There is something special about Sunday morning, the Sunday Times, hot croissants with honey and butter, excellent.
Headlines – Looking for a British Hero is the main headline, a reference to the Team GB and not the state of the economy, as one million people turned out to watch the Olympic cycling road race on Saturday. Yes the Olympics were officially opened on Friday evening in the Danny Boyle spectacular.
A triumph of ingenuity and creativity over health and safety regulation should be the main headline. Not just the Queen jumping from a helicopter nor Multiple Mary Poppins sliding into the arena not even molten steel flowing through the stadium. Above all, the event stayed open beyond 11:00pm, an achievement beyond the permit of Music in the Park and Wimbledon 2012.
It was a fantastic show, the agrarian economy transformed into the workshop of the world, then private sector wealth consumed by the public sector health service. The industrial panorama later converted to a B&Q and Sainsburys had the spectacle run on.
Peak viewing figures of 26.9 million were topped only by an edition of Only Fools and Horses in 1996. That must have been a great show. The world loved it. The Germans thought it was cool, the French thought it beautiful. Only the Americans thought it a left wing betrayal of the capitalist dream. Shocking.
Back to reality in the Business Section – Britain is set for a triple dip recession according to some economists. Following the dismal Q2 GDP figures, the economy may experience an Olympic surge in Q3 before flatlining. Then the Euro crisis will erupt again.
But will this be the case? This week Mario Draghi confirmed the ECB would do “whatever it takes” to support the single currency. “Believe me, it will be enough,” he said emphatically. “The euro is like a bumblebee. This is a mystery of nature because it shouldn’t fly but it does”. Not quite so reassuring.
Economics news this week, dominated by the GDP preliminary estimate for the second quarter. A drop of 0.7% overall and a 10% drop in construction output grabbed the headlines. The ONS stats do not add up or correlate with employment trends. If negative growth means more jobs, why worry, just wait for the inevitable revision. Check out The Saturday Economist for more details.
Back to the day job, Monday, team meeting in the morning, then Jonathan Whittle from Pareto Financial Planning is in the office. Jonathan is from Wigan and once played for Wigan RLFC and Orrell – always welcome.
Tuesday, more filming with Visual Collective, as we develop the Vimeo Channel. I call in to see Brian Sloan and Clive Memmott at the GM Chamber of Commerce. Bump into RIchard Jeffery from the Growth Hub along the way. All is well in Churchgate House.
Wednesday, a day out of the office to revamp the layout for The Saturday Economist and review the options for management systems including Yammer, Huddle, Convofy and BackPack. Lot’s of choice but which way to go?
Thursday, meeting in the office, then a Marketing Manchester Board meeting at the Hilton Hotel. The extent of the MM agenda and work load of the team, never ceases to amaze. Nick Johnson, arrives, folds his bike and takes the chair. Good session.
Friday, another day out of the office, a chance to catch up on research and some background writing. It is the quiet season in the pro.manchester calendar after all.
Saturday, working in the morning, the day starts as usual with tea, the FT, and the Economist app. The Economist leads with “The Pain in Spain”. Spain can be shored up for a while but Iberian woes contain an alarming lesson for the entire Euro Zone. Yeah they all need more money. Shocking. Don’t worry over much, lots of reassurance inside, we can create a synthetic jellyfish that swims and does not sting. How useful is that?
In the afternoon, tennis, it is a 6 – 6 tie. Yes an honorable draw in the series.
Hope all is well, more news next week,
John
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