better shoes when I'm not in my heels and a few sessions of ultra sound therapy I could be back to boogying the nights away in no time.


I've also discovered Ian's Shoe Lacing Methods which have enabled me to customise the way I lace my trainers and boots to ease pressure in some places and improve the degree of tightening I can achieve with my weedy girlie hands. I would definitely recommend taking a look as I doubt there are very many people who have reviewed and analysed the way they tie their shoes since the age of about 6, and this fella has done all the research you could need!
 
(I do love it when I find someone who has really developed an interest and become and expert in something a bit esoteric, makes me feel like a proper Master Of None)


I would also recommend that if you are suffering form any kind of pain or impediment, get it checked out. Perhaps your deafness is caused by wax that can easily be removed, maybe your funny shaped mole would be better removed now than in a year when it's gone nasty, or perhaps your aching feet can be treated to allow you to enjoy what you love doing again. Don't put it off, see a doctor, pharmacist or high street chiropodist! Just go. Now!!!!!

Knit knacks for knit wits

I read a recent interview with Prince Charles (see footnote) in which he said "There are so many cases of people who have been pushed the wrong way by their parents - who've said 'you've got to do that' - and so they've gone into something else and ended up hating it, but then eventually come back round to doing the one thing they really want to express themselves in, and often it is a craft of one kind or another, whether it is stonemasonry or bricklaying or painting or calligraphy. I've noticed just how much reward it gives people...."
I know a lot of people who are very keen on crafting, from simple things that can be run up in a spare hour to major projects.
In the sure and certain belief that somewhere is a piece of information that can change a person's life, I am sharing a few of the crafts sites I know of and I hope that some of them might inspire a few people.
If you know of some good sites I've missed please tell me about them in the comments at the end of this post.

Knitting

The UK Handknitting Association provides free patterns and links to knitting groups.
Stitchlinks promotes the health benefits of knitting and has some free patterns
If you feel you have no one ot knit anything for, knit for Battersea cats and dogs home or various other charities need blankets or garments. 
Look for local groups that meet to knit and natter, find them in your local library, local free papers or online.

Cookery

Baking has really taken off on the telly. If you've been inspired to have a go try some of these.

• The Great British Bake Off.
• The Hairy Bikers.
• National Baking Week.
• And for the basics, try Delia's site. 

Sewing

Try a sewing class from Libertys.
Then have a go at some projects or join a stitching group. 

Beading

Maybe you would like to add beads to a project or make bead jewellery.

Paper crafts

Quilling is the art of making pictures from curled stands of paper.
But there are lots of other paper projects to choose from.

Woodwork

Woodworking requires a few more resources but can achieve some beautiful results. 

• UK Workshop
• Woodworking
• Woodworkers Institute

Other Traditional Skills

Lots of places offer short courses and longer apprenticeships in traditional skills.
The PSTA offers courses in traditional arts.
The Prince's Foundation has apprenticeships in traditional skills.
Or you could try willow weaving or sustainability skills.

General Craft Info

There are lots of sites dedicated to various crafts, try some of these

• Craftzine
• The Crafts Council
• The Guardian's Craft section
• Start UK - sustainable living including upcycling and recipes
• Cut Out And Keep, lots of craft projects in a variety of media
• Love Maxi's craft and cooking blog
• Craft Juice
• Mini Eco crafts

Selling your work

If you're ready to sell your crafts you might want to try Folksy for selling in the UK.
Or Etsy the US site has a Europe section.
If you prefer face to face sales, try finding a market stall.


N.B. - make sure you're not selling something made from a copyrighted design.

____________________________________________________________

What craft sites would you recommend?

www.good-housekeeping-magazine.co.uk/ June 2012 pg 39

TV Detectives

I'm a sucker for TV detective and police shows. CSI, NCIS, Lewis, Midsomer Murders; you name it I watch it if there is a mystery to solve.

One I've recently taken a liking to is Castle, in which the 'ruggedly good looking' man from Firefly follows a New York police detective and helps to solve murders with her.

But back up a minute! Mystery writer.... solves murders. Isn't that Jessica Fletcher!

As it happens I love Murder, She Wrote as well. 

Another blog

I've been away working a new blog, one that will explore the search for work that holds meaning and is a constructive part of work life balance.

This will mean different things to different people. Perhaps a job is just a means to an end, work that funds the rest of a person's life, or perhaps it will be fundamental to to a person's sense of self and their life plan. Perhaps what they fill their days with has to add meaning and value to their existence.

The blog will also investigate some of the possible ways to hunt for a new job and the resources available for careers advice.

If you, or someone you know, are going through a job hunt or looking at career change, or if you would like to write a guest post on your experience, or if you have some great advice to offer please pop over to http://notthe9to5.blogspot.co.uk/

It's William Shakespeare's Birthday

As you know, I believe William Shakespeare to be the true author of the plays that bear his name. April 23rd is the day widely celebrated as his birthday and is also the anniversary of his death. Our most celebrated writer, born and died on our patron saint's day, he could hardly have written a better plot.

People have described him as an Elizabethan psychiatrist because of his incredible insights into the human condition. However I suspect that he wasn't a lone genius uncovering the subtleties of human emotion. I see him as one man in a troupe of actors, frequenting the pubs of London and performing for the grand houses of England. I am sure he would have seen and heard all sorts of stories unfolding in front of him or being retold over a jar of ale. He was just fortunate to be able to access these stories with actors who helped to reinterpret them for him to write down. As we see from the numerous versions of Hamlet we still have today, many of his plays were redrafted and honed, and since we don't have anything in his own hand, perhaps they were never really perfected or completed in his mind.

We should just be grateful to have what has survived, and grateful that Hemmings and Condell decided to publish his work posthumously. As almost anyone who has an appreciation for Shakespeare has said before, every reading and performance brings out something new. You can't get tired of Shakespeare.

Happy Birthday, Will.


For more info see  www.HappyBirthdayShakespeare.com .


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Technology

When I was a kid I felt quite technologically advanced as my parents both worked in the computer industry when it was still fairly new. Now though I feel a bit left behind. My telephone has many times more processing power than the room sized computers my dad used to install, complete with air cooling, cranes and tapes. It has functions that I am sure those early computer pioneers could never have dreamed of.
I understand that kids today take computers and technology for granted and learn to use everything as easily as they learned to walk. I feel somewhat baffled. I appreciate that something like a personal assistant on the phone is an incredibly complex piece of software but I can't really workout what I would use it for, or what it can do that I can't.
I also think there is an extent to which heavy reliance on technology reduces the scope of a person. If I ask this personal assistant to do everything what is there for me to do? Like taking photographs. I used to have a lovely 35mm SLR camera that I would carefully clean and adjust all the settings to make sure I captured beautiful pictures. Now I drag my phone out of my pocket and take a quick pic that I can then fiddle with using automatic filters all included in the phone.
I have also read that Google are launching glasses with a HUD (heads up display) integrated into them, so you can find maps, take photos, even buy things online just by tipping your head.
There is a film called eXistenz in which players of a game are physically connected into it, reality becomes very confused with the in game world. I wonder if that is our future.

Do you feel lucky?

What is luck? A benevolent Lady who watches over you or a cruel whim of the gods?
Some people you say you make your own luck.
That's great for a person who is breezing through life, happy, healthy, successful and popular. How nice to think you are the sole architect of your good fortune. How confidence boosting to believe you are that great.
But consider someone equally smart with similar opportunities who has had a string of bad luck, made redundant though no fault of their own, a recurring health issue, friends who moved away, no success with applying for a new job simply because of the high level of competition. Are they responsible for the misery that seems to have befallen them? To say you make your own luck suggests you make your own bad luck too. But if you are suffering a series of chance happenings that work against you, how would you feel to be told you made your own luck? Not so good, and hearing that over and over from those successful people who don't know what bad luck is, might just make you feel worse about yourself, erode your confidence and spiral into a spate of worse situations.

Luck is just chance. A string of good luck is very healthy, a string of bad luck needs to be seen as what is it, chance. And chance says that previous events can't influence the future. Your luck just might change.

Take note

Do you find you have lots of scraps of paper with little bits of information on them?
Are your desk, bag, wallet and pockets full of reminders?
Spreadsheet! Open up a new spread sheet, on your computer or on your smartphone.
Have a page for websites you want to visit - mark them off when you have looked at them, a page for books to read, one for people you want to look up, one for places to have days out at etc.

Save paper, save reminders and save your sanity.

Losing weight

Losing weight is notoriously difficult. People are constantly struggling with diets and exercise plans and looking for miracle cures.
I think one of the reasons that it is such a struggle is that it is a huge commitment. You have to commit to work on it every day for what can be a considerable period of time. If it has taken four years for you to pile on a couple of extra stone (28 lbs, 11kilos) then you can expect to take a couple of years to lose it, and that's if you work hard.
You also have to be committed every day, committed to reducing your intake of inappropriate foods, committed to burning a few more calories. That takes awareness, mindfulness and focus.
Anyone who is for any reason a little below their best, whether it be a physical health problem, a mental health problem or simply a period of emotional stress or difficulty, will find it that much harder to make that daily commitment.
As well as the daily commitment there is the long term commitment, the decision to work at it over a long period of time. Anyone who is below par may find it hard to think in terms of the long game.
And then there are the days when the willpower fails, the commitment is lost or something just goes wrong. Anyone not in tip top condition may find it hard to pick themselves back up and get back on track. They may berate themselves as a failure, feel guilt at letting themselves down, feel despairing of their ability to reach their targets and may spiral back into the bad habits that got themselves where they started. Even if they do get back on track, they may find they have to work a little harder to make up for the slip up.
So next time someone you know tell you they are trying to lose weight, be supportive and positive, and be prepared to support them over a long period of time.

Have a look at this blog for more on this,

Reading

A place in Berkshire.
But seriously, I do love to read. it's a lot easier than writing.
You may already have spotted my reading list at the bottom left of this blog.
I try to read a book a week but sometimes Time just gets away from me.
You might have spotted that one particular book has stayed in the Currently Reading slot and not been moved to the Previous Reads list. That book is quite a tough on for me, I dip into from time to time and read a few pages but it makes me sad. It describes my dream job and I find it quite hard to read as I have not achieved that career path.
Other books are quick easy reads, ideal for the train journey into London. I have a book reader on my smart phone and have recently enjoyed my first PG Wodehouse tale.
Then there are the BIG reads, books that you can immerse yourself in for weeks. I personally am a fan of fantasy like JRR Tolkien. It's a huge genre with plenty of authors and a variety of styles, settings and stories.  I have never managed to get into Austen or Dickens, but I do like a good detective or mystery story.
It doesn't really matter what your tastes in reading matter are, but I do think that reading is a very healthy past time, exercise for the mind that can be done anywhere at anytime.

Time flies

How is that one minute it's Monday morning, the next thing you know it's Friday night?
"Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity." Einstein.

Web privacy

Both Google and Facebook are making changes to the way they work that enable them to gather more information about you so that they can personalise advertising that appears on your screen and thus make themselves more money.
Both are free services so you are under no obligation to stick with them but you can make certain changes to protect yourself.

Change you Google settings to remove the details of your web history. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/320137

Read this article about the Facebook timeline so you understand the changes. https://www.facebook.com/notes/daniel-b-lancaster/the-timeline-faq-why-timeline-cant-be-removed-and-what-you-can-do-to-protest-it/390360994314464

Be web savvy, be web safe.

Health

It seems at the moment that I spend half my time in a hospital of some sort or another. Visiting relatives, having appointments of my own and having a pet as an in patient at the vet.
In all the human hospitals I've been overwhelmed by the temperature! I understand that convalescing patients need to be warm but the corridors don't need to be set to 'roast' surely? I would think that having public, non-clinical areas so warm might actually harbour bugs rather then be helpful and it must cost a fortune to heat hallways that are mainly used by visitors who have just come in from the cold so are all wrapped up anyway!
And the NHS needs to save more money than I can count!
I wonder if anyone who has the power to make decisions ever actually walks down these corridors?

Trust or respect

Apologies first, for the hiatus over Xmas. I trust you enjoyed yourselves. Hopefully normal service will resume now.

I had a conversation recently with someone that triggered a train of thought about respect.
I believe that you have to earn trust, you don't tell your darkest secrets to someone you just met, even if they are your doctor or lawyer, you need to build up a degree of trust first. However I believe that you should start from a position of mutual respect with everyone you meet, including at the checkout, in a queue, among friends and in virtual meetings. Both parties should be able to expect that they will be treated politely, kindly and as an intelligent being with rights from the get go.

I wonder if this is something lacking in society as a whole? Might it be the reason that we seem to have seen so many acts of wanton disrespect in the news over the last year?

Perhaps we need to start to instil respect in every meeting and encourage others to do so as well.