Why Raleigh Lost Its Appeal

I was sad to hear about the problems facing bicycle brand Raleigh, but the news got me thinking about why the company might have struggled over the kast decade or so.

When I was a kid, we dreamed about owning particular bikes. I wanted a Raleigh Chopper, and God, I loved that bike when I finally got one. Other friends of mine wanted a Grifter or a Chipper. These weren’t just bikes; they were bikes you knew by name and desperately wanted to own.

Do children feel the same way now? Those who do want a bike often seem to want a fairly non-descript racing or mountain bike, rather than a particular make and model.

I wonder whether that loss of aspiration and brand attachment is part of what has hurt Raleigh. It once made bikes that children dreamed of owning, but somewhere along the way, that connection seems to have been lost.

How to Fix FIFA

Much has been written over the past few days about the FIFA presidency and whether Gianni Infantino is still fit to govern the world’s largest football organisation. The latest controversy, involving an apparent attempt to place FIFA’s commercial interests into a private investment-backed company, has again raised questions about who FIFA serves and how much power should be placed in the hands of one person, especially a power hungry dictator!

FIFA’s problems, however, appear to be bigger than any single president. Under both Sepp Blatter and Gianni Infantino, we have seen how power and influence can accumulate around the presidency of an organisation controlling a multibillion-pound global business.

Concentrating that much authority in one individual, particularly over several terms, creates an obvious risk. Decisions can become shaped by personal ambition, political relationships and commercial interests, rather than by what is best for football, its national associations and its supporters.

How could FIFA be fixed?

One possible solution would be to replace the individual FIFA president with a rotating presidency held by a national football association.

The system could operate broadly like the presidency of the Council of the EU, which rotates between member states every six months. Rather than allowing one individual to build a personal power base over many years, a national football association would chair and help steer FIFA for a fixed period.

My original thought was that one of the 211 member associations could be President, but even at six months each, a simple country-by-country rotation would take more than a century to complete. A more practical approach therefore could be to rotate the presidency between FIFA’s six continental confederations. Each confederation would nominate one of its national associations to hold the position for six months, following a transparent and predetermined order.

Just like UK and EU civil servants, a permanent professional backroom team would maintain continuity and carry out FIFAs day-to-day work. I know Infantino likes to deicide and run everything himself, so I would also recommend a strong independent oversight would also be needed to scrutinise major commercial agreements and prevent individual associations from using their short term for their own benefit.

I realise that no governance system can completely eliminate corruption, poor judgement or political manoeuvring. Spreading power more widely, however, would make it harder for FIFA to become dominated by the personality and ambitions of one individual.

FIFA may not simply need a new president. It may need to rethink whether it should have an all-powerful president at all.

Brain Freeze isn't Real

Is brain freeze real? Apparently people are convinced it is, but I’m still entirely convinced that it doesn’t.

I’ve eaten ice cream too quickly, gulped freezing drinks and generally treated cold food with very little respect, yet I can’t remember ever experiencing that sudden stabbing headache people describe.

Now there is something called cold-stimulus headache, but your brain doesn't freeze.

Perhaps I’m immune to this phenomenon, perhaps I know brains don't freeze so I don't suffer from it!

Social Care Should Be a Shared Risk

It seems like a complete no-brainer to me that social care should be risk pooled across the UK.

That is already how we treat taxation and the NHS. We all contribute, knowing that we may never need expensive treatment ourselves, because none of us knows what illness or misfortune might come our way.

Social care is no different. Some people will never need much support, while others may develop dementia, suffer a stroke or simply become unable to care for themselves as they grow older. That is not something anyone can sensibly plan for, and it should not become a financial catastrophe simply because you happen to be one of the unlucky ones.

We do not ask someone with cancer to sell their home before they can receive treatment, yet we are far more comfortable doing something very similar when somebody needs long-term care.

Of course, risk pooling would mean all of us paying something towards a service that many of us may never use. But that is the whole point of pooling risk. We pay collectively so that no individual or family is ruined when that risk becomes reality.

UK Green Party is just 6th Form Politics IMHO

There is quite a lot about Green Party politics that I agree with. Recycling matters, protecting local habitats matters, reducing pollution matters, and opposition to war is hardly a ridiculous position. Yet the party still often leaves me feeling as though I am listening to a sixth-form political debate.

I can say that with some affection because I used to be a long-haired, spotty sixth-former myself. The problem isn’t the ideals. It is that the arguments too often stop at the point where everyone has agreed what a nicer, fairer world would look like.

Politics has to go further than ethical or moral intent. It has to explain how a policy would work, who would deliver it, how much it would cost, where the money would come from, what might go wrong, and what compromises would be needed.

The Green Party has moved on a little from the old caricature of “let’s all recycle”, “stop the bombs” and “save our village pond”. It now puts forward much broader (and I mean broader) economic and social policies. Even so, I am often left with the impression that the ambition comes first and the operational reality is worked out afterwards.

This all matters because government isn’t a campaign meeting. Good intentions do not build houses, reform public services, transform an energy system or balance competing demands on public money. Those things require competent administration, credible funding and an acceptance that nearly every serious political decision creates losers as well as winners.

I don’t want the Greens to become less idealistic. Politics could probably do with a little more principle. But if they want to be taken seriously as a party of government, they need to show not only that their hearts are in the right place, but that their plans could survive contact with reality.

From Over 18 Stone to Here

I’ve been away from my weight-loss journey for a while, but when I recently looked back at the numbers, I realised I’d been overlooking something rather important. Although I haven’t continued losing weight, I haven’t gone all the way back to where I started either. Far from it.

This whole journey for me really began after a New Year trip to London at the end of 2023. On New Year’s Day 2024, I decided I needed to start building some healthier eating habits.

While we were away, I found myself needing an extender for the button on my jeans. Around the same time, I’d also seen a photograph of myself taken at my niece’s wedding, and it showed my weight gain far more clearly than the mirror ever seemed to.

When I got home from London, I stepped onto the scales. I was proper shocked, and honestly quite horrified, to see that I weighed 18st 9.8lb (261.8 lbs or 118.75kg), (I had signed up with a weight loss app while in London on New Years Day and guessed that I weighted about 17st!).  I’m 6ft 2in, so I can carry a fair amount of weight without always realising quite how much is there, but that was far more than I’d expected. I knew I needed to do something about it.

Since then, my weight has gone down, gone back up a little, levelled out and generally wobbled around, as weight tends to do. I can sometimes become a little complacent and stop worrying about it for months at a time, although I actually think taking an occasional break from thinking about weight can be a sensible thing for my mental health.

At my lowest on this journey, I reached just over 15st 4lb. Right now (Friday 24th July 2026), I'm 16st 3lb (227lbs or 102.97kg).

That still means I’m roughly two and a half stone lighter (2 st 6.8 lbs or 15.79 kg) than I was when I came home from London. I need to remember that, that’s a win, because it’s very easy to look at the weight I still want to lose and completely overlook the weight I’ve already lost.

Right now, I actually feel pretty good about my weight. I need smaller waist sizes than I used to, and some of my clothes are now visibly too big for me. Those are real, noticeable signs of progress that matter far more than the occasional wobble on the scales.

The line on the chart isn’t perfectly straight (and you can see my complacent periods clearly), but the direction from where I started is pretty obvious.

Our cruise leaves on 1st November, and that has given me a very clear next target. I’m determined to get myself much closer to 14st 7lb before we sail. I’m not promising that I’ll definitely hit it, but I do love a BHAG!

I know what works for me. Tracking calories makes me more aware of what I’m eating without pretending that certain foods, or drinks, are forbidden. I read and understand the nutritional labels on food now, and I think that’s an important part of this journey for me. It helps me understand how much of something I can eat while still maintaining the calorie deficit I need to lose weight.

Exercise is a trickier one. I have knee pain, so hard aerobic exercise isn’t really an option for me. I’ll need to find movement that works with my knees rather than against them, while accepting that most of my progress will come from what I eat and drink.

That’s the approach for the next few months: calorie tracking, better choices, plenty of protein and daily accountability. Nothing ridiculous, just more consistency and fewer moments when I pretend the calories somehow don’t count.

This note is now out here in the wild too. It might not be read by many people, but I know it exists, and that gives me another little push to follow through.

I started at over 18 and a half stone. I’ve already come a long way, and now I’m ready for the next part.

Hedgehogs in our Garden

Having a German Shepherd Dog (GSD), I honestly didn’t think we would ever get hedgehogs in our garden. However, we were woken at 1:30am this morning by Hela barking in the back garden.

When I went downstairs to investigate, she was barking at a group of flower pots on the patio. I was worried we might have rats, but after securing her in the kitchen, a hedgehog emerged from its hiding place and wandered over to Hela’s outdoor water bowl.

So, my task for tonight is to secure the gate at the side of the house, preventing any hedgehogs from getting through to the back garden. I’ll then set up a secure feeding station at the side of the house, where it’ll be safer for the hedgehog and easier for us to look after.

Breast Cancer in Men

Today, we launched a new phase of our campaign with our charity partner, Breast Cancer Now. It’s an incredibly worthwhile charity and cause, and the figures are stark: in the UK, around 85 men die from breast cancer each year, alongside approximately 11,500 women.

I love what we’re doing at work. Those numbers are a stark reminder of just how many people we lose to the disease each year but, as we work in the construction industry, it’s particularly valuable to get the message out there that men need to check themselves too.

If you’re able to, please donate through our Breast Cancer Now JustGiving page.

A Stress-Free Final

As an England fan, I would obviously have loved us to be in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, but I have to say, it is lovely watching it without any skin in the game.

It goes without saying that I want Spain to win, but I am not worried about the result. There is no biting of nails and no sitting on the edge of my seat. I can just enjoy the football.

Virgin until Iron Maiden!

I was listening to some 80s music with Debs, which always takes us back to our younger days. We were both born in the late 60s, so it doesn’t take much for a song to bring back a particular time, place or memory.

Anyway, Debs casually mentioned that she saw Adam and the Ants when she was just 13.

Ruddy Nora! I was 18 before I went to my 1st concert, although I didn’t choose too badly. It was the mighty Iron Maiden at the old Town and Country Club in Leeds.

They were chuffing amazing.

So It's Not Coming Home!

So there we have it. It’s not coming home.

England have exited the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the semi-final stage, losing to Argentina after going 1–0 up. We obviously weren’t quite good enough, although we played well until Argentina fell behind and then had to withstand a constant onslaught on our goal.

It’s strange how much it hurts, and it probably will for a couple of days, perhaps until after the final on Sunday. Still, at least we’ve got Spain to cheer on now.

A Two-Week Reset

Some people reading this may know that I also have a little corner of the internet where I do beer reviews. It’s been a lovely summer so far, with warm evenings, very hot days and plenty of football. I know football doesn’t necessarily mean drinking more alcohol, but I do enjoy a beer while watching a match.

The original plan was with the 2026 FIFA World Cup final taking place on Sunday 19th July, was to abstain from alcohol for two weeks from that date, now that England aren't in the finals I might have a couple of beer tonight (Friday 17th) the last for a few weeks. Hopefully, it’ll help me regain a little health and fitness, while giving my body and brain a bit of a reset.

This will just about coincide with my Mexican lager finishing conditioning in my Pinter, so happy news. 

I suppose this could be me being sober curious again!

Let’s see how I do.

24th July 2026 – I know I’m not an alcoholic, far from it; I just enjoy a drink. Even so, I’ve found going without one surprisingly difficult, despite it only being six days.

I think this 1st full weekend will be the real challenge, especially after a long week, but I’m sure I’ll get through it without having a beer.

27th July 2026 – Well, that surprised me. A weekend without alcohol was much easier than I expected, and I didn’t seem to miss it at all!

1st August 2026 - I only fucking did it! I am slightly pleased and impressed with myself for lasting without any alcohol at all for two week, I knew I'd do it.

The Hunted (The Hunt Sequel)

I remembered the movie The Hunt this weekend so I thought I'd watch it again, then I started wondering why there was never a sequel! The Hunt 2, or a The Hunt sequel would be great.

At the end of the first film, Crystal takes Athena’s clothes, money, and jet. In my sequel pitch, she takes Athena's massive financial resources and elite connections to track down other secret elite hunting cabins around the globe. I figure that others like Athena's group would take these online rumours about hunting humans and create their own hunts.

Because she was mistakenly chosen for the first hunt (confused with the real "Justice4Yall"), she becomes a ghost in the system, dynamic and totally unpredictable. Instead of being the prey, she infiltrates these global networks to bust them open and liberate the next batch of targets.

My Fave National Anthems

Another top list I was thinking of putting together was a list of my favourite National Anthems, I thought about this while watching coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there are some dreadful ones!

I might have to do two lists, one just music and one with lyrics, I think it might make a difference!

Some early contenders are:

• Italy
• Uruguay
• South Africa
• Mexico

My Fave Iron Maiden Songs

I need to list my Top 10 Iron Maiden songs, in order at some time.

The list is likely to include:

• The Trooper 
• Number of the Beast
• Hallowed Be Thy Name
• Iron Maiden
• Rime of the Ancient Mariner
• Phantom of the Opera
• Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
• Man on the Edge
• Transylvania (might come as a surprise to many)

I have noticed that this only goes up to the mid 90s, gonna have to listen to some of their later stuff as there are some good tunes in there.

Ooo. Wicker Man, Hell on Earth, The Writing on the Wall.

But I will listen to albums from the last 20 years before I make my final decision.

Up The Irons

Careful, Not Germaphobic

I don’t think I’m a germaphobe, but I do like to have hand sanitiser close by. I did long before the Covid pandemic too, a trait my daughter Emily seems to have inherited. Sorry, Em.

I’m not frightened of germs, but I am very aware of them. There are certain family homes where I struggle to eat because I’m never completely confident about the cleanliness. That seems fairly logical to me. I don’t particularly want to spend the following day ill because somebody picked their nose, handled food without washing their hands, or skipped the handwashing after going to the toilet. Disgusting.

I’m wary of homemade food from some friends and neighbours too, particularly when children have been heavily involved in making it. I know that probably sounds harsh, but children aren’t exactly famous for excellent kitchen hygiene.

I’m not a germaphobe. I’m just careful about germs, as we probably all should be.

Why I Like Working in a Small Business

I currently work in a small business, and there are a few reasons why I really enjoy it.

Firstly, the role is varied. I work in marketing, but because we’re a small business, everyone sometimes has to pitch in. On any given day, I could also find myself helping with IT, sales, customer service, product data or something else entirely. It keeps the job interesting, and you tend to learn far more than you would if you stayed inside a narrow job description.

Secondly, there’s the level of involvement. A small tweak to what you do, how you do it or, in my case, how you promote a product, can make a real and sometimes immediate difference to sales and profit. You can often see the effect of your work quite quickly, which makes it feel more worthwhile.

Finally, innovation is welcomed. Good ideas don’t always have to pass through endless layers of management, meetings and approval. If something looks worth trying, there’s often a genuine opportunity to test it, learn from it and put it into practice.

I Dominated Google for 13 years!

I’ve just revisited an old post I wrote about bad SEO promises, and discovered that it’s now 13 years old.

The post used a completely invented word, fuzzyalarmzip, to show how easy it can be to rank number one on Google for a keyword nobody actually searches for.

Thirteen years later, I’m still number one.

So there we are: 13 years of dominating Google, absolutely no competition, and almost certainly no useful traffic whatsoever. Get me, I'm great at this SEO stuff :-)

It may be an extreme example, but the point still stands. A number-one ranking means very little if nobody is searching for the phrase, or if the traffic it brings has no value.

Possibly the most successful useless SEO campaign of all time.

Proud of Them

I’m sure my kids already know this, but it still feels right to write it down.

I’m totally and utterly proud of the way they’ve both turned out, Emily and Rebecca. We’ve had our ups and downs, and sometimes we don’t talk for a while, but they have their own lives to live, and they’re getting on with living them.

Yeah, I’m really pleased with how they’ve turned out.

AI: Not Just For Search

 AI isn’t just a different way of doing a Google search.

In a commercial setting, the real value is in using it to do business better. It’s about looking at those tedious, repetitive tasks and asking whether AI could take some of the weight off us.

Sometimes it’s worth thinking a little wider and asking, “Could AI do this for us?” Because quite often it either can do what you need, or it can become a big enabler for doing important business tasks better, faster, or with less friction.