John’s Blog

Ref: Toronto Star, Living, 22 August 2007 According to research released in August 2007 by USA’s AMP Agency, women are creatures of habit when they go shopping. The way they shop is as Gen X shoppers will stay with them for the rest of their lives. In the USA 92% of all adult women and […]

Following news that Paula Ryan will present a workshop at the librarians’ national conference, to encourage librarians to update their style and image, Christchurch City (NZ) library staff dressed up in the William Morris smocks they used to wear in the 1960s. See the attached picture, and let it never be said again that librarians

By Fiona Emberton www.embervision.cc Brisbane (nicknamed BrisVegas for it’s glitzy image) in Australia is to be the host for the 2010 IFLA congress. Well done to the ALIA (Aussie Library Association) team including Sue Hutley its Director. I have lived in Brisbane for over 15 years and it’s unbeatable for friendliness and a lovely way

Ref: The London Independent, 13th September 07, By Martin Hickman Consumer Affairs Correspondent The era of spend, spend, spend is coming to an end. Britain’s shoppers, who for years have been racking up debt on credit cards and home loans with abandon, are finally starting to cut back on their expenditure. A slew of economic

Ref: The Belfast Telegraph, Thursday, September 13, 2007, By Karen Attwood Chocolate fountains and the reintroduction of “old favourites” has helped the new management at Thorntons reverse a sales decline. Mike Davies, who joined the chocolatier as chief executive from Mars in October last year, said yesterday that Thorntons had been focusing on improving its

It was Robyn Waters, the Counter Trends guru who brought to my attention that one trend is taking place at present is that old things are back, they are new again. Her examples really show a trend taking place in the marketplace. Vespa Motor Scooters When I was a teenager Vespa Scooters, from Italy, were

Ref: By Helen Pidd Monday September 3, 2007 The Guardian What with hotpot, crumbly cheese and Morecambe Bay potted shrimps, Lancashire has already given a lot to gastronomy. But the county’s contribution to filling the nation’s bellies is not only historic. On a small industrial estate near Ormskirk, one company is at the forefront of

Linda and I recently started buying organic purple carrots. We are not the only ones who are buying or growing Heirloom vegetables and tomatoes. Look for the trends, what can you do with some of those old products that can me made new again?

Blueberry sales in the UK have increased 132% since 2005 according to A. C. Neilsen . In 2005 Brits spent £40mil a year on the fruit, in 2007 £95million. Why the rush in sales? This is a fruit that is one of the world’s beneficial super-foods. It contains antioxidants to help keep the heart healthy,

(Extract from an article in BA Business Life Aug 2007) It is unlikely that anyone will arrive at The Highwayman other than hungry, which chef Nigel Howarth has opened with his partner Craig Bancroft in the little village of Burrow on the Lancashire/Cumbria border. Howarth uses his role as chef to enhance the produce of