Arrived at the office today to find strange, multi-coloured hieroglyphics all over our cobbled alleyway. Looks like Thames Water have finally carried out their threat to renew the area's aging Victorian pipework - with the dire consequence of interruption to our water supply. Some years ago I wrote their slogan "Running water for you". Cross fingers there'll be running water for us in the days to come.

The Ashes is whipping up every bit as much excitement as the Twenty/20 cricket World Cup. And there's a lesson there for every marketeer. Just because something's been going for a long time, it isn't necessarily less worthy than the brand new. The beauty of the two forms  is that they reach different audiences. In the same way, we'd advocate appealing to a younger demographic through online media, social websites etc, but would caution against throwing out traditional media such as mailshots, paid for press and TV and print when you want to include older consumers. As always, remembering the characteristics of your target market is the surest route to success.