DALLAS -- Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, chairman of the troubled Stanford Financial Group, surrendered to FBI agents in Virginia Thursday afternoon, his attorney said.
Law enforcement officials said Stanford is in custody after surrendering in Stafford, Virginia. Authorities plan to unseal an indictment charging Stanford on Friday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Source: Associated Press
Stanford first came to prominence when he sponsored English Cricket's Super Series match where players received a million dollars per man for winning and nothing for losing.
It seems more and more of businesses that fall into financial trouble will have huge effects and implications for sport. Sport, finance and business are nto happy bedfellows. Some of the Corinthian spirit of sport has been lost. Money is more important than achievement.
How do you feel about this?
Friday, 19 June 2009
Scotland's Top Tourist Destinations
As part of the SG Administration Course I asked one of my classes to come up with their favourite top ten of places of interest in Scotland.
1. Loch Ness
2. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
3. Loch Lomond
4. Wallace Monument, Stirling
5. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre
6. Hampden Park, Glasgow
7. Stirling Castle
8. Cairngorms
9. Blair Drummond Safari Park
10. St Andrew's Old Course
I was quite surprised with some of the landmarks, though it has to be remembered that perhaps pupils in Hamilton would have a different perspective on things than pupils in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen, Ayr, Inverness etc. For example, the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre may not get as high a placing from pupils in Thurso, Ullapool, Stranraer or Dumfries.
I suppose it was inevitable that Loch Ness would come up as number one!
If you can think of any omissions please post a comment. I will try and discover the real top ten in terms of official visitors.
1. Loch Ness
2. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
3. Loch Lomond
4. Wallace Monument, Stirling
5. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre
6. Hampden Park, Glasgow
7. Stirling Castle
8. Cairngorms
9. Blair Drummond Safari Park
10. St Andrew's Old Course
I was quite surprised with some of the landmarks, though it has to be remembered that perhaps pupils in Hamilton would have a different perspective on things than pupils in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen, Ayr, Inverness etc. For example, the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre may not get as high a placing from pupils in Thurso, Ullapool, Stranraer or Dumfries.
I suppose it was inevitable that Loch Ness would come up as number one!
If you can think of any omissions please post a comment. I will try and discover the real top ten in terms of official visitors.
SLL Golf Festival 2009
I was fortunate enough to take part in this year's SLL Golf Festival held at Hollandbush Golf Course in Lesmahagow.
Hamilton Grammar were represented by Cameron Graham, Jack Neiland, and Dean Johnstone. We took part in a fun Texas Scramble, but sadly the weather was terrible. It rained all day and it was incredible that the course held up so well.
Jack and Cameron were booming drives down the fairway, while myself and Dean struggled to match them. Our contributions were really in putting, though Dean did strike the shot of the day with his 3 wood onto one of the par5s. We worked well as a team, even though there were a few holes I didn't even drive off due to not being able to hold the club in the wet.
Our good scoring was let down by 3 bogeys, but even so we shot a 66. Sadly we were just pipped by a very strong Lesmahagow side who naturally had local knowledge.
Our lads did the school proud and hopefully we will be back next year to have another run at the title.
Hamilton Grammar were represented by Cameron Graham, Jack Neiland, and Dean Johnstone. We took part in a fun Texas Scramble, but sadly the weather was terrible. It rained all day and it was incredible that the course held up so well.
Jack and Cameron were booming drives down the fairway, while myself and Dean struggled to match them. Our contributions were really in putting, though Dean did strike the shot of the day with his 3 wood onto one of the par5s. We worked well as a team, even though there were a few holes I didn't even drive off due to not being able to hold the club in the wet.
Our good scoring was let down by 3 bogeys, but even so we shot a 66. Sadly we were just pipped by a very strong Lesmahagow side who naturally had local knowledge.
Our lads did the school proud and hopefully we will be back next year to have another run at the title.
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Social Enterprise Award
The pupils of Hamilton Grammar received the Social Enterprise Award given by the Social Enterprise Academy. The ceremony was held at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow yesterday.
Our pupils received the award for the excellent work by Mr Dyer and the Eco Group for all their work for Ghana, Mrs Breen and the Frozoz smoothie company, and Mr McGowan and Young Enterprise's Carbon Offset initiative.
The certificates were presented by Sandra Ewen, MBE, of Determined to Succeed. Hamilton Grammar were the only High School in South Lanarkshire to receive an award this year - another great achievement by our pupils.
One of the guest speakers included Rachael Arnold, who was formerly part of the Virgin Group but who now runs Impact Arts - which aims to help develop young bands. Rachael's speech was truly uplifting and inspirational.
Once again we are all very proud of the pupils for all their hard work and we are just a bit sad that not everyone could attend the event due to the South Lanarkshire Sports Day!
We would like to thank everyone at the Social Enterprise Academy and in particular Claire Fraser for all her hard work in organising the event.
Our pupils received the award for the excellent work by Mr Dyer and the Eco Group for all their work for Ghana, Mrs Breen and the Frozoz smoothie company, and Mr McGowan and Young Enterprise's Carbon Offset initiative.
The certificates were presented by Sandra Ewen, MBE, of Determined to Succeed. Hamilton Grammar were the only High School in South Lanarkshire to receive an award this year - another great achievement by our pupils.
One of the guest speakers included Rachael Arnold, who was formerly part of the Virgin Group but who now runs Impact Arts - which aims to help develop young bands. Rachael's speech was truly uplifting and inspirational.
Once again we are all very proud of the pupils for all their hard work and we are just a bit sad that not everyone could attend the event due to the South Lanarkshire Sports Day!
We would like to thank everyone at the Social Enterprise Academy and in particular Claire Fraser for all her hard work in organising the event.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Yasmina is the Apprentice 2009
Well don't say I told you so. Yasmina was declared the Apprentice tonight, after narrowly beating Kate into the runner-up position.
The final task was to create a new chocolate brand with the two finalists getting help from some of the other contestants.
Kate went for Choc D'Amour which had pretty naff packaging and her pricing was way out. However the product was tasty, her pitch was excellent and the idea of chocolates for him, for her, and to share, was innovative. And their video was quite good.
Yasmina went for Cocoa Electric and came up with some hideous flavours. Strawberry and Basil seemed to be the one that turned the most stomachs. However Yasmina got her packaging spot on, and her pricing was in the right ballpark. The product itself would probably not get many repeat sales, and her presentation was stilted to be kind.
When it came to Sir Alan's decision I knew he'd go for Yasmina. Why? Because Kate was such a fantastic and obvious winner it would make bad TV. The same happened the other week when Susan Boyle lost the final of Britain's Got Talent when we all know she was without question a unique talent that was the best there has ever been in the history of any Simon Cowell production.
It was too obvious.
It seems these days true talent is often being overlooked for the unpredictable option. That only works every so often, but if things go wrong then people will line up and say "Was that a good decision?".
Kate should have won.
Yasmina was solid, but lacked personality and came across quite dour. However she would probably follow Sir Alan's orders without question. She would manage, but would she lead? Is Yasmina capable of taking whatever he threw at her to the next level?
Kate on the other hand is bright, bubbly, self-controlled and sharp as a tack. Her communication and presentation skills are second to none. She held it together in interview (unlike Yasmina, thereby making a mockery of the whole process) and she also displayed excellent team working and sales skills. She also showed she has a creative side and displayed leadership for example telling Ben off that he had overstepped the decency line with his rude name for the chocs, or taking over from Kimberly in the advert shoot.
Kate was the all rounder and like Alex last year, the best candidate.
Oh well, will we ever hear from Yasmina again? Unlikely. But I am sure Kate has a bright future ahead of her and she will get over this setback, because at the end of the day if someone can't notice your talent then would you really want to work for them anyway?
And it brings to mind the best piece of advice I have ever been given, by Professor Brian Carlisle: "Never stay where you're not appreciated."
So good luck to Kate and Yasmina. But as so often is the case in this unfair and not always upfront world, the best 'man' did not win!
The final task was to create a new chocolate brand with the two finalists getting help from some of the other contestants.
Kate went for Choc D'Amour which had pretty naff packaging and her pricing was way out. However the product was tasty, her pitch was excellent and the idea of chocolates for him, for her, and to share, was innovative. And their video was quite good.
Yasmina went for Cocoa Electric and came up with some hideous flavours. Strawberry and Basil seemed to be the one that turned the most stomachs. However Yasmina got her packaging spot on, and her pricing was in the right ballpark. The product itself would probably not get many repeat sales, and her presentation was stilted to be kind.
When it came to Sir Alan's decision I knew he'd go for Yasmina. Why? Because Kate was such a fantastic and obvious winner it would make bad TV. The same happened the other week when Susan Boyle lost the final of Britain's Got Talent when we all know she was without question a unique talent that was the best there has ever been in the history of any Simon Cowell production.
It was too obvious.
It seems these days true talent is often being overlooked for the unpredictable option. That only works every so often, but if things go wrong then people will line up and say "Was that a good decision?".
Kate should have won.
Yasmina was solid, but lacked personality and came across quite dour. However she would probably follow Sir Alan's orders without question. She would manage, but would she lead? Is Yasmina capable of taking whatever he threw at her to the next level?
Kate on the other hand is bright, bubbly, self-controlled and sharp as a tack. Her communication and presentation skills are second to none. She held it together in interview (unlike Yasmina, thereby making a mockery of the whole process) and she also displayed excellent team working and sales skills. She also showed she has a creative side and displayed leadership for example telling Ben off that he had overstepped the decency line with his rude name for the chocs, or taking over from Kimberly in the advert shoot.
Kate was the all rounder and like Alex last year, the best candidate.
Oh well, will we ever hear from Yasmina again? Unlikely. But I am sure Kate has a bright future ahead of her and she will get over this setback, because at the end of the day if someone can't notice your talent then would you really want to work for them anyway?
And it brings to mind the best piece of advice I have ever been given, by Professor Brian Carlisle: "Never stay where you're not appreciated."
So good luck to Kate and Yasmina. But as so often is the case in this unfair and not always upfront world, the best 'man' did not win!
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Social Enterprise Award
Our school, Hamilton Grammar, will pick up a Social Enterprise Award this Tuesday at the Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Art.
This celebrates the achievements of our pupils who in different ventures have raised money for good causes through an entrepreneurial event.
Our incredible Eco Group lead the way - 3 Green Flags! - and I am delighted their hard work is being recognised yet again. Young Enterprise are also involved since they worked with the Eco Group with gaining sponsors for the Mango plantation in Donkorkrom, Ghana.
Last but certainly not least is Frozoz. This was a venture led by Mrs Brown which had S3 and S4 pupils creating smoothies. The promotional material the pupils made was particularly impressive!
The Social Enterprise inspectors came to visit our school and seemed impressed, so we were invited to the awards ceremony.
It should be a great experience and yet more recognition for our fantastic young people. It will be bittersweet since many of the ones involved are leaving to go to university. But they go with all of our best wishes.
This celebrates the achievements of our pupils who in different ventures have raised money for good causes through an entrepreneurial event.
Our incredible Eco Group lead the way - 3 Green Flags! - and I am delighted their hard work is being recognised yet again. Young Enterprise are also involved since they worked with the Eco Group with gaining sponsors for the Mango plantation in Donkorkrom, Ghana.
Last but certainly not least is Frozoz. This was a venture led by Mrs Brown which had S3 and S4 pupils creating smoothies. The promotional material the pupils made was particularly impressive!
The Social Enterprise inspectors came to visit our school and seemed impressed, so we were invited to the awards ceremony.
It should be a great experience and yet more recognition for our fantastic young people. It will be bittersweet since many of the ones involved are leaving to go to university. But they go with all of our best wishes.
The Apprentice - Final
Tomorrow is the final of this year's Apprentice. In the running for the £100k job from Alan Sugar is Kate and Yasmina.
The two fiesty females won through the interview round which saw the really quite silly James dispatched, along with the lacking in confidence Lorraine, and the rather unlucky Debra.
James made a series of mistakes and came across as to flippant and trivial. He was quite frankly not serious enough.
Lorraine didn't have the CV and skills to compete against her rivals, and I think she knew she was doomed from the off. Lorraine also made a few errors in her CV, but unlike Lee McQueen from last year she could not engineer an escape.
Debra was aggressive and bullish but she did show emotion when James got the sack, but her faux pas was in her choice of referees. They slated her! What chance do you have if you pick a poor referee?
But Kate and Yasmina may count themselves lucky to have went through also.
Kate was accused of lacking passion and being too robotic. I would say she came across a bit false. She knows all the answers to interview questions but lacked the enthusiasm needed. She kept her cool - no bad thing - but perhaps she is too much of an ice maiden.
How Yasmina got through I do not know. She may well be an entrepreneur, but when Claude - one of the interviewers - grilled her over her restaurant's accounts, she was clueless. She didn't know her accounts were filed at Company House and therefore public, nor did she know the difference between gross and net profit! I cannot believe she got through after making such mistakes! In fact if she was on Dragons' Den she would have been shown the door.
Alan Sugar has recently been made Enterprise Czar by the Labour Government, which I am also a bit worried about! Alan chose Lee over Alex last year when Alex was clearly the best candidate and in fact even Kristina was a better candidate that Simon the year before (he was a bit like James!).
I would have taken Debra to the final and in fact I think she is the most capable of all the candidates though she does have to learn how to respect her colleagues, but she will learn I feel.
In saying that in the final it looks like a canter for Kate, but the way Alan Sugar seems to play to the entertainment side of the programme rather than the business side that means Yasmina will win!
The two fiesty females won through the interview round which saw the really quite silly James dispatched, along with the lacking in confidence Lorraine, and the rather unlucky Debra.
James made a series of mistakes and came across as to flippant and trivial. He was quite frankly not serious enough.
Lorraine didn't have the CV and skills to compete against her rivals, and I think she knew she was doomed from the off. Lorraine also made a few errors in her CV, but unlike Lee McQueen from last year she could not engineer an escape.
Debra was aggressive and bullish but she did show emotion when James got the sack, but her faux pas was in her choice of referees. They slated her! What chance do you have if you pick a poor referee?
But Kate and Yasmina may count themselves lucky to have went through also.
Kate was accused of lacking passion and being too robotic. I would say she came across a bit false. She knows all the answers to interview questions but lacked the enthusiasm needed. She kept her cool - no bad thing - but perhaps she is too much of an ice maiden.
How Yasmina got through I do not know. She may well be an entrepreneur, but when Claude - one of the interviewers - grilled her over her restaurant's accounts, she was clueless. She didn't know her accounts were filed at Company House and therefore public, nor did she know the difference between gross and net profit! I cannot believe she got through after making such mistakes! In fact if she was on Dragons' Den she would have been shown the door.
Alan Sugar has recently been made Enterprise Czar by the Labour Government, which I am also a bit worried about! Alan chose Lee over Alex last year when Alex was clearly the best candidate and in fact even Kristina was a better candidate that Simon the year before (he was a bit like James!).
I would have taken Debra to the final and in fact I think she is the most capable of all the candidates though she does have to learn how to respect her colleagues, but she will learn I feel.
In saying that in the final it looks like a canter for Kate, but the way Alan Sugar seems to play to the entertainment side of the programme rather than the business side that means Yasmina will win!
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