Death of the high street… June 27, 2018

Does anybody ever notice how we all get herded along by the ‘establishment’? It’s like we have no say in anything ….until it’s too late. Somebody somewhere has decided that ‘retail is dead’ and that shops are to be condemned to a part of history we’d rather forget.

We’re told that everybody is now shopping on line.

We’re told that everybody has too much stuff and that we should all be downsizing and reducing our reliance on material objects and all become more green and in tune with Mother Earth.

We get hit subliminally from all sides. Newspaper articles, tv programs, books, magazines – all point to this enviable lifestyle where we live simply… and all eat vegan. We see these tanned good looking types who extol the virtues of dairy free and meat free and caffeine free and alcohol free ….most of them are also celibate and aren’t going to reproduce because it’s …’bad for the planet’.

Me …? I think we are all being screwed over.

Somebody decided that there wasn’t enough land in city Centre’s to build all the houses they wanted to build.

Soooo….they decided that the majority of the best space was taken up by bloody great retail stores that were hogging all the prime locations.

Soooo….they decided let’s fuck up retail and get everyone to shop on line thus killing the big stores and forcing them to close down.

Not only do they close down, they close down because they’ve gone bust – they’ve gone bust and the buildings they used to own now get snapped up at ‘pennies on the pound’. The ‘establishment guys’ then jump in, knock down the retail stores and build thousands of flats that they sell for premium prices.

But ….dear reader.

Do you REALLY want to do ALL your shopping on line?

Really? Do you?

Let’s be honest getting the milk delivered is great. The heavy stuff that is just a pain to carry back from the supermarket – great let them drop it off and bring it to your front door.

But …shopping is something we ‘do’ …it’s a bloody pastime. It’s where you meet people. It’s where you rub shoulders with the world.

Not only do you enjoy the experience, what about all the people that are employed doing the job in the first place? What happens to them? What about all the people employed in making the stuff that we like to buy? What happens to them?

Well.

What happens is that …it’s all part of a great big evil master plan.

The ‘establishment guys’ buy up the retail, build the flats – and sell the flats. But then they realise that there aren’t enough shops to service all the people in the new flats and there aren’t any jobs for them to do.

Soooo….they buy the flats back at knock down prices (…the people that bought them haven’t got a job so they can’t afford them). They then flatten the flats and build big retail parks and create jobs and opportunities.

Then because there are lots of jobs and opportunities we need more flats….

Aaaaaarrrrggghhhhhh

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Mike C

 

What Works? June 20, 2018

How can I convince you that we are the company that you should use? Do you want the cheapest or the best? Obviously, you want the best that you can get for your money so maybe you want the best value? Maybe you want to feel like you’ve had a bargain, maybe been given something for nothing?

To be honest I’ve never been one for going cheap. My philosophy has always been ‘you get what you pay for’. From eating out to buying a new pair of jeans, makes no difference – if you go for cheap, you’re going to get crap.

I come across all different steps of people and generally find that ‘cheap’ people – I just don’t get on with. People that like to argue over who had how many poppadum’s when you go for a curry. People that disappear when the bills got to be paid. People that never have their wallet when they’re at the bar – you know the type.

I find this in business all the time. If I turn up on a nice car, I’ve had clients say ‘I bought you that…’ – hmmm don’t think so mate. I bought it through blood sweat and tears – and all my own blood sweat and tears.

Nobody else got a look in, and nobody ever gave me anything.

I’ve had people say ‘you shouldn’t go round to see clients in that car – they will think you’re expensive…’. Why though? I don’t get it. Would you rather have a consultant turn up in a knackered Skoda? What message does that send?

We’re all in the business of selling ourselves. It may sound a bit harsh but that’s all it is. Image and marketing are all part of a glorious selling war where we try and convince new people that we are interesting and credible and able to provide you with a quality service at a reasonable price.

However, of late I have become aware of a new kind of tactic.

Those companies that thrive off the efforts of others.

Japanese knotweed Solutions Limited are the oldest established Japanese knotweed eradication company in the world.

We are a unique company that set about tackling the invasive plant Japanese knotweed from a single species point of view. When we first set up the company – nobody else was doing what we did. Nobody.

Since that time, we have been copied. Copied multiple times by new companies wishing to cash in on our success.

This is business and I understand this is how the world works. What really pisses me off though are the companies that spend nothing on marketing or advertising but the pass themselves off as us. They simply set up using a bastardised version of our name, slap a few gaudy signs on the side of their vans then pretend that they are us.

These companies have even been known to pretend that I work there. Clients asking for Mike Clough have been told – I’m sorry he is away on holiday – how can we help.

My name has even been used as a key word for their search engine profile. Try it – try typing Mike Clough Japanese knotweed and see whose company name comes up. I assure you that it won’t be just Japanese knotweed Solutions name that appears.

I am getting a little jaded after hearing so many companies claim to be the ‘number one’ or the ‘first company to deal with JK’ …

Please be careful when typing in search engines – don’t just type Japanese knotweed – please type Japanese knotweed SOLUTIONS Ltd and get the real deal – not some dodgy rip off merchant trying to make a quick buck.

 Sixteen plus years at the top of the industry doesn’t happen by chance.

 Mike C

 

 

 

 

 

Time June 13, 2018

I once attended a seminar where the speaker was telling us to make the most of every minute of every day – live like it’s your last day on earth.

He pushed the point home by showing a large digital clock on the wall and asking us to imagine that the countdown that was showing was our lives ticking away….12 years 129 days 6 hours 5 minutes and 23/22/21/20/19 etc. etc.

It’s an image that has stayed with me.

Most of us live as though we are immortal wasting time on pointless, unimportant issues whilst opportunities to make the most of our time slips through our fingers.

I have taken to writing endless lists to ensure that I maximise my time on earth. I suppose one could argue that lists are a waste of time – but they do help focus your attention and make sure that targets are met and challenges accepted and overcome.

I take each day as a fantastic new opportunity, a gift to be used carefully to the maximum of my abilities. It doesn’t always work out, I might watch a film that’s rubbish or read a book that leaves me frustrated at hours spent on something with little if any positive message. But at least I’ve done what I set out to do.

I think most of us just wander along in a bit of a daze.

Work, eat, sleep, work eat sleep …and repeat. Maybe broken up by a holiday or the odd day out.

But we do spend a lot of our time waiting for the next ‘thing’ that will make our lives whole. Looking forward to stuff all the time instead of just enjoying the moment. I’ve been guilty of this myself – thinking if I had a certain car or a certain watch my life would be fulfilled and that all would be well.

I have now realised that this is not the case. Cars, Bikes, Watches… are all great but they don’t match up to a day spent with family or climbing to the top of a nearby hill and looking down on the world.

Moments shared with loved ones will always top the list of things that I want to do.

I’ve realised that I’ve spent far too much time working and need to back off and enjoy what’s left of my life with my lovely wife and amazing children as much as I possibly can.

Mind you…. I’ve got so many cars ,watches, bikes, clothes ….maybe I’ve just run out of room.

Mike C

Time June 13, 2018

I once attended a seminar where the speaker was telling us to make the most of every minute of every day – live like it’s your last day on earth.

He pushed the point home by showing a large digital clock on the wall and asking us to imagine that the countdown that was showing was our lives ticking away….12 years 129 days 6 hours 5 minutes and 23/22/21/20/19 etc. etc.

It’s an image that has stayed with me.

Most of us live as though we are immortal wasting time on pointless, unimportant issues whilst opportunities to make the most of our time slips through our fingers.

I have taken to writing endless lists to ensure that I maximise my time on earth. I suppose one could argue that lists are a waste of time – but they do help focus your attention and make sure that targets are met and challenges accepted and overcome.

I take each day as a fantastic new opportunity, a gift to be used carefully to the maximum of my abilities. It doesn’t always work out, I might watch a film that’s rubbish or read a book that leaves me frustrated at hours spent on something with little if any positive message. But at least I’ve done what I set out to do.

I think most of us just wander along in a bit of a daze.

Work, eat, sleep, work eat sleep …and repeat. Maybe broken up by a holiday or the odd day out.

But we do spend a lot of our time waiting for the next ‘thing’ that will make our lives whole. Looking forward to stuff all the time instead of just enjoying the moment. I’ve been guilty of this myself – thinking if I had a certain car or a certain watch my life would be fulfilled and that all would be well.

I have now realised that this is not the case. Cars, Bikes, Watches… are all great but they don’t match up to a day spent with family or climbing to the top of a nearby hill and looking down on the world.

Moments shared with loved ones will always top the list of things that I want to do.

I’ve realised that I’ve spent far too much time working and need to back off and enjoy what’s left of my life with my lovely wife and amazing children as much as I possibly can.

Mind you…. I’ve got so many cars ,watches, bikes, clothes ….maybe I’ve just run out of room.

Mike C

Awards… June 6, 2018

We were recently awarded the title ‘Number 1 – Japanese knotweed contractor in the UK’. The only downside to the award being that …we aren’t …

Don’t get me wrong – we probably are the number one JK contractor in the UK – based on being the longest established company with the best track record of completed projects.

But – dear reader –  nobody voted for us, nobody sent out a random series of questions which – when the answers were compiled – made Japanese knotweed Solutions Ltd the winner of this prestigious award.

No …. somebody simply wrote to us and said would you like the title ‘Number 1 etc.’ and we thought – ‘go on then’. They then of course sent us a bill for the award and the paperwork. Simple as that.

So basically – as meaningful as…. ‘Number 1 bollox bolloxy bollox of the bollox.’

I drove past a local take-away the other day and it has huge posters in the window saying ‘5* Best Restaurant’ – then in smaller letters underneath it followed up with … ‘Best Restaurant for cleanliness in a Balti take-away owned by an independent person (not a chain) in the North of England on the A6 before the second traffic lights’.

Now don’t get me wrong here – but – how many take-away Balti restaurants owned by an independent person (not a chain) are there on the A6 before the second traffic lights?

Answer – none.

So being… ‘the cleanest’… is a bit irrelevant as there are no others to compare it with.

So again, as meaningful as saying … ‘the best Restaurant here on this spot at the moment’.

Basically, bollox then.

What I’m getting at here in my roundabout way is – who do we actually believe is telling us the truth?

 In the past if someone was an award winner it had some kudos. You would think… ‘ooooo this Restaurant won best regional new English cuisine’ and it had some meaning. Now I tend to think …hmmm really …. did they win this or did they just answer an advert saying…? ‘would you like to be a regional winner in the English cuisine category’.

Bollox then

Then we introduce ‘political correctness’ into the equation…?

So …not only do you have to filter through all the potential fake ‘winners’ but then you have to add those that win awards simply through being run by minority groups or having a diverse team front of house. So, they aren’t actually that ‘good’ a place to eat but boy do they push that minority status on the website.

Bollox then.

Cars win awards for being frugal and environmentally friendly. Then we find it’s all a bleeding con run by the big wigs on top of Volkswagen who make millions of quid out of conning us – does anyone get banged up for this …. naaah.

So, you think you’re driving the … ‘cleanest car in its class’, when actually your car is in a class of its own – a class made up by VW – a class called ‘fuck you, you dumb driver who believed what our emissions test results said…’

Bollox then …

I’m actually getting to a point where I don’t believe anything anymore – I’m becoming a cynic.

Today we received a note on headed parliamentary paper asking if we would like to be in the ‘Parliamentary Review’. Others in the office were excited and felt honoured to have been hand selected for this prestigious honour….me I’m just looking for the bullshit detector.

I know how this will go …Lord Arsey Arse will be available to discuss our contribution to the review then there will be an invite to a formal dinner. The dinner in London will be unbelievably expensive and be limited to people that book for 15 or more. The price will be covering all the bloody Lords and their guests getting fed and watered at our expense all for the honour of meeting and being in the same room as Sir Dickless of Poncydom.

Behind the facade of in bred snobbiness they will all be laughing at the naive northern businessmen funding their night of debauchery.

Not me.

More bollox.

So, all bollox then.

Bollocky bollox.

Mike C.

Let’s get Proactive June 5, 2018

Having been established in the Japanese knotweed and invasive weed industry for over 16 years, it is quite apparent that there is a tendency towards a ‘reactive’ nature when it comes to treating problems plants.

More often than not, invasive plants, particularly Japanese knotweed, only get acknowledged when landowners decide to sell or develop the site. Had they recognised the problem from the offset (which could have been years ago when they acquired the site), before the plant becomes more established and widespread, treatment costs wouldn’t be quite so high and more treatment options could be available to them.

Invasive weeds not only hinder development sites, reduce land values and come with an array of legislation, but they can also cause serious environmental issues – they can exacerbate flooding, outgrow native flora and fauna having detrimental effects on biodiversity and natural ecosystems.

Although the best prevention efforts cannot stop all invasive species, Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) is certainly beneficial to any landowner, whether they have 1 acre or 10,000 acres. Identifying and treating any invasive weeds can prevent them from becoming established in the first place, have many ecological benefits and save landowners costs in the long run.

The estimated total cost of eradicating invasive non-native species in the UK is estimated to be £1.7 billion. With Japanese knotweed alone costing the British economy an estimated £166 million per year (Williams et al, 2010). Now, 8 years later, we can only assume that these costs are only going to continue to increase unless we take a proactive approach to protect our land.

JKSL monitor a number of land banks across the UK. Regular surveying of sites, annual or even biennial, can help safeguard against invasive species becoming established on your site. Whether its Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, Giant hogweed, Ragwort, Rhododendron, Japanese rose to mention but a few, do you know which species you have on your site?

If you are interested in monitoring your sites to keep them invasive free, please get in touch on 0161 723 2000 or [email protected].