Guided bus article and interview

Sunday had been a leisurely day but towards the end, I looked at the collated information on the timings of my trips with the guided bus to Huntingdon and set about writing an article for the Huntingdonshire Business Network blog. The article was finally completed around 3am, with the title “A businessman's experience and view of using the guided bus to travel to Huntingdon”, posted and provisionally distributed via twitter, and therefore facebook and linkedin.

I also placed a short note with a link to the article on the facebook page of the Andie Harper radio show, as the article was a more coherent analysis of the journeys and impressions. Arising shortly after 9am today, Monday, the consequence was a call from the radio station asking if I were willing to comment in an interview with Mr Harper of my experience. Fortunately, this was not till 10:20, permitting breakfast and feeding the neighbours chicken.

I think this was probably my most animated and passionate interview, primarily because I really did feel that an opportunity had been lost and that Huntingdon itself was not experiencing the real benefit of the guided bus. I later made a recording of the interview clip for my records.

The remainder of the working day was devoted to writing the press release for the visit of the NRW delegation. As usual, the process started slowly as the structure was first put in place. By the end of the day, I had completed the draft of the report on the meeting with the National Trust. The remainder will be completed tomorrow hopefully.

News is still dominated by the aftermath of the riots, with politicians trying to find populist solutions, the new mantras being mending a “broken society” and the “moral collapse”. As one lone expert raised on radio 4, there is a persistent tail of circa 5% of the population who are socially excluded and disconnected from mainstream society – and governments have been battling for years to make positive inroads into bringing help to these. However, the harsh crackdowns in Syria and the trial of Hosni Mubarak and sons in Egypt are emerging as news items again.