Category Archives: Blog

Time is passing by fast. It’s been a year already since I became a Trustee of the Poole Museum Foundation. It’s been a fascinating experience so far, joining at a time when the museum was preparing to re-open following a £10m Lottery funded redevelopment. This gave time for our new board to settle into theContinueContinue reading “Foundation year”

Three years ago I started compiling a monthly playlist of new and recent tracks I’d been enjoying – an 11 track ‘mixtape’. Originally these were to accompany a newsletter I was writing on LinkedIn (one has now long outlasted the other).I liked the idea that they were a modern equivalent to a magazine covermount CD and it scratched an itchContinueContinue reading “The magic number”

It’s generally accepted that the end of a calendar year is the designated appropriate time for reflection, for looking back while we rest, to recharge the batteries and prepare to move forward when January is upon us. Then 1st January happens and you’re torn from the nostalgic slumber and post Christmas haze. It’s go time,ContinueContinue reading “Looking back, moving forward.”

Another year is in the books. It only feels like yesterday I was writing the same words about 2024. Time is marching on, tomorrow I’ll be able to say that next year (2027) I’ll be 40.So often I wonder when it was that I became a responsible adult. Back in the summer I spoke onContinueContinue reading “2025 laid bare”

A month ago today I was sat on a stage in Telford, sharing EO stories alongside Hayley Russel, Stephen Spence and our host Arabella Lewis-Smith. The first day of the eoa conference had been a whirlwind, I was still trying to process everything that happened, particularly the unexpected, while attempting to say something coherent andContinueContinue reading “eoa Conference panel”

Today is the tenth anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Kudos to David Tree and team for putting on the closest thing to an official celebration of the fifth highest grossing film worldwide, earlier this month in Fordingbridge – because, where else?On stage in this photo are Lucasfilm Creative Exec, Pablo Hidalgo and CreaturesContinueContinue reading “10 Years of The Force Awakens”

Thank you to Andy Farquharson, and Keely Lead from the eoa, for inviting me to be a guest on an episode of the Alternative Exit podcast, recorded live on the show floor at the era Annual Conference last week.The episode is now live via your podcast provider of choice, or you can watch it onContinueContinue reading “Alternative Exit podcast”

I returned home from my second from eoa Conference yesterday with a couple of souvenirs, lots of insights and some great memories. I’m not sure if it was more surreal winning EO Rising Star of the Year, or to see these signs on the show floor the morning after! I’m still trying to articulate howContinueContinue reading “Grapevine named EO Rising Star 2025”

Here’s a story about one of the unexpected bonuses of employee ownership. Last year I went to the eoa Annual Conference in Telford to represent Grapevine on my own. Knowing this, Emma Hardy from Blue Sky Financial Planning invited me to join her, Lesley Keets and Theresa Osborne for dinner when we arrived ahead ofContinueContinue reading “Blue Sky Blondes reunion”