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Many of us over 60 are counted out when part-time jobs come up despite our collective wisdom and abilities.

To counter some of this prejudice I have dispensed with sending my CV and have instead created The Complete Picture, an animated ninety second overview of my life to date @ https://vimeo.com/223960456.

 

 

 

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23
FEB
Mansion Tax, the NHS, Universities & MPs salaries   There seems no end to the lack of vision of our political pygmies in Westminster as the Election approaches.   The mansion tax proposals paper over two issues. Council tax has not been upgraded since 1992. Upgrading it just by adding six to eight new layers at the top end is all that is required. But, this is not helpful to Labour.   Any upgrading would mean the new funds would go to the battered local councils and not to...
23
FEB
Travels & Travails in Barbados, Trinidad & St Lucia  It's been 20 odd years since my first family holiday in the West Indies. Then we spent Christmas in Barbados on the south coast in an old smuggling inn. It had its own beach which disappeared at high tide. The cellar was used for the annual pantomime. We loved it. Barbados has been as we now say the “Go-To” destination in the West Indies attracting a bevy of A and B celebrities on the beautiful west coast. The Sandy...
23
FEB
Social Networking 3/02 16-22 February 2015 Monday Denis MacShane & Tom Levitt @ Uno Tina Hallett, PwC @ Cork & Bottle Mike Foster @ Thomas Cubitt Tuesday Francis Edmonds @ RAC James Hibbert @ Waterloo Bar & Kitchen Bump Nick Weaver Mackintosh Exhibition @ RIBA Bump Gill Webber Supper @ Como Lario Wednesday Alexander Hoare @ Hoare Bank Thursday Crowdbnk board @ Old Street Bump Ian Pearson Ayan Mitra Friday Dallas Pounds @ Trinity Anna Macleod @ Trinity Saturday &...
16
FEB
01Social Networking 3/01 9-15 February 2015 Monday Phil & Frances Edmonds @ Thomas Cubitt Tuesday Matthew Pruen @ Pimlico Tarek Ebady @ Portcullis House Bump Glenda Jackson MP Stephen Timms MP Frank Field MP Jeremy Browne MP Baroness Estelle Morris Damian Green MP John Healey MP Daisy Wyatt @ Pimlico Wednesday Margaret Utting @ Merchant of Venice, Almeida Theatre Thursday Alex Mahon @ Soho House Gill Webber @ RIBA David & Caroline Hooper @ Behind the Beautiful Forevers,...
11
FEB
BBC News Ebola crisis: Government response 'far too slow' The initial international response to the Ebola outbreak was criticised as "totally inadequate"  The government's response to the Ebola outbreak was "far too slow" and may have contributed to the loss of lives, a committee of MPs has said. The Public Accounts Committee said the government did not release funds quickly enough to deal with the crisis. It also said the decision to suspend flights to areas affected by the disease...
9
FEB
Social Networking 2/51 19-22 January 2015 Monday RFU Legacy Group SE @ Twickenham Bump Vic Luck Dave Stubley Alex Teasdale Lisa Hampton Lance O'Meara Eddie Keal Richard Hornblow Lou Latter Dave Roberts Gavin Williams Jason McMahon Erin Kirby Nick Cole Nik Slingsby Labour PPC City of Westminster @ Pimlico Tuesday Cities lecture by Dr Judith Rodin @ RSA Triangle Party @ Constitutional Club Wednesday Work day Thursday Dean Stewart @ Oxford Street
9
FEB
Social Networking 2/52 23 January - 8 February 2015 Friday 23/01 - Monday 02/02 St Lucia Bump Kenny Plummer Tuesday 03/02  Carolyn Cecil Associates 25th Anniversary bash @ Reform Club Bump Mihir Bose Sir David Nicholas Wednesday Development Board @ Book Trust Bump Karen Brown Thursday Lorne Forsyth @ Gavin Bistrot RIBA LIbrary Committee @ HQ Bump Gill Webber Friday Dallas Pounds, CEO Morgan Jones, Chairman, St Christopher's Hospice Mary...
9
FEB
We went to see the Wdding Dresses exhibition at the V&A yesterday which was simply wonderful; do go. We stayed on for lunch!
9
FEB
After the V&A we went to see The Kingsman a spoof Bond film which was fun. It stars Colin Firth and there is a cameo performance by Michael Caine.
9
FEB
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/collection/business-of-dying/  
9
FEB
Ebola 5. Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con): What the cost has been of the UK’s contribution to the response to the Ebola outbreak to date. [907431] The Secretary of State for International Development (Justine Greening): The UK has committed £325 million to tackling the Ebola crisis. The UK is leading the international response to the crisis in Sierra Leone by diagnosing and isolating Ebola cases more quickly, trebling the number of treatment beds, supporting burial teams,...
5
FEB
Book Trust I was asked to chair their Development Board last year and we had our regular meeting yesterday which was attended by Karen Brown our chair,  who is also chair at Oxfam.
4
FEB
Westminster Squared by Derek Wyatt The General Election game is beginning to take shape. The Tories might have the most seats but these will almost all be in England. Labour might just be second with seats in England, Wales and Scotland though no-one can read the tea leaves after the Referendum there. The SNP will become the third largest party. Whither the the Lib Dems? Might they become the old Liberal Party pre 1992 with rural seats in Cornwall, Somerset, possibly Norfolk...
4
FEB
Ebola - the ugly virus by Derek Wyatt I took a call early one Saturday morning in late November to ask if I would consider going to Cairo to attend an Ebola conference. I could hardly spell the word Ebola and had not been that focused on the dreadful events in west Africa especially in Sierra Leone. I was rather skeptical as to whether I could really be of any use. The caller was persistent and said that the organisers (Microsoft) were looking for people who thought outside the box. I...
4
FEB
NISE two more years I was appointed to become the new chairman of NISE NHS IP hub in December, 2013 and I took up my post just over a year ago. There were ten iterations of these hubs in England matching the old RDA maps so NISE covers the south east - a huge area. Hubs were both started and closed down by the Labour Government despite their success and today there are just four left. My job was to turn round NISE or close it down. Throughout 2014, I met hospital trust...
4
FEB
My son is at Duke University in North Carolina; he sent me this link: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/7a86c5ec-8a9f-11e4-be0e-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3QXdnTHxe   
4
FEB
Book on rugby Every eight years I have written a book about the rugby world cup. In1995, it was called Rugby DisUnion (an ugly title which I disapproved of). In 2003 (with Colin Herridge) it was called Rugby Revolution where we rightly surmised that the final would be between Australia and England and in 2011 (again with Colin) we did a Guide to RWC 2011.  We have been contemplating our next book which if we can find a publisher we would hope to publish in time for...
4
FEB
Bishop of Southwark at Trinity Hospice It was a real pleasure to meet and show Christopher, the Bishop of Southwark, around Trinity Hospice last month. As trustees we had wanted to find a link to continue our relationship with the Church because we were founded by the Sisters of St James's Servants of the Poor,  an Anglican movement, in 1892. We hoped he would become a Patron and all being well he will!! Hooray.
4
FEB
Hoffman catch up Back in June, I took a seven day break from the routine of life by attending a Hoffman Process. We had no newspapers, no internet, no mobile phones, no radio, no television and no alcohol. During our process almost half was in silence. It was tough but it was revealing and helpful. The process looks at the patterns you have inherited from your parents and seeks solutions to them. If "solutions" isn't quite the right word perhaps "accommodation" is. It helped me...
4
FEB
Ofcom It has been five years since I attended a seminar or a press conference at the Ofcom HQ opposite the FT on Southwark Bridge. I used to be friendly with the original trio that established it - Kip Meek, Ed Richards and Lord Carter back in 2003/4. At the time I thought them to be the best three thinkers in the game and not just in the UK. My how it has changed. The afternoon was so dull and boring (Ofcom's Plans for 2015-16) that if could I would break it up to...
4
FEB
Vanessa Bowcock I had a delightful lunch with Vanessa at Uno in Denbigh Street which I like because its pasta is always freshly made. Vanessa has worked off and on for the Labour Party for a decade or so and runs our 1000 Club which helps raise funds for campaigning. It is a stunning success story.
4
FEB
Frances Edmonds In 1986, when a publisher and board director at William Heinemann, I commissioned Frances Edmonds to write three books: Another Bloody Tour, Cricket XXX Cricket and Members Only. They sold and sold and sold and the first two topped both the hard and soft back charts for weeks. Just before Christmas, I bumped into her at a Carole Stone party. She was coming in as I was going out. In the intervening years, we have met maybe three maybe four times and we had been...
4
FEB
Legacy It is almost two years ago that I attended an interview to be considered for a place on the Legacy Board for the RWC in 2015. I sit on one of the two SE committees and we have met every six weeks or so (I represent OURFC) at Twickenham. Last week we heard about the 100 day Trophy Tour which will spend a day in Oxford before the world cup starts in eight months time.
4
FEB
Nik Slingsby PPC I had a drink with Nik Slingsby who is the Labour Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Cities of Westminster and London. I offered my help and support to him as this is his first time he has stood.
4
FEB
Cities The RSA holds regular lunch time lectures lasting just and hour and last week they had an absolute cracker. Dr Judith Rodin the first woman CEO of the Rockefeller Foundation, talked about her work on Sustainable Cities which can be found in her new book: The Resilience Dividend. I asked a question: had she taken the examples of Hamilton & Boston because they had elected Mayors and she had. She said that leadership was key foe successful cities and invariably these...
4
FEB
Bike It has been a long time coming but I bought a bike to help my general level of fitness. I was a bit wobbly cycling back from the shop but I enjoyed the experience. I fell off yesterday but no harm done!
4
FEB
Triangle Party One of the delights of living in Pimlico is that there are so many self-help groups and one of them is our Triangle Group which scrutinises planning and similar local issues. Of course we have socials and recently we held our Christmas get together.
4
FEB
Rendezvous Hotel, St Lucia We spent ten days on this delightful island at the end of January staying on the beach. We were close to Catries, its small capital, with a remarkable port which can take five luxury liners at any one time and frequently does. If you need a break for whatever reason go spend a week or two here and you will return revived beyond your wildest dreams.
4
FEB
Books on Holiday I read a number of books: The Resilience Dividend by Dr Judith Rodin Having attended her lecture the RSA I read her outstanding book on the subject of Resilience which every politician should read. XLR8 by John Kotter John Kotter works at the Harvard Business School and is a leading business guru and has written ten best selling business books including Leading Change an A Sense of Urgency. Some of the chapter headings might strike a chord: 1. Limits of...
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