Following adverse consumer reaction and campaigns here on greyhares and on Facebook, Unilever has announced a rethink of the disastrous reformulation of its much loved 200 year old brand, Pears Transparent Soap. The Daily Mail of 7th January reports that "following a deluge of complaints, owners of the brand Hindustan Unilever Ltd which is based in Mumbai…
Looking after mother
Just when one thinks life is free of dependents (children), aging parents suddenly need care. As my children became independent grown ups, my mother entered her second childhood. Her memory failed and she bravely kept up appearances by inventing what she could no longer remember. She invented a full time job, lovers, ‘new’ children and…
A bit of bah humbug does you good
The case for being unsociable: Joe Collier's antidote to the party season. Although many see me as sociable, in reality it is only partly me. In many ways I am much more at home being unsociable, a trait which I believe generally deserves recognition (and respect) as a positive, rather than a negative, attribute. I feel…
Festive hare pieces
There has been a debate going on in the greyhares' burrow1 as to exactly who we represent. The problem is that we have allied ourselves specifically to grey hares but within a fortnight of our launch, two difficulties have been raised - one cosmetic, the other seasonal. What do we do about those who dye…
The Great Pears Soap Disaster
It is one of those small comforts of the morning bath routine. The merest sniff has the power to transport me back to my childhood. A gentle, vaguely biscuity smell like the soft, warm aroma of the linen cupboard; the comforting concave oval shape with indents into which you can fit the old worn bar (waste not,…
Your space or mine?
Your space or mine: a model for relationships? Last weekend I bought an ipod docking station. The shop assistant and I had little in common; unlike me, he was probably in his late teens, he clearly knew all about sound systems (after all he had just advised me on the pros and cons of buying a…
Job done?
During my career I spent years finishing and delivering completed bits of work. And, in retirement this has continued unabated although at a rather different level (last week it was one article, two blogs and some French homework!). Whatever the work, what strikes me as mysterious is how I (or anyone else) seem to be…
Hello piglet, I’m on a train
Verbal molestation: the light and dark sides of broadcast conversation There can be little more invasive than unwanted noise. Aeroplanes, trains, even music (pressed to the loudspeaker at a rock concert, the overloud iPod) can bombard and make life unpleasant, and even painful. Well, that is classic noise pollution for which there are laws; but what about…