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Saturday 30 March 2013

Palm Sunday to Easter from Putney to Fulham ,St Paul's Cathedral and Jerusalem - A London Holy Week

Here is a set of photos that tell part of the story of a London  Holy Week from the All Saints Church, Fulham.



You could see our churh from the aerial photography at the start of the Boat Race which this year coincided with Easter Day on TV
 
Our Palm Sunday starts with the collection of a donkey



We set off with Palms in hand
 to St Mary's Church Putney











We hear the Gospel for Palm Sunday St Mary's  Putney


It was so cold we were allowed
 to wear warm hats










We are led on our procession across Putney Bridge over the Thames
 back to Fulham by the donkey

During Holy week we learn about the Seder Meal










For example Wine drops on the napkin to depict the ten plagues
 

Maundy Thursday the Blessing of  Oils
  and  renewal of vows
  
Wrapped up well on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral on Maudy Thursday Tina, Andrew,Sylvia and Jim  to support Canon Joe,  Rev Penny, Rev Eileen , Reader Mary and Archbishop Walter for the renewal of vows and Blessing of the Oils
 
 
Back in All Saints Church, Fulham - Our Christmas Tree from 2012
 becomes the Cross of the Passion

The crown of thorns
 
Our lady chapel during holy week
 
We assemble a huge number of Hot Cross buns ordered from the baker- Several baker's dozens !
After the three hours service , Hot cross buns are given after our family service on Good Friday
 
 
 


My Simnel Cake worked well this year

 

 
A statue to our lady and the lady chapel
with spring sunshine  lovely rainbow colours effect
 from the stained glass windows
on the carpet
 
 
 
Saturday we do a BIG cleaning job - even the heating gratings-
where we find £4 which had fallen down the grating
which goes to our Tower and Bells appeal
 
 
The Thurible get a good clean
 
 
The aumbrey light is cleaned also
 
Serious yellow 'marigolds' are employed for cleaning work !
 
 
Lectern candlesticks and Pascal candlestick cleaned
 of candle wax and cleaning the brass
 
 
Vacuuming the chancel and flowers for the font
 
 
Flowers to be arranged throughout the church
 
 
The display behind the main altar
 
 
Arrangements for the pulpit and the lectern
 
 
Our Easter Garden - don't you just love the children's paper daffodils
 
 
The empty tomb 
All is prepared for our dawn Service at 5.30 a.m. and not to forget the clock goes forward an hour !
 
 
 
It's 4.54 a.m. on Easter Morning
 All is quiet at the west door of all Saints Church Fulham
The moon shines in the still black sky

 


Easter Bells  2011
 
Our Pascal Candle for 2013 now in place after the dawn service
 
The last embers of our Easter fire otside the West Door of
 All Saints Parish Church, Fulham
 
 
 
Blessed among women
 
A puff of incence for a our lady from the Thurible
 
 
 
 
 
a banner for the Putney shore for the
 BNY Mellon University Boat Race 2013
asks a question
 
 
 
 



Sunday 24 March 2013

'You can't have enough chiefs' -Aleksandr Orlov goes to National Portrait Gallery

In this postings I Aleksandr playng role of intrepid arts reporter for Mr. Hugh.
Aleksandr visits the National Portrait Gallery, London left
 and to the right

London's arty scenes have been  playing host to  American eye of world.

At National Gallery are paintings of  Frederic Church ( He the "Shiskin" of America) including spectacular and huge painting of Niagara Falls from the American side. ( A must see ! )

Also great landscapes and Iceberg paintings
Free exhibition

 Through American Eyes exhibition


Another art show in London is the collection of George Catlin's Indian Gallery has returned to be shown 170 years after first show in Piccadilly, London in the Egyptian Halls.

 During 1830s Pennsylvanian born paiter George Catlin (1796-1872) made trips to western United States to documents  Native American peoples and their way of life.




The resulting portraits have become most evocative and important records of indigenous peoples made.

Mr. Hugh told me that " Catlin was an entrepreneur and a show man ( and salesman) who inspired by his encounters he created an 'Indian Gallery that toured America and Europe for ten years."



 
 Link to site on American Indian Portraits at National Portrait Gallery

One of the most moving portraits is of  No-hum-mun-ya -  translates as 'One who gives no attention'

The name appeals to Mr Hugh !

 No-hum-mun-ya took part in George Melody's  European travelling show in 1843 a troupe of Iowa Indians. No-hum-mun-ya  sadly died of an infectious disease in Liverpool during the tour.




Mr. Hugh's favourite Portraits
 left, No-hum-mun-ya and  right Stu-mick-o-sucks 


Friday 22 March 2013

Deloitte ,Advertising Association Report and the selling challenges from Adweek 2013


 "Advertising is salesmanship mass produced.
 No one would bother to use advertising if he could talk to all his prospects face-to-face.
But he can't.”
 
Morris Hite
 American Advertising Specialist
 
“Does it pay  to advertise in a recession ?” is a challenging questions.
Organisations often cut their advertising spend in recession. It is relatively easy to do so.
Take for example  The UK Government after the 2010 election it began to cut its £520 million-a-year spend severely. Yet many of its initiatives for small businesses have not been taken up because few know about them.
Adweek itself has taken awhile to develop from its New York version 10 years ago

Perhaps the” UK ad industry has not done enough to champion itself suggested the Evening Standard’s Gideon Spanier on Wednesday this week.

Amid all the self congratulatory fizz such events entail a warning came from Sir Martin Sorrell   who said “ We do undersell ourselves but we are in danger of thinking we're the bee’s knees”. Sir Martin is thinking in particular to the challenges from Brazil, China and elsewhere.



The advertising industry is central to the creative industries in UK. It provides a third of all TV revenues and two-thirds of newspaper revenues; it supports sectors from photography to film production. 

 Deloitte estimate that over 550,000 people work in jobs that are funded by advertising revenues, or involved in the commissioning, creation and production of advertising across the relevant supply chains.
However, the overall impact of advertising is far broader. It has a critical role in making the UK economy function. Advertising is at the hub of a economic wheel of competition, innovation and market expansion, to the benefit of  both consumers and businesses.

Does history show any evidence that advertising is advantageous in tough times?

Here are 7 ‘exhibits’ from back in the day up to present day

Exhibit 1 : In a McGraw-Hill Research analysis of 600 different companies: B2b  firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-82 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising. 3-years after the recession, advertisers had risen 256% over those that didn’t keep up their advertising.

Exhibit 2: Analysing the 1990-91 recession, Coopers and Lybrand  ( PWC of old) research found that better performing businesses focused on a strong marketing programme enabling them to secure their customer base, take business away from less aggressive competitors, and position themselves for future growth during the recovery.

Exhibit 3: A recession can provide an opportunity for businesses to build a greater share of market through aggressive advertising – Strategic Planning Institute of Cambridge, MA

Exhibit 4: Advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but increases profits (this has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by American business press starting after WW 2)

Exhibit 5: Advertising can give a company a stable image in a chaotic environment. The more familiar people become with a brand, the more favourable they feel toward it, and the more likely they are to buy it. People don’t like doing business with strangers.

Exhibit 6: History shows that companies that do best during hard economic times do so by continuing to communicate with customers and build their brands regardless of economic conditions

 Exhibit 7: Deloitte’s 2013 report for the Advertising Association “On average, £1 of advertising spend generates £6 for the economy.

That means the £16 billion spent on UK advertising in 2011 generated £100 billion in the UK economy.”

Advertising enables businesses to deliver more innovative and higher quality products and services.

It helps to match buyers and sellers more efficiently, allowing firms with new ideas to succeed more quickly and differentiate themselves through the quality of their offer to consumers.

When times are good, you should advertise.

When times are bad, you must advertise.

It really does pay to advertise during a recession

“The codfish lays ten thousand eggs.
The homely hen lays one.
Codfish never cackles to tell you what she has done.
And so we scorn the codfish,
while the humble hen we prize,
which only goes to show you that it pays to advertise!”

― Nikhil Sharda

Related links

Read excellent and interesting report  @ad_association @Deloitte

David Lamourex
 

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Chancellor Alekandr Orlov's Budget Speech 2013 Exclusive

Click For 2014 Budget report



2013 speech

(To cheers from the coalition benches of Meerkats brandishing whitepapers Chancellor of Exchequor Aleksandr Orlov stands on hind legs to address the Common House of meerkats in Westmeerster, Meerkova)


"Mr Speaker, this Budgeting rewards hard working meerkat families.

Our country is going to earn its way in  world.

There no other roads to recovery.


It unashamedly back SME meerkating businesses like Uncle Yakov  the Toymaker.

And it is on  side of aspirations: those  meerkats who want to do better for themselves and for their little meerkats in families with their cutie Bodgans and Peters.


This Budget reaffirms our unwavering commitment to deal with our country’s record debts.

But because Sergei and I have already taken difficult decisions, this can also be reforming Budget that seeks to repair  disastrous model of economic growth that created those debts from  Mongooses party opposite.

( Booing and shouting from opposition benches)

A model that saw manufacturing almost halve as share of our national economy, while the national debts doubled.

( Supportive 'hear ! hearings! from coalition benches with much noddings)

Mr Deputy Speaker, this is how Merkova will earn its way in the world: with far reachings tax reform.

With simples tax system, where ordinary taxpayers understand what they are being asked to pay.


Chancellor Aleksandr outside No 11 door
 in Downings  Prospekt
With  tax system that is more competitive for meerkating businesses than any other major economy in  world.

A tax system where millions of  lowest paid meerkats are lifted out of tax altogether, while the tax revenues we get from  wealthiest increase.


( Cheers all  around the house apart from Meerkat oligarchs who are noticeably silent)

But reforming tax is only part of  story.

We will earn our way in  world by saying to all businesses – large and small: We will provide you with  modern infrastructure; new growth-friendly planning rules and employment laws; the kinds of schools and universities and colleges our future meerkat workforce needs.

And in return, you, Meerkova businesses, have  self-confidence to: invest, expand, hire, innovate and be best meerkats.

We earn our way in the world if we stop being afraid to identify Meerkova's strengths and reinforce them, backing industries, like aerospacey, energies and pharmaceuticals, creative media like my compare the meerkat commercials and  Sergei's science.

A deliberate strategy to create  more balanced national economy, where financial services are strong, but they are not only string to bows

Our Government is missing target by the end of this parliament so I moving goalposts.

To fund this, we increase NI increase for the self-employed meerkats, who currently pay less than  employed, as we introduce  flat rate state pension. NI  will ‘alignment’ ahead of original target 2017 .


Here I  celebrating  St Patrick's Day Lunch
 with special Liffy water beer
We  taxing  wealthy meerkats and those hot beetle juice shops, search enginings provider and long tail distribution houses like Amazonians who pay little or no corporations tax  and especially capping excessive bankings bonus.

( Much meerkat head noddings)


A simpler tax code.

And country where its meerkats know  tax they are paying – and what they are paying it for.

Sergei and I have achieved all this – and kept to our deficit plan - more or lessings.






Every year the tax on Meerkat beer escalates 2% above  rate of inflation

( Boo hissing and much noising.  Cries of "Order ! Order!" from Speaker Stevanov Berkova)

I have listened to pleadings from  CAMRA , Mr Wetherspoonings, cousinVasilly who is regular at  Queasy Mongoose pub and also taken  note of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales who say " The is pub is the hub" therefore I am discontinuing terrible beer escalator levy set by  Mongoose party opposite.
( Much paw pointings and banterings from Government benches)




30 years ago 90%  beer sales were through pubs now only 50% of beer is consumed in  pub. Pub beer sales have dropped 30% in the last 10 years

Let us be resolved.

No meerkats will strive as Meerkova will strive.

No country will adapt as Meerkovans will adapt.

No country will value those who work as we will value them.

Together, Meerkovan’s will share in the effort and share  rewards.

Meerkova borrowed its way into trouble.

Now we going to earn our ways out.

I commend this Budgeting to House"

(Rapturous applaudings  and cheerings. Chancellor Orlov sits down and is patted on shoulder by Sergei)

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Should we be all of a Twitter in Selling ? Social media overlap the pros and cons

Do you take into account your audience before you tweet ?

More importantly, do you consider your audience as a whole?

 A customer or prospect may not be your “friend” on Facebook or following you on Twitter, but do you think about what they’ll see if they scan through your tweets?

 Perhaps you should . Perhaps we all should.

A joint study from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA and Rouen Business School, France describes how four different approaches to managing on line social media presence can affect the way we are perceived in our work.
For those in selling who use social media this study has additional relevance.

 Boundary management of  Social media for a sales person probably needs more careful and considered management because our network is likely to be wider.

Our audiences are customers, prospects, our employer and work colleagues let alone personal contacts such as friends and family.

A salesperson is always on duty so far as social media is concerned. Commercial confidences and commercial secrets must remain off the social media record. In a sense our customer's trust in us can be tested as never before.


Perhaps a distinction between professional and personal is no longer possible as our lives are now on public display whenever we are on-line.

Leader of a recent study into boundary management Ariane Ollier-Malaterre of Rouen Business School researched how and why employees manage the boundaries between their professional and personal identities in on line social networks, and how these behaviours impact the way they are regarded by professional contacts.





“As the world becomes increasingly connected through social media, employees are interacting more with co-workers, supervisors, and other professional contacts on on line social networks. Some of these on line networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, are social spaces where interactions can be personal as well as professional. "

"This results in a potential collision of worlds that can open up opportunities as well as create challenges for employees”, said Ollier-Malaterre.


According to the study, online boundary management affects our relationships at work in two ways: how well we are liked and how much we are respected.

These two aspects are also important to a salesperson's audiences.

The researchers identified four approaches that social media participants can take:

1.            Audience :Keeping professional and personal networks separate – for instance, using Facebook for personal contacts and LinkedIn for professional contacts.


2.            Content. Having both professional and personal contacts, but managing the content you post to improve your image in the eyes of both personal and professional contacts. This may also imply controlling who can tag you in photos and monitoring the comments other make on your profile on Facebook – and on Twitter it means SERIOUSLY paying attention to what you tweet.


3.            Hybrid. 'Doing' both audience and content aspects by separating the professional and the personal audiences (e.g. by using lists on Facebook ), and managing the content to try and 'look good' in the eyes of colleagues and personal friends.
Perhaps this  can be achieved with #hashtags on Twitter, but you can’t prospects and clients will be blind to #personal tweets.
It might be prudent to run two separate Twitter accounts –  one professional, one personal


4.            Open. Airing your views and feelings, whether they are positive or negative, and letting everyone comment on your posts. No filtering . Highly dangerous but what many do.
So what SHOULD you do?

Content and hybrid approaches are the most likely to increase respectability and 'likeability' in the workplace according to Ollier-Malaterre ; however, they require time and effort because they imply constant monitoring.

Should you take the hybrid approach, you’ll need to keep up with ever changing privacy settings to avoid mistakes such as posting to the wrong list of contacts.


They are also prone to accidental over-disclosure when people forget about the ‘invisible audience’ or when their contacts share unwanted information or photos about them.

The ability to manage boundaries is an important social media skill for professional salespeople and managers as the workplace and market continues to move on line.

 “How we are liked and how we are respected is affected by how we manage our on line behaviour. Hiring and firing decisions, interactions with groups and superiors are all dependent on these factors. It is vitally important” suggests Ollier-Malaterre.

Increasingly whether Clients buy or not will be affected by these factors as well. Whether your company has an official social media policy or not ,it certainly should consider what is required for the role of sales and marketing whether the approach is to be open, hybrid , content  or audience managed.

Related Links

10 ways to be fitter on twitter


“When worlds collide in cyberspace: Boundary work and the quality of professional relationships in on line social networks”

Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Nancy Rothbard & Justin Berg
http://www.rouenbs.fr/en/news/1741-september-22-ariane-ollier-malaterre-rouen-business-school

Should you friend your boss on Facebook ? Article Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/should-you-friend-your-boss-on-facebook/2012/10/25/6a8d5bba-1dff-11e2-ba31-3083ca97c314_story.html

Mary Long http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-colleagues_b37435
How do YOU manage your interactions online? Does this make you reconsider?