So on Saturday, my Auntie Silvana passed away.
She was an incredibly kind and generous person but – like my Mum, who was her younger sister – she was also fiercely independent.
A few weeks ago she suffered an illness and sadly, while there were some positive signs, she ultimately succumbed to her ailments.
I am devastated for so many reasons.
The main one is obviously that she’s my Aunt.
She loved me and always wanted the best for me, Jill and Otis.
The second is she was incredibly kind to my family, especially Mum – who loved her so much.
During my early years, she was almost like a guardian angel to us when we encountered some tough times.
The final reason is that she is the last of her generation …
The last link to a group of wonderful people who defined so much of who I am.
While I am happy she is no longer in pain or suffering, I am so, so sad that she has gone.
Her loss will be felt for so long but her memory will last a lifetime.
Goodbye Auntie Silvana. Love you.
Rx
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Emotion, Empathy, Family, Love, Valentine's Day
Don’t worry, I’m still away.
And there won’t be another post tomorrow.
But I couldn’t let today pass without writing something.
As many of you know, I hate Valentine’s Day.
I’ve written about my hatred of this day for years … because the truth is it’s far more about fear than love.
But this year I’m going to change the narrative.
I still think Valentine’s Day is an act of marketing evil, but as it is supposed to be about love, I’m going to express it.
To my wife.
My wonderful, supportive, kind, clever and beautiful wife.
Since we met, I have taken Jill on a hell of a rollercoaster ride.
While I could argue she should have seen the warning signs when I was rushed into hospital within weeks of us meeting [resulting in her first conversation with my Mum being her saying I was having an emergency operation] … the reality is in the 15+ years we have been together, we have experienced, encountered and enjoyed about as much variety of life as you could get.
Birth.
Death.
Adventures.
Adversities.
New countries.
New languages.
Hopes and dreams.
Disappointment and broken promises.
There’s not many people who would leave their home and family to follow a guy she’d only met 6 weeks earlier.
There’s even less people who would then move to Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Los Angeles and England … with the last 3, all happening in the space of 2 years.
And there’s even less people who would do all that when the guy in question is me.
But through it all … through absolutely everything, including the ridiculous Jillysim blog … Jill has stood by me, supporting me and cheering me on, even during times when she could have rightfully said ‘can we press the pause button?’.
Nothing says this more than our time in LA.
Of all the places we lived, she particularly loved the Californian coast.
Not because of the sun, the beach and the lifestyle – but they helped – but because she had a real and vibrant friend network there.
Taking her away from that broke my heart.
She could have said ‘no’ … but she wanted to do what was best for us, not just for her and she knew I wasn’t enjoying my time in LA as I hoped I would. Because of that – and her commitment to us and our relationship – she swapped sun for rain and has embraced everything that has come her way – stuff that has tested many things that are important to her – with openness and acceptance.
I am a stronger and better person because of my wife.
She cares about me in a way that is both wonderful and unbelievable.
Everything I have achieved in the last 15 years is because of her support, brains and commitment to us.
She’s an amazing, talented woman, mother, daughter and all around person.
And while she knows I loathe valentines day with all my heart, I am happy to use this day to say I love her with all my heart.
I owe her so much and so much more.
I still can’t believe I got this lucky.
I love you Jilly.
Rx
… because I’m away ALL WEEK in the US.
Your pain is America’s gain.
And why is there a post on Thursday?
Well you’ll just have to wait and see.
I can sense the excitement in your eyes already.
At least I can in my dreams.
Have a good week.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Attitude & Aptitude, Audio Visual, Brand Suicide, Comment, Communication Strategy, Crap Campaigns In History, Creativity, Design, Experience, Marketing, Positioning
Before I start, let me ensure your Friday is even better than if you were being bathed in a sea of Crunchies by letting you know next week there will basically be no posts as I’m going to be back in the good ol’ USA.
Now I’ve given you a deep sense of joy, let me rip that away from you with some bitching.
So I saw this ad for Kontor – a company that helps other companies find their perfect space.
Now I appreciate I have the style sense of an Australian [Boom Tish] but I must admit I am a bit confused regarding the image they’re using in the ad.
If it’s an example of an office environment they think is good, then I am afraid they’re badly mistaken.
It feels more like a hotel restaurant in any 3 star business hotel you can find across the US.
Or the Costa Coffee boardroom.
But if they’re trying to make it look like the sort of office environment a company would want to move away from … an office environment that Kontor can help them find … then I hate to say it, but it’s not bad enough.
Let me be a bit clearer …
Yes, it’s horrific, but in terms of an image for use in an ad on a tube, it’s no where near horrific – or nice – enough to make whatever point they want to make and so for the poor schmuck stuck on the tube looking at it, you end up wondering if Kontor have as bad taste as me both in terms of what they hate and what they love.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Brand Suicide, Crap Marketing Ideas From History!, Creativity, Culture
Last year, the wonderful DMX Conference got the magnificent Mr Martin Weigel\ to talk where he wowed them with his wonderful Case For Chaos presentation.
It was, by all accounts, inspiring, provocative and bursting with creativity.
This year, they’ve decided to go with this …
That’s a level of downgrading that challenges the Obama to Trump nightmare in America.
Seriously, haven’t the people of Ireland suffered enough?
Who are they going to invite next year … Theresa May?
I – on the other hand – am over the moon to be invited.
It’s a genuinely huge honour for me, despite the fact I have no idea what I’m going to talk about and following Weigel is like being at the wedding of Princess Eugenie after you’ve seen Harry and Meghan nuptials.
I can only apologize in advance. To everyone.