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Stockholm Syndrome

The count down has begun! In a few weeks time I will be heading north to this place for a few days holiday:

 

As breaks go, my trip to Stockholm is one that I am particularly looking forward to. I have always been curious about this part of the world, as a land that can boast the genesis of ABBA, Europe (the eighties pop group) and Ikea promises to be completely ecclectic. My knowledge of the place is not extensive though - apart from being able to name it as Swedens capital, that it is comprised of a number of islands, the only other things I can tell you about Stockholm is that it's population is just under 800,000 people, and that loads of blonde women live there. For me it is a place of mystery.

My main concern is the living costs. I remember someone at work saying that Stockholm was on a par with London in terms of things such as the price of eating out, but other rumours suggest that it is close to the £6.00 per pint mark that is apparently typical in Scandanavia. I guess the truth will soon be revealed. Another thing I am trying to find out is what sort of things you can do in Stockholm - if anyone out there knows of interesting places in the town worth seeing, or beer festival type events worth going to, just drop me a line!

Targetting Sales?

What with the after shock of the credit crunch, you would be forgiven for thinking that the challenges facing the Sales and Marketing industry have never been greater, but it looks as if a car dealership in the state of Missouri, USA has found a sure fire way to beat those high street recessionary blues.

This enterprising motor retailer offers the prospect of the following deal - buy any car from them and you qualify for a free gift of a hand gun or a $250 dollar petrol card. The handgun, a Kel-Tec .38 pistol, comes very highly recommended by the car vendor as it apparently fits very well into a pocket, and it has proved to be by far the most popular option, quadrupling the number of cars and trucks sold by the firm. You'll have to be quick though as this tantalising offer only lasts until the end of the month.

 Pocket sized? 

The success of this campaign poses some interesting questions for those marketing and sales folk - could this winning formula be applied to other products. Would the slogan 'Buy a burger, get a switch blade free' attract more people into our fast food emporiums? Could the tempting offer 'Tired of Chavs? Clean up more than just your kitchen with this free base ball bat' boost the sales of detergents? From the evidence above the approach does seem to hold some appeal.

It would be a shame if this form of campaign became popular - it wouldn't say that much about social values. I guess it's just a question of watching this advertising space...

Alien-nation

A momentous event has occurred on May the 14th 2008 if you believe in these things:

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has released no less than 160 formerly classified files detailing their investigations of UFO's (Unidentified Flying Objects) and the monitoring of extra-terrestrial activity. These are considered by some to be the UK equivalent of the 'X-Files', whose entry into the public domain has been long awaited by British UFO enthusiasts across the land.

The files contents sound pretty eclectic - there is an account of a person who claimed to have had 'relations' with an extra terrestrial from the tender age of seven, a happy state of affairs that dramatically ended when the unfortunate alien was killed by members of another intergalactic race. There is also the tale of the person who was astounded by the sight of a flying object with flashing coloured lights that was heading very rapidly towards...Heathrow Airport! Quelle suprise!

Since much of the evidence is of this high calibre, the information contained in the MOD data proves absolutely didly squat about the existence of alien life forms.

 Take me to your leader

Another thing that seems a bit of a croc is the alien visitation and abduction claims. These have an underlying assumption that a race of beings, capable of time and interstellar travel, will naturally choose the local hillbilly wino as a first point of contact on reaching Earth. Yeah right. An absolutely brilliant publicity stratagem.

Personally, I would love it if there was proof of something else being out there. It is certainly a statistical possibility, and I have always been a bit of a sci-fi fan since childhood, but judging by the evidence produced so far, the only hope I have of encountering aliens is by watching 'Star Wars'.

The drugs do work!

These little fellas have been the bane of my life during the summer months over the last few years:

They may be microscopic and look innocuous, but the weeping sore eyes, the runny nose, the general fatigue and the flu like symptoms they induce in me make pollen spores my all time public enemy number one. I developed Hay Fever at school as a teenager, where it conveniently kicked in whilst I was studying for my A levels. Since then, the start of summer has been marked by that familiar prickling sensation behind my eyes, and the never ending quest for snot free tissues.

Over the years I have been given quite a bit of advice about how to treat my pollen allergy. Taking Vitamin C apparently assists the bodies' natural defences against the symptoms by boosting the immune system, but you do have to be careful when choosing your Vitamin C supplement, as some can cause diarrhoea - the last thing you want is another part of your body running uncontrollably! Another way, which sounds like much more fun, is to eat honey that is produced in your local area. According to the logic, locally produced honey contains small amounts of pollen spores from the grass strains in your area, which when consumed, allows your body to build up resistance to the pollen, effectively inoculating you against the harmful affects. As a pragmatist, I have found the most effective way to deal with my pollen phobia is the most unpolitically correct one - just do the drugs. I am not talking about heroine or crack cocaine here - just a tablet and a few squirts of nasal spray. They are relatively cheap, and for me they work quickly.

Admittedly, this year hasn't been too bad so far. Up to a week ago the arctic weather has meant the pollen count has been kept in check. The recent sunshine and higher temperatures have put paid to this, and that slight stinging around my eyes, and the beginning of an itching sensation in my nose suggest that an urgent trip to the chemist is in order...