But I’m going off on a tangent there and not talking to you about what was really on my mind today. So when the time came to decorate our London home it was my wife who was going to turn it from a house into a home. Part of decorating journey took us to searching for blinds in Reading and that’s where we came across a wonderful company called Blind Inspiration. They’re more than just a company who supply you with all kinds of blinds and window coverings and what they achieve is what most businesses are now missing out on – making their customers feel like real people and not just a number. It was the personal touch they gave us that made us feel wanted and also ensured that we parted with several hundred pounds from our credit cards for the blinds that my wife wanted for our second home.

Yes you can probably to go to some God-awful chain store to buy your blinds or you can visit the original blind artisans at Blind Inspiration instead.

Normally taking a walk like this was enough for me to wind down but during one particularly stressful trip I was having trouble sleeping and found it almost impossible to relax at the end of each day. That was when a colleague suggested using a service he frequented who provided Tantric massage in London. Tantra isn’t something I’m overly familiar with (ok I know pretty much nothing about it) so I had to ask for more information. It sounded like a great idea because these practitioners look at your health and relaxation from a holistic standpoint and not just focusing on giving you an excellent massage.

Obviously when I saw the pictures of the practitioners themselves I was extremely tempted to avail of the services – the masseuses were all beautiful young women. Now, now I know what you’re thinking but it’s not that kind of massage but if you’re honest who would you rather receive a massage from? A pretty young woman versed in the arts of tantra or somebody who looks like they used to throw javelins for the East German Olympic squad? Yes and that’s the exact same reason I was more willing to have this type of intense massage too.

After all I’m more of a professional speaker and debater than a DIY guy so I don’t try to work on things I’m not skilled at. It’s the same when my car breaks down or develops a problem. I could have a crack at it myself and potentially make matters worse or I can just drive it to my trusted mechanic and let him do what he does best – fix cars. If you need a speech written or a store opened I’m your guy but when it comes to DIY jobs and things like that they’re just not my forté.

Does that make me less of a man? Well not in my eyes. With the way life goes today it’s literally impossible to get everything that needs to be done all completed in a single day. There’s only 24 hours in the day so I’m pragmatic with my time and invest my time in what I can produce most from which is normally the things I’m good at – like being a political figure.

For me it was seeing how much thought needs to go into a decision like this and just how expensive some vineyards are. And then it all depends on the location of the vineyard, local topography, the quality of the buildings and then of course things like French labor laws and how they affect exactly what you get with your new vineyard investment. It really opens your eyes up to what can and does go wrong with investments of this type and scale if you make even minor mistakes during the whole process.

So if you’re looking for a different type of activity the next time you’re on holiday in France at least go on a vineyard and wine tasting tour and if you enjoy that then maybe look at what you can source locally in terms of agents to show you vineyards for sale in that region. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you can buy for your budget!

What was once just a fad for politicians has become a critical electoral and campaigning tool with candidates from both sides of the divide vying to control online real estate like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook. Some candidates such as Senator Ron Paul have even taken things a step further by avoiding the fund raising and ensuing spending campaign advertising frenzy which most presidential candidates pursue. Instead he favored the use of the Internet and more specifically Internet video to spread his message to potential voters all over the United States. Sadly Senator Paul was not elected President – the current financial crisis the US is experiencing right now would never have happened if he had been.

So does the future of US politics rely on the power of the Internet? Well in a way folks it does because in a true democracy (from the Greek words demos meaning “people” and kratos meaning “power” or power from the people) the voice of the people truly does count and for the first time in known human history all free peoples from all over the world have been able to voice their feelings in the most public possible way and often win popular support by doing so. Current political candidates are starting to embrace the true power of what promoting your political message online and electronic voting can mean for your overall campaign – and it’s not just about the money saved over the use of traditional advertising media.