Posted by David on May 27, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Gill Robinson is an amazing woman, one of those unique people who really can live up to the statement, ‘she’s a woman, of course she can multi-task’
For over two decades Gill has been running her dress design and tailoring business catering for the quirky, the beautiful, the demanding and the appreciative. You see, it’s not a dress design business at all. It’s all about how you make someone feel fantastic, confident, glamorous and stand out in a crowd. Sounds more like therapy 
But that isn’t what makes Gill special. In between keeping the clients swathed in beauty, she has brought up two fantastic young women, and constantly battled with the side effects and setbacks of progressive kidney failure. Does she complain – Nope. She loves what she does, and so do her clients.
From wedding parties to dance troupes, from transgenders to inebriated celebrities, Prom outfits to uniforms – even the epaulettes on a Traffic Warden! Gill loves her customers.
Gill’s business isn’t large by any standards, but her heart is. She could have given up at anytime. I suspect most of us would have, if we had walked in the same steps for a while.
I thought maybe Gill had a strange addiction to needles. I mean, why else would you spend your day having people put needles in you, then go home and get out more needles! But no, Gill has always had a passion for art and design. After she left tertiary education Gill went on to study Art and Design at college in Gloucester and hasn’t looked back since. It’s in her blood, as they say (although in Gill’s case someone elses).
In fact, Gill would tell you running her own business gives her freedom. Freedom to express her individuality, the flexibility to deal with her illness (something that most employers would find impossible to accommodate), and the freedom to be there for her children as they grew up.
Has it been tough, sure has. Deadlines to meet, sometimes physical constraints, but nothing dampens Gill’s resolve. A resolve I suspect shared by many self-employed people.
So next time you see a friend at their wedding, or a mate at their prom, a mum at the christening of their child, or a Riverdance inspired spectacular at your local theatre… take a sneaky peak at the label, it might say a lot more than just a name. WB
Posted by David on March 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment
- British film stars Nicholas Hoult, Georgia Groome, and Thomas Sangster launch Film Nation:Shorts
- Winning films to be screened at iconic London 2012 venues during the Games, and seen by millions
- Programme to include young people’s workshops across the UK offering hands-on experience in filming techniques using state-of-the-art Panasonic equipment
Young film-makers can win a chance to get their work showcased at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games through a major new nationwide competition announced today, Film Nation: Shorts.
The winners’ work will be screened at the iconic venues of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012 to an audience of millions. The best films will also be showcased on giant London 2012 Live Site screens around the country, on the London 2012 website, and on a dedicated Film Nation website. Submissions for the competition will open on 21 June 2010, and the competition will be run each year until 2012, showcasing the creative talents of the next generation young film-makers and giving them a chance to be right at the heart of the Games.
11 -25 year olds are invited to create short films (of no longer than 3 minutes) that celebrate the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games: respect, courage, excellence, friendship, equality, determination and inspiration. Submissions will open in June when the project website goes live, with young people able to submit their short films until 1 October 2010. The competition culminates in special regional and national award ceremonies each year to highlight the best new film making talent, with the first national award ceremony in December 2010.
Film Nation: Shorts is not just a competition, it is also a chance for young people to meet professional film-makers and acquire new skills in film-making techniques using the latest state-of-the-art Panasonic equipment, through a unique programme of 100 free workshops in centres around the country, which will be announced on 21 June. Details of the workshops and a series of free online film-making resources will be available on the Film Nation: Shorts website from June.
Film Nation: Shorts has been developed in partnership with Panasonic, the UK Film Council, Screen West Midlands and First Light with funding from the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor. The delivery partners will be announced in June.
Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural Olympiad, said: “This programme will deliver a powerful message about our intentions for the Cultural Olympiad: young people and their creative power are developed and celebrated and, with the support of our partners Panasonic and the Olympic Lottery Distributor, will be brought right into the heart of the 2012 Games.
“I want to take this opportunity to pay personal tribute to our partners and colleagues at the UK Film Council, Screen West Midlands and First Light for the work they have done with us in the creation and development of Film Nation:Shorts. Their inspirational support has been pivotal in realising our ambition to reach out to young people everywhere through the medium of film.”
John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, said: “The UK is home to some of the world’s finest creative talent and what better way to showcase and celebrate this country’s next generation of film-makers than at the London 2012 Games, to a worldwide audience of millions.”
Panasonic UK Advertising and Sponsorship Manager, David Bonney said: “We are delighted to be working with LOCOG to engage young people in the craft of film making. These youngsters will be able to use the latest Panasonic consumer and broadcast camcorders to create a broad range of films, including Olympic-inspired ones, in the lead up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“We are looking forward to helping to identify new film making talent and seeing these short films recognised through regional and national competitions.”
Visit www.london2012.com/filmnation for more details.
Posted by David on March 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The Farnborough International Airshow 2010 will be held on 19–25 July at Farnborough in Hampshire. The biennial show is one of the world’s biggest international trade fairs for aerospace equipment and technology.
It attracts over 150,000 visitors on the two public days (24–25 July this year) in what is one of the world’s largest temporary exhibition areas. Structures measuring 90,000 sq metres (970,000 sq ft) are built on the site, providing floor space that would accommodate London’s Royal Albert Hall 30 times.
The Airshow is a showcase for the world’s most advanced aircraft, as well as historic and popular planes. There are daily flying displays and a static display that gives visitors the opportunity to examine the aircraft in close detail.
The public days will feature a 4½-hour flying display with running commentary, static display, interactive rides and exhibits, seminars, a funfair, costume characters and crowd entertainers. Details of the aircraft taking part will be available in April.
Farnborough, 50km (30 miles) south-west of London, is the oldest active airfield in the UK and is home to the Royal Aerospace Establishment, which tests and develops different aircraft types. Most of the aircraft built during the First World War were designed at Farnborough. In 1908 the first powered, sustained flight in Britain was made here, by the American Samuel Franklin Cody. The first Briton to fly faster than the speed of sound, John Derry, achieved it at Farnborough in 1948.
Tickets for 24–25 July cost £25 when bought in advance and £30 on the day. Children under 16 are free.
Posted by David on March 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment
There will be a special Spring Celebration on 3 May at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall in the south-west of England.
Artistic workshops, wildlife activities and live jazz will be on offer, all included in the normal admission fee. There will be demonstrations of wood-turning and charcoal-burning and traditional games of ring and hoop as well as a tournament of Smite, a Cornish skittles game.
Following the festival, the gardens will put on an undercover display of their National Collection of camellias and rhododendrons which were introduced to Heligan a century ago. The National Collection Display will run from 4 to 9 May and will include information on the adventures of significant Victorian plant hunters, stories of individual plants from Heligan’s collection and descriptions of how a micro-propagation project is helping to conserve the future of some of Heligan’s plants.
In 2009 the display was awarded a Gold medal at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan have been restored over the last 20 years after decades of neglect.
Posted by David on March 16, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Not what you thought eh!
Unstick yourself from the sofa this April and get you and your kids down to Somerset to the UK’s most interactive model show.
The two-day South West Model Engineering, Model Making and Hobbies Exhibition will feature an extensive range of indoor and outdoor exhibitions, demonstrations and interactive displays.
To back up the huge variety of model engineering and model enthusiast clubs, there will be over 150 specialist traders giving you ample opportunity to invest in all those essentials to keep your hobby on the road. (Hmmm, maybe that should be…on track, or afloat!)
This is a wonderful event to attend, the venue is perfect for indoor and outdoor attractions and displays, and there are plenty of them.
Aside of the exhibition there are a range of activities for all the family to get involved with, including:
- Build your own model in the Airfix Workshop
- Be amazed at the flying demonstrations (Who needs Red Bull!)
- Traction Engine Demonstrations
- Radio controlled Boats, Planes, Trains and Tanks galore
- and much more!
Flying, boating and tank displays will operate at various times throughout both days of the event.
This is one of those weekends when you hang up the Playstation, XBox and Wii and convince the kids that a whole world of fun exists out there. The one chance where you pretty much know, that whatever protest they have beforehand will be replaced by joyous smiles and whispers of ”for my birthday could I…”
Model shows capture forgotten childhoods, and are perfect arenas for introducing the next generation of modellers to a multiplicity of skill, passion, experimentation, inventiveness, learning, discovery, patience and imagination. But above all just great fun. Make sure your kids are exposed to one of the greatest leisure and pleasure activities of all time!
Right, that’s it, I’m off to build my shopping list, see you there
You can check out more detail in our leisure guide here, or at the organisers website here.
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