Prague Preview...Just A Peek

I went to Prague. Maybe I have mentioned this once or twice in my last two posts (which were about unrelated topics). This is what we in the marketing world call a teaser campaign, a (clever) strategy I employed while wondering madly how to organise all the photos (500+ - gulp!) I took. Suffice to say there is enough for a blog mini-series so what you are about to see is something akin to a trailer.

A short walk from the hotel - Namesti Miru and St Ludmila's Church

The National Museum overlooking Wenceslas Square

Art Noveau at the Grand Europa Hotel

Hustling and bustling in the Old Town Square

Memorial candles at the Jan Hus monument

Gothic inspiration at St Vitus's Cathedral 

Standing guard in Golden Lane

Enjoiyng the sunshine on Charles Bridge

If you enjoyed this short peek at Prague, stay tuned...

...there's plenty more where that came from.

Travel Broadens The Mind...All About The Readies

Regular Gidday disciples may be expecting some travelling tales to make you green(ish) with envy. But I still have some significant photo culling to do - digital cameras definitely encourage much snap-happy behaviour - so it won't be the subject of this post. You'll just have to be patient a little bit longer.

But you know what it means when I do travel don't you - more facts of life courtesy of BA's business:life magazine. And this time it's all about the readies.

So the nitty gritty is this. 20% more needs to be earnt by families this year than last to maintain living standards.

Not the most joyous of equations is it?  But before we despair too much, let's take a little squiz at where the money is actually going.

Firstly £7.7bn is spent annually by Britons on maintaining their gardens. I can certainly attest to having admired the glory of British gardens since I arrived here in January 2004 so to my way of thinking, this is money well spent.



Next, 12% of British households pay for domestic help. Let's see: housework vs, well anything else. I think I'll be helping to push that up to 13%  real soon.

But then we are not watching the pennies everywhere, particularly where the kiddies are concerned with 66% of parents admitting to buying their children clothes they only wear once.  Although let's face it, Primark stuff doesn't last much past the first wash.

And how's this for a kicker. £50m is the annual cost of disposing of junk mail in England. That's getting rid of all of that mostly useless crap that comes through the mail slot. I recycle mine. Does that make a difference?

They say with age comes wisdom. 20% of UK car owners buy their first soft-top convertible in their 50s. 85% of British women over 50 spend more on their summer holiday wardrobe than they spend on their actual holiday and 71% of British grandparents are on Facebook. Sounds to me like grey power is having all the fun.

But with 6 million Britons having no savings - despite 43% seeking financial advice from family and friends (what does this say about the other 57%?) - and 30% giving investment in shares a wide berth, it's hard to see how we are ever going to fund these good times of the future.

Just as well 2/3 of households have one or more bicycles and 55% still haven't visited St Paul's Cathedral.

I predict a growth in staycations!

Freedom Of Speech...

There's been a bit of a bookish theme emerging in my posts of late - from the advent of Audrey to yesterday's Literary Gold and a little bit of something in between - and I've been inspired again by some leisurely breakfast reading over some excellent pancakes and coffee this morning.

Apparently Michael S. Hart died earlier in the month. 'Michael S Hart?' you say. 'Never heard of him.'  Nor had I. But this is the man behind the quest to provide free books for everyone on the Internet.

Michael S. Hart was an American author who began Project Gutenberg, an 'organisation' (for want of a better word) that provides free e-books to the general public. Trying to understand what more he might do with the computer provided to him by the University of Illinois computer centre, he wondered what value might be brought about through using it as part of a potential information network and on Independence Day 1971, he typed in the American Declaration of Independence and posted the text for others to download. 

And all this well before what we've come to know and love as the World Wide Web.

By 1987, he had posted 313 books this way including the Bible, Homer, Mark Twain and Shakespeare. Then through the University's PC User Group and with help of programmer Mark Zinzow, he was able to create a way for others to be involved as well. As at today's count, 36,000 e-books have been digitised and digitally proofed by a veritable army of volunteers. And are completely free.

Aside from his commitment to providing e-books to as many people as possible, Michael's mission was to "Help Break Down the Bars of Ignorance and Illiteracy".  

He may have lived a rather impoverished life but to my mind, Mr Hart left us an amazing legacy.

ps...BTW, I'm in Prague peeps. Posting this from a rather lovely hotel room. You may be wildly envious if you like. Look out for my travelling titbits soon.

The Cat In The Hat...Is Back!

I went into work a little late today and someone had generously left their Times newspaper on the seat opposite so excited by a little more erudite reading I started to flick through the pages.  The big news today is this: the Liberal Democrats are having their Annual Party Conference, SAB Miller has bought Foster's Australia and the most exciting news of all, The Cat In The Hat is back!

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904 and aside from being an animator, cartoonist and artist, under the nom de plume of Dr Seuss he published some of the most notable and loved children's books in history. Who can forget Green Eggs and Ham, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Fox in Sox, The Cat In The Hat, The Cat In The Hat Comes Back and a whole lot more? Over 200 million of them in 15 different languages. And a Peabody, two Emmys, two Oscars and a Pulitzer to show for it. Now THAT'S prolific.

So imagine when I read that just next week, the new Dr Seuss lost story collection will be out. Discovered like a buried treasure - Carter may have discovered the treasures of Tut but scholar Charles D Cohen has hit the literary jackpot.  Here's a snippet to whet your appetite:

One bright sunny day, a young duck named McKluck

Had a wonderful wonderful piece of good luck.

He was walking along when he spied on the ground

A marvellous thing that is quite seldom found.

'Twas a small silver box. And it looked mighty old

And on top of this box, it was written in gold:

"Who finds this rare box will be lucky, indeed,

For inside this box is a Bippolo Seed!

Plant it and wish! And then count up to three!

Whatever you wish for, whatever it be

Will sprout and grow out of a Bippolo Tree."

So here goes...

                One

                        Two

                                 Three


                                            TAH DAAAAH!!

The Bippolo Tree and Other Lost Stories is out on September 29th.

That's only 7 sleeps to go.

Result!

ps...thank goodness I was late and picked up that discarded paper eh? Beats that shoddy 'excuse for a beer' story any day!