We look.. but do we see?

This is a fun game for all the family when going for a walk or a run. Imagine a landmark you'll be passing in about 10 minutes. Describe it in detail, either to yourself or better, someone else. The other person asks questions: what colour is it? how many flower beds are there? how many bars are there on the gate? how tall is it?

Then as you approach, stop and look and compare your description with reality.

In the brilliant Art of Travel, Alain de Boton argued that the best way to remember something is not to wave your camera phone and take a photo, but to paint it.

The brain's natural reaction is always to create a nice, easy stereotype to remember and to imagine bits around that stereotype; but try making it work harder than that.

Too often we look, but we don't really see, and we hear but don't listen.

Performing with Presence

Went on an astonishingly good course at Maynard Leigh about effective presentations. All their courses are run by actors and are about translating acting techniques to the 'world of business'.

It's a cliche to ask how much of a presentation do you actually remember, because the standard at work is so unbelievably bad everyone knows the answer is somewhere between bugger all and ooh! look at Jeff's hideous tie!

I spent most of the time presenting ideas for the new business and it all went very well.

It was like trying on new clothes and expecting people to just laugh.

But no one did.

Enticements

Nobody wants to give me any recommendations.

What about if I show you this?

4 songs...

What 4 songs shall I get next for my ipod?

Your recommendations please.

The first 4 suggestions songs will be bought, and I will also celebrate your recommendations by dressing in some of my famous lingerie as an erotic reward.

Is sport getting worse?

Now I am as obsessed by sport as anyone, but is it gradually becoming rubbish?

Tour de Farce
Decline of West Indian Cricket and too much cricket
Football - suffocating from wealth
Rugby - rich nations stealing from the poor
Tennis - even more boring now than it ever has been
Athletics - best Doctor wins
Racing - fixing

I think I may take up Crown Green Bowling.

Wife material

What is wife material would you say? I mean, husband material is clearly gore tex. It's reliable, hard wearing and will keep you safe and dry - every girl's dream.

But wife material? Silk would be nice, and if it was socially acceptable I would wear silk underwear every day. Costanza would wear only velvet and I can see his point. But both are unsuitable as a wife material. It's the equivalent of marrying a glamour model; great to begin with but ultimately it can never work.

Lycra? Too scary. Wool? Too right wing. Hemp? Too left wing. Cotton? Maybe... yes, I could marry cotton. Or linen, could that work?

But what about these new hybrid materials as a wife material?

To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld when describing his shirt: "Half silk, half cotton, half linen, how can you go wrong?"

A DATE

Well, I don't really talk about dates, but given that I've been so stupidly busy for so long that's mainly because I haven't actually been on one. In fact I have barely been out let alone spoken to GIRLS, so I may as well celebrate the fact that I have finally been on a date. ** rapturous applause ** Yes, I thank you, I thank you!

And it was actually quite good! She cooked me swordfish, we drank champagne (3 bottles, ouch) and she looked like a bit like Juliette Binoche! In fact by the end she looked a LOT like Juliette Binoche.

Sadly I think she is utterly insane, so perhaps not wife material, but then I only ever wear blue shirts and the other day I bought a CHOCOLATE one, so you never know what might happen.