View from the Potting Shed

Some people think that to be effective, to be successful, to be helpful you must always do the right thing, or say the right thing. But what is the right thing?
Sometimes the right thing is just to be there for someone.
Our presence matters. We are good news to one another when we hang out […]

The recent changes to how the Royal Mail charges for delivery of letters is actually quite simple, now that I’ve got used to it.
Letters are now separated into three bands:

Letter240 x 165 mm (x 5mm max. thickness)max weight: 100g
Large Letter353 x 250 mm (x 25mm max. thickness)max weight: 750g
Packet> 353mm long or > 250mm wide […]

I take a quick break to share this news with you.
UK workers hit lowest point ‘at 2.16pm’
Its official - the post-lunchtime slump strikes at precisely 2.16pm, according to new research.
A study of 2,000 people identified this as the time when the nation hits its lowest ebb. On average, the respondents had least enthusiasm for doing […]

Choosing colour schemes for your website design … or publication … or hair-and-nails combination … or whatever … isn’t always an easy task.
However, there are some clever colour-boffins out there who’ve created cunning tools to help you get the best out of colour combinations. Sadly, most of them are American and can’t spell the […]

A few months back I got an email from the management team for the Open European Mahjong Championship looking for a team of British players to participate in this year’s championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The competition runs from Thursday 21 - Sunday 24 June 2007, with an optional pre-tournament sightseeing tour from Monday 18 - Thursday […]

A couple of weeks ago I listened to a really interesting article on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme about a new book by psychologist Oliver James called Affluenza: The All-consuming Epidemic.
Synopsis
They were asking can you be successful and stay sane? The book, seemingly, suggests not. Here’s a synopsis of the book:
There is currently […]

For some time my friend Mike has been requesting a photograph on my blog of me when I had long hair. I had long hair on two occasions during my life.
The first time
The first time was around 1990 during my first year at the University of St Andrews; a fine academic institution, if […]