Blog
Adoption with Humanity e-petition launch
I have just signed the Adoption with Humanity e-petition which has just been launched on the government's website. You too can sign it too by clicking here. It has naturally thrilled adoption campaign reformer Francesca Polini who is delighted to have gained the...
Our Shine 2011 moonlight walk
I joined a charity half-marathon through the streets of London at the weekend to raise funds for Cancer Research UK in support of their Shine 2011 fundraiser. I walked alongside scientists Julie Barnes and Wendy Alderton from Abcodia and their friends. I believe...
Why we need a National Adoption Agency
It's tragic that only 60 babies were adopted in England in the last year. Surely there should have been a zero on the end. This is not because there are fewer babies and young children being taken into care each year to support falling adoption figures; there are now...
Why social media and PR matters
I have long shared Neville Hobson's philosophy about social media and PR. In this video, he explains how nobody controls the message, that there is no one-way of using social media within an organisation as it depends very much on its culture, but that honesty,...
Preparing for the empty nest
This time tomorrow my life will have changed for ever. We are taking our youngest son James to university - and he can't get there quick enough, eager to experience student life, especially with Freshers' Week and all its parties. I am immensely thankful that James is...
Why are we behind the Koreans with QR shopping codes?
As an enthusiast of QR codes, I wonder why we are behind the Koreans who have embraced this technology for supermarket shopping. Hat tip to the erudite Winchester Whisperer for alerting me to this: The Korean company, Homeplus, has taken shopping to a new level by...
How our special educational needs provision could be transformed
There are 1.7 million children in England with special educational needs, ranging from dyslexia and Down's syndrome, to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity. The way their needs are met is currently under review by the government. And not a moment too soon. Next...
My moonlight walk for charity
In one mad impulsive moment I put my name forward to join the Cancer Research UK charity Shine walk through London on 1st October. I have entered the half-marathon, so 13 miles of pavement plodding - but for a great cause, and I will be in great company too having...
Could Westminster’s working hours modernise from today?
Joan Ruddock MP will today lobby her colleagues for a change of working hours in the House. It's quite a modest request really: she suggests close of day at 6 or 7pm midweek for business in the House, enabling MPs to get back to their young children in time to read...