Obituary

This was recently sent to me by a friend. It was originally published in the London Times and I thought it was so good and appropriate to the current times, I thought I would share it with you.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend,Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge)..

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents Truth and Trust, by his wife Discretion, his daughter Responsibility, and his son Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights. I Want It Now. Someone Else Is To Blame. I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Three Obscenities and a Thank You

After four very different events today, my faith in human nature and the human condition has been severely dented and I therefore felt I would share the following observations and assertions with you:

Obscenity 1

As a Human Being first, a pacifist second and a cricket lover third, it is simply beyond my comprehension how men carrying guns can open fire on police, cricket officials and cricketers as they did in Pakistan today.

What makes any human being (??) or group of human beings (??) think that they have the right and more astonishingly, the justification, to open fire on Cricketers, their officials and the people trying to protect them in the name of religion or some other perverse belief.

What gives them the right to destroy innocent peoples lives who were simply going about their lawful business? What gives them the right to destroy the lives of the families affected and probably to destroy any prospect of international cricket being played again in Pakistan (a cricket loving country) for the foreseeable future.

I feel very sad for all affected and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. I also feel very sad for the wonderful game of cricket. As for those responsible - words simply fail me.

Obscenity 2

It was reported today that a full investigation of child protection services in Dundee will result from the death of Brandon Muir who was killed by Robert Cunningham in such a brutal and obscene way.

There will no doubt be many recriminations and fingers of blame pointed at various people. However, the bottom line is that a very young child has lost his life in an awful way to a person who should have been looking to protect and care for this poor little child.

Such events always hit the headlines and then seem to fade away with little or no lessons seeming to have been learnt. However, the death of one child is one to many and to die in such a tragic and brutal way is simply to horrible to comprehend.

How a human being (??) can carry out such acts on a defenceless child is simply beyond my scope of understanding.

Obscenity 3

Many of course will say that my third choice is as nothing when compared to my first two obscenities, but to me it is still an obscene story for various reasons.

Aston Martin today announced the launch of their most expensive car ever - coming in at £1,000,000. Now, I know that there will be those that will snap up such a symbol of wealth and status. But in times when thousands are losing their jobs and houses, business are going bust and misery is all around the lives of many, such a consumer product at such a time seems to me simply obscene.

In addition, I can't believe that such a car will be contribute to the reduction in global warming with many many litres of fuel being needed to propel it for even a short distance.

Thank You

Finally, and on the positive side, I received a small gift and several "Thank Yous" for some work that I had done for a couple - for which I had also been paid.

In this day and age, this seems to me to be an increasingly rare event and is certainly something we should hear more often. My efforts were appreciated but more importantly, someone took the time and trouble to tell me so.

My faith in human nature, despite the three obscenities had been restored, if only by about 5%.

I will now dismount from my soap box!! Thank you for reading this far :-)

Book Worm

One of my life-long hobbies and interests is reading. I have normally got at least one book on the go, sometimes two. Because I often have my nose in a book and by definition visitors to Blogs must enjoy reading, at least to some extent, I thought I would share my reading lists with you so here goes.......

The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

Whilst I can never claim to be a very political person, I was keen to pluck this book off the shelves around the time when Obama was being sworn in as President of the USA. I saw his acceptance speech which I must admit I watched with awe as the man seems to be such a brilliant orator. Much of the detail of his policies escaped me but I could not fault his genuine passion for his country and his new job - rather him than me I thought!

The Audacity of Hope is Obama's second book, the first one being titled "Dreams From My Father". It deals with his rise from local to national politics and covers the vast subject in very manageable chucks. Obama deals with the following topics in some depth but always with a very modest manner:

• Republicans & Democrats
• Values
• Our Constitution
• Politics
• Opportunity
• Faith
• Race
• The World Beyond Our Borders
• Family

Each chapter addresses these often sensitive and complex issues in a very interesting and logical process and indeed goes a long way towards explaining where Obama has come from and where he is likely to take the USA to.

Whatever your views on politics, the USA,, world issues etc. I would very much recommend that you read this book by a man who represents a significant time in the history of North America and most likely the world.

Damaged - Cathy Glass

In complete contrast, Cathy Glass is an English foster mother who takes on the challenge of fostering an 8 year old girl called Jodie. It transpires that Jodie has been severely mentally and physically damaged through sexual abuse inflicted on her by her parents and other adults that were in her life.

The book traces Cathy's attempts to rescue Jodie from her inner torment with the hope of offering this poor young child a life that can be described as near as possible to normal. Throughout Jodies' stay, the pain and anguish suffered by Cathy and her family are astounding as they seek to understand the damaged mind of a very young girl. Most of Jodie's activities and outburst would have exhausted the patience of any adult, no matter how much of a caring and understanding nature they had.

I soon came to the conclusion that foster carers like Cathy are angels who usually go unrecognised but perform a huge service both for the children involved and society in general. The book gives a deep and shocking insight in the previously closed world of fostering and really is a compelling and disturbing read.

I regret that I cannot report a happy ending as Jodies end up in specialist care home because her conditions and issues were so severe that they could not be dealt with in a family home. It was obvious that Jodie is never likely to lead a normal life and has had her childhood stolen by those who should have been most protective towards her.

Read it and weep is how I would best summaries a stunning and distrubing true story. The sad thing is that there are many more Jodies out there, often unrecognised until it is to late.

If any reader has read either of these books I would be delighted to hear your feedback on them.

Not before time

I was ashamed to note that it had been several weeks, if not months, since I have last poured out my views and feelings into cyberspace via this Blog. I set off many months ago with all the very best intentions which in the main have come to nothing. So, in the true spirit of those who are looking to revive their enthusiasm and motivation for that New Year resolution that fell by the wayside on 11th January and then again on the 3rd February, I offer the following words of wisdom?

The mortgage market continues to be challenging and many would say difficult. Our clients often seem to be confused, if not a little scared about what to do for the best when it comes to reviewing their mortgage arrangements. With a further cut in the base rate yesterday, some are doing very well from the savings on tracker rates but others are now looking to fix a rate on the expectation that rates will start to rise again later this year.

If the base rate continues to fall, it may not be long before lenders are paying their customers to take a mortgage out with them! The basic issue is that banks are still not lending to each other and therefore to us, despite the best efforts of Mr. Brown and Mr. Darling.

On the home front, Dylan has now passed his first birthday and continues to be a charming dog of real character. He has wandered off a couple of times recently but that is said to be his natural instinct as a hunting dog, used to chase Badgers historically I believe.

The cold spell continues to set challenges with getting about anywhere and some people I am sure are suffering far more than me from this unusual spell of weather. But there again, it could be argued what should we expect in January and February - perhaps we have just got off lightly in recent years. It certainly does not seem to indicate much global warming is going on in the UK at the moment.

One of my main interests is cricket, and in particular scoring the game whilst others swing the willow and chase the leather (that last bit could sound a little fruity I accept). I am running a course this morning - yes it's minus 4 degrees outside with snow on the ground - to train a dozen people in the art?? of scoring a cricket match. I can hear the collective sigh of boredom whenever I mention cricket scoring but I very much enjoy it and hope to pass on a few hints and tips to others today that would like to improve their scoring skills.

So, with that said, I must get ready to do battle with the highways and byways of our fair country in order to deliver this training course - I just hope that most of the delegates can get there and make the day worthwhile.

Take care during this continued bad weather and you never know, it may be less than four months before I visit this Blog venture again.

Deals, Diagnostics and Dylan

Well, I know it' s been a long time since I wrote anything on this blog, so I determined that I must make time to update my ramblings.

The mortgage and re-mortgage market continues to be difficult and I have now signed a total of seven deals in six months with a few more potential clients in the pipeline. I still find it difficult to second-guess people's intentions and related motives. Some clients give out all the right signals but decline to sign up for a new mortgage, using both believeable and unbelieveable reasons / excuses. On the other hand some clients that you feel are a lost cause end up signing.

I still remain disappointed at some people's approach to returning my messages and often promise to do something when in practice they don't. A common phrase used when a quotation is left with them for a decision is " I will get back to you either way". In most cases they don't and I have to resort in following things up at which point they normally apologise and cite being "far to busy" as the reason. It takes 60 seconds to phone me with their decision but most seem reluctant to tell you when they decline to sign. Isn't human nature strange.

Anyway, onwards and upwards and it is to be hoped that the financial climate, and mortgage market in particular, improves for everyone' s sake in the near future.

On a totally diferent subject, my wife has been complaining of breathlessness recently and following a subsequent hospital check has been diagnosed as having one artery 95% blocked and now needs to have a stent fitted in the next few weeks. She certainly did not enjoy the first experience and although she has yet to have the date of the second appointment cofirmed is very tense and concerned about the whole thing. The sooner her condition is rectified the better for all concerned.

Finally, my son and daughter-in-law purchased a wire haired dachshund that they have called Dylan. He is a loveable litle dog who endlessly wants me to throw toys for him to retrieve. Full of energy and no little mischief. He is a little charmer and looks set to be a family favourite for a long time to come yet.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope that anyone who spends a few minutes to read this is well and that you will visit this blog again. I promise to try to update it more frequently.

Update and Cyberspace Manners

It has been a while since I updated my new blog venture, so thought it was time that I put finger to keyboard.

The mortgage business has not been going too badly and I have signed up one more customer since I last wrote with several more positive prospects in the pipeline. We have recently devised a revised method of presentation to our potential clients which seems to be having the desired effect as more seem interested in our products and don't reject us at the first appointment.

I still continue to be frustrated by clients who will not "come clean" if they do not wish to take up our services as outlined in my last entry. It is annoying when you have to make several attempts to contact them in only to be told that they don't want to proceed, having previously said that they would contact me either way, whatever their decision. To me this is simply impolite and bad manners.

On similar lines, another one of my hobbyhorses relating to peoples behaviour is their lack of response or acknowledgement of E Mails. I was raised to thank people for something that they had done for me, no matter how small that thing or their effort was. It follows therefore, and some may not think so, that it should work the other way round in that I might expect and welcome a note of thanks for something I have done for them.

It therefore surprises and annoys me that people vey rarely respond to an E Mail or a series of E Mails that I have sent them. For example, I was asked to provide some information to a person the other day which actually took me a few minutes to put together in both research and actually writing the E Mail. I duly sent it and have heard nothing back since. Now, I don't expect fullsome praised to be heaped on me by the person who requested this information, but I personally would have sent a return E Mail saying something like:

"thank you very much for your E Mail and the information which will prove most useful"

With the writing of this text and the extra clicking of the reply button, I estimate that this would have taken me about 20 seconds to respond. Not much time and effort I believe in relation to the time and effort I had put in from the other end.

I am not suggesting that every single E Mail sent is acknowledged in some way, "horses for courses" I would say. However, I do believe that when someone has made an effort on my behalf, the least they deserve is a "thank you". If nothing else, it confirms the safe receipt of my E Mail and that it has not just drifted off into cyberspace as they do from time to time.

Perhaps I am being a bit old fashioned in my outlook or just unrealistic in a age where everything is instant and people have no time. However, this is something I believe many of us could do much better with because as they say - "good manners cost nothing" - and in the example above only about 20 seconds of my time. I would be interested to hear other opinions on this subject. Am I just a lone voice crying in the wilderness or do I reflect what others think?

End of rant - thank you for reading this entry :-)

Human Nature?

My new mortgage venture seems to have hit the buffers a little. As direct selling is not something I have been involved in before, I am somewhat surprised at the way in which some clients, or potential clients respond.

For example, it is quite common for me to do a presentation of the quotation at the second meeting and the clients often make the right noises about being impressed or at least interested in what our company has to offer. In this day and age, it is not suprising that they then require a little time to consider it, although some do sign up straight away. Many I am sure also already have another quotation or are going to seek one which is fair enough when you are talking about such big figures.

However, what disappoints and frustrates me is that it is often left that they will contact me either way in a few days. In most cases this simply never happens and I have to try to contact them again. They often seem to avoid this happening because they have decided not to go with our quotation and for some reason are reluctant, unwilling or just incapable of telling me of their decision. Why??

If I had said I would get back to them with a quotation on a certain day then I would not expect to do business with them as I had not complied with my promise. One rule for providers and another for customers?

So why do several clients feel that they need not give you their decision and are therefore happy to keep me hanging on waiting for their verdict.

I have always gone through life trying to deal with other people in the way I would like them to deal with me. Therefore, if I undertake to do something then I try to make sure I do it on time and to a good standard. Is it therefore unreasonable for me to expect clients to come back to me within a reasonable space of time to give me their decision, be that positive or negative?

Or is this just setting too much store in human nature, whatever that is?

Answers on a postcard please to......