Victoria Plumb and low prices

A year or so ago it was impossible to watch half an hour of prime time TV without multiple adverts of Victoria Plumb.  We all know that adverts stating best value are often not entirely true but, in this case, the whole proposition seemed really geared around convenience, saving the middle man and so on […]

Internet access, its usage and mobile networks

Just a few days ago TV news mentioned how a couple of spots in East Anglia have the lowest internet connectivity in the region.  In some cases Internet access in provided at just a bit more than 1Mbps which makes it nearly impossible to operate for most of today’s services which exchange considerable amounts of […]

A nice first impression from the Pint Shop

In a country where most bars, pubs and restaurants are part of large organisations, often controlled by multiple levels of management and bean counters, I always admire those individuals who have the guts to open an independent business.  Management, quality control and procedures, typical of large chains, enable commoditisation of cooking and food serving; these […]

Yellow belts in networking

I have been practicing martial arts since 1978 so their practice is very much embedded in everything I do in my life; many martial arts use coloured belts as ranking system, in order to indicate seniority, and often experience/expertise within the school.  For many schools and styles the yellow belt indicates the level that students […]

Twenty years and counting

Sunday 9th February was the 20th anniversary of my arrival to the UK.  I remember it was a cold winter morning when I jumped in my car and drove for about 18 hours flat all the way to Hemel Hempstead. In that small town just North of London used to live a friend which offered […]