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It was Christmas Jumpers Day today at Able and How. Few looked like they were new. Clearly the back of the closet is not as far away as it would appear. Earlier this week, festive elves hung socks around our staircase with every employees’ names on them. So far no surprises. Happy holiday season. /df SOUTH KENSINGTON — There was a piece in the Independent yesterday about Sir Richard Branson’s “three point plan” to get the UK economy going. Unfortunately the plan is completely pants. I wish it weren’t, but it is. Years ago, when I worked in politics a very worthy husband and wife team approached my cabinet ministers with suggested legislation: A Good Samaritan bill. The bill was to recognise that restaurants, food stores and food services companies throw out masses of food everyday. And yet many, many people didn’t have enough food to eat. The only reason this happened — they said — was because you could be held liable if you gave people food that made them ill. The Good Samaritan Bill would solve that “by absolving people of all legal responsibility for the food they made available…” What?! I was so surprised by how wrong that was that I couldn’t even talk to the proposers. Today Sir Richard proposes a plan that would: And I feel the same kind of confusion. Why would it be better for businesses to be able to take on more people for shorter periods of time? Do we believe in the fairness of our laws, or not? Do we want to protect people from the pure business drivers of companies? Or are we happy to have them bought and sold, hired and fired, compensated appropriately, or not? The appeal for business is obvious. Any business manager could see that. But for young people? It’s much harder to rationalise. I have no doubt one can rationalise it… But should you? The same unfortunately goes for micro-finance for entrepreneurs. Yes, small businesses account for much of the job growth in the UK. Yes, entrepreneurs (like Sir Richard… like me) help bring better competition and innovation to our economy. But that does not mean that if we could convince more people to to try it we’d get even more jobs and more innovation. Creating and sustaining a business is the single hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Without exception. I am still not sure that God really meant for me to be an entrepreneur. But we did really do all our due diligence, never borrowed, worked like crazy, fought off dragons, made millions of mistakes and only just scarped through. Often I think it’s something that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Why would we decide that more and more and more people should do it? How many more open and closed restaurants do we need on our High Streets. And less time in university. Really? There are answers to this economic crisis. Or certainly things we can do to help fix it. But I am far from convinced that these are they. Give me better managers and better trained and supported entrepreneurs… better skills… any day. But not this. /df PICCADILLY — I’ve been scanning the ‘famous birthdays today’ section of the paper for a few weeks. Looking at the ages of those who make the list. And — maybe it’s just me — but one decade seems to be noticeably absent. Mine. I didn’t want to turn 40. But that was 5 years ago, so you think I’d be used to it by now. Maybe I can’t handle change. Why are so few people my age recognisable? Those who do make the paper seem to have ‘former’ in front of their profession (footballer, tennis player) or should have ‘former’ in front (pop star, child actor). While those who have achieved anything through a more traditional path (study, start work, get promoted) are significantly older. What has happened to those of us who: • are old enough to think Serena Williams is disgraceful, but McEnroe is cool Ah. Maybe that’s it. This is the pause between ambition and arrogance. The grind. Five more years. /df
SW LONDON — “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” That used to be my stock answer to things I didn’t understand. I thought of it as a knowing wink to the way that old people talk. But as my own age has been rising faster recently than East Coast temperatures, it has become less funny and more [...] FITZROVIA – Batman Syndrome* is when you have achieved all sorts of fame and fortune, and regular life holds no challenges, so you start to do anti-social, dangerous things. In the case of Bruce Wayne it’s putting you knickers outside you tights and fighting crime. In the cases of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dominique Strauss-Kahn [...] CROMWELL ROAD — There was a little girl with her dad on the bus today. She cried the whole trip. “I don’t like the teachers…! I don’t want to go…! I want my MOMMY…!!” That kind of crying that is so deep and, after a while, so filled with mucus that breathing is affected. The adults shifted uncomfortably. Because half [...] LONDON — It’s fair to say that people who are deeply suspicious of… everything… have had a banner week. The President of the United States of America released his birth certificate. Why? ST ANDREW’S — The temperature drops about 3 degrees in 500 yards from the town down to the Old Course. And it’s not 26C like London. It’s 9C. The town is a buzz 10 days before the wedding of William and Kate, who met here. Further to the south in town the old [...] Washington, DC — It’s great to read good American newspapers again, like the Washington Post. For the first time ever it has made me think about retirement. Because that’s when I will be able to read the Post, and weekly editions of the New Yorker, from cover to cover. It was alarming to hear two [...] TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD — Or so says Andy Gill in today’s Independent review of new records. And what a week it is. A new Elbow album. A new REM one too. And a third from Noah and The Whale. All well reviewed. Any one of those would be good enough to [...] |
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