A colleague sent me this and I just had to share it with you. As some of you will know, London Mayor Boris Johnson has launched a bike rental scheme in the capital and here we see the mayor taking one of his trusty steeds for spin.
Sadly, as multi-talented as Mr Johnson may be, his talents do not extend to BMX freestyle. Top marks for his impersonator though, as one imagines these rental bikes are a bit of a pig to handle.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Scouting for pearls
At first, I was pleased to read about the modernisation of the Scouting movement.
Apparently, age-old badges for key skills such as camping and knot tying have fallen out of favour in recent years. In their place are badges for things like recycling, which can only be a good thing in this age of Big Society. One presumes that social care, basic highway maintenance and sustainable transport planning will follow shortly.
However, delving a little deeper into this story, I note that the 21st century cub scout can also get a badge for social networking and, even worse, a gong for computer games prowess.
Sensing some criticism from traditionalists, the association said that its review would take into account other factors besides popularity in deciding which badges stay and which go. It added that more popular awards also covered some traditional skills, including rope work.
This is a relief, as I don’t recall chief scout Bear Grylls reaching for the Wii when stuck in the jungle.
Dib dib dib...
Apparently, age-old badges for key skills such as camping and knot tying have fallen out of favour in recent years. In their place are badges for things like recycling, which can only be a good thing in this age of Big Society. One presumes that social care, basic highway maintenance and sustainable transport planning will follow shortly.
However, delving a little deeper into this story, I note that the 21st century cub scout can also get a badge for social networking and, even worse, a gong for computer games prowess.
Sensing some criticism from traditionalists, the association said that its review would take into account other factors besides popularity in deciding which badges stay and which go. It added that more popular awards also covered some traditional skills, including rope work.
This is a relief, as I don’t recall chief scout Bear Grylls reaching for the Wii when stuck in the jungle.
Dib dib dib...
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
And there’s the rub
Stress is part of the job description these days. Negotiations go on behind closed doors, colleagues announce their departure and those remaining fret for their own jobs while wondering how all the work is going to get done.
The public don’t seem to have too much sympathy, though, and it’s hardly surprising. At times of great difficulty and upset for many, you can generally trust someone, somewhere, in local government to perform a public relations faux pas and rub everyone’s noses in it. This time, it appears, Wolverhampton City Council has obliged.
To mark national stress awareness day, the council arranged free given free foot rubs, massages and, er, eyebrow threading for staff. However, some bright spark decided to do this the main civic centre reception so members of the public could see staff getting the treatment while they were queuing for housing benefit.
One member of the public who witnessed the event told the media: ‘I can’t believe they would hold a pampering event for staff. God knows how much it would have cost the council in lost productivity at a time when they are trying to cut back on costs.’ Quite.
Council chief executive Simon Warren agreed and called an immediate halt to the vent and apologised for any ‘insensitivity’ shown to taxpayers. He added that no public funds had been used for the event.
Still, damage done.
The public don’t seem to have too much sympathy, though, and it’s hardly surprising. At times of great difficulty and upset for many, you can generally trust someone, somewhere, in local government to perform a public relations faux pas and rub everyone’s noses in it. This time, it appears, Wolverhampton City Council has obliged.
To mark national stress awareness day, the council arranged free given free foot rubs, massages and, er, eyebrow threading for staff. However, some bright spark decided to do this the main civic centre reception so members of the public could see staff getting the treatment while they were queuing for housing benefit.
One member of the public who witnessed the event told the media: ‘I can’t believe they would hold a pampering event for staff. God knows how much it would have cost the council in lost productivity at a time when they are trying to cut back on costs.’ Quite.
Council chief executive Simon Warren agreed and called an immediate halt to the vent and apologised for any ‘insensitivity’ shown to taxpayers. He added that no public funds had been used for the event.
Still, damage done.
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