Just In Case

I stumbled across this poem yesterday (see below), a lovely, lovely, very funny lady called Elizabeth Stead gave it to me quite a while ago, in fact the first time I heard it Elizabeth read it out in her best Victoria Wood voice and I cried with laughter - it was written by Charlotte Mitchell.

Despite knowing all the theory about a capsule wardrobe I find it impossible to travel light. I have never yet gone through airport checkout and not had a large orange sticker slapped onto my case that says HEAVY!

When my friend got married about 12 years ago in Antigua we had a very bad delay coming home, to pass the time my friend ran a competition at the check in queue for people to guess how many pairs of footwear were in my case - the answer was 10!

Happy packing and happy hols to those of you going away.

Just In Case

"I'm going to the sea for a weekend,
in a couple of days I'll be back,
so I'll just take my little brown suit and a blouse
and a beret and carry my mac.

But what if the house is a cold one,
the house where I'm going to stay,
no fires after April, no hot drinks at night
and the windows wide open all day?
I'd better take one - no, two cardys
and my long tartan scarf for my head,
and my chaste new pyjamas in case they decide
to bring me my breakfast in bed,
and what about church on Sunday?
I could wear my beret and suit,
but if it were sunny, it would be a chance
to wear my straw hat with the fruit.
I can't wear my little brown suit, though
not with the straw and the fruit,
so I'll just take a silk dress to go with the straw
and a silk scarf to go with the suit.
I'll just take my jeans and that jumper
in case we go out in the car,
and my Guernsey in case we go out in a boat
and d'you know where my swimming things are?

D'you think I should take that black velvet
in case they've booked seats for a play?
And is it still usual to take your own towel
when you go somewhere to stay?
I had thought of just taking slippers,
but they do look disgustingly old,
I'd better take best shoes and sandals and boots
for the church and the heat and the cold.

I daren't go without my umbrella
in case I'm dressed and it rains;
I'm bound to need socks and my wellies
for walking down long muddy lanes.

I'd rather not take my old dressing gown,
its such a business to pack,
but s'pose they have breakfast before they get dressed
I'd have to have mine in my old mac.

I'm going to the sea for the weekend,
in a couple of days I'll be back,
so I'll just take my little brown suit and a blouse,
two cardys, my long tartan scarf,
my chaste new pyjamas
my straw hat with the fruit,
my silk dress, my silk scarf,
my jeans, that jumper,
my Guernsey, my swimming things,
my black velvet, my towel,
my slippers (no one need see them)
my sandals, my boots, my umbrella
my socks, my wellies
my dressing gown, no, not my dressing gown,
Ok my dressing gown,
and a beret and carry my mac.

By Charlotte Mitchell

Getting Hot, Hot, Hot!

Wow what a week for the heat, its been amazing.

Normally I'm on holiday when its this hot, and not thinking about work, let alone doing any. In Europe we often comment that the pace of life is so much slower and after working through this week I think I know why. Its virtually impossible to keep functioning and keep up the pace when its this hot, my brain just doesn't seem to have been able to co-ordinate as efficiently (as someone said to me yesterday its because your body is focusing on keeping cool).

Although I have to say I have really enjoyed not charging about and dashing from this place to the next (my normal style)! Its nice to slow down for once and as its summer time a lot of people seem to be taking a bit of time out.

Two people I've been working with on their career transition both commented recently that having the opportunity to get off the "work merry go round" has been really useful, its given them the time to reflect and think about what they really want to do.

They also both commented that what they thought they wanted to do changed over a period of time, so having time out is valuable. For them not leaping into the next job, which would not have been the right one. Yet slowing down is not a natural style for a lot of us.

The other comment that has stuck with me this week is from someone else I'm working with, again on career transition as they are facing redundancy, he explained to me that so many people want to make a mark on life, to build an empire or to leave a little something of themselves behind. Yet he found the native Indian tradition more appealing, he explained further that this involved the concept that you came, you lived, you experienced, but you left no trace. He used the analogy of going on a picnic - you pick the most picturesque spot you can find, you lay the picnic out, you enjoy the view, the food and the drink and then you very carefully pack everything away, taking all your rubbish home and leaving everything as you found it so that the next person who comes along says its so beautiful, its so unspoiled, no one has ever been here before.

Are you a make a mark person or more of a native indian person?

Long live the sunshine!

Hello, How Do You Do? Networking Power

If this week had been a stick of rock it would have had networking running through it, I started the week networking at Inspirational Speakers and I closed the week by speaking this morning on the Power of The Network on behalf of Cambridgeshire Business Services. Thank you to Margaret Butterfield for her splendid organisation.

Networking is described as a key business tool in the world of today, its power and success cannot be under estimated, and yet to a lot of us the thought of going into a crowded room filled with people we don't know and having to introduce ourselves fills us with dread.

Hopefully my session this morning enabled people to learn the art of networking - what it can do for you and most importantly how to be an effective networker to build your business. A lot of people think networking is about selling, I don't believe it is, for me its about meeting new people and maybe developing mutually effective business relationships. Networking isn’t a quick fix it takes time, energy and effort.

Here are my top tips for networking effectively:-

Be aware of your first impression - think about what to wear, and pay attention to body language.

Identify what you want to achieve - none of us can afford 3 hours out of the working day where we are not being paid or being productive. Do you want to network for inspiration, to find a role model, for information, for support?

Beginning and endings - learn the art of small talk to open a conversation, build some rapport, the kiss of death is launching straight into business speak.

Know when to move on, 7 mins per person is optimum.

Follow up - make sure you keep in touch with those people who you clicked with, and who you felt there maybe some value in developing an ongoing relationship.

Jo Parfitt and Jacqui Tillyard are both what I would describe as Queen Networkers, they have written a book together called Grow Your Own Networks ISBN 0-9529453-7-1 The book uses gardening as a metaphor. Well worth a read.

For those of you who came along this morning, it was lovely to see you.

Happy networking!

Decisions, Decisions

I ran a decision making and problem solving course in London yesterday, and yet when the 07.20 GNER failed to arrive I found it hard to make the decision as to whether to dash over the bridge and get the WAGN 07.26. I met someone I knew on the platform and took their advice as to what to do!

We all have to make decisions - some of them easy, some of them complex. I've been asked for more information about My Language of Colour service so that someone can make a decision as to whether its for them, as Lloyd said blogging is a great way to answer questions that pop up all the time and in the spirit of embracing the blog here is the answer I would have provided to her via email:-

We review your personal colour palette using the tonal method of colour analysis. This means reviewing hair, eye and skin tones and then draping you with many different colours to identify which ones are your best ones. People often think that they can't wear a specific colour, that is not the case, I will coach you to understand which tone of colour to look out for, so for example is a bright shocking pink best for you, or a soft dusky rose pink. We will also look at different make up colours and jewellery. You will have a swatch of your personal colours as an aide memoir. The whole process will take about an hour and a half. A lot of friends often come together and this can be great fun.

Once you understand which tones of colour are best for you shopping becomes a doddle, you will find you have lots of colours in your wardrobe that blend and match together. Your natural colouring will shine through and you will look and feel better.

This is what people have said who have attended the language of colour - "I've been stopped by 3 people today who have all told me how well I look", "Wow, I didn't really appreciate what a difference it would make to how I feel". "Thanks Belinda, had a lovely time really enjoyed myself".

I'm also running a series of workshops in September for a corporate customer entitled The Language of Colour, its a great team build activity.

Virgin Post

After attending Inspirational Speakers last night in Papworth and hearing Lloyd Davis talk passionately about blogging I have taken the heady decision to join the blog set!

Watch this space for more news about me, my work, and hopefully others comments too.