The Bookworm Army

‘World Book Night’ is set to take place on Saturday 5^th March 2011, an inspired nationwide event when one million books will be given away by an army of bookworms.  The volunteers will each have fifty copies of their chosen book (from a selection of twenty-five) to distribute to strangers on the street and people who may not normally have such easy access to the wonderful world of literature. 

 What struck me was the range of books on offer for the twenty-thousand enthusiasts to hand out.  Not the usual Austen and Dickens collection, but a variety of modern classics and very recently published works.  Often neglecting reading until bed-time when I typically read two pages and then nod off, I can only triumph one of the twenty-five, suggested to me by my big brother last year.

One Day by David ‘Starter for Ten’ Nicholls is a beautiful, funny and heartbreaking story about Dexter and Emma and how their lives progress after spending a night together on their graduation, checking in on them for the next twenty years on the same day, wherever they may be.  Reading this as I was coming to the end of my time at university made it incredibly poignant and I am eagerly anticipating Hollywood’s adaptation due for release later this year.  Directed by Lone Scherfig, with Nicholls in charge of the screenplay, and starring two of the best young actors around - Jim Sturgess and Anne Hathaway - this looks set to be a real treat. 

In this rapidly advancing technological world we live in, it fills me with joy to think that there is a mass of people who, like me, will always believe you just can’t beat a good book.

http://www.worldbooknight.org/

My Mission: Impossible

(First written October 2010) 

Today I stumbled across news that almost made me jump on a plane to India, until I recalled the penniless state I’m in.  In order to understand why such a ridiculous thought occurred in my underworked brain, I shall have to waste a little time filling you in on a bit of background if you’ll forgive me.  In July 2008 I spent a month living in India, as a volunteer teaching English and Maths with the non-profit organisation Global Vision International and their fantastic partner in India,Channel Youth. 

Living in a small village called Bedla, I, alongside around twenty other volunteers from around the world, taught children from tribal communities in the remote rural hills.  Perhaps this will be the source of a different post.  The reason I raise it today is because our nearest town/city was a place called Udaipur, famously known around the world as the City of Lakes with its magnificent Lake Palace and Monsoon Palace, which truly are breathtaking.  James Bond fans may also know Udaipur for its prominence in Octopussy, which most restaurants in the city brag about, many even showing it at 8pm… every night! 

I discovered today that Udaipur is to play host to more film crews with the shooting of Mission Impossible 4 and a film starring Dev Patel, of Slumdog Millionaire fame.  

It is surreal to think a place mere miles from where I was living and teaching the poorest people I have ever met will be descended upon by someone as famous and rich as Tom Cruise and his presumably enormous entourage.  The Lake Palace (below) has played host to Presidents and no doubt other world-famous, wealthy figures in the past.  Having resided in Bedla and being a film fan, I can’t help feeling uneasy that the divide between rich and poor is so extreme there, and in countless other places worldwide, that surely there is something unjust about the place and its people's exploitation for our entertainment on screen.   

Hollywood’s stars will be there for the entirety of October and November by all accounts.  Maybe if I hopped on a plane I could persuade Mr Cruise to pay the children at Channel Youth a visit and see if he has any cash to spare for teaching aids. 

Might just check when my injections wore off…

Derby Festé!

Continuing with the theme of what on earth has Derby got to offer, Friday 24^thSeptember saw the opening of Derby Festé, a three day outdoor festival I’d been looking forward to since we first visited the city to look at flats and I’d picked up a truck full of paraphernalia from the Tourist Information.  Billed as ‘one of the most spectacular weekend festivals of its kind in the Midlands’ (Festé literature), many events were taking place within mere minutes of our humble abode – most of it we could listen to from the comfort of our own living room. 

Kicking off the weekend of completely free entertainment was a Bollywood parade, ending up in the Market Place (the square we live on) for Derby’s biggest outdoor disco.  Hosted by Charity Shop DJ, the night included guest DJ slots by the Mayor of Derby(!) and ex-Blue Peter presenter Simon Groom, as well as professional dancers to get the party started. 

All weekend on the Cathedral Green sat a ‘luminarium’, a gigantic inflatable maze-like creation which attracted endless queues of people.  

On Sunday we didn’t need to move to be entertained as bands played all day on a double-decker bus which had been converted into a stage located in the Market Place and their easy-listening sounds seeped in through our windows. 

The bizarre mix of events attracted crowds in large numbers despite the satisfactory weather, proving that Derby Festé is a hugely popular weekend of free entertainment with some of the world’s best outdoor performers coming together with local artists to entertain every man and his dog.

Every town/city should have a Festé. 

Leaving the Green Green Grass of Home

Unemployed and moving out.  Two circumstances which don’t fit brilliantly together, but I seem to like a challenge.  So all of sudden in August I found myself signing for a flat with my better half.  And he’s undoubtedly the better half as he was the reason we were upping ship to Derby, yes Derby, because he’d bagged himself a flipping good job and, well, I hadn’t.  So we decided, after a lot of umming and ahhing on my behalf, to give the real world a go together.  On the plus side it’s about equidistant from our respective family homes, North Wales and Newcastle, and the let is primarily only six months – so if it all goes horribly wrong…  

And Derby is actually very nice.  Our apartment (oh we’ve left our student flat days behind) is in the heart of the small city, the Cathedral Quarter.  With theatres, an exciting new film and art centre, pubs and restaurants, and importantly the enormous and shiny new Westfield shopping centre only a hop, skip and a jump away from our doorstep, we’re able to sample every slice of city life without splashing out on buses or taxis. 

One of the BBC’s big screens is situated practically downstairs, showing local art and moving pictures, the news and weather, as well as national events. 

Our first taste of this cultured outdoor experience was watching the Last Night of the Proms with my parents.  Plastic chairs and tables a-plenty, live music from local jazz bands, orchestras and choirs, Union Jack flags in abundance, and the event itself on the big screen made for a very enjoyable evening.  The community spirit and sense of occasion gave me a real buzz so I’ll definitely be back…although now Carol the weatherwoman on Breakfast tells me we’ve officially entered Autumn, I suppose the open-air schedule will be a little lighter.

So the settling in stage is going well, finding our way around and discovering there’s plenty to do.  Staying in could easily become the new going out as the party animals and night owls on the streets outside provide plenty of entertainment.  And now we’ve entered Fresher’s Fortnight, so we’re allowed to feel old and bitter about no longer being students.  On the way home at 10.30pm after a few drinks – a week night – we were approached by hoards of fresh-faced leaflet givers, hoping to tempt us into their bars and clubs, trying to reel us in with overly friendly chit chat.   “Where you off to tonight then guys?” to which we replied with bitter, smug pleasure, knowing we wouldn’t be waking up with a hangover and a sack full of regrets…”home”.

Hopefully soon we can explore the Peak District, I suspect there may be a good photo opportunity or two in waiting. 

But I won’t lie, my heart belongs to the Green Green Grass of North Wales. 

Needle in a haystack

Having just graduated from Warwick University with a degree in Film with Television Studies, unsurprisingly I’m having little luck on the slog that is the Great Job Hunt.  

I’d love to work in something, well ANYTHING, to do with community arts.  Or charity/community work.  Or just the arts.  Or maybe media.  My very unexpected graduation present from my lovely lovely parents was a DSLR.  The Canon EOS 450d is a fantastic camera and has been/will be accompanying me almosteverywhere I go now.  I’ve been interested in photography for years but this has cranked my enthusiasm up a notch.  Being a professional photographer sounds highly appealing, though I have a lot to learn.  So for now it’s a hobby I enjoy. With my heart set on community/charity/arts/media work, hopefully I’ll be able to incorporate some happy snapping into my job one day.  

Or maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow to find a vacancy for an apprentice photographer at a leading newspaper. 

“Hope is the dream of a waking man” - Aristotle 

No, i don't drink tea

I’ve tried drinking tea.  But we just don’t agree.

Maybe one day we will.

But not yet.

Not until I’m working 9 to 5

And have to gulp it down

Just to fit in.