First Class Memorials

As darkness falls, the train pulls heavily through the greasy mechanics of the railway cuttings, her resigned travellers gazing mesmerized by lumps of iron and the occasional piece of garish graffiti, desert flowers by comparison.

Up at the front, there is no time for gazing, high backed couches like headstones support still working bodies, executive remains in pinstripe shrouds form their own first class memorials.

Here in the less refined quarters, pungent plastic meals are pulled from branded bags and consumed to a background of nokia, sony and hello moto.

Now away from the brown and rust, and in the fading light, incandescent platforms flash like TV channels surfed by remote control, their meagre charms not sufficiently enticing for a moment's pause.

Wakefield, Sheffield and Doncaster pass without acknowledgment, other than for the lottery of seating arrangements, newly boarded passengers, bags hoisted and bums squeezed into scarcely adequate spaces.

Now go to the new blog by clicking here

V&A Friday Late

From Friday Late at London's V&A held on the last Friday in every month starting at 18.30.

First, a vertical light box on which people can write ideas about

destiny, romance and conquests.

Then, Volume, an installation which
responds to movement.

After a disorderly wait in the rain it was a rushed wander through the pillars of LED lights - which also housed loud speakers. The patterns responded to peoples' movement but it was
difficult to make out with so many people. Would have been excellent as a solitary experience.

Volume is a collaboration between design collective United Visual Artists and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack and co-writer Neil Davidge (as part of their music production company, one point six).

Now see the new blog before this one closes down

Apple iPhone - Want One

Don't forget that I'm now at http://markwaddington.typepad.com/

Happy New Year

All the best for 2007 and don't forget that I'm now at http://markwaddington.typepad.com/

Fresh Start with Typepad

I started with blogger in September 2002 and here, at the end of 2006, it's time for a fresh start. Yes, the charms of Typepad have finally caught up with me. Blogger has served me well, but there's so much more I want to put on and so little space.

So I would appreciate you updating your links, feeds and whatever with my new address.

http://markwaddington.typepad.com/

Edit Magic

I was spellbound at the Tate Modern by Video Quartet in which clips of percussion instruments were edited on four screens to produce one coherent piece (Christian Marclay).

Here a different artist Lasse Gjertsen shows that a thrilling relationship can be achieved between sound and vision in the edit.

Nine

Nine
Originally uploaded by markwaddington.

Nine has become a tradition at Grace. The idea is based on the nine lessons and carols, but the content is not so expected.

Nine contributors are commissioned to come up with a response their the chosen reading - but we never know what they will do. There were home made videos, animations, unusual reflections and tunes.

The challenge for the team was processing the huge range of media thrown at us - CDs, Powerpoint presentations, DVDs, VHSs, photos.

Kathy and Adam

Congratulations to both. A great day for everyone. more pictures here

Grace: Listening

This month's gace was all about listening - which you're invited to do now. Click play.

Shhhhh You Know Who

About fifteen years ago I suggested that we used William Franklyn to voice a BBC One promo and in reply other guys in the office said they were sure he was dead. As it turned out he was very much alive and keen to do the voice-over.



I'd always been a fan of his voice (and his personality) and since then I've wheeled him in to do countless jobs for the BBC. What always struck me about him was that he was not only very professional, but that he had a boyish enthusiasm for the art of voice-overs. After every session we would end up talking about voices and the things he'd been working on. He was thrilled to have been asked to narrate a version of Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Talking with him was a bit like talking with your dad but with a bubbling, youthful excitement for the job in hand. "Supposing we did it this way", he'd say, "would we get into trouble? I hope so".

The last conversation I had with him was about growing old. He explained that when you get to a certain age something happened to your voice, "it was a bit like a teenager's voice breaking but in reverse". Your vocal chords would crack and all of sudden you'd sound like an old person, he explained. He seemed a little worried about this prospect, but as it has turned out - even at the age of eighty one - it never happened.

Sadly the next time someone says, "why don't we get Bill Franklyn to do the voice over" I'll have to say that he's no longer on the agent's books.

Saturday Night

The Secret Policeman's Ball was fantastic. It came at the end of a stressufull day with doubts as to whether we could face going. Glad we did. The highights for me were Russell Brand and Eddie Izzard.



The presentation of the event I thought lacked flow. They opted for using a scripted announcer voice over to link the items. For me this didn't work. Being in the round, you were never quite sure where you were supposed to be looking. There was only one live link - from Russell Brand hanging off the balcony which was perfect.

The Grace, VOX, service was a success. Jonny has a note about it on his blog. The idea was that we would reflect on why some speeches are so powerful and yet other important voices go unheard. We gave people the opportunity to make their great speech. On the new Grace website the contents of the service are available, click here.

Good Living

Russell and Bevan Davies have put together some good living tips on an excellent little site which I hope you'll support.

In the presents section he says, "one of the best presents we have ever been given is a Kalashnikov automatic rifle...." Full details at http://www.goodlivingtips.co.uk/

Grace on VOX

Just completed the final planning session for this weekend's Grace. It should be good thanks to the amazing talents of the Grace team.

Having set it up, Deborah and I will be heading off to The Secret Policeman's Ball that evenining to celebrate our anniversary (torture and unjust imprisonment!).

So if you can't get tickets for the Amnesty gig, here's my definite recommendation:

















Just occasionally someone stands up and says something the whole world takes notice of. Think of those like Luther King and Winston Churchill - what made their words so powerful?

Now think of your words. Are they lost in a chattering world? What do you want to say? How do you want to say it? Is there anything stopping you?

A service of reflection on the human and divine voice. VOX.

listen to the opening montage

BBC ONE Idents

And you thought that hippos didn't do synchronised swimming. New BBC ONE idents produced by Red Bee begin tomorow at 10am.

Appearing Rooms

Appearing Rooms
Originally uploaded by markwaddington.

Another picture of Jeppe Hein's Appearing Rooms at the South Bank Centre. Quite pleased with the drama of this picture - a lot of people getting very, very wet.