Albert was a loved and proud man, gentle and caring, a good friend, a loving family man, honest, happy and hard-working. He was a leading part of the Spanish community in Sydney, hosting a Spanish music radio show. He is missed by his family and friends.

The Angels

And so they leave, it seems,

Without acknowledging the pain they leave behind

These scars that can’t be healed

This loss too great to bear

So many words left unsaid

Feeling stranded from the past that shaped our lives

Memories that cannot, now, be shared

Fears that may never see the light

And in our naiveté and hope,

We turn to thoughts of heaven, the comfort that, somehow,

They’re watching over,

Guiding thoughts and deeds

But the path is ours to choose

To nurture life to come, to return the love received

To be guided by the angels we have created,

To find our way back to those we have lost.

Timothy O’Sullivan

 Timothy O’Sullivan is no longer with us. He perished, with so many others, on 11^th September 2001. I did not know this man, but I have managed to find a few things that family and friends wrote about him and built a picture. I only hope it does him justice. What I write, I write because we must never forget. We must never forget conflict and hate, how little they achieve and how much they cost. We must never find them acceptable, but neither should we retaliate. Most of all, we must remember the people. The innocents, the lost, the loved, the left behind, the missing, the unknown – they all deserve our witness.

 Meet this man

Meet this man, this gentle giant, give him your time.

This man smiles and breathes warmth into those around him.

With stories of ‘bacon and point’, he can thrill a room with his humour

While making each feel like only they are there.

Meet this man, for he desires to know even the lowliest of men,

Respecting their value and understanding that we are all born equal.

The fellowship he nurtures, the loyalty he places

Standing eye to eye with an elephant, he sees only a friend.

Meet this man, his wife and his children

And the grandchildren he dreams of idolizing

He bathes his family in light and love, passes on his wisdom

Without expectation or hope, just the pleasure of sharing.

This man would break your heart, with no greater quality

Than the least among us, no lesser than our most revered.

He has faith in his God and doesn’t deny you yours

Meet this man. Look him in the eye and tell him what you believe.

Dedicated to Timothy, his life, his family, all the lives, all the families.

Timothy O'Sullivan

Timothy O’Sullivan

 Timothy O’Sullivan is no longer with us. He perished, with so many others, on 11^th September 2001. I did not know this man, but I have managed to find a few things that family and friends wrote about him and built a picture. I will publish my tribute on 11th September 2009, along with everyone else taking part. I only hope it does him justice. What I write, I write because we must never forget.

We must never forget conflict and hate, how little they achieve and how much they cost. We must never find them acceptable, but neither should we retaliate. Most of all, we must never forget the people. The innocents, the lost, the loved, the left behind, the missing, the unknown – they all deserve our witness.

If you would like to remember someone who died in 9/11, then please go to Project 2996 at http://project2996.wordpress.com/2009-participants/ and write a tribute so that those that were lost that day are not forgotten. Few countries in the world have escaped attrocities like this during their history. Let Project 2996 be a symbol for our collective remembrance.

Barry Harvey

The strategy is based on pioneering business theory that bank profitability is maximised by lending money to customers that can actually afford to pay it back. Kevin Brubaker, the Professor for Moneyology at the Institute for Studies has been credited with crafting the research.

In contrast to the stuffy “traditional” banking model whereby banks give money to feckless layabouts and junkies to piss up the wall on flat screen TVs, pokey flats in Clapham and holidays to Benidorm, Professor Brubaker has conclusively proved that giving money to those borrowers with jobs and business that provide regular cash flow and a proven record of repayment can boost repayments by up to 100%. “Put simply, the aim of banking should be to get back loans plus interest in order to make a profit” said Mr Brubaker at a recent conference, “I know it sounds radical but this crisis really means we need to re-evaluate the old order whereby banks made profits mainly from the taxpayer and look at banks actually funding bonus payouts through commercial activity”

The approach seems tentatively welcomed by the public. “He’s totally right, I mean you should see what happens round my way” said Gary, 23 of Islington, “the banks literally just spray tax money around. Northern Rock actually used to have a big cement mixer type truck. It would come round on Wednesdays. The men would politely knock on doors and ask if the owner was employed or had any assets. If they said no, they would shove a big pipe down their throat and start piping money. At first they would retch and protest but after the first few gallons of money went down they’d eagerly start sucking like a small squealing piglet on a teat and begin thinking about perhaps getting a little buy-to-let place in the Dordogne.”

The controversy over the new research continues as Barclays’ competitors feel the pressure to compete. LLoyds have announced the key strategic acquisition of a large hole in the Scottish Highlands where they plan to invest large amounts of money in a heap. Insider sources have been tipping that one of the other major banks is about to announce a new “money-bazooka”, based on military technology that can deliver a 125% mortgage directly to a benefits recipient at approximately 100 metres per second.

The government has responded with its’ usual incisive and astute appraisal of the situation. At a press conference, hurriedly convened after this news broke, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was heard to say ‘Er…well…’, before being rushed off to an emergency real ale summit in Burton-on –Trent, to try and reconcile some over-zealous riot policemen with a group of somewhat disgruntled peaceful protestors.

Alistair Darling summed up the government response by confirming that ‘(the cabinet) are completely behind Gordon – so much so that, hopefully, no-one can see us’.

A government spokesperson said later: ‘It’s no good if only the rich are spending money, because there are not so many of them – poor people must spend as well’. It is well known, in political circles, that both Labour and the Tories believe that the poor cannot be allowed to get richer as it would leave them with no-one to blame; for things like crime, unemployment and the over-use of Lycra in this country. ‘Its no good controlling how many kids poor people have or doing too much to encourage them back to work – their intrinsic poorness leads banks to throw money at them, so that they keep spending and fuel economic growth’, the spokesperson said.

Of course, this means continuing to build our economy on hot air and waffle, tying us into a never-ending boom-bust cycle, but as Gordon Brown said at a recent think-tank meeting: ‘…everyone knows that sustainable growth is unsustainable, long-term, but it must be our goal. These regular economic changes, along with other major incidents, like the odd war, create tension and excitement and encourage voters to change parties every so often’.

David Cameron is thought privately to agree with this notion. An inside source said: ‘…we need change: no party wants to be in power all the time. The periods in opposition provide respite and an opportunity to relax, make a few superficial changes and build new contacts to shaft the country with – you know; fiddling expenses and taking backhanders – once back in power. I mean’, he continued, ‘we wouldn’t want to be poor, would we?’

Meanwhile, the government is keen to talk to Mr Brubaker with a view to installing him as chief economic adviser to Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe’s new coalition government and will be giving his report a full appraisal to be headed by Lord Hutton, which should ensure it is never seen again.

Much of the zeitgeist of this time –the late seventies and early eighties – was centred around the fear of machines: the rise in computer use would bring about the paperless office; this technology would also advance to create robots that would reduce the workforce and leave us with more leisure time; and the ever present threat of, perhaps, the ultimate technological advancement – nuclear weapons.

In other words, machines were taking over first aspects of our work, then our jobs, and finally the world. Those that survived would have no record to tell them what to do, no skills to do it anyway and would be too fat and lazy to start again.

Of course, none of this has quite materialised (except the part about being too fat): We have email but are still felling too many trees; we have more money for leisure activity, but have less time to spend it– working some of the longest hours in Europe; and the nuclear threat has been replaced by that of extremist terrorism.

Nevertheless, technology has transformed our lives. With the advent of the internet and advances in telephonic communications, the world has become smaller and traditional ways of selling, working and communicating have changed, and are continuing to change, beyond recognition.

What is this blog – or post, tweet, update, comment, depending on where you are reading it? What would we have called it, twenty or thirty years ago? Is it a diary entry, a press release, an open letter, an essay? How could I have sent it to reach the thousands of people, worldwide, that potentially could be reading it now?

The truth is it can be whatever I want it to be: a means of getting something off my chest, as now; or of sharing information and advice; or as a sales tool. And even these divisions can be blurred. The thrust of this message is personal and yet the overall goal of my online marketing strategy is to increase awareness of my product and increase sales.

And this is a significant development. I can use my creativity to do something that, when I first started work, would be a sack-able offence, but is now part of a marketing plan. (I should have thought of this before. Look out for future articles and rants: ‘Should we allow afternoon naps in the workplace?’; ‘Lycra and the fuller figure: a fashion statement or just plain wrong?’; ‘Can brandy be taken with coffee in the morning for medicinal purposes?’)

Mind you, branding has never been just about the product. It is about communicating the values, ideals, choices and lifestyle that is representative of its target audience. So my blog isn’t that different. My personal messages still say something about me, my values and my personal integrity that reinforce my business image and the product or service that I am offering.

So the real change is simply the method of communication and the way it has made the world smaller by making a great portion of it more contactable.

When I started work, very few people worked from home – and then only in certain professions. Now anyone can and remote technology makes this achievable. A small business could work out of their back room, build a website, conduct an online marketing campaign and eschew all the traditional methods of operating.

They could hire in help and services only as and when they needed. They could be contactable in a way they couldn’t before. They can have a virtual office address, have someone answer their phones, have files and software stored remotely and build a business. The only bits of hardware needed would be a laptop and a mobile phone and they could not only work from home, but from almost anywhere in the world.

Technology has even changed the way we conduct a war. The pinpoint targeting in Iraq – not a great deal to be proud of, I realise – matched with the guerrilla tactics of our combatants have pulled away from the mass destruction threatened by nuclear weapons.

So we have at last made some headway toward a paperless environment, we still work (the current economic situation notwithstanding), but very differently and we still war, but again, very differently. So what is the new zeitgeist?

Well, I think it still has a lot to do with technology. How does it affect/educate/influence/limit our children? Does it bring people together or farther apart? Can it help with environmental issues like climate change and dwindling resources, for example to predict weather patterns and harness alternative energy sources. Does it interfere with personal security and privacy by making fraud easier and creating a surveillance society?

Are we inputting enough information into the internet to create a sentient being, a la Skynet? Who knows? Is technology taking over our lives? Possibly. Does it matter? Only if we forget who we are and what it is to be human. Surely, the most important thing is to maintain a sense of perspective and balance.

Something that had a profound effect on me as a young man did not materialise and, indeed, there are aspects of what I feared that I now exploit. It shows the irrationality of many of our fears. Most of us no longer fear lack of food and shelter, we fear death only in an abstract way, not in a ‘shit, there’s a sabre-tooth tiger, quick run’, kind of way. The seeming revolution we are going through is just part of our continuing social evolution. It will keep developing and what we worry about now will concern our children and our children’s children very little – they will have their own zeitgeist to play with.

Serviced office centres oft

 Shared Services

One of the features of serviced offices is that you are buying into an existing set up and sharing the costs with a number of other businesses.

If you take a conventional lease in a large office building, you will only be responsible for your own space. This means that your provisions for utilities, maintenance, cleaning, refuse, telecoms, broadband, etc. will be a special purchase on a small scale.

In a serviced office, the space you are paying for is part of a much larger space – at the Executive Centre, for example, we are talking about a six storey office building of around 20,000 square feet. Therefore, you benefit from the cost savings the landlord has made on the building as a whole.

Shared Resources

Another feature of a business centre is that you have one central resource for reception and telephone answering. Several businesses will be using this resource (not just within the building, but also via the virtual office facilities usually offered), which means this cost is shared.

The first benefit here is that you need less staff, which saves on labour costs, but also means you need less space, which saves on your rental costs.

The second is to be able to use this resource for admin needs, like typing, presentation documents, photocopying, laminating, binding, translation, etc. Again this reduces staff costs, but also means you don’t need to invest capital in expensive equipment, like photocopiers, data projectors, etc. You pay only for the services you need, as and when you need them.

Ingoing/outgoing

A conventional lease involves major capital expenditure in solicitors’ fees, furniture, telecoms and broadband infrastructure and equipment. These assets are then depreciating all the time. At the end of the lease, dilapidations will need to be paid for to make good the space you occupied.

This outlay is not required for serviced offices. All this is provided as part of your rental. The licence is simple and does not require a solicitor and there are no dilapidations – unless you invited the Rolling Stones in for a party on your last night! You have a simple monthly payment that covers all the investment that has been made by someone else.

Time savings

How many people, if honest, realise the amount of time that organising business premises will take up? Dealing with the lease negotiations, organising utilities and all the other office services, then having to deal with health and safety, maintenance and repair, cleaning, etc. takes time.

This time costs money – either because you need more staff or because the business owner is spending too much time in, and not on, the business.

In a serviced office, this facilities management role is taken care of by the business centre team. This is how we know we can save you the time and money you need to spend on your business.

BRACE raises money for research into Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. It doesn’t run care homes, doesn’t give grants to individuals, and doesn’t get involved with other kinds of illness.

 In short, BRACE is not about palliative care, but about the hope that we will prevent, alleviate, control and finally cure these terrible illnesses of the brain. It’s also about the determination that has to proceed and endure any fight.

 There are over 100 different kinds of dementia, of which the best known and most common is Alzheimer’s. Indeed, “Alzheimer’s” is increasingly used as a synonym for dementia in common parlance. Other types include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and fronto-temporal dementia.

 Dementia is a physical illness of the brain, but the human experience of it is loss of memory and ability to cope, destruction of personality and loss of relationship. It is more common than is generally realised, affecting 1 in 50 people aged 65-70 and as many as 1 in 5 over 80. It is truly a profound form of suffering. That is why a charity that provides hope is essential.

 When we say “hope” we don’t mean the sort of hope you have when you can’t face the facts or when you think you might win £10 million on the Lottery. Our hope is based on solid scientific research, built up painstakingly over decades and already providing benefits to patients through improved treatment. There is not yet a cure, but it’s not pie in the sky to suggest that we will find one.

 Scientists have done a lot to identify the causes of dementia and have developed treatments that help to slow down its onset. The scientists supported by BRACE are variously looking at:

• dietary and genetic factors that are contributory causes of dementia,
• substances in the brain that cause the disease or can be used to fight it,
• ways in which the disease process can be detected early by examining a wide range of brain functions in addition to memory,
• and the impact on quality of life of both patients and carers as the disease progresses.

 However, it is not just scientists who can fight back. Thousands of people have raised money, given donations or legacies, or helped BRACE by volunteering and raising awareness. Anyone who can give some money or some time can be part of the fight against dementia. There are enough ways to support us to ensure that there is something for everyone who wants to help.

 Help us bring hope. Help us beat dementia.

If you think you can help, then get in touch with BRACE at www.alzheimers-brace.org

What about when you are trying to concentrate, but the phone won’t stop ringing – wouldn’t it be great if you could filter out all those sales calls?

If you find yourself thinking like this then you either need more staff, less work, an eddie in the space-time conitnuum* or a virtual office. Telephone answering, prestigious business mailing address, meeting rooms, business support services: most serviced office centres offer these services monthly and in some cases even weekly – for example to cover holiday periods.

You can have a local number or set up a transfer from your existing number. If preferred, you can have a national lo-cost or premium rate number. Incoming calls are answered professionally in your company name and dealt with according to your instructions. If you tell the centre that you are not recruiting and not looking to switch telecoms provider, then 50% of your sales calls will stop in an instant.

These type of services have been brought about by the continued development of technology: virtual private networks where you rent server space for your files and software for your documents (what we know as cloud computing); the ever-expanding world of online networking, from LinkedIn to Facebook, Twitter to Ecademy; one of the apps on LinkedIn is it’s huddle workspaces; while mailbox addresses have been around for years, now you can have a professional, credible address anywhere in the country, indeed anywhere in the world, with a telephone number to match.

All these applications are part of the virtual world that closes distances and creates opportunities for our businesses and the way we work. So, if you hadn’t thought about it before, have alook at how a virtual office could help you.

For further information: www.bca.uk.com www.Regus.co.uk www.executivecentrebristol.co.uk

*Excerpt from Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams:

“Eddies,” said Ford, “in the space-time continuum.”
“Ah,” nodded Arthur, “is he. Is he.”

I have felt for a long time that collaborative marketing is the way forward. Though, we needn’t confine ourselves to marketing. What about purchasing, lobbying, etc? And not just with allied businesses, but with competitors also.

Years ago, when I was working in advertising, I had the mad idea that all the agencies should get together to market their services outside Bristol, in order to attract more business into the city, rather than constantly fighting for a bigger slice of the same pie.

If businesses share a similar customer base or philosophy or product/service then there are ways that they can work together, share resources and increase the value of the money they spend. Whether simply reciprocating ads and/or testimonials on websites, cross referring business or pitching together in a tender or creating a combined advertising campaign, the benefits will be greater than the sum of the individual input.
Take the executive centre. Our business is serviced and virtual offices. We house businesses large and small, providing a wide range of services, and we look to help them by giving them access to our network of help, advice and recommended partners. Our clients and business partners then look for ways to reciprocate.
Another example might be a surveyor, architect, builder and commercial interior designer getting together to sell a combined service. There are lots of instances where it already happens naturally. Wedding venues, for example, will have certain photographers, florists, dj’s, etc that they use and/or recommend which is reciprocated by the suppliers.

While this idea takes a lot of work – to ensure the message is right, standards and ethos are similar and there is trust between all parties – the rewards should reflect the effort. So, come on. Let’s work together!

Apart from all the hard work leading up tp the event, we worked about 16 hours or more Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so we are still recovering. We served 70 people a three course meal and then gave them a show of song and dance and comedy – all in a village hall. But everyone enjoyed it and had a good evening. I will post the exact amount raised once we know.

We could not have done this without a huge amount of help and support so a big hug and ‘thank you’ to everyone. Would we do it again? Ask me one on sport…