Saxx and the City Chic – Droitwich Spa Music Festival & Arts 2009

Samantha (beautiful Sammy), Kate and Terry Spencer organised this charity event to support Acorn’s Children’s Hospice.

The event “Saxx and the City Chic” was held at the infamous St Andrews town hotel. This contemporary Georgian townhouse is privately owned and is located within a few minutes walk of the town centre of Droitwich Spa. I’ve taken some pictures that I do not think do justice to the place. However it will give you an inkling of its beauty.

The 7th of July was my first visit to the town of Droitwich Spa. Some of you may have seen Droitwich Spa hitting the national headlines during the floods of 2007. It was pointed out to me by Kate, the parts of the high street that were under water at the time. I’ve always wondered about how businesses and people recover from such devastation. I suppose this says a lot about the close-nit community and how well the local council Wychavon District Council are at their office.

We were served a luxurious three course meal. Entertainment was provided by Sam and the beautiful Laura, who got people on the feet with their blend of music.

Sam is an amazingly gifted young man, he not only sings, but also is a fantastic saxophone player to name but two attributes. Laura has a very strong and distinctive vocal range.

Sammy is an extraordinary fifteen year-old. She has achieved so much at such a tender age. Kate her mother showed me a folder 3 inches high full of voluntary work, Sammy caries out.

All-in-all it was a wonderful experience.

Show Me Tell Me

Show me tell me DSA 19 Theory Questions & Answers

The “show me / tell me” questions or maintenance questions are a series of 19 questions regarding the correct maintenance and safe use of the car. two questions will be asked by the examiner at the beginning of the driving test.

Q. Tell me where you would find the information for the recommended tyre pressures for this car and how tyre pressures should be checked?
A. Information in the manufactures guide,use a reliable pressure gauge,check when they are cold and don’t forget the spare.

Q. Show me how you would check the brake lights are working on this car?
A. Operate the brake pedal, make use of reflections in windows or garage doors, etc, or ask someone to help you check.

Q. Open the bonnet, identify where the brake fluid reservoir is and tell me how you would check there is a safe level?
A. Identify reservoir, check the level against the high / low markings.

Q. Open the bonnet, identify where you would check engine coolant level and tell me how you would check the correct level?
A. Identify the high / low markings on the header tank and describe how to fill to the correct level.

Q. Open the bonnet, identify where you would check the engine oil level and tell me how you would check the engine has sufficient oil?
A. Identify dipstick / oil level indicator, describe how to check level against the min / max markers.

Q. Open the bonnet, identify the windscreen washer reservoir and tell me how you would check the level?
A. Identify the reservoir and explain how to check the level.

Q. Show me how you would set the demister controls to clear all the windows effectively, both front and rear screens?
A. Set the relevant controls including; fan, temperature, air direction / source and heated screen to clear windscreen and windows.

Q. Tell me how you would check the head & tail lights are working?
A. Identify / operate the switch, then walk around the vehicle, check front & rear.

Q. Show me how you would clean the windscreen using the windscreen washer & wipers?
A. Operate control to wash / wipe the windscreen.

Q. Show me how you would switch on the rear fog lights & explain when you would use them?
A. Operate switch (turn on dipped headlights first) check warning light & explain that they should only be used in fog.

Q. Show me how you would check the parking brake for excessive wear?
A. Apply foot brake, demonstrate by applying the parking brake so that when it is fully applied it secures itself, and its not at the end of its working travel.

Q. Tell me how you would make sure the head restraint is correctly adjusted so it provides the best protection in the event of a crash?
A. Adjust the head restraint so the rigid part is at least as high as your eyes or top of the ears & close to the back of the neck.

Q. Show me how you would check the directional indicators are working?
A. Apply the hazard warning switch (or indicator switch) and check all functioning indicators.

Q. Tell me how you would check the brakes are working before starting a journey?
A. Brakes should not feel spongy or slack. brakes should be tested as you set off. vehicle should not pull to one side.

Q. Show me / explain how you would check the power assisted steering is working before starting a journey?
A. If the steering becomes heavy the system may not be working properly. before starting a journey move the wheel left & right to check for assistance.

Q. Tell me how you would know there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system?
A. A warning light should illuminate if there is a fault.

Q. Show me how you would check that the horn is working?
A. Depress the horn.

Q. Tell me how you check the tyres to ensure that they have sufficient tread depth and that their general condition is safe for use on the road?
A. No cut and bulges, 1.6mm of tread depth across the central 3/4 of the width of the tyre and around the entire circumference.

Q. Show how you switch your head lights from dipped to main beam and explain how you would know main beam is on?
A. Operate switch and check the main beam warning light.

6th June 1944 Operation Overlord, D-Day

We must remember the young hero’s who have fallen

It was on 6th June 1944 that Operation Overlord – the long anticipated Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe – went into action. What came to be known as the ‘D-day landings’.

On the French beaches and in those hedgerows, many making the ultimate sacrifice. Over two thousand Americans, British, Canadians, and Australians died that first day, trading their lives for a single ambition…so we could live free.

Google and its algorithm Tests with hyphens blanks underscores

Domain Name Basics

The only characters allowed in a Domain Name are the 26 letters of the standard alphabet, numbers 0-9, and hyphens (-).

A Domain cannot begin or end with a hyphen, but it can contain a hyphen.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, also know as ICANN serves as the governing body for Domain Name registration.

ICANN is currently allowing up to 67 characters including the .com, .net, or .org

The underscore and the space are not acceptable characters in a Domain Name.

FIELD TESTS – EXPERIMENTING WITH GOOGLE’S ALGORITHM
Test results with hyphens, blanks, underscores.

Test #1 Keyword1 Keyword2: any order, and also Keyword not together.

Test #2 Keyword1-Keyword2: only results with Keyword in that order, found together and fused together Keyword1Keyword2.

Test #3 Keyword2-Keyword1: that order.

Test #4 Keyword1_Keyword2: results with exactly that term.


FINDINGS
www.meta-learning.co.uk is a site I took on about a month ago and carried out SEO work on it. I am in the process of SEM for it. Nonetheless the site has moved 7 million places in the Alexa rank system in under a month. I have chosen this domain because it is has a hyphen in the domain and in its Meta title, keyword and descriptions tags.

Test #1: only results with Keyword in that order, found together and fused together Keyword1Keyword2

“meta learning” (Position 11 in Google)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=meta+learning

Returned 660,000 results

Test #2: only results with Keyword in that order, and found together

“meta-learning” (Position 12 in Google)

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=meta-learning&btnG=Search

96,700 results

CONCLUSION
In my opinion it matters more if you have your Title, Description, Keyword and body copy have hyphenated words than it does in your domain name.

My definitive answer:
An SEO person can optimise for hyphenated and non hyphenated words. Unless it is critical, and you expect users to type in Keyword1-Keyword2, I personally will treat it as two words.

Romancing the Customer

Romancing the Customer is something we all do to some degree. Whether that is in the form of taking a Customer out to lunch to scope the new project on hand or be proactive and strategise for the future. Some of you may think of romancing the Customer as keeping things “sweet” with the customer, or keeping the customer on your “side”. If you can relate to this in the remotest form, then you have arrived at the right place and at the right time to read what I have to say.

Wider Issues
Globalisation, economic crisis in the USA (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fall as much as 50% in the stock value today), the UK housing market reported drop of 6% in house prices, the credit crunch in the UK continues, oil, basic food, and utility prices sore, we have entered a recession period and yet life must go on. In these challenging times those that build solid relationships upstream and downstream in their supply chain will stand a chance to survive albeit the profit margins are strangulated.

What is this Blog post about?
I believe I am fortunate to have met Angi Egan, Owner of Pure Vision UK. She is a specialist in how one may “romance one’s customer” and get the most out of one’s Customer. This is something we can all learn from in these challenging economic times. Angi Egan, specialises in “Client Journey, Brand, Service excellence, romancing the Customer, seducing the senses, coaching programmes, workshops, and keynotes that are delivered at conferences. She is a member of the Professional Speakers Association, BNI, and Scary! Women.

“Creating loyal customers who rave about your business demands commitment, laser-like focus and a fanatical obsession with customer expectations.Right now, meeting & exceeding expectations matters more than ever. Businesses need to stop assuming they know what Customers want – ASK!Perceived indifference, or being taken for granted, is the killer for most relationships. Our familiarity dictates that we stop assuming and start asking. Resurrect the notion of romance and you’ll automatically become obsessed with finding out what floats the boat of your Customers.” Angi Egan Pure Vision UK (2008)