"Ford Capri set to return" - This is a joke, right? Well it's not funny! :(

This is a Ford Capri:

We look after a few classic Capris at my garage. I adore them and I used to own one in the late eighties - a bright red 2.0 Ltr Capri Laser. She was very beau....my perfect Autobot!

I can't actually think of anyone who doesn't like the Ford Capri. Whether as a previous or current owner, or just from a point of nostalgia, she was indeed a car admired by many.

So when I read this week that Ford were bringing back the Capri I can not begin to tell you how excited I got. My credit card was immediately poised, prepared to part with whatever deposit they demanded of me! < um, I would have told beforehand Paul....honest love :-/ >

So online I went,  clicking on the necessary links in order to obtain more details and take a peek at the new design. My heart suddenly sank and my big smiley face suddenly turned to an incredibly sad childlike pout. "What the hell" I thought, staring at my computer screen, convinced I'd chosen the wrong photo.

Okay, so they now call it a Ford Focus Coupé. But they also promote it as the new Capri. Well, I have but one message for Ford - and anyone else for that matter choosing promoting it in this way:

PLEASE!!! STOP ASSOCIATING THIS WITH A CAPRI. IT DOESN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE A CAPRI.  LEGEND IS NOT FINALLY SET TO RETURN. THE FORD CAPRI IS NOT BACK. IT IS NOT A CAPRI.  

GOT IT?

I'm 42 and I don't have kids! So why on earth am I climbing a mountain for a children's charity?!

This is Thomas Dye, my mechanic's gorgeous little baby boy.




Imagine receiving a phone call from the consultant telling you to come into the hospital to say your goodbyes because your baby was unlikely to make it through the night? And then again a few days later? And then again?

This is Thomas a year ago fighting for his life.

Born 3-months premature, having nearly died several times, he did in fact die once - and then his little life was resussitated. And each time Paul got the dreaded phone call at the garage we all lived through it.

I call him little Tom Thumb. I was lucky enough to have been allowed to visit him when he was so very ill.

He is why I am climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. He is why I'm supporting the SPARKS childrens medical research charity. And he is who keeps me going during my training programme.

Little Thomas is the one who will give me the strength to overcome the altitude sickness, the loose screed, and the final ascent through the night in the snow to Kilimanajro's summit.

PLEASE PLEASE support me:

‎Social Media for Dummies!

My guest blog on using social media for business written for local website design firm    

As far as anything IT related goes, I am indeed a dummy; a complete technophobe actually! I am totally self-taught, I type with two fingers, I couldn’t tell you what the Function keys on my computer keyboard are for, and I don’t understand what all the fuss about iPhones is!

However, exactly a year ago I attended Exeter’s Business South West exhibition and found myself rather oddly drawn to a presentation being given by local businessman David Thomas, owner of Bluegrass Computer Services, on an introduction to social media for business.

Already being a huge Facebook fan I was nonetheless quite sceptical about using such applications for business. My first concern was in how much time I already spent on Facebook. My partner Paul will tell you I’d spend more time communicating on it than I ever did with him. And, rather sadly, it was….is…sometimes the only way that my friends and family can find out what I’d been up to! Facebook often entered my working life too, periodically logging on to check out my friends latest profile updates – usually on what they’ve just had for lunch and other such mind numbing information. So I couldn’t possibly see how I would find time to create and use social media for business without also creating a reason for divorce and bankruptcy! .....[Read more]