I was totally unaware until I read Susanne's comment to my last post that The Rotherham Advertiser had picked up on the story of my 'dismal' trip to Rotherham...
I definitely won't be able to show my face there again now will I ?
Anyway it's all good publicity for the Riverside Cafe, whose owner was quoted as saying of my laptop usage: 'She plugged in for two hours without asking'. (Having just checked the Dell website my laptop is equivalent of a 200 watt lightbulb so the cost of 2 hours' use is actually c6p).
Here's a few ideas for the Riverside Cafe to take advantage/generate a few bob from its new found fame:
- Introduce new promo - 'Free hour's laptop use with every latte'
- New PR positioning and signage encouraging people to travel from miles to experience 'Rotherham's Rudest Cafe'
- Blue plaque outside: 'Entrepreneur and TV Dragon wrote her second book here'
- Dartboard with pic of me on it, 50p for one dart £1 for three
Anyway, Riverside Cafe (no relation to the River Cafe I take it?), I'm sure you're on top of it.
Glad to read that Rotherham has undertaken lots of initiatives to re-generate the town, but interested to note the results of the readers' poll - 85% agree that yes, Rotherham IS dismal.
Rachel
40 comments:
I would have thought it would be good to show your face again there at the cafe, looks like tou've done them a BIG favour, perhaps when you go there next time, you'll get FREE latte's and as much internet use as you like. A way of saying Thank You!! :-)
thedlog
I found out the other day that my parents didn't choose me. I chose them. I can't remember doing so. How strange the sub concious mind is. Knowing this, makes me a free man.
Just think this way Rotherham and some day, you too will be free. lol
hi dlog.. thought you'd do some blogging today, rather than all that incessant twittering! lol
omg... i've turned back into MrRobot. haha
"Spam for dinner darling.. "
"No... i said spam not rotherHAM."
lol
Mr Robot - whoever you are!!
I actually quite like tweeting, have been blogging also though, cant leave either alone :-)
thedlog
Rachel; you come across as a metroplitan sneering snob.
Did they know who you are?
Probably.Failed businesswoman with a far too enhanced sense of her own self importance.
Rather pathetic IMHO
Anonymous, do you know Rachel, I mean really know Rachel, I suggest that you do not, so FUCK OFF.
How typical.Just the sort of comment you would expect in support of this snob.
She's so far up her own backside I'm surprised you find room to be there too.
I shan't descend to your level by the use of needless profanity, if that's the sort of cogent argument her supporters use then I'd have to say Peter & Theo are better custodians of red letter days.
The majority of the UK population regard Ms Elnaugh in the same light as David Icke these days. She's a joke & not a funny one.
Anonymous @12.01. I'd suggest you take up sex & travel yourself, but I'm not so coarse as you to put it in quite that way.
But outside of London we have some manners.
I agree.
But I won't be as poncey on my language. She's a fucking snob.
Well are obviously not from outside london then.
Rachel is not stuck up her own arse, she is a good Lady who is relentless in helping others, so why dont the likes of you, and your band of merry men show her some respect, respect that she so rightly deserves.
And what facts have you to establish such a comment that she most of the UK regard her as a joke?
I suggest you get your facts together first, then you can start throwing your accusations around.
thedlog
you probably dont even know what a snob is, and Rachel is deffinately NO SNOB, so there again get your facts together first then let us all have some decent input from you.
thedlog
The facts are all there in three posts dlog,all self evident by her attitude to this small business & her own self importance.
Please, in your rush to justify her provincial snobbery, do not judge us all by your own low standards. She is sneering at the values of this business owner.
Seems like snobbery to me.
And I work in the business media, fyi. The Rachel Elnaugh brand is regarded as ludicrous mate. No serious editor would entertain having her in their pages.
Even scientologists are taken more seriously. Of course, you are known as an Elnaugh apologist of long standing & are therefore incapable of seeing how crass these criticisms of a struggling small business are.
If I was a small business person, having read these, I'd not be seeking La Elnaugh's advice.
I'd be sticking pins in my eyes first, then looking up David Icke in the Yellow Pages.
anonymous. You sound more like a conspiracy theorist so perhaps you would be more at home on David Ickes forum.
He's a raving lunatic too. I know, i often have fights with his minions.
Goodness me this little issue has created a lot of controversy.
Hmmm 'rather stick pins in my eyes', sounds like a Theo conspiritor...
Do feel we've lost sight of the issue though...
By the way, David Icke has now gained a loyal and credible following.
R
DI's forum would be much more credible if he actually frequented it from time to time.
There used to be a lot of talk about spiritual development on there, which has now been replaced by the new world order of the complete crackpot.
S
By the way. You can talk to Robbie Williams on the DI forum. When he's not performing on the beeb of course.
Well Mr Anonymouse your involvement says it all, MEDIA, from the media I used to think David Gold was a "stuck up his own arse little arrogant shit", because of the Media, but have learnt not to judge peope until one has actually met with someone. So we must all learn NOT to judge anyone until we have actually met and spoken to them.
So unless you have met Rachel and spoken with her, or anyone for that matter, do not judge, as you maybe very sadly mistaken, as you are now.
Furthermore the media is a propaganda machine anyway, so that just about sums you up.
thedlog
By the way.
I vote for Rachel as the next member of parliament for Rotherham. lol
Poor old DLog, spinning round in circles.
In his own words
"have learnt not to judge peope until one has actually met with someone. So we must all learn NOT to judge anyone until we have actually met and spoken to them.
So unless you have met Rachel and spoken with her, or anyone for that matter, do not judge, as you maybe very sadly mistaken"
and then a few seconds later he says
"Furthermore the media is a propaganda machine anyway, so that just about sums you up."
But,Dlog, in your own words, we have never met so you shouldn't be judging me. Can't have it both ways old boy! This is the problem with you & Rachel, you want things both ways. Like the pushmepullyou, you face both ways at one; & two heads means two faces for you both.
Point made, perhaps you Dlog will go back to emulating Rachel's sneering!
& David Icke is no more credible than she is.
Anonymouse.
FACT: the media is a propaganda machine, full of lies, want proof? Feel free to contact me. The media//TV let you hear and see what they want you to hear/see, and/or have been instructed to by the string pullers.
So no, not poor old dlog, been there seen it done it.
So anonymouse, looks like you have judged wrongly, again. Oh, and you still have not told us when you met Rachel on any sort of level to be able to pass such stringent judgement on her.
thedlog
Well do you know over the years I have been featured in every business publication from the FT to Director to City Pages of The Sun, and on the cover of many of them. Whatever you may wish to say about my credibility Anonymouse, this week alone the head of the Small Business Service invited me to a reception at St James Palace with Lord Mandelson, I was invited to become an ambassador for Women in Enterprise, I sat on the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group at the House of Commons and went on to present at an Awards Ceremony.
Over the next two weeks have no less than 8 speaking engagements at enterprise events plus my sessions as an Entrepreneur in Residence at the British Library Business Centre. Oh and will be at the Princes Trust Awards as one of their ambassadors and at HSBC Start Up Stars Awards as a guest of David Flowers head of Business Banking,
And in last 12 months have won two awards as a Champion for Enterprise.
As I'm sure you move in the same circles Anonymouse, why not come up and have a chat with me at the next event?
R
Ooops, forgot to mention, James Caan offered me an office in his HQ in Mayfair.
For someone in the 'business media' you seem sadly behind the curve and not really up to speed with what's going in the enterprise sector anonymouse. Would you like me to write a monthly column for you to help out?
R
Touched a nerve methinks! The ego has landed, eh Rachel?
Its what dragons do isn't it?
Rustle other peoples feathers.
Is Rachels way any more or any less than the image conveyed?
I think not. It is entirely consistent with her markets expectations of her.
Like her or loathe her. The image is consistent.
And who can argue that she covers more ground in one week than most people do in a year.
Anyway, there is no such thing as anonymous people. So i think we should ignore you, because you are not real anyway.
There should be a protocol for human communication on this blog. Is should at the very least require two human beings to hold a conversation. Anonymous is not human.
Love the banter! Something I have noticed is that whenever you start doing something well in business, people put you down.
Why you may wonder? The reason is that they are jealous that you may become successful than them and they are also too scared to pack-in their dead end jobs and take a risk.
Success is the ability to move from one failure to next with enthusiasm. Many may know that the majority of today's most public entrepreneurs, such as Richard Branson, Duncan Bannatyne etc have all had so called failures on their books.
So, all I can say is go Rachel.
Dave Hawkins
Issac Newton once said when asked how he came through the many failures in his experiments.
He said, i knew that every failure was a stepping stone to success and i knew i would never have to tread that same stone again...
Something like that anyway.
So get failing boys and girls.. lol
Many people visualise success, but the best therapy is enduring visualising failure. It does make you tougher somehow.
Anonymouse, if I knew who you were I would introduce myself to you at the next event...
However I have a feeling that even if you revealed your identity to me I still wouldn't know who you were.
R
Thought I'd point out, I don't the matter of the cost of you plugging your laptop in is the issue at all here. It's no doubt more to do with the fact you didn't ask if you could (Manners will take you a long way here in good ol' South Yorkshire.)
I'll be the first to admit Rotherham IS dismal, but it's OUR dismal town and I wouldn't change it for the world nor would I rather live anywhere else.
Your suggestions for "healing Rotherham" you would realise are ridiculous if you knew anything about Rotherham, we aren't designer gear, big money, arts and crafts, or posh names for coffee (It's either white or black, quite simple) and lets be fair we never will be.
It's the grim North, we're never going to be Covent Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, or Winchester, and I'll be honest I don't think many people want to be!
They do say "to the enlightened person, everywhere is the same".
I wonder if they included Rotherham in that. lol
READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!
John and Edward to star at the Riverside Cafe, Rotherham.
No entry to Celebs and laptop owners..!!
I've lived in Rotherham for 3 years. My love affair with it started when I was 18/19 years old and spent my weekends at the famous New York New York nightclub. Despite coming from Sheffield, I have found and always will feel that Rotherham is a much safer, Happier & Friendly place. I'm proud to say that I live here with my wife who's a Rotherham lass herself and that our 7 month daughter is born & Bread here, given the best healthcare by the local hosptial.
Rotherham's a proper real northern town that doesn't pretend to act it's something it isn't unlike the city next door. The people here much prefer a mug of Milky Coffee as suppose to a paper cup of overpriced, branded chain 'Latte' and a Hot Roast Pork Sarnie to a Panini (take note Jamie Oliver).
To the people of Rotherham. A Trip to Starbucks is an luxury payday treat as suppose to part of their daily routine. Then again the nearest Starbucks is a bus ride away to Meadowhall. More to the point: Do the bigwigs at Starbucks know where Rotherham is?
Retail sectors have ingored Rotherham in favour of Sheffield or Meadowhall being 'More Fruitful'. I've been begging the company I've worked for years to have a store or some Retail presence in Rotherham because the potential revenue here would be massive. Don't blame the council, but the ingorance and snobery of all companies in the Retail sector for giving Rotherham the blind eye.
That's a bit of a we're okso we don't want to improve and move forward I'd say. A perfect ingredient to total wipeout. In order to progress and stay on the map one has to move with the times & improve on things, can't stay in the dark ages, yes, in some respects it would be lovely to stay 'old fashioned' this of course can still be the case but add a bit of 'modern' into it and one will flourish. I have seen so many business's do the same as Rotherham, 'we like it the way it is' attitude, it is only a matter of time before they go to the wall.
Sorry if this sounds negative, but it is a fact. And must say again, I think Rachel has done a big favour tithe cafe, people will go there now just to see what all the hooha is about, so once again great bit of marketing Rachel, maybe when the cafe is inundated with custom they may think to thank you. Mind you being rude may get them into the good restaurant guide, same as that Chinese in west end wong kei, it was renouned for being the rudest restaurant, and people only went to see if it was as bad as what was made out, the place today us still buzzing.
thedlog
Whichever way you want to cut it, it's clear from a walk round the town that every other business has closed down, nothing but empty shops , which only means one thing - customers have evaporated. So to restore trade you need to get the customers back. If I were a business still existing in Rotherham I would treat my customers as very precious indeed, it really is a basic of good business, well in fact it's the only basic. No customers = no business whether you are Tunbridge Wells, Rotherham or China.
R
I would want to treat my celeb customers best of all. Because they could make me a pile of money.
Well, thats if i was in business of course.
which i personally am not.
By the way, the 'people of Bakewell' (where I live, population c8,000) don't need 9 pubs, 3 bakewell pudding parlours or countless outdoor clothing shops. But thats where the 2million visitors who come here each year spend their money.
I read this through and sounds like a bit of a storm in a teacup. Which is ok because its all about a tea shop.
Hal.
What an interesting discussion. A self-indulgent boast of former glories, appeared on the front of any credible publications since 2005?
You seem to be living in the past. Could have picked yourself up and proven yourself with a new business venture, but it's a lot safer to do the enterprise circuit where they will pay plenty of money for anyone who’s face has been seen on the telly. It’s difficult to get speakers who’ve actually been successful as they tend to have more important things to do, like running their businesses as opposed to criticising pre-historic coffee shops and offering patronising advice!
Rotherham city centre used to be successful and busy until Europe’s largest shopping centre (at the time), Meadowhall was built just 2 miles away in 1990. This is the cause of the town centre’s decline, your advice on this highly complex issue “treat my customers as very precious indeed” suggests a lot about your own decline.
John, yeah you like to put the boot in but do you realise that one of the most endearing qualities of all is that Rachel is always open for criticism.
Can you imagine any of the other Dragons being like that? No, they're all hiding behind there PR cronies, pretending they're whiter than white.
Say what you like, but Rachel is always out there mixing with other people, sharing her enthusiasm.
And shes a mum with 5 kids.
So why don't you think a little before deluding yourself with stereotypes that don't fit?
Er John, cover of Director magazine do for you?
By the way I do run a business still, it exists to help entrepreneurs on their business journey, it is profitable and it is growing, as are the majority of the businesses I have helped/ am helping.
I guess I could set up a stationery business or open a gym or start distributing mobile phones or run a few campsites but this work in the enterprise sector feels more valuable to me somehow.
By the way, thanks to the Cafe Rendezvous at Rotherham Bus Station who tweeted me today to invite me for free latte and Belgian chocolates next time I am in town.
Not quite sure when that will be but thank you for the offer!
R
Post a Comment