Mini-MOB took to the Kings Arms in Hitchin again tonight. Rhythm section lead by Mike O'Neill, with Thomas on bass and John on drums. Front line me on alto, James 'Youth' Harold on trombone and Dave Marks on trumpet. A nice gig that'll never make me rich but is very entertaining to play.
There are some people that you just sound great with, and I love working with Dave and Youth.
The set was all standards, with Nicki Lawrence singing a few along the way. She has an amazing voice and it's great to play behind her.
Tenor player Laurie turned up and did a couple after the break, largely to prepare for his music college audition on Friday. He'll do fine. All in all, a lovely gig and the punters seemed to like what we were doing.
Wednesday 30 November 2011
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Oh, the joys of working with professionals
Having spent a couple of hours at my desk this morning, I then trudged around the M25 to Romford, then onwards to Croydon. Final interviews at Royal Mail's mail centre and home soon after 9pm. It was a long day, made bearable by working with photographer Justin Grainge. I interviewed, then he snapped.
It's an interesting project - with goalposts moving daily and the occasional wicket being thrown in for good measure. What we'll end up with is eight pages of photo-led features that focus very much on front-line staff. It's very much a team effort, with designers putting it all together back at the agency. I'm actually excited about seeing the final version in print.
The best jobs use teamwork and I think we'll end up with something to be proud of.
It's an interesting project - with goalposts moving daily and the occasional wicket being thrown in for good measure. What we'll end up with is eight pages of photo-led features that focus very much on front-line staff. It's very much a team effort, with designers putting it all together back at the agency. I'm actually excited about seeing the final version in print.
The best jobs use teamwork and I think we'll end up with something to be proud of.
Monday 28 November 2011
'No smoke' - local film poses an interesting conundrums
Sue Shearing's latest film 'No Smoke' makes us question how far we can be pushed. An interesting film and I hope it does well for her. Read my full review here.
Sunday 27 November 2011
The start of Advent - I honestly thought it was next week!
Well, I was caught short by talk about the First Sunday in Advent on the radio this morning. Because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year, I thought that would count as the fourth Sunday. Apparently not.
Usually, this is the weekend when Florence, Freddie and I would get all the Christmas decorations, cards etc out and start decorating the house. It does feel strange not to have Florence around and maybe that's one reason why we're behind.
So, Wednesday will be the day to do it. End of November and then the run-up to Christmas begins with a vengeance.
Today, I had a real flashback to a moment in 1991, when I sat with Harry Connick Junior (I arranged the seating plan, so why not?) for the premiere of 'Memphis Belle'. During the film, he sings 'Danny Boy' and it's a great arrangement. In church today, we sang a hymn to the same tune and I came over all emotional. My life was very different then to how it is today!
Usually, this is the weekend when Florence, Freddie and I would get all the Christmas decorations, cards etc out and start decorating the house. It does feel strange not to have Florence around and maybe that's one reason why we're behind.
So, Wednesday will be the day to do it. End of November and then the run-up to Christmas begins with a vengeance.
Today, I had a real flashback to a moment in 1991, when I sat with Harry Connick Junior (I arranged the seating plan, so why not?) for the premiere of 'Memphis Belle'. During the film, he sings 'Danny Boy' and it's a great arrangement. In church today, we sang a hymn to the same tune and I came over all emotional. My life was very different then to how it is today!
What a great interview - just needs writing up now ...
Spent a couple of hours this afternoon interviewing Paul Archer, of Burning Codes. What an interesting man and I felt a great empathy for him and his intentions. 3,000 words need to be written in the next few days, whilst listening to the albums.
Friday 25 November 2011
Saying farewell - four months late
Tonight was the leaing do for a colleague who left school at the same time as I did in July. Such a joy to meet old friends I haven't seen for months. In some ways a difficult event, but made pleasurable by the people who were there.
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Is online the way forward?
Most of my work now seems to be published online. Not a bad thing, but not the same as having physical representations of what I have achieved. Interesting times.
Publishing online also shrinks timescales considerably. What I write today can be read by anyone tomorrow. And it can't be turned into chip paper.
Publishing online also shrinks timescales considerably. What I write today can be read by anyone tomorrow. And it can't be turned into chip paper.
Tuesday 22 November 2011
Prioritising - getting it right
After six years as a teacher, where my every moment was dictated by a timetable of 25 hours every week, plus form times and meetings carefully(!) scheduled, I'm finding the freedom of freelancing entirely liberating.
Attaching priorities to tasks isn't always easy, but I've been asking my clients to rank each piece they give me, with deadlines. Even if those deadlines shift.
Being a writer and sitting at my desk is fulfilling and knowing that I am supplying my clients with what they need makes it worth getting out of bed in the morning.
I may never get another day 'off sick' in my life, but I may never need it, if I continue to prioritise effectively and manage the stress.
Attaching priorities to tasks isn't always easy, but I've been asking my clients to rank each piece they give me, with deadlines. Even if those deadlines shift.
Being a writer and sitting at my desk is fulfilling and knowing that I am supplying my clients with what they need makes it worth getting out of bed in the morning.
I may never get another day 'off sick' in my life, but I may never need it, if I continue to prioritise effectively and manage the stress.
Love, love, love finding out how something works
There's a process within Royal Mail whereby all that junk mail (which, by the way, keeps the business alive, so isn't junk at all) is processed from arrival from the printer to bundling ready for YOUR postman (and mine) to deliver.
It's quite amazing, yet satisfyingly simple.
Three hours of learning how someone else does their job and how people fit together into a team. Truly satisfying.
Now to write it up for Courier and myroyalmail.com
It's quite amazing, yet satisfyingly simple.
Three hours of learning how someone else does their job and how people fit together into a team. Truly satisfying.
Now to write it up for Courier and myroyalmail.com
Monday 21 November 2011
Lunch with friends and an afternoon's work
A satisfying day. Combining work with pleasure and managing to be effective.
Saturday 19 November 2011
Children in Need - so many people doing good
Having hit Hemel Hempstead at 9:30am, the rest of the day was spent interviewing people around the country who are raising money for Children in Need. From shaved heads and mammoth static cycling events, there's so much going on and it's inspiring!
Friday 18 November 2011
Another networking session
At the crack of dawn today, I hit the networking ground running. Another session with the local chapter of BNI. I'm still not convinced of the best format for me, but absolutely certain that regular networking is essential to my business.
Wherever I choose to commit myself, I shall throw myself in whole-heartedly and give as much as I possibly can. This week has been so busy that I haven't been able to give it much thought, but something a little more regular in January would be good.
Wherever I choose to commit myself, I shall throw myself in whole-heartedly and give as much as I possibly can. This week has been so busy that I haven't been able to give it much thought, but something a little more regular in January would be good.
Thursday 17 November 2011
The best thing about my job - interviewing people doing THEIR jobs
I'm exhausted, but so content. It's great to be invited into people's workplaces and to ask them questions about doing their jobs. Even when going through great change, many of them are still fiercely loyal to their employer.
After going to two different sites today, I have pages and pages of notes that are going to need to be crafted into some cohesive whole.
After going to two different sites today, I have pages and pages of notes that are going to need to be crafted into some cohesive whole.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
Fame at last!
When you search the net for James Berry and his Snowman stamp from 1966, this is now one of the first items you find:
Community training and enterprise team
Having had a tough day in London and then a train ride and a walk, the last thing I wanted was to sit in a meeting.
But, once again, life threew me a surprise. There's a great group of people in Hitchin who want to get behind a Training and Enterprise shop. We could do some real good with young people and with business start-ups of all ages. I'm volunteering along with 20 or so others and we could really do some good to energise the business environment in the town - and beyond.
But, once again, life threew me a surprise. There's a great group of people in Hitchin who want to get behind a Training and Enterprise shop. We could do some real good with young people and with business start-ups of all ages. I'm volunteering along with 20 or so others and we could really do some good to energise the business environment in the town - and beyond.
Monday 14 November 2011
'No Smoke' - a thought-provoking film
I spent an interesting evening in Welwyn Garden City watching the new Sue Shearing film 'No Smoke'.
A drama based on a true story, the film is the terrifying tale of a journalist who hesitates and then reports what she sees as a potential terrorist attack. Her world is swiftly turned on its head and, although predictable in places, the end was definitely not so. How much of it was real is hard to know, but almost certainly not the whole thing.
A drama based on a true story, the film is the terrifying tale of a journalist who hesitates and then reports what she sees as a potential terrorist attack. Her world is swiftly turned on its head and, although predictable in places, the end was definitely not so. How much of it was real is hard to know, but almost certainly not the whole thing.
Saturday 12 November 2011
I daren't leave the house without TWO notebooks now
Despite the fact that it's the weekend, I am loathe to wander far without my personal notebook (which goes everywhere anyway) but also my work one.
The phone might ring at any moment and a client needs something contained in the notebook or I need it to write something down. I've learned the hard way not to mix the two!
The phone might ring at any moment and a client needs something contained in the notebook or I need it to write something down. I've learned the hard way not to mix the two!
A 'Jazz Night' is NOT the same as a private party
Tonight, I was booked to play at a private party. The pay was pitiful but I thought it would be stress-free and fun.
Turns out, tickets were sold to a Jazz Night and I was the soloist. Not the same thing at all. In the break, there was no food, no drinks and not even a chair to sit on. I was not happy!
So, if you're booking a band, please tell them the truth about what they're there for and treat them with some respect.
Turns out, tickets were sold to a Jazz Night and I was the soloist. Not the same thing at all. In the break, there was no food, no drinks and not even a chair to sit on. I was not happy!
So, if you're booking a band, please tell them the truth about what they're there for and treat them with some respect.
Thursday 10 November 2011
Taking advice from Americans
Having signed up for a teleconference with an American Writers' site, I was unable to listen in, because I got the times wrong. However, I've now found it online.
The guy gave some good advice about writing and marketing and it has - unfortunately or fortunately - turned my thinking around about my business.
The good thing is that it's particularly helped me to focus in on my LinkedIn profile, which I've now spent a couple of hours improving.
I do believe in networking, but maybe social networking online can also help me if I do it right. I've been a blogger and tweeter for a couple of years and now it's time to ramp it up a bit.
The guy gave some good advice about writing and marketing and it has - unfortunately or fortunately - turned my thinking around about my business.
The good thing is that it's particularly helped me to focus in on my LinkedIn profile, which I've now spent a couple of hours improving.
I do believe in networking, but maybe social networking online can also help me if I do it right. I've been a blogger and tweeter for a couple of years and now it's time to ramp it up a bit.
Wednesday 9 November 2011
More networking - my elevator pitch is improving
I was told many years ago to have an 'elevator pitch' to sell myself within about 60 seconds and I'm finally getting it. It's been helped by another networking breakfast this morning, followed by a few hours at my desk and then another networking cuppa this afternoon.
It's very definitely still work in progress, but I'm hoping that by the next networking session on Thursday 17th, I'll have it nailed.
It's very definitely still work in progress, but I'm hoping that by the next networking session on Thursday 17th, I'll have it nailed.
Tuesday 8 November 2011
Working with photographers
Well, what a nice bunch of people photographers are!
I've needed to use a few in the last couple of months and I've found them all so accommodating and understanding - especially of my vague and sometimes confusing briefs.
The guys I've used are probably not the cheapest, but their results have been great. Now, if I could only persuade one of them to point a lens at me when I'm not looking my worst ...
I've needed to use a few in the last couple of months and I've found them all so accommodating and understanding - especially of my vague and sometimes confusing briefs.
The guys I've used are probably not the cheapest, but their results have been great. Now, if I could only persuade one of them to point a lens at me when I'm not looking my worst ...
Monday 7 November 2011
NaNoWriMo causing authors sleepless nights
Firstly, let me state for the record that my contribution to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) should worry no genuine novelists. I do not now and never have claimed to be a fiction writer. But I do like a challenge.
1,667 words per day, every day through November. I have to confess to being a little behind, but I will catch up.
It's not great literature, though, and it will probably never be read by anyone else.
So far, I've walked the Three Peaks of Scotland, England and Wales, cycled from London to Brighton and walked the Moonwalk Marathon (did that one five times before I finally got the message that it was HARD). So, I do like a challenge, but my days of those challenges being physical is behind me - I do like my creature comforts too much.
So, the idea of writing a chunk of fiction every single day for a mont is within my capacity. The trouble is, that the real world sometimes gets in the way. I WILL catch up and I WILL finish it, but real novelists need not be concerned.
1,667 words per day, every day through November. I have to confess to being a little behind, but I will catch up.
It's not great literature, though, and it will probably never be read by anyone else.
So far, I've walked the Three Peaks of Scotland, England and Wales, cycled from London to Brighton and walked the Moonwalk Marathon (did that one five times before I finally got the message that it was HARD). So, I do like a challenge, but my days of those challenges being physical is behind me - I do like my creature comforts too much.
So, the idea of writing a chunk of fiction every single day for a mont is within my capacity. The trouble is, that the real world sometimes gets in the way. I WILL catch up and I WILL finish it, but real novelists need not be concerned.
Sunday 6 November 2011
Definitely need a new profile picture
Considering I know several photographers (professionals and amateurs), it is ridiculous to have such a poor quality profile picture. Must get on the case next week.
'Bah, Humbug!' today!
Don't mean to be a killjoy but I just don't get fireworks. It's not for me, standing around in the cold - particularly if someone charges me a small fortune to do so - craning my neck to look at lights in the sky. Off to listen to some live music instead, I am afraid.
Saturday 5 November 2011
What a day!
That was one of those full-on days that don't come along often. Thank Heavens!
Train into London, bus to AB and then a day working on articles for various clients. A curved ball thrown unceremoniously at me, which has become a mission: I suspect that mission will go on some time.
My mission (and I chose to accept it) was to track down theman (now) who in 1966 drew a snowman that won him the Blue Peter/Post Office Christmas stamp design competition. He was six then, so would now be 50 or 51. Can I find him? Can I 'eck.
There are lots of James, Jim, Jimmy, Jamie and J Berrys in the world and none of them seems to have made this his claim to fame.
Will I let this absence of evidence beat me? I will not. Next week is another week and if it's possible to track James Berry down, then I shall do it!
Train into London, bus to AB and then a day working on articles for various clients. A curved ball thrown unceremoniously at me, which has become a mission: I suspect that mission will go on some time.
My mission (and I chose to accept it) was to track down theman (now) who in 1966 drew a snowman that won him the Blue Peter/Post Office Christmas stamp design competition. He was six then, so would now be 50 or 51. Can I find him? Can I 'eck.
There are lots of James, Jim, Jimmy, Jamie and J Berrys in the world and none of them seems to have made this his claim to fame.
Will I let this absence of evidence beat me? I will not. Next week is another week and if it's possible to track James Berry down, then I shall do it!
Thursday 3 November 2011
Interesting networking sessions
Two very different - and both very interesting - networking sessions today.
The first, at just after 6:30am was highly organised and professional and would clearly be of benefit to my business.
The second, over lunch, was much less pressured but possibly, potentially equally beneficial.
I can't join both organisatons and yet there were things I would take from each. There's certain plenty to think about.
This much I know: there are some really excellent businesses locally that I would love to work with. A lot that I could work with productively.
The first, at just after 6:30am was highly organised and professional and would clearly be of benefit to my business.
The second, over lunch, was much less pressured but possibly, potentially equally beneficial.
I can't join both organisatons and yet there were things I would take from each. There's certain plenty to think about.
This much I know: there are some really excellent businesses locally that I would love to work with. A lot that I could work with productively.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
If I see another errant apostrophe, I may scream!
Don't let anyone tell you that the education of our children is getting worse.
It is amazing how many grown adults fail to insert apostrophes in the correct places, and randomly insert them before the letter 's' with abandon. Web sites abound with the smattering of random punctuation and it's beginning to get on my nerves.
At my going rate, it would cost around £50 for me to eradicate every grammatical error from most web sites. Is that a service I can market? Possibly not by pointing out my potential clients' ignorance.
At 06:45am tomorrow I must prepare to market myself to some illustrious businessmen. Where do I start? Not by insulting their education, probably. It definitely needs some thought. Particularly as 12 noon sees me doing the same thing in front of some illustrious businesswomen. A stressful day to plan for.
It is amazing how many grown adults fail to insert apostrophes in the correct places, and randomly insert them before the letter 's' with abandon. Web sites abound with the smattering of random punctuation and it's beginning to get on my nerves.
At my going rate, it would cost around £50 for me to eradicate every grammatical error from most web sites. Is that a service I can market? Possibly not by pointing out my potential clients' ignorance.
At 06:45am tomorrow I must prepare to market myself to some illustrious businessmen. Where do I start? Not by insulting their education, probably. It definitely needs some thought. Particularly as 12 noon sees me doing the same thing in front of some illustrious businesswomen. A stressful day to plan for.
I love that London can still hold surprises
I have been travelling in and out of London for more than 30 years and yet there are still parts that manage to surprise me. By chance, I had forgotten that Blackfriars station was shut, so I had to hurriedly exit the District Line tube at Temple and walk along to Southwark.
Suddenly, I came across this plaque on the Embankment.
It turns out that W T Stead was a well-respected journalist who created tabloid journalism in the 1890s. I love the fact that he almost certainly knew Oscar Wilde and would be so pleased to find proof that they had met.
Anyway, he died on Titanic, which is coming up for the centenary of its launch and demise in April next year. I'm so glad that I saw this and took a photograph of it. He sounds like an inspirational and interesting character.
Suddenly, I came across this plaque on the Embankment.
It turns out that W T Stead was a well-respected journalist who created tabloid journalism in the 1890s. I love the fact that he almost certainly knew Oscar Wilde and would be so pleased to find proof that they had met.
Anyway, he died on Titanic, which is coming up for the centenary of its launch and demise in April next year. I'm so glad that I saw this and took a photograph of it. He sounds like an inspirational and interesting character.