31 December is an appropriate day to talk about perseverance. Lots of people make resolutions for at the start of a calendar year. Some are personal and others are career related. Few are achieved. Ten years ago, a University of Bristol study looked at 3000 people who had made resolutions, discovering that 88% of them […]

This Christmas Eve my cynicism is less than usual because of a man who died a century ago. My biggest writing project of 2016 was a biography of William Onion (also known as Spring Onions), the East End poet and possibly the most convicted person in history. He was born in poverty on Christmas Eve […]

Visitors from the UK start to understand Australia’s geography when they compare its aviation network to the British railway network. I used to challenge this comparison, pointing out that one allows direct competition on the same routes at the same time, with little interest in smaller markets, and the other is a series of subsidized […]

    Every week I receive at least one invitation to a networking event. So far I have declined them all, unconvinced that they offer any benefit to my writing career. Eight years ago I was one of a new batch of graduate managers in the British Civil Service. Our training included a networking event […]

In today’s Guardian Andrew Smith writes a great article about fake news corroding democracy. Whilst he focuses on social media, the trend is affecting conventional outlets too. The very fact that he writes an opinion piece shows how far newspapers have evolved from the days when they simply reported facts and printed advertisements. My preferred […]

This week I went to the cinema to see an animation of a television program broadcast fifty years ago, with the original soundtrack. Appropriately the main theme of Doctor Who Power of the Daleks is rebirth, featuring the first time that the lead actor was replaced. Nobody then predicted that the show would still be […]

Sometimes I am asked to help people make complaints. In a previous role I handed complaints for a large government body and now use that experience to assist friends and family who are dissatisfied with a product or service.  In the majority of cases the problem is caused by delay, unclear or ineffective communication or […]

Democracy used to work. It was very simple. The people elected an MP and he or she voted to make decisions on their behalf.  Before voting the MP had an opportunity to canvass local opinion and participate in debates to learn the facts.  Although they belonged to a political party they were not obliged to […]

Last week Queensland Rail cancelled trains due to a driver shortage. This was caused by the opening of a new line and inadequate resource planning for the enhanced timetable. The Queensland Government expressed their displeasure, resulting in the resignation of the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board. In England Southern Rail have been cancelling […]