All posts by : janinepaterson

What a wasted journey 😞

We’ve a broken plane of glass in our greenhouse (2 actually) and need to get it replaced before the growing season really gets going.

We do try to buy as local as we can, so we contacted a business a little distance from us but it’s well known and has a good reputation for quality and having what you need in stock.

So Mr P spoke to them a few days before about popping over, and then drove over specifically one morning.

When he got there the place was deserted, so he gave them a ring:

“Hi, I’m at your door but there’s no answer. Doesn’t appear to be anyone here”.

The glass guy: “Oh, I’m out at the moment. Be back in a couple of hours”.

“We spoke the other day about the glass I need and you said you’d be here so just pop in.”

The glass guy: “Sorry, but I’ll be back around 2”.

Customers can make or break you.

They’ll definitely talk about you to friends and family, especially if their experience is not what they expect – bad news travels fast as they say!

You may be really good at what you do but if you forget why you’re in business, i.e. providing that expertise to your customers, you may as well pack it all in!

Being a one woman outfit, I know this all too well.

I believe I provide my clients the expert advice they need and the best customer experience I can muster – you’ll have to ask them! 😉

Unless it’s me!

When I applied to uni I was torn.

Law or accountancy?

My mum wanted the latter.

She was running the business my dad started after he had died suddenly 6 months previously.

An accountant would be of far more use to her!

But it was a sandwich that made the decision.

Not one of these 🥪, but a thin sandwich degree.

With accountancy it was 3 more years of academia.

But the law degree, although 1 year longer, had a combination of studying and work placements in the real world.

As someone that benefits from practical learning as well as hitting the books, there was no competition really.

And as they say the rest is history.

I have now spent 32 years in the legal world, 17 of those in the wonderful world of advertising and marketing.

Learning not only what the law says, but also what this means in the real world, as knowing what the law says is no good if you don’t know how to apply it in practice.

So if you need some help, you know where to find me.

A sixth sense maybe?

I know dogs are intelligent but sometimes they amaze me.

My hubby and I look at our calendars each morning and decide when, among the Zoom calls, meetings, and all the emails that need answering, we’ll walk Freddie in the afternoon.

The other day, we look through the excitement the day was to bring 😉 and decided on 3.30.

So at 3.27, Freddie came into my office, went under the desk and started nibbling my fingers – one of his way of getting my attention!

He does like punctuality in all things: breakfast, lunch, dinner and bedtime – if on a rare occasion it’s a little later than normal, he will sit by the door asking to go out for his pre bed ablutions, implying we’re stop ups!

And all without a watch, clock, smart phone or fitness tracker.

Cats can do this as well – I had one when I was a child who knew exactly when feeding time was and was very good at showing his displeasure if it was late. 🐈

It would be interesting to know if this ability goes beyond canines and felines.

Sounds like interesting research when I have the time.

That would be useful

One of my neighbours gave me some eggs this week. She has 8 hens so I often get a box.

As we were chatted I was reminded of the first time I looked after the hens for her.

All I had to do was let them out of their enclosure in the morning so they could roam and scratch about in the top part of the garden and then shut them up safe in the evening.

I went to tuck them in and one of the hens was missing. She had escaped somehow from the garden and gone to visit next door. I went and picked her up and returned her to her friends.

The next day the same happened, but getting her back was not so easy.

I went next door and there she was.

She watched me as I approached, and I could see there was a look in her eyes that seemed to say: “On no, not again. You’re not getting me this time!”

And with that, she did a runner. Every time I got close, she would run away.

After about 5 mins of pursuing her back and forth across the garden, I managed to grab her.

Luckily the neighbour didn’t see this, although I may have got £250 from a certain tv programme!

This had been a worry, one of the hens getting out while I was in charge, but luckily there was no serious consequences to her walk-about.

However, when it comes to business, sometimes the worse can happen.

But if you have trouble with your marketing and advertising, you know where to go.

I’m ready for anything,

You know me as an expert marketing and advertising solicitor, but I’m also an exam invigilator at my kids’ former secondary school.

I first got involved with helping the school after the Covid lockdowns. You may remember Covid testing was needed as students returned to in person learning, so I became a tester.

It was an interesting role which provided insights into how humans deal with situations, but that is another story!

When testing was no longer needed, I was asked to train as an invigilator.

When both my girls left to go to uni, I decided to carry on, doing my bit to help the school.

Last week was the first exams of 2024. My only session booked was for Thursday afternoon but I was asked to cover a public exam on the Wednesday afternoon for a student that couldn’t take the paper on the set date.

This can happen due to a number of reasons, like illness or accident. Life is very good at throwing spanners into the works for everyone including teenagers! 😉

However, as I have come to learn, dealing with students means things can change.

When I arrived, they needed an extra person to cover a mock A-Level history paper, as you need a ratio of one invigilator to 30 students.

“Here comes the cavalry” said the lead invigilator as I walked in the room!

Luckily I’m used to things changing. My clients’ needs change, so I need to be flexible.

We may have a call booked to discuss one thing but talk about something else as another issue arose that morning.

This is why my monthly retainer works so well.

It’s like an insurance policy – covering all your legal needs when it comes to your marketing and advertising activities.

Advice when you need it, keeping you on the right side of the law. 

What was she talking about!

We were in Wickes.

We’d been training with Freddie and needed to do a spot of shopping on the way back.

First a birthday present for my father-in-law – a nice bottle of Tullibardine whisky 🥃

Then Freddie had his first trip into Pets At Home. His collar is getting a little tight, so time for an upgrade.

And next onto Wickes. We have a leaky tap in the kitchen so wanted to see if they had a washer.

As they’re dog friendly we could take Freddie in with us and he was impeccably behaved as we wandered around.

We found ourselves in the queue for the checkouts, not for what we went in for though, as they didn’t sell parts.

Freddie sat very quietly watching what was going on.

Suddenly we heard a little girl, who was with her dad in the queue behind us, say:

“Daddy, what is that wiggly worm?”

Looking at Freddie it was obvious what she was talking about!

Her dad tried to ignore her, pretending he hadn’t heard, but the girl repeated her question.

At this point we reached the front of the queue, so didn’t get to hear how the conversation ended. 😂

I believe in being up front about these things, and I’ve certainly experienced this a number of times when my girls were little.

I also believe in being honest when it comes to business.

Sometime the truth can be uncomfortable (although not always embarrassing as well), but you can be sure that I won’t skirt around the issues that matter if we work together.

How did that happen

I hope you were able to have a great festive break and Happy New Year.

My company, JP Legal Assist , reached its 4th birthday yesterday.

I’m really having trouble understanding how much time has passed since I began this new phase of my life.

After working for someone else for 27 years, I wasn’t sure this was a good idea at first.

Making my own decisions and having to do everything myself. 😟

But with encouragement from my husband and former colleagues I took the plunge.

It’s certainly been a bit of a rollercoaster.

There was the first lockdown 3 months after I started trading, followed by the second one 8 months later and then the third one 2 months after that.

Then in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and l lost a Russian client, annoying but understandable!

But I’m still here, helping my clients with the ins and outs of marketing and advertising law.

So here’s to 2024, whatever she may bring. 🥂

We deserve a round of applause.

Well, we’ve made it through 2023.

I can’t quite believe that in less than 2 weeks it will be a new year.

I hope you’re well and looking forward to a break over the festive season.

How are your preparations coming along?

I had a busy weekend, collecting both my daughters from their uni accommodation and hosting a pre-Christmas lunch on Sunday with my mum and brother as they will be away for Christmas day.

Freddie got over excited numerous times as he met new members of the family for the first time.

He definitely enjoyed all the attention and slept very well Sunday night, even giving us a bit of a lie in Monday morning!

Hopefully we will get the tree up tomorrow and the girls can decorate it, making sure they don’t put decorations too low down as I’m sure Freddie will think it’s a new toy to play with. 😂

This is my last email of 2023. Thank you for your support this year.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my emails and didn’t mind me wittering on about things too much.

Normal service will resume on the 8^th January.

Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year. 🥂

I won’t be using them again

My younger daughter lost her phone. It fell out of her pocket on a train and even though she could track it, the rail company haven’t found it.

So it was up to mum to find a new one.

I found a refurbished one on an online site. It seemed a good price and they seemed a good company.

Both my daughters’ phones are oldish, so I decided to buy 2 – a great Christmas present for both of them –  2 birds with one stone you might say.

One phone was to be delivered to my house, for my older daughter to have when she gets back from uni for Christmas. It was delivered within 36 hours.

The other one needed to go to my younger daughter at her uni accommodation in Loughborough.

And so began the saga!

They’d mangled the address, taking the name, house number and street of the delivery address and then the town and postcode from the billing address.

DPD did try to deliver it at my house – the driver had delivered the other one the day before and remembered the postcode but was confused about the rest of the address.

We explained what had happened and rejected the package so it would be returned to the seller.

After 10 days of messages between me and the website trying to get them to deliver to the correct address, they said the package was lost!

A discussion then took place about a form they required, and photo ID (they’ve never seen me so why 😕) so they could start an investigation, which could take up to 10 days.

When I question this, a miracle happens – the seller finds it!

I’d already found a replacement for the “lost” phone, which was delivered within 24 hours, so I’m now awaiting a refund.

It seems their system can’t cope when the delivery address isn’t the same as the billing one.

I try to avoid a certain online retailer that starts with an A and give smaller businesses a chance but that’s where I ended up for the replacement.

It is hard competing with well established companies, but you often do get a better service.

I certainly feel that’s the case when it comes to JP Legal Assist. We may be small but I think when it comes the quality of legal knowledge in advertising and marketing together with the level of service you get, we certainly punch well above our weight.

So annoying!

I think I’ve told you I love reading. 📗

Murder mysteries are my go to – escaping into another world (although there’s nothing wrong with this one).

I have just finished the latest book in the Peter James Grace novels about a detective superintendent in charge of the major crime unit in East Sussex.

The story was about the murder of a farmer and the theft of a breeding pair of dogs and their 5 puppies, who were just about to go to their new homes.

There are a few other stories about characters who are part of the wider tale. One of which these is a family looking to buy a puppy for their 7 year old daughter.

After doing things you’re told not to – including responding to ads on social media – they met the “breeder” in a pub car park where he had various puppies in cages in his van.

The little girl held and cuddled the puppy they’d come to see and another one, which got excited and nipped her nose.

She started to feel unwell. She saw their GP a few times but only got worse, so ended up in hospital very sick.

One of the doctors suspected rabies, which has not been seen in the UK for over 100 years because of our strict quarantine laws. He had seen it when he worked abroad.

I hadn’t realised how bad this disease is – it’s nearly always fatal unless you can vaccinate within 24 hours.

It seemed hopeless until the doctors came across a treatment that had been successfully used in a small handful of cases.

As the book drew to a close, the treatment had started, and the girl was given a 50:50 chance of survival.

The book then finished.

It looked promising, but what happened?

Books should have a beginning, middle and end and all storylines should be tied up.

Sometimes, an update appears in the next book, but that’s not published yet, and may not have even been written.

Looks like I’m in for a long wait.

That’s one thing you won’t get if you work with me – everything will be completed to your satisfaction – promise!