Category: Thoughts

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Thoughts

Further to the Cambridge Road Tower Block Fire

A comment was made on the 8th August 2011 about the article and film of the fire in the Madingley tower block of the Cambridge Road Estate in Kingston upon Thames which happened July 2010 (click to see videos)
which said :-

“its still all burnt out like that today, they havent done anything to it”.

It is now over a year since the fire, and work is progressing on repairing the block, and it has been for some months. The devastation caused by the fire, is obviously going to take time to put right.

Madingley Tower Block, Cambridge Road Estate, Kingston upon Thames
Madingley Tower Block, Cambridge Road Estate, Kingston upon Thames
The action of one person has caused so much in the lives of not only the families that used to live there but the whole community.
The cost of rebuilding the tower block for and the rehousing of the residents has to be paid by the council tax payers of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, by the people who pay to insure their own homes as the insurance companies raise there rates to cover their costs.
The troubles that are affecting London and other cities of the UK, the rioting, the burning of buildings, the ransacking of goods from shops that have been broken into by a mindless few, will take a longtime to resolve and put right, and at a cost that will effect us all.
click to see videos of the Madingley Tower Blog on fire
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NLP PhotoReading Radio and TV interviews Sleep Thoughts

The 4th radio interview in the series

As an on-going project, I have giving today my third radio interview on Ashford Radio.

In this interview by Marcus, I talk about what I call DREAMS and SLEEP.
Here I talk about how the brain, we humans can use future thoughts, our imagination to achieve whatever we desire.
For some computer systems the radio button will not appear on this page, so click here to listen.


 

Listen to internet radio with AshfordPublishing on Blog Talk Radio

Please leave any comments you may have below.
I am available to give courses to corporate and the public, in many subjects around the world, plus talks and presentations, and will work with individuals on personal issues.
Contact me for more information. 
Find other radio interviews by clicking here.

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Culture Thoughts

Squirrelling Around

It is a bright summers day in the UK, warm and relaxing, and it is in this mood that I take a walk and come across a squirrel, like me, enjoying the sunshine.

British Grey Squirrel photo by Phillip Holt NLPNOW
British Grey Squirrel
The grey squirrel has been introduced into the UK. It is a small to medium sized rodent of the family Sciuidae, being indigenous to Africa, the Americas and Eurasia.
British Grey Squirrel photo by Phillip Holt NLPNOW
British Grey Squirrel
The native British red squirrel has been in decline in recent years, as the grey squirrel has taken over their habitat, and the red has become a protected animal, now only found in small pockets or in Scotland. In fact I have not seen a red squirrel for many years.
As I walk around my local town of Kingston upon Thames and other towns in and about London, I wonder if the indigenous British are going the same way as the red squirrel, as it seems that it is becoming rare to hear English being spoken, or to be served in a restaurant, pub or shop by a British person.
With the open borders of the European Union (EU), where citizens have the right to work and live in any member state, the UK’s population is changing rapidly. Not only do EU citizens seek to live and work in the UK, but also other countries citizens seem to flock to the UK shores, often outstaying their visa’s, or entering illegally.
The British are becoming an endangered species, as they are being pushed out into little pockets of the UK, as the incomers takeover their homes, work, food and social support.
Oh Poo Poo. See more Oh Poo Poo.

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Thoughts Travels

Up close to nature

It is always fantastic to watch wildlife in their natural setting, and although there should never be full trust between the animals and humans, some trust and curiosity between the two I think should be welcomed.

I recently had the privilege to witness a family of foxes sharing food in the English countryside.
A family of foxes eating
It was after they had finished eating that I was able to experience looking into the eyes of the younger fox. There seemed to be a trust between us, I could be part of its world for just a moment, not to get too close, but just sharing a moment in time.
A young fox makes friends with Phillip Holt
As we relaxed in each others presence, a sense of calm flowed over me.
A young fox makes friends with Phillip Holt
But, it was all over so quickly, and the young fox left to join his family.
See a video of foxes, click.
Categories
Mind Maps NLP PhotoReading Presentations Radio and TV interviews Thoughts

The 2nd radio interview in the series

In a series of radio programs, I talk about some of the courses I do, plus I will be giving tips and insights over the coming weeks.

Here is the second of the series. Unfortunately I do believe some people cannot view the widget to hear the show on my blog, if this is you, please click here.

Listen to internet radio with AshfordPublishing on Blog Talk Radio


Your comments and feedback would be appreciated.



More interviews can be heard here (click)

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NLP Presentations Radio and TV interviews Recommendation Thoughts

1st Radio Interview in a Series with Ashford Publishing Radio

I was recently interviewed on Ashford Publishing Radio in America.

The podcast can be heard here. Click to listen.

Listen to internet radio with AshfordPublishing on Blog Talk Radio

Hope you will enjoy, if you do let me know you comments.
Other interviews will be following as I give more in the coming weeks, click here.
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Categories
Memory Thoughts Travels

Stonehenge

As I approached the brow of a hill, memories came flooding back from when I was a small boy sitting in the back of my parents old Riley car.

I knew what I was going to see, even though so many years had passed by, my imagination, the pictures in my head were so vivid, the road sweeping to the left of a green field rising at a slight incline, and a road off to the right that I would take, and there in the middle of the field would be what I had come to see, Stonehenge.
The power of the human mind, to have small triggers, or anchors in NLP terms, bring back such vivid memories, as if we were experiencing them in real terms, as if we were there in reality.
The smell or trigger of jasmine instantly takes me, as if I was actually there, to the harbour of Antalya in Turkey, breakfast on a tray, instantly takes me back to a hotel room overlooking the Golden Horn in Istanbul on a snowy morning, a cooling breeze on a hot day gives me the sensation of walking on the British seaside promenade of Skegness, a stone carving to the old Roman city of Leptis Magna in Libya.
As I drove over the brow of the road from London, there in the near distance they were, the stone circles of standing stones called Stonehenge, standing so majestic on a site that is over 5,000 years old, a site that has been used over these years for worship, for calculating seasons of the year, astronomical observatory, for burying the dead, a healing centre, for reasons we still do not know of.
Stonehenge a World Heritage site, memories food back to Phillip Holt
Stonehenge a World Heritage site
These megalithic monuments are said to predate those in the Mediterranean, Greek, Egyptian and Mycenaean cultures.
The stones some weighing about 5 tons, (5,080 KiloGrams), were transported nearly 250 miles (400 Kilometres) from Wales to Stonehenge, and how they did that without modern transport methods, and once on-site, raise them to their standing positions leads to even more speculation.
Two main types of stone have been used, the warmer to touch bluestone and the Sarsen stones, some being eighteen feet in length (5.5 meters) and weighing some twenty-five tons (25,500 KG’s).
As the real meaning of Stonehenge and similar stone circles around the UK are fathomed out, it is believed that they were used for astronomical and ritual purposes. By using the stars, the celestial bodies, times of the year could be calculated, the solstices, the equinoxes, lunar periods, and from these festivals, ceremonies and ritual gatherings could be observed.
Many mythes and legends have been born from these magic stone circles, for example the stones were carried from Africa by giants, as told by Merlin, that perhaps King Arthur is buried there, for around the site are many mounds, little hillocks, called barrows which were burial sites.
Stonehenge is part of British heritage, it is a World heritage site, and as such must be preserved for the future. But, I was disappointed that I was not allowed like I was as a small boy to walk between the stones, visitors are shepherded to walk around the circle at a distance, making a strange sight as I drove down toward the site. I understand the reasons, much damage and loss of stone has been done over the years, but somehow I missed the interaction, Stonehenge was in the distant, but it is very much deep in my memory bank.
Categories
Presentations Thoughts Travels

How good is a trainer, presenter, coach?

I was talking to a person, and they told me about a ship that had called into the harbour to deliver some cargo.

Once the cargo had been unloaded, the captain gave orders to set sail for the next port, but the engineer told the captain he could not start the engines.
When the captain asked how long it would take to make the repairs, the engineer said he was working on it.
Many hours later the engines still would not start, and the captain was desperate to leave the harbour as he was loosing money moored to to harbour wall, and he heard that there was a highly specialist engineer visiting the area, so the captain asked him to look at the ships’ engines.
The specialist took his little work bag down into the engine room, and listened to the engines as the tried to start, and he went into little bag and took out a little hammer.
With his little hammer, he tapped a pipe, tried the engines, and they started immediately.
The captain was so happy, and he asked the specialist for his invoice.
When the captain saw the invoice he was most angry, for it was for $10,001.
This was too much for tapping a pipe.
When the captain challenged the specialist as to why so much, the specialist replied.
“For tapping the pipe I charged you $1, for knowing where to tap the pipe it is $10,000.“
I was recently asked to visit a company who wanted me to give their management team some training. When told my fee the manager said it was too much, and asked for another person to do the course who had attended one of my courses, but was a trainer in their own right. 
The manager offered the second person half of what I had asked for, but the second person refused their offer as being too little.
A third person was asked, and was offered an even smaller fee, which they accepted.
We have a saying in English,
“If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.“
So what is the price of a specialist, an expert, a good trainer, an experienced trainer, presenter or coach?
In his books, especially his book Outliers,  Malcolm Gladwell,  explains what makes people great, what made Bill Gates who and what he is, what made the Beatles such a great group? 
His answer is that they worked in their field of expertise, their specialism, that they studied for over 10,000 hours. This analysis was also substantiated by Michael Syed in his book Bounce, where he looks at what makes champions. They have to put in the hours of practice, the 10,000 hours.
I have been delivering training in my fields of excellence since the mid 1990’s, in many countries, cultures and languages, and also before that whilst working for computer manufacturers, so I have put in over my 10,000 hours, unlike many trainers who have just earned their training certificate.
So, I still have my little hammer if someone out there would like use it.
                         
Categories
Thoughts

A secret is a secret

We all have secrets, some dark secrets, some secrets that are the keys to wealth, power, knowledge, some are only thoughts, some just fears, secrets that we want no other person to know.

We arrange our lives to hide our secrets, taking roads where our secrets will not manifest themselves, where others will not behold that which they should not or could not comprehend.

Sometimes these secrets will be brought to the surface by circumstances beyond our control, meaning we have to face maybe nightmares, or to give away the information which could be worth more than money could buy, bring upon us embarrassment, loss of power, loss of dignity, allowing others to gain.

Sometimes the secrets are stored below our conscious understanding, hidden away in the metaphors of our sleep, only to be manifested in our dreams resulting in our abrupt awakening with beating hearts and often shouting out our fears our secrets.

Sometimes our secrets do not hold us back, but will help us help other people who hold the same or similar secret. Our knowledge of how our own secret has steered our life, taken us on a path perhaps avoiding a deep belief or fear, that would cause anguish and possibly pain, or a path of knowledge and wealth.

Knowing what other people may be going through hiding their own secret, can help the holder of a secret to unlock the doors letting those taking the same pathway, to understand that nothing is a secret, and there is an answer to their fears and pain, there is a pathway to joy, happiness and wealth.

Yet those who offer the keys to the doors to release the secret, so that others may face their own world, may not have found the keys to unlock their own secret, and they still want that hidden from those who could bring further pain and suffering, they are happy with their secret.

Often these people with the key, have to confront their secret fear, their nightmare, their knowledge, so to fulfill the desires of others, knowing that once their secret is revealed, they could be held up for ridicule, or loss of face, wealth.

Yet these people with the key are willing to be ridiculed so others who may prosper, gain their desires, reach their goals, sometimes with the vain hope that their secret can be again hidden away in the vaults of lost memories.

Sometimes, the people who have been helped by the key holders of a secret, wish to 

burrow deep below the surface of those who helped, to inform others of the secret held by those trying to exist in a world where the secret could do harm, they are willing to dig down, to bring to the surface those secrets which are like knives is the back of the holder of the secret, they reveal the secret to others, perhaps for their personal gain or enjoyment.

There are times when secrets should remain secrets, and not revealed to others so to cause ridicule or loss to sufferers, to holders of knowledge, so the revealers can gain power, wealth or knowledge that really they are not entitled too.

Categories
Thoughts

The Cambridge Estate Tower Block Fire, Kingston upon Thames

It has been a few days now since the horrific scenes of the Madingley tower block fire, on the Cambridge Estate in Kingston upon Thames. SeeTower Block on Fire in Kingston upon Thames.

As we watched the flames grow from the 12th floor, taking the next four floors and roof, black and white smoke billowing from the building and the red/orange flames indicating the heat and devastation being played-out, I became aware of the power of nature, of how we humans cannot sometimes be in control of forces that can overtake us.

The Cambridge Estate Tower Block Fire, Kingston upon Thames

I ask myself how can a concrete block of flats burn so fiercely? Surely there can not be so much flammable items in a normal home to create so much flames and smoke?
 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8M6-igdgQA
It is reported that a 32 year old woman has been arrested for starting the fire, perhaps by a single matchstick, a single small flame, which resulted in such damage.
Many comments have been added to the youtube video, some should be deleted, but I have not as it may indicate the frustration felt by many British people, some giving an indication of the goodness, compassion and help given by just ordinary people,  of how “Tommy Mackay ran up 15 floors to the the top of the burning building, and save a newborn baby.”, and Alan Woodman.

Looking out of our home window, the blackened Madingley tower block is a constant reminder of that fire. Even as darkness falls in the late evening there is a reminder, as there is a lack of lights on the skyline, lights of people’s homes now empty in the evacuated tower.

The Cambridge Estate Tower Block Fire, Kingston upon Thames The Cambridge Estate Tower Block Fire, Kingston upon Thames


Life goes on now. Cars and buses race by, full of people not even noticing the devastation left over, perhaps not even considering where the tenants are now living, where are they eating their meals, how are they providing for themselves, have they got their clothes out their homes? And, the tenants themselves, where are they?