Yes, its 100 not out! So probably time to pat ourselves on the back and remind the world – and ourselves – what this blog is all about! In short the intention is to develop this site into a resource centre for small and medium sized businesses. In doing so we will present a wide [...]
Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was born in the Oriente province of eastern Cuba. He is still alive but it can only be a matter of time before his control is finally broken and Cuba again becomes a member of the international community. When that happens there are going to be massive business opportunities so it’s [...]
The Personal Computer Era finally arrived. Machines called “personal computers” were available as early as the mid-1970s. Of these the IBM (International Business Machines) Model 5100 Portable Computer was an early entry appearing in 1975. It weighed in at about 25 kilos with a tiny amount of storage but was limited in use with no [...]
On his death people were urged to “Burn a dollar bill in mourning” for the man alternately known as the king of steel, architect of the second Industrial Revolution, friend of capitalism, and scourge of workers. Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. In 1848, his family moved to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania [...]
For those who were not acquainted with the wonders of the Web browser, or at least with its mighty financial potential, August 10, 1995, was an eye-opening day. That’s because Netscape Communications Corporation, developer of Navigator, then the most popular software for surfing the World Wide Web, went public with what became the largest Initial [...]
The phrase Act of Union 1800 actually refers to two acts: the Union with Ireland Act 1800 (an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain) and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 (an Act of the Parliament of Ireland). These two Acts merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the unified Kingdom of Great Britain, (being [...]
In 1935, if you wanted to read a good book, you needed either a lot of money or a library card. Cheap paperbacks were available, but their production (and content) were at best poor. The story goes that Allen Lane, then a director of the publishing house The Bodley Head, was waiting for a train [...]
However as he was aged only one at the time it was not until 1581 that he gained full control of his government. He was well aware of his heritage and of the sad circumstances of his mother’s life and death. Of her internecine war with her cousin Elizabeth I of England. To many people [...]
Today we take instant communication for granted but back in 1962 international on- demand telephone calls were unheard of. To make a long distance call you had to book it through the operator who would call you back. We did have American TV programs (the “Lone Ranger” was a favourite of mine) but none of [...]
The “This was their finest hour” speech was delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 July 1940. It was given shortly after he took over as Prime Minister on 10 May, in the first year of World War II. It was the third [...]
William E. Boeing, whose eponymous company has become the global giant of the aviation world was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1881. His father (Wilhelm) had arrived as a German immigrant arrived in 1868. Starting as a labourer he built up a successful timber and forestry business owning forest land from Ohio across into California. When [...]
Gerald Ford was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, and served from 1974 to 1977. He was the first – and so far only – President to hold the office without ever having won a national election either as President or as Vice President. In 1973 Ford was the leader of the Republicans in [...]
The Marquee Club in London was the venue and I happened to be there at the time though I can’t remember why. Someone probably dragged me along and I remember thinging “these guys could make it big”. Indeed the Rolling Stones are now one of the world’s Business Super Brands – as well as being [...]
In the face of a declining market share and losing out heavily to Pepsi Cola the senior management of Coca Cola commissioned a major market research exercise. The results indicated that consumers wanted a sweeter flavour either sugar-based or using artificial sweetener. But the research didn’t suggest that a new recipe should totally replace the [...]
Having arrived in New Zealand from Vanuatu three days earlier, the “Rainbow Warrior” lay peacefully moored at Auckland’s Marsden Wharf. Greenpeace campaigners were preparing the former North Sea fishing trawler for the environmental group’s biggest-ever protest voyage to Moruroa Atoll, the site of French nuclear bomb testing. Unknown to them, two French secret agents had [...]
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is an English-language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company in New York City with Asian and European editions. It has a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million and over 1 million paying online subscribers. Its main rival as a daily financial newspaper is the London-based [...]
On 7th July 2000 Amazon.com announced that they had pre-sold over 400,000 copies of “Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire,” making it the biggest selling book in e-tailing history. At exactly 12:01 a.m. on July 8, J.K. Rowling’s fourth installment of her Harry Potter series was released in the UK and in the United [...]
On 6th July 1854 the Republican Party was founded by a coalition of anti-slavery activists and modernizers. Its early membership consisted of dissatisfied members of the Whig, Free-Soil, and Know-Nothing parties and these were joined by the Northern Democrats who were deeply opposed to their national party’s line on slavery. The Republican Party quickly surpassed [...]
On July 5, 1946 French model Micheline Bernardini paraded onto the runway at a poolside fashion show in Paris wearing a two piece bathing costume. A number of American fashion correspondents were both shocked and titillated by the model’s skimpy attire. Although archaeologists had discovered wall paintings depicting women wearing two-piece costumes it is generally accepted [...]
“Give Peace a Chance” was recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the 1st June 1969 during their infamous Montreal “Bed-in”held in rooms 1738 and 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. The couple had held first bed-in Amsterdam following their marriage. The intention was to promote the idea “make love, not war” and be [...]
