Sunday, September 30, 2007

Viewpoint Business goes "live".

London, UK


Please click on the widget on your left to listen to the first edition of Viewpoint Business.

You'll hear two interviews. One with Geoff Burch, the internationally renowned business-speaker, the other is with Stanley Davis. Stanley is Chairman of the Stanley Davis Group

Brought to you by Graham Jones and me, this regular radio programme does what it says on the tin:

"The regular radio programme to help your business world improve by listening to the best from the world of business".

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Mighty Margate

Whether my non-appearance had an effect or not, I was delighted to see that Robin Trott's Blue & White army has progressed to the next round of the FA Cup. 0-2 and 1-3 down away at Fisher Athletic the boys in blue won 4-3.

Mash up your Facebook

London, UK

Graham Jones has written another "we a really ought to think about this" post. This time the subject is social media. Just how many of you are on Facebook, You Tube, MySpace? I guess many of you have all three or more. Graham's post is all about who we post to, about or even Poke! He writes.......

At first sight, the fact that you are widely connected in this way may seem a good thing. But research from the University of California hints that this might not be such a good idea after all. It seems that when we are in a group to help us achieve things, by creative thought for instance, we think we are doing well if we are familiar with the group members. If, however, we enter into new, unfamiliar groups, it actually increases our creative behaviours.
I'll explore Facebook in more depth from now on.


Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Friday, September 28, 2007

Yugoslavia 1992 Euro Football Champs Qualifying Campaign

Who knows what could have been at the 1992 Euro Championships?

Thursday, September 27, 2007

You make your own luck........................

London, UK

..................so they say. Whoever they are.

For as long as I can remember, I always seem to win raffle or tombola prizes. Tonight's victory was a meal for two at a well known restaurant in the vicinity.







Lucky Jeremy!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Bruno Medici - Wedding, Function & Event Photographer

London, UK

In my travels, I come in to contact with many interesting people. Today was no exception. A pleasant hour was spent chatting with Bruno Medici the well-known, London-based, wedding photographer.

His web-site is here

He can be contacted on 01923 253 933

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Have you seen the "Reading Bastard"?

That headline will confuse the hell out of my US and Canadian readers!

I was, of course, referring to a personalised number-plate. This was seen earlier today very near the Madejeski Stadium

On a Porsche

BA51ARD

One of the best I've ever seen. Ranks alongside Fiona Richmond's "FU 2".

Bias at the BBC?

Just been sent this article from Alan Caruba of Anxiety Center

No wonder many are calling for the end of the Licence Fee

Monday, September 24, 2007

Monday Morning Humour

My esteemed colleague and fellow good chap, Lord Marks of Swiss Cottage, writes that the Raffles Hotel (where yours truly had three excellent nights some years ago) is about to have a baby brother in Dubai. Known as the Dubai Raffles, it opens it's doors to the public next month.

The big question is - will they be serving a Dubai Ding, instead of a Singapore Sling?









Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Marcel Marceau, son of Holocaust victim, dies........

PARIS - Marcel Marceau, the master of mime who transformed silence into poetry with lithe gestures and pliant facial expressions that spoke to generations of young and old, has died. He was 84.

Wearing white face paint, soft shoes and a battered hat topped with a red flower, Marceau breathed new life into an art that dates to ancient Greece. He played out the human comedy through his alter-ego Bip without ever uttering a word.

A French Jew, Marceau escaped deportation to a Nazi death camp during the Second World War, unlike his father who died in Auschwitz. Marceau worked with the French Resistance to protect Jewish children, and later used the memories of his own life to feed his art.

His biggest inspiration was Charlie Chaplin. In turn, Marceau inspired countless young performers - Michael Jackson borrowed his famous "moonwalk" from a Marceau sketch, "Walking Against the Wind."

Marceau's former assistant Emmanuel Vacca said on French radio that the peformer died Saturday in Paris, but gave no details.

In one of Marceau's most poignant and philosophical acts, "Youth, Maturity, Old Age, Death," Marceau wordlessly showed the passing of an entire life in just minutes.

He took his art to stages across the world, performing in Asia, Europe and the United States, his "second country," where he first performed in 1955 and returned every two years. He performed for Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Tireless, Marceau took his art to Cuba for the first time in September 2005.

"France loses one of its most eminent ambassadors," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement. Prime Minister Francois Fillon praised Marceau as "the master" with the rare gift of "being able to communicate with each and everyone beyond the barriers of language."

The son of a butcher, the mime was born Marcel Mangel on March 22, 1923, in Strasbourg, France. His father Charles, a baritone with a love of song, introduced his son to the world of music and theatre at an early age. The boy was captivated by the silent film stars of the era: Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Marx brothers.

When the Nazis marched into eastern France, he fled with family members to the southwest and changed his last name to Marceau to hide his Jewish origins.

With his brother Alain, Marceau became active in the French Resistance, altering children's identity cards by changing birth dates to trick the Nazis into thinking they were too young to be deported. Because he spoke English, he was recruited to be a liaison officer with general George Patton's army.

His father was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944.

"Yes, I cried for him," Marceau said. But he said he also thought of the others killed.

"Among those kids was maybe an Einstein, a Mozart, somebody who (would have) found a cancer drug," he told reporters in 2000. "That is why we have a great responsibility. Let us love one another."

Some of Marceau's later work reflected the sombre experiences. Even the character Bip, who chased butterflies in his debut, took on the grand themes of humanity.

Marcel's life as a performer began with the liberation of Paris from the Nazis. He enrolled in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art, studying with the renowned mime Etienne Decroux.

As he aged, Marceau kept performing, never losing the agility that made him famous.

A perforated ulcer nearly killed Marceau in the Soviet Union in December 1985. He was rushed home to Paris in critical condition, but bounced back to the stage five months later.

On top of his Legion of Honour and his countless honorary degrees, he was invited to be a United Nations goodwill ambassador for a 2002 conference on ageing.

"If you stop at all when you are 70 or 80, you cannot go on," he said in 2003. "You have to keep working."

Marceau was married three times and had four children. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.


Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Thoughts for the week ahead

Try this lot!


Why, Why, Why

do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what colour bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those insects get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping trolley then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

And my FAVORITE......
The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Political site of the week

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Election Night Special

With specualtion that the "Great Gordo" may call an election for the end of October, you may find this rather funny.

Monty Python 1974.

Excellent stuff


Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Just a gentle reminder

Donate today!

See this

The M1 Roadworks near Luton

....appear to be coming to an end. Looks like the West Midlands will be reached, once again, in 55 minutes (on a good day of course!)

(The section from Junction 6a to 11 is being widened to 4 lanes in each direction. April 2008 is the completion date)







Jeremy Jacobs - Presenter/Speaker

Monday, September 17, 2007

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Gun Crime

Open House weekend didn't just include well known Central London buildings. My local police station at Golders Green also opened it's doors to the public today. Amongst the items on view where a couple of police horses (bless!), vehicles from the 70's and a stand where one could see hand guns that had been confiscated from criminals. Replicas were alongside the real thing. I couldn't tell the difference and I don't suppose many of you would either. Inside you could get your fingerprints done (one for the conspiracy theorists) and look over the cells. Also on view, where photographs borrowed from the transport section at New Scotland Yard. Here's one:

Who remembers the Jaguar "S" type?


Cancer Charity Walk through London - UPDATE

About 800 or so hardy souls left the Guildhall (picture is from last years walk) and started to weave their way through London at exactly 10pm, Friday night. Regrettably, the route took us past a few bars where certain individuals (male druken idiots) thought it funny to burst the special green balloons with cigarettes. Others verbally abused some of the women, including an attractive American blonde lady I was walking with; this is just the thing Jennifer Jones describes in her wonderful blog - "How to tell if a guy is a Jerk"

After Smithfield and Clerkenwell, the route went along Gray's Inn Road and then Euston Road. The first drinks stop was at the Wellcome foundation building. This magnificent edifice, with many others, was open to the public this weekend. Three miles later, we reached Porchester Hall, then onto the Royal Geographical Society which is located in Kensington Gore. More drunken souls were seen outside the Natural History Museum. They had been at a ball for the London Fashion Week. You should have seen the state of some of them.

Of course, one meets up with loads of people. I'd like to thank the charming solicitor from St. Albans, Malcolm and Kim from Bishop's Stortford, the two girls from Doncaster and others far too numerous to mention. All of them added to the fun and and ambience of the night's walk.

Sandwiches were taken in Sloane Avenue - then a mad dash through SW1 to the London Eye. 33 minutes going round on that before crossing the Thames and getting wet in the fountains at Somerset House. A walk through the City of London, of which I am a Freeman, then followed before crossing London Bridge.

Awaiting on the other side is City Hall, the home of the Greater London Assembly and the political mayor of the Greater London area. A quick drink and a biscuit or two were gulped down before going across Tower Bridge and back to the Guildhall at about 4.15am. After an egg roll and a cup of hot coffee, the crowd dispersed. I popped down to Bank Underground station. It had just opened and I took the very first train back home - a "first" for me. Somewhat amusingly, the "score" at 5.40 am on the northern-bound platform of the Northern Line read:

Human Beings 1 Rats 2


If you would like to make a donation to Maggie's Centres, then please go here:


http://www.justgiving.com/jeremyjacobs

Friday, September 14, 2007

Charity Walk - Please support me!

A little later this evening, I shall be undertaking a 17 mile walk through central London on behalf of the cancer charity, Maggies Centres

The walk starts from the Guildhall in the City and our route will take in some London's magnificent buildings. As you may know, this weekend is "Open House" for many public buildings. (Golders Green Police station is open on Sunday!)

For those of you who would like to sponsor me, you can do so here

Many thanks.

Oh, don't forget, tomorrow, September 15th is Battle of Britain Day

Looking for a voice coach?

The try Simply Speaking. Run by Helen Sewell, who is a former BBC producer and presenter . Her top tips for vocal health are posted here.

She can be contacted through her website. Check out my "Linking" section on the left-hand side.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Jewish New Year - A time for reflection

Rosh Hashanah begins this evening. The Jewish New Year is a time to reflect on one's thoughts and deeds in the past year. An e-mail I received this morning goes further:

* Are we better off now than last year?

* Did we spend our time and energy wisely?

* What difference did we make to people's lives?

* How is this year going to be different from all other years?

Now this would be great for a meme. Consequently, the following few have been asked to respond!

Ellee Seymour

Iain Dale

Raincoaster

Amanda Chapel

James Higham & all at BLOGPOWER

Theo Spark

Dr Simon Moores

Monday, September 10, 2007

Dame Anita Roddick & two-faced Broon

Dies of a brain haemorrhage. Story here.

Apparently our Prime Minister said:

Gordon Brown paid tribute to Dame Anita, calling her "one of the country's true pioneers" and an "inspiration" to businesswomen.

He said: "She campaigned for green issues for many years before it became fashionable to do so and inspired millions to the cause by bringing sustainable products to a mass market.

"She will be remembered not only as a great campaigner but also as a great entrepreneur."

As Chancellor and now as PM, he shows nothing but contempt for the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of individuals.


Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Financial markets - what next?

The Financial Times says the International Monetary Fund chief, Rodrigo de Rato, believes the current instability in financial markets might be healthy in long term.

He suggested that trust needs to be restored in the financial system in his interview with John Thornhill of FT Video

What's your view about this? Will the mortgage rate in the UK rise once more along with a slowing down of the US economy?

"Grow your own dope, plant a David Cameron"

A wonderful comment left by "Ranger 1640" at A Tangled Web. He/she was reviewing a post by editor, David Vance entitled "The Death of British Conservatism"

Do you sympathize with David Vance, or do you prefer a more "pink" and "green" style of Conservatism?

Best political blog post of the week........read on

From Devil's Kitchen. It's here in full and is about the ghastly Keith Vaz. You remember, he was at the centre of the Hinduja brothers scandal in 2001.

Keith Vaz: corrupt, hypocritical little turd*

Via The Briff, compare and contrast the contrasting opinions of corrupt MP, Keith Vaz, over the period of just one month.
Keith Vaz, in a letter to the Telegraph, July 30 2007:
"The EU Reform Treaty ("EU treaty published - but only in French", report, July 27) is fundamentally in British and European interests. There is no need for a referendum on a text that had been directed to abandon the constitutional concept, and meets British demands on foreign policy, tax and the judicial system".

Keith Vaz, in a letter to the Sun, August 31 2007:
"I believe in the European Union. And as a former Minister for Europe I believe the time has come for the Government to hold a referendum and decide once and for all Britain’s place is at the heart of Europe”.

A month is a long time in politics, it seems.

You're not wrong there, matey. It seems that, for the perfidious Vaz, it is long enough for him to entirely change his point of view...


* No, I am not calling him a turd because he is brown. I am calling him a turd because he is a fucking turd.

Labels: , ,

Goodie Bags

My lovely internet friend, Jennifer Jones, has launched a campaign to rid the world of plastic bags.

Details here












Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Saturday, September 08, 2007

England defeat Israel and other Saturday stuff

As expected England cruised past Israel in today's Euro 2008 qualification match at Wembley. Match report here

One of the speakers at my PSA Chapter meeting today was Rikki Arundel.
Rikki spoke about promoting oneself on the Internet and outlined some excellent tips for using various social sites such as Squidoo, Facebook and De.licio.us

Rikki also highlighted the importance of placing video on the social networking site of your choice and/or within your blog posts:



Barry Graham had the after lunch slot. He spoke for about an hour on his top 10 tips for business success. Barry is an excellent communicator and also pointed out the benefits of developing a portfolio for your business.

Finally, did you catch the last night of the proms on tv this evening?

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Facebook Ban (2)

Flipchart Fairytales has posted a beautiful post about the subject I raised last week.

Did you hear about this? Kent County Council have banned their *32000 employees from using the social utility Facebook.

Employers are great at disciplining staff aren't they? If they spent as much time getting people to "buy-in" to the culture (I know it isn't easy in the public sector) of their organization, valued them more their staff just might do a better and more committed job. Perhaps then they wouldn't feel the need to spend time at Facebook or going outside for a fag.

This sort of thing is so typical of British management. Minimalist, narrow-minded, old-fashioned and unnecessary.


*32, 000 - what do they all do?


He goes a little further and is quite scathing in his attack on the corporates.







Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Cyclists in London

I reckon that one in two don't bother with lights. Presumably, they have a death wish, or is it just another manifestation of the "I don't give a damn" society we live in?

One of these days, I'm certain I'll kill one of them.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Overheard Lines

A "Blog" of note, according to Blogger.

What do you think? Check it out here








Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Monday, September 03, 2007

Wordpress banned in Turkey

Just seen this at Raincoaster. Here's her article in full.


steal this: don’t block the blog letter

Don’t block the blogHere is a really quite flawless letter that cjwriter wrote to the Turkish Ambassador to Australia regarding the recent banning of all Wordpress.com blogs in Turkey (and, indirectly, Albania, because Albania gets much of its internet access from Turkey). I suggest, as he suggests, that you copy and adapt the text and send it to the Turkish embassy in your own country. Judyb12 has supplied an abbreviated list of them:

Turkish Embassy: USA
Turkish Embassy: UK
Turkish Embassy: Australia
Turkish Embassy: Canada

RE: Freedom of Speech

Dear Mr __________,

My name is __________. I live in ______ and I’m writing to you regarding an action a Turkish court has taken that is of great concern to me.

On August 17th, 2007, the Turkish Fatih 2nd Civil Court of First Instance blocked access to the Wordpress.com domain. The ban on Wordpress, a blogging platform hosting some 1.3 million blogs, was a response to a suit filed by lawyers for Adnan Oktar alleging that defamatory statements had been made about their client by several blogs on Wordpress.com.

The ban has resulted in all blogs hosted by Wordpress.com being made inaccessible to Turkey. I feel very strongly that this is an overreaction. I am a blogger on Wordpress; I have done nothing wrong, but my readership is being impacted.

Even more serious is the fact that there are many innocent Turkish bloggers on Wordpress.com who now cannot access their blogs or are being forced to use other means to access them. It is a violation of their free speech and that of readers from all over the world.

Please understand, this is not about whether Adnan Oktar was slandered, or about the Turkish legal system; I respect your country, as I hope you respect mine. But it has gone beyond that. Now it is about innocent Turkish bloggers being forced into silence, and countless others being denied the freedom to be read. The court could have ordered that the offending blogs and any subsequent offenders be blocked, but instead ordered the complete ban of Wordpress.com. It’s the equivalent of closing a library because of a single offending book, rather than just removing the book itself.

Many websites and blogs on both Wordpress.com and on other platforms are initiating campaigns in support of Turkish bloggers, and I am writing to you to express my concern, and to ask that the Turkish authorities reconsider their position.

Yours sincerely,

____________.

Ursula Andress

When I was about 7, she was my pin-up!

Ursula is now 70.
















Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Marks & Spencer, GAP and Mothercare in the dock.....

over paying slave labour wages to "sweatshop" workers in developing countries. So claims Karen McVeigh in today's Guardian newspaper.

"Two of Britain's major high street retailers launched inquiries last night into allegations that factory workers who make their clothes in India are being paid as little as 13p per hour for a 48-hour week, wages so low the workers claim they sometimes have to rely on government food parcels.

Primark, the UK's second biggest clothing retailer, and the Mothercare, the mother and baby shop, were responding to a Guardian investigation into the pay and conditions of workers in Bangalore, India, who supply several high-profile UK and US fashion brands".

13p an hour is pretty awful. The article continues.......

The investigation, which follows our report in July in which Primark, Asda and Tesco were accused of breaching international labour standards in Bangladesh, has uncovered a catalogue of allegations of Dickensian pay and conditions in factories owned by exporters who supply clothes to the UK. India's largest ready-made clothing exporter, Gokaldas Export, which supplies brands including Marks & Spencer, Mothercare and H&M, confirmed that wages paid to garment workers were as low as £1.13 for a nine-hour day. This fails to meet their basic needs, according to factory workers and Indian unions and so falls below the minimum international labour standards promised by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), a code of conduct which sets out basic rights for employees across the supply chain. Marks & Spencer is a member of the ETI, as are Mothercare, Gap and Primark.

Garment workers for factories owned by exporters who supply to Gap, Matalan and Primark, told the Guardian they were paid similar wages and regularly forced to work overtime of between six and 18 hours per week. The ETI code states that workers shall not regularly be required to work more than 48 hours per week, that overtime should be voluntary and that it should not exceed 12 hours per week..................................

Employees of factories owned by exporters who supply Gap and Matalan claimed they were often made to work extra hours without pay to meet unattainable production targets.

One worker, a tailor who makes clothes for Gap, told the Guardian she was dismissed after being off work for more than 15 days due to illness. Texport Overseas denies this.

John Hilary from War on Want (not them again), said: "Exploitation of workers in developing countries such as India is standard practice for British retailers right across the spectrum. This just underlines the urgent need for Gordon Brown to step in now and stop these abuses once and for all."

and what exactly is Gordon going to do about this do you suppose?



Jeremy Jacobs - Corporate Presenter