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.
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
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...
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
