DB:LF

You may think we are lucky getting out of London for Christmas, breathing some fresh sea air and beaing able to stroll along the beach on Christmas Day. However, getting away is both the best and worst thing you can do at this time of year. 

It has been quite a while since my last break from work and I was getting ready to throw myself under the next tube at Victoria station having been delayed, squished, squahed, pushed, jostled and harrased by rude boy loud music blearing from peoples overly loud headphones!

Thank god I only had one more day and then a whole week and a half without the routine battle to get to work.  Christmas? is it Christmas or just a convenient excuse to get a well earned rest from work under the pretence of an ancient religious ritual which really doesnt apply to most people these days. Either way I’m bloody grateful I get that break!

Very few people I know actually care about Christmas in the traditional sense anymore, they care about getting a tiny little bit of their personal life back before it is quickly snatched away again on 2nd January. 

My family has taken to escaping to Devon for a week at Christmas…Being by the sea at Christmas is about as unchristmasy as it gets.  It’s quiet, the air is clean and people go surfing, walking and riding on Christmas day as opposed to sitting in the living room stuffing themselves with Quality Street while wathing Eastenders or similar rubbish. 

This year we went to Croyde and stayed in a beautiful little cottage right on the beach.  We walked a lot, talked a lot, ate quite a bit and took tonnes of photos ( I got a new lens for Christmas).  WE RELAXED.   

This fantastic break is all too soon matched by the horrendous awarenss that it is time to return home and put our busniess heads back on. Christmas is over for another year, our one opportunity to escape the rest of the world and actually spend some time together has expired once again, our time being free, absent of thought abouit about work and the joy of waking up to the sound of the sea every morning has gone. 

To add insult to injury and the rubics cube challenge of packing the car back up is followed by sitting in endless reams of traffic on the A303 with every other Londoner, desperate to get another fix of the big smoke, Wifi, lattes and conspicous post Christmas consumption. It’s so depressing. 

And just a whole year to endure before next Christmas?!

I do question why we do it to ourselves.  Are we hurting ourselves more by living the dream for a few days rather than not all?

The Retail sector has long been hailing the arrival of a crisis with the rise in the internet shopping boom, this Christmas has shown that the desire for in-store, face-to-product shopping, is not waning. Reports indicate the buzz on the high street is very much alive and set to continue into ‘08.

In-stores dreaded nemisis, online shopping, has shown it is not here to destroy the high street, indeed online shopping needs to be embraced, online shopping enhances the oportunities for consumers to part ways with their hard earned cash, when the shops are shut or when tangibile inspection of a product is not necessary there is still opportunity to buy.

Online and in-store shopping needs not be opposites, they do not detract from each other, but should work in unity. increasing sales through joint ventures rather than detracting from each other. 2008 will see people further utilising the internet to research products and choose when it is necessary to to follow up in-store. Digital and mobile communications in 2008 will give more power to the consumer to make educated choices across all market places. We, the consumer want and expect to be able to make an informed choice, and the internet provides that very well curreently, but if on the go inforamtion is to progress, access to reviews and price comparison is necessary on the move. Personalised mobile communications  and viewing information on a mobile device will speed up the lag time between researching a product online and entering the store to review and purchase. Why cant we pop to the nearest wi-fi zone and review the product instantly, before nipping back to purchase that laptop or flat screen TV.

Wouldn’t that make life much easier and much more integrated, online and on-street needn’t be divided, perhaps in 2008 they will unite and make shopping easier… what do you think?

Just getting my head around how all this stuff works… will be updating with lots of interesting bits and bobs, things that are on my mind, confusing, amusing or perplexing me, like what are the 5 tastes – well actually, apparently there is 6, what are the last two then, you have sweet, sour, bitter…erm….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste#Five_basic_tastes”>en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste#Five_basic_tastes
and a whole host of observations and updates on what I’m up to, including lots of Photos and film reviews… more coming soon