In 2020 Britain was gripped by a “totally unheard of” jigsaw puzzle mania. Sales reached £100 million, up 38% on the previous year. The German toymaker Ravensburger proclaimed “stellar growth” in the UK, with its chairman, Clemens Maier, suggesting puzzles had helped “lots of people find a balance in their lives, especially in a time of crisis”. But

How much faith do you have in the brands you use? I admit to heavily overcomplicating new purchases by reading through tens of customer reviews and then cross-checking these against what I hope to be independent blogs or newspaper reviews. I feel exhausted just thinking about it! I hadn’t given much thought to why I

Raise your hand if you’ve felt less productive than usual during lockdown. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you probably didn’t physically raise your hand, but you were thinking “yes”.  For many, despite having extra time on their hands, the repetitive cycle of eat, watch TV, procrastinate about doing the

If you type ‘effect of the pandemic…”, “effect of Covid19…”, or “effect of lockdown…” into Google, the top suggestion always ends in “on mental health”.  A report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlights that in late March 2020, 49.6% of people reported strong feelings of anxiety and anxiety scores averaged at 5.2 out of 10,

The pandemic has taken a toll on us all, but with the end now possibly in sight, what will be the long-term effects left on our children?  A report from Ofsted in November 2020 suggests that children have been the hardest hit by the pandemic and lockdown periods over the past year, with findings that pupils have

Have you heard about the ‘lockdown puppy’, or ‘pandemic puppy’ craze? Whilst there are those of us, like myself, who found themselves locked down with a new puppy unintentionally, others have brought home a new member of the family because of the recent lockdowns in the UK.  According to the BBC, online searches for the term “buy

League Two club Forest Green Rovers are punching well above their weight in the world of marketing and PR. Based deep in Gloucestershire, the team recently drew mainstream press attention after announcing its players would soon wear shirts made from used coffee grounds and recyclable plastic bottles. In 2017, the team was recognised by FIFA as being the “greenest

“ROGER FEDERER IS THE GOAT” – This was recently chalked up on the wall in a local park. Quite unexpected, really, as park graffiti is usually a lot less flattering. Type “Why is Roger Federer” into Google and the search predictions include: “so good”, “so popular” and “a good role model”. It’s all very complementary.

Turbocharged by the pandemic, the shift to remote working looks set to stay. This cultural shift is reflected in large organisations, such as the John Lewis Partnership, announcing they will move to a “blended” working model for their head office staff. This will offer colleagues flexibility in where and how they work, such as carrying