Postcard from Bishkek

Here at ianbek.kg I sometimes get some interesting feedback from readers … and it is interesting to note what points people decide to pick me up on. But then, as one person put it, “at least it shows that someone has read the postcard!”. There is an opportunity for people to post comments at the […]

One of the most difficult questions I face is trying to decide when and where to place my advertising budget. One of the maxims of marketing is that it is supposed to bring in new business – and different figures are often quoted for that value of that return on investment … and although I […]

Back in 1971 a new advert for coca Cola appeared on TV … and although it was based on a not so successful radio jingle …  it turned out to be a highly successful advert, not only for Coca Cola also in it’s on right becoming a chart topping single in the UK, (spending 4 weeks […]

There are several famous quotes that basically boil down to the fact that music transcends language: “Where words leave off … Music begins” … it has “the ability to touch us emotionally where words fail” … as Longfellow put it, “Music is the universal language of mankind“, …and he was a poet … a “wordsmith”!  Here in […]

When I was at school I got promoted – out of the Second Set for English into the Top Set.  I suppose I should have been proud … but it had it’s drawbacks. Apart from having to get used to a different teacher, not a minor issue in the lead up to the all important […]

There is a story that when he became President of the United States, George Bush, (that is the older – George H. Bush – not his son, George W. Bush), he issued an instruction to the White House staff that Broccoli should never be served: “I do not like broccoli. And I haven’t liked it […]

Djalal-Abad is the administrative, economic and cultural center of Djalal-Abad oblast (province). It lies in the south of the Kugart valley, in the foothills of the Babash Ata mountains to the North. The climate is noted for dry, hot summers, warm and sunny autumns with rare rain bursts and winters are warm with high humidity. […]

On 24th March, 1907, a new institution opened its doors for business for the first time: the Pishpek Mutual Credit Society – Bishkek’s first local bank.  (At the time, Bishkek was called Pishkek.) Things have changed a lot since those days … Actually, There were other financial institutions around, which is understandable as Kyrgyzstan lay on […]

They say that you only get one chance to make a good first impression – so work at it. First impressions can be misleading.  You need to think hard about how to present yourself and what message you want to get over.  Let me illustrate with a story: One of the most memorable day trips […]

Today, 22nd March, marks World Water Day – and has done so ever since 1993 having been approved as such by the General Assembly the previous year.  The idea of the day is to encourage member nations to implement measures regarding the world’s water resources.  Perhaps one of the most concrete aspects of the day […]