Anthony Nolan Trust.New Corporate branding on the way.

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Following a Wilkinsons lorry into work this morning I noted that it carried an advertisement on it's rear proclaiming that Wilkinsons had chosen the Anthony Nolan Trust as it's charity for 2010. This of course is great news for the charity, but I can't say that I have decided about the new logo's design!.

The previous corporate logo for the charity had their name on it, and alongside it had a stylised Daisy picture.Underneath it carried the message " Taking lives back from Leukaemia". I always thought that this was quite a good design as it told the reader A) the name of the charity, B)Had a simple Daisy (Anthony's favourite flower) as its recognisable symbol, and C) told the reader of the advert something about what the charity does....."Takes lives back from Leukaemia". Great 8-).

Now the new logo has dispensed with the daisy and instead has the charities name alone, with lines joining the letters A,O and N together to symbolise a match (tissue types). The wording underneath simply says "Be a match,save a life".......not very explicit as to what the charity actually does...unless you know already!.

This year Leukaemia Research also updated their branding, but this was due to a name change (to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research) and a 50th anniversary celebration,but they held on to their Forget me not flower (although it was more stylised), and they also still tell the reader that they are "Beating blood cancers"so they explain their business.

I have to be honest at this point and say that I am not entirely convinced that the undoubtedly large amount of money that will have to be spent in new website design,letterheads and all other "old" branding was really necessary...what does everyone else think?

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Amazing images of the 2010 World Cup on my HD television

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What an amazing experience it has been this month watching the 2010 World Cup played out in glorious High Definition on my Sony Bravia.

The detail that can be picked out is quite breathtaking, and has certainly convinced me of the benefits of being able to watch my football in such an awesome format.

Highlights so far:

The stunning clarity of watching numerous footballing legends "flobbing" (Spitting) phlegm onto the various football pitches...all the glorious goo captured in amazing high definition slow motion.

Being able to see at last , yet again due due to the awesome slow motion facility of HD,the absolute prats overpaid players make of themselves when undertaking ludicrous "fake" falls to secure free kicks and penalties!........glorious.

Witnessing several unpunished and blatant hand ball offences,not seen by the ref or linesmen, but clearly witnessed by myself and several million HD viewers!.

It appears that even with all of their money and celebrity, the modern football player seems oblivious to the fact that no matter how well you fake your foul,injury or handball, there is no escape from the all seeing eye of the HD quality broadcast....will somebody please tell them this and stop them making such total prats of themselves :-)...oh, and how about letting the referee have a look at the footage....i am sure it may make him reconsider some of his decisions !

The beautiful game? Perhaps.....but cheating is still absolutely essential if you want to win,and without the "B'stard in black" having access to TV replays (due to FIFA rules!),it appears that unscrupulous players will be able to claim such things as "the hand of god" for many more years to come.

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Anthony Nolan Trust Event at Newark resulted in 28 more on the register :-)

Last nights bone marrow donor recruitment event at Newark Hospital resulted in 28 more people signing up to the register......excellent result....5 more than last years total :-)

Well done and thank you to all who made the effort to attend and possibly save a life.

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New BBC Leukaemia and Lymphoma Video

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Is Glivec the wonder drug to cure Leukaemia?

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A ground breaking drug has become available to patients with the blood cancer chronic myeloid leukaemia. Glivec has been so successful in trials that the licensing authorities have made it available for public use in almost record time.

Now more than 6,000 people suffering from Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) have a real chance of survival. Around 1,000 people a year are diagnosed with the condition and around half are dead within five years.

Read more on the Daily Mail Website by clicking HERE

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England V Algeria Match Report.

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England were crap.

Algeria were good.

Score was 0-0

High point of the game: Seeing the little bird perched on the top of the Algerian Net.....cute :-)

End of report.

.What a waste of 90 minutes of my life that was :-(

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Vuvuzela news.........OR..,"The world cup gets the Horn!"

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This particular piece of football supporters kit has made the news so much recently that I thought it apt to post at least one comment about it on my blog!

Vuvuzela,Lepatata or just plain "stadium horn", this simple instrument (if that is not too grand a title!) has had people talking,arguing and blowing since the beginning of the 2010 world cup, mostly because to some it is a great traditional supporters gadget, but to others it is the reason that all you can hear during a match is an infernal background noise!

Having watched most of the world cup matches so far,I tend to agree with those who think that although the Vuvuzela is a traditional part of South African Football, it is way,way overused, and,rather than enhance the atmosphere, it can ruin the experience for many non Vuvu fans.

Whilst most celebratory devices (drums,trumpets,rattles,air horns etc) are used on an occasional basis, and to celebrate an event in the match such as a goal being scored, Vuvuzela "players" tend to simply produce a a constant noise throughout the match, which has even lead to players expressing their annoyance at not being able to hear such unimportant things such as the Referee blowing his whistle!

Put it this way.If the noise was being produced by a faulty PA (Public Address) system, constantly emitting a monotone feedback throughout the game...would the "traditionalists" be so willing to put up with it ?

Anyway, here are links to a few more reports about the Vuvuzela and it's place in this years world cup celebrations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuvuzela

http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3108725/Wenger-not-a-fan-of-the-vuvuzela-but-loves-South-Africa.html

You can even get an "iVuvuzela" App for your iPhone!

This is by no means the first time that the Vuvuzela has caused a stir.........

Love 'em or hate 'em I have a feeling that the Vuvuzela is here to stay! :-)

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Australian World Cup Squad goalkeepers son diagnosed with Leukaemia

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Last week, Brad Jones, one of the goalkeepers in the Australian squad, went home after his four-year-old son, Luca, was diagnosed with leukaemia. Jones said on Friday he would not be returning and Eugene Galekovic, of Adelaide United, was drafted in to replace the Middlesbrough goalkeeper.

I think Brad summed up the difference between his world cup dream and the crushing reality that many parents have to face when their child develops blood cancer when he said:

"The World Cup is irrelevant for me now,". "When I walked into the room and Luca smiled when he saw me, that was worth more than anything the World Cup could give me."

For more about this story click HERE to visit the Sky Sports Website.

We all hope that Luca's Leukaemia Journey is a good one, and that he will,in time, make a full recovery.Best of luck to Brad and his family in their fight.

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Tredegar House Classic Car Show.Some Pictures of this amazing event!.

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Rather than me blab on about the cars that attended the event, here are a few pictures for the time being.I will modify the editorial when I have a little more time :-)

P.S Ignore the date stamp on the pictures...I forgot to set the time before I took the pictures...whoops!

197 miles and 4 hours to get from Lincolnshire to Newport on Saturday....but well worth the trip to participate in this amazing show!.

1500 vehicle entries, loads of stalls.Overnight camping and smashing weather...what else could you ask from a car show ?

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A Parade lap or 2 around the Arena. The chief Executive of the LLR did the commentary as we did our circuits!....nice :-)

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We're off to Tredegar House Classic Car Show today....

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After an early start I have spent the day making final checks to the car, finding all of our sleeping bags and packing some grub! :-).

As usual I am putting my faith in "Yoda" my trusty SatNav, although (as Glen will tell you!) he does have a habit of sometimes sending you on what I would call "Scenic Routes"......slight detours from what I would consider the sensible way to get from A to B!.

We hope to be at the venue by 7:30 PM so that we (I!) can get to see the kick off of the England V USA match.....as soon as we find someone or somewhere with a telly.

Just like to thank the folks over at Cranwell Service Station who,after hearing of my trip, offered to give my £20 fuel to get us on our way....thanks again for that, always nice to get some assistance with my running costs :-)

Scirocco Stolen in Sheffield.Have you seen it? J723 LNH

Sadly I have read on the Scirocco club register that one of our members has had their Scirocco Stolen overnight.

It is a 1992 (J) Scirocco GT2 in Tornado Red.Point to note is that the door mirrors are black not colour coded in red as is standard on this model.Also the alloys are not standard fit but BBS after market.

If you are driving around and happen to see this car (pictured above),please use this blog to report your sighting and I will pass on the details to the authorities.

The takers of the car must be quite stupid anyway as these cars are so rare on our roads that they stand out like a sore thumb!. I only see about 3 other Mk1 or Mk2 Scirocco's a year during my 86 mile trip to work and back...and I know most of their owners personally!.

So, if you see this car, please,please do get in touch (via comments) and I will pass the info on to the cars owner.

Thanks.Andy

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Research suggests that Green tea extract may slow leukaemia progress.

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Researchers at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in America have found that patients in the early stages of the most common form of leukaemia may respond well to taken supplements of a green tea extract.

The chemical, epigallocatechin galeate (EGCG), was found more than two thirds of 42 patients in the trial showed a significant reduction in the number of leukaemia cells in their blood or other signs the cancer was not spreading.

The findings, to be presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Dr Tait Shanafelt, hematologist and lead author of the study, said: "Although only a comparative phase III trial can determine whether EGCG can delay progression of CLL, the benefits we have seen in most CLL patients who use the chemical suggest that it has modest clinical activity and may be useful for stabilising this form of leukaemia, potentially slowing it down."

This story may be viewed in full by clicking HERE to visit the Telegraph.co.uk website.

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World Cup Songs....do you remember these?

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How About........





Maybe...........





Of course there is also...........





And the latest in the charts.......





Ya Gotta love em :-)

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IRON MAN 2. Tony Stark has Leukaemia...well sort of !

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Reading the overview of this new Iron Man Movie it states that Tony Stark has a life threatening condition with his blood causing it too become excessively toxic which threatens to kill him if not sorted PDQ......sounds a little familiar!

Of course Tony stark's condition is due to him having a large container of Palladium (a super secret energy source) which he has in his chest, the secret to his Iron Man Powers,not blood cancer, so it tends to have a few more benefits that Leukaemia doesn't flying,super human strength etc.

Of course if Leukaemia did have those rather useful side effects it would be so much more fun to have :-)

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Awful Cumbria Killings started at 10:30am and posted on Wikipedia by 4:21pm!

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After reading the awful report of those poor souls killed today in Cumbria titled "12 people killed in shooting spree",I (for some random reason!) decided to find out what the definition of "Spree" was!.

Imagine my surprise (and discomfort) then,when I found that there was already a Wikipedia page dedicated to this horrific event!.

Now I cannot quite put my finger on it, but there was something rather sad and unsettling in the fact that before these poor souls had possibly not even been identified before the encyclopaedia report had been posted.

Condolences to all the families of those who have been lost on this day,and lets just hope that those who wrote the articles about this tragedy on Wikipedia did it for all the right reasons, and not just to be able to claim a scoop.

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DON'T JOIN TALK TALK ! If you want good service

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Their customer services REALLY ARE A JOKE!. But not in any funny sort of way :-)

My experience so far has been, lets say,a little annoying!. After getting my name wrong on the Welcome pack (used my first name as my Surname!),NOT sending me my requested Wireless Router (Which, by the way TalkTalk,I DID ask for!),Sending me random bills which simply demanded money but contained no explanation as to what for!, and then, when I contacted customer service (an oxymoron if ever there was one!) I spent 35 minutes listening to their BL**DY company jingle before being spoken too briefly by a REAL PERSON to then, after 5 more minutes listening to another annoying jolly tune, being CUT OFF because the call centre closed...brilliant!


Please folks.....take it from someone who has had the (sad) experience of being a customer...don't join this AWFUL,Impersonal and unhelpful service......save your cash,buy a mobile,get wireless broadband...but don't join TALK TALK.....you have been warned !.

So,to summarise:

If you like your friends and would like to keep them...please don't recommend TALK TALK to them.

If you want good customer services...don't join TALK TALK.

If you DO love listening to the same song on hold,played over and over again for half an hour...DO join TALK TALK!.

Open letter:

Dear TalkTalk. I have a suggestion for you regarding cutting down on the insane amount of time that you expect your "valued" customers to spend listening to your jingle whilst awaiting connection to a member of your staff (honestly, it's like the musical equivalent of Chinese water torture!).

Bright Idea!

Why don't you allow people to call you.Leave their contact number for your call centre staff to pick up, then they could call the customer back when your staff are free to talk! Not bl**dy rocket science is it?

Some of my more perceptive readers may sense that I am not happy with my TalkTalk broadband provider. The sad fact is that as with all large companies, they spend so much time trying to get new customers onto their books that they don't appear to give a dogs danglies about their existing clients......such is the way of the modern world,all things are not fair in love...or broadband!.

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