A short post this week as I am going on a march - no the title isn't some business guru's idea of moving your business forward.
Today the EDL have decided to march through my home town of Middlesbrough spreading hatred and poison. As a proud Teessider and Boro lad I'm really not happy with this.
I'm going on my first political march for many years and it is in opposition to the EDL and here's a few reasons why:
I am an atheist, my friends are Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikh, of no faith, Pastafarians and probably of some faiths that I have missed out as I don't really care what faith my friends are.
I am a socialist (not as strange as it may seem for a business owner), my friends are anarchist, communist, socialist, liberal, green and there's even a good few conservatives in there. PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE NO FASCISTS IN MY CIRCLE OF FRIENDS AND NEVER WILL BE.
I'm sick of groups like the EDL, Britain First and other fascists conning the unaware into liking them with "support for our troops" posts etc. My father was in the RAF in WW2. He fought fascism then and these groups follow the very people he fought against and dishonour forces personnel with their sham support.
My home town has great potential to thrive based on its people, and its people are a diverse group of races, religions, beliefs and countries of birth. My home town welcomes all who want to be part of a history that started with primarily foreign-owned industry built on the labour of people from around the globe. The people of Middlesbrough are many and varied and that is one of our great strengths.
Today I will honour someone no longer with us who was a veteran of WW2. He fought Hitler in a uniform and Moseley's fascists out of it on the streets of Teesside. The least I could do to honour my father's memory and that of all WW2 veterans is to oppose fascism on the street's of Middlesbrough today. So that's where I'm going now
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Saturday, 21 June 2014
Challenge and Response
No I'm not talking about authentication systems, one for you geeks there, but challenges that pop in business and how you deal with them.
I've got my new optimistic head on permanently these days and am working very hard to change my typical response to any setback (or opportunity). Those of you who have known me for a long time know that the typical me would be a very quick and rather impolite response to any setback. I've read a few books on businesses/personal improvement which talk about the process as:
I've got my new optimistic head on permanently these days and am working very hard to change my typical response to any setback (or opportunity). Those of you who have known me for a long time know that the typical me would be a very quick and rather impolite response to any setback. I've read a few books on businesses/personal improvement which talk about the process as:
event -> response -> outcome
... or variations thereon. That has been my normal course of action with the outcome not necessarily a good one as a result. I'm now really going for a different approach (OK not always, I am human and slip back into bad ways sometimes, but I'm getting better at it) which is ...
event -> pause -> decide on desired outcome -> response -> outcome
... and in general the outcome is better. Every setback often provides an opportunity or at least a lesson to learn that improves how you operate.
Why rattle on about this now? I've applied for a wage subsidy via a Tees Valley Unlimited grant to expand the staffing at Tad Towers and aid our growth as I genuinely planned to increase turnover 5-fold over the next 2 years and was confident of doing that. I'm now in year 3 of the world domination plan and this is the 1st year of profit which is not untypical for a business, especially one that starts mid-recession. Any road up, I've been turned down as I'm not credit worthy.
Now I'm sure the criteria say I'm not credit worthy after all the business owes me, as a director, a pot of cash. We have a very small loan which was used for furniture and software purchases when we moved but other than that the business only owes me money. I'm not sure those criteria are well formed then as they seem to say that any small business looking to grow cannot unless it's already making a profit, in which case I wouldn't need the wage subsidy - Catch 22. Well it's out of my hands, and I may possibly have misrepresented the true facts as the letter only tells me I'm not credit worthy with no explanation, decision is made and business continues.
So what's the plan. Simply I will find the money from other sources to fund another member of staff and for Peter to take over the complete management of our small business clients whilst I work on hitting the bigger ticket stuff. We're looking at sorting out a new apprentice also in the next few weeks.
On Thursday I popped to the post box on the way to meet a visitor at reception and opened the letter informing me of my unsuccessful grant application. Never mind, I've got a visitor coming in who seems keen to provide some small opportunities (or so I think) as an ambitious local business and I'll work out the plans regarding funding staff later. 2 hours later my visitor has outlined some very ambitious plans that he would like us to take part in.
So no guarantees obviously but I'm amazingly excited, and a little nervous, about what this could mean for my business and will make sure we make the most of the opportunities. It seems my growth plans may be lacking ambition!
And just where did I originally meet this mysterious visitor? He popped along to our little BNI chapter at Redcar.
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Father's Day
It is Father's Day today and I have all kinds of mixed feelings.
First my dad died a good few years ago and I always think of him on this day. It also means I avoid listening to Billy Bragg, if "Tank Park Salute" passes through my ears I will start uncontrollably blubbing and I'm a Northern bloke so that's just not the done thing.
Secondly, Matt always gets me something and I really do appreciated this. It's more appreciated that he puts a lot of thought into it and getting something we can share in together. Yes it was beer and crisps for sharing whilst watching the England World Cup match. The beer has been saved for Thursday's match as we were already into a nice Merlot/Malbec blend by midnight. To be honest he usually gets me beer and crisps every year which we share even if it's just watching the news - he knows I am very happy, as long as it's some decent beer.
Thirdly, I do really think that Father's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Xmas et al are largely just marketing tools these days to get people to spend ridiculous amounts of money on rubbish (not that beer and crisps are rubbish mind!). I know for some of those events there is still a religious significance for some but that's not the case for most of the population and certainly not for me. I appreciate a few nice beers, I like a small inexpensive but thoughtful present at Xmas or on my birthday but more than anything I appreciate a bit of time just enjoying being with people I care for.
So what of today? Well we did share the crisps in England's World Cup match and I've been to visit my mum. Other than that a bit of work and a bit of relaxation.
First my dad died a good few years ago and I always think of him on this day. It also means I avoid listening to Billy Bragg, if "Tank Park Salute" passes through my ears I will start uncontrollably blubbing and I'm a Northern bloke so that's just not the done thing.
Secondly, Matt always gets me something and I really do appreciated this. It's more appreciated that he puts a lot of thought into it and getting something we can share in together. Yes it was beer and crisps for sharing whilst watching the England World Cup match. The beer has been saved for Thursday's match as we were already into a nice Merlot/Malbec blend by midnight. To be honest he usually gets me beer and crisps every year which we share even if it's just watching the news - he knows I am very happy, as long as it's some decent beer.
Thirdly, I do really think that Father's Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Xmas et al are largely just marketing tools these days to get people to spend ridiculous amounts of money on rubbish (not that beer and crisps are rubbish mind!). I know for some of those events there is still a religious significance for some but that's not the case for most of the population and certainly not for me. I appreciate a few nice beers, I like a small inexpensive but thoughtful present at Xmas or on my birthday but more than anything I appreciate a bit of time just enjoying being with people I care for.
So what of today? Well we did share the crisps in England's World Cup match and I've been to visit my mum. Other than that a bit of work and a bit of relaxation.
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Thoughts on D-Day
I often drivel on about stuff that has happened to me or stuff that I've done but we are 2 days past the 70th anniversary of D-Day so there are more important matters to discuss.
I don't have any relatives who were involved in D-Day but my parents both served in the RAF in WW2 and my now deceased Dad was in the infamous Imphal Valley in Burma.
I also know they were in units side by side with Poles, West Indians and Africans amongst others so it pains me immensely to see the plethora of people re-posting content from Nazi organisations like Britain First and the BNP in support of our veterans. The immensely brave D-Day veterans, who deserve our eternal gratitude, fought to rid Europe of the evil of fascism and many lost their lives doing so. We now see those following the very ideology that those brave veterans fought against using their memory to gain publicity from the re-postings of people who, in the main, are making a very genuine but horrific mistake in doing so.
I posted the following on Facebook:
Copied from James Lees who copied it from Mick Clements but everything said is absolutely bang on and says exactly how I feel when I see this fascist drivel posted on here in the name of our fallen soldiers.
While we commemorate the brave soldiers from all the allied countries, including the commonwealth, who fought on D-Day, let’s also take a moment to remember what they were fighting for. It was not for ‘patriotism’, Britain or anti-Europeanism. It was a fight against Fascism and all it entails.
When ‘Britain First’, the EDL, the BNP, UKIP or any of the racist and bigoted factions try and hijack that fight for their own political agenda it makes me sick. The sacrifice that those courageous men made was in response to an evil man who exploited antipathy towards Jews, Gypsies, Ethnic minorities, Gays, Unions and the Unemployed to control the population and who offered hatred as a solution to his country’s problems. These groups wish to peddle the same ultra-right ideology and the fact that they choose to do so by exploiting the very men who fought against such prejudice and intolerance is shameful. WW2 was described as the war to end all wars. Sadly humans still continue to destroy each other in armed conflicts the world over but Europe, at least, has lived without war since. If we return to days of obsessive and subjective patriotism, hatred of other races and colours, intolerance of religious or sexual persuasion and the demonization of the unemployed, the poor and the needy then we truly do dishonour every man that lost his life on those beaches on that day 70 years ago. Say NO to Fascism – that’s how I will commemorate them.
It succinctly sums up how I feel.
On 28 June the fascist EDL will be holding a national march in my home town of Middlesbrough. I will be joining the counter demonstration to protest at these modern day Nazis taking to our streets to preach hatred and division. I'm very proud of my Dad, not just for his fight against fascism in uniform but also because he fought on the streets of Teesside against our home grown fascists in the guise of Moseley's Blackshirts. I honour his memory and the D-Day veterans by continuing that fight against fascism.
I don't have any relatives who were involved in D-Day but my parents both served in the RAF in WW2 and my now deceased Dad was in the infamous Imphal Valley in Burma.
I also know they were in units side by side with Poles, West Indians and Africans amongst others so it pains me immensely to see the plethora of people re-posting content from Nazi organisations like Britain First and the BNP in support of our veterans. The immensely brave D-Day veterans, who deserve our eternal gratitude, fought to rid Europe of the evil of fascism and many lost their lives doing so. We now see those following the very ideology that those brave veterans fought against using their memory to gain publicity from the re-postings of people who, in the main, are making a very genuine but horrific mistake in doing so.
I posted the following on Facebook:
Copied from James Lees who copied it from Mick Clements but everything said is absolutely bang on and says exactly how I feel when I see this fascist drivel posted on here in the name of our fallen soldiers.
While we commemorate the brave soldiers from all the allied countries, including the commonwealth, who fought on D-Day, let’s also take a moment to remember what they were fighting for. It was not for ‘patriotism’, Britain or anti-Europeanism. It was a fight against Fascism and all it entails.
When ‘Britain First’, the EDL, the BNP, UKIP or any of the racist and bigoted factions try and hijack that fight for their own political agenda it makes me sick. The sacrifice that those courageous men made was in response to an evil man who exploited antipathy towards Jews, Gypsies, Ethnic minorities, Gays, Unions and the Unemployed to control the population and who offered hatred as a solution to his country’s problems. These groups wish to peddle the same ultra-right ideology and the fact that they choose to do so by exploiting the very men who fought against such prejudice and intolerance is shameful. WW2 was described as the war to end all wars. Sadly humans still continue to destroy each other in armed conflicts the world over but Europe, at least, has lived without war since. If we return to days of obsessive and subjective patriotism, hatred of other races and colours, intolerance of religious or sexual persuasion and the demonization of the unemployed, the poor and the needy then we truly do dishonour every man that lost his life on those beaches on that day 70 years ago. Say NO to Fascism – that’s how I will commemorate them.
It succinctly sums up how I feel.
On 28 June the fascist EDL will be holding a national march in my home town of Middlesbrough. I will be joining the counter demonstration to protest at these modern day Nazis taking to our streets to preach hatred and division. I'm very proud of my Dad, not just for his fight against fascism in uniform but also because he fought on the streets of Teesside against our home grown fascists in the guise of Moseley's Blackshirts. I honour his memory and the D-Day veterans by continuing that fight against fascism.
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