All 2 entries tagged Cancer

Catch Up

It seems like a good ideas to restart my blog and let people know what I am up to now. I have been doing some volunteer work with Breast Cancer Care which I throughly enjoy as I am able to help reading material and thinking about how publications can help others in a similar position. A couple of weeks ago I took part in a photo shoot with a couple of other women for a new booklet that will be coming out soon. It is great to meet other people and hear their stories. They were both very active in helping with the volunteer networks round the country. In general I don’t let the breast cancer get in the way of living. There are occasional concerns when I have to see the consultant, but on the whole I can forget about it.

Work is good fun. The Enterprise group at WBS is just that – enterprising with lots of ideas and new activities. I have been working on developing knowledge transfer projects, applied research applications with local companies. These are very exciting as you get to work with companies and also learn a lot about the way SMEs grow. I have also been developing a new masters degree programme with a colleague which has been hard work but wiill be exciting.

On the research front I am starting to look at innovative technologies and how SMEs make investment decisions. It will be interesting to see if the same criteria influence adoption as was the case for the Internet. I am also planning some work on the role of intermediaries in IS investment.

Life generally is good, meditation and relaxation play a big part in my life. WBS has been very supportive and we now have a regular class on Monday lunchtimes. Everyone who comes finds it really helpful – an hour of time-out which is relaxing and refreshing and sets me up for the rest of the day.

I plan to write this now once a week to keep in touch.

: 02 Dec 2008 16:03 |  Tags: Breast Cancer Life Work |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My Political View

I have been really disappointed with the Labour government. I was a Labour Party activist from about thirteen years old until Tony Blair invaded Iraq. I gritted my teeth over Kosovo, but Iraq was one step too far. Not only has Blair aligned the UK with the USA in a way that no longer makes us trusted in the the world, but this government has adopted Tory party policies such as PFI. I cannot believe that a Labour government is making future generations pay horrendous sums of money in interest to line the pockets of rich shareholders in private building companies. The current NHS and education services are paying through the nose for maintenance and repairs, reducing money available for front line treatment. I suspect that we will see more health trusts in deficit in the next few years. What I would like to see are government bonds to finance these projects. We all know that it is fear of raising the PSBR that prevents this, but the current approach is not sustainable particularly as there will be fewer tax payers in the future.
I was really angry when Blair stopped Mike Tomlinson’s ideas from being put into practice. I am really impressed with students who have taken the International Baccalaureate, they are rounded people in a way that A-Level cannot emulate. We need radical change if our education system is not to fail our children. But this does not mean faith schools. Religion has no part in education. The philosophy, principles, beliefs and ethics of religion should be studied but if we want an integrated society let personal beliefs be just that. This means a change to the 1944 education act to remove the act of worship all schools have to do currently. Integration will not happen through segregation which is what is currentlyproposed.
This Labour government needs to remember its roots and to realise that business only wants profits which may not be compatible with the need for social justice and opportunity for all.
I do appreciate that there are some things that the Labour government has done that make people’s lives better, such as the minimum wage. What we need is a period of reflection and review to remind ourselves of what Labour really stands for.

: 05 Sep 2006 15:59 |  Tags: Cancer Politics |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem