To Coyne A Phrase

Grrrr…

CULT film comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy continues to raise a chuckle ten years after it was released.

Get several men (and it usually men unfortunately) of a certain age together and start talking about it and you can bet most of those assembled have a favourite scene or piece of dialogue.

Some of the words of wisdom spouted by Ron and his hapless news crew still resonate today, even in the Midlands business community.

Take, for example, ladies’ man Brian Fantana’s immortal statistic about the success rate of his favourite cologne Sex Panther.

As you may recall Brian tells Ron that the scent is illegal in nine countries and must be good because it is made with bits of real panther.

Just this week the head of a Birmingham-based telecoms firm grew increasingly frustrated at broadband failures and eventually gave up and took himself off to the nearest pub.

But before he went he described the broadband issue to his staff and in doing so he chose to mimic Fantana’s words about Sex Panther: “60 per cent of the time it works every time.”

Stay classy Birmingham.

Custard’s last stand

SWANKY cocktail bar The Edgbaston appears to have gone a bit Heston Blumanthal with some of its concoctions.

The Birmingham drinking establishment – part of a new boutique hotel – has created what might be seen as a liquid equivalent of Heston’s snail porridge with its custard-infused ‘Local Legend’.

But it can’t be as bad as it sounds as bartender Robert Wood has won a cocktail competition hosted by Langley’s No. 8 Gin with his cocktail drawing on local flavours and ingredients, including Bird’s custard (which was local until the company relocated to Banbury in 1964).
 
The brief set for Birmingham’s bartenders was to create a cocktail oozing local flair. Wood’s creation took inspiration from a classic cocktail recipe called the Bees Knee’s apparently.
 
He used local honey from Birmingham’s apiaries and the aforementioned Bird’s custard. Strongly flavoured distillates, including toffee, cream and the custard gave his cocktail a distinct taste which wowed the judges, we are informed.
 
Stuart Insall, owner of The Edgbaston said: “Robert’s skills are unsurpassed and this award is a welcome addition to the range of awards our sister hotel and cocktail lounge, The Kenilworth, has amassed.”

I’m not sure the cocktail would be for me but then again, in the words of Ron Burgundy “I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly . . . ”

Happy talk

I THOUGHT that it was impossible to put a price on happiness but apparently I was wrong.

It seems 49% of workers in the West Midlands are unhappy – 7% above the national average – and the cost of putting that right is exactly £476.

We are told a year spent on social events and training for employees can increase workplace happiness by 35%, compared to just a 3% increase in response to a £5,000 salary increase.

Really?

The price of happiness survey saw office supplier Viking poll more than 1,000 staff in businesses of no more than 50 employees across a range of sectors, from financial services and IT to manufacturing and education, to discover the key factors in being happy, or unhappy, during their working day.

It revealed that employees in small businesses in the West Midlands believe training and development, benefits such as flexible working and social events and regular company updates from bosses are as important as a pay rise.

Takes all sorts I suppose.

If money’s not the answer, perhaps Ron Burgundy’s legendary team pancake breakfasts are the way forward.

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend.