anne-witton-blog

Epic Awards: The Movie!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:47:24 +0100

It's been another fantastic year for the Epic Awards and it's been a privilege hearing about so many inspiring arts and crafts projects from around the UK. Here's a video I made to showcase the winning groups, who were:

Peterborough Male Voice Choir who turned their fortunes around with their innovative 'New Directions' project.
Phizzfest, a community arts festival in Dublin.
Renfrewshire-based drumming group, The Buddy Beat who made a wonderful video documenting the impact music had on their recovery from mental illness.
Third Floor Gallery, a pioneering photography gallery in Cardiff.

Top 10 Podcasts

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:56:52 +0100

My 5-year-old iPod is still going strong and loaded up with podcasts. Here's what I'm enjoying at the moment.

(1) Answer Me This
Irreverent, sometimes rude but always hilarious. Helen and Olly answer listeners’ questions, ably assisted by Martin The Sound Man. You can also buy an array of Answer Me This merchandise - I forked out 50p for a badge!
Typical subjects - Make-up for men, lobsters, 15 - 1, lightbulbs.
Length - Approx 30 mins
Format - Audio

(2) Thinking Allowed
Laurie Taylor chairs discussions and interviews on various topical and moral issues.
Typical subjects - Trust, suburbia, tipping points, culture
Length - Approx 30 mins
Format - Audio

(3) Before and After: How to design cool stuff
Quick design tips from Before and After magazine
Typical subjects - Photo cropping, designing a second page, logos, typeography
Length - Approx 1.30m - 3 mins
Format - Video

(4) Click
BBC technology podcast focussing on how digital technology affects out lives. Presented by Gareth Mitchell (@GarethM) and Bill Thompson (@billt)
Typical subjects - Privacy online, smart cities, social networks, robots
Length - Approx 25 - 35 mins
Format - Audio

(5) The Sound of The Ladies
The podcast features a complete song each month from The Sound of The Ladies (aka Martin The Soundman of Answer Me This fame).
Typical subjects - Songs, science
Length - Approx 4 - 10 mins
Format - Audio

(6) Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4
Episodes of The News Quiz hosted by Sandi Toksvig and the Now Show hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis (With occasional episodes of Just A Minute).
Typical subjects - Rail fares, politicians, breast enhancements, the Olympics
Length - Approx 30 - 40 mins
Format - Audio

(7) Philosophy Bites
David Edmunds and Nigel Warburton interview leading thinkers on a wide range of philosophical issues.
Typical subjects - Consequentialism, Plato, personal identity, time
Length - Approx 15 - 20 mins
Format - Audio

(8) PodQuiz weekly trivia quiz
A weekly 20 question trivia quiz hosted by a man with a very nice voice.
Typical subjects - Music, famous people, the natural world, food & drink
Length - Approx 13 - 18 mins
Format - Audio

(9) Stuff From The Future
Short videos exploring some of the challenges and opportunities of life in the future.
Typical subjects - Street fashion, personal communication, families, cyborgs
Length - Approx 2 - 5 mins
Format - Video

(10) TechStuff
A mixture of histories of companies (Apple, Facebook, Sega, Google), exploring how tech works (thermostats, metal detectors, cash machines) and looking at innovations.
Typical subjects - The internet, social networks, tech companies, gadgets
Length - Approx 30 - 50 mins
Format - Audio

Book Review: Just My Type

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:42:09 +0100

Just My Type: A book about fonts by Simon Garfield

This was a Christmas present from my Mum and Dad who are obviously well aware of my geeky tendencies. It's actually a lot less geeky than it sounds, though, and would appeal to anyone who has an interest in design and an eye for stylish (or ugly) type and what it says about us.

Rather than being simply a chronological rundown of the history of type design, the book takes a much more anecdotal approach making it easy to dip in and out. There are frequent 'FontBreaks' - short and fascinating discussions of particular fonts such as Gill Sans, Futura and Frutiger.

My particular highlights of the book include the chapter on the London Underground font created by Edward Johnston (obviously!); the history of the ubiquitous font Helvetica; the chapter on 'Pirates and Clones'; and the chapter on the worst fonts in the world, which includes some of the usual suspects and a few surprises.

If you didn't already know, find out what pangrams and interrobangs are as well as the difference between monotype and linotype. I also found out that there's such a thing as Type Trumps which I have promptly ordered!

The only downside to the book is that often it will describe characteristics of fonts without showing you examples. There are lots of illustrations throughout the book which help to illuminate the points, but I found it handy to have my iPhone or laptop nearby so that I could quickly look up a font that was being discussed.

Verdict: 4/5 - I would recommend this book to anyone who has even the slighted interest in fonts, branding or design. If you fondly remember your John Bull Printing Outfit, Letraset or Dymo label maker then I'm sure you'll enjoy this book. Maybe you'll even discover why you hate Comic Sans so much!

Find out more on Simon Garfield's website.

New Project: Postcards From Scarborough

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:24:57 +0100

Does the idyllic British seaside of 1970s childhood holidays still exist? Find out whether I was disappointed or delighted when I re-visited Scarborough armed with my iPhone and a head full of happy memories.

View the Postcards From Scarborough project here.

Childhood Fears

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:37:17 +0100

A particular picture of Pinocchio's nose in one of my books
Those wooden toilet seats that don't join up properly in the middle (was the school too poor to put a seat all the way round?!)
The blue tiles at the bottom of the swimming pool (I used to tread water for ages for fear of stepping on them)
The crooked spire in Chesterfield
Buttons (this is the only fear I've brought with me into adulthood. Don't ever tell me to 'button my lip' - aaagh!)

Happy Christmas everyone!

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:52:10 +0100

As I usually do at this time of year, I have made a donation to charity instead of sending Christmas cards. This year I have chosen local charity, St. Chad's Community Project who are a vital lifeline in Gateshead providing services such as childcare, basic skills training and family support.

I used Localgiving.com as they have a Christmas Match Fund at the moment which means that every donation is worth twice as much!

So here's wishing all my friends and family a Happy Christmas and a restful New Year!

Creative Prayer

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:59:19 +0100

At church we've recently finished a series of sermons and accompanying mid-week Bible studies focusing on the Lord's prayer and I've really enjoyed the series. I was inspired by the power of prayer and challenged to pray more. If we're honest, we all find it difficult to pray sometimes - whether that's because we're wrestling with doubts, going through a time of great pain, or just getting distracted by work, family, household chores, TV or iPhone apps.

Over the years, I've been making a list of ideas to help me pray and one evening at housegroup we all shared things that we found helpful. I hope you find them helpful too.

Write prayers down
- In a journal
- In an email
- In a text
Make lists of things to pray for (and think about how you can practically help as well)
Make a 'timetable' of topics and people to pray for each day / week / month
Have a 'prayer board' on the wall in your house to pin prayer requests to
Use the church directory / address book if you have one to make sure that you're praying for people that aren't necessarily in your close circle of friends
Text verses to encourage people and let them know you're praying for them
Use the Bible to pray - pray verses over people
Get into prayer habits - associate prayers with places. (For example, one friend always prays when going over a particular bridge in Newcastle). Have a special place where you go to pray on a regular basis.
Use a daily template - perhaps liturgy or a prayer book
Meet with others to pray in triplets or 'prayer squares'
Pray spontaneously with people when you meet up with them rather than waiting until later
Have people that you are accountable to about your prayer life, who will ask you on a regular basis how it's going
Go for a run / walk / swim and pray while you are doing it
Have a 'prayer party' with drinks and nibbles where you each have a wine glass filled with prayer requests on bits of paper. As you mingle around, you take a prayer request out of someone's glass and pray briefly for them before moving on to the next person.
Have a thanksgiving dinner and encourage people to share with others about what they're thankful to God for. Pray between courses.
Have a pack of cards and stick the photo of a friend / leader / mission partner on each card. Each day, take one of the cards and pray for that person.
Run a prayer 'treasure hunt'. If you live with someone else, get them to hide prayer requests round the house and then pray for each of them as you find them.
If you share a house with other Christians or have a communal area, make little pigeon holes / envelopes where people can leave their prayer requests. Each day, take a prayer request and pray for that person throughout the day.
Be creative in your prayer - paint a picture, make a model or draw a diagram

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people" Ephesians 6: 18

Where in the world?

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:00:19 +0100

Having just come back from a lovely tip to Krakow in Poland (pictures here), I was thinking about where I've travelled and where I'd go back. Trip Advisor have a handy map for you to record the places you've been. As you can see, my destinations are all very UK and Europe-centred, but then I am very lucky - some of my favourite places in the world are in my own country!

View my profile
Create your own travel map

Juanita and Babs enjoying YouTube stardom!

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:38:45 +0100

At last, Juanita and Babs have hit the big time with their dancing and kazoo-playing skills!

The Epic Awards shine a spotlight on the excellent work of amateur arts and craft groups around the UK. If your group would like to enter, hurry along to www.epicawards.co.uk before Nov 11th. There are some great prizes to be won!

The Capability Partnership

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:17:36 +0100

A few weeks ago, I did a photo shoot for The Capability Partnership - who provide training and consultancy in the enterprise development and fair trade sectors - and the photos are now gracing the pages of their new website.