Blog
SEN parents feel like second-class citizens
I recently described the intimidating process which families have to endure when challenging their LEA's special educational needs provision for their child. Did you realise it comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, and that tribunal hearings can...
Jubilations and celebrations
It was an astonishing jubilee weekend, marred only by the unexpected poor health of Prince Philip. One wonders, with hindsight, how an elderly couple could have been expected to stand for four hours, especially during the wind and rain; us lesser mortals would...
Joining the jubilee celebrations
I was really moved last night while watching Prince Charles talk us through the royal family's private cine film of his childhood on television, which was not cold and austere as we have been led to believe, but appears to have been warm, fun and loving. Wasn't the...
Should Early Day Motions be abolished?
Brandon Lewis is the latest MP to say Early Day Motions are an expensive and ineffective lobbying tool, and that he wants nothing to do with them. So the questions are, what real value do they have, and if there isn't any, should their role be reviewed, and even...
How to Tweet your MP, by Grant Shapps
I am one of Grant Shapps' 50,000 plus followers, the youthful looking Housing and Local Government Minister, who marked his landmark figure by writing the definitive guide on to engage with an MP via Twitter. I knew Grant back in 2005 when he was a parliamentary...
Congratulations to our latest 92-year-old media star
For the second time in just over a week, a nonagenarian has beaten off stiff competition from young rivals to scoop a top media award. Congratulations to Elaine Morgan, a 92-year-old writer with the Western Mail, who won the Columnist of the Year Award 2011 in the...
eduroam celebrates a decade of wifi internet access for students around the world
With two sons at university, I imagine they take their instant wifi access on their campus for granted. The first secure roaming internet access of this kind was launched 10 years ago by eduroam® which has today been celebrating its landmark achievement at the...
The complexities of registering herbal products
What determines whether an herbal product is registered as food, a cosmetic or for medicinal purposes? My client Greer Deal, Director of Global Regulatory Services (GRS), a UK based consultancy to the life science industry, will highlight the complex regulations...
The Cambridge Phenomenon book
I feel a great sense of pride living and working around Cambridge among some extraordinary people and their innovative businesses which have made a difference to all our lives, from the birth of home computers and bluetooth technology, to the creation of round teabags...