WILL My Puppies Make Me Rich?
I thought that would get your attention.
Anyway, more of that later in the blog, I’ve got other things to discuss first.
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IN a year that has been bleaker than most, there have been some shining highlights.
Captain Sir Tom Moore captured the hearts and minds of millions by simply walking laps of his garden.
His positive outlook and wise words saw the nation get behind his efforts and raise millions of pounds for the NHS
And as the year comes to a close another staggering fundraising effort by an inspirational individual has humbled us.
Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield ran seven marathons in seven days in a bid to raise £77,777 for team-mate Rob Burrow and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The significance of 7 is that it was Burrow’s shirt number.
Sinfield’s feat has gained so much support his original target has been dwarfed by the current total cash raised of over £2m.
He was inspired to take on the challenge to raise money for the MNDA when his former team-mate was diagnosed with the disease last year.
“I’m absolutely blown away and I can’t thank people enough,” Sinfield said.
“The whole MND community has got behind us and it’s going to make a huge difference.”
Sinfield, who is now the Rhinos’ director of rugby, was Leeds captain for the majority of Burrow’s 17-year career with the Headingley side.
What he has achieved doesn’t surprise me one bit.
I’ve been fortunate to meet Kevin on a number of occasions.
He was one of the competitors in the Yorkshire Lord’s Taverners Balloon Debate a few years ago.
And then I asked if he would be a speaker at a conference for a wealth management firm in London two years ago.
I knew his sporting achievements coupled with his motivational messages and winning mentality would appeal to anyone with an interest in sport in the audience.
But what about those people in attendance who weren’t interested in sport?
Well, he’d been a guest at Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding earlier that year, so I asked him to tell us about the experience.
For all the talk that rugby league is a predominantly northern, working class sport, Kevin Sinfield has done much to bring it to wider attention.
Sinfield became the first rugby league player to be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, finishing in second place behind Andy Murray in 2015.
He’s already got an MBE but there are now calls for him to be knighted.
And why not?
As far as Rob Burrow is concerned, I can’t think of a better winner of this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
But he isn’t nominated.
Which is a great pity because as many people as possible should hear his story of bravery, friendship, family, loyalty and inspiration.
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FAREWELL then Dame Barbara Windsor, whose death was announced late last night.
The 83-year-old actress had been suffering from dementia for some years and did a great deal to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, a cruel progressive condition which is the most common type of dementia in the UK.
Best known for her roles in the Carry On films, I didn’t realise that she only appeared in nine of the 31 movies from the famous franchise.
After her heyday with Sid James, Kenneth Williams and flying bikinis, her career was in the doldrums for a while until, in a brilliant bit of casting, she was given the role of Peggy Mitchell, the feisty and fearless but with a heart of gold landlady of the Queen Vic pub in Eastenders.
Her catchphrase in the soap opera became the stuff of legend: “Get outta my pub!”
For those of us currently living under tier 3 restrictions it would be a pleasure to hear those words now.
Well at least you’d know your local was open.
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I WAS in London briefly last week.
While my fiancee visited a close relative in hospital I had a walk around the West End.
Whenever I’ve been to London at this time of year in the past the Christmas lights are magical but I’ve never enjoyed the crowds.
People barging into you in shops, foreign tourists dawdling on the pavements, packed carriages on the tube and pubs and bars so full drinkers spill out onto the street.
There was none of that last week.
I gazed into some shops on Regent Street and couldn’t even see a customer.
It was weird, eerie and not pleasant at all.
I felt for the retailers and hospitality businesses in London the way I do for all of those businesses hit so hard by this crippling pandemic.
I look forward to returning to the capital and getting elbowed on the Underground, queuing to get served in a bar and getting barged out of the way by a guide with an umbrella leading a group of sightseeing Japanese tourists.
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IF one thing is for sure, high street mogul Sir Philip Green isn’t going to be named ‘man of the year’ in 2020.
With his Arcadia group, owner of Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Topshop, in administration with 13,000 jobs at risk, the flamboyant retailer has come in for plenty of opprobrium.
But he has never courted popularity.
His foul-mouth rants at journalists – he even threatened to throw one out of a window – ensured few favourable headlines.
But for some years his numbers added up, to the point where his wife Tina was able to take a £1.2bn dividend from the business.
He flaunted his wealth with toga parties, yachts, private jets and fashion show appearances with Kate Moss.
Which is fine when things are going well.
But when thousands of employees’ livelihoods are at risk, that’s a different matter.
I’ve read all the negative stuff about Philip Green and I’m sure it is true.
I’ve never met him, but what is interesting is that two people I know who both tell very positive stories about him.
Steve Parkin, the chairman and founder of logistics giant Clipper Group, credits Green with backing his efforts to launch his own business.
After he went from being a man with a van to delivering clothes for fashion chains, Parkin says the high street entrepreneur gave him a chance when many wouldn’t.
And Simon Berwin, who ran fourth generation suit manufacturer Berwin & Berwin, until it was sold last year, also tells of a positive experience with Sir Philip when he bought his stake in retail chain Moss Bros.
It is a reminder that in this social media-dominated world where things are either wrong or right, or good or bad, there are two sides to every story.
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IF the BBC wants to convince us that it is a broadcaster that understands business, it still isn’t doing a great job.
The Apprentice remains its only regular primetime show that can claim to be vaguely businessy, but quite frankly the show has as much connection with commerce and entrepreneurialism as Kay Burley and Rita Ora have with adhering to Covid rules.
This week the BBC was criticised by the RSPCA for its plans for an “irresponsible” documentary on dog breeding.
With the working title: “Will My Puppies Make Me Rich?” the programme is going to look into young people launching businesses breeding designer dogs after the price of puppies doubled over the last six months because of the demand for them sparked by the coronavirus lockdown.
The RSPCA said: “We’re aware of this programme and are concerned that it is extremely irresponsible to encourage and glamorise breeding as a ‘get rich quick’ scheme which, in turn, could lead to serious dog welfare issues and fuel the illegal puppy trade.”
The BBC’s response was to claim that “we love ideas that are aspirational and the business angle baked into this felt really timely and ambitious.”
Yeah, right.
It is a pathetic excuse for a programme that shouldn’t be made.
There are enough unscrupulous and cruel dog breeders out there without encouraging a new generation of clueless entrants to this awful trade.
And if the BBC really wants to use the title “Will My Puppies Make Me Rich?” can I suggest they make a documentary about the next crop of contestants on Love Island.
I’d watch it.
Well purely from a business angle.
Have a great weekend.