Great Service

Hi, If you are living abroad you will need to transfer money from one account to another at some point. Many Banks operate foreign currency accounts. Many use the iban swif numbered account service. All this can take a while and it can be expensive. If you couple that with the inflexible systems of having to set up nominated accounts, the time it can take, it can all turn into a giant headache. I recommend this company, I've been using them for 5 years, they are australian but they have offices in other countries. It is fast flexible and I bet cheaper than your bank. Do follow the link and read there material. It doesn't cost anything to sign up and it is all very professional. If you need to make regular payments from one county and currency to the next, perhaps into one of a number of accounts. If your children are study abroad or have gone back to the UK to university, perhaps they are just on an OE, this is a great way to get money to them. JG
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And we give thanks that our city doesn't suffer from earthquakes and we pray for the people of Christchurch and their continued battle.

New Directions

I recently lead a session at the Entertainment Master Class, the module was in Berlin. I love to teach, I hope the candidates learned something. I hope to have some exciting news soon about the EMC as it evolves and develops to meet the changing needs of our industry. I sit on the advisory board for the EMC and although we don't meet that often as one body, John and Christoph seek out our opinions on a regular basis, there are some interesting developments coming up!
I am hoping to increase some of my consulting on international formats, I enjoy the role very much. I also think that there are many opportunities in Cambridge that I shall explore, the Creative Front Launch was great and the video we made well received. I have had the go ahead to supply Love Cambridge with video content. Both the Videos I am just about to post.
So Pepper Rafferty continues to grow all these initiatives have their foundations in Pepper Rafferty, Marcus and I are really keen to expand. Several of the contracts we've been working on are coming to a successful conclusion and the enquiries for future work are coming in. The Economy is still an issue, people are being very cautious. We know we have great experience to offer and work to a high standard but at realistic costs. This feels like a board report, but it shows that even in a depressed economy if you stay up late and get up early, you can make start ups work!

The Big Idea

Well NZ Chatter is a big idea! I was amazed to get the domaine name! Trouble is I'm not sure many other people share my enthusiasm. I've only had one sign up so far. the idea is for people to share there experience of New Zealand, either living there or the emigration process for the benefit of the whole!!

Its a micro blog so you don't have to write a lot of words or go into much detail. It's a snippet of life! It is easy to sign on and a great way of keeping in touch. I don't have any dark motives behind this. I am not creating a list for direct marketing!

NO on a personal note! The recession isn't doing us many favours! I am really optimistic about Pepper Rafferty our Web video business. We have lots of pending deals, getting them over the line in this climate is another matter. Becca is going to go back to work, she wants to and it will help with the finances.

We watched Phil Spenser in his Down Under show, relocating Brits to Australia. It maked me want to take a walk along Takapuna beach! We had the series of Americas Next Top Model shat in NZ recently, I think that mad both of us pang for some sand between our toes!

NZ Chatter Goes Live

Micro blogging is the next big thing, well that's not earth shattering news, twitter is almost old hat now. But try this NZ Chatter it my new micro blog. The idea is that I will post thoughts but best of all if you are thinking of emigrating to New Zealand and have a question someone who's done it will answer you.

You will also see chat between me and the group of people we new and loved (we still do) in NZ. the great think everything is twitter sized. So its not a hard read!

You do have to log on but one you have its eazy.

Hankering after New Zealand

Today I find myself hankering after my life in New Zealand! Last night I stood in Cambridge in the freezing cold waiting for an hour for a bus, by car it would have taken me 15 minutes to get home. Tonight I left London tonight at 6:30 and walked into the house at 9:05! The trains were suspended between Bishop's Stortford and Cambridge due to a total signal failure. It is hard because our standard of living is dropping like a stone in the UK, it wasn't a much better state of affairs in the New Zealand, the wages are lower and some things cost a lot of money. But the quality of life was probably better.
Becca commented yesterday that it was the sort weather she didn't miss, a dull grey cold wet day. We had dull grey days in Auckland but it wasn't cold.
So even 3 years back in the UK we still have days when we question everything. The New Zealand experience was very costly, we new it would be and we wouldn't change anything. It can be unsettling be prepared! Reading my lovely friends Facebook posts and blogs is lovely but it doesn't always help!

I'm Not Stupid Either - Dyslexia Kara Tointon

This documentary has the best visualisation of what dyslexics see when looking at a page that I have seen. The programme was great, although slightly unbalanced in my view. Not enough people included who can inspire from quiet success and not from overcoming huge adversity in hitting skid row first. Dyslexia does have a PR problem, we don't tend to have two heads but we do say we have a condition that means we cant read, but we can, it may just sound a bit backward. If we couldn't read or write full stop people may be kinder and more understanding. As it stands most of us will be written off as unable to spell and slow at reading ie. thick.
I do feel for any one who is bullied or singled out or who suffers economically from the effects of dyslexia. There are also many people who have simply and quietly overcome there issues to fulfil their potential. Its important a balanced view of the spectrum is put across. Other wise we risk demonising the condition again. Yes my desk is a tip, I have to write down messages and details because my short term memory is challenged. However, I speed read because I don't see every word on the page. I was in a meeting at the BBC and a young researcher accused me of not really reading his 3 page treatment of an idea he was passionate. I'd "read" it in less than a couple of minutes. I asked him to test me on his idea, which he did and I passed rather spectacularly. Luckily the room was full of our development team and I was championed as some sort of memory freak after that! There is always an upside to everything!

This is the 200th Post!

Below is a duplicate from my jonathanglazier blog and I also wanted to say we are thinking of everyone in Queensland and pray Brisbane survives without any more loss of life.

The Mumper or “Weighed in, the story of the Mumper.” Is Talent Films first feature and is well into production. The list of Actors involved is very impressive, Bob Hoskins, Jenny Agutter, Phil Davis, Emily Atack. The best selling book was written by Mark Baxter and Paolo Hewitt is actually out of stock on Amazon!. This is the official sell from the films’ website…

It is 1985. Thatcher is in power, Sade is on the radio and the print workers have gone on strike. But nothing, not even a size eight earthquake will ever put a dampener on seven close friends – Thimble, Gudger, Osh, Fred the Shoe, Dave, Alfie and Bax – meeting every Sunday in their regular South London pub for alcohol and free flowing banter of the highest order. It is at one of these sessions that a man approaches their table and asks the most intriguing question – does anyone here want to buy a racehorse? From that simple but surreal question unfolds the story of “THE MUMPER”, the tale of seven firm friends who embark on a unique journey.

The news has broken in Los Angeles and you can read the report here in the Hollywood Reporter. And in a quirk of fate the director, Sacha Benett, is from my own home town ofHarpenden.

Talent Films – a division of Talent Television plc – is now in pre-production of a feature film
based on ‘The Mumper’. Bookmark this page if you’d like to keep up with news of the production.

Happy New Year

Well I guess its the time of year that lots of people think about a new start, emigrating could figure in those ideas! Read our story if you are thinking of making New Zealand your home.
To all our on line friends, we had a great Christmas, especially as it was a white Christmas. Sure it meant the UK shit down but in a way that's a bonus, giving us al more family time, hey the economy is shot to bits as it is, some extra RandR isn't going to make things much worse.
I am seeing in the new year with man flu! Millie has caught it now, so at least its not a total manifestation on my part.
I have started two new ventures. ManPink is a web services company, read out blog on http://www.manpink.co.uk/blog/ and Pepper Rafferty our web video production company is starting to support its self have a look at our Web Site www.pepperrafferty.com .

So where ever you are now or where ever you end up in 2011, good luck and have fun with your families.

Jg B, M J and L

7 years 7 moves - Bad Parent

I suppose like all parents we worry that in 20 years time our kids will be sitting in the chair opposite some well meaning therapist. Who will then tear our parenting skills to shreds and blame us for every issue in their lives!
Well my thought is give them something to blame! We have moved 7 times in 7 years! I am sure that is grounds for many and issue in later life. It is unsettling for us as mum and dad, but what is it like for them. Leaving New Zealand must have been a huge moment in Millie's life. She had friends, boys with whom she was practicing her relationship skills and girls with whom her sister hood was developing. The twins had their little club of other twins, 7 sets born within a mont of each other, They would have been their friends for life. Although lots of our moves have been within 3 miles of each other, they still leave one bedroom behind for another. A place of refuge replaced with the new and unfamiliar .

Yet last night, as they saw the house for the first time, they bounded in so excited. They loved their new rooms, they chatted and laughed and explored. Each new door the promise of new excitement, perhaps an enchanted garden, the door in Monsters Inc. or the holy grail, a Wardrobe containing a Lion and a Which! Sadly all those treasures would be in their imaginations, but there we have it, an excited and inquisitive set of girls. A tribute to their mum, and a delight to watch. They know al about disruption and repair, they are not too materialistic and the adapt to change. Skills I am proud the posses. I've always had 3 simple wishes for my children, Happy, Inquisitive and Imaginative, my 3 have it in spades and I love them for it and I love their mum for it!