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26/02/2018

Remember when?

Remember when . . . . . . .  three out of four of our members wore sunglasses indoors?

12/02/2018

01/02/2018

11th December - 3 pieces of news, one thought.

This morning's Radio 4 news was full of Brexit, this week's Grenfell disaster inquiry, and snow.

The single statement that most resonated with me afterwards was "most of the rush-hour traffic has disappeared because of school shut-downs".

Imagine a world,  or just a little country, where it would be universally seen as TRULY WEIRD if a schoolchild was driven to school, and the school they went to was the nearest one to their home, regardless of OFTED reports.

True, segregated cycle-paths meandered from all points outward toward schools, colleges, high streets - as intra-town traffic filed gently past, at 20mph on the narrowed streets where normal, everyday, non-lycra, non-headgear, non-hi-vis middle-aged cyclists pop to the local shops, basket on Bike.

Christmas dreams.

10/01/2018

Every damned TV & Radio stn this week.

Sainsburys did marginally better over Christmas, non-food sales down overall across the segment.  Following this we had endless "analysis": questions about online sales, aldi etc, discussion on market share, future growth/profit warnings.  TV news had exactly the same, business editors (someone who reads you the business news) perched up there expounding on same, questions to industry leaders by video link or across the desks, brows furrowed, papers shuffled - is this the end of the high street?  Will XXX go out of business? Is this the end of shopping on foot?  Should all the shops be houses?

Well maybe they should, in a few years time - but you know what?  It was all rubbish.  

A complete and utter waste of air-time.

The Christmas retailing results meant:
"People like to SEE the food they buy for Christmas, rather than risk the delivery substitutes - this then equals a reported growth in food sales for that period, then it reminds you
 'people use online for gifts'."

That is all.  Full stop. No analysis needed.