One Question

Answering Those Everyday Questions

Jan 27

More Charm!

by onequestion

We were delighted by the responses we received to our little charm article, so we thought we’d extend the topic a little further and see where we get.

Thanks also to Chairman Peter who brought us a copy of a fabulous, if somewhat high brow, magazine called Monocle which has an article on charm this month. It seems like they travel the world rather more than us poor folk stuck here in Manchester, but nonetheless just because their examples span the globe, the basic principle matches ours.

Let’s say that it’s something very human that is broken down by every mechanical or computerised stage that comes between one human and another.

And that’s not to say that human to human interaction is necessarily charming. Far from it. It involves a deliberate or conscious consideration of what the other person’s needs or wants may be, and what might simply improve their day.

We will practice charm at One Question Towers in the hope that it will become our natural demeanour putting us in a stronger position for the human interactions we make today, next week, through life.

There’s a spiritual feel to the One Question office today and we like it. It’s banishing the grim cold and hail that’s threatening our chipper mood. Threatening, but it’ll not penetrate.

We all felt the beauty of charm last night at an Indian in town. While most of the staff there did their usual super polite thing, only one had charm. How she managed a degree of sincerity with her smile and well wishes remains a mystery, but its impact was so different to that of her colleagues. East 2 East. Try it if you’re in town.

I feel a charm page is needed to sit alongside this one. Shame I don’t know how to create it!

Drink Driving Food Health Holidays Home

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Nov 23

How far is it? Lands End to John O Groats

by onequestion

As the elder statesman of the office I have somehow been designated to write this post.

When I was a lad growing up in Cornwall I was obsessed by cycling, and in my early teens I got up several times at some ungodly hour in mid summer to cheers through some crazy cyclist attempting the end to end record.

Back then it was 876 miles that they rode, and the record is now a crazy 44 hours and 4 minutes by a fellow called Gethin Butler.

My use of “back then” above is relevant as the route keeps getting shorter. You can now do it by road in just 837 miles according to the AA routefinder, but it jumps to 916 if you avoid the motorways.

More interesting is the route around the coast. Imagine doing that with a ruler! And the great thing about it is that the smaller your ruler, then further the distance as you’ll be able to get into tighter gaps. The official number of miles around mainland Britain is 11,037. What a walk that would be.

I think we’ll save until next week the distance if you include the islands too. I’ll give you a clue though – it’s a heck of a lot further.

Britain Driving The big wide world

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Nov 4

How do I get rid of my old car?

by onequestion

Ah cars.

Those loveable money pits.

Many love them, other have to have them, fewer hate them, but whatever your position there are a heck of a lot of them out there.

There were 13 million cars sold in Europe last year. That’s a completely staggering figure isn’t it? And they all have to go somewhere.

Buying one is scary. But getting rid of one that’s still perfectly OK at the end of your relationship with it can be harder still. Hereat One Question Towers we all dread the thought of selling a car and until now we have always traded our old ones in against whatever it is we’ve wanted next. We all feel that we could have done better, but we don’t want to have people coming to our homes poking around something we once loved.

We interested in the new place to sell your car, We Buy Any Car. We’ve seen the adverts and we’d love to hear what anyone thinks.

In the meantime – I’m cycling to work today baby.

Broom broom? Not today.

Cars Driving Making money

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Oct 28

How many cars, how many bikes?

by onequestion

How many cars were sold in 2010?

How many bikes were sold in 2010?

I saw these statistics and wanted to share them with anyone who is interested, or just looking for a couple of numbers to quote.

Before I start – as much of Europe is covered in tarmac road as is covered in houses. The stats are free tonight!

Well, there were a stunning 13 million cars sold in 2010 in Europe – that’s huge.

But more interesting, at least I think, is that there were 20 million bikes sold. Blimey!

The resurgence in an interest in cycling in Britain has been credited to our success in track events over the past few years, but it seems it’s not just here, it’s right across Europe that people are getting back on two wheels for the commute, for exercise, or just to get some fresh air in our lungs.

Wear something bright out there.

And use your lights!

Cycling Driving The big wide world

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Oct 17

Why do we drive on the left?

by onequestion

Ah, I love this question as the answer is completely logical, despite the fact that driving on different sides is utterly baffling to much of the world.

Driving on the left is actually the sensible position when you consider that more than 80% (perhaps more than 90%) of the world’s population is right handed.

Why?

Well, despite what you might feel on a day to day basis, we’re actually a much more trusting bunch of people now than we were in days gone by. Back a long you’d pass with a stranger on your right so that your strongest arm was nearest them in case you needed to defend yourself. Likewise knights would pass each other on their right for the same reason. Fancy a bit of jousting?

So why do so many countries drive on the right?

It’s all to do with Empire and pride.

The wily old Frenchman Napoleon was left handed and insisted that his troops passed each other on their left.

From then on the British Empire countries followed one option and French Empire the other – confusing enough already? But when the US won its independence from the Brits it changed most things the British had put in place including which side they drove (their carts) on.

So you see there is good logic behind it all. It’s just confusing when you’re moving between countries.

By the way, the last European country to swop sides was Sweden in 1967 – imagine how much fun driving across the border to Norway was before the change!

Driving

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