Author Archives: thatconsultantbloke

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About thatconsultantbloke

Based in North Wiltshire UK I try to have fun whilst making things happen. I spent almost 40 years climbing the corporate ladder before getting bored with being too far from the action. Now I use my experiences of that time, the good and the bad, to keep the bills paid and have fun helping clients turn strategy into positive results.
by | January 5, 2012 · 10:30 am

the joys of writing part three

Happy New Year to all of those who follow these jottings.

My holiday period has been spent with a heavy cold and so I have been more than happy to sit and write. My first book, I Don’t Have My Decision Making Trousers On, or “Trousers” as it has become known around my closest circle, was released on Kindle before Christmas and I’m delighted to see that a couple of hundred people have obtained a copy up to the end of December. I will not be buying a yacht of the proceeds, or not at that price, but it is a real pleasure to know that folks are interested enough to have clicked the link on Amazon. If you don’t have a copy there is a link you can click on at the top of the page here to buy yours. If you don’t have a Kindle you can download Kindle for PC or Mac from Amazon. It’s free and you’ll get three free classics delivered with it (or that is the current deal). Continue reading →

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by | December 22, 2011 · 2:02 pm

of beards, and of sexual equality

For those who have picked up on my beard Tweets, the new beard was about a week old when it’s tenure was terminated. I hadn’t intended to grow one, but in feeling rotten with the stinker of a virus that took me over I had neglected to shave for about four days and decided that, with Christmas coming and no need to be anywhere special that I would cease thought of shaving and see what the effect was. Continue reading →

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by | December 16, 2011 · 2:57 pm

the joys of writing part two

Over the last month I have put together my first eBook, published yesterday. I’ve also written my regular column, a few other blogs, an article for a sports industry magazine and about another 10,000 words towards another project. An enforced inability to do what I normally fill my days with has allowed extra time for all this writing, but it has also heightened my respect for those who earn their living from the written word for, whilst I do earn an element of income from some of my writing, most of what I put on paper is not where I earn my crust. Continue reading →

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by | December 9, 2011 · 8:03 am

Alec Baldwin and the elegance of air travel

I wrote here the other week about falling standards in passenger appearance at airports. Since then we have seen Alec Baldwin respond to being taken off an American Airlines flight for failing to comply with the directions of the cabin crew. Continue reading →

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by | December 3, 2011 · 11:06 am

I could find that offensive, but I’m a grown up and I choose not to

What is it about modern society and this obsession with taking offence?

A supermarket correctly labels its burgers as being reindeer and parents say that it has upset their children, so now they are calling them moose burgers. Well if, on behalf of the moose preservation society, I am offended about that, so what should the supermarket do now? Continue reading →

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by | November 21, 2011 · 5:22 am

How to avoid dying in a plane crash

I have cracked the secret of not dying in a ‘plane crash, and all for less than $20. I just bought myself a Ralph Lauren shirt cheap in T J Maxx to wear when I fly. Continue reading →

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by | November 20, 2011 · 2:07 pm

More on a love of music

My parents were not musical. Other than belting out hymns in church with more enthusiasm than technique I can't remember either doing anything remotely musical, and so I don't know where my interest in music comes from. Continue reading →

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by | November 19, 2011 · 8:57 am

Standards of dress; why do they even let these people into the airport

When I was younger a trip to Heathrow was a treat. Go up to the viewing gallery, watch the ‘planes and the people and, for a while, be part of the glamour of it all, because those who were travelling dressed with style and elegance.

Now the majority are just a bunch of scruffs, most of whom I would not want in my home let alone to have to share a journey with. I wouldn’t allow them anywhere near the airport, let alone onto a ‘plane.

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by | November 17, 2011 · 1:53 am

Lay back and think of, well anywhere but England

I have been trying to help someone who is, as I have had to, lined up for a series of operations. As something of a veteran now of hospital wards I have found my own way of coping, so another session I can meet with a degree of stoicism, but someone who is in for the first time? It does make me feel that I am playing Norman Stanley Fletcher to their b; the old lag and the innocent newcomer.

So how do I cope? My basic stance is to spend my time reconstructing various pleasurable trips abroad; my first time in the US (Atlanta 1993), riding the ICE from Hamburg to Hannover, the Monaco GP 1973, streaking under the channel in my car on the train, seeing California and so on. I have been lucky enough to have been around a bit and can dredge up these memories.

And there you have it; when I’m lying in a hospital bed trying not to worry about what happens when they take me down or later trying not to think of the discomfort, I can shut my eyes and transport myself to somewhere that a memory will take. Lie back and think of somewhere nice.

 

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by | November 7, 2011 · 2:15 pm

Gamble – Felix Francis – Book Review

I became a fan of Dick Francis books back in the 1960s and have read every book along the way, eagerly awaiting the next in the series. Some I’m happy to read again and again, others less so. Regardless of whther he or his wife was the prime source of ideas they are good reads, albeit that some did relfect a somewhat sadistic streak.

In recent years a collaboration with son Felix emerged, and he has taken over the franchise in some style. Gamble is the lastest and carries on the fine tradition of whodunnits with a hero, plus a few close to him, in the firing line of the villain(s).

I won’t spoil the story by revealing what it is, but do recommend that you buy the book.

Click here to find out more about the book on Amazon

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