Jack was 41. He’d been a train driver all his life and stayed a train driver mainly because it was comfortable. But in the back of Jack’s mind, as he negotiated the UKs rail network – usually late as all trains are in this country, but that goes without saying – he dreamt of starting his own business on Ebay. He’d mucked about on Ebay and knew the ropes, yet despite being reasonably sure he could do this he always stayed comfortable. One of the main reasons which stood in his way seemed to be his fear of his bad back. Also, he’d be lugging heavy boxes around so he knew he’d have to do some manual handling training and he really didn’t like doing courses.
Starting a business in a recession isn’t always a bad idea…
The world can be a very cruel place. Firstly it’s a free-for-all, with luck often deciding whether or not one is successful, and secondly it’s…well, did I say it was cruel? You have stereotypes, clichés, and all manner of other things which can really get on ones nerves (as well as people who say one a lot when talking about themselves, which, as I believe I have just demonstrated, can start to get pretty irritating!).
Take beauticians for example; they get called air-heads, get slagged off for being shallow and only about looks, and much more besides. And if they’re blonde they get even more stick. Being in the beauty sector really isn’t all glamour and new nails, you know.
…honestly, I’ve never met anyone as passionate about anything as these beauticians were about erasing wrinkles and giving a great facial…
Years ago I did one of those TEFL courses, in the hope that I might one day get a string of English teaching jobs in various exotic locations. Student loans and credit card debt soon put paid to that idea as I was forced into getting a boring, but well-paid job in London in order to pay off all my bills. My English teaching course certificate started gathering dust and I would only ever use the skills I had acquired to give the odd one-hour lesson to friends of friends or colleagues from abroad. My dreams of spending a year teaching English in Tokyo, Seoul or somewhere even more unusual died along with my ambitions of being a rock star and wiring a best-selling novel…
However, it seems my qualifications are suddenly in demand all over again. OK, I’m not getting the chance to travel the world and use my skills, but I am managing to earn a few extra quid each week by giving lessons to some of the guys and girls who have moved into my area from various Eastern European countries. Most of them speak English pretty well already, but some of them want extra classes for their kids so they don’t fall behind at school, while others want to learn some very particular language skills.
I have one student from Poland who is currently working as a driver for a pizza chain, but wants to be a taxi driver. Unfortunately for him, he just can’t get his head round the London accent. His English is grammatically perfect, but what he needs help with is Cockney banter; how to talk about the football without things getting lost in translation, for example. It’s been a lot of fun teaching him, whether I’ve been using YouTube clips of TV shows and movies or taking him down my local pub to listen in as the regulars dissect the latest Arsenal performance. The problem is that I grew up in Surrey, and often I can’t understand a word they’re saying either!
A few months ago I took up running just to try and stay fit. I had an experience one day were I felt ill and was having stitches. Another runner told me that it may have something to do with what I had to eat before I started running.
Yes before I had gone to www.lansonrunning.com to get my running shoes I should have considered the foods I should consume before I run.
Waiting for The Apprentice Finals 2011 to hit the screen last night, I was sure of several things: as much as Alan Sugar resembles a small and very rich imp, complete with short stature and wrinkly face, Helen was going to win. She was going to win because she was all of these things: pretty, intelligent, formidable, determined, strategic — highly organised with it — and most importantly of all good at getting on with people…
Tom marks an important turning-point for the show. The day that common decency wins over arrogance, and the time when past achievements are recognised more so than what-you-can-do-on-the-day
…With these characteristics, it was clear to me – had been for a while – that she would be the logical winner.
So I was quite stunned when she brought out her business idea. Something which not only had NOTHING to do with what she was experienced at doing, but something that…let’s face it, was hardly going to set the world alight in the field of original ideas…
Enter nerdy Tom. Glasses, inventions galore, and a track record for cursing any team he is in.
So what happened? Why did Tom end up winning over the iron Lord and taking home the prestigious title of Sugar’s new business partner?
Only Sugar will ever really know, of course – but here is my best guess.
Far as I can see – and I have made an effort to play strict attention to all of The Apprentice shows in the last few years – Tom marks an important turning-point for the show. The day that common decency wins over arrogance, and the time when past achievements are recognised more so than what-you-can-do-on-the-day. The day that intelligence and being-a-good-bloke comes together in the same package: one that stood out a mile from all the other contestants with their increasing bravado and sure fire winning attitude.
Who knows what the next show in the ever-popular series will bring to the fore? Perhaps Air Travel compensation companies being formed in the blink of an eye, or a feature film being taken on with the clock ticking at an unbelievable rate. One thing is for sure. The show is willing to change, and for that reason it’ll always keep up with the times and be watchable.
The next Apprentice show to appear on our screens will be a Junior version. Which, if my memory serves me correctly, will prove just as exciting as every other show which has gone before.
Personally, The Apprentice (for adults) will always be my favourite. And if the last selection of candidates is any measure of the strength of business in our country — flawed as well as skilled — we’re sure to enjoy the next series just as much.
We had cave paintings, then slate with chalk, then the book, then the computer. Now we have the Kindle and other assorted e-reader devices. This means that reading is now possible wherever you are. Now, how cool is that exactly? Very cool me thinks. And it isn’t even that expensive, which is the best news yet!
But what about the future of the Kindle? What about in 50 years'time when people start saying the Kindle is too bulky, and that More
Nowadays, my weekly shop is as boring as everyone else’s. I wander round the supermarket looking and feeling bored, then I wait in the queue and sigh myself into a virtual-standing-up-coma. Then I pay and leave and say, “thank (insert whatever word you like here) I don’t have to come back here again until next week!”
I really hate it actually.
But it didn’t always used to be like that. In fact, it used to be awesome fun. So much More
I was speaking with someone recently who did DNA testing on one of his sons and as he told me about the results I caught a glimpse of a report on the supplement Chromium Picolinate. I was curious because I know many people take it for differing reasons.
When present in the body in slight traces, the element chromium is beneficial – it helps with the functioning of insulin, and thus aids the digestion of carbohydrates. Therefore chromium supplements are More
Ever since I saw a baddie fall into a bottomless pit in the original Batman series, I have wondered: why does everyone want to know what happens after we die? Another thing I have wondered is why people think that falling into a bottomless pit is the worst way to go, because clearly it isn’t. In fact it’d be a luxury compared to many. After all, it lacks a bottom, so you’ll never have that harsh landing, will you? No, More
Looking at the repeated footage of the recent Japanese Tsunami and earthquakes – an enormous wave which rallied across the ocean at a formidable force, as much as 500mph in places – you’d think that over in Japan it’s been nothing but panicstations. But actually, if you’ve been watching a lot of news, either online or on TV, then you’ll have seen, countless times, that the Japanese (as well as many other nationalities affected by it) have been relatively calm More
