Other Stories Archive

Earlier this year I ran the London Marathon for a charity – National Association for Colitis and Crohns – which helps people like myself who have either disease.

I’ve had Ulcerative Colitis for 11 years.

Ever since I got back from a holiday in Mexico where I had food poisoning my guts have never been quite right.

Basically the infection kicked off what is a generic condition where you end up with an over-active immune system.

Your guts constantly think they’re being attacked and so are on red alert – with dire circumstances!

For the last 7 years I’ve been taking immunosuppressant drugs, the sort they give transplant patients to stop them rejecting their organs, and I’ve been fine.

But those kind of drugs aren’t great in chronic conditions, so a few weeks ago I went for a colonoscopy and was given the all clear.

My colitis is in remission! 🙂

I’m now part of a trial where I’m undergoing hypnotherapy every week because they’ve discovered a link between IDB and stress!

Hopefully this’ll work and it’ll never flare up again but at least I’ve gone from taking 8 pills a day to only taking 4, my immune system is back to what it was 7 years ago and I don’t have to be so worried about the long term effects of the drugs.

I heard from the NACC yesterday that we raised the most out of the 30 NACC runners in the marathon this year, contributing nearly £8k to a £46k pot which will go to help fund research and support for folks a lot worse off than I am.

Thanks again to everyone who supported me and here’s to the next 7 years!

Our adCenter Team are throwing a party this Saturday 6th September in aid of Barnado’s in Central London.

The venue – http://www.adamstreet.co.uk/

It’s part of a drive to raise £10k to re-vamp and spruce up the Sunrise Children’s Center in Kent

Check out more details here:

http://www.justgiving.com/microsoftadvertisingcommunityproject

If you’re interested in coming please email me through the blog or ping me on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/MelCarson 

I’ll sort you out some tickets in return for a donation 🙂

It should be a great night and all for a very worthy cause!

I was at The Oval on Friday for South Africa’s drubbing at the hands of England’s cricket team.

As Flintoff’s been saying, Pietersen’s confidence is rubbing off on the team and it certainly looked like it as they thwacked the Saffers all over the park and again yesterday at

Lords.

At the end of one over, after Patel got one of his five wickets, Kevin ran about 70 yards to shake his bowler’s hand and thank him for his contribution.

I, like many others, was worried that Pietersen’s confidence and imperious nature would have a detrimental effect on the team and that he couldn’t captain anyone else but himself.

So far he’s proved us wrong and has been nothing less than impressive both on the field and when interviewed.

I love the quote from him about being under the South African cosh after the test series:

“Pressure is a privilege!”

Anyway these photos we taken with my HTC TYTNII using the Panorama setting.

I think the lens is screwed up because they add the blue haze but in fact they’ve turned out ok!

The one above is of Freddie fielding right in front of us!

Just been sent this site by my brother: http://producten.hema.nl/

Don’t click on anything once the page has loaded – just wait……..

Just chatting to Dan about my Media Week post about not having nothing to say some days!

This is the view from the office I’m in in Redmond:

Can’t see the wind through the trees right now but expect some more content on the Media Week and adCenter Blog soon!

In the meantime here’s another pic of me and Dixon at PubCon in Las Vegas in 2006.

We’re in the Ghost Bar and are coordinated for once!

Not often I’m right about music but I did tip this the Irish band – The Script – back in April!

Their debut album just went straight in at Number 1. I have it and it’s fabulous!

Was dragged kicking and screaming to see Mama Mia The Movie on Saturday after my cricket match was rained off.

It’s actually a really good movie!

The cast is just perfect and it’s nice that Pierce Brosnan can’t sing a note because the guy he’s playing probably couldn’t sing either.

Meryl Streep should get an Oscar and, as usual, Colin Firth stole the show with a perfect rendition of the bumbling English fellow who’s got more to reveal than he first looks like he possibly can.

Sadly for me, one of the highlights was when Streep’s son-in-law-to-be – Sky – says he wants to set up a web site for their Greek Villa Hotel to help get more paying guests.

He utters something like, “if I market it well, I’m sure we can do some really good business!”

Nice to see blockbusting scriptwriters understanding that it’s not just good enough to have a web site but that you need to market it as well!

Check out The Mama Mia Web Site for more fun and frolics 😉

My morning train ride from North Sheen to London Victoria can be a cacophony of sound and vision at times.

The commute itself is just 30 minutes and you have to change at Clapham Junction, but you do have lots to look at and hear, especially the odd balls that get on too.  

Not least the guy who boards the train with a bag containing a china bowl of porridge.

He begins to eat it with a metal spoon while reading the paper, oblivious to those around him wondering just how bad his time keeping and organisational skills are that he can’t even get up in time to have his breakfast.

Goldilocks he ain’t!   

Today I sat next to a guy who had printed out the instructions on how to use his iPod in colour and was reading them on the journey into work.

He was obviously very excited….. 

Bless! 🙂

Back in January I wrote about How Not To Write Email Confirmations and how so many companies get the subject line so badly wrong.

I just got the above subject line in a marketing email from Agent Provocateur!

Buxomly Brilliant!

Staff here at Microsoft Advertising have got together to take some time out from the rigours of daily life in online advertising and decided to put a bit back into society.

Over the next few months, groups of us will be going down to the Sunrise Children’s Centre in Kent (part of Barnardo’s )to help revamp their facilities including their sensory garden, games room and outside play area.

No XBox? We might have to do something about that!

In order for us to complete the work we need about £10k!

I’ve kicked off the donations with £150 on behalf of Dave Naylor who I did a deal with to revamp this blog, and what a great job he and his guys did!

If you can spare some cash, the children at Sunrise could do with all the help you can give.

For more information, please check out our Microsoft Advertising Community Project Site!