We went round & round in circles ...

I recently took up a new hobby: Nordic skiing. It's incredible difficult - the skis are very long and very thin, they have no edge so it's impossible to either turn or stop and, as a beginner, you have to expend an inordinate amount of energy simply going round and round in circles . And yet I find it so therapeutic.

Not sure why, but there is something about going round and round the same old track that, eventually, becomes satisfying. There is the odd 10 metres where you finally get into your groove, when you achieve some sort of flow, before having a big wobble and feeling you're going back to square one.

Which brings me nicely onto this week's theme. Circles.

Squaring the Circle

I found two definitions

1. To construct square equal in area to a given circle: an insoluble problem in Euclidean geometry
2. To do or attempt something that is impossible

For the mathematically inclined amongst you, this video is a very simple and super-cool explanation of 1. It's all about pi being a transcendental number. Very cool.

For those of you more interested in the metaphor, here are some great examples, courtesy of our Government.

• Rishi Sunak announces all pupils will have to study maths to the age of eighteen ... without failing to account for the severe paucity of maths teachers
• The Government decides to become the world's naval policeman and launches a major offensive near the Suez Canal, ignoring the pleas of the Royal Navy who are complaining about a critical shortage of sailors
• With great aplomb, Sunak announces a pledge to extend free childcare to all under fives, without checking that there are nurseries and trained staff to deliver and also, conveniently, without providing clarity to said nurseries about how this will be funded
• Lucy Frazer, culture secretary, makes a big announcement about her intention to radically improve before and after school activity provision without mentioning how this will be paid for. And, come to think of it. without mentioning how the Department of Education will speed up the process of sorting out schools still impacted by the Raac problem. Or, more curiously, why they haven't been sorting this out for the last 13 years that they've been in charge.

Ho hum.

Back to Square One

Just leaving circles to one side for a moment, I notice "Stick with the plan or go back to square one" is the latest Tory slogan to persuade us to vote for them in the next election. Laura Trott (Chief Secretary to the Treasury, not the cyclist ... I know, I get them confused too) was on Newscast this week talking about tax and even she managed to shoehorn the phrase into her interview.

Laura mate, (and anyone else who cares to listen) you want to be careful with that one. Back to Square One? Do you mean before Cameron announced he would be holding a referendum on leaving the EU? YES PLEASE. I DO WISH WE COULD GO BACK TO SQUARE ONE.

Little aside on tax policy

Call me an economist, but I thought the aim of tax policy was to influence the economy. OK, not everyone agrees on how - the Keynesians would have you lower taxes to increase demand or vice versa, whilst monetarists argue that tax policy is ineffective and all you need to do is control the money supply. In any event, it used to be all about how you thought taxes would impact the health of the economy.

Now, the Government are not even pretending it's about anything other than persuading voters to vote for them in this blooming too far off election.

Women and Work

I do get it. Women are really irritating. You hire them, train them, promote them and how do they repay you? They produce some offspring and insist on using some of their waking hours to raise them. Why can't they just delegate that to staff, like the aristocrats used to do?

So, obviously, you're left having to fill senior positions with, mostly, men, who have cleverly, somehow, managed to resolve the problem of who is going to raise their progeny.

And then just when you think you have it sorted, the bloomin' women pop up again demanding to be let back in. Irritating, to say the least.

As you know, my business Reignite Academy has been trying to open doors for these annoying but very talented and motivated women for some years now, and I have to say at times it feels like we're going round in circles. One minute doors are opened - "Yes, we really need to do something about gender diversity" - the next they are closed firmly shut - "No, we really need someone who can hit the ground running"* (see footnote).

Last year was tough but I'm happy to report that this year is starting well. We've had a flood - well, a stream, maybe a babbling brook - of clients coming to us saying they really, honestly, do want to find more women to return to their teams.

So that's good. My business partner, Melinda, says this is good and we just need to accept that business "is cyclical". So, not just going round and round in circles. Or maybe it is going round and round in circles but improving with each lap. Like me on my Nordic skis.

This was how I began.

The Power of a Tractor

Love it when, randomly, tractors take centre stage in our political discourse. Remember the MP who had to resign because he'd gone looking for tractors on his iPad and come across porn by accident?

Anyway, as you'll be aware, they are now in the news because the French farmers are putting them to use - very effectively I have to say - to make a point. They are cross about increasing diesel prices, unfair taxes, onerous environmental regulations, cheap imports and a whole raft of measures that make it difficult for them to earn a living.

Seems to be working as the tactics are spreading across Europe and the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, has begun to signal a willingness to make concessions.

Here in the UK, the press are adding their voice to the argument, although their chosen line is all about how difficult it will be for half term holiday makers heading to the alps for their ski holidays.

Going Full Circle

Apparently, thanks to Tik Tok, Gen Z has discovered .... READING! Libraries and books are making a comeback. Apparently "Reading Rooms" are the new place to meet people. Wouldn't you know ...

The Culture Bit

Took a trip to: Yorkshire, then Manchester via the Transpennine Slowcoach. Girls and Mums weekend in Manchester. Big fun.

I'm reading: The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan. Loved Strange Flowers so much.

I'm watching: Criminal Record with Cush Jumbo and Peter Capaldi on Apple TV. Fantastic. Apple TV winning the streaming wars in my book

I'm listening to : Open Book, Front Row and This Cultural Life. To get away from news related podcasts. I do not want to hear any more about tax policy and I'm in denial about the chance of someone setting off World War III

On that happy note, I'm off. Have a good week folks.

*Footnote. "Hit the ground running" is one of my most hated phrases. Up there with "Our people are our greatest asset". It's used to claim that it's better to hire someone coming from a competitor, already doing the job, than a candidate who's returning after time out.

It's silly. The former will have to work a 3 month notice, minimum, and we know from experience that it takes 2 to 3 months for anyone to be really effective in a new job as they have to manage the transition etc etc. By which time, the candidate returning from a break will have had a good five months to get themselves back up to speed. And given what they can achieve in the space of a day, a five week half term or few hours when the kids are asleep, I can assure you is no problem at all.