NORTHERN PLANNER

I was glued to a series the BBC did recently on the power of the earth. It covered volcanoes, the sea, the climate and icebergs amongst other things.

And you know what? When you look at the long history of the world, you realise how insignificant today’s global warming really is. There have been five massive extinctions, over 98% of the species that have lived here have been erased from the skin of the earth.

The world has survived meteors, volcanic eruptions that covered the earth in ash for years. It’s survived every inch of its surface being frozen over. It’s even survived a collision with something big enough to blow a chunk off that became the moon.

That’s why it’s a little arrogant for humans to talk of ‘saving our planet’. It will do just fine, it always has. Save other species, save ourselves……..maybe, let’s hope so.

Maybe talking about saving ourselves would serve to unite us a little more, make us think as one species fighting for our future, rather than diluting it with untrue assertions about saving the earth. That’s what I would hope.

After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations

Oscar Wilde

The daily ritual of meals – the shared preparation and eating with others – can bring people together in more ways than one. Bonds are formed, richer connections come about. There’s more time to listen to each other, indulge, inform. But most of us eat our evening meal in front of the TV….anthropologist Mary Douglas has long blamed the decline of the West on the disappearance of the Sunday lunch.

But it’s not just the home. We eat alone in offices too. More often than not, we don’t take a ‘lunch break’, our food is illuminated by our screen as we continue to work at our desks. Organisations need to bond too. I think that’s why I so value the act of making tea for everyone, made in a pot. It’s a little shared moment in the hectic day. People can taste the care you’ve put in.

When western society values individuality at the expense of community (which sort of goes against human nature, but let’s not go there) it’s a shame that this simple way to share warmth and create a sense of belonging is so rare.

Two pitches, one tracking study, one U&A to make sense of, ongoing being the new boy….

No posting ’till Monday. See you then.

(and I turned up to the right hotel today)

They cana make us behave differently and be aware of what we do. A cup isn’t just for gettin liquid inside us. Take tea (of course tea). It started as a medicine and became a drink, in China first, five thousand years ago. By the 8th century, it had become very rarified (Imperial tea was harvested in the morning to the sound of drums and cymbals. The women wore silk gloves to pick it). For the Japanese, it expresses harmony and beauty, enhanced by the vessels that form part of the ritual. Literature, architecture and language have all been affected. Someone who is too aesthetic is describes as having too much tea in them, while those who lack sensitivity are described as having too little. In the west, the objects, the rituals are still seen as having part of the allure. Do you have enough tea in you?

Now take that mass of history and heritage and then read this. I dare you not to get annoyed.

It seems that blogging has reached some sort of critical mass – naming people named after their blog.

The favoured method of adressing me at work has become, "Hey Northern.". Which, I must admit I quite like.

They could have chosen ‘Planner’, but since that’s actually my job it doesn’t work so well.

There’s a minority that enjoy calling me ‘Hovis’, but there you go.

When I was young, I used to love Greek mythology. Of course, at that age the stuff I read never included the sex, the incest or the jealous, petty cruelty. It’s actually racy stuff.

The Guardian has published some free booklets, with a summary of the best bits. It’s fun to read them as an adult and realise how naive I was as a child, but re-reading them, I also found a wider theme.

At the heart of great myths, the ones that last forever, there lies gritty realism. Like Homer’s tale of Troy, to quote Michael Wood in the introduction,"Of love and hatred, cruelty and heroism: the unchanging facts of the human condition" That’s the why the film adaptation of Troy never worked for me, it was a largely happy ending, whereas the real story ends in tragedy.

Another interesting strand is the way much of myth can be traced back to a kernel of truth. There is a real likelihood that a city called Troy actually existed, and some great war actually happened. Just like King Arthur lived in a real castle we think we’ve found –  Tintagel.

So the best myths seem to encapsulate some sort of folk memory – a framework for tale the expands and grows with every generation – but likely to have some sort of authentic core, somewhere at the start.

I think this has some lessons for those of us trying to make brands interesting. We have to start with something real, we have to make sure the way they behave is more realistic – there’s nothing wrong with having a dark side…….and we have to surrender some control so the story can take a life of its own.

I’m not sure if this is just twaddle, but it seems to make some sense on a Monday morning – let’s face it, we’re trying to create modern myths are we not?

Okay, so this morning I was supposed to meet a very important client, along with my CEO in the Radisson Manchester.

The good news is that I turned up to a Radisson Manchester on time with no problems.

I get there early, I take a seat in reception. I see Piers Morgan sweep by, pose for the papparazzi and jump into a huge Merc. I see two other celebrity type people. I find out they’re here for ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

Then I get a call along the lines of, "Where are you? We’re ready here at Manchester Airport" I’m in the city centre one. The new boy, trying very hard to do well. Not doing well…….OH MY GOD!!!! I AM DEAD!

Brain shuts down, feel funny. Black out.

Next thing I know I’m being helped up by a familiar face – someone from ‘Cutting it’. She asks me if I’m all right and asks her PA to get me some water, before gliding out in front of the waiting flashbulbs.

I drive back to the office to face the music. I don’t get fired, I don’t get a roasting. I do get mercilessly mocked.

I would have prefered to spill lots of tea as my first gaffe, but there you go.