It is another year, what next?

Having collected my winnings based on a quadruple accumulator of Leicester City/Brexit/Theresa May becoming Prime Minister/President Trump all happening before Strictly Come Dancing announces Ed Balls as champion, I am now trying to work out what 2017 has in store.

Meanwhile, the Soap Box rumbles on. The trouble with writing a Soap Box though is that it is okay for you to believe what you believe but it is not okay, however, for you to insist that everyone else believe the same as you. Once you grasp that concept you become a better person. Well, that is what I believe, the rest is up to you. Unless of course you are either a) talking about specific instructions to operate something or meet standards when there is no argument—as it must be done the way that it is intended, or b) my wife.

So, when I came across some less well used words, I thought what a great wheeze for an autohagiographer, which I suppose some people will accuse me as being one as well as being inaniloquent at the same time. You just cannot please all the people all the time.

I cannot help it if I suffer from kakorrhaphiophobia (there is a word a kakorrhaphiophobic would not want to see in a spelling competition). At least I am not accused of dunandunating—absolutely. But I know of many who do and it can be annoying. Amongst my favourites must be hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian. Why use a five-letter word when you can have 30? That is more letters than an alphabet.



This all came about from my seeing the Japanese word ‘tsundoku’, the definition of which is the act of buying a book and then not reading it—just adding it to that pile of unread books by the side of your bed. I thought how many other times do we get something, put it in a drawer or cupboard and never ever use it? That goes for both physical and ethereal things. I was thinking of the number of tools I have in the shed that looked, in the shop, as if that will solve a problem I thought I may have. The reality is that the said tool is still in its original wrapping and untouched gathering dust on the shelf.


Who reading this Soap Box ‘learnt’ a foreign language at school and has since never used it? Dos cerveza por favor does not count. My thoughts were that with such a faster ever-changing business and social world going on around us, how on earth do we know that what we are learning now is useful or should be confined to the bookcase?

Take vinyl application. One material manufacturer will insist you fit it one way, while another manufacturer swears by their method being the correct one. What actually happens is that the fitter does it the way his experience tells him is best. That is of course if the fitter is not a mumpsimus.

Take stock

Sales training, that is another one. One of the things you will be told is that around 80 percent of your conversation will be forgotten by the time you have left the premises and driven off down the road. In other words, only 20 percent of your time spent with a customer will make any difference. This may explain a lot about soap boxes, but makes you think what the right contents of that 20 percent are to get the order.

Samples. How many times have you been given a free sample only for it to languish on the floor by the side of your desk or work bench for ages or until a time that you notice it but forget what it is for. You never appreciate what you have until its gone, toilet paper is a good example.

Seriously though, it is tough enough trying to run a business, do your job properly, meet deadlines, deliver to expectations, and make profits rather than mistakes. No time to worry if that book is just going up on the shelf unread.

But maybe, just maybe it would not hurt to take stock and consider using something you already have, but in a different and unique way that others are simply ignoring or not recognising. For example, there are materials and substrates out there that are not exactly forgotten about, but are definitely not used to their full potential. The same can be said for machinery such as flatbed routers or printers or inks—the list is endless. All because we bought into something, but did not give it the time and effort to make an effect.


Normally I am right 98 percent of the time. The other 3 percent is when I have to solve maths problems, but we all suffer from tsundokuism (if there is such a word) in some form or another. Me? I am just a gongoozler who enjoys a bit of strikhedonia from time to time.


Public Notice:

• You cannot force everyone to believe the same as you
• We often have things we do not use
• Consider using something you have but in a unique way
• Use material and substrates to their full potential

The British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA) history dates back more than 70 years when a group of leading sign-makers
formed the Master Sign Makers Association (MSMA) with the aim of promoting the sign industry and defending its interests.
For more information on the issues discussed in this article visit www.bsga.co.uk or tel: 0845 338 3016

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