Two tips from Amsterdam.

There's been a nip in the air this week and Autumn seems to be working its way into our lives once more.

Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. The darkening nights, the crisp smoky smell in the air, the golden carpet of the falling leaves and the childhood sense of anticipations as fist Bonfire Night and then Christmas approach.

I also loved it because of the curtains. As a child my room at the back of the house attached to my parents shop had thin unlined curtains. Fantastic in winter as lights twinkled mysteriously through the thin patterned cotton, but as soon as Spring and summer approached, the daylight still outside as I tried to settle down to sleep spoke of missed opportunities and a day not yet finished. Then Autumn, when each night the glow through the curtain became less each night and bedtime seemed to have arrived at the right point in the day.

Autumn always marks a change in my work calendar. After the summer break of July and August when corporate works is non existent, most companies kick down hard on their internal training during the autumn months. People are at work, few people on holiday and its seems a time for learning. Perhaps its because we all still associate September with a new school year, but certainly training as in vogue.

This week has seen me in Cambridge putting fourteen managers from McLaren through their paces - and a great crew they were too, and a day in Amsterdam training young Dutch lawyers in presentation skills.

In a world where we rely on e mail and texts etc, the person who can present themselves and their ideas in an comprehensive and persuasive fashion through the spoken word will always be king.

I visit this Dutch law firm three times a year to do a days skill training, and I will return in two weeks to assess the young lawyers on their presentations before they step out of the Academy into the real world of law.

Spending the day listening to presentations as varied as "The world of Dutch VAT" and "Why I shouldn't be sad that Holland didn't win the World Cup" always calls for a strength in the sense of humour department. Wit and double entendre are not natural constituents of the Dutch psyche.

It's as well to be accompanied by a colleague with who one can share the little foibles of the trip.

Who more delightful this time than Miss Francesca Ryan. I've know Fran about ten years now and she is a joy. She is a formidable actress, and an absolutely joyous person to be on a job with. Together we have travelled the world to places as diverse as Sydney and Crewe. She has kept me amused. She has calmed me down. She has supported and encouraged my work. A true friend.

Our trip this week included a hotel receptionist who denied that we were booked into the hotel. He was wrong of course, and later proved it by bringing a bottle of champagne and glasses to our rooms, but at the time I was glad I was sharing the experience of being denied entry to the hotel with someone who can see the funny side. First tip - take the e mail with the hotel booking reference number with you!

Fran saw a lot of the funny side this trip. Some of it might have ben funny peculiar rather than funny ha ha, but we certainly laughed. She contributed a misplaced passport, a misplaced hotel room key and most spectacularly, a supposedly lost boarding card for the flight home. To see Miss Ryan in full flow against the proprietrice of the Dutch Cheese shop at Schipol airport was worth the price of the job alone.

The boarding card it should be pointed out was lying under Miss Ryan's suitcase on the floor at the time, but I consider that a minor point. Although second tip - keep your hands on your travel documents.

Which sounds like that old Northern advice - keep your hand on your ha'penny! Worth following I've always found, unless you find someone with a much bigger ha'penny you fancy having a feel of.

Talking of old Northern advice, last word this week to my Mother. She's been suffering quite badly from sciatica now for a few weeks. The worst thing about it is that it has made her quite housebound. She likes to get out each day and the frustration she has been feeling at being stuck in the house and not being able to do much walking finally boiled over this week. In her words "If I'm stuck in this house much bloody longer I shall go stir fry!"

As I said, he who can command the spoken word................!