Back-log of postings...

September 12th - BBC Network Radio talk
Gave a talk to a group of Marketing managers looking after the six network radio stations. This became a debate over what constituted a good trailers and what constituted good radio. The key issue is that BBC radio stations don't have commercial breaks and that trailers have to be integrated with the station sound and overall branding. The trailers my team makes are often for big TV initiatives and are designed to have high emotional impact and stand out from everything else. The challenge is to be true to the wider campaign while not polluting the station sound and breaking the style guide .

August 20th - Sept 4th Italy
Italy for a rest at Cassa Della Luna. Marie, our friend in Yorkshire has just bought this Villa. Spent two weeks there. Visited Pisa and Lucca together with some of the little villages along the northern coast to Portafino. Montale, where we were based, is up in the mountains north of Lucca. One of our favorite places was Equi Terme a very beautiful village set beneath mountain crags - swam in the sulfurous thermal pool.

August 7th-8th 2002: Film shoot in Sheffield
Filming with Reg Sanders in and around Sheffield - a version of the famous BBC ONE roof jumper. The star is Toby Foster a stand up comedian. The shoot has been a gamble - we weren't sure Toby Foster was fit enough - two weeks before he was rushed off to hospital, the weather has been a worry, our PA was taken ill and Reg's wife had a baby. The filming required dangerous stunts on the roofs of three landmark buildings in South Yorkshire. All seemed to go well. pictures.

July 6th 2002: Ealing, Flicker is born
Opened bank account with Adam for Flicker - the project has been set up to encourage the understanding and use of images in worship, especially new forms of worship. Flicker aims to encourage the active participation in the creation of such material by sharing practical experience and inspiration. As well as stimulating creativity. Flicker will publish original resources for use in church worship. Our first product - a DVD - is currently in production and will hopefully be available by the end of the year. You can find out more about Flicker, and join in, at www.flickerweb.co.uk.

July 31s August: Talk at Pebble Mill, Birmingham
An hours talk to a group of TV Directors launching a series on promoting BBC ONE, INSIDE OUT. The series consists of eleven simultaneous regional programmes to start in September. These kind of talks work best when there is a combination of practical action points combined with some inspirational illustrations of good work.

July 1st - 3rd 2002: Talk to Radio Academy Festival, Cambridge
Cambridge. White, middle class and mostly male. Apparently fewer people at the festival this year because of the downturn in advertising. Many experienced Station Magers with fewer younger creative people. Chairman of BBC, Gavin Davies, Alan Yentob and many senior managers. A high representation of technological interests and funding issues. I would have liked to have seen more on making radio and less on managing radio although the sessions were interesting. My own session seemed to go ok, but I felt a little unsure of the audience and whether this was an area of passion for them. If I do this talk again I will either do creativity for Creatives or managing creativity for Managers - I tried to do both which was possibly over complicated. Session report.

June 19th 2002: YMCA Leaders Conference Hoddesdon
Went with some of the Grace team to run the evening worship for the conference. I don't think the delegates had experienced "scratch and sniff" creative worship before. Did the desert thing with heaps of bread in the middle with readings and reflections on what a wilderness/desert experience means and how this can prepare us for something better. Moya prepared a ritual involving sandpaper and rough sticks to be made smooth with appropriate readings and videos. Was fun. The bread and water represented manna - refreshment and provision at the end of it all. Grace website.

June 2002: Churches Broadcasting Conference, Derbyshire
This year I have been on the planning group for this conference. My main involvement was to arrange for the Labyrinth team to take part (see Grace website) and to Produce a session on Advertising. Because work was so busy and the arrangements for the conference so uncertain at times, this was a strangely stressful time. The feedback from the advertising session was good. I am not sure that the Church should advertise since the resources as not available however the debate is a good one and throws up some good questions. Session Report

March 2002: Training in Bangkok
Two weeks in Bangkok with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My first visit to the Far East. This was to train about eight students from a number of government owned TV stations. Impressed by the food and hospitality. I was not sure what to expect and since this was the first time anyone from the BBC had done a course like this. I tried to be flexible and tailor bits of the course depending on the daily feedback - this made for hard work. At the end of the course traveled to Phuket for four days. pictures