I walked past a shop window in Liverpool earlier today, and saw a big poster which said “10% off for new customers”. It was a big poster in flourescent orange.

The sign was wrong on so many levels. Firstly, it was in a hairdressers window – the colour didn’t exactly fill me with confidence about the quality of service inside. And more importantly, what does it say about the existing loyal customer if they are going to charge new customers 10% less? We need to think about the unintended consequences of our actions.

Too many companies (see banks, insurance companies etc) don’t value their existing customers. Instead, they give all of the incentives to the new customer.

It’s much harder to find a new customer or client than it is to keep an existing one.

Tags: Things I found

Sacheverell Sitwell

I mentioned in an earlier post that I stumbled across the work of Harriet Martineau again recently. Another book which I remember being fascinated by when I was a student was ‘For want of the golden city’ by Sacheverell Sitwell. I had developed an interest in the Bloomsbury set along with friends of mine at the time. I had been particularly taken with the work of Virginia Woolf. This was the early 80s and the New Romantics were dominant in popular music. A group of us in Liverpool were looking for influences. The Sitwells caught our attention. I read the poetry of Edith Sitwell and some of the autobiographical work of Osbert Sitwell (I picked up a volume in a bookshop in Liverpool called Atticus).

Then one day I was wandering around Central Libraries in Liverpool, which has the most beautiful reading rooms and an amphitheatre shaped international library. I came across ‘For want of the golden city’ by Sacheverell Sitwell and began reading the first few pages as I sat on the floor. I was absorbed by the writer’s ability to capture so much with a wide sweep of thinking. He demonstrated a new renaissance attitude, an interest in learning across disciplines for the sake of learning, rather than for some utilitarian purpose. I was enthralled.

I was brought back to this book a few weeks ago when I met an old school friend in the doorway of Central Libraries. A week later I searched on Amazon and discovered that the book is out of print. A further search of my local library catalogue tracked down a copy which I am now reading. 

Thirty years brings a change of perspective, but I still think the book is fascinating. Sitwell’s writings stand the test of time well. John Betjeman said the following about him:

“What a relief you are after the fearful pedantry & dull art history which kills enjoyment & just gets scholarships for people and breeds more dullards. You are a life-enhancer.”

He wrote 135 books, only one novel, but a host of books on art, architecture, music (including biographies of Mozart in 1923, and Liszt in 1934) and many travel books. He was made a Companion of Honour and also Honorary Doctor of Sheffield University in 1951. With so many books written, I guess it is not a surprise that this particular book is out of print, but I would recommend a browse through any of his books. 

Tags: Things I found

I am in the middle of writing an extended poem (100+ lines) at the moment, which will be the final piece in my latest book of poems. It is about my experiences of Liverpool in the late 70s and early 80s. As I write it, many memories are being evoked. The motivation behind the writing was an exhibition of photographs by Francesco Mellina which appeared at Liverpool’s National Conservation Centre recently. These pictures captured the scene which I was part of at that time. I have also reconnected with some of my old school friends over recent months.

Many of these memories are opening up experiences from that time. I am reminded of writers, musicians and artists that I was following then. Amongst these is the work of Harriet Martineau. She lived from 1802 to 1876 and was a writer, philosopher and the first female journalist in the UK. She was also considered to be an early feminist and probably the first female sociologist. She was a prolific writer whose work I dipped into. I was particularly taken with the breadth of her work and her interests. I was fascinated by the idea that it is the intersections between topics, genres and disciplines that brings really rich content. I have continued to develop this passion over the years. It is very much an obsession for me today. As I write this I am dipping into ‘Biographical Sketches’ by Martineau and remembering the immense learning which I acquired from reading her nearly 30 years ago.

Tags: Things I found

The site layout changed again today. I have found a way to turn a photo into a cartoon. It’s a free service which can be found at BeFunky. It’s really easy to use – just upload a photo from your computer and then click to change it to a cartoon. Then you can save the file back to your computer. You can see an example of this at the top of the page.

Tags: Things I found

I first came across Time Banks UK a couple of years ago. It builds on an idea I was aware of when I worked in the voluntary sector (now fashionably known as the Third Sector!) in the 1980s.

It’s a way to encourage community building by getting people to offer their skills into a bank so that they can trade them for the skills of others. Thus, you could offer an hour’s baby-sitting time in return for an hour of painting and decorating. I really like the idea.

From the website:

“Time Banks UK is the national umbrella charity linking and supporting time banks across the country by providing inspiration, guidance and practical help. Time banks link people locally to share their time and skills. Everyone’s time is equal: one hour of your time earns you one time credit to spend when you need.”

Their patron is Dame Anita Roddick who was the founder of Body Shop in the UK – she brings a lot of credibility.

The mission of the organisation is described as – building community, caring for the marginalised, bringing up healthy children, and fighting social injustice. Great aims.

[from the 'Things I found' archive]

Tags: Things I found