Filed under: Anniversary, Birthday, Bonnie, Childhood, Dad, Daddyhood, Family, Fatherhood, Jill, Love, Mum, Mum & Dad, My Childhood, Otis, Relationships, Respect, Rosie, Sky, Travel
Today is a complicated day for me.
Because on the positive it would be my brilliant Dad’s 87th birthday … but on the negative, it reminds me that he has been gone 27 years.
Or said another way … almost half my life.
HALF!
That seems both impossible and insane.
Of course, because I think about him so much, he has never truly ‘left me’, but I also begrudge the fact I’ve not been able to share so many of the experiences I’ve had in the intervening 27 years that I’d have loved to have shared with him to see, hear and learn his response and reaction to.
I never got to introduce him to my wife, my son, my cat, my dog and Otis’ bird – Sky.
I never got to talk to him about Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, America, New Zealand.
I never got to seek his advice on dealing with challenges, loss, possibilities and tough choices.
I never got to watch his face as I told him about my career, clients, colleagues and work.
I never got to hear his laugh as I helped him enjoy the experiences, he always wanted to try but never had the chance to do.
But most of all, I never got to keep telling him how grateful I am for the person he is and the person he helped me become.
The irony – as I’ve written before – is that so many of those things I’ve not been able to share with him happened because I am driven by a desire to make him and Mum proud. To repay the love and faith they always showed towards me … whether that was when I was failing exams or when they told me I should still travel despite the fact Dad had experienced a terrible stroke.
So to my wonderful Dad ….
You may not be here but know you’re with me every day … which I know you’d be very happy about, even if I also know you’d also be telling me ‘that I have to get on with my life rather than be held back by yours’, hahaha.
So, with that let me end this post by reassuring you that you – and Mum – never held me back. In fact, you’re two of the biggest reasons why I’ve been able to – and want to – keep moving forward, because in many ways, it’s not just how I repay my gratitude for all you did [and continue to do] for me, it’s how I can say – and show – how much I love you.
And I do. A shit-ton.
So happy birthday Dad.
I send you – and Mum – a big kiss and hug.
I hope you’re holding hands and smiling at the life your son is living more than frowning,
On the bright side, while I still seem very capable of causing all manner of trouble, at least the stuff I get up to these days has a lot less ‘police involvement’ than my earlier years, which has to be a positive doesn’t it? Haha.
Miss you.
Rx
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Anniversary, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Comment, Communication Strategy, Creativity, Culture
Bloody hell, it’s the 1st September. Already.
This year has gone so quickly, which takes me back to this post I wrote about ‘the speed our kids grow up‘ and I am close to begrudging September before it’s even begun.
But hey, it’s Monday and no one needs more shit to deal with than that, so instead I’m going to swiftly move on before we all reach for the kitchen drawer and look for the sharpest knife.
Or maybe that’s just me.
So this post is about birthday cards.
No … it’s not April Fools, it really is.
I swear there have only been 2 sorts of birthday cards ever created: The sincere ones and the ‘sarcastic’ ones.
The former is an expression of how much someone means to you and the best wishes you have for their special day. The latter basically takes the piss about how fucking old you are.
That’s it.
A tried and tested formula through the ages.
Which is why I was pretty surprised when I saw this:
Sure, it’s funny.
Sure, it’s original.
But it’s also something else …
Validation.
Validation for the members of society who are saying the economy is bad while too many politicians try to claim it isn’t.
It may seem a small thing, but it’s also big … because the only reason the card industry would step away from their tried and tested birthday formula is when they see a big enough commercial reason to do it.
And it appears that the harshness of the economy is – apparently – a big enough reason.
So while I wouldn’t base all my argument on this fact, sometimes its the circumstantial evidence that is the most damning.
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One last thing:
Today is my 18th wedding anniversary and I GUARANTEE my wife has – consciously or subconsciously – forgotten about it.
So … as she never reads this blog, I will show her this post to prove I remembered and she didn’t, allowing me to ‘lord it’ over her in a rare moment of triumph and glee.
Oh who am I kidding, but it’s worth a try … it can’t be any more stupid than when we decided to have a ‘Diet Coke’ fountain at our wedding that turned into one giant, bubble of stupidity – as captured in the photo below, with my wonderful Mum peering over, ready to capture the idiocy with her camera.
Happy anniversary Jill. At least its important enough for one of us to remember ; )
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, America, Anniversary, Context, Culture, History, Politics, Prejudice, Racism
So even though Trump has basically banned DE&I, I feel it is important that today – given its July 4 – is a day where I point out that while lots of Americans are going crazy celebrating their freedom from the Brits, it’s a day that is only relevant to part of America, not all.
As if anyone needs reminding … Independence Day is a white American celebration, and given the way the current administration are behaving to anyone who is not white – regardless of their heritage, parentage or passport – it’s not something that should be celebrated as a universal, national holiday. If they want that, then it should be June 19.
You can find out why here … but I just can’t understand how a nation can celebrate freedom when they know only some were free. Worse, a nation who loves to promote its Christian values and yet operates – and votes for – the most un-Christian behaviors you could get.
What bothers me most is the US – despite its current issues – is a pretty awesome country.
I also appreciate the role the day has in their national calendar, however given it prides itself on being ‘the land of the free’, it would be wonderful if they lived up to that label rather than down to a stained tradition.
Have a good weekend.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Anniversary, Attitude & Aptitude, Birthday, Comment, Love, My Childhood, Nottingham
This week has been a week of – of me – serious posts.
So maybe it’s because I can’t keep that up for 5 days straight …
Or because Colenso won ‘Agency Of The Year’ last night in NZ …
Or that today would have been my Mum and Dad’s 61st wedding anniversary …
Or – also today – it is my friend, Heleen’s, birthday …
… but I thought I’d end the post on something else entirely.
When I was growing up in Nottingham, there was a busker affectionately known as ‘Xylophone Man’.
Part of the reason for this name was because he actually played a xylophone. The other part was he played it absolutely terribly. But with unbelievable enthusiasm.
If truth be known, all he did was run his mallet the entire length of the notes and then – at the end – he would flamboyantly raise his hand in the air as if he had just performed a concerto to a stadium of adoring fans. He’d do this over and over again … sometimes up the xylophone, sometimes down … but always with his big, toothless smile on his face.
I’d see him every Saturday in town [AKA, Nottingham City Centre], outside C&A … always playing, always happy, rain or shine.
But what is amazing is he was adored by all.
Rich, humble, famous, infamous, families, teens, drunks …
No one gave him any trouble because everyone was captivated by the enthusiasm and happiness he had for what he did and the sound he made.
His name was Frank, and when he died in 2004, the city got together to honor him … not just paying for his funeral, but also contributing to a plaque to commemorate who he was, what he did and where he did it.
Because what he gave us was far more than some xylophone ‘tunes’.
He gave the people of the city a common connection …
A way for us to step out of our lives and into our community …
A moment to bond, to smile, to laugh, to clap, to cheer. Both at the beauty of life and the absurdity of it.
And I think that’s what Frank liked the most. Being seen for who he was rather than being ignored because of who he wasn’t.
There’s a million different sort of Frank’s in this world.
Some may be in your office.
Some may even be part of your family.
But basically, they’re individuals who are happy with who they are and don’t aspire to be anything more than that.
And the funny thing is, while a lot of society often regard these people as lacking drive, value or ambition, I am increasingly of the opinion they’re the one’s who have got life worked out the best.
Because they appreciate what they have.
They enjoy and value what they do.
And they never waste their time, energy or emotions chasing things that only matter to those who spend too most of their life hiding who they are.
Writing this post, I found an old interview with Frank – and I have to say, he sounds exactly the same way as he played.
Eccentric.
Endearing.
Amusing.
The Frank’s of this world matter.
They remind us of what’s important.
They connect us to where we’re from.
The help define who we are.
At a time where we are surrounded – and as a byproduct, encouraged – to engage in ‘professional bravado’, the Frank’s of this World have, arguably, never been so important.
To remind us experience, trumps popularity.
That fulfillment, beats job titles.
And substance, smokes speed.
And while many may discount or ignore them the Frank’s of this world, it’s worth remembering he got a city commemorating him, whereas most of us are lucky if an ex-collegaue occasionally emails us.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Anniversary, Attitude & Aptitude, Bassot, Colenso, Comment, Travel
I cannot believe it is October.
And yet I am so grateful for it.
It’s been a weird year so far … full of wonderful things and a few horrible things.
From beautiful puppies to broken eyes, it’s been a real rollercoaster – acknowledging that in the big scheme of things, I have nothing to complain about compared to many.
But coming into the last quarter of 2025 is not why I’m happy it’s October. My contentment is not driven by a desire to ‘get to the end of the year’ … although, I am looking forward to the special long-holiday you get in NZ at the end of the year.
No, the reason I’m grateful for the beginning of the 10th month is a lot of good things are happening … or about to.
First of all, it’s officially the end of winter in NZ.
Sure, as winters go, this has been one of the easiest and most enjoyable of my life … but I’m still glad to have ‘officially’ got through it.
Secondly, today – literally today – we welcome James Bennett, the long-waited replacement for the wonderful Martin Bassot who left us earlier in the year.
Ironically, they not only know each other, they worked with each other at Wieden London … and so James will now find out whether Martin is a mate or a bastard for telling him this would be a good move.
I’ll write more when he has his feet under the table … but I’m so very excited about him joining the gang and seeing what positive trouble he can add whilst also being very grateful he and his family chose to move to the other side of the planet for this adventure.
As I’ve written before, I NEVER take that for granted and I see it as my responsibility to create the conditions for them to destroy – in good ways, obviously – haha.
As an aside, his wife – Mel – is a VERY talented planner [also from WK London – sorry Dan. Again] and so if any agencies in NZ are looking, you should get in touch and I’ll get her in touch with you.
I’d have loved to have hired her too, but my department already makes up about 30% of New Zealand’s population so it was a no-go. For now.
So, if you’re interested – especially Motion Sickness or Special – you should drop me a note. [I won’t even charge a founders fee. Probably, haha]
The last reason why I’m excited about this month is because of something I can’t even talk about. Yet.
But it’s something almost impossible to comprehend.
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PLEASE NOTE: Well, sadly it is impossible to comprehend as there have been some ‘changes’ since I originally wrote this post … so while there’s some parts of it happening – albeit in a different country as well as in a totally different context – the original plan is now not happening till next year. However, as I can’t be arsed to rewrite this whole paragraph, let me use what was originally written to convey the excitement
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It’s so insane, it doesn’t even qualify for ‘once in a lifetime’ status, because you can’t imagine things like this happening in a million, billion years … but thanks to the wonderful MC and some serendipity related to the talk Paula and I gave at Cannes earlier this year, I’ll be heading off to London, via Nashville, to work on one of the most ridiculously wonderful things I’ve ever done in a career of ridiculously wonderful things.
I know how annoying it is when people say this shit and don’t spill the beans, but I can’t, at least not yet … but given the other 2 things mentioned in this post would make October a good month, this additional thing makes it an iconic one. So iconic my wife – who DETESTS flying – was willing to consider getting on a 24 hour flight for a 24 hour stay in London before spending another 24 hours flying home.
Then she came to her senses.
So, while October is often viewed as ‘scary’ because of Halloween, it may just be the best month of this whole, weird year. Not just for me, but for you too as I’ll be away for a week which means there’ll be none of this blog bullshit for a week as well. Everyone wins. That said, if October could somehow also find it in its power to sort out my eye issues, then it will be the most perfect month that ever lived.
You can tell I’m an only child, can’t you?! Haha.