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August 2010

I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but stand back!!!

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Now it’s always lovely when a customer says thanks but this chap went one step further and praised us in his blog and held us up as an example of excellent customer service.
https://kundserviceblogg.blogspot.com/2010/08/det-lilla-extra.html

The downside is it’s in Swedish, if your Swedish is a little rusty here is what he ssid via Google translate  (be warned Google’s Swedish also seems to be a bit rusty!)

Monday, August 30 2010Det little extra



“The extra mile is something that will come back as we discuss further on the topic Customer Service. That is what you as a customer but you do not pay for, and what you do as a supplier to distinguish you from others and get the customer to feel special and noticed. In my own role as a supplier, I try to bring the system to deliver the extra mile even if it requires extra effort from me. I do not always succeed but the ambition is there and I try to influence my colleagues to give that little extra. I know this is something that affects and is different when it comes to the crunch and the customer will choose their supplier for the next project or what it might be. It is important to find a balance of customer service and “the extra mile” to customers for value for money. If it is too bad as customers flee, and are so generous to the risk margins are likely. Let me illustrate two examples where one is at a reasonable but high level, while the other is hardly surprising and can be profitable. Both are from my life as a private consumer.


Comfortable level: I recently ordered a number of books on Amazon from a few different online booksellers. It was the end of July. One day after ordering I get an email from one of them, “Hurley Books” where they ask if I want to cancel because it will take a few extra days to get the book when they have the holiday season (they are a small family company). I have no panic but respond kindly “It is quiet, have a nice holiday!”. A few weeks later the book arrives, but a small patch that says something like “We’re back and had a fantastic holiday. We wanted to say thanks for your wishes and patience … … who can look forward to a good cup of hot chocolate? Thank your orders. “, together with a package of chockladpulver for a cup of hot chocolate when I’m enjoying my book. Guess where I act the next time …


Error level: My former hairdresser gave me each and every time a bottle of mousse or gel when I was clipped and me. The value of what I got was about 1 / 3 of the value of my haircut and when I again and again got no home with me I’m almost ashamed to go there because I was a bad deal for him, he has enough small margins as it is and his generous side affect his own business, my experience was. Some might think that free is good but for me it was too much. I ended up not going there for that reason but I felt stupid when he threw me on the expensive goods that I could just as easily have paid for. (Yeah, so I would not know if I changed the car and threw the plus package and a lot lullull no extra charge to which it is already expensive as seventeen).


So, what I say. Give a little extra, say that you give that little extra and continue to give it, but keep it at a level that is comfortable and appropriate for both parties. “That little extra we will come back to, I am sure.

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Royal Society Prize for Science Books 2010 shortlist announced

The six books that make up the shortlist for this year’s Royal Society Prize for Science Books are essential reading for anybody who needs to understand the significance of science in everyday life, and for this reason the Royal Society will today be sending Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg complete sets of this year’s shortlist. Science and technology affect almost every aspect of our lives – from healthcare to the country’s economic wellbeing – and there has never been a better time to ensure that key decision makers are aware of this.

The six books shortlisted by the judges are:

A World Without Ice by Henry Pollack (Avery Books, Penguin Group)

Explores the relationship between ice and people – the impact of ice on Earth, its climate, and its human residents, as well as the reciprocal impact that people are now having on ice and the climate.

The judges said: “A thoughtful and refreshing book that brings ice to life. Well researched and with a personal feel this book is an excellent alternative route into understanding the issues around climate change. Fascinating, accessible and very powerful.”
Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic by Frederick Grinnell (Oxford University Press)

An insiders’ view of real-life scientific practice describing how scientists bring their own interests and passions to their work and illustrating the dynamics between researchers and the research community.

The judges said: “How is science done? This book looks behind the scenes and tells the story of what makes scientific minds tick and how scientific theories are made. A fascinating, personal account – essential reading for anyone with an interest in science, from pupil to politician.”

God’s Philosophers: How the medieval world laid the foundations of modern science by James Hannam (Icon Books)

Revives the forgotten philosophers, scientists, scholars and inventors of medieval Europe, revealing the Medieval Age to be responsible for inventions and ideas that would change the world forever.

The judges said: “A vibrant insight into the medieval approach to science, full of wonderful anecdotes and personalities. Dispelling common myths about the ‘dark ages’, this is a very readable book about a neglected era in the history of science. It very much fills a gap, making you realise that the great scientific achievements of the Renaissance are in debt to the “philosophers” prepared to sacrifice long held beliefs and frequently their lives for their ideas.”

Life Ascending by Nick Lane (Profile Books)

Charts the history of life on Earth by describing the ten greatest inventions of life, based on their historical impact, their importance in living organisms and their iconic power.

The judges said: “An elegant and adventurous step-by-step guide to what makes life the way it is. With a pleasing overarching structure, it is a beautifully written book and an extremely rewarding read.”

We Need To Talk About Kelvin by Marcus Chown (Faber and Faber)

Takes familiar features of the world we know and shows how they can be used to explain profound truths about the ultimate nature of reality.

The judges said: “Your everyday world will never look the same again after reading this inspiring book. Reflections in the window, the warm rays of the sun – all are used to explain ideas of advanced physics, from the atom to the big bang, and show how physics forms part of our everyday world.”

Why Does E=mc2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group)

An illuminating journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind Einstein’s most famous equation, E = mc2.

The judges said: “This book takes the world’s most famous equation apart and puts it back together again in a way that is lively and understandable. We were delighted to find our knowledge of equations – long forgotten since leaving school for some of us – reinvigorated and felt ourselves rediscovering our enjoyment of mathematics.”

https://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822%2FGB%2Fwwwhurleybook-21%2F8010%2Ffa05c345-ac20-4d24-84e5-a365a52bf753&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate

The winner will be announced on 21 October 2010 and the winning book will receive £10,000. £1000 per book is awarded to the author(s) of the shortlisted books.
William Hill’s odds for the shortlisted books are as follows
3/1 God’s Philosophers
4/1 We Need To Talk About Kelvin
4/1 Everyday Practice of Science
4/1 Why Does E=mc2?
5/1 A World Without Ice
5/1 Life Ascending

Which one would you pick?

Shorlist for the Daggers – Crime Writers Awards 2010

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The Crime Writers Association has a variety of awards that it announces in stages throughout the year.  the following winners have just been announced.

Johan Theorin has won the CWA International Dagger with The Darkest RoomAriana Franklin the Dagger in the Library, and

Ruth Dudley Edwards the Non-Fiction Dagger for Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families’ Pursuit of Justice 

The CWA Short Story Dagger was won by Robert Ferrigno with Can You Help Me Out Here, and the
Debut Dagger for a previously unpublished author by Patrick Eden for the opening chapter of his story A Place of Dying.
CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing went to Val McDermid.


As they announce the winners they also announce the short shortlist for the big three awards

https://ws.amazon.co.uk/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=GB&ID=V20070822/GB/wwwhurleybook-21/8001/024e6e50-4a47-4909-802b-3c001c1a9949The Gold Dagger. This award, which carries a prize of £2,500, is made for the best crime novel, originally written in English, published in the UK in the year to 31 May.

Shortlisted but not making the last four were;

CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Ian Fleming Publications Ltd sponsors this Dagger, for the best thriller published in the UK in the year to 31 May.

  • A Loyal Spy, Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Innocent, Scott Turow (Macmillan)
  • The Dying Light, Henry Porter (Orion)
  • The Gentlemen’s Hour, Don Winslow (Heinemann)

Shortlisted but not making the last four were;

  • 61 Hours, Lee Child (Bantam Press)
  • Gone, Mo Hayder (Bantam Press)
  • Slow Horses, Mick Herron (Robinson)

John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger This award is made in memory of CWA founder John Creasey, for first books by previously unpublished writers.

  • Acts of Violence, Ryan David Jahn (Pan)
  • Rupture, Simon Lelic (Picador)
  • The Holy Thief, William Ryan (Mantle )
  • The Pull of the Moon, Diane Janes (Robinson)

Shortlisted but not making the last four were;

  • Cut Short, Leigh Russell (No Exit Press)
  • Martyr, Rory Clements (John Murray)
  • Random, Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
  • Stop Me, Richard Jay Parker (Allison & Busby)

The Hstorical Dagger Shortlist is announced in Autumn but for now that should see you going for a while!

https://thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2010/gold.html

The Ask and the Answer – Patrick Ness

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SMALL SPOILERS ALERT –

 (More to do with Book 1 The Knife of Never Letting Go)

So, straight onto book two of the Chaos Walking series.  I enjoyed this book so much more than The Knife, which is all about the journey and about the revelation of the terrible secret. When I told Steve about the book I said that all the men’s thoughts could be heard but not so the women’s so the community decided to kill the women. Steve’s response?  “Good idea”! Anyway…
In the second book Todd and Viola turn and make a stand.  Not of their own choosing but like most things in this series, events are forced upon them once more. Once again, Todd’s choices are not what we would expect from a perfect hero, they are flawed choices and miserable mistakes and compromises.

The Ask starts to really examine the growth of fear and compliance as an army invades. Overtones of Nazi Germany are rampant, as well as concentration camps and genocide.  The Ask studies  the difference bewteen a freedom fighter and a terrorist and how can men and women live together when men’s thought are
alway public and women’s are never known.  Huge, huge topics but really pared down and examined in a very forgiving light.

I’m really looking forward to Monsters of Men) last in the trilogy but I’m going to wait a while. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness

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Right, let’s start by pigeon hole-ing this book and then let’s tear that apart. The Knife of Never Letting Go is a teenage novel, or a cross over novel or a coming of age novel. All these terms to try and broaden the audience and subsequently the selling power. Pullman’s Northern Lights really started this off in a major way and then Harry Potter blew it out of the water. Which is funny because the first few HPs were nothing to do with coming of age and definitely didn’t have challenging subject matters. Publishers suddenly seem confused about a book where the main protagonist is a teenager. Is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time a children’s book? The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas? Those two started as children’s books and moved straight over to the adult market. I wonder how Lord of the Flies would be marketed these days? Nowadays the books are released in two covers, one for children, one for adults but identical content. And what fabulous, exciting, challenging, thoughtful books there are out there at the moment.

So The Knife, is a children’s book but adults will really enjoy it; now the next reason not to pick it up is that it’s Science Fiction. Well, that would never stop me but I know loads of people who don’t read SciFi and would never pick this up. But then they would also miss out on Jules Verne, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Doris Lessing. Sci fi allows you to place humans in novel situations and imagine how they would react. Anyone interested in the human psyche should read good science fiction.

So having said what it is and what it isn’t what I can say, hand on heart, is that it’s a great read! It starts with a challenging premise; a settler community  has been struck down by two disasters, the first is that everyone can hear everyone else’s thought and that there is no way to block them out and secondly that all the women died out 15 years ago. Our protagonist is the youngest child left and is soon to embark on the ritual of manhood. This  is what provides the crises for the novel. The arrival of a stranger and their flight from the community provides the momentum as secrets are revealed and truths exposed. Todd is a lovely hero, he’s so flawed and weak and hopeless that you completely believe in him. When it counts you can never be certain that he’ll do the right thing, he’s a confused boy who’s world has been turned on it’s head and he frequently messes things up.

The book has a central horrific “secret” which is revealed at then end and I must admit I found the way it was constantly alluded to as pretty annoying. It’s all rather obvious and clumsy but it’s a minor complaint. The book races along as our pair flee the army and the tension stays tight right up to a great cliff hanger.

I love the way this story considers how life must be where there is no privacy, no secrets and no women.  It’s ceratinly not a happy scenario.  I’m looking forward to seeing what my 11 year old boys makes of this one.  He’s used to heros that can save the world from global terrorists with just a knife and a mobile phone ala Alex Rider, so I wonder what he’ll make of this more realistic hero.

I’ve now finished The Ask and the Answer, book 2, and I’ll review that separately.

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Fun at the Philleigh Fair and a secret shame revealed :-) CG 18.8.10

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Well I have just had a fabulous time with the family at the Philleigh Fair. It was full of simple pleasures and reminded me of how good things can be. I’m not a brown rice eating, macramé swimsuit type of gal but I do think that we are all fatter, lazier and greedier than we used to be. We want things and we want them now and we don’t want to work hard for them – oh no – nor do we expect to pay much for them. And we’re so impatient; if the phone isn’t answered after 5 rings we’re incensed, having to queue behind a whole three other people in the supermarket? Outrageous! Do you remember that lovely sketch in To the Manor Born when Audrey walks into her local village store that has now been turned into a supermarket and proclaims loudly that if no one comes and serves her she will just have to help herself! So maybe we haven’t changed all that much.

Funfairs just seem to be symptomatic of our modern greed and disillusionment, maybe the clue is in the word “fun” If a fair is proceeded by “fun” then you can guarantee it won’t be. You will dish out £3 to sit on a ride which will literally reacquaint you with your breakfast 2 minutes later. A clever trick but not one I’m fond of and for what it’s worth I find myself a little bit surprised that when I successfully throw a hoop I don’t win one of the big hanging dolphins that swing invitingly from the rafters but a scrawny looking toy wiped out from under the counter.

So I set off for Philleigh with a vague sense of unease but I should have noticed it was a fair not a funfair and it was brilliant. It takes place in one field, nothing is motorised, there is one stream engine playing tunes and that’s it for mechanical moving parts. No candy floss, no scream if you want to go faster. Lots of screaming of laughter from the greasy pole though, cheers and clapping from the hay bale tossing, a coconut shy where the coconuts do fall off – but not when I was trying! And only 50p a go. The boys loved throwing tent pegs in a bucket – simple pleasures but it was harder than it looked, Steve liked the beer tent and Mum was taken with the sheep racing. Again I kept betting on the wrong sheep, clearly I am not a good studier of form.

My favourite event was the dog racing. The dogs chase a fox tail from one end of the track to the other, first past the post is the winner. Harry and I missed our race but we were told we could enter the next race. However, I was warned that whilst we were welcome to take part, the race was for long dogs. Ha! thought I, and yes, I did have an exclamation mark in my thoughts, if my Springer spaniel couldn’t beat a bunch of Daschunds then we were a poor show and no mistake. Oh the hubris as I walked onto the race course to find Harry and I surrounded by whippets, greyhounds and every other version of the Ferraris of the canine world. Ah, those sorts of long dogs. It would be fair to say that we didn’t win, in fact Harry was so nonplussed by all the noise and excitement that when the off was given Harry, for the first time, sat at my feet and looked up at me with tongue lolling as if to say – “Yes? Now what” He didn’t budge a muscle, he just sat there with a happy daft smile on his face and to be honest I probably looked the same. I’ll have to wait another year for the next Philleigh fair but it’s going to be great.

This week I am unashamedly re-reading and thoroughly enjoying Riders and Rivals by Jilly Cooper, please don’t think less of me – they’re great fun, proper rotten baddies, plucky heroines and totally undemanding, happy novels. What more do you want on your hols?

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Rabbit, chorizo and cockles. Cornish Guardian August 11th

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Ranting over, rabbits ready! Before I moved to Cornwall I had a rather romantic view of the huntin’, shootin’ fishin’ chaps. In my mind they would be togged in tweed and deer stalkers, guns resting in the crook of their arms as they strode across the heather with Loch Lomond below them and the highlands rising above.

What I wasn’t expecting was Warren. Towering above six foot with extra inches added by his dark black spiked up hair dressed in leathers, sporting a skateboard in one hand, a jackdaw in the other and an accent so broad he could skate across it if he choose. He wandered into the bookshop one day and we got chatting, as you would do with anyone whose companion is a live jackdaw – they have beautiful blue eyes!

Anyway it turned out that Warren would go shoot bunnies of an evening and I said I hadn’t had rabbit in yonks and one thing lead to another and the following day in wandered Warren with two rabbits. Two rabbits still very much as nature had intended, guts and gizzards and fur and dull, life deprived eyes. I guess I must have looked horrified as Warren asked if I didn’t know how to dress them. Oh they were so soft and fluffy, the idea of taking a knife to them made me feel pathetic. Warren took instant pity, swept the rabbits up again and said he’d be back shortly. Two hours later there were my rabbits all dressed and looking far more like dinner and less like Peter Rabbit. For the rest of the day they sat in a plastic bag by my feet, we didn’t have the luxury of a fridge, with me wondering how high rabbit meat could get before it was no longer fit to eat.

From rabbit we went onto pigeon and even gave squirrel a try. I am such a carnivore I’ll give anything a go but, my word, squirrel was a revelation. Really sweet and gamey – nothing like chicken.

Since then we have been the very lucky recipients of gifts from the field and sea. We have received fish and game in exchange for money, in exchange for books and sometimes we are the grateful recipients of gluts and freezer clear-outs.

Moving to Mevagissey we have been showered with further treats, mackerels are an unsurprisingly common offering. We’ve had them soused, stuffed and smoked. We even got a turbot in return for some books and it turns out that Dave goes shooting so now we’ve got rabbits, quail, pheasant, pigeon and partridge filling the freezer. Well they never make it to the freezer to be honest. In fact Dave gave me a whole bunch of goodies from his freezer once which I put in the back of my car and promptly forgot about. Oh the smell! The meat was good but the blood drained all over the boot. Harry was like a dog with ten tails.

Best recipe for rabbit at the moment is as follows. Grab a big casserole pan. Chop some onions into chucky bits with some garlic and fry in olive oil, then chop your rabbit into quarters, coat it in seasoned flour and the brown it off in the pan. Chop up some chorizo and throw that into the pan, pop in a couple of red peppers, cut nice and chunky. Add water, wine and some tins of tomatoes plus whatever herbs you have lying around, marjoram, oregano, thyme. You want the rabbit to be covered in liquid. Put a lid on the casserole pot and simmer for ages (hour minimum) either in an oven or on a stove; just before you’re ready to eat also throw in mussels, cockles, clams whatever’s to hand. It’s easy to do, one you can walk away from and tastes gorgeous. Eat with some lovely fresh bread to dip in the sauce.

This dish deserves good bopping and sing along music so I’ll go with one of Steve’s favourites Louis Prima – Just a Gigolo.

Just started reading The Knife of Never Letting Go, so far so good but only on page 5. Review on the way.

In which our mild mannered janitor loses her rag! CG August 4th

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This is aimed at a tiny, tiny minority but I’m so riled right now by the holidaymaker who has just shouted at me. By and large people are lovely but some people are just rude and this goes out to them. Sleeve rolled up, here we go. We are not slow or stupid down here and we do speak English so there’s no need to sneer at us or speak loudly or slowly. If we’re looking dumbfounded it may simply be down to the shock at hearing such a ridiculous or offensive statement.

If you can’t reverse your car please consider if you should be driving? Please don’t sit and stare at me and wave me imperiously back. You have a passing space 3 meters behind you, mine is half a mile back. I know this because I live here, I’m not being mean or difficult but all you have to do is reverse your car 3 meters. And please don’t shout at me. I know my car is shabby and dirty and yours is huge and shiny but when I pull over to let you pass, would you also mind moving over? I know the lane is narrow and bordered by stone and thorns but unless we both squeeze in we won’t pass each other.

Incidentally, if you’re towing a caravan or driving a campervan please don’t take the interesting shortcut. Please. Cornish lanes are rubbish for anything larger than a car, they narrow down in the blink of an eye and all signs instantly disappear, no junction or cross road is going to give you a clue. Oh and don’t rely on your sat nav, because if it’s wrong it’s a right struggle to reverse 2 miles uphill.

Yes, the parking is expensive but we have to pay it as well – all year, not just for the week. Mevagissey is a village, how many of your villages have free cash points. It’s not my fault that you have no mobile phone reception; I have, so it’s not because we’re in the back of beyond but rather because your network provider is pants.

We are a historic fishing village, the cobbles stay. The widths of the roads are pretty much determined by the houses so I’m sorry but we can’t add pavements. We don’t mean to make it a “death trap” but we’re not going to close the village to traffic, we live and work here, we have to get in and out. I know that the roads are only one car wide but we are still two way on all the roads – yes I know that can make life tricky but there we go.

And whilst we’re at it, this is a bookshop not a crèche, at 6pm I do not expect you to leave your son in here reading whilst you go for a pint next door. Speaking of food and drink, don’t bring it in here, I can’t sell books covered in ice cream and don’t sneer at me when I asked you in a really friendly voice to put the pasty away, I know your dog can clean up the bits of potato that you’ve dropped but that’s not really the point, is it?

To everyone else, you’re lovely; you come in here with such enthusiasm and smiles. Your children are curious, interesting and well mannered, you are engaging and we see you season after season and you make working in the shop great fun. You come back with tales and laughs and make my day. Thank you.

Right, rant over.

To calm me down I’m going to listen to Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten by Arvo Part. It is a stunning piece of music. Thanks for letting me rant. Rabbit pie next week!