Number 10

A couple of weeks ago I went to a meeting at Number 10 Downing Street to discuss how social media is being used in communications. It was a fascinating afternoon, and I was very encouraged to see that Number 10 is using a battery of social media tools to engage with the great British public. The Number 10 website is hosted on a blog platform, and we’ve already seen the Number 10 YouTube channel, Flickr, web chats from politicians, Tweets and podcasts. However, the key thing that is missing is the ability for people to comment and enter into discussion and debate. It’s shame, but I can understand the nervousness and the need to comply with the Civil Service code. Leaving that aside, the progress that has been made would put many businesses to shame. I was impressed to see the real enthusiasm for these new ways of engaging people.

Dale Hill

I spent last weekend at Dale Hill golf club in Kent with my dad, brother and brother in law. We spent Sunday and Monday on the course, playing the Old Course on Sunday and then the Woosnam course on Monday. What a terrific venue. Both courses were in excellent condition and even though we have had a huge amount of rain, in fact we were even using buggies on the Woosnam course. And the views were breath taking. The hotel was pretty decent, with food well above the standard expected in a golf club. I can thoroughly recommend it, although as you can see from the YouTube video, not everything went completely according to plan.

Sprite has a good home

A few months ago I sold my Austin Healey Sprite to a chap in Spain. I was sorry to see it go, but something faster beckoned. Anyway, today I got an email giving me an update on the car. Looks like it's doing well alongside its new stablemate - A Singer 9. It'll be getting more sun than I've had that's for sure.