You would think that this is an easy question yet I have asked it many times to some of the brightest brains in the region (well, university students) and it has left them dumbfounded. It seems that government, like digital, is one of those words that we use over and over again yet don’t really … Continue reading What is government?
Strike
I have never been on strike, even when the councils where I worked were on strike I felt it was my duty to go into work. I was in two minds about the merits of striking then and, as I sit on a very cold platform at Morpeth station as the Northern Rail workers are … Continue reading Strike
We need to be more dolphin
Justin and I work well together. We’ve known each other for a few years now. We are developing a training course which we will be delivering in a few days as part of the Rural Cultural Business Innovation Programme. Things are going well. We have a good number of organizations signed up but the clock … Continue reading We need to be more dolphin
The organizations we deserve
Businesses must operate within the law and within ethical principles. Ironically that is what the law states yet in the sordid grapple for money, status and power sometime things go awry. Motor manufacturers meddle with their emission figures to make their cars look better, online taxi firms undermine the working conditions of their employees to … Continue reading The organizations we deserve
A visit to Port of Blyth
Just before the end of the year I visited a couple of places that I had passed many times but had never been to. The first was the Nissan Factory, an iconic place for the region. Is it in Washington or Sunderland? It could well be in both as it is a sprawling mass of … Continue reading A visit to Port of Blyth
My last blog of the year 2017
I always try to finish off the year with something special to say. All of my blogs try to say something yet the end of the year and the start of the new one is a strange time, a period of reflection and a opportunity for renewal. The world does not know any difference. … Continue reading My last blog of the year 2017
Hanging round universities
In my new life I seem to be hanging round the universities a lot. I was never a stranger as such when I was working at Durham but since then I find myself in all sorts of events at Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland University. I am off to Teesside in the new year as well. … Continue reading Hanging round universities
Food Waste
According to the Food Standards Agency, In the UK, we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, the majority of which could have been eaten. It was all over the news and so it must be true. That sounds terrible. Stacked up in metre blocks it would form … Continue reading Food Waste
Disruptive opportunity
I was once told a story by someone who had been to an open air opera. I think it was Sarah and it was in Italy but those bits of information are not germane to the tale. What is important is that it was in the open air and the sun was shining, or at … Continue reading Disruptive opportunity
Milton Friedman is out of time
The current economic and social system in which we live, at least here in the anglo-american parts of the globe, is coming to an end. News of its demise may be a little premature yet I can hear its rattle. It is simply unsustainable. Inequality in wealth is growing both in absolute and relative terms. … Continue reading Milton Friedman is out of time
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 