Chris Barrow’s Blog

Back on protein, originally uploaded by coachbarrow999.

Quite apart from the high risk ofcfood poisoning here with anything
that hasn’t been fried or boiled, I’ve noticed that my return to the
world of carbohydrates has not been a happy one.

Over the last three months, a simple regime of no potato, no pasta, no
rice and no bread produced a slimmer, less tired and less flatulent
version of me.

It’s also been noted that I was more irritable and irritating,
especially when enforcing a parrallel discipline of weekend-only wine.

So a few weeks ago I decided “bugger this” and switched the carbs back
on.

For a few days, the pizza flowed and friends remarked on my happy and
glowing disposition.

It wasn’t to last.

Now I’m tired and flatulent - and with three weeks (today) until my
annual pilgrimage to Vathi, my fat pants appeared out of the wardrobe
this morning.

Enough.

Back to proteins.

Grrrrrrrrr……

Watch out clients, I’m feeling mean with lean to follow shortly.

That was the sign I read on a billboard alongside the M56 in North Cheshire as I drove back to Manchester from a practice visit in Wrexham 2 weeks ago.

I was on my bluetooth phone at the time and didn’t catch the email address that was detailed under the offer (perhaps driving a little too quickly as well?).

My assumption - Budapest.

A few days ago, the same sign appeared as I travelled south on the M6 - and this time I did have the chance to capture the addy:

http://www.evodental.com/

and the chance to take a look around the web site this morning.

Quite an interesting site - nothing to do with Hungary at all - and the “offer” price is clearly a sprat to catch a mackerel.

In these times we must try harder - and the folks at Evolution are certainly doing that.

Take a look.

My thanks to Fraser Hendrie who emailed a link to the Times article about the “off the record” conversation that took place between Barack and Dave during the trip to London.

You can read it here.

Or does the idea of “reading a book” on a hand-held device seem like a sin?

Who could possibly want to replace the primeval pleasure of holding a hard-back, smelling the clean crisp publication and parting those pages for the first time?

Reading is a tactile experience - what are Sony thinking?

A late night finish, originally uploaded by coachbarrow999.

It’s 10.30 pm on Thursday night and the end of a day that began with a
4.45am alarm call in Manchester and a dawn drive to Leeds.

My first hour at the Leeds Radisson was absorbed with emails.

At 8.00am I was hi-jacked by the events manager of The Royal
Armouries, who I thought was inviting me to speak at a dental
conference - but who really wanted me to sell tickets to a heathrow-
based Michael Gerber conference in October, which is itself a front to
attract dentists earning ￡250k or more to a tax-shelter sales pitch.

I detest a disingenuous sales pitch - almost as much as I resent an
accountant who evaporates 30 minutes of my life with a verbal
brochure. If he had just stopped to ask me any questions, he would
have discovered that I know more about EBT’s than he does. No such luck.

It’s a shame that celebrity dentists will get sucked into this by
their peers.

Caveat emptor.

The rest of the day in the real world with clients - thank goodness -
and some tough coaching that stretches me.

I leave Leeds at 5 and drive 240 miles to write this post.

Last day of coaching tomorrow and then back to Cornwall for the first
time in 12 days.

Today I learned that telling a client the truth can be very hard on
all concerned sometimes. And that’s what we get paid for.

I am blessed to work with wonderful clients, putting half-assed sales
pitches in stark relief.

And so to bed.

Journey Ambassador?, originally uploaded by coachbarrow999.

I’m all for 21st Century customer service - but I do think the Hilton at
Manchester Airport are going a little “over the top” with their description
on the concierge desk.

Having said that, we are encouraging clients to appoint:

1. The concierge nurse;
2. The care nurse
3. The treatment co-ordinator

And to offer direct dial facilities to, and a special relationship with,
such an individual as a benefit of membership.

As a customer, I expect to get the red carpet wherever I choose to spend my
money in these “credit crunch” times.

So what are you dong to make your customers feel special?

Boys will be boys…., originally uploaded by coachbarrow999.

The market town of Altrincham, Cheshire is understandably proud of it’s
Royal Charter, granted in 1290 and allowing the good citizens to meet weekly
and exchange goods and services - which they still do after all that time.

Civic pride is so great that a new statue was erected and dedicated just
last month to commemorate the famous stall-keepers and their diligent
service over the centuries.

However, Saturday night is Saturday night in any English town - so walking
across the marketplace on Sunday morning I was one of the first to see this
amusing reminder of the silliness that must have taken place after closing
time at the pub.

This is harmless fun - and much better than graffiti or vandalism - so I
hope the town council doesn’t get too hot under the collar and install a
fence or some other over-kill gesture.

There was a time….., originally uploaded by coachbarrow999.

When travel by rail was THE most popular form of public transport - and this
original mosaic at Manchester’s Victoria Station demonstrates the potential
routes available over 100 years ago when “Cottonopolis” was the wealthiest
city in the developed world.

Nowadays, of course, we choose to express our individuality with our choice
of motor vehicle - the modern-day horse.

I took my youngest daughter Ellie into Manchester on Saturday for some minor
(sic) retail therapy and also to see “Hancock” (don’t bother - its absolute
rubbish).

Three impressions from the day:

1. The sheer number of people who were in the city - maybe its because
I’m a Cornwall dweller, but I felt overwhelmed as we fought our way around
the Arndale Centre and the Apple store;
2. Surprise that some well-known retailers had stores that either were
closed, were closing down or had notices on the doors announcing
receivership. I’ve never noticed that in Manchester before, or anywhere else
for that matter. Credit crunch is here;
3. Massive building development of apartments all around the city -
although the “to let” and “for sale” signs were a forest.

The emptiest stores were clothes, white goods, home media and home
furnishing.

The busiest stores were books, DVD’s, music, games and electronics.

If that means something I don’t know what.

Maybe it’s the holiday season and folks want entertainment but at the lowest
price possible?

It’s a far cry from the Manchester that train-travellers would have arrived
into in 1908.