Monthly Archives: January 2010

Jan 17 2010

Pseudoscientific clap trap in advertising?

Years ago we played a game with friends based on Room 101 and blogging the other day reminded me of my pet hates … important (scientific sounding) ingredients.

Bacteria courtesy of Indiana University


It’s not that I don’t believe that these things exist, it’s just that they don’t add anything – other than as a marketing tool to make you think they will dramatically change your life with some sort of mystical (but scientific) element.

Bifidius ActiRegularis is quite a good one. Its in your Danone – but do you know what it looks like? Have you ever tasted it (I bet it tasted horrid).

Yakult has some worse sounding stuff – Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Not for me thanks! I think that might make me ill.

And then there’s some vitashield technology on Pantene Pro-V. I’m sure that this makes all the difference? Is Pro-V better than Amateur-IV?

Sometimes you feel like you are listening to a British Medical Journal radio show – as “clinically proven”, “dermo-clinical trials”, “in vitro testing” all make an appearance on TV adverts! But what does it mean? Have they really found a cure for ageing?

I particular like the sound of retinyl –in Olay products as it seems to be the equivalent of a time machine – by applying a bucket-load (worth every penny) it will take you back to your youth…

This pseudoscientific language just makes me very cynical and I wonder how many people feel the same? I feel conned – even if they do have some basis.

I think I’ll stick to my carbolic soap and tar shampoo… And eating Alpen for breakfast!

Jan 16 2010

Nottingham at MIPIM – an update

I have blogged before about my attendance at the MIPIM property show in Cannes.

Hotel 'Nottingham' in Cannes


Today the Evening Post have published a story that the City Council are pulling out of the show next year. This is primarily as a result of budgetary cuts. But they will be present this year – in fact Councillor Jon Collins and Planner Nigel Turpin are cycling there for charity!

The private sector are also going in the form of Mabers – Architects, Morgan Tucker – Engineers, Gleeds – Cost Consultants and my firm, Innes England. In fact we are all working together as ‘team Nottingham’.

Nottingham City Council will be announcing a really exciting ‘partnership’ at the event and will also be showcasing their six buildings which become vacant as they move to their new HQ at Loxley House, next to the Station. My firm will be explaining our market data analysis of the last year – compared to the preceding four.

It is a real opportunity for us to promote the city – and to try to create inward investment. There will be nay-sayers, as always who think it is a ‘jolly’. But, I will not be wrestling pigs!

It would not be right to categorically say that we are coming out of recession – but there are some signs of improving confidence – and it precisely for that reason that we should promote the city now. We will have a talented pool of people there – including the CEO of Nottingham City Council, The Leader of the Council – Jon Collins, the inward investment team and members of NRL. This is the public sector which forms the other key component of ‘team Nottingham’.

I think it is a pity (and perhaps short-sighted) that the City will not be principal sponsors and organisers next year. Before the ‘jolly’ spoilers start we should remember that our competitors for investment (Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester etc.) will all be there selling their wares to the world market.

The public sector and private sector both have roles to play in encouraging inward investment to Nottingham.

Jan 15 2010

Rules – to be broken?

One of my colleagues (who doesn’t do social networking I hope!) seems to have swallowed a rule-book at New Year. This week we have had four emails with rules in. New ones.

Rule #231 - drinking water it's not


1. Cars not to be parked in certain spaces in the car park;
2. Must have your DDI number on your email sign off;
3. Clothes in office cloakroom to be removed;
4. Second class stamps only on letters unless they need to go first class.

I am thinking we need a proper book to organise these rules. I have set up a new folder on my email system to file them.

I think that my least favourite shop of the moment, John Lewis, has some quaint rules (allegedly) – like you can only grow a beard “in your own time”. I’m not sure how you could actually do this – as far as I am aware it grows all of the time and your body clock doesn’t stop it when you are in the Victoria Centre?

And then apparently, there are some schools which have ‘important rules’, meaning it is illegal to:

make daisy chains (risk of picking up germs);
play conkers (for fear of eye injury);
play hopscotch (risk of injury);
make anything out of egg boxes (fear of salmonella);
put hands up (makes pupils who don’t have the answers feel victimised);
and throw paper aeroplanes (might also cause eye injuries).

Why do we have to have our lives run by all of these ‘rules’. I am ok with the Biblical stuff – like don’t chop your neighbours head off with a bread knife. And driving on the Nottingham ring road at 155mph (the maximum speed of my car).

But can we cut out the Big Brother please? Can we be treated as adults (apart from at school obviously) please. And can kids be left to grow up – and maybe learn the hard way. Falling out of trees and off home-made go-karts used to come keen, but generally we all survived. Playing conkers with safety goggles is a joke. Accidents do happen, but they are just that – accidents. And the germs on daisy chains let us have them in small doses- anyway some germs are good – like that Bifidius ActiRegularis you find in your Danone.

In the meantime, I shall try to remember to put my car in the first floor cloakroom and write my DDI number on the back of a stamp – I think that’s what the emails said?

Update 17 January 2010

Great news in the MOS today about Scottish & Southern Electric – who have a mantra of five ‘golden’ rules (much better than my ordinary ones by a long shot). Rule #1 – always reverse your car into a static parking bay. Presumably ‘static’ is not the ones on an aircraft carrier that bobs around in the ocean? Rule #4 – always hold onto the handrails on stairs. If you don’t you get ‘yellow carded’. People will soon be confined to home – much safer there? Madness gone mad.

Jan 14 2010

Topical Music – for birthing?

Following in the footsteps of my Little Boots post there was a request this week from one of my mates at the squash club. He was getting some music together for his wife’s ipod. The only issue was it had to have a ‘birthing’ theme.

These are not all my suggestions, but some are really quite good… Some I couldn’t publish! Here’s the top twenty though…

Little Boots - New York Sept 2009


1. Salt ‘n’ pepper – Push It
2. Diana Ross – I’m Coming Out
3. Squeeze – Up the junction or Pulling Mussels
4. Queen & Bowie – Under Pressure
5. Maximo Park – Apply Some Pressure
6. Oasis – Go Let it Out
7. Killers – Smile Like You Mean It
8. Ladyhawke – Back of the Van
9. Stranglers – Peaches
10. Paolo Nutini – Pencil Full of Lead
11. Berlin – Take My Breath Away
12. Gina G – Ooh Aar Just a Little Bit
13. Guns n Roses – Sweet Child of Mine
14. Portishead – Glory Box
15. Feeder – Pushing the senses
16. Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
17. Automatic – Monster
18. Elvis Costello – Pump it Up
19. Isaac Hayes – Shaft
20. Razorlight – Which way is Out?

Any others to add?

Jan 13 2010

Food, Drink & The Dark Side

Shock horror this week as we have started delving in the packed lunches of kids! The Independent found … crisps and chocolate. The only real surprise was that 1 in 10 had vegetables in their lunch-boxes.

Healthy Chips, batter and a touch of Fish in the USA


So, it seems we must intervene. Again. New rules will be written forbidding the Devils Food! I do accept that this is a difficult call, but kids are choosy when it comes to food. It seems they vote with their feet – and choose mars bars over carrots. Whilst trying to remain grown-up about this – I don’t blame them!

It was always an interesting moment at the end of term when you finally worked out that the smell in the hall was the rotted apples from numerous packed lunches in the kids school bags. They had ‘forgotten’ them.

Times have changed (but not that much?) – from the days of Enid Blyton when the Famous Five ate themselves to sleep on sandwiches washed down with lashings of Ginger Beer!

The storyline on Five on a hike together went,

The children eat gargantuan amounts of food throughout this story, possibly even more than usual. When they first start on a hike the kind lady in the village store makes them sandwiches. Her son, she says, has six sandwiches, or “twelve rounds of bread.” When she asks how many the children can handle, Julian tells her eight sandwiches each! And as Dick confirms, that’s sixteen rounds of bread for four people, so sixty-four slices.

Kids don’t have time now for falling asleep in fields – besides it’s not safe. The comfort of the Plasma screen and X-Box require a more chocolaty snack! As the saying goes ‘chocolate is the answer – now what’s the question’…

Last night when the squash club was too busy for us to get a court we retired to the pub – and one of the boys had Dandelion & Burdock. We discussed this as it is a ‘Marmite‘ sort of drink. As it happens I love it – as much as I love Marmite! It was more expensive than beer though!

I like most food, but I hate mushrooms (with a passion). Fungus from fields.

Turkish Delight is also food of the Devil – witness the Witch in Narnia who captures Edmund with Magical Turkish Delight! If you have never read the book there is a synopsis here which will save you hours.

But, back to the thread – kids and packed lunches. I suggest we stop kidding ourselves that we can introduce some rules which will suddenly make kids eat healthily. They won’t. They will find away around the system – as generations have done before them. So stop being hypocrites – they will work it out for themselves in the end!

Postscript – how much, exactly, is a ‘lashing of ginger beer’? And is there really a Carrot museum? Must put on my list of world class attractions!

Jan 12 2010

Property – good value?

The latest figures for property investment have just been published. We subscribe to PropertyData which provides detailed analysis of Investment transactions month on month. The December 2009 figures have just been released – which also give us a chance to review the annual performance of the market.

The value of transactions over 5 years - from Property Data


The striking feature was that the value of transactions in 2009 was lower than 2008 – which we thought was the bottom of the market!

The general view is that the market improved at the end of the year – so perhaps 2010 will be better?

Property values are also published – and in the investment market we measure value by ‘yields’. This is simply the return of rent in comparison to capital value. It is no more complex than looking at returns at the Bank or Building Society. We like to make valuation something of a ‘black art’ though – by doing various adjustments for costs, tax etc. But the fundamentals remain – it is a return on value.

It is helpful to compare what you might get for your cash at the Banks. According to the ubiquitous Martyn Lewis the best you can get on instant cash is around 3.35% (worst is 0.1%!). If you lock your money up for 3 years then you could get 4.7%.

PropertyData calculate some average yields (and acknowledge the dangers of averages). But they show some interesting figures for the last three months, by property type:

West End offices London – 6.66%
Regional Offices – 7.75%
Unit shops – 6.7%
Retail Warehouses – 7.14%
Industrial Units – 7.65%

It is interesting to note is the bunching of yields – the average spread across the sectors is only approximately 1%.

Also, returns are higher than cash – there are some obvious reasons. The market is quite illiquid – i.e. the costs of entry and exit are high (Stamp Duty can be 4% on large value transactions). There are risks associated with the income – it is not note necessarily ‘gilt edged’. Buying with borrowed money is difficult too – although the Base Rate is low at 0.5% – this rate is not readily available!

But if you can find property to invest in – the current returns look quite attractive! And if you need help give me a shout!

Jan 10 2010

Madeleine McCann – We mustn’t forget

I am lucky to have three great Kids – I guess they aren’t really kids at 22,20 and 16!

Madeleine McCann - as she looks now?


But this week, I fell upon the Madeleine McCann campaign – and if I am honest I had forgotten all about it. I guess we all (away from Maddy’s family and close friends) do as we lead our increasingly busy lives. Madeleine disappeared on 3rd May 2007.

But when you stop and think – the reality of losing one of your kids is unimaginable. I think a child dying is heartbreaking – and something faced by lots of parents. But this is different – maddy has just vanished. Clearly taken by someone.

As the web site says -

There is absolutely nothing to suggest that Madeleine has been harmed.
Madeleine is still missing and someone needs to be looking for her.
She is very young and vulnerable and needs our help.
We love her dearly and miss her beyond words.

So this isn’t my usual ‘rant’ blog – but a reminder. On the “Find Maddy” website – you can download posters for your office / club / leisure centre etc. I have done one for our office. There are lots of other things there too – including business cards / car stickers etc.

One day let’s hope that Maddy can go home to Rothley – and be reunited with her mum, dad, brother and sister. In the meantime – let’s not forget her – and keep the campaign in the public eye.

Some things we can do:

1. Watch and listen to the ‘one minute for Maddy’ on the CEOP site.

2. Link to the main website from yours – or to the independent website here.

And tell people about it. Twitter about it, connect with the campaign on facebook, send this page link to everyone you know – and most importantly – don’t forget Maddy….

Jan 9 2010

The Internet – making life easier?

All this snow focused my mind this week – Skiing! Not from Wollaton Hall hill (no lift up you see), but preferably alpine like…

My son 'resting' during his first ski week

But then I started to try booking.

Sometimes I think the internet has made our lives more complex – not easier. As you might expect, I am reasonably savvy when it comes to technology. But last night I was being driven to distraction…

… trying to book a ski holiday. Easy enough in the age of google! I know the date of travel (+/- 3 days), I want to fly from East Midlands Airport ideally (but Birmingham at a push). Resorts – probably Alps. Three in the party – myself and the two ‘boys’. By mutual agreement the boys want to share a room – alone.

So then the fun starts – Igluski, Crystal, First Choice, ThompsonSki, Neillson et al. All slightly different and each frustrating in their own way (actually quite a lot of them share the same search engine). Then trip advisor to check the hotels. Then Snow reports. Resort reports. What about transfer times? Do I want to endure Chambery airport and the single luggage carousel? As the Average White Band said – Let’s go round again…

I eventually put my laptop down – maybe I will start again soon! I did contemplate the Travel Agent next stop – but on my last visit there they used … the internet!

Do people still print brochures I wonder (probably do), but they must have been printed last year!

So the internet is great – but sometimes there is just too much to try and grapple with. It can be a real contradiction – the time you can save by having all this information is sapped by the time it takes you to filter all the information! I’m exhausted before I even start to think about reaching down to put those boots on – which I don’t mind telling you – I hate doing!

UPDATE 10th JAN

Booked today – via a real person at Igluski! . They were really helpful! Cervinia here we come…

Jan 7 2010

Green but not pretty?

Yesterdays story about the new power-lines in Scotland struck a chord. The news is that consent has been given for a new 137 mile long line of 600 pylons – some 200 feet high – in some of the most beautiful countryside in the Country. Not surprisingly there has been opposition – 20,000 people signed a petition. But, alas they have been ignored.

Wind Farm on the East Coast at Mablethorpe - 'ugly' redefined.


The argument runs that the damage caused by global warming is greater than that caused by a line of pylons. The opposition say it is tantamount to vandalism and will leave a scar on the landscape.

Having driven through the borders and spending time in Scotland this year I think it is a pity to spoil some of the stunning views.

Another problem is that this is ‘connectivity’ ahead of its time. Some of the renewable energy sources are still in their infancy – particularly ‘wave’ technology. We are not yet in a position where they have been proven.

I have always had some concerns about wind turbines – whichever way you look at them – they are not pretty. They can be noisy too. Small scale turbines in ‘domestic’ settings can be integrated, but the larger units which really generate sufficient power to have a reasonable payback period – and contribute to a larger group – are difficult to ‘hide’. Friends of the Earth say that “In the UK a single average-sized turbine of 1MW typically produces at least 2.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This is enough to meet the needs of almost 600 average households“. I am yet to see one (or more) which add anything to the visual environment!

There is a group called Revolt – who oppose excessive power-line development. They say, “While there is no entitlement to a view in English law, there is a serious injustice when significant damage to quality of life or loss of property value is imposed disproportionately upon residents, as a result of a public or private development. The injustice is particularly great when a new powerline passes through a neighbouring property close to a family residence, leaving the family with no influence on wayleave matters and no compensation, yet facing losses possibly greater than their life savings.“.

It is an interesting point about ‘value’. Of course the proximity of a pylon or wind-farm will affect value – not in a good way!

We do need to harness sustainable / renewable energy sources. But we also need to preserve the environment we live in. If that means burying cables or taking tracks that follow an existing feature then I am for this. As for those wind farms or pylons – N I M B Y please!

Jan 5 2010

Commerciality – what’s that?

Today with two colleagues I went back to Nottingham Trent University to meet up with Ann Priest and Peter Westland – both key figures in the School of Built Environment – breeding ground for Surveyors (and architects and other property professionals). We were treated to a tour of the new Newton / Arkwright link before Christmas – I blogged here about it. It was a really interesting discussion today around how best we can work with NTU in the future.

Nottingham Trent University


One of the topic areas raised by Peter was what the School did well at and what they could improve at. My firm have employed a number of graduates and sandwich students in the past – in fact my assistant is one such alumni! Of course I too am a graduate. It was an interesting question. The usual response from employers is that too much time is spent on the ‘theory’ or ‘academic’ side – and this was a view that I held firm. But today I think my view has changed and I think the academic side is important to develop an inquisitiveness.

We then arrived at the word “commerciality”. It was my suggestion that we would like it taught … but may be it can’t be?

But, rightly, Ann questioned the word itself. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it is a a derivative of “commercial” – which is concerned with or engaged in commerce or making or intended to make a profit. But this isn’t what I was getting at. It was a bit more difficult to pin down. To make matters worse some people have it – or get it easier – than others. We weren’t sure it could be taught? Not really very helpful then!

So we tried a bit harder as follows:

It has something to do with ‘seeing’ a big picture – beyond the job at hand. It has an element of ‘inquisitiveness’ on the part of the person – questioning the status quo. It requires an really good background knowledge (where the University come in) – as the base position needs to be established. You need to know if there is more than one option. It requires some tenacity and a real awareness of your surroundings. Most importantly it does hark back to money – the ability to see a profit in something.

So, can it be taught? I think it can, but perhaps not entirely in the University setting. The foundations can be laid – it was Prof. Neil Crosby many years ago who taught me valuation – and his philosophy was ‘question everything’. But the real learning ground does need to be Industry…I think!

There were some really interesting and positive things that came out of today – and I am really looking forward to working with Peter and Ann in the future. It was an interesting chat – and challenging too!