It's a constant battle - adults v kids. From the moment they are born, we are playing catch-up. The moment we figure out what to do, the little blighters change the rules and we are back to square 1.
Those with long memories will recall 'Supernanny' on Channel 4, which shone a torch at the battlefield that was bringing up toddlers and young children.
Those of you that know me will understand why I follow the fortunes of Bristol Rugby. It’s because I grew up close to the Memorial Stadium (where they play), went to a local school where some of the pupils ended up playing for the team, a general love of sport in general and rugby in particular.
Bristol have been under performing for decades now, lingering in the second tier of rugby for too many seasons. The news that Steve Lansdown (of Hargreaves Lansdown fame) is investing in the club is great news. His business rationale seems to be to get back to the Premiership, get crowds of 10k+ per game in the new Ashton Gate, so that the team becomes self-supporting. When you consider the numbers of people playing rugby in and around Bristol, this has to be achievable surely.
I must admit to being worried. Firstly, the last time we had a big backer – Malcolm Pearce, his patience with funding the club waned over time, as he was left to single handedly fund the club. Bristol crowds proved to be fickle, if we were performing well, then they came. The moment our form dipped, they stopped coming. You can’t blame them of course, but getting to the magic 10k must mean a large number of season ticket holders – the committed ones, not the fickle ones. The question I am left asking myself is why supporters are so fickle, and whether a long term commitment to top flight rugby will mean that things change.
I am also concerned by the move to Ashton Gate (south Bristol) from the Memorial Stadium (north Bristol). I think the vast majority of Bristol supporters will make the move of course, and the move from our traditional home is one we must bear as we have to move with the times. Ever since we lost the ground to Bristol Rovers, this day was coming. I would have preferred a move to the UWE stadium, but understand the business rationale for the move.
On the positive side. A new Director of Rugby in the experienced form of Andy Robinson is great news, along with five new signings from Premiership teams. This will generate a much more positive attitude at the club, and will no doubt lead to the promotion the club desires.
I can’t wait for the playoffs and hope that somehow we manage to fight our way through the laughable playoffs and get back into the Premiership next season. If not there is always next season.
C’mon Bris!
Having already looked at some of the top educational tools for students on the market, I’ve flipped the classroom and had a gander from the other side of the desk.
Expected to turn up to every lesson and lecture with a firm plan of action, we sometimes forget the amount of behind-the-scenes slog that goes into the working day of our esteemed educators.
Edward Ellis (also known as Ted) born 11th January 1928 in Dunmanway, Ireland. Died 17th November 1986 aged 58 at home, Bristol.
26 years have passed since my fathers death I still miss him. The pain of loss has largely subsided and good memories remain, here are a few of them.
Christmas was always a special time for us kids. My fathers brothers Jim and Charlie would come to stay with us for a few days arriving Christmas Eve and leaving anytime between Boxing and New Years Day. We lived in a small house in Horfield, Bristol and the moment they arrived my father was so happy – talking about family and the old days, chain smoking and quaffing Paddy’s whiskey. My dad wasn’t a big drinker, it was just Christmas but there was room for a little potcheen. We loved having them around, I remember these times every Christmas.
Dad worked alot, and by that I mean an awful lot. Money was tight, so he dug deep and worked as much overtime as he possibly could at ‘BAC’ (British Aeroplane Company) where he was a timekeeper – one of those jobs that completely disappeared with the onset of the computer. This meant that he was not home that much, and when he was he was tired and napping.
His father died when he was a young child, when times were really tough in rural Ireland, especially for a young family with six children. He was the youngest, the baby, his older brothers looked out for him. For dad, the priority was paying the mortgage and putting food on the table – that’s was a good dad did.
He passed away when I was only 25 years old, too soon by any measure. There are a few moments from my early life where I remember him clearly.
He regarded himself as English rather than Irish, which surprised me. But this attitude was borne, I think, of his upbringing in Church of Ireland (Protestant) Southern Ireland after Irish Free State was set up. He and most of his brothers fought for the British Army. By the time he joined the Royal Marines, World War II was over. After meeting my mother, he ended up in Portsmouth and after leaving the Marines back to her home town of Bristol. He never yearned to be back in Ireland, he liked visiting family there of course, but his life was in Bristol.
My regrets include the things that he missed. Me settling down, getting married and having sons of my own. Having a career and ‘putting food on the table’ myself. There are many times I have thought about him and played out conversations in my head. I happen to believe in an afterlife, which helps – as one day I am sure we’ll be able to catch up properly.
What final memories do I have? Well, his smell – cigarettes (he was a Players Navy Cut man), Brylcream and sweat. His voice – a strong West Cork accent – sometimes hard to interpret for those outside the family, and his laugh. Oh, and a strong sense of being loved.
Miss you dad.
Came across this funny eulogy by John Cleese for his friend and fellow Python Graham Chapman. Made me laugh, maybe it will you too.
Here’s my list.
I see it as a part of being a ‘good dad’ to give your kids fatherly advice from time to time, to make sure that they stay on the right track.
Here is my list:
1. Be happy. In your home life and at work. Love and be loved. Life is short, so make the most of it. If you are unhappy, change it. Know when things are rescuable and have the sense to work out when they are not.
2. Get good friends. Ones that stick with you through the years. Be a good listener and take time to meet up with them.
3. Always give it 100% whatever you are doing. That goes for work and your social life – you will get more out of it, honestly. Be patient. Always do what’s right. Don’t stand by and watch when the wrong thing happens.
4. Care about what is happening in the world. Think about politics – don’t be tribal about it, think about your values and vote for the party that most closely matches them. Always vote, even if it’s for the least bad candidate.
5. Treat education like a long term quest for knowledge, not a short-term goal to get that first leg up in life.
6. Try not to do anything stupid. Think twice before you do something that you might regret later. Don’t take that as an excuse not to push the boundaries a bit. Stay within the law.
7. Enjoy sport. Find something you can do and are passable at – and stick with it. Pick a sports team, follow their results and watch matches when you can. Care about what happens to them.
8. Treat others the way you would like to be treated yourself. Care about people with less going for themselves than you.
9. Be accepting of other people’s opinions and beliefs.
10. Family comes first. Take time to listen to them. Take time to be with them. Try not to get too frustrated with them.
Finally, make some time for your parents in their dotage – remember I was like you once, and I wasn’t perfect either.
As some of my readers already know, I am the co-founder of Tutorhub, the specialist online tutoring website based in Bristol, UK.
I last posted back in September 2011, about the emerging web businesses starting to focus on the online tutoring market in the UK. Back then there were a few businesses: Home Tutoring Online, Brightspark, Dizeo, Maths Doctor, Exam Fox, Live Tutor and Meteor Online Learning. So in the intervening period, what has changed?
Well quite alot actually. We have some new entrants:
There have been a number of changes. Exiting from the market are Brightspark, Home Tutoring Online, Dizeo and MyTutor. Whilst Exam Fox are now the Tutor Crowd.
We at Tutorhub have been working hard at working out what customers want and how best to achieve product : market fit. The obvious question, is has anyone else ‘nailed’ the customer proposition, to which the honest answer I think is ‘no’ – this is a classic ‘new product in a new market’.
There are three things that I believe we all have to get over.
1. There is a perception amongst some customers that online tutoring ‘must be’ in some way inferior to traditional face to face tutoring. We have conducted extensive research that demonstrates that this is every bit as effective. We will be expanding on this in due course.
2. The online tutoring technology isn’t particularly appealing to students or tutors, based on generic meeting based third party platforms. There are no compelling product delivery platforms out there at the moment in my opinion, which is why we will be launching a new online tutoring platform soon.
3. Pricing is a barrier. People expect online tutoring to be cheaper than regular face to face tutoring. The Tutorhub platform shows a hourly price range not that dissimilar to face to face tutoring. This does not create a compelling reason to swap from a face to face to an online tutor. Tute’s £5 for 45 minutes online tutoring, is a move in the right direction I think.
So what do I see the next 12 months bringing? I think four things:
This is an interesting market, which I think will develop and grow. I think that we at Tutorhub have the plan to deliver the most compelling customer offer – watch this space.
I was asked the other day to say a bit about what I find funny and the things that make me laugh.
Here are five things that make me laugh, and maybe why I find them funny.
1. My kids being artful. I know that artful isn’t really a word we use these days, but my nan used it to describe us when we were kids if we had a (transparent) alterior motive. So for example, the kids wanting to take the dog on a long walk or buy a newspaper when they really just want to go to the shops to buy sweets. Walking the dog seems like fair reward for a mars bar or two, so fair exchange in my book. But it’s fun seeing them construct stories.
2. Irishness. My father came from County Cork and only those with Irish parents actually fully understand Irish humour. Television programmes like Mrs Browns Boys and Father Ted crack me up, or should that be ‘craic’.
3. Pompous people and politicians. Need I say more?
4. Silly things that happen to me. You have to be able to take a joke.
5. Watching old family videos. Peering into a time gone by with my own family makes me realise how much laughter there is within families. Hard not to laugh at the kids when they were learning to speak or at primary school. Funnier still is the faces that they pull now when they watch the videos.
As I write this, sitting in the garden, the dog is trying to eat a mushroom. That makes me laugh too.
Next time someone asks me I will have an answer.
What makes you laugh?
