I must confess that I am not a great sports fan. But even I was looking forward to visiting the Lord’s Cricket Ground, ‘the home of cricket’. I had to deliver a presentation for a government agency in the futuristic-looking Media Centre with its commanding view above the cricket ground.
A number of building industry trade associations were represented and I was to give some advice on how they might improve their websites. How better should I start than to look at the websites of some of the top web design agencies in the UK.
The audience laughed uproariously at the pretentious, self-indulgent, over-designed, unhelpful websites with which they were trying to promote their own businesses. We wondered how they ever attract any business at all.
I then went on to explain what the average site visitor wants to achieve and how writing and design can be tuned to meet their needs this.
After the day was over, we were given a conducted tour of Lord's. We were even allowed to sit in the hallowed committee room. The MCC Museum gives a fascinating insight into the history of cricket - an absolute must-see for any self-respecting cricketing aficionado.
The Ashes which are normally kept there were in Australia at the time and a faithful replica urn stood in its place. www.lords.org.
