The book salon

At the hairdresser’s today, for a much-needed cut by the wonderful Carol, we got to talking about books. I don’t usually go to the hairdresser’s expecting literary chat (more fool me). However, I came away with some great recommendations, including the advice to stop off at the Oxfam bookshop nearby, which Carol said is really well-stocked. …

Fees: to raise or not to raise? Take our poll

Here in the UK inflation is still rising and the recent 2.5% increase in Value Added Tax will add to the upwards pressure on prices. Not to mention the mutterings about interest rate rises further down the line. If you’re self-employed and want to maintain your spending power your options are: Work smarter — make …

Resolutions for clients

Do our clients make New Year Resolutions? Or, given that as business owners we too are clients (to our accountants, designers, marketing advisers, lawyers, printers…), do we ever make resolutions wearing our client hats, rather than our “own business” hats? Here are some resolution suggestions for anyone wanting to be a better client. Resolution 1 …

Resolutions for small-business owners

If you haven’t got round to making any business resolutions yet for 2011, or are stuck or ideas, here are some belated suggestions. Resolution 1 Raise your fees, if you haven’t already, especially if you live in the UK. See my own Resolution no. 1. If you’re a translator, check out Kevin Lossner’s post on the …

New Year’s Resolutions. Better late, or not at all?

Twitter sent me a “Happy New Year” message the other day. In it they described their New Year’s resolution, which is to help me (and all the other 200 million — and rising — accounts) get the most of out of Twitter in 2011. So I reckon if Twitter can be late with their New Year’s …

Grapes, lentils, black bun and first foots

One of the nice things about being married to someone from another country (Vito, my husband, is from Puglia, in Italy) is that you get to share each other’s national traditions. That goes for New Year’s Eve too (Hogmanay, here in Scotland). Our Italian tradition is to eat lentils and grapes (not together!) as midnight strikes, as they …

It’s the thought(ful gift) that counts

A lot of us will be re-thinking our Christmas-present habits this year — more Christmas minimalism and less Christmas spending-for-spending’s sake. For some reason — and I don’t think it’s just the wintry weather that we’re experiencing here in the UK — I’ve been feeling Christmassy for the first time in years. Maybe it’s because …

Snowing on Ancient Rome

Those of you who know me, or who have pored over every word of the “About Us” page on my website to find out more about my pretty boring and uneventful but on the whole quite pleasant utterly fascinating and glamorous life, will know that I live at the northernmost reaches of the Ancient Roman …

Get off your butt

I’ve just read a pretty scary article in The Independent newspaper which says that people who spend many hours of the day seated (at their desks or on the couch watching TV) are increasing their risks of ill health (and early death) — regardless of exercise at other times. This quote sums it up: The …

Internet gems

ne of the things I love about the Internet is the way it lets people share their enthusiasm for and knowledge of their own niche subjects. Subjects that you may never have given a second (or even a first) thought to but when you discover them are a delight. Here are some examples: The Daily …