I'm stuck on a train bored off my box and I'm suddenly struck by 2 headlines picked out at random as I scan other people's newspapers (trying not to look as though I'm scanning other people's newspapers!). ... (More)

It's not something that I would normally do and the more I think about it, the more nerdy it seems, but I would strongly encourage anyone who is even vaguely interested in the future of FE colleges, under this new Coalition Govt., to go on to the Dept. for Business Innovation and Skills website (www.bis.gov.uk) and read the 3 top stories that they are featuring on the dashboard of their homepage!... (More)

If I were to ask you to state the year of the greatest MANUFACTURING output for the British economy - which year would you choose? 1851 - the year of the Great Exhibition and Crystal Palace when Britain was the ' Workshop of the World'? Or, maybe, 1914 - on the eve of the First World War when we were the strongest power in the world and at the height of our Imperial power?... (More)