Nick Hand and Slowcoast
I first met Nick at the Do Lectures last year. We instantly got on with our love for Canon gear, photography, and Macs 
It was by chance we met once again at Liverpool’s b.tween event last week, so it was great to catch up and chat. He did tell me about a little, or rather, large adventure which begins for him on Sunday.
Slowcoast. So what’s all this then?! Well… simply put …
So, as you can see, this is not only an adventure of a lifetime, but something which is going to have some great outputs too. Nick is going to be coming past Hull, and so I’ll be catching up with him then
You can follow his travels in a number of ways:
So, please do follow him on twitter and give him some support. All that remains is to say, have an amazing trip Nick and see you soon!
Sauze March Photos
Another amazing trip to Sauze in Italy Thanks to Simone at The Orso Bianco!
Thomas Cook Airlines Suck
Slightly OT, but I thought I would let you know about the DISGRACEFUL business practice of Thomas Cook Airlines.
£25-£50 to change Mr to Ms on an airline booking.
Disgusting. Ok, it states that costs will be applied for a change of passenger name, but not for a change from Mr to Ms. This is the kind of business practice which lets companies down in a big way and generates a huge amount of bad feeling.
Imagine if they had said, since it’s Christmas we’ll waive it, all changed and have a great holidays. It would be a very different story wouldn’t it? And the positive word of mouth would be flowing. Instead I’m posting this, tweeting about the shocking cost and bad service and will be encourgaing people not to use them.
(The sad thing is, I’m sure they are not alone in the airline industry. Far from it. About time there was an airline with decent customer service and a good wau of doing business, although airlines by their very nature are nasty polluting entities!).
10 Tips for Surviving Train Journeys
I recently traveled down from Hull to Torquay on business which meant a 6 hour journey and luckily, only a couple of changes (but could have been many more).
Train travel is a much better option for business, because as we all know, it means that you can (hopefully) get some work done, and you don’t end up being completely shattered after a big drive. However, there are a number of tips which I suggest when you are going by rail.
- Don’t take too many bags. There’s nothing worse than struggling about with mulitple bags, and also finding places where to put them. I usually travel with my Tom Bihn Empire Builder Laptop bag, and a Tumi roll on. These two bags are both a good few years old, but look virtually new and are perfect mix of form, design and function.
- Book a seat. No excuse not to nowadays. You can use thetrainline.com and they post you your tickets. There was a real shortage of seats on the main line was on, and it is no fun standing.
- Get some noise cancelling headphones. These are essential for any sort of travel and make a real difference to your quality of journey. There are many sorts available, but my Bose ones have been going strong for 5 years and I would not travel without them.
- A decent book (or two). Check out my recommendations here.
- The Trains iPhone app which you can get from the App Store here. This will tell you all the departing and arriving trains from any station in the UK – I’ve just downloaded this and it is excellent.
- A light weight laptop. My current MBP is not cutting it right now, too heavy and a little slow
The Air or a Linux Acer One is now looking very tempting, but hanging fire until Apple have a refresh and I can afford one! - Bring your own food and drink. The stuff available onboard is not the best and way overpriced.
- Make sure you put your mobile on silent. This is not a hard thing to do you would think, but the amount of people who don’t bother is staggering. It is rude, ignorant and annoying. Especially if you have the “Final Countdown” as your ringtone.
- Make sure people know you are on a train if they want to speak to you. The reception, even on mainlines, is rubbish and you will spend the whole time having dropped calls. So don’t schedule any telecons as it won’t work, and long loud phone conversations are rude, ignorant and annoying.
- Dress appropriately. If you can avoid it, don’t wear a suit. It will be trashed. Something lightweight and warm is my preference, howies merino stuff does the job well.
Now I know I said 10 tips, but here is one extra for free. Travel in first class if you can. You may even get some work done.
PS Try to avoid the carriage where two “professional” dog owners have decided to bring their 4 dogs and two travel cages onboard.
Flattery from Kimpton Hotels
Kimpton Hotels are amongst my favourite when I stay in the US. I’ve used them in NY and also Boston. Both times there have been lovely rooms, free WiFi, great locations and very friendly staff.
So, I was pleasantly surprised when their email newsletter pinged in my inbox yesterday announcing their ‘Apple of My Eye’ package. Thanks guys, I expect a decent discount!
Technorati Tags: hull marketing, hull marketing consultant, kimpton
Back in the UK
Morning all!
I’m back in the UK after amazing week in Sauze d’Oulx in the Italian Alps. As you can imagine, and especially after not taking the MBP, I have a load to catch up on – email, feeds, work, websites etc etc. I only took the pocket point n shoot camera but managed to get some ok snaps and movie clips, so I will post them soon! For those who cannot wait (westerly side of the UK) here is a couple of quick pics for you!
