Today, I’m going to tell you a story…

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…

But here’s the thing…plenty of people quit the path they are on at 41 and move onto something more suitable. It’s called LIFE and it’s something which happens, with or without you! Here are some more words of advice which might or might not tempt you to move and shake things up…

1) You don’t need a degree for every career move, many jobs are perfectly obtainable without a degree (you may have to gain some qualifications, thought).

2) Starting a business in a recession isn’t always a bad idea, in fact it can be the best idea! This obviously depends on what the business is, but Google it! It’s definitely worth keeping an open mind.

3) Lots of people are in the same boat as you, I should know…I was just sitting next to about five people discussing this on the train!

4) Changing career doesn’t always have to mean taking a pay-cut. It might have to at the beginning, but the rewards can sometimes be much higher than you ever anticipated (often it starts out with lower pay and then dramatically accelerates later on, which is just what you wanted to hear, right?).

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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…

I realised this last week when, upon arriving at the pub, I found myself amongst a gaggle – if that’s what a collective of beauticians is called – of these men and women. I was supposed to be meeting a friend, but then he texted me to say he couldn’t make it. I had already got my pint in by that point, and so there I stood, listening to the beauty experts.

Here are a few things I learned that evening:

1) if you are looking bored and stood-up, a gaggle of beauticians may just take you under their wing as these ones did me. They may then talk about things like schwarzkopf osis — an amazing hair wax that enables a multitude of possibilities! — and other beauty and hair-related subjects. But after a while they will touch you on the hand and ask if you’re alright. You, a total stranger to them, and them, being much kinder and more intellectual than the stereotype makes them out to be.

2) Beauticians are extremely hard-working and passionate: honestly, I’ve never met anyone as passionate about anything as these beauticians were about erasing wrinkles and giving a great facial. These ones took it to the next level (not that I have any other beauticians to compare them against but still, it did feel like they were extra special).

3) Wearing a white coat makes you feel important: it was the one they called Sandra who said this. Sandra was clearly the Queen of the beauticians and thus able to make outlandish statements and not be quizzed by anyone.

4) You don’t have to be weedy and gay to be a male beautician: Steve had been a builder by trade, and loved doing it. But an injury forced him to re-think his career, and so he moved into the beauty sector and became an expert on radical hair-styling, such as what he sported on his head. Good on Steve, I say!

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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!

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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.

What I found out was that things depend a lot on the time of your run, and the distance you will cover. Your running speed is a major factor too.

If you run at dawn, you need to pre-plan your nutrition accordingly. Make sure that you eat enough the previous night to keep yourself well fueled and eat a light snack before you head out. On the other hand, if you prefer running during the later part of day, avoid eating a heavy mean at least a couple of hours before the run as running on a full stomach will make you feel sick or you might end up suffering from stomach cramps while running.

In theory, it isn’t mandatory that you eat right before running – especially if you’re used to consistently eating a healthy and balanced diet and have adequately replenished the glycogen following your last workout. Glycogen, or carbohydrates, is the energy stored in the body which fuels any form of exercise.

Most of us have sufficient glycogen for fueling the body for about an hour and a half of simple workouts. However, it is never advisable to do high intensity running or power workouts on an empty stomach. An easily digestible, low fat snack right before your run, along with 10-12 ounces of water half an hour before your run will ensure you get the most out of the exercise.

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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.

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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 they need something smaller they can fit in their shirt pocket?

Well, far as I am concerned I already have the answer. It will be like this.

The SuperKindle – or whatever e-reader is the universal choice by then – will be a small bar you hold in your hands horizontally. Press a button and it’ll beam up an image of a screen, and from there you’ll use your eyes to direct a cursor. When you blink and nod your head, it’ll select something. This will mean a lot of odd looking people, but nonetheless a cool society where reading devices are very small and even cheaper.

Of course, there are technological flaws in my argument, but does that matter? Me thinks not. All things were difficult to achieve in the beginning – Fur Fabrics , toilet paper that didn’t scrape your bum up – but we got there in the end, right?

OK, now I am off to patent the idea before anyone else gets onto it and robs me of my billions!

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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 than fun…

My dad was the main driver and I was the wing commander. I’d stand on the side of the trolley and steer it past unsuspecting old people, narrowly avoiding sinister passerby who frowned at me with big droopy faces. Sometimes, when dad wasn’t looking, I would steal the trolley and run with it down the aisle. Then, when nobody was looking I’d let go and do a huge long “superman” at high speed!

Back then I wanted to be a professional “trolley driver” more than anything. Sadly, I later found out that such things didn’t exist. The torture, for a few days, was unbearable.

I’d still rather be doing that than uploading doctor jobs onto a database, but still, I suppose I still have my imagination. Nobody can ever take that away (nope. Old age will have to do that, and to be honest, by that point I probably won’t care anyway because I will be that old that I no longer know what it’s like to walk, let alone do a “superman”.)

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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 popular with those who want to reduce weight, though studies have shown that the weight loss is quite negligible. The most easily absorbed form of chromium is chromium picolinate.

But recently there have been concerns about the safety of using these supplements. Studies conducted in hamsters proved that high concentration of chromium picolinate affected the genetic material of their cells. In 2004 it was concluded that up to 1.6mg per day of chromium picolinate for 3 to 6 months was a safe dose for humans.

But continued use of over 1000mcg of chromium picolinate for over a period of five to six months has resulted in impaired kidney and liver functions in some cases. As this is a supplement that helps to digest sugars, those who are on medication for diabetes should not take this without consulting a doctor, because these two together will bring down the blood sugar level drastically.

It is better not to choose chromium picolinate as a weight loss and body building supplement given all these facts.

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Unravelling why this obsession with what-happens-in-death is so important to us human beings is a tricky one. It might just be curiosity, or perhaps it’s that if we knew a bit more then we’d think that when it comes it’d be that much easier? I’m not so sure there’d be anything easy about it. I mean, the unknown is always scary, and death is about as unknown as it gets, right?

Of course, dying could be just like one long everlasting dream, I suppose. I might just lay there thinking of random things I have seen on TV (the documentary I watched on Liposuction surgery, or the episode of Neighbours where Paul Robinson does something nice for once…) and what I had for dinner when I was eight years old and obsessed (quite rightly) with fish fingers.

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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 the whole time; maybe calm is not the word for it, but they’ve certainly been able to communicate with one another in a way that does not exude the word frenzy. Somehow I doubt the same can be said of us if something of that catastrophic happened over here (over here meaning the UK, but really it could mean anywhere that isn’t Japan where people panic a lot). No, in fact, it’s my opinion that it would very different…

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, especially on the way to work, a compression short journey where I’m so trapped into my seat that the only thing left for me to do is ponder things such as this: how come I get on the train and see businessmen freaking out when their luggage refuses to get in its compartment? and yet in another countries powerful forces are unleashed which wreck homes, businesses and lives and the people are able to hold their heads high and try their best to be positive? It’s something for which the Japanese should be very proud. Hopefully, soon, they’ll be able to smile and with any luck some more survivors might be found.

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