Bargain Royals

Today the Buckingham Palace accounts have revealed that the Royal Family cost each taxpayer 66p last year. Most of it spent on the Royals' PR visits abroad

I don't know about you, but I think this is a bargain. 66p for endless hours of Wills and Kate scandal and photos of Prince Harry in Iraq / out of Iraq / falling out of bars? It's the best 66p I've ever spent.

Helen

Big Breakfast, Small Stomach

We Gemini PR ladies were very happy to read that big breakfasts can help in a quest to shed pounds...Hooray!!
Saying that, I can’t remember the last time I missed breakfast – Dianne and I had two yesterday!? (one of those days you know) and then Emma and Helen enjoyed a full English at a networking event ... but apparently it is all good because our metabolisms have well and truly kicked in...Now, where are those biscuits?!?
Ruth
p.s. we've reached a milestone today - we've published 100 blogs, keep reading folks!!

It’s a dog’s life

Photo courtesy of bbc.co.uk

I was not surprised to hear that Trouble, the nine year old Maltese terrier who was left $12m in a trust fund by his owner, real estate billionaire Leona Helmsley after she died last year, has had $10m of it slashed by a New York judge.

The $10m is now set to switched to Mrs Helmsley's charitable foundation, a much more worthy cause but leaving poor old Trouble to get by on a measly $2m. However the pampered pooch’s lifestyle shouldn’t be affected to much as, according to Carl Lekic, the general manager of the Helmsey Sandcastle Hotel and who now takes care of Trouble has estimated his expenses at $190,000: $60,000 for his guardian fee, $100,000 for the dog's security squad, $8,000 for grooming, $3,000 for miscellaneous expenses, $1,200 for food and anywhere from $2,500 to $18,000 for medical care.

However since receiving his fortune, Trouble has had nothing but trouble, including being dogged by death threats and even sued by an ex caretaker, so this may prove a blessing in disguise for the little fellow – keep your chin up Trouble.

Emma

Lee's hired!

I couldn't let today pass without a quick blog on The Apprentice. Last night, Lee 'that's-what-I'm-talking-about!' McQueen took the title as Sralan's next apprentice.

I was totally, utterly convinced that Claire was going to win but I'm glad Lee did, I had to grow to like Claire but I've always had a soft spot for Lee - who has gracefully survived a whole array of manipulating, lying and backstabbing in the boardroom.

Thank goodness Helene didn't win after she was graciously accepting praise from an industry expert for a bottle which Alex (guided by Little Britain star Matt Lucas / Kevin) designed. Then after they'd been fired for cost of said bottle, cut to shot of her in the car on the way home and a total denial that it was anything to do with her. How I love The Apprentice.

Now I'm off to fill in my application form for next year.....I'm 24 you know, I have lots of experience for 24.

Helen

Biscuits for Business...?

I read a funny article t'other day on the BBC about how biscuits are key to clinching business deals, but only if they are the non crumbly type and definitely not digestives, well unless they are covered in chocolate.

This news follows the results of a Holiday Inn survey where they asked 1,000 business professionals on their thoughts. Out on top were chocolate digestives, shortbread and hobnobs, closely followed by jammie dodgers and bourbons.

Anyone who has been to the Gemini PR offices will know that we like to have a selection of delicious delights on offer for our visitors, and we ask you to look beyond the humble biscuit in favour of fresh muffins, morning pastries and chunky cookies. We have found these go down very well indeed, despite being a little harder to eat delicately.

Incidentally, meeting biscuit etiquette suggests two biscuits from a communal plate is the most acceptable amount...good job we wait for guests to leave before we ahem, dispose of the spares!

Ruth

Big Brother...Big Bother

It’s that marmite time of year again when our lives are invaded by Big Brother. Love it or hate it (geddit?), it is impossible to avoid the goings on in ‘THE’ Borehamwood House.

I sit on the ‘hate’ side of the fence, strong yes I know but my favourite show to come home and veg out to, Scrubs, has been taken off E4 for the duration of BB9! I haven’t watched any of the BB coverage, and I have no intention of doing so but I already know there is a secret wedding planned, a couple are in there are undercover to fool their housemates into thinking they are actually with someone else in there(?) and there is a student from Derby.

This is my problem with it - I don’t want to watch it or indeed hear about it but the radio stations, TV stations and newspapers seem to think everyone wants to know...(weren’t viewing figures down to 4 million last year?) I don’t disagree with it being on, just the fact that I would have to go and live at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean or on the top of Mount Everest to avoid hearing about the escapades of Mario 43 from Warrington or Michael the blind chap with a penchant for cross dressing!

Honestly C4 & E4 please feel free to continue making series after series but everyone else...leave the coverage to them so I can remain blissfully unaware!

Ruth

Viva Villa

Listen carefully, because this is the one and only time you will hear this sentence from me, but....I think all sports teams could learn something from Aston Villa.

This week they announced that instead of a garish sponsor their shirts, they will be supporting Acorns Children's Hospice and sporting their logo on the kit.

FC Barcelona has supported UNICEF for years (my partner who supports both Barca and Villa is now feeling particularly saintly) and I think more teams should follow their example.

With all the ridiculous amounts of money that the top sports teams have floating around, I'm sure they all have more than enough to do the same.

They should take up the corporate social responsibility gauntlet and set an example.

Helen

Networking practice

Ah, that old business adage - it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Networking is an important part of life here at Gemini PR agency but it can still be a daunting task to turn up to an event alone.

However, recently Helen, Emma and I went along to an event specifically for young professionals in Nottingham, Network NG. The events are targeted at professionals less than ten years qualified, so everyone you meet is around the same stage in their career.

The event this time was a pub quiz - what a great way to break the ice, a couple of drinks, some good food and the chance to show off our outstanding general knowledge! We had an absolutely great time, which ended a good few hours after the quiz...and made acquaintances, nay friends, with a new network of business folks in Nottingham...watch this space!

Ruth

Leave Fern Alone

We’ve just been having a debate about the Fern Britton story which is all over the news today about her choice to keep her gastric bypass operation private.
Newspaper columnist Carole Malone of the News of the World has said “"She also has made a career out of being a trustworthy person - a person that people look up to. She shares lots of parts of her life with the viewing public, and she gets paid an awful lot of money for that. She has made a little bit of a career out of dieting.”

So what! She may share part of her life with the viewing public, but not all of it and I wouldn’t expect her too. She has hardly made a career out of dieting, more to encourage us to eat healthy snacks. I really can’t see how this is any business of anybody’s except hers? I can’t see how she us untrustworthy at all, just willing to undergo major surgery to maintain a healthy weight (and heart) as dieting hasn’t worked, and to be honest, if I was married to a chef I’d be her size too! She is more of a role model then the size zero stick insects.

There surely is a sensible limit to how much we need to know about celebrities and I think this is hardly worthy of column space. Leave the poor woman alone!!

Ruth