Typecast

Do not blame me if this cryptic puzzle becomes the bane of your life but I'm slightly addicted and may be requesting some help with the clues - so it's just a bit of a head's up...  In the image above from Funding Circle are 60 globally recognised brands in picture clue format.  Some are incredibly simple and some are so frustratingly hard that you'll need to ask for help from friends.  You'll have to think about film, literature, music, nature and - probably most importantly - a play on words. >>> CLICK HERE TO PLAY ALONG ON THE INTERACTIVE IMAGE <<< You can save your progress on the official Funding Circle website by logging in with your Facebook account but if you're stuck on any of the clues then tweet @FundingCircleUK and see if they'll send you an extra clue (you can also share it with me then too...).  Once you've answered all 60 correctly, you'll be entered into the Brandscape Hall Of Fame and become a #B...

I need help. I have four gorgeous new prints from Desenio and I can't decide which wall space in my room deserves them the most.  I mean... just look at them... they are beautiful - and they feel very grown up which most definitely is a change for me! I've shown them to a few people and they all say that they are the four prints they would have picked for me given the choice so that means I know I've selected well. When I shared the image below on Instagram , it was hugely popular too!  But let me explain the reason for each one: Banksy I'm not sure admitting that I'm a fan of Banky art is the coolest thing because it sort of goes against all his morals and the reasons behind his work but this is the closest I'll ever come to being near one of his pieces of graffiti. I own an end terrace house and always fancied having it decorated in some way - either stealth-Banksy style or maybe like the religious/political images you see on Irish houses...

Way back in July I was slowly getting hooked on yet another series of Celebrity Big Brother. It was *adopts a Marcus Bentley accent*  'Day 2 in the Big Brother House' and the housemates were still finding their feet and each other.  Frankie Grande was told to celebrate his huge ego so he rapped about the ten things he loved about himself [ watch here ] It inspired me. It really got me thinking about the way in which I've changed over the years and how I've become more confident and sure of who I am. There are many reasons for me having blossomed late in life and now is not the time nor the place to go into the whys and the wherefores, but my 40th birthday was the turning point. So I thought I'd describe five things I love about me (let's not go far as ten... my head might get a bit big) and how I use these for business and life in general. ¨¨°º©©º°¨¨ Leader I am part of a community running group which aims to coach people through the 'cou...

Once upon a time, I worked for an insurance brokers and managed to get a fabulous staff discount on my  car insurance  – very handy when you are a seventeen year old who has just passed their test. Over the next few years always remember my father encouraging me to stay with my existing insurance provider so that I could earn rewards along the lines of long-term policy discounts, no claims discounts and more. Fast forward a few more years and our middle child passed his driving test and needed to purchase young driver's insurance. To keep the cost down (we started at a premium of just over £2000 per year... yes really!!) he agreed to a mileage cap and to be part of a telematics programme which is essentially like having a 'black box' attached to the car that monitors your driving style and good driving is rewarded. Has this brought us full circle, encouraging new drivers to stick with their existing insurance company for more than one year?  And, as long as...

2016 is fast becoming the year where I try and use as many diaries systems as possible... or so it seems - however I didn't think that I'd be returning to a Filofax but it definitely feels like the right move for the time being. I'm starting to believe that there is literally no notebook or diary out there that can fully accommodate my needs.  The two that come close are the Marks Colours Diary (I used one of these in 2015) and the Hobonichi Techo (I started with this at the beginning of this year) but for various reasons, I've switched in and out of them. I need a way to have a diary and a bullet journal working in conjunction with each other. Most of the time, a traditional diary layout doesn't provide the space for bullet journalling without it being too large or too bulky and, from the other end of the scale, the bullet journal system doesn't really have the flexibility for true forward planning without a lot of counting of pages, drawing grids a...

Who doesn't love a brand new, unused notebook? The pristine cover, the unblemished pages, the journey that your handwriting is going to take along the paper with plans or memories. But it appears that I have a bit of a problem when it comes to notebooks. I start them with all good intentions; projects, bullet journals, diaries, scribble pads - however I never get round to finishing them  unless  they are specifically for work or an ongoing project.  So I  have notebook fear... I don't want to start a new notebook just so that I can get bored of it a few pages in.  Therefore, I'm starting to get a bit of a stash of them and they are threatening to take over my office.  Recently, when I delved back into the world of Filofax after acquiring a Malden, I was sorting through my paper stash and became rather embarrassed by the amount of unused notebooks that I had collected.  Don't get me wrong... I love receiving them to review, however I wan...

As you've probably seen from various articles on this blog, I love a good bit of tech and really like trying out new gadgets.  Over the past couple of months I've been lucky enough to try a few new additions to the market so I've put them through their paces and I'm reporting in! Battery life on phones or tablets doesn't last long, does it? This makes me a huge fan of portable power banks and I've been comparing two of my favourites. The  EC Technology 5200mAh Power Bank  is made of durable rubber (my eldest son immediately took ownership of this) and, because of it's small size, makes it the most portable of the two power banks.  It also has a built in torch which makes it great for camping! The  Lumsing Glory Series P1 Plus 15000mAh Power Bank  is slightly larger and heavier but provides the option of recharging up to three devices at once. The best thing about these portable battery chargers are that they will give your phone or mobile d...