International Wheelchair Day

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disabled

Posted by on March 1, 2008 11:00 AM

YouÃ¢ÂÂre probably aware that today, 1st March, is St DavidÃ¢ÂÂs Day. But did you know that it is also International Wheelchair Day?

Well, it isnÃ¢ÂÂt officially. IÃ¢ÂÂve just decided to hold International Wheelchair Day on 1st March as there doesnÃ¢ÂÂt appear to be such a thing.

I donÃ¢ÂÂt suppose it will be marked much this year, but in my capacity as Managing Director of my not-for-profit business, The WheelchairSteve Organisation (www.wheelchairsteve.com), by this time next year, if I can get more people involved, then there may be a lot more to celebrate.

For this year, I would like you to consider what a wheelchair is and how it impacts on your life, particularly if you are in business.

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fi.fie.fo.fum

Posted by Ian Brown on March 1, 2008 10:53 PM

The innovators deserve the rewards. I was at the launch of the Society of Wildlife artists at the unusually named fi.fie.fo.fum in the Tyne Valley in Northumberland. These artists rarely display outside of London and the region is lucky to have this display on until 30th March. The wider point from the night is about innovation in farming....why are some farming families better at it?

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Technology priorities in construction

Posted by Judith on March 3, 2008 10:26 AM

Waterstons' Executive Consultant Alistair McLeod talks about how construction companies can use technology to drive change or gain a competitive advantage...

Traditionally the construction industry has had an indifferent approach to IT and while investment has risen in recent years, it is still low compared to the worldwide average. However, raising the budget is not the only answer and construction organisations need to place IT at the centre of the business strategy, enabling them to use technology more effectively to drive through improvements. IT Managers should have more involvement in defining and prioritising business strategy so they can bridge the gap between business requirements and technology. It is crucial that the IT investment is relevant and embodies the principles of both a strategically enabled and commodity-focused IT strategy.

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Awards season

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 4, 2008 10:10 AM

It may not have been as incident-filled as the Brit Awards - with Sharon Osborne berating a far-from-sober Vic Reeves and Amy Winehouse making her comeback from rehab - but last week's North East business awards were certainly entertaining.

Ok, so host Wendy Gibson may not have caused as much controversy as Ozzie's missus but her slick presenting skills coupled with hilarious gags from funnyman Nick Davies made for a cracking night all round.

One observation made by the Mancunian comic was how divided the North East is geographically. "The Tyne is hardly the Orinocco" he said to express his confusion at why Newcastle and Gateshead are separate cities.

He also brought up the true story of the Geordie granny who woke up with a Jamaican accent - remember her?

But away from the stage, down among the sea of tuxedos and black dresses, one thing that struck me was the sheer diversity of businesses on show - and this was just the Tyneside and Northumberland heat of the awards.

Alongside international industrial giants like Wellstream, there were drug discovery companies, a firm which makes hi-tech sensors and various nanotechnology groups.

We've certainly come a long way since the demise of our great industries under the Iron Lady's reign.

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Talking with the tax man

Posted by Katie Pringle on March 4, 2008 9:24 PM

Well actually she was a lady tax man but that didn't make her any less scary when she rang last week to 'question' our partnership tax return.

'There's no way this one will go through as it is' she states in cool business like tones.

'Oh really' I say, feeling the prickling of sweat on my upper lip. 'Why not?' I ask, knowing I'm going to need to write down the answer and the chances of there being a pen that works within reach of the phone looking as slim as me getting through this conversation without looking like I haven't got a clue.

'Because the figures in 3.24 and 3.25 should give you the figure in 3.26'.

'...yes' I answer, not having the foggiest clue what 3.2whatsits is and feeling too much of an inept pretender to ask for clarification. (I'm stood in my pajamas at this point and even though I know she can't see me, I feel like my just having got up is becoming clearer to her with every word that comes out of my mouth - and she does not approve. 'Tut tut' I hear her thinking, 'still in bed at 9.05 on a work day, no wonder the accounts aren't in order'.)

She continues '..and they don't.'

'They don't?'

'They don't.'

'Oh.' Balls.

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One lump or two?

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 6, 2008 1:06 PM

According to a radio phone-in I heard this morning, detectives make the best cup of tea. Apparently finding the perfect blend between tea, milk and sugar is a vital tool in coaxing a suspect into a confession and tea-making goes alongside clue-spotting as one of the key skills of the real life Dalziels (and Pascoes). But in other professions perhaps the importance of a hot milky brew is often overlooked. Take the example from Teesside we reported on this morning.
Up to 300 construction workers walked off site at Sabic after an alleged row over tea-making.
Staff downed tools after freezing conditions meant there was no water to boil a kettle. Perhaps this a lesson to bosses everywhere - never underestimate what a cuppa, or the lack of one, can do for staff morale.

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MPC hamstrung by inflation fears

Posted by on March 6, 2008 2:21 PM

Roger BootleÃ¢ÂÂs response to MarchÃ¢ÂÂs MPC meeting

TodayÃ¢ÂÂs decision by the Monetary Policy Committee to leave interest rates on hold at 5.25% shows how the CommitteeÃ¢ÂÂs inflation fears are limiting its ability to respond to the economic slowdown. While interest rates will be cut further, the slow pace at which they are falling will make the economic downturn that much sharper and that much longer. The result will eventually be even lower rates than otherwise. 4% is not a silly figure.

It has become clearer that the economy needs a further dose of policy medicine. With the Nationwide recording the fourth fall in house prices in as many months in February, the news on the housing market has worsened. And with many lenders now refusing to provide mortgages to borrowers without a deposit of 10%, further falls in house prices are on the cards.

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No rhyme, no reason?

Posted by Ian Brown on March 6, 2008 8:27 PM

Dear Defra

I've had to write you a letter because like 15% of farmers in the region you have not sent the payment that is due to us! Now before you hide behind the "we don't have to pay you before the 30th June" may I remind you it was the 8th of August last year....no interest yet!

You know the crazy thing about grant funding on farms - or indeed anything else - it is the risk of distortion of the market and the forces of capitalism taking advantage and not paying a fair price at the farmgate!

So what is the answer.....my wife has written Defra a poem, the friendly man at RPA asked if it was a nice poem....I looked at my metaphoric wellies and said I thought not!

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ASDA to impose fines for Blue Badge parking abuse

Posted by on March 10, 2008 6:00 AM

IÃ¢ÂÂm cautiously optimistic that Monday March 10th will be a very significant day for disabled motorists. After a successful trial at their supermarkets in Liverpool, ASDA are starting to roll out a programme nationally where they will fine drivers ÃÂ£60 for parking in disabled bays without a blue badge and also if they misuse parent and child bays.

This is great news for campaigners, primarily from the Mobilise organisation, who have been supported by the British Polio Fellowship and Disability Now magazine in their Baywatch campaign, which has monitored parking bay abuse in supermarkets. Sadly for many years, they have identified that as many as 1 in 5 bays are regularly occupied by non-badge holders.

IÃ¢ÂÂve heard the excuses myself; Ã¢ÂÂIÃ¢ÂÂll only be two minutesÃ¢Â?, they say, while others donÃ¢ÂÂt care less and are likely to give you verbal abuse.

I really hope this initiative works and that ASDA both keep the pressure on and also benefit commercially from their efforts, as this will then encourage the likes of Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons to follow suit.

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This is jam hot

Posted by Katie Pringle on March 10, 2008 7:33 PM

If there was a job interview for starting your own business, effective self promotion would be high on the list of 'essential' criteria.

You are a one man band and as such you have to get out there and bang your own drum.

Your best intrument is yourself (stick with me here), you know the most about your products, you believe in your business the most (well you should do or you're off to a bit of a non starter) and you've got to get out there and get other people, your potential customers, to believe in your products aswell.

There is no budget for marketing or PR. Let's face it guys, there isn't even a budget. What you can do you have to do for free, and sometimes the success of your business will live and die on how good you are at self-promotion. You can have the best idea, the best products, the best of everything but if you can't get out there and tell people about it then you haven't got the best business. In fact I'd be suprised if you've got a business at all.

Now I don't tell you this as someone who excels at self-promotion. Far from it, in fact when this lecture is being delivered I'm probably somewhere at the back of the class, middling through and finding every opportunity to self-promote a tortuous task to be endured rather than embraced. I'm way too British about it. The mistake I make is feeling like I am trying to sell myself instead of the product. And we all know British people are the very model of modesty. C minus - must try harder.

BUT, I do know how very very important it is. And I also recognise it in other people with envious eyes. They make it look so easy.

Tips for self-promotion?

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Well-baked success

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 12, 2008 9:21 AM

Last year, as one Geordie institution spiralled into crisis, another rose from the ashes to report record-breaking profits.

As vultures from the nation's press descended on the North East to pick over the bones of the Northern Rock crisis, snack giant Greggs was continuing its rapid recovery from a poor 2006, and yesterday the baker delivered a 27.1% increase in profits for 2007.

Last year I was lucky enough to go on a guided tour of the Greggs factory in Gosforth, which for a steak bake-addict like me was exciting to say the least.

Ok, so it wasn't exactly a savoury snack version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inhabited by little orange men and sausage roll trees, but it certainly was an eye-opener.

One thing that quickly became apparent from our guide was that the factory had changed very little over the years and the baking process remained similar to how it has always been. Stotties are still made the same way they have been for generations and cakes are still iced by hand.

But one thing that worries a pasty lover like me is for how long Greggs' well-baked success story can continue.

As the Government strives to nanny us into a healthy state by tackling obesity, alcohol problems and smoking-related diseases, how long before cakes and pasties are on the hit list?

Prices are already set to rise because of the growing cost of ingredients but within a few years, we could see pasties and cakes follow fuel and alcohol as goods that are taxed because they are bad for us or our environment.

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The Emotions of Being Disabled in South Shields

Posted by on March 12, 2008 11:10 AM

I like South Shields! It has a beautiful beach and long level promenade and pier, which for a wheelchair user like me is ideal. Much of the town is fairly flat too, as you move from the seafront towards the town centre. For other less mobile visitors, there is an excellent ShopMobility service, where you can hire scooters and much more besides.

Yesterday, I went for a Ã¢ÂÂsaunterÃ¢Â? to South Shields and I was emotionally disturbed by my visit!

I travelled by Metro and set off along Ocean Road, which earns its fame from its numerous restaurants.

One of the things that emotionally affects disabled people, and not necessarily just wheelchair users, is Ã¢ÂÂcan you access a buildingÃ¢Â??

If itÃ¢ÂÂs a restaurant and you may be staying there for couple of hours, Ã¢ÂÂdoes it have suitably accessible toilet facilities?Ã¢Â?

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Views to and from Lindisfarne

Posted by Ian Brown on March 12, 2008 10:40 PM

The Barn at Beal is open for business and I am impressed.....it has a view of Lindisfarne or if you prefer Holy Island that takes your breath away.
The second event I went to was last Sunday at St Mary's Church in Morpeth where the New Archdeacon of Lindisfarne was 'collated', licensed or if you prefer inaugurated.

The common theme is that the special landscape and visionary leaders can create one of the most special environments anywhere in the UK....and it is on our doorstep!!!!

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Communications in a global village

Posted by Judith on March 14, 2008 12:22 PM

Waterstons' managing director, Mike Waterston comments on the changing world of communications:

My varied experience in business over the past 30 years has seen a major transformation in peopleÃ¢ÂÂs ability to communicate, share ideas and learn from each other.

In the early eighties I was the technical manager of a large chemical enterprise with manufacturing sites in eight countries. We ran a very successful coordinated manufacturing development programme which in those days, before the cheap PC and email, required many telephone calls and a lot of travel to meetings where participants could compare and share ideas. Work duplication was rife and the process of shared learning was difficult and inefficient. The result was slow if steady progress and the overall exercise was relatively costly to run. I often reflect on how different things would have been if the same exercise had been carried out today with the current green agenda and with access to modern communications tools.

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Sporting Victories instead of Sporting Venues

Posted by on March 17, 2008 5:34 PM

Charitable fund raising activity has been high on the public agenda this weekend, as thousands of people have been raising money for Sports Relief. Having seen some of the videos, it is clearly a deserving cause.

However, events like this draw attention to the plight of many UK charities that are closing due to lack of grant funding. A lot of this is blamed on funds being directed towards the Olympic Games in 2012. If this is so, then things are surely going to get worse in the years ahead.

I was delighted to hear Sir Michael Parkinson suggest that the ÃÂ£12 billion pounds that the Government is spending on the Games would be better spent providing sporting facilities and coaching for the youth of today instead. He was being interviewed by Jonathon Ross in the Sports Relief show last Friday.

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Between Ourselves

Posted by Julian christopher on March 18, 2008 10:42 PM

The truly global nature of the modern media has been on clear display this month, with comments made to a Scottish journalist leading to the resignation of a high-profile figure in the race to be the Democratic candidate in this yearÃ¢ÂÂs US Presidential elections.

In an interview with The Scotsman newspaper http://www.scotsman.com/latestnews/Obama-aide-quits-after-making.3857275.jp, Samantha Power, a senior aide to Barak Obama, called Hilary Clinton Ã¢ÂÂa monsterÃ¢Â? Ã¢ÂÂ and then swiftly attempted to pull back by saying Ã¢ÂÂthat was off the recordÃ¢Â?

The journalist, Gerri Peev, quite understandably didnÃ¢ÂÂt agree that it was, having not previously agreed that anything in the interview was off limits, and published the comment as part of his article Ã¢ÂÂ and within a few political heartbeats, Ms Power was on her way, resigning with an apology to both her boss and his opponent.

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The future's bright

Posted by Andrew Mernin on March 19, 2008 9:24 AM

AS news that 2,000 Northern Rock workers will lose their jobs broke, almost every member of the region's business support network threw its name into the 'we can help' hat.

The announcement, which we've been fearing since last autumn, had barely hit the newsstands before One NorthEast launched its rapid response unit aimed at putting the Rock's redundant into work.

At the same time, the CBI revealed it had been meeting with a number of regional stakeholders to "find the best response" for the region.

Meanwhile various other pillars of business society came forward and gave their two cents on what's to be done to find work for the unlucky third of the Rock's North East team.

It looks as though the response team will tout former Rock employees to finance and other admistrative companies in and around Newcastle and there will certainly be no shortage of takers.

Apparently there are currently 1,100 jobs openings in our finance sector and this looks set to rise thanks to Newcastle Building Society, which will create 500 new jobs in the next few years.

But what I wonder is where does this leave the many recruitment agencies in the region? With the weight of government and business leaders focusing on absorbing 2,000 people into the job market, the middle man will effectively be cut out and agencies will be redundant as job openings which may have been on their books, are filled.

For Northern Rock employees - who have been exemplary in keeping their heads while all around them have lost theirs - the future may be uncertain.

But given the help at hand and our buoyant job market, there are positive signs and there could be a feeding frenzy among finance businesses looking to snap up the Rock's experienced, loyal staff.

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Don't believe the gripe

Posted by Ross Smith on March 20, 2008 5:40 PM

It's hard to believe that we've managed to do any business at all in recent days given the global financial meltdown that's engulfed us all.

Or so many national commentators would have us believe. The reality, however, is somewhat different.

There's always a risk in making comments of this sort that it starts to sound like Jim Callaghan asking "Crisis? What crisis?" while Britain suffered under the economic stagnation of the 1970s. Of course there is something quite serious going on in global financial markets.

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Yes Minister to yes minister....short week then?

Posted by Ian Brown on March 21, 2008 5:31 PM

As a self employed bod I'm less effected by poor bank holiday weather but I have to say even by my standards we've had a crazy week. Putting in 56 hours in 4 days and then working through the bank holiday comes with the territory - so why would I? Well,my energy comes from the fact that I'm doing good things with great people and I'm at the age where I can resolve most problems that come my way
So if you want to know which ministers I've been working with read on, needless to say I've been backing church and state this Easter Week

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Following the Leader

Posted by Ian Brown on March 30, 2008 9:30 AM

There is a long running method of giving mainly European money to communities called Leader indeed I have been involved with Leader I, Leader II, Leader + and the leader approach.Given they last over 5 years each I'm getting older.
Talking about my mid-life crisis I was interviewed in London for the second series of Alan Sugar's The Apprentice a few years ago and I am glad to say I failed to get short-listed - it is as close as you get to a certificate of sanity!!

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