Author Archives: Alun Rees

“Seasonal Associate’s” Greetings to Amazon.

We want the service but we don’t want our children to work there. A review in the FT of “Seasonal Associate” by Heike Geissler – available from all good bookshops… “…..This is one of the themes of the book: how it feels to work in a job that has no use for your sparks ofContinue reading ““Seasonal Associate’s” Greetings to Amazon.”

War and Peace 45 years on…

It’s never too late to set new goals or to revisit old ones and, as long as you persist, just about anything is achievable (even passing A-levels). I eventually passed my A-levels in August 1973, (with grateful thanks to the lecturers at Harrogate Tech). I asked my father if he could get me a copyContinue reading “War and Peace 45 years on…”

Little by little – Happy Winter Solstice.

Happy Winter Solstice! Don’t worry I’m not going off on a Pagan kick just taking sometime to enjoy the bleak midwinter. Today, December 21st, is the shortest day of the year. Where I live the daylight will last for 7 hours 49 minutes and 18 seconds. As I used to tell my son, before heContinue reading “Little by little – Happy Winter Solstice.”

40 years on M.K. still asks hard questions.

Forty years ago I was four and a half months in to my first job as one of the two “Resident House Surgeons in the Dept of Oral Surgery” at The London Hospital, now The Royal London. I am still amazed that I got the post, the story of my interview is worth hearing ifContinue reading “40 years on M.K. still asks hard questions.”

Is it me or am I in a supermarket checkout time loop?

Headline from yesterday’s Guardian: “Removing sweets from checkouts could help tackle obesity – study” Every dental professional who ever lived will probably shake their head and roll their eyes, (not a good look), when they read this, and mutter, “Isn’t that what we have been trying to achieve for years, or is it decades?” BackContinue reading “Is it me or am I in a supermarket checkout time loop?”

HPV vaccination (yet) again

July 2018: The Words: “UK Government advisers have recommended extending funding for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines to boys. The HPV vaccine was previously offered to girls aged 12 to 13, with the new recommendation meaning 400,000 boys will also benefit every year. All UK Governments took on board the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunsation’s (JCVI’s) advice.Continue reading “HPV vaccination (yet) again”

Have any lessons from Theranos been learned?

“…some employees who raised concerns were fired and others resigned. A combination of secrecy and a pugilistic tendency for legal skirmishes prevailed under the founder’s view that she required absolute loyalty…” “How could the markets have been so misled? Flawed human nature predicts our ability to succumb to overselling and inflated claims. The company hadContinue reading “Have any lessons from Theranos been learned?”