Coca-Cola aid campaign - sing the song

Yet further news from Simon Berry regarding the campaign he launched to persuade Coca-Cola to start delivering aid along their bottles of fizzy pop.
Eve Graham, who sang the original I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing which was subsequently used in Coke’s worldwide TV ads, has rewritten the lyrics to fit in with the [...]

The man from Coca-Cola says: “Let’s chat”

Excellent news from Simon Berry, the man who has set up the Facebook group calling on Coca-Cola to use their distributions channels to get basic medical aid to developing countries.
The company’s Global Director for Stakeholder Relations has suggested a “chat” with Simon regarding the idea.
No promises, no bold pledges. But that was never likely.
A foot in [...]

Ambassadors, tsars and other grand but meaningless titles

I suppose that it is something we should expect from a Government that brought us the Goats (Government Of All the Talents) - some of whom are decidedly more gruff than others.
The concept of the Goats still appears to be something of a work in progress, but it doesn’t stop Labour from appointing even more [...]

Controversial, ME? Whatever could you mean?

Of course, the thing about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is that it is such a controversial disease. Isn’t it?
I hate starting articles with direct quotes, so that little indirect observation is a very slight paraphrase of something a fellow journalist said to me a few weeks ago.
I just about resisted the temptation to respond by paraphrasing Joe [...]

Advertising our problems

Which of the countless adverts we’re bombarded with every day always gets you seething inside?
The Advertising Standards Authority has released its top 10 of the most complained about adverts in 2007 and the Department of Health was guilty of annoying us the most.
The Government’s “Get unhooked” anti-smoking advert generated 774 complaints for being offensive, frightening [...]

Blogging for The Guardian

I have done my bit for The Guardian’s week of work-life balance articles and blogs.
Have a look at what juggling self-employment and caring means for me, for Rachel and for us, on the Guardian’s site.
Feel free to leave a comment over there if you want.

The sound of two fists clenching

I’ve been having real problems putting stuff in proper perspective.
My reaction to them has been way out of proportion, leading to the odd bout of ranting or introspection.
The curious thing is it has been like a switch going on and off - one minute Mr Ranty, the next Mr Relaxed.
It was most noticeable with a vaguely work-related issue. But [...]

Work-life balance week in The Guardian

The issue of work-life balance will be explored throughout this week in The Guardian.
Kicking off the week is a Q&A with one of the City of London’s leading lights Nicola Horlick and there will be a wide range of other articles and blogs throughout the week.
Creating the right work-life balance has become increasingly important to [...]

ME/CFS in pictures

It is utterly shameless plug time again.
My wife has been taking part in an online photography self-portrait project since last year - a self-portrait a day for 12 months.
It has been a hell of a challenge for her, but the results are amazing. There’s still a little bit left of the project to go, but [...]

Immigration will fan the flamers in election countdown

Further evidence that immigration is likely to become the key issue at the next General Election.
A new report - The Economic Impact of Immigration - by a House of Lords committee claims that record levels of immigration have had little or no impact on the economic well-being of the UK.
The peers, including several ex-Cabinet ministers [...]