Liverpool lived a charmed life as they earned a hard-fought draw at Utrecht in a Europa League Group K tie.
BBC report
It seemed there were no more excuses for Fernando Torres's indifferent form when Roy Hodgson declared Liverpool's leading man fully fit and confident before this sterile draw with Utrecht. But one glaring reason for the Spaniard's struggles does remain – the indifferent form of Liverpool.
Guardian report
2nd meeting at Joly and Tracey’s new house with Ronnie, Dave, Ben, Maria and Michaela. Joly there from the start. Ronnie brought exotic coffee for the group. Maria brought some bought American cheesecake. Icebreaker of favourite dessert. Ben led us in 2 songs. I led a study on Habakkuk using this study.
An understandable but shocking decision by David Miliband after his defeat for the Labour leadership by his younger brother. Yet another example of the brutality of politics.
Andy Warrington was Rotherham's hero as he prevented lowly Bradford City from claiming the Yorkshire derby honours.
BBC report
Another police drama – 2-parter, filmed in Leeds, starring Stephen Tomkinson and Andrea Lowe.
ITV site
Wikipedia entry for the original novel
. . . who won the trust of Diana, Princess of Wales, and helped create her style
Guardian obituary
Enjoying this Upstairs Downstairs-type ITV period drama.
Feature:
The house featured in the programme is Highclere Castle in Berkshire.
Great to have Alyn Haskey with us in the morning meeting, He gave a children’s talk and preached in the service. Followed by a lunch that Rachael had prepared for 80+ people: cottage pie, peas, beans, sweet corn and a selection of deserts *(crumbles, trifles, custard, cream) and then loads of washing up before finally getting home late afternoon.
The greatest judge of his era, he argued that judicial independence is essential to the defence of human rights
Guardian obituary
I try not to do this . . .
In the age of Google and Wikipedia, why should anyone bother to gather information first hand?
Guardian article
Professor Mark Williams of Oxford University (and author of the foreword to The Mindful Manifesto) talks about rising stress levels and how mindfulness can help people manage stress - video filmed for the Mental Health Foundation's Be Mindful campaign.
I suspect the ladies could be here for some time and leave tens/hundreds of pounds lighter!
The most impressive thing about Selfridges' new shoe hall – which opened this week, claiming to be the world's largest – is not the 4,000 shoes on display, the 35,000 square feet of dedicated shoe space, or the 55,000 pairs of shoes in stock at any one time. The most impressive thing is that after having spent nearly an hour in there, I came out empty handed.
Guardian article
A surprise result after the favourite David Miliband was very narrowly defeated by his younger brother, Ed Miliband. I was amazed.
Northampton ensured there would be no Carling Cup hangover from their midweek victory over Liverpool as they saw off a limp Bradford side.
BBC report
A fixture with no notable previous history is developing a reputation for bizarre goals. After last season's one that bounced off a beach ball to help Sunderland to victory came a strike here that benefited Liverpool. Of greater note for them, however, will be another disappointing result and the lingering sense that this remains a troubled club.
Guardian report
Steven Gerrard's equaliser rescued a draw for Liverpool in a roller coaster game against a determined Sunderland.
BBC report
First time we have been to DCF at HCC. Wanted to go along to support them as they had Alyn Haskey as a visiting speaker. Great afternoon and really good to hear Alyn speaking about his life story and teaching us.
An article from Publishers Weekly in the States
Jamie Carragher's passion for Liverpool is undimmed after 14 years – now he's trying to help recover their class and dignity
Guardian interview
Outspoken, oversized Liberal MP, he changed party three times but stuck to his roots
Guardian obituary
Archie Panjabi: 'I love roles that transform me'
Beating the stars of Mad Men to an Emmy for her role in The Good Wife was a 'well-received shock', British actor Archie Panjabi says
Guardian article
Renaissance artist Raphael's works are shown together for the first time after Vatican loans tapestries to V&A
Guardian article
A Tale of Two Raphaels from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.
Waldemar Januszczak on Raphael from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.
Born in Bradford . . .
John Holmes, who has died aged 101, devised flush runway lights, first used in 1939, that made the night landing of commercial aircraft possible, and went on to work on the international standardisation of coloured safety signals. Without such innovations, the ability to travel at night by road, rail, sea or air in relative safety would not be possible.
Guardian obituary
The universe just ramped itself up. Simple. And yet doubts remain - spontaneous creation is, for most folk, just a contradiction in terms
Guardian article
Clive Calver used the quad limerick a number of times when I have heard him speak.
Stumbled over this as there was controversy over Katy’s cleavage and the video was not broadcast.
As Investing for Good merges with Charity Bank, Caroline Mason describes her conversion from career banker to champion of social investment
Guardian article
No man is an island – unless he happened to be LS Lowry, who believed the exact opposite. "I believe every human creature is an island," he said. "Had I not been lonely, none of my work would have happened." Lowry's reputation rests on swarms of figures swirling round his industrial scenes like tea leaves going down the drain. This exhibition focuses on the enigmatic, empty canvases he created once the crowds had gone home. It shows a visionary artist capable of distilling his vision until there was practically nothing left.
Guardian review
He can run 100m in 9.58 seconds, but says he's lazy. He's the best sprinter on the planet, but fancies turning his hand to professional football. And as for settling down? Forget that.
Guardian article
Alan Rusbridger pays tribute to a photographer with a very special talent
Guardian article
Murdo Macleod: 'He beguiles his sitters to audacious effect'
Guardian gallery
Exposure, built in the Netherlands, took Scottish pylon-makers and Dutch engineers six years to complete
Guardian article
Huw Richards applauds the scope and ambition shown by this celebration of one of English football's great institutions
Guardian review
The perspective of 118 years shows that the period 1963 to 1990, as deep purple a patch as has been contrived by almost any club in any sport, is exceptional in its history. But the other 91 years have still furnished 13 major trophies. However, as Williams explains, Liverpool spent much of their earlier history fruitlessly pursuing the FA Cup, a trophy not won until 1965, and playing second fiddle to local rivals Everton. He also reminds us that, despite their colours and Shankly's personal politics, the club could often have been characterised as "both conservative and Conservative".
Every club should have a chronicle like this, giving other fans who would kill for Liverpool's achievements – if not their current debt-bringing American ownership – one more reason for envy.
Shirley Williams: 'If you give up what you care about, you start dying'
At 80, Shirley Williams shows no sign of retiring. Not now the Lib Dems are finally in power - and sleeping with the enemy
Guardian interview
Great mini-series from the BBC searching for tigers in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Saw 2 of the 3 programmes with Isaac.
John Nelder, who has died aged 85, developed several fundamental approaches to data analysis that have been incorporated into key statistical software systems. Scientists in disciplines as diverse as genetics and geology, physics and pharmacology, chemistry and climatology, economics and evolutionary biology, make constant use of approaches based on his work.
Guardian obituary
Great day at Hollins Hall for the latest awards ceremony for the Emerald Academy Certificate programme – Set 5 (I am a member of the Academy’s Academic Board). Also good to hear about business stuff outside of the normal day job and pressures and think Emerald business for a concentrated period of time. Good lunch too!
Wiggle puts enthusiast in the saddle in pursuit of the 'mamil'
Humphrey Cobbold doesn't miss his old life in the City – running Wiggle, the online cycling retailer, is much more fun
Guardian interview
When I passed this on to work colleagues who ride bikes, John mentioned a preference for shopping at Ribble.
Spot-on Northampton send lacklustre Liverpool crashing out
Guardian report
Liverpool made a shock Carling Cup exit in the third round as League Two's Northampton won the penalty shoot-out.
BBC report
The services we provide are more useful than ever, to both authors and readers
Guardian comment artricle in response to Who needs publishers?
Sales are falling at Argos but managing director Sara Weller is hoping a £70m refurbishment programme can revitalise the chain
Guardian interview
What often passed the post-punk brigade by was his musical subtlety - and a restlessness that makes him a compelling artist
Guardian article
“Suburban 100” is a book containing a number of Paul Weller’s lyrics.
Computer engineer who encouraged the use of PCs in business
Guardian obituary
Main discussion item was a review of the 6-months putting God at the centre of our lives before any resumption of the building plans. Good discussion and upbeat assessment especially of the Sunday meetings and the quality of fellowship.
Thought this was dead but after a call-out it was sorted OK, Pilot light was out and usual cause is a part that is now obsolete. No idea how long it will last but I could do without huge expense just now!
In tonight’s opening episode of BBC Spooks series 9, Ruth reads this poem out at Ros’s funeral.
Great to have Spooks back. Great series and one of the better-made UK dramas.
Took a while to suss out that one of the new members of the team was played by Sophia Myles who played Lady Penelope in the Thunderbirds film.
BBC site
Wikipedia entry
Telegraph interview with Sophia Myles
As I said on Facebook, “unbelievably rare scenes, Simon spending money on shoes/clothes”. The whole squad went to M&S as I picked up (finally) a new pair of work shoes as well as a brown fleecy (inside) hoodie and 2 pairs of casual trousers.
Trailer:
Rosamund Pike: From reluctant English rose to Britain's new screen queen (Daily Mail article)
If you are a boss who wants to do great work, what can you do about it? Good Boss, Bad Boss is devoted to answering that question. Stanford Professor Robert Sutton weaves together the best psychological and management research with compelling stories and cases to reveal the mindset and moves of the best (and worst) bosses. This book was inspired by the deluge of emails, research, phone calls, and conversations that Dr. Sutton experienced after publishing his blockbuster bestseller The No Asshole Rule. He realized that most of these stories and studies swirled around a central figure in every workplace: THE BOSS. These heart-breaking, inspiring, and sometimes funny stories taught Sutton that most bosses - and their followers - wanted a lot more than just a jerk-free workplace. They aspired to become (or work for) an all-around great boss, somebody with the skill and grit to inspire superior work, commitment, and dignity among their charges.
Publisher book page
Dan Pink review
Via this McKinsey Quarterly piece
In strategy+business, Jon R. Katzenbach (co-author of Leading Outside the Lines: How to Mobilize the (in)Formal Organization, Energize Your Team, and Get Better Results) introduced a passage on the importance of self-awareness from the book, parts of which follow:
The “interesting shoes” story reflects a pervasive theme…that…distinguishes the best from the worst bosses: If you are a boss, your success depends on staying in tune with how others think, feel, and react to you. Bosses who persistently promote performance and humanity devote considerable energy to reading and responding to followers’ feelings and actions, and those of other key players like superiors, peers, and customers.
. . .
Yet some skills and aspirations are more important than others. Developing and sustaining self-awareness ought to be at the top of the list for every boss. David Dunning of Cornell University shows that a hallmark of poor performers is they lack self-awareness, consistently overestimating their skills in just about any task that requires intellectual and social skills, such as debating, having a sense of humor, or interviewing others. In contrast, Dunning finds that self-awareness is a hallmark of the best performers — they are especially cognizant of their strengths and weaknesses, and fret about overcoming pitfalls that can undermine their performance.
. . .
The upshot is, to be a great boss, you’ve got to think and act as if “it is all about you.” Your success depends on being fixated on yourself.
This is the first exhibition to explore the English language in all its national and international diversity. Iconic books and manuscripts will be set alongside engaging everyday texts to show the many social, cultural and historical strands from which the language is woven.
British Library site
Press release
How hip-hop changed the English Language (BBC video)
Watched this game with Isaac at EBCC. A rollercoaster and nearly finished with a draw!
Dimitar Berbatov's hat-trick halts Liverpool's spirited recovery
Guardian report
Dimitar Berbatov's rejuvenation continued as his brilliant hat-trick gave Manchester United a fully deserved win against Liverpool at Old Trafford.
BBC report
I led prayers including a section on our attitude to seasons – triggered by the John Keats’ poem “To Autumn” – and I read the poem out plus a section on the DCF meeting next week with Alyn Haskey.
Bob B preached.
Very enjoyable afternoon at a tea dance at church organised by Janice. Went with the kids and Lynsey as Rachael was double booked with the Harrogate Flower Festival. Great food, good singing and music, not so good dancing from me – partnering Lyns, Hannah and Michaela. Egans and Garsides also there. A good atmosphere and sounds like we will do some more and may be even a barn dance at some point.
