DA discusses...

 

Lizzie - 18 August 2010 - Diversity - Having recently attended a highly interesting diversity lecture, I’ve found myself more aware of those everyday circumstances where the question of diversity clearly isn’t being accommodated. One thing that has been agonisingly clear to me is that many people still relate diversity solely to skin colour. I certainly believe it is so much more than that. Working in a multi-cultural company, we have people from many different cultural backgrounds, different genders and with different sexual preferences. ,  I find it sad that many see diversity purely as a buzz word, and feel that as long as they use it every now and again they can tick that box and feel that they have done their duty. This was never more apparent to me when I was recently referred to in an off-hand and quite sexist way as “the short blonde one” – and no they weren’t referring to the length of my hair! – to my face, no less. The person really should have known better and would not want to be quoted! I’m not sensitive about the colour of my hair, my sex or my height, but the incident made me realise how many people are just paying lip service to diversity.

 

Lisa - 10 August 2010 - Customer service – or lack of – again! - Regular readers of these posts will know that many of my team feel rather strongly about good customer service, as do I. I was on the receiving end of some shockingly poor customer service (from British Gas) and some excellent customer service (from a local plumber) recently. After having scalding hot water come out of my cold taps for the last few days, I called British Gas, with whom I hold the top tier annual service agreement. The helpful lady on the phone booked an engineer for the following day. The chap who turned up knew about as much as I did about boilers and hot water systems. After a cursory look at my bathroom taps, he called his supervisor to report the situation. He had not even looked at the boiler or the hot water tank (or the cold turned hot water tank!) at that point. While he made the call with one hand, the other hand was busy rearranging something in his trousers. After several calls to this mysterious supervisor, a few quick looks around my flat, and taking one personal call – all the while rearranging himself – he told me the problem was my mixer tap in the kitchen. We debated how this was possible for at least 20 minutes and again he had one hand on his crotch the entire time. At this point I just wanted him out my flat. The next day a wonderful chap – a local plumber I found on Google – arrived, confirmed it was not the tap, kindly looked at the boiler and tanks to make sure they were safe, and refused to charge me for his time. British Gas has been out to my flat again – I requested a different engineer – and THAT engineer seems to have sorted the problem. And he managed to not touch his crotch even once.

 

Gisi- 2 August 2010 - I scream for ice cream!! - When we leave for vacation to see my mother-in-law, who lives near the seaside, we all look forward to various things: ice cream, fresh mature peaches and watermelon, nice white sandy beaches, blue, transparent water and the guy that sells coconut. A lot of things have changed in the 20 years we have been visiting her. Now, on Sundays it is impossible to go to the beach. There are so many people you cannot find even a tiny space to put your towel. Luckily, because we are there for a while, we can choose not to go on a Sunday and instead plan our day around having a lovely cold handmade ice cream cone!

 

Magda – 8 July 2010 - Project management - I’ve been avoiding this subject – I really didn’t want to write about it as I appreciate that while it’s interesting to me (and my grandma), it’s dead boring to everyone else. But it’s only three weeks left to the big day, so I feel I’ve done quite well keeping quiet up til now. So… I’m getting married in three weeks!!! Interestingly, what I find really exciting about it is the planning process. Well, I’m a planning geek. I love my excel worksheets with numerous columns, as well as preparing plans, to do lists, and then crossing off one thing after another. It’s very satisfying. However, I’m organising a really tiny wedding, so I feel my project management skills are not used to the full. Fortunately, I also have a three-week honeymoon trip to Vietnam that needs careful planning and a hen weekend with 11 of my girlfriends flying to London from around Europe and even from the other side of the pond. Now, there’s a planning challenge! With all this happening (plus of course working hard and studying for my CIPR diploma), I feel like I finally have my plate full and for the first time can honestly admit that I can’t take anymore. However, I’m already wondering, what will I do when all this is over?

 

Lucie – 7 July 2010 - Fraudsters, beware! - Let’s be honest, we all like to use this space for a little bit of moan every now and again -  the government, airlines, and especially ash clouds.  All these things regularly give us reasons to complain,  so I thought I would reverse this trend this week by praising the efforts of an establishment you least expect it from -my bank. I got a call from the fraud department saying that an unusual payment, to an on-line jewellery store in the US, had been made on my business credit card. Realising this was out of my normal purchasing profile  - proof that I use my business bank card properly I suppose  - the bank didn’t authorise the payment and rang me immediately. After a few security questions, I confirmed this attempt to use the card wasn’t initiated by me and they blocked the card straight away. They are sending my new card out to me in the next two days. Simple, hassle-free and efficient! That’s something new and welcome from Barclays!

 

Gisi – 30 June 2010 - The dilemma of Football - It’s that time again. The FIFA World Cup has started and everybody is glued to the TV! My Italian husband was moaning the other day that they would not let them watch the games in the office. I don’t like football that much, but the World Cup always manages to pull the fan out of me. So there I am, sitting in front of the TV like so many others, commenting on goals, penalties or wrong decisions made by the referees, even though I don’t really understand a great deal about the rules. None the less, it is nice to see your team win and to be a little bit patriotic. In our house we are supporting two teams: Germany and Italy. So let’s hope they will not meet at some point during the tournament, because that will be a real dilemma. My elder son and his father want Italy to win and my little one (probably out of solidarity for me) and I want Germany to win. At this point all I can say is: may the best team win!

 

Lizzie - 29 June 2010 - I said Madonna – not Maradonna! After what can only be described as a pathetic performance on Friday night by the England football team against Algeria in the World Cup, I was glad the rest of my weekend was going to be football-free! Instead of the constant noise of vuvuzelas and rowdy fans, my Saturday was a tribute to Madonna - her fashion, her music, and her career - culminating in the professional reproduction of the video of the 1990 hit, Vogue! Have I been forging secret pop career I hear you say? Alas, NO! It was a group activity for a friend’s hen party. And what a blast it was. For two and a half hours we were choreographed, made-up and filmed replicating every move Madonna makes in the Vogue video. It’s easy to see how the TV show Glee has become such a global phenomenon: there’s nothing more fun than dancing about and singing into your hairbrush. In any case, you needn’t worry too much – I don’t think I’m going to give up the day-job! But if someone could tell me when England is next playing, I’d gladly go back and make another video – ANYTHING to avoid watching another dismal performance!

Magda – 4 June 2010 - Get real - I understand the frustrations of BA employees. I do, because, like thousands of UK workers I’ve had them as well. 2009 was a year many of us would like to forget. Pay freezes, pay cuts and redundancies were all around us. What I don’t understand is why BA unions think they should be immune. BA doesn’t want to restore cabin crew’s travel perks? It’s a perk after all and they can be the first things a company that is losing millions of pounds gets rid of. Why am I writing about BA strikes? Firstly , I’m not happy that my fiancée’s business trip to the US lasted longer than expected due to the strike and the changed flight schedule. And secondly, I’m getting married this year and due to travel with BA to and from my wedding in Poland and then to and from my honeymoon in Vietnam. I have enough stress in my life because of the wedding itself not to mention the uncertainty the volcanic ash cloud adds to the event. Do I really need additional stress from BA unions? Could they please realise that this is real life; we’ve been through a recession and everyone has to take a cut, and I and my fiancée would like to go to our wedding and honeymoon as planned?

 

Lucie – 2 June 2010 - Happy anniversary - It recently dawned on me that I have now been working for DA for over three years. And what an impressive three years! I’ve experienced the change of ownership of the agency from its original owner to Lisa and Steve, an office move, a global financial crisis... I’ve had the chance to work with fantastic colleagues that have come and gone, and some that have even come back again, and a constantly expanding portfolio of clients. But one thing has always stayed the same: DA’s dedication to provide quality and efficient communications solutions for all our clients across Europe. Who would have thought that the job I got three years ago would take me on such a journey!

 

Pippa – 28 May 2010 - How to turn a dog into a chicken - We recently acquired four hens. Jemima, Henrietta (Henny for short), Toffee and Honey are now established in a large run behind the rhododendrons at the back of the garden. We opted not to give them free range for fear they’d eat the entire content of our vegetable patch. Instead, we now all surreptitiously go to pull leaves off the lettuces and feed them to the hens as treats. We have the hens as the result of the children’s pester power. They wanted a dog, so two years ago we got a cat - we figured less trouble, no walks and limited dirt. They still wanted a dog, so we now have four hens - we figured less trouble, no walks and some eggs. I bet they still want a dog and, despite ending up with other pets with different plus-points, they will probably, ultimately, get what they want we figure more trouble, more walks but more fun. The moral of the story? In the end, persistence does pay.

 

Lizzie - 25 May 2010 - A very different tradition - This weekend, some friends and I were invited to an old school friend’s wedding. What made this more exciting than usual was that it was a traditional Hindu wedding – something I had never experienced. After arriving at the venue, we quickly got lost in the crowds – more than 500 people had been invited– and made our way outside to the terrace. A whisper started through the crowd that the groom, our friend,  was arriving by helicopter! Five minutes later, a helicopter started to circle the building and the drums started to beat.  After a passes overhead, the helicopter landed (by the 18th green? of the golf course) and then the traditional ceremony started.  It was a collection of rituals, performed by the bride and groom and their respective parents and close relatives. The Brahmin (priest) chanted mantras from the Vedas and Puranas, the holy scriptures of the Hindus, all in Sanskrit. The 16 stages of the ceremony took about four hours in total and because of the strict traditional nature of the event, we didn’t really get to speak to our friend at all. Thanks to the pure spectacle of it, it is not something I shall forget in a hurry.

 

Lisa - 18 May 2010 - Ash cloud misery is comms victory for Virgin - I flew earlier this week when the ash cloud from the unpronounceable Icelandic volcano once again caused disruption at major UK airports. I was coming in from the US and there was much uncertainty as to whether or not southern UK airspace would remain open and whether or not my Virgin flight would take off. Thanks to a very clear and well thought-out communications strategy, implemented expertly, Virgin’s Tweets and its website (with a prominent “flight disruption” link from its home page) made sure I was kept well-informed during the hours before I was due to fly, even though the reality was no one actually knew whether the plane would leave or not! Once on board the pilots kept us informed too – Stansted was an option for landing apparently if Heathrow remained closed – echoing the great information flow. Hardly rocket (or Airbus!) science, I hear you moan, but sometimes it is those very simple things that trip even the best of us up. Once again, Virgin gets it right, and for that I love it and will continue to give it all of my transatlantic business.

Magda – 27 April 2010 - Three eventful weeks - So much has happened in the last three weeks, it’s been really difficult for me to chose what I should write about here. Should I write about the Polish president killed in the plane crash together with almost 100 other amazing people who have contributed so much to Poland’s history, politics and culture? Being Polish, it of course affected me enormously even though I’m miles away from the mourning country. Such a tragedy. Or should I write about the unbelievable and unprecedented flight disruptions caused by Eyjafjallajoekull. I love the fact the media simply refer to it as “the Icelandic volcano” and no one even tries to pronounce it . I feel for all the stranded travelers in places like Shanghai, New York or the Maldives, but my heart goes out to those who haven’t managed to leave for their long awaited holidays. Another topic I could focus on is of course the election race. A rising star in Nick Clegg, widely discussed televised debates between the three main parties, fifteen contradicting opinion polls every day – so much material! I’m overwhelmed by all these stories, not sure which one to choose. Oh wait! I don’t think I have anymore space!

 

Pippa – 20 April 2010 - Can a good story get away with not being credible? - Are you one of those people who watch TV or read a book and can’t help but say to yourself “Oh, he wouldn’t have done that! That’s just not believable!”? I have to confess that I am. I know it’s annoying, but I find it really hard to stop myself. At the moment, slightly later than most people, I am reading the third of the Stieg Larsson books, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, at the same time as my husband. This is a bit fraught, as we have only one copy. I  irritate him with comments such as “Surely, there would have been more security at the hospital” or “If I were Mikael Blomkvist, I would have tried to make contact with Lisbeth Salander by now”. His reply is always “You need to suspend disbelief. The story is good. That’s what counts”. To some extent, I think that’s true. I have become very caught up by the story and the book is definitely a page-turner. But, and this is a big but for me, unless it’s set in a world of complete fantasy, a story should also be truly credible. Don’t you agree?

Lizzie - 16 April 2010 - A phenomenon of our time - Unless you have had you head buried in the sand, you know about the Icelandic volcano eruption beneath the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier. Not since World War II has there been so much disruption caused to air traffic over the UK, let alone the majority of Europe. According to some newspapers, nearly one million Britons are stranded abroad, and there are headlines about celebrities, like Gary Lineker and John Cleese making mammoth overland journeys to get back to the UK. A  reportedly 50,000 more passengers than normal have been travelling on Eurostar trains, and the company has apparently hiked up a single fare from Paris to London from £69 to £223! But the company has claimed of course it is not cashing in on the situation. It may take a while, but things will return to normal – eventually. What is for certain though is that the Icelandic ash cloud is sure to become part of our history – the few days where the world practically stood still. And for those of us who don’t remember a time without mobile phones, the internet, or easy, cheap and readily available air travel, it has left us wondering how we ever managed before?

Lisa - 12 April 2010 - Bloom into spring - I spent Easter in Washington DC to visit family and friends. Even though I went to boarding school not too far from the city back in the mid-1980s, I didn’t spend much time sight-seeing or doing the touristy things. But this trip coincided with one of the most amazing and most beautiful annual events the city holds, and one I had never seen – the National Cherry Blossom Festival (www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org). The two week Festival – which includes up to 90 different events - commemorates spring but also the gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees in 1912, and 3,800 more in 1965, from Japan to the US. The main focus of the Festival is around the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial. When I was there, it was during peak blooming time, so the entire area was lined with tree after tree covered in amazing pink-white blossoms. It was truly breathtaking. And in the sun and breeze, it was nice to see people taking time to simply look at a tree, enjoying the beauty of it. When is Easter next year?

 

Gisi – 7 April 2010 - School pressure - As far as I remember, my parents never got that involved with my homework and I cannot remember having that much of it either. When I see my kids now, I am astonished as to how much things have changed. The elder of my two sons, who is now twelve years old, is bombarded with homework on a daily basis and double that at the weekend. Everytime he is ill he gets into a panic in case he misses too much. It worries me when he starts to hate when he’s on vacation because he cannot relax. Some of it is naturally down to the fact that the Italian government has no budget for schools. School hours for important subjects such as geography or history are constantly reduced and teachers have less time available so kids have to make up for it at home. It’s true that school is important, but it shouldn’t put children under so much pressure. Other activities are just as vital, such as sports, music or even leisure time. The knock-on effect can mean that the whole family suffers as a result of the pressure the children are under, rather than them being happy and without a worry in their life – just the way I was at that age.

 

Lisa - 1 April 2010 - Happy anniversary - Today marks a very auspicious day! It is the second anniversary of the birth of DA Public Relations – Davies Associates as it was in its past life, but with the same staff and the same clients. It is particularly auspicious given that, no matter how well we are doing in these tough economic times, statistics show that the first two years of a new business – and in our case the “new” should probably be in inverted commas – are very risky. According to the American Small Business Association, a whopping two-thirds of new businesses fail in the first two years. The statistics remain fairly gloomy up to four years and then ease up a little. Once you hit 10 years you are, statistically, pretty secure, according to research. And here I was worried about new clients and delivering excellence as I thought that is what would keep us in business! Silly me. So despite it being April Fool’s Day (and just who chose that as the day for the paperwork to be sorted, anyway???), I shall not be pulling any pranks, but rather celebrating two years of hard work, dedication, a fantastic team and, I know now, beating the odds. Perhaps I should plan a trip to Vegas?

 

Steve - 23 March 2010 - Summer’s coming! (what happened to spring?) - From the change of dress of people on the streets last weekend, it could have been July not March: we seem to have forgotten that spring exists, wanting so much to break away from the “misery” of winter and rush into summer when we can complain that it is too hot. The British obsession with the weather never seems to wane, especially on the first day of sunshine in spring when the temperature reaches an incredible 12oC and everyone dons their shorts and miniskirts to rush out and show off their legs. Perhaps I am alone in my love of the British seasons - moderate temperatures between April and November punctuated by the odd hot day, followed by the crisp cold of winter.  It will be wonderful now to see the changing colours of the countryside, spring flowers and lush greens for months turning slowly into the deep reds of autumn.  Unfortunately this will be sporadically spoilt by naked legs, backs and stomachs which used to be confined to the beach. Must get my camera ready...

Lisa - 22 March 2010 - Customer service – the best and the worst... - This week, while in Selfridges buying myself something for supper, I made a rash impulse purchase of a rather expensive cardigan from up-market retailer All Saints. The salesgirl at the fitting room was great, helping me with a smile on her face and repeatedly urging me to let her know if she could get me anything else. Once I chose the cardi, I went to pay. I stood at the counter, one lone customer, and watched three salespeople having a good conversation! One girl even glanced at me with an annoyed look on her face – like I was really interrupting their social life. After about two minutes of standing there, staring at them, one decided they should help me. She processed my debit card, and then asked if I wanted a bag for my £85 cardigan. “Yes”, I said, as I only had a Foodhall bag with a piece of raw tuna in it. Then she asked me a question I have NEVER been asked by a sales person: “would you like tissue paper?”. At this point, I had pretty much had enough, so I replied, “for £85 I would like a facial with it”, but that didn’t even raise a smile. Some tissue paper was stuffed in the bag and I came home. The next day I put the cardigan on only to find a huge hole in the hem. I went back to the concession, and this time had the most efficient sales person! He apologised profusely and explained it wasn’t a fault in the delicate fabric, but something that occasionally happened from the metal racks in the stockroom. He processed my exchange quickly and without fuss. But I did notice, when I got home, there was no tissue paper in the bag...

Magda – 19 March 2010 – Going cold turkey - It’s been three agonizing weeks without TV. Apparently something happened to the main antenna, so, I’ve been through almost a month without BBC Breakfast when getting ready for work. Twenty one evenings without Sky News at dinner time. Three weeks without Come Dine With Me or inspiring travel programmes. And, most importantly for my fiancée and all the Italians and Spanish living in my building, a weekend without a Formula 1 race. Not any race, the opening race of the season. You could feel the tension in the corridors last week. Things started to get nasty. Leaflets criticising our estate’s management and calls to pester them every couple of hours with annoying phone calls. I do feel for the poor people working in the complaints department of our estate. But to be honest, I’m actually quite happy about the lack of TV. I’ve been planning to limit our TV consumption for quite a while, or at least structure it a bit better, so we only watch the programmes that we really like instead of just having moving pictures in front of our eyes all the time. I managed to catch up with emails and some outstanding things on my to do list. So far, so good. But I’m afraid my will won’t be that strong once the TV issue is resolved. It’s time to admit it. My name is Magda and I’m a TVaholic.

 

Lucie - 15 March 2010 - Seamless Prague - I recently came back from a long weekend in Prague, and it seemed like all the transportation gods were on our side. The trip to the airport in London was seamless, our flight was on time, and the cab ride from Prague’s airport to our hotel was very quick. After a relaxing weekend away, on Monday morning, a hotel-booked car was waiting for us as we left the hotel, whisking us to the airport in the same record time. I have to say I usually rage against low-cost airlines, but EasyJet served us really well, for once, so much so, we even landed in London 20 minutes early. The easiness of it all left me feeling happy and relaxed, and I came back home rested, and isn’t that the whole point of a holiday – even a short one?

 

Lizzie - 12 March 2010 - Whose right is it anyway? - It has come to light this week that Jon Venables, one of James Bulger’s killers, has re-offended after being let out of prison, and because he was on parole, it is likely he will be sent back to prison after his court case. Such a high-profile case has really got emotions amongst the public running high and the media circus has started. Rumours are circulating that he’s been using drugs and that he’s facing child porn charges – but our MP’s are standing firm, believing that if they tell us exactly what he has done, it could jeopardise his trial, and people may figure out his new identity, which would infringe on his human rights. Surely he lost HIS rights the day he helped to murder that little boy 17 years ago? What about James Bulger’s mothers rights? The right to see her son grow up into a man and the right to know that her son’s killers have been properly punished for what they did. I am shocked to my core that after only spending eight years in prison, Venables was let out and allowed to re-offend.

 

Gisi - 11 March 2010 - European political union or not? That is the question! - Reading about the Greek crisis in the newspapers, I wondered: is the European Union really worth it? In the past many Europeans were very pro Europe, but people are now not so sure. The federalists want the EU to form a political union putting in place a mechanism that allows money transfer within Europe. Due to the way the European Monetary Union was designed, there is no means for a bail-out of the Greek government by the EU. Then there are those sceptical towards the EU, convinced that the Greek crisis will eventually end the Monetary Union. However, there is one common interest for these groups: to magnify the crisis in order to achieve their own goals. It’s true Greece faces a lot of problems but no more or less than other EU countries.

 

Pippa - 10 March 2010 - The civilising influence of language - On our recent family skiing holiday in France, we faced horrendous lift queues, as our holiday coincided with that of most of the rest of Europe, including Paris. There was lots of the usual shuffling forward with skis trying to avoid other people’s strategically planted poles, ski school monitors admonishing children with “il faut s’imposer”, and sighs about “les Anglais”. And then I overhear someone in the queue remarking that at least they’re not as bad at queuing as the Germans, which put my back up (I’m a German, married to a Brit and am fluent in French...). Once on the chair-lift though, there was the invariably delightful conversation with the charming skiers you had just recently fought against in the queue. The chats are somewhat aided by my ability to speak the language, of course, but it still leaves me perplexed at why so many of us are only civil when in a restricted space. At the end of the lift, we hop off, wishing each other a good day and then skiing off, only to be irritated by the hordes of skiers and snowboarders swooping down across our paths. I have finally arrived at the obvious conclusion that over-crowding leads to bad manners, but direct confrontation in the person’s native tongue generally reverses that behaviour. For that reason alone learning to speak another language must be worth it!

 

Magda - 9 March 2010 - Back to school - When you’re 30, the memory of textbooks, lectures, homework, reading lists and assignments is long gone. And chances are, you think it’s gone for good. Not for everyone though. Some people (let’s call them masochists) come to this strange moment in their life when, for whatever reason, they decide that they want more. They want to do diploma in public relations. And so it starts again. Heavy textbooks full of PR and communications theory, definitions of professionalism, long lectures that are difficult to survive because you’re not used to sitting still anymore, homework that you put off indefinitely, unbelievably long reading lists full of articles you want to read, but let’s face it, you never will, and of course assignments. I fear these the most! Five thousand words on PR theory??? I’m a PR practitioner, a master of a short form; I like putting together hundreds of words for articles, comments, releases, but thousands? This year is going to be very challenging. No doubt I’ll be coming back to this topic more often as more hurdles surface. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

Spaghie - 5 March 2010 - Holiday by the River - As the official Director of Greetings (D.O.G.) at DAPR, I rarely get a holiday (though some might say my whole life is one!). But two weeks ago my mother, and owner of the consultancy, went to a faraway tropical island on holiday where I wasn’t allowed to go, and so I, too, was able to take a holiday, with some wonderful friends who live by the River Thames in Battersea. Linda and Michael live on the sixth floor of a lovely building with wonderful (“panoramic” I heard mummy say) views over London – I had never seen my home town quite like that before, but I loved being out on the balcony, particularly when a helicopter landed at nearby Battersea heliport. I barked a greeting (as I am used to doing!) but I am not sure they heard me, and I wagged my tail in encouragement so they would come back again soon. Linda and Michael took me on lots of long walks which I enjoyed immensely and there were so many new smells. The days flew by, and were filled with cuddles and treats. I hate to say it, but I hardly missed mummy. When she got back, she looked rested and smelled of coconut, and I was very happy to see her – I hadn’t realised just how much I really did miss her. So, holidays are excellent, if you can stay by the River, but it is even better when you get to go home.

 

Lisa - 2 March 2010 - An opportunity everywhere - I recently went to Barbados on holiday. I booked my direct flight with my favourite airline, Virgin Atlantic. On arriving at Gatwick to check in (or rather “bag-drop” as you do these days!), I was informed that the flight was delayed by several hours due to a volcanic eruption on Montserrat. We ended up leaving four hours late, and the packed flight was suddenly making another stop after Barbados, in Antigua. Turns out the BA flight to Antigua that morning was cancelled (also citing the volcanic ash cloud), and so Virgin, in its wonderfully entrepreneurial way, decided to take as many BA passengers as it could on the Barbados flight. Almost nine hours later, over three hundred of us disembarked at Grantley Adams Airport, leaving another hundred-odd to wait 45 minutes for luggage to be unloaded. Then, the plane took off again and made the 45 minute flight to Antigua. All I could think was how happy all those passengers must have been, getting to their destination on the day they were meant to. And I bet I know which airline they will fly next time they book long-haul!

 

Lucie - 1 March 2010 - Eyes down - When I was at school in France, during my first ever English class, we played Bingo. It was the first time I had heard of this typically English game. I never thought much of it, but now that I live in England, I realise that the country might be just a little obsessed with Bingo. The game has reached incredible popularity in the United Kingdom; statistically, each person in the country draws about 24 numbers each minute. There are a reported 700 Bingo halls where frequent Bingo games and tournaments are held regularly. Some pubs also organise regular Bingo nights to appeal to the young crowds; Wine Bingo tournament are also held, where players are able to combine their love of wine and blind tasting with their love of Bingo. I’ve even been to a rebel Bingo party, an event held in a secret location in London where hardcore Bingo players gather once a month. I’ve now accepted that Bingo is one of these strange English traditions, along with drinking tea with milk and hanging a sock on the chimney at Christmas time.

 

Lizzie - 4 February 2010 - A truly terrible communicator - Time to vent, I’m afraid! I’ve recently been in a situation, where, as a customer, I have been dumbfounded by the lack of communication by a certain furniture dealer. Back in August I ordered some furniture from an online supplier. At the time I was promised a six week delivery period – 10 weeks at the most! It all eventually arrived on Friday 29 January –six months later. I appreciate the fact that sometimes delays occur and with bespoke furniture things can go wrong – especially when they are coming from abroad. But this gentleman felt it was perfectly acceptable to ignore us after the initial 10 week period. Instead of communicating with us every step of the way and apologising, he ignored our phone calls and emails – I was finally forced to involve law enforcement. I had no idea whether his online shop was a front and he was actually a thief, but it really is a strange situation when you have to resort to calling the police to find out if your new bookcase is going to actually arrive!? Thanks to my terribly experience, I’m telling everyone who will listen to never use him or his services, and frankly he hasn’t got anyone to blame but himself – he’s destroying his own business. If only he’d learnt some effective communications techniques: it just shows how easily bad communication can ruin a reputation!

 

Gisi - 2 February 2010 - The Palio – not just a horse race - It’s been 10 years since I moved to Siena – a little medieval town in the heart of Tuscany. Famous across the whole world for the Palio, a horse race run in July and August in the main piazza, attracting tourists and VIP’s. Watching as an outsider - that is not from a Sienese point of view, I still have not fully understood the importance of this event. One thing is certain though: it is not all about the race but about society, dedication and team building. The Palio is only the climax of the social life of the Contrade: true city-states within the city. Each has its territory, population and a constitution of its own as well as a periodically elected board of administrators. Siena is divided into 17 sections and, traditionally, according to where you lived, you were part of that Contrada. Nowadays people who have moved outside Siena can remain part of their Contrada. Newborn usually get babtised into their fathers’ Contrada. The Palio is the culmination of the Contrade’s existence. But life in the Contrada is also about organising events like drumming and flag waving lessons for kids, sewing lessons for the ladies and year-round dinners, and excursions during the weekend. Most important of all, it keeps young people off the streets by giving them something to do. The Contrade are part of Sienese life and stay with you until you die, almost like a big family that helps both the young and the old to be part of something– and don’t we all need that.

 

Lisa - 20 January 2010 - The search begins and there go my Friday nights - Last week saw the start of the new series of American Idol, the US phenomenon that searches for the next big singing talent. It is a spin-off of the UK Pop Idol which we don’t air anymore, and there are versions of it all over the world. I adore this show, and watch it religiously. It has all the aspects you might love about our X Factor – Simon Cowell as a judge, hysterical audition rounds, and amazing live shows at the end. The difference, however, is that it is all on a much larger, much glitzier scale. It is hard for me to pin-point exactly what it is that compels me to stay in on a Friday night and watch it, but suffice to say, for the next four months I shall be enjoying the start of the weekend from my sofa.

 

Lisa - 6 January 2010 - A new year, a new… - As with any New Year, talk abounds of resolutions, diets, newly developed exercise routines. I embraced some of these fads over the years, but they usually didn’t last beyond the end of January. But this year 2010 (whether you choose to call it twenty-ten or not) feels like a special sort of year in some way. Last year was possibly the most difficult one of my life; on top of the global recession, I endured major surgery and lost a beloved parent to a terrible disease. And yet from that heartache I found deep and close friendships and support that often came from the most unexpected places. And so as 2009 drew to a close, I wasn’t damning it for the pain it had brought to me - in fact I felt a stronger person for having been through it. So as others talk about dropping a dress size or counting calories as they embark on 2010, I am embracing the New Year with hope and purpose, and I know my father would be proud.

 

Gerardo -8 December 2009 - Tales of sleeping shrimp - A sleeping shrimp gets lost in the stream is one of the many, mystic Mexican proverbs. Whilst on an official state visit to Mexico recently, Prince Willem Alexander of The Netherlands finished a speech: “Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la chingada”, which means “A shrimp that sleeps gets f***d up”. The nervous laughter of a distinguished audience, flabbergasted at the visiting European Prince who had just uttered such profanities in the name of The Netherlands, did nothing to diffuse the situation. The blame for this serious gaffe was laid at the feet of the Prince’s Argentinean Spanish-advisor, who apparently did not know the coarseness of that local Mexican word. Singer Pete Doherty has also fallen foul of cultural subtleties when he decided to sing the German National anthem in Munich, using the lyrics that are most associated with the Nazi regime (Deutschland uber alles). But are they really at fault? In a world where visiting other countries with alien cultures, it’s no wonder that there are so many potential pitfalls – and more incidences of sleeping shrimp are bound to happen - that’s why we, at DA, hold cultural meaning and sensitivity in the utmost regard.

 

Beate - 7 December 2009 - Christmas markets - Yes! It’s that time of the year again to visit one of the numerous Christmas markets in Munich. I have to say they are one of the very few things I missed when I lived in London. Up until last year, there was unfortunately nothing in London that was even remotely similar to the kind of Christmas market I am used to - tiny, cosy, well-hidden markets with delicious glühwein and tasty sausages. Tomorrow night I will be going to a particularly nice market in Munich. It’s located in a huge park, called the English Garden. And in the heart of the park is a Pagoda-esque tower called the Chinese Tower. There are usually lots of quaint, little wooden stalls situated around the tower and the atmosphere is very relaxed, at least during the week. At night, the park surrounding the market is pitch black, which adds to the atmosphere cosier – surrounded by the dark, but in the middle of all the Christmas lights of the market. And the darkness is also a good excuse for one extra glühwein, for courage of course, before you start your journey home through the park!

 

Madga - 2 December 2009 - Join the revolution - So it’s been over three months now! Three months, 13 long weeks of hard work, non-stop. What’s worse, it’s not over yet… Another four weeks left! How am I supposed to live like that? I need a break! I really do need a break. Because it’s been 13 weeks since the rest of UK workforce and I have had a chance to breathe, sleep in, and generally do nothing in front of the TV for one entire weekday, and enjoy a proper Bank Holiday, like the rest of continental Europe have done. Even the Americans enjoyed a day off for Thanksgiving last week. And the Poles? Well, they’ve just had two days off in November! But for those of us living in the UK the last day off was the 30 August. I urge the Prime Minister and Parliament to do something populist. Even if for pure publicity, even if just to help the citizens forget about the recession. Please, could you please vote in favour of another Bank Holiday for British workers? Who’s with me? Who will sign the petition? I’m counting on you!

 

Lisa - 26 November 09 - A time to give thanks - Thursday this week is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest. Today it is a day set aside to gather with family and friends to reflect and to remember all the things you have to be grateful for. In the American calendar, it is, in some ways, a day as important as Christmas. Having lived in the UK for 22 years, Thanksgiving has become just another cold, grey November Thursday to me. This year, however, because my father passed away last month, it seems a much more poignant day and one I felt I needed to be on US soil to celebrate with special loved ones and family. So as this is posted, I will be baking bread, making a pumpkin cheesecake (to go with the pecan pie) and figuring out how to cook an 11kg turkey! And of course, I will be remembering the Thanksgivings I spent with my father, and giving thanks for the time we had together.

 

Lizzie – 23 November 2009 - NHS – is there anybody listening? - Unfortunately, I’ve had some dealings recently with an NHS hospital where my 93 year old grandfather was admitted 10 days ago. Having not been near a hospital for a while, I didn’t understand how under-staffed and over-worked the nurses are –to the detriment of patient care it would seem. I have been deeply saddened and shocked by how my veteran grandpa has been treated. If his family had not been around to chase the nurses and doctors, I am not sure he would be alive today. Because he cannot speak or communicate what he needs or wants, he is ignored. A friend had exactly the same problems when her grandmother was admitted to the same hospital. It took her aunt, who is a consultant, to drive 300 miles and kick up a fuss for anything to happen! But my concern is – what happens for those people who don’t have anyone to fight their corner? NHS care is a basic necessity – and one that we all contribute towards – so why are there still so many failings, and so little we can do to make things better?

 

Lucie – 20 November 2009 - Jeu de mains - As a French national, I haven’t got much of a patriotic soul; I don’t celebrate the 14 July, I don’t paint blue, white and red flags on my face for sporting events, I haven’t lived in France in years and I don’t much miss it. Football isn’t a passion of mine either. I believe the world is divided in two groups of people: those who follow football and those who follow rugby. I am part of the latter group. My complete lack of understanding or interest in football however, didn’t prevent me from copping huge amounts of jibes from the Irish and from football fans alike following the France-Ireland World Cup Qualifier game Wednesday. Personally, I think Thierry Henry’s handball was disgraceful, and simply because of my nationality, I feel I ought to apologise for it. The truth is, though, I can’t help not caring at all, after all, I’m not patriotic and I don’t like football.

 

Enrique - 18 November 2009 - Rebranding - One of the areas that I like most within communications and PR is branding, or rebranding, more specifically, an existing institution. Rebranding often happens post-merger or acquisition. Because of my interest in this, I am following how Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester are being rebranded Santander. The Spanish banking behemoth bought Abbey in 2004 but it has only been recently that the rebranding process, which will be completed by next spring, began. The consultancy driving this plans to engage in national and regional activities, focusing on a series of events designed to ‘celebrate the brand’ and create PR and photo opportunities. We will be able to see the effectiveness of these events soon, although it is worth saying that Santander is already well recognised in the UK. I also have the merger between BA and Iberia to watch develop, but not until the end of 2010.

 

Nora - 12 November 2009 - Exclusive Networking - Is it just me, or does it seems as if online networking just keeps becoming more popular by the day? Since 2007 I have joined various network groups; Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to mention but a few. I have also been lured into the world of the exclusive networking groups in recent months; you can only become a member by a personal invitation from an existing member. So what is all the fuss about? There are specifically themed networking events every night of the week, if you have the time to attend them all. There is also the opportunity to promote your business and its services to a niche audience. It will be interesting to see how long these exclusive networks can remain so elite, or will they become just another glorified social networking site. Watch this space…

 

Lisa - 9 November 2009 - It is time for the CIPR to focus - The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is in the midst of an election for president-elect and for treasurer; I am standing for treasurer because I feel the Institute, which has not been immune to the effects of the economic downturn, must now focus hard to create a stable financial platform on which its future can be built. We need to become a leaner, more efficient Institute, providing better services to our members if we are to survive. I very much see the role of Treasurer as one which drives the Institute forward in terms of financial efficiencies. A thankless task some might say; my motivation is certainly not to gain more friends. I would, however, aim to for a more efficient Institute, one which leads the industry, providing better value for its members, me included. As a board member for the last two years, the chair of the membership committee, the chair of the largest regional/national Group, the Greater London Group, for nearly three years, and secretary of that Group before becoming chair, I feel my credentials make me the right candidate. I hope you do too, and if you are an eligible CIPR voting member, make your vote count. Lost your ballot paper? Ask me how to get a replacement – lisa@dapr.com

 

Beate - 9 November 2009 - Blunder in Berlin - Today is a very important day for Germany as it marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin wall’s fall. The media have been reporting the anniversary for a few weeks already, but 9 November 1989 was when it all happened. Everybody remembers the pictures of people jumping on the wall, sitting there for a while and then eventually jumping down the other side - something that had been unthinkable up til then. I remember watching TV and not  believing what I was seeing.  Well, believe it or not, it was all down to a blunder. Can you imagine, the Wall came down because one of the GDR’s leading body’s members wasn’t in the picture about what he was supposed to say during an international press conference that night? He got it all wrong and announced free travel, something that was not intended, of course. The leaders of East Germany clearly needed some media training, and I have to say, I’m really grateful for that, and I am sure the rest of the world is too.

 

Magda - 3 November 2009 - Pop Life - Last weekend I went to check out Pop Life, a new exhibition at the Tate Modern – if you haven’t seen it, go and buy a ticket immediately. I’ve seen lots of pop art in my life and despite this the organisers managed to surprise me and to show me something completely new. To be accurate, not only new; they are also showing a few shocking things, and by that I mean properly disturbing. Only for over 18s and not for the faint hearted… I’m no connoisseur and very far from a specialist – I just enjoy going to art exhibitions from time to time, even though I may not fully understand many of the things I see at them. This exhibition made me realise how little I actually understand about pop art.  It also showed me that modern art can also mainly be about its highly sensationalist PR– it doesn’t seem to even matter whether the press coverage is good or bad. And looking at clippings about some of the installations I saw, this exhibition is mostly about bad publicity… but still worth a visit.

 

Beate - 26 October 2009 - New car - I recently picked up my new car directly from the plant of a big German car manufacturer. But why not have it delivered to my local dealership? The manufacturer offered me and four friends a free guided tour around the site along with food and drinks. As it is only about an hour train ride away from where I live, I thought it would be a great opportunity. And I can tell you, the five of us had a great afternoon! The tour was extremely interesting and I was surprised to learn a few new things about car manufacturing. The biggest change was to see how robots have replaced people – in some cases, robots are used because they work more efficiently than us but in other cases, robots have taken over jobs that are hazardous to workers’ health. It is fascinating to see how everything has been automated in the car manufacturing process. One thing that has not yet been automated though is the driving, and that’s good news for me because I love driving my new car!

 

Lizzie - 21 October 2009 - Blame game - A very good friend of mine has been appointed to carry out marketing and communications in a global housing and development group – a little surprising to me as she has no communications background at all. As I recently sat through dinner with her, and her constant moaning about the PR agency she has to deal with on a daily basis - a very well-known and respected agency too I might add - it occurred to me she doesn’t really understand how our industry works or even her function within it. Perhaps I was being overly defensive given my role – I deal with the marketing and communications managers and directors of global industry leaders every day in our consultancy. However, I know an honest and transparent relationship between consultancy and client is paramount and that can only be born out of trust and not playing the blame game!

 

Lucie - 19 October 2009 - Diversity - Last week I attended a CIPR GLG event on cross-cultural PR and diversity, which talked about the importance of addressing diverse groups and minorities when executing a PR campaign, especially as these groups have been growing fast. One of the speakers also emphasised that the best way to communicate effectively with diverse groups or minorities, is to employ minorities or people from a diverse background. This concept really resonated with me as this is exactly what DA has been doing for over 25 years. We know that to communicate effectively with the Polish markets, we need a Polish native and PR expert who understands the cultural sensitivities of the market, not just the language.  Who could handle this better for us than Magda, our Polish national? We also know that the French Swiss, the Belgian Walloons, and the French are all different and cannot just be grouped together as “French”. I truly believe it is this added importance we place on the cultural sensitivities in the markets in which we operate that makes DA a perfect pan-European communications solution.

 

Magda - 28 September 2009- Go ape - PR is about communication and engagement. But how do you engage Londoners and get them thinking about the last 700 remaining mountain gorillas, somewhere far away in Africa? Well that’s easy! - make them gorillas for a day. 1,000 people, all dressed in gorilla suits and going ape for a day is an unusual charity run on the streets of London. Some fun for everyone. For me it was about taking pictures, and visitors to London had a chance to see how amazing and quirky this city can be. And participants? They obviously had a chance to express their furry side while saving an endangered species from extinction. On Saturday, I saw hundreds of gorillas walking, running and jogging in the City of London next to world famous landmarks like Tower Bridge and The Tate Modern. For some of them, a gorilla suit wasn't enough of a disguise. Some were also wearing bikinis, Hawaiian shirts, dresses or carrying bananas, mini Empire State buildings or even pushing trolleys with essential gorilla grocery. And the benefits? Money for gorillas, a great photo in your album, a banana on the finish line and you get to keep a gorilla suit to wear anytime you want. Just for this last reason, I'm in!

 

Beate - 24 September 2009 - PR and the Oktoberfest - I was born in Munich and have been going to the Oktoberfest every year since I was about three. The world’s largest beer festival started once again last Saturday and, as always, attracts many visitors from abroad. However, in the last ten years or so, the percentage of overseas visitors has risen sharply. I assume the PR efforts behind the success of the event have been enormous or it could be down to good old-fashioned word-of-mouth. It’s probably a combination of the two, assisted by the true global village in which we live, which of course includes communication. Even the difficult economic times haven’t seemed to deter people from travelling to Munich. Perhaps the Oktoberfest doesn’t need a lot of PR, perhaps it promotes itself by simply letting people enjoy themselves… And although many people drink too much beer, they remember the good time they had and are keen to return the following year.

 

Lizzie - 15 September 2009 - Our troops in Afghanistan - A friend of mine has just gone back to Afghanistan for his second six month tour, leaving behind his family, friends and his very anxious fiancée. We obviously try not to think about what could happen, but with news of “our boys” facing attack after attack, it’s quite hard not to. What I still find amazing is that these brave soldiers , no matter whether they believe in the reasons behind it, risk their lives daily to help secure the freedom and the human rights of the Afghan people;  and they do it all without question. It’s their job. They knew that one day they could be placed in the middle of war when they signed up! But I still can’t get my head round the few minority groups who consistently feel the need to rubbish the troops – and the constant negativity that is highlighted by politicians. At the end of the day, the troops are just doing their jobs and I’m sure it’s not good for morale when all they hear is bickering on whether the Afghan people should be helped and whether it is our position to do so. You have a right to believe it may not be, but let’s spare a thought for our troops out there, and fully support them – because they really have the hardest job of all.

 

Lisa - 10 September 2009 - Decks and the City - Even though I may be classed as being on the brink of middle age doesn’t mean that I can’t do things against type now and then. Saturday night I persuaded a much younger female friend to join me at a club to listen to the legendary icon Boy George perform an extended DJ set. If I am totally honest, I didn’t really know he was renowned now as a DJ, but as far as I was concerned, it was still Boy George, and I had clear and fond memories of Culture Club in the early 80s, so that alone seemed reason enough to go. He wasn’t due to start until 10pm – seemed a little late, I thought! – but after a nice dinner out, off we went in our dancing shoes and glad rags. He hung out in the bar beforehand, wearing a hot pink, sequined-encrusted fedora, and seemed to not notice everyone – including me – gawping at him. Once behind the decks, the entire place – about 150 people – piled onto the dance floor and bopped til about 2am. Given I had back surgery almost 5 months ago, I was hearing heels and I was at least one of the oldest people there, I reckon I did a pretty good job keeping up with the younger crowd. Carrie Bradshaw and the girls would be proud!

 

Lucie 7 September 2009 - Back to school - September is here; summer holidays are over, the leaves on the trees are starting to change colour, the weather is getting a bit chilly, and the wind is blowing a little stronger. Even though I left school quite a few years ago, I can’t help but see this month as “back to school” time; September is all about shiny new school shoes, a pencil case filled with nicely sharpened pencils waiting to be used, and faces of new pupils. Forget about 1 January, for me the year really starts in September, when I look forward to something new, fresh and exiting.

 

Enrique - 2 September 2009 - Social Networking - I just finished my dissertation, the last requirement to complete my MA in Communications Management. The topic I chose was ‘social networking’ and I am really satisfied with, and also surprised by, the results. I found out that not only are social networking sites useful to keep in touch with friends (we all know this) but also they are an incredibly powerful tool for PR practitioners. They can build a brand’s or a company’s online image; increase its online awareness; or create “friendships” between PRs and journalists. Without a doubt, social networking is something PRs should always bear in mind these ‘online’ days.

 

Lizzie - 28 August 2009 - Winning the Ashes - Unless you’ve been on a different planet, you’ll know that England was victorious in winning the Ashes this year. After such a dismal defeat in 2007, Andrew Strauss’ team romped home with a decisive 2-1 triumph, silencing the team’s critics and the Australians! The tension was high throughout the series, with doubts of Freddie Flintoff’s fitness, the continual fluctuations of each team’s competency, and the media, as always, stirring things to create tension and anxiety amongst all us cricket fans. One minute, it was the best team England had fielded for a long time, the next, there were cries as to why Trott was called up to make his debut in the critical final match. But the media circus, created around the hype, certainly made winning all the more wonderful. And funnily enough, I haven’t heard a peep from all those who were ready to do some serious “Pom” bashing!

 

Magda - 27 August 2009 - Is it the end? - The weather has been lovely and immediately everyone is much more optimistic about the future. The media are talking about green shoots of recovery, discussing good news from Germany, France, Hong Kong and Japan, and hopes are high for the British economy as well. At least on the TV analysts and commentators are way more cautious. Let's hope the recovery is not weather-dependent and things really are getting better. Otherwise rain in Autumn might destroy our optimism. Meanwhile, I’m supporting the economic recovery in my own way - I’m off on well-deserved holiday, spending my hard-earned money.

 

Lisa - 21 August 2009 - PR standards impressive - I was asked to stand in as co-chair of the one of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ PR awards, the PRide Awards; a real honour. So this week my fellow co-chair and I spent three very long days judging the three team awards – outstanding consultancy, outstanding small consultancy and outstanding in-house team – from all across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. In this economic climate you might think the standards of the entries might not meet previous years, but across the board we were impressed with the work being carried out by hard-working PR professionals up and down the United Kingdom. As a consultancy owner myself, I was particularly struck by the exceptional efforts my counterparts are putting in to ensure jobs are safe and clients are retained thanks to exceptional results. And creativity – something we PRs are often accused of lacking - seems to have reached new heights. The good news? From what we saw, consultancies are thriving. The bad news? It made our decision making process tough. A very long three days, yes, but very inspirational.

 

Steve - 21 August 2009 - Football season - Up and down the country men are celebrating and women are groaning – yes the football season has started again, the Premiership timetable earlier than usual due to the World Cup in 2010. This season promises to be a closer and more exciting affair largely due to the transfer activity in the summer and the emergence of Manchester City as the new cash cow.  My own team Arsenal has started with a 6-1 annihilation of Everton so I am one of the celebrating husbands.  I feel sorry for our partners who will now be subjected to months of highs, lows and incessant “football chatter” from their guys (who have been strangely quiet for 2 months). Enjoy!

 

Lisa - 14 August 2009 - Thank the weather gods - Wednesday night was the annual Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ Greater London Group’s summer party, held at London’s newest City members’ club, Eight Moorgate. The party, which is the highlight of the Group’s event calendar, attracts 100 or so people and we try to find a fab venue with some outside space just in case the British summer weather decides to be kind. All week, conditions in London have been lovely and forecasters were saying Wednesday would be more of the same. However, at 615pm, 15 minutes before our 100 guests were due to arrive, the black, menacing skies above EC2 opened and bucketed their contents down with immense force. You could hardly see beyond the edge of the balconies at the Club, let alone the magnificent panoramic views of the City! Luckily the weather gods were in a fairly good mood, and the downpour only lasted about 20 minutes, after which, the clouds cleared and blue skies appeared. Apart from some very rain-soaked guests who arrived right after the squall, the party went without a hitch – or any more rain – and the balconies were put to good use until the wee hours. You have to love the British summer!

 

Lucie - 12 August 2009 - Barbecue time - I inherited a couple of addictions while living in Australia, one of them is a love for barbecuing. When you live in sunny Queensland, you can indulge in a barbie just about all year round, but things are a little different in Britain, where the sun also always shines, but most often behind a very thick layer of clouds. This spring, we decided to organise our first barbecue of the year. We ended up cooking under an umbrella wearing three layers of jumpers and eating the food inside, . However, that wasn’t enough to discourage us, we still insisted on barbecuing pretty much every weekend, come rain or… come rain. However, since last Friday, the weather has been rather kind and I have been enjoying chicken wings, corn on the cob and smoked ribs for four sunny days in a row now.  Let’s hope it lasts!

 

Jaap - 11 August 2009 - Nothing lasts forever - My TV almost turned 14 years old last week before unceremoniously dying. I don’t watch that much TV, however, watching the news is part of my daily routine and I don’t often say no to a feature film now and then. Horizontal fuzz started to appear on the screen about a year ago, and that reminded me how old the set actually was. The lines were a bit inconvenient I must say, but since we now live in a throw-away culture, I decided to buck the trend and keep it, fuzz and all. I took pride in the fact that my TV was built before the start of this millennium. Even the remote still worked. Until yesterday that is. It wasn’t so much of an explosion, but I did notice a distinct sound which announced the sudden and complete departure of my treasured and oldest electronic device. Now it’s the blender or the toaster which is the oldest in my household - I don’t know which, but I heard them discussing it in the cupboard where they share a shelf.

 

Beate - 6 August 2009 - Changes - For several reasons, the word ‘change’ has once again played an increasingly important role in my life over the last few weeks. In the past I’ve come to like both the word and the associations that come with it – different things every time the word pops up. Sometimes change has happened unexpectedly and given me headaches, endless discussions, fights (both with myself and with others) and was – quite simply – a pain. At other times, although equally unexpected, it provided fun, laughter and distraction. I’m not sure whether change can be planned rather than be a surprise, but I guess there are situations in life where you know that something’s going to change but you just do not or cannot admit it or stop it from happening, even though you would love to. I don’t want to get too philosophical, but in my opinion, change is absolutely necessary to keep moving forward. We sometimes have to leave our comfort zones even if we don’t want to. And when you look back, in my experience,  you know why there had to be a change. And I know this time, with this new unexpected change, it’ll be the same!

 

Lisa - 5 August 2009 - Deadline set in stone - The other week the UK news was filled with stories on “three-years-to-the-day” until the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London’s East End. According to reports, facilities are all on or ahead of target; a good thing, really, as the world’s top athletes, press and eager spectators could hardly hang about waiting for buildings to be finished. It got me thinking about how well we actually respect deadlines. In the case of the Olympics, that is one deadline you disrespect at your grave peril and national embarrassment, but many of us play a bit fast and loose with them. As PRs we embrace the sanctity of the deadline – journalists demand them, we answer to them and sometimes we even conjure up the mystical “false” deadline – a dastardly trick, aimed at duping a poor, innocent client into getting something to you faster than you really need it because you don’t trust them to meet the actual deadline. Perhaps the Olympics is actually happening in 2013…?

 

Lucie - 3 August 2009 - ¡Ay, caramba! - London’s restaurant scene is extensive; you can pretty much find any type of food, anytime of the day or night, with the notable exception of Mexican food. Until last year, London’s Mexican food scene was non-existent, except for an over-priced South American canteen in Covent Garden. That was until Wahaca, the first truly great Mexican restaurant in London, opened. The discovery of Wahaca changed the lives of all of us at DAPR. We have organised special Wahaca nights, where we all dine there for birthdays or any type of celebratory (or non-celebratory, to be honest) occasions. The good news? It seemed Wahaca started a trend, and many more Mexican restaurants started flourishing, and now you can finally find proper Mexican street food in London! As for us at DA, we have obviously been trialling all these places one by one;  we have compared the texture, the filling and of course the taste of each burrito, and we each have an official top 3 burrito places, which is just what everyone needs! My top 3 burrito places:
1. Benito’s Hat, Goodge street, the ultimate burrito

2. Wahaca, Covent Garden, for the atmosphere and the margaritas

3. Nineteen Ten, Westfield, if both other places are closed

 

Lizzie - 30 July 2009 - When pot plants live forever - Has it really come to this? –pot plants making the national news! I was astounded this morning watching a reputable morning news slot, when I saw the story of the world’s oldest pot plant, from the 1770’s, being re-potted in a “delicate operation at Kew Gardens”. I’m sure the green-fingered among us may well find that of some interest, but for someone who kills off every plant through dehydration, I couldn’t believe it warranted making headline news. With so many other newsworthy stories around is the media deliberately airing so-called feel-good stories, or is it just a good PR exercise by Kew Gardens that should be applauded? It all depends on your view on the value of “botanical” PR I suppose. Well I for one won’t be visiting the miraculous elderly pot plant! I’ve actually got my own one, sitting on the kitchen windowsill, and it’s survived a few weeks and is even flowering. I just wonder how much longer it will live for without water? And if it does miraculously survive 240 years, I’ll be sure to re-asses my opinion and maybe even pop down to Kew and ask them to re-pot it.

 

Lizzie - 28 July 2009 - Swine flu – let’s not get carried away - While I am obviously concerned about the on-going swine flu news , I can’t help thinking that we are all getting a bit carried away. Let’s not forget that people have been dying of flu for years – especially the elderly. Now,  the media seems to have really pounced, encouraging mass panic amongst the public. And the government communication doesn’t seem to be helping things at all! I don’t know about you, but I haven’t received my “Swine Flu information leaflet” yet – wasn’t that promised months ago? According to the BBC website, the death count from swine fu in England is still at 26 – the same as last week. Even though there have been more deaths in the last seven days, some of these have been discounted because an investigation by the government suggested swine flu had not been a contributing factor. What is the truth and how should we all deal with the conflicting messages coming at us from supposed reliable sources? I don’t know the answer–I’m not sure anyone does! But one thing is for certain; I’m putting it all into perspective and, for the moment, you’ll excuse me if I continue to go about my daily routine as normal!

 

Lisa - 20 July 2009 - Box of memories - So the deed is done. The files, furniture and fixtures and fittings have been boxed, the movers have been and gone, and the new office space is up and running. Nearly 14 years after walking into 95 York Street for my interview, DAPR, with me as the co-owner and MD, has left the building. Being an emotional person (I can cry at adverts on TV!), I thought I would feel sharp pangs of sadness on the last day; guilt, even, for abandoning a space that has been a home away from home for well over a decade, but oddly I felt fine. My explanation is that the business is what is important to me, not the bricks and mortar, and that wasn’t being left behind; to the contrary, we’re starting a new era. When I said this to a friend over the weekend, and added that the old office was really just a box, he chided me, “a box of memories though”. Maybe he’s right, but I can take those with me too.

 

Jaap - 15 July 2009 - Balancing act - Work-life balance has gotten a lot of attention in the media for the last couple of years. That might be because it becomes more difficult to set the two apart, especially for people who are in front of a computer most of the day.  Making a private payment with an online banking system during work: it will just take a minute. Reading and answering an email from work in the evening: no problem, nothing much on the TV anyway. And well, who’s complaining if we work the right amount of hours and the results are good, if on the other hand the leisure time can indeed be used to rest and do all the other things we like to do. The best advice, in my opinion? Keep the two as separate as possible, because if work and leisure time get so mixed up, then working hours never finish and leisure time never really starts, and that’s no way carry on a balancing act.

 

Lucie - 3 July 2009 - Shiver me timbers! - I woke up on Sunday with what I thought was a bit of dust in my eye. Despite rubbing it and rinsing it, it didn't get better and the pain quickly got worse. After a couple of trips to A&E, where a lovely doctor decided to investigate the reason of my excruciating pain by sticking a needle in my eye, I had my diagnosis: a scratched pupil. I have to wear an eye patch while it heals. The idea of the eye patch made me laugh at first; I walked in the office, dishing out my best pirate lines, punctuating every sentence by a noisy ‘Aaaarrrrrrrr’, and was quickly nicknamed Captain Hook. After a couple of days though, the limitation of the eye patch has kicked in. My field of vision is quite reduced: I keep bumping into anything too close to my right side. But my depth perception is the most affected. More than once, when pouring myself a glass of water, convinced that the bottle was over the glass, it wasn’t, and most of the water ended up on my desk… the same problem arises when it comes to sitting in a chair or climbing a couple of stairs; my perceptions are just a little off… So the novelty of my pirate eye patch has certainly worn off, and I can’t wait for my eye, and my vision, to get better!

 

Lizzie - 25 June 2008 - The big grunting debate - The start of Wimbledon yesterday prompted the return of the debate about the grunting and shrieking from some players during play. And on a day when all eyes were firmly fixed on the men’s tournament, and Roger Federers’ first match, all ears were well and truly tuned to Michelle Larcher de Brito – the loudest new grunter of them all – reaching 109dB! Comparatively, the more recent famous grunters such as Seles and Sharapova have seemingly fallen short! So why don’t we accept or like it and what is the excuse for this type of behaviour, which Martina Navratilova has branded “tantamount to cheating”? It’s only a fairly recent phenomenon after all – certainly in its most recent, and loud, form. The old greats like McEnroe, Conners, Sampras, Navratilova and Graf hardly emanated a sound between them (apart from McEnroe’s obvious verbal outbursts), and yet won 28 Wimbledon titles between them. Whatever it is – it’s a debate that provokes true feelings from die-hard tennis fans, like me, but I think there is one simple explanation why we don’t like the grunters; it’s just not very British!

 

Jaap - 24 June 2009 - Voting in London - Thursday 4 June was the first time that I was able to vote in another country which is not difficult at all in the United Kingdom; you only need to go online once to register as a voter and then your local council sends you a document to check and sign. The difficult parts comes after that - which party to vote for? The United Kingdom has got 72 of the 785 seats available in the European Parliament, which represents all of the approximate 500 million inhabitants of the European Union. That’s a lot of people with a lot of different opinions, so in every country there are many different parties, and the UK is no exception with about 14. In the Netherlands I was well aware of the parties. In the year I’ve been living in London, it’s proven to be harder to get a good overview. Although there have been a lot of hot political issues in the last year, which provoked party members to speak out firmly, I still found it difficult to deduce the real positions and the long-term ideas. After reading the papers and a lot of websites, I decided to vote for one of the established parties. That might seem like a boring choice in these lively times, but sometimes that’s the best option: find stability first and go from there.

 

Lizzie - 17 June 2009 - BA is best - Whenever I fly anywhere, I always find myself torn between booking a cheap, no-frills flight, or spending a little more with British Airways. In the past, it has always worked out much less expensive to fly with a no-frills airline, and I’ve put up with the queues, the pushing and shoving, to grab a seat when it comes to boarding and paying £4 for a chocolate bar (if really desperate). I decided this year though, enough was enough! With all extra, hidden charges (I’m surprised you don’t have to pay a charge for wearing clothes), the hassle of landing at an airport 50 miles away from where you actually want to be, the leg-room enough for a gnat, I bit the bullet and purchased my BA flight. And because it didn’t matter too much when I travelled, I bought my BA flight for about the same all things taken into account. It was utter luxury! I checked in on-line (without paying a surcharge) and chose my seat 24 hours before boarding (without paying a surcharge), I printed my boarding pass off at the airport because my printer at home wouldn’t work (without paying a surcharge), I queued for five minutes to check my bag in and I had one of the most enjoyable flights I’ve had in a long-time - I even got a free sandwich! I’m not sure I’ll by flying “no frills” anytime soon.

 

Lucie - 16 June 2009 - Waiting for Wimbledon - One more reason to be delighted about summer is the numerous tennis tournaments. I am a big tennis fan, and while for many years, being French, I’ve thought only clay was worth my interest, since living in the UK, I must admit I’ve grown quite fond of the green stuff too. Of course I like the tennis when I go to a tournament, but I also like all the fringe benefits. There’s nothing better than walking around the village and seeing the real, behind-the-scene, action, not seen on TV; I can catch a glimpse of great players training, or follow veterans’ matches, for instance. Federer’s historic victory at the French open two weeks ago will only make this year’s Wimbledon more interesting, and while waiting for my annual hit of strawberries and cream, I can get a pre-taste of Wimbledon by following it on twitter: http://twitter.com/Wimbledon.

 

Beate - 12 June 2009 - Sailing - I love everything to do with water and have always thought one day I may try sailing. Well, last Wednesday was that day. Our local sailing club organises Twilight Sailing from one of the huge former docks every Wednesday summer’s evening, with a massive barbecue on the terrace afterwards. My friend Tina, who loves sailing and is a member of the club, put me in a boat with one of the club’s most experienced instructors. I thought that was great -  I would be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the wind and the water without having to do anything. Far from it! The second I got on the boat, he made me pull loads of ropes, lean out  to one side of the boat so that we didn’t capsize, and we spent most of the time chasing the good winds so that we could sail properly. Several times I thought we were going to crash into one of the dock walls only to suddenly find out that a small sailing boat can actually turn sharply and abruptly, within a few seconds. I got used to all the action after a while and when the wind dropped I was a bit sad we couldn’t sail any longer. However, there was the lure of a barbecue and some dry clothes to look forward to so it wasn’t that difficult of a decision….. I think I may go back though… Yes, I definitely will!

 

Jaap - 28 May 2009 - National Trust - The National Trust is an important British organisation, managing and maintaining land, gardens and beautiful, old country estates. They obviously are proactive when it comes to communications: the first leaflet that fell on our doorstep when we moved to our London flat was one of theirs and it was both informative and convincing. And because of the fact that the organisation and its goal seemed to be so sympathetic, giving you the opportunity to see and enjoy all sorts of beautiful things for free, we decided to become members straight away. It gave us a real feeling of connecting to the UK. Being members, and both foreigners, we wanted to make the most of our membership, and we have already visited several fantastic estates. This Bank Holiday weekend we visited Osterley Park and House. It’s probably not everybody’s cup of tea: a big, red brick country estate with big white pillars as a façade, but what a wealth of treasures! There is a Rubens hanging on the ceiling in the main staircase, some of the trees in the park are over 250 years old and the walled vegetable garden dates back to Tudor times. It is a huge privilege to be able to see and to enjoy all this - and all thanks to the successful PR of the National Trust.

 

Lizzie - 21 May 2009 - Blooming marvellous - You know it’s the start of summer in London when the Chelsea Flower show opens its doors – it’s the most eminent horticultural event of the year! I’d never attended before (being someone who is not particularly “green fingered” was always a good excuse), but I’d often walked past the Royal Hospital curiously when it was show time. So when I was invited to attend one of the members’ days this year by a previous client, I jumped at the chance. I was initially worried that I wouldn’t be able to tell an orchid from a chrysanthemum and I’d be frowned upon or asked to leave, however, I soon realised that lots of people were in the same boat as me. What amazed me most though was that there seemed to be no real sign of the show being hit by the economic downturn. There was the obligatory “credit crunch” garden on show, but at £55 per entry ticket, I was astounded at the number of people who defied the downturn to visit this Chelsea spectacular!

 

Lucie - 20 May 2009 - Hacks and Flacks - Last night I attended a debate jointly organised by the CIPR and the Media Society on the theme: Hacks and Flacks: can it ever be a marriage? The talk was chaired by the brilliant Sue MacGregor, former presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme, while the panel and the audience were equally represented by PRs and journos. It really was a battle of the giants. The relationship between hacks and flacks is sometimes tumultuous; some journalists seem to think PRs are the enemy; that is until they need us, of course, like when they are on a tight deadline and desperate for information… I left this debate enlightened, and I now believe that hacks and flacks probably shouldn’t marry, as our jobs are fundamentally different, and we have very different agendas. However, this does not mean that we cannot work together, hand in hand, and get over our prejudiced thoughts, whether they be about “clever spin doctors” or “journalists with hidden agendas”. Maybe hacks and flacks should just go on a few dates instead!

 

Jaap - 15 May 2009 - We’re all going on a summer holiday - Believe it or not, but I like to spend my summer holiday in London. I like the energy when the city is crowded with tourists, the long, warm days and a picnic in one of the parks… London parks are beautiful in summer. Hyde Park and Regent’s Park of course, but I specially love Hampstead Heath and Richmond. So in summer I don’t feel the need to go anywhere special because I am already there. That is why I went on a short break in May – to the Cape Region in South Africa. Wow, what a beautiful place that is! Nature is simply stunning, changing from big strong rocky mountains to flat yellow grassland with ostrich feeding on it to the magnificent oceans south and west of the Cape. We did a small part of the Wine Route and got to sample some great wines. It is a custom to refer to the South African wines as ‘new world wines’, but I learned that the first wine farm, Constantia, started to make wine some 300 years ago. And you can feel and taste that long history in its wines. We brought back a couple of bottles of wine, so this summer I’ll be sitting in a London park, enjoying a bit of South Africa.

 

Beate - 14 May 2009 - The River - When I moved to London, I noticed that Londoners call the Thames simply ‘The River’. I’ve adopted the phrase now particularly as I live about one minute away from it. I have often stood and wondered about all the ships, boats and vessels that you can see. This weekend, however, a Royal Navy aircraft carrier anchored right off our house. I was completely stunned by its sheer size, probably because I have no idea whatsoever about anything military or naval….. AND there were six massive helicopters tethered on the deck of the carrier. On Sunday afternoon the helicopters put on a show and they kept hovering directly above our house and garden. That was when I thought maybe I’m not such a big fan of the River after all… I’d rather have very quiet historic sailing ships, rowing boats and nice white cruise ships floating by!

 

Lucie - 13 May 2009 - Wives and girlfriends - Most of my Australian friends in London play footy in the biggest AFL (Australian Football League) team outside of Australia. They play every Saturday, and some of the players’ girlfriends always come along. It’s a good way to spend the day in the park, cheer on the boys and share the latest gossip. Last Saturday was no exception, and while I sat and chatted on the sideline, I realised how violent AFL can be. I saw one of my mates get knocked out following a violent tackle, but then run back on the field after a quick drink of water. Another one dislocated his finger, had it taped up and went running after the ball again. Still another got a cut on his forehead but was back for the last quarter, bearing a strong resemblance with Pudsey bear. I was impressed by the toughness, persistence and diligence of the players; all qualities that good PROs should exemplify, although I believe the boys’ need to impress their wives and girlfriends on the sideline probably had something to do with their motivation…

 

Lizzie - 11 May 2009 - Lost for words - Now it’s not often that I’m lost for words, and that got me thinking about people who don’t suffer that affliction! So after a trip to Google, I was astounded at the amount of sites on “ideas for blog writing” – especially when I have the exact opposite problem. Surely the origin of blogging was based on a purely spontaneous activity? Something you wanted to get off your chest or something to provoke thought and discussion? Is the whole social media revolution is becoming a victim of its own success? Are people blogging because they feel they should, rather than because they want to and are passionate about it. Don’t get me wrong, our profession it’s all about being creative and making the revolution of social media work for us and our clients – but I can’t help thinking that people are using social media, just because it’s the “in” thing to do!

 

Jaap - 27 April 2009 - Spring-cleaning - Although I am not really the spring-cleaning type, I found myself in a cleaning frenzy this Sunday after almost tripping over a pile of old newspapers. I grabbed all the equipment from under the kitchen sink and out of the broom closet and got started, dragging my better half into the process as well. Of all the actions necessary in order to get the house spic-and-span, I like vacuuming the best: it gives me a real sense of achievement to move all the furniture aside and really get into those nooks and crannies. Since everything was then out of place, we decided to change the layout altogether. As sometimes happens, with actions that arise spontaneously, it took us more than the hour we thought we needed. In fact, it not only took us the whole day, but also our blood, sweat and tears - but the result is fantastic! I write this, sitting on the same old couch, which now looks brand new in its fresh position in front of the window, enjoying my house and the world outside from a totally different perspective.

 

Lizzie - 23 April 2009 - The tube isn’t so cool - Everyone seems to be over-the-moon that Spring has come – but there is one thing I dread with the turn of the seasons – and that’s the worsening tube conditions. Mornings are ok usually, especially when the sun is shining – but that all changes once I reach the tube station. Here, I’m faced with hundreds of sweaty, stinking and moody zombies, all going about their daily routine with utter indifference. Once on, squeezed to within an inch of my life, and only floor space for half a foot – it’s then time to hold your breath, balance and stay calm. “Please God. Don’t let us get stuck in a tunnel,” – you can see the pained expression on everyone’s face! Eventually I reach my destination and it feels like I’ve been freed from my shackles as I push and shove for my freedom. At last, I get to work and only 15 minutes late! Only another eight and a half hours until I have to do the return journey! I think next week, I might drive.

 

Beate- 22 April 2009 - Lazy London Sundays - Now that spring is definitely in the air, and not only in the air - you can actually see signs of springtime everywhere, such as blossoming flowers and trees, Londoners head off to the many parks and green spaces the city has to offer. And you know - when in London, do as the Londoners do! So we picked up a blanket yesterday and made our way to Greenwich in the south-east of London. Greenwich Park has fantastic views from the top of the hill where the Royal Observatory is. And it’s easy to avoid the tourists, as there are many quiet spots where you can enjoy the sunshine and the grass. The only downside is that Sundays like the one yesterday, go by too quickly. But you have to look on the bright side - there is another Sunday coming up very soon!

 

Lucie - 21 April 2009 - New ideas spring to mind - Do you ever wake up with a new idea, something a little crazy and out of your routine, but which sounds like something you’d like to do? I do. I’ve recently decided that I’d like to run a small triathlon. After running 5km for charity last year, I figured I should keep up this little ritual, and try to challenge myself with a new race every year, while raising money for charity. Now, I know I can swim 500 metres, run 5km and ride 10km. But the real question is: can I do it all in one day? Far from being your typical athlete, and by this I mean I am lazy and loath even the idea of exercising, I started training last week; I did a 3 km run along the river by Putney, which is one of my top running locations in London. I followed the Thames path, ran past all the boat clubs and footy pitches, and I have to say, I genuinely enjoyed it. However, I didn’t enjoy the soreness in my legs the next day because I didn’t stretch enough, but there you go!

 

Magda - 16 April 2009 - British weather - Typical. On a long weekend you would like to leave the city and explore the countryside, the coast or even go abroad. But the BBC weather forecast puts a stop to your plans by announcing that it would be raining for most of the time. Or maybe not. Or maybe it would after all. Not being able to trust the weather forecast makes buying plane tickets in advance or organising travel really difficult. Obviously though, you have a lovely time doing nothing and relaxing with your friends. And if it rains – because it rains frequently on bank holidays after all – you just hide in the pub. And then you return to the office after a long weekend and what happens? The sun comes out! But the long weekend is now gone and you are back in the office and your chance to take a trip to the countryside, the coast, or abroad has come and gone. Typical.

 

Lisa - 15 April 2009 - What really matters - As I write this blog entry, I am about to leave my office to go into hospital to have major spinal surgery. It has all happened very fast, so I haven’t had too much time to contemplate it, but having the long Easter weekend to pack, and literally get my house in order, I found I had quite a lot of time to think about things. Oddly I didn't think too much about the procedure itself, but more the recovery period where I will be more or less house / bed ridden for at least 4 weeks. It occurred to me that so many things that I do now that I take for granted, I will not be able to do for several weeks – like bend over, sleep lying flat, turn my head... Suddenly all the things I get stressed over at work seem relatively minor. Perspective is a wonderful thing, I just hope once I am completely recovered that I remember the things that really matter…

 

Beate - 14 April 2009 - It’s a dog life - Spaghetti Shaddick, DA’s very own Director of Greetings, or DOG for short, is a long-standing member of the team. He comes to the office every day with Lisa and gets pretty spoilt by all of us. He loves nothing more than snuggling down on the sofa where he people-watches, checks out passing cars and stares down other dogs on the street outside. Spaghie is everybody’s darling in the office, and he is so well trained he even barks when there is a traffic warden outside! If we could only teach him to type, he could write his own blog entry!

 

Jaap - 3 April 2009 - A new song every day - I like the international feel in our office. Being a London-based PR agency operating throughout Europe, we speak English amongst ourselves, but every time the phone rings, somebody answers in English and then breaks into French or Spanish, Polish or German. Some of it I understand, but a lot of it sounds like random words set to modern music, especially when more than one person speaks, some sort of new song comes into existence. On some of my more philosophical moments in life, I wonder what the world would look like if we all spoke the same language, but however beautiful that may be, I would surely miss the wonderful sound of different languages coming together!

 

Lizzie - 1 April 2009 - What a year to take over a business - I can’t believe it’s been a year since Lisa and Steve took over the business – and what a year we’ve survived! Global financial meltdown, economic crisis – what more could be thrown at us? But, thanks to prudent planning and after some tough decisions, we’re surviving. In my opinion, part of the reason we have client retention of over 17 years is because we offer a first-class service. And what would I say to those companies holding back PR budgets? Well, maybe they can’t afford to do PR, but can they afford not to? As we open a few bottles of cava – there’s a credit crunch you know - here’s a toast to DA Public Relations, its owners, its clients and its wonderful team. I hope we’re able to continue to write about many more profitable and successful years to come.

 

Lisa - 26 March 2009 - Back to basics - This weekend I had an overwhelming desire to make bread from scratch – no nifty bread machine in sight! – for the very first time. It turned out wonderfully and after about three pieces of hot, buttery, freshly baked bread – which actually tasted of bread – I wondered why more people didn’t bake their own bread, afterall it is cheap, fairly easy and quick (if you disregard the time spent waiting for the dough to rise), and the result tastes more delicious than anything you can buy in the shops. It also made me think that maybe we ought to apply this “back to basics” principle to more things than just bread; certainly our industry could do with a dash of it, and maybe the results will be just as good.

 

Lucie - 23 March 2009 - Twittering around - In this era where communication is the word, new forms of media are coming to the fore all the time. The latest craze in the UK, certainly in the PR world, is Twitter, a service for people to communicate and to stay connected through the exchange of quick, short and frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Famous Twitterers include the always witty Stephen Fry and global entrepreneur Richard Branson. PR wise, Twitter has proven to be a very useful tool. Ever wanted to know what goes on in your journalists’ head; just follow them on Twitter. The subjects of their next features, their editorial issues… Some journalists even look for article sources on Twitter. It’s not just journos who Twitter though; why not sign up and follow DA: http://twitter.com/DAPR

 

Beate - 16 March 2009 - Spring is in the air... - Every year around March I have this nagging feeling that I urgently need to be out and in the fresh air. Luckily this year this feeling coincided with rising temperatures and very good weather – unlike other years. I live very close to the Thames and the Thames Path, which runs along the river almost throughout London. It is perfect for walking, cycling, running and….weekend pub crawls! What better way is there to spend the first spring days but outside a pub, holding your face to the sun and holding a glass of chilled white wine in your hand. I really hope the great weather will stay!

 

 Marta - 13 March 2009 - My morning drive to flower market - In preparation for my wedding this weekend, I went to the New Covent Garden flower market just before six in the morning. I drove from W1 through empty London. It’s a bizarre experience to drive through an almost dark and empty city. With just a few cars on the road and even less people on the pavements it looks really stunning. I’ve been living in London for almost four and a half years and I honestly think that if you want to see the beauty of London, you should really see it at dawn, and watch this massive city slowly waking up.