Adrian Trenholm

1 Oct London bloggers’ bike ride with Jason Womack

GTD coach and Triathlon superstar, Jason Womack , is coming to London at the end of September / start of October. We are planning a bike ride for Saturday 1 October. Riders so far are Jason; polar explorer, Ben Saunders ; IP lawyer and L’etape veteran, Mark Lloyd , and me.

We still need to beg, borrow, rent or steal a bike for Jason, and plan our route. I will post more details as I have them.

Three questions:

1. Do you want to come on the ride?

2. Can Jason borrow your spare bike? Jason measures 5′4″ and rides a frame of between 48 and 50 cm. If you take it to Hyde Park (Jason’s hotel is there) on the 1 October, that’s great, otherwise, comment here and I will work out a way to collect the bike.

3. In case no-one can offer a spare, can you recommend a bike rental place?

Sign up for the ride and offer your steeds and rental suggestions in the comments. Thank you.

2 comments August 30th, 2005

For parents of children with eczema

Hannah, our two year old daughter, has eczema and she is having a pretty bad flare up right now which has lasted for several days. We are using the creams prescribed by our doctor, but as they seemed to have little impact, I searched for eczema resources on Google and found two that we are using now.

First is this useful worksheet to record what your child eats and what ointments / creams you use (pdf) , so that you can build up a list of those things which are safe and those which trigger flare ups.

Second is Coping with eczema: common questions from a Great Ormond Street consultant. In particular, this suggested bathing and creaming routine is helpful (we had been bathing only once per day and applying steroid and moisturiser simultaneously - wrong!). The advice on what “apply sparingly” really means is useful, too.

Recommended daily skincare regime

Early am

Bath/wash containing an oily bath additive

Application of treatment cream (usually a topical steroid)

Mid-am

Application of moisturiser

Mid-day

Application of moisturiser

Mid-pm

Application of moisturiser

Evening

Bath containing an oily additive

Application of treatment cream (usually a topical steroid)

30 mins before bed

Antihistamine medicine

How much steroid ointment should I put on the skin?

Cover the eczema (the red and pink areas of the skin) evenly with a fine film of ointment so that the surface of the skin glistens in the light. The words “use sparingly” on tubes of steroid creams or ointments worry parents and can lead to under-usage. It is important to use steroid preparations “appropriately.”

Since the suggested routine doesn’t quite tally with the worksheet linked above, I created my own worksheet which you can download in MS Word or in pdf.

It may be coincidence, but having started the skincare regime yesterday, there has been a marked improvement in Hannah’s skin. Also, we have been replacing dairy with goats’ milk and dairy free spread for more than a month, but that doesn’t seem to have had an impact, so we have reintroduced dairy yoghurt and we will be monitoring progress on our modified worksheet. If you request it in the comments, I will post periodically about how we are getting on. Also, if you have youngsters in a similar predicament, then please comment, especially if you can share something that has worked for you and your child.

You need to know I am not a medical practitioner. This is just parents talking. What works for us might not work for you. Consult your doctor if you are in doubt. Don’t sue me if this doesn’t work for you. Don’t sue me if the comments don’t work for you.

I need to work out a better disclaimer, don’t I?

Modified eczema worksheet (MS Word)
Modified eczema worksheet (pdf)

Update: four days into this new regime and Hannah’s skin is almost completely clear. This may be coincidence, but we will be continuing with this routine from now on.

2 comments August 29th, 2005

Skype spam

Periodically, I get a message through Skype that someone or other I have never heard of wants to add my to his or her contact list. I refuse the connection on the basis that this unknown Skyper probably want to sell me something. Today this hit a new low. I got a Skype call, which I foolishly answered - instead of trusting my instincts and just blocking the other user. The disembodied voice of the caller checked that I could understand his English, then made a sexual suggestion.

Great, the automated phone spam on my regular telephone is bad enough, now this. It is so depressing when great technology like Skype is abused. What do these people hope to achieve?

3 comments August 28th, 2005

You know you are the parent of a toddler when…

… the tune which you cannot get out of your head is the Edie McCredie theme from Ballamory .

Bonus link for toddlers: the best ever duplo-related blog post .

Add comment August 19th, 2005

Leadership focus: do or delegate?

Phil Gerbyshak pitched in with a super comment on Make things better: aphorism or action item? :

… it may be something that you’d really rather not do, or something that really doesn’t make things better…at least not in the moment. I think the key is to focus on the big picture and see how this fits overall in your life. If you can find a way to fit it in there, it’s often worth doing.

The other thing that I find that often helps is finding someone else you can energize, because it’s more her/his strength than yours… .

I think Phil’s comment is right on the money: “do X” can be reframed as “delegate the doing of X to the most appropriate person.”

For example, after each meeting of the City of London Toastmasters Club , I used to help our Sergeant-at-Arms rearrange the chairs, take down the club banner and generally reset the room. It’s a mundane, but vital thing, because if we leave the room untidy, we might well lose our venue. But this year, I am President of the club. Is it right that I roll up my sleeves and move chairs? Or should I be talking to our guests and signing up new members?

I took the view that my role now is to represent the club with professionalism and show our guests the warmest possible welcome, not snub them because I am busy with heavy lifting. But what an uncomfortable transition. Those chairs need shifting, after all.

In the end, I reframed: instead of shifting the chairs myself, I remind our members to assist the Sergeant at Arms, leaving the VPs and me to talk with our guests and sign up those who wish to join.

Sometimes, leadership focus is as simple as turning “do” into “delegate.”

1 comment August 19th, 2005