Blogs

Christmas for Togetherness

As we know, the world is currently experiencing a new wave of nationalism and populism. In the human search for meaning and purpose, one of the appealing solutions is to retreat nostalgically in mythical past eras and places, or to be lured into simplistic social solutions to complex cultural problems.

This kind of thinking suggests that if only we can detach ourselves from the difficulties caused by others, we can recreate a more secure world unthreatened by those people we do not like or understand.

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The latest in Blogs

Unlock your powers of observation

Look around you. What do you see? If you were asked to be a witness at a trial, would you be able to remember details and conditions?
One of the qualities of successful people in all walks of life is keen observation of things about them. They notice things about people, human nature and the general world around them. Many of us, unfortunately, go through life with our eyes half closed.

The Organiser or the Ostrich? What kind of mover are you?

As the summer buying season continues with The Great Barratt Move, the five star housebuilder takes a look at how your personality shapes your moving experience.

Leading psychology and health expert, Professor Cary Cooper says that moving home continues to be one of the most stressful life events and that your everyday personality will have a massive effect on how you approach a move.

Exeter Lives: Simon Hall

Name: Simon Hall - BBC's Crime Correspondent in the South West of England and author of the Dan Groves and Adam Breen TV Detective novels

How would you describe yourself in 5 words?

Always searching, but optimistic.

How would you describe Exeter in 5 words?

Modern-historic-rural-urban oasis.

What brought you to Exeter?

A better life.

Which part of Exeter or the surrounding area is home?

The Quayside.

Fairport Convention's 'Unhalfbricking' LP which included Who Knows Where The Time Goes

Fantasy Jukebox - 4. Fairport Convention - Who Knows Where The Time Goes

Imagine a fantasy jukebox that contained all the most influential, innovative, adventurous and just plain great music since the dawn of the recording era. OK, so the likes of iTunes, YouTube and Spotify have made this more of a reality than a fantasy, but setting aside their rather indiscriminating presence, what should it include?

Continuing a series exploring some of the key musical statements of the recording era, Matthew Vizard picks a totemic modern folk-rock standard.

Stick a Pin in it!

Here at The Plum Consultancy, we are big fans of the well known saying, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, and our love for visuals has naturally made us fans of the visually driven App Pinterest. Pinterest enables users to search through images (‘Pins’) and collect them by Re-pinning them onto boards, or by Pinning them directly from Pinterest-abled websites when browsing the internet. Whether Pinned directly or Re-pinned, every image on Pinterest links back to the source of the image, driving traffic back to the original website from which it was sourced.

Exeter Lives: Adam Stone

Name: Adam Stone – CEO of Rokk Media Ltd and on the board or a shareholder of businesses in the region.

How would you describe yourself in five words?
Ordinary chap with extraordinary friends.

How would you describe Exeter in five words?
My home and my passion.

What brought you to Exeter?
I was born and raised here.

Which part of Exeter is home?
The village of Alphington – a few minutes walk from my office.

Why I love Exeter

My sister has always had a tendency to faint at the slightest thing - blood, manual labour, needles... but her worst weakness is heat.

Exeter has had amazing weather this summer, and I always appreciate the city more in the sun.

However, being stuck on a train for 3 hours, without air conditioning, is a downside.

The Big Strategic Gap between "Think and Do" and "Do and Don't Think"

The biggest issue in new under resourced businesses is the large gap between “think and do” and that goes both ways to “do and don’t think” as well. People who spend their valuable time doing “don’t think” about their business, and people who think about their businesses, don’t have the time or resource to implement that thinking.

Why bottled water is so bad for the environment

Bottled water epitomises the destructive, extravagant and wasteful nature of our modern society. In comparative terms it is very expensive, not necessary for good health and its packaging and distribution have enormous negative effects on the environment.