New business year!

by Colin MY COMPUTER TUTOR

Straight back to work on the 2nd Nov after my trip away to Southern climes...and completely forgot to mark the end of my 2009-2010 business year on the 4th.

Last year we launched a big rocket and one of those Chinese lanterns on the 5th, to mark the start of the 'new year'. But because November 5th was so drizzly miserable this year I stayed in the pub (Friday night ritual) and forgot to celebrate business, the deliverance of King James and everything else!

But I did remember to do the necessary mundane things, like start a new spreadsheet for my 2010-2011 accounts and label some new folders for all the receipts and invoices etc. etc.

Hardly a celebration, though!

A few figures for comparison:

No. of new clients 2008-2009 was 61. In 2009-2010 it was 64.

Taught sessions 2008-2009 was 240. In 2009-2010 it was 400

Turnover 2008-2009 was £8406. In 2009-2010 it was £13391

In my first year the average number of lessons each client had was 4. Over two years it's been just over 5. Not sure what that shows...or even if it's significant! Could show that my teaching is so good that they tend to want more lessons, or that they need more lessons because my teaching is getting worse!

How's it going for you?

Colin

October Charity

My October charity is the Ubuntu Education Fund.

Ubuntu is a Bantu word implying "community spirit". It's been more elegantly paraphrased as "I am what I am because of who we all are"

So guess where I've been for the last ten days...

Yes...South Africa!

Hereford Cathedral Choir has just returned from its first tour of South Africa. The very South of South Africa, actually. Cape Town, George and Port Elizabeth with a brief visit to Grahamstown...and then all too soon we flew back for Monday 1st Nov.

I say all too soon - but to be honest, long enough for singing a concert four times...and four church services...with a lot of miles by coach in between. But I'd love to go back and spend more time to take in the country.

What I saw there made me think a lot about where South Africa has come from and where it's going.........so that's my charity for the month.

I said 'Ubuntu' is a Bantu word, but we weren't in the Bantu part of SA. The indigenous language is Xhosa, which is a 'click' language - the 'X' represents the click - and I've been trying to say 'Xhosa' ever since!

Ubuntu is also the name given to a freeware operating system - free to the community, so hence the name. So there's a sort of computery link, not to mention all the clicking that computer users do!

Colin