While many may think that dog clothes and dog fashion are simply something for pampered pooches and owners with far too much time on their hands this opinion is remarkably ignorant. The dog clothes industry is booming, perhaps a result in the growth of popularity of small dogs such as Chihuahuas and films such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Whatever the reason there are a growing number of dog clothes companies offering everything from dog carriers, coats and personalised luxury items.

Whilst I am in no way endorsing using a pet dog as a toy, there is an element of fun to these items that are less about adorning your dog with trinkets and more about making them feel special. Dog clothes however are not simply a bit of fun; there is a serious side such as thick winter coats for dogs with thin fur and sun suits that prevent pooches from getting sunburnt and even developing skin cancer. Whatever you opinion, dog clothing serves a purpose and in many cases can be considered a viable business idea.

This weekend another round of qualifiers for next year’s world cup in South Africa are taking place. Rather unbelievably England have already qualified for the finals next summer with games to spare in the qualification phase. This however has led to a problem; with the collapse of Setanta earlier in the year, their rights to the England qualifying games were lost when the company went under. Seemingly, no other television broadcaster in the UK wants to take the rights and pay out for a somewhat pointless match, leading to the momentous occasion of the first ever England game to be solely shown over the internet.

The company taking the work on is a Swiss based operation called Kentaro. Football fans have the option to pay online to stream the match or to visit an Odeon Cinema, where the game will be shown. While it is likely that Kentaro will make their money back, and most likely a healthy profit, the fact that England have already qualified and that sitting around a computer screen or cinema hardly has the atmosphere of a pub or living room surely means that viewing figures will be well down. As a Sky customer I already fork out a large amount of money each year for football I rarely watch, it is unlikely that I will pay the extra to watch a match on my computer that will be poor quality and most likely will crash half way through the game. Once again the FA has chosen to pursue profits rather than provide the loyal fans of the national team with a practical way to watch the weekend’s match.

They say that some of the best inventions come to people when they are asleep. It is well documented that many of the world’s finest inventors always had a notepad by their bed just in case a flash of inspiration came to them in a dream. I am in no way comparing myself to these inventors but the other day I came up with a fabulous piece of product design in a dream. The dream contained a huge house, converted from a church and gloriously decorated. The most memorable part of this house however was the bathroom.

This bathroom was decorated with sleek black tiles much like the Department of Mysteries from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The decor was not the only great piece of design within this bathroom however; it contained a shower that had a circular disc underneath the showerhead. This disc had controls upon it that controlled a massage function. The user simply had to programme the device, lean against the wall of the shower and the disc would rotate and move up and down the person’s body, providing a massage whist they showered. I am not sure whether this device has yet been patented but for those who are interested there is a rather poorly drawn schematic of the device below. Perhaps I will take it to Dragon’s Den one day.