Blog
The Shop Girls – Betty’s story
I suggest you have a box of tissues handy when you read Betty’s story from The Shop Girls, it is a real tear jerker and available today on Kindle. My heart went out to hard working Betty, she faced many knocks in life, being brought up by a strict, cold father who...
The Shop Girls – Irene’s story
Unbelievably, my shop girl Irene is 93 years-old and amazes me with her energy and youthful vigour. She called me a couple of days ago to say she had been to Newmarket Races at the weekend - and had backed the first three winners! I imagine it was that kind of...
Chris Curry’s life saving bus pass
Could your bus pass one day save your life? That is the vision of technology entrepreneur Chris Curry who is pioneering a pilot programme to explore the potential use of the humble bus pass as a powerful multi-function personal data bank. The results of the...
The Shop Girls – Eve’s story
It was Eve who first introduced me to Heyworth's, an elegant ladies department store in Cambridge which closed its doors 49 years ago. I had never heard of it before, like most people, and yet its memories are still vivid and nostalgic for the shop girls who worked...
Why do airlines oversell seats?
Hot on the heels of James Dawson's legal victory in the Court of Appeal, upholding his compensation from Thomson Airlines following a six hour delayed departure for his flight from Gatwick to the Dominican Republic, six years after the flight, I would like to suggest...
Scott Polar Research Institute commemorates Sir Edgar Speyer – 100 years on
I am so delighted for Prof Tony Lentin that he has succeeded in gaining recognition for Sir Edgar Speyer for bankrolling Scott's expeditions to the Antartic. Now, 100 years on, a plaque is to be dedicated in his memory at Cambridge's Scott Polar Research Institute....
My weekend bootcamp at Champneys
I did say to myself, 'never again!'after a gruelling week long bootcamp at Champneys two years ago. Don't get me wrong, it hit the right spots, though the highlight of my day was my long awaited beauty therapy, and I came away with some life changing dietary habits....
The luck of Lord Archer
I had no idea when I saw Lord Archer speak in Cambridge last Friday that he had recently been operated on for prostate cancer. He was his usual exuberant and confident self, repeatedly saying how thankful he was for his luck which led to his phenomenally successful...
Introducing The Shop Girls
I am counting the weeks now till the publication on 25 September of my book, The Shop Girls. It is a heartfelt and dramatic collection of memoirs of young women who worked in an upmarket Cambridge ladies department store during the 1940s-60s called Heyworth's which...