a poetic partnership

I’m sure most of you have seen at least one of them, but have you really read them? I just love the Poems on the Underground series -  they’ve become ingrained in my every day commute, in my London life, and I find myself under a slightly worrying compulsion to look out for them…

I think it’s the refreshing change that they offer from my dreary journey which forces this habit. Encompassing a fantastic range of humour, poignancy, history and the down-right bizarre – you never quite know what you’re going to get! And the challenge of trying to work some of them out, is also a great way to pass the time.

 The idea behind the series also strikes a chord. In terms of a partnership the brainchild of the scheme, (American writer Judith Chernaik), couldn’t have orchestrated a better deal than with Transport for London to achieve their main aim of bringing poetry to the masses.  It’s just such a fantastic way of resurrecting old classics and immersing the millions of rat-race runners (myself included) in the intrigue of poetry that may otherwise have remained uncovered.

And although so many of the poems were written decades, indeed in some cases, centuries ago, it’s fascinating to see how many of the emotions, worries and scenarios are still relevant in some way to contemporary society.  You can’t help in many cases to draw comparisons with your own life. Reading them gives you a chance to reflect on life and all that it entails – relationships, politics, simple pleasures, poignant moments, the list is endless. 

Perhaps most refreshing of all – their presence doesn’t reek of ulterior motives.  Of course, there is a best selling book behind the series (!) and there is always profit to be made, but the underlying principles remain impressive.  A partnership simply for the sake of the arts.  You are not pushed in one way or another, or under pressure to believe anything in particular.  You can simply reflect and draw your own conclusions.

Make sure you keep an eye out.

The ‘Fun Theory’

A new theory has been developed, all around trying to instigate behaviour change. The thinking behind this is quite simple, if you make things fun for people, you are more likely to change people’s behaviour.

The first video launched to showcase this new theory demonstrates how true this can be.  A normal staircase is turned into a giant musical piano, to try and encourage people to walk on the stairs rather than the escalators. The escalators remain untouched whilst people of all ages have a little musical game on the piano stairs.

The video is a great piece of content which illustrates the theory in a simple and imaginative way. You replace the negative associations of huffing and puffing up stairs with an interactive, new and fun activity. The results therefore come as no surprise at all (66% more people tried the stairs than the escalator).

Whilst the video provides a few minutes of entertainment, I have to remain a bit of a cynic. For a few minutes I try to imagine installing the musical piano to the busy London Underground in the hope that angsty commuters can become a little more light hearted in the morning rush to work  (plus getting that extra bit of exercise we all do our best to keep up but fail miserably at – or at least I try)…And the bubble bursts…

I don’t think that Volkswagen has suddenly found the answer to all our problems. Whilst it’s created some great video content, in reality, how long will it take for people to get bored of the stairs and the annoying noise, because no-one can actually play a song on it, becomes more than some people can bear…

It will be interesting to see what other content is developed around this fun theory. I caught a glimpse of the world’s deepest bin, so have a look and judge for yourself.

Can we all adopt a bit more positive thinking and make this world a more fun place to live in…?

Power of photography

The eleventh World Sight Day took place last week and if I’m honest this was the first one I’ve been aware of. The reason… iconic photographer Rankin.

Rankin teamed up with international charity Sightsavers in order to raise awareness of the thousands of women in the world who go blind every year.

By using the power of photography coalesced with dramatic make up, the message portrayed by the pictures is extremely powerful.  

You wouldn’t think the campaign needed a photographer behind it to raise awareness as the statistics speak for themselves; two-thirds of the 45 million blind people in the world are women and 90 per cent of those live in the developing world.

 

 

 

The stunning work by Rankin will hopefully help World Sight Day become a much more prominent in years to come.

Blogs i like

I am obsessed with fashion blogs at the moment. My current favourite is ‘What Katie Wore’. It’s a blog written by Katie’s boyfriend who challenged himself to document what his eclectic and colourful lady wears everyday for a year, whilst she had to make sure it was something different everyday ( it’s like a more personal version of The Sartorialist.) It ticks all the boxes for me – pretty clothes and  a peek into someone else’s, far cooler, life. The sweetest thing is thats it is also like a 21st century love letter by him to her, capturing all the little quirks he loves about his girlfriend….all together now, awww. It’s www.whatkatiewore.com

Another one i just found was the writings of a slightly weird but compulsive mini fashionista called Tavi Gevinson who has taken the US fashion scene by storm (http://tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com/)  She describes herself as a ‘tiny 13-year-old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats’ and writes incredibly eloquently on all the season’s shows, what she’s wearing and dissecting the latest collections. At first people naturally assumed it was a fake, but Tavi then took a week off school to visit New York fashion week (accompanied by her dad who is a teacher and waited for her outside the show…) and since then has been courted by some of the biggest names in fashion and graced the cover of Pop magazine.

Obviously it is a bit insane to be interested in a 13 year old’s thoughts on fashion as a grown person, but I think it’s pretty interesting to see how influential these bloggers have / are becoming and the coverage they have been receiving in the wider press…..All hail the power of the blog!

African art in my bedroom

We have recently acquired some pieces of art done by my late father-in-law, Robert Gordon Crombie. These paintings capture Africa’s beautiful and magnificent beasts in they daily lives and in they natural habitat, I know that hours and hours were spent at the game reserves trying to get that perfect shot that could be painted from later! I put these up to pay homage to a talented man and to share with you a small part of Africa, something that makes me feel nostalgic! Enjoy!

Things that I love about London – part 1

Quite literally bumping into exhibitions.

I was walking back from a Client meeting and happened upon just a small part of the London Design Festival.  Although rather incongruous I still managed to not see ‘Supercell’ by Marc Newson until I was practically on it.

 

Supercell is Part of the Size + Matter art installations that are populating the South Bank exploring “the dynamic between leading designers and architects with a material and manufacturing process” (The London Design Festival)

And wow… Supercell does exactly that.  It’s made with loads of moulded steel panels in just three colours which really enhance the patterns that have been used to form a huge organic type shape, similar to the shape of a supercell thunderstorm – presumably why it’s been named ‘Supercell’!

I didn’t try, but apparently if you look through the windows from the Royal Festival Hall you can look down, right through the centre of Supercell and see the patterns and shapes from a different viewpoint.

You can see Supercell in situ on the South Bank until the 18^th October along with a couple of other large exhibits too.

Mixing it up at 23red

 

Last Friday night, 23red had their 5pm ‘beer o’clock’ served with a twist. In honour of our Bacardi Limited ‘Champions Drink Responsibly’ campaign, we decided to put some of our delicious non-alcoholic drinks to the test. Our resident mixologist, Claire, did a sterling job of re-creating the infamous Apple Mojito which went down an absolute treat. Looks as if its going to have to be a regular on the Friday night menu!

Here’s the recipe if you fancy trying the delicious Apple Mojito for yourself at home.  There are also video tutorials on http://www.championsdrinkresponsibly.com/ to give you a helping hand.

Ingredients:

½ a sweet apple (cored and peeled)

10 mint leaves

15ml lime juice

10ml sirop de gomme*

Ginger ale

Directions:

Muddle apple with the gomme and lime juice, then add the mint leaves and half a glass of crushed ice. Churn with a barspoon until mixed together. Top up the glass with crushed ice and lengthen with ginger ale. Garnish with a sprig of mint and an apple slice.

 You will need:

- a barspoon

- a highball glass

Tall lanky comedian 1 , Train Companies 0

Way back in August I took in a few comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.

 The highlight was Tom Wrigglesworth’s An Open Return Letter to Richard Branson – not to be confused (which I did)  with the letter to Richard Branson written by a disgruntled Virgin Airlines passenger that did the rounds last year!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html

 As with most good comedy, his show is built on real events.  But what makes it really stand out is the consumer campaign that has since ensued.

He is leading the way in trying to persuaded ALL train companies to stop the archaic rule that train passengers can only purchase a full price peak ticket for the train that they are travelling on, even if said train is an off peak one, thus penalizing train passengers who do not have the foresight, inclination or organising skills to buy a ticket before boarding – which lets face it we all know we should do but sometimes we just can’t.

So far he’s had success with Virgin Trains and through an online petition ‘Lena’s Law’ (named after the victim in his story) he’s hoping to convince the other train companies too.

Check out the article in The Telegraph which summarises what has incensed him to make such a stand.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3172548/Commuter-threatened-with-arrest-for-helping-elderly-passenger.html

Then sign the petition if you agree that this train rule needs to change.
http://www.lenaslaw.co.uk/

And if you do get a chance to catch his show  – seize it with both hands, it really is worth it. 
Check out one of his reviews here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/aug/21/tom-wrigglesworth-review

Tiger Woods – EA games

This is an interesting viral that makes you think the game has taken over your internet pages, very cleverly executed with some great effects. Just keep clicking on the ball.

http://www.bannerblog.com.au/2009/07/ea_tiger_woods_10_1.php

whilst on the subject of golf take a look at this, just when you thought a major gaming co made a huge glitch in its latest release, see what happens.

What is your perfect job…?

Friday afternoon in the office, and an email popped into my inbox which read:
Subject: Food for thought….
Body copy:Don’t ever complain about commuting, the broken printers or any other aspect of office life . There are worse jobs out there…

What I expected was a five minute montage of clips using home videos (or cartoon characters) in various slapstick comedy scenarios. In other words, not worth hitting fwd and sharing as a friday fun to share with the world. I was pleasantly surprised.

This clip (for an online recruitment website) creates a humorous and satirical narrative on the woes of working life, juxtaposed with a rather unlikely setting. The scene ends with their lead thought piece, which is quite simply: More than 140,000 job positions, one of them will make you happy. 

In my honest opinion, funny and brilliant.

One of my most favourite things…

 

Chestnuts or to be more precise, conkers are perhaps in my Top 3 Favourite Things.

 

 

Not too long ago I visited Ashdown Forest and found beautiful chestnuts everywhere, ‘winking’ at me from beneath newly fallen coloured leaves.  I picked one up, put it in my pocket and there it stayed for the best part of 3 months.  Now, every Autumn I look forward to the ‘companionship’ of a conker and have been trying to figure why, having one in my pocket makes me feel content. 

First I though it was because it reminded me of being small, when finding and owning the biggest conker provided a great measure of playground status. 

 

 

 Then I considered that maybe it was that chestnuts and conkers signal the end of summer and the arrival of Autumn. Late September is most certainly my favourite time of year, especially in Sussex.

Perhaps it is the fact they feel hard, yet are natural, and when you first find one have a fragile skin which quickly assumes a lustre which make them almost ‘jewel’ like.

  

 

Maybe it is a mix of all the above? Whatever the answer, as I go about work in busy London, as I navigate through concrete and meld with technology, as the nights close in, it is somehow ‘comforting’ to put your hand in a pocket and find a conker there.  A micro-talisman which serves as a reminder of the value of simple things, of that which is natural and unspoilt.   Try it for a bit of therapy.

Smoke photography

I was doing some image searching the other day and i came across this site. Stoffel De Roover a photographer who has created his unique style of photograhy using smoke from incense sticks, mirrors and then editing it all together. He has an extensive gallery on his web site ranging from terminator style to nature. Click on the image to take you to his site, hope you enjoy.

Feeling Blu

Blu is back with one of his sensational real-life giant animations. Only this time, he’s joined by painter, filmmaker and all-round urban demigod, David Ellis.

Fetch yourself a brew and a biscuit, press play and enjoy!

Over the years, Blu has produced a few of these graffiti animations. I find the attention to detail, inventiveness and sheer amount of work absolutely staggering.

A pretty little number

Here’s a simple idea, brilliantly executed by designer Oscar Diaz.

The ink in the pot gets sucked out into the embossed paper numbers through straightforward ‘capillary action’ – essentially just like a household sponge.

Every day that goes by, a new set of numbers gets coloured in to give you a truly original calendar.

And do we really care that it doesn’t work terribly well when the humidity or temperature of the room’s not exactly right?

Do we heck.

To find out more, visit http://www.dezeen.com/2009/07/17/ink-calendar-by-oscar-diaz/

I’m the storyteller… and my story must be told.

A cinematic, very entertaining TV ad for Canal+ by BETC Euro RSCG. The director was Matthijs Van Heijningen.

Does it make it’s point about the creativity of Canal+ writers? I think so. And it’s funny. Funny is always good. Remember, no-one’s sitting at home just waiting for your next ad.

Dinner and a Movie

It’s no surprise that many restaurants have been hurting for business since the start of the economic crisis – but hey, people still need to eat! So what are retailers, packaged food, and delivery restaurants doing to take advantage of the situation?

Promotions such as Sainsbury’s long-running ‘Feed Your Family For a Fiver’ have been successful because they enable people who may not be so familiar with their hob to serve their family a cheap, familiar, easy to prepare meal. However, brands need to make sure that their discounted offerings are helping their brand, not hurting it. Although shoppers would expect and welcome these promotions from Sainsbury’s and Tesco (‘Finest Meal for Two for £9’), the launch of Waitrose’s ‘Two for £10’ last year was a bit of a dubious choice because not only does it detract from the retailer’s premium image, but it’s a direct rip-off of their primary competitor, M&S’ ‘Dine in for £10.’

A more creative approach is for brands to use partnerships to offer consumers a reason to want to eat a meal at home, rather than simply focussing on the product’s bargain prices. Both Pizza Hut and McCain have recently lauched partnerships that encourage people to create their own at-home spin on “dinner and a movie.”

McCain has partnered with Sky Movies to promote ‘McCain Movie Night In.’ This year long sponsorship of Sky’s comedy movies will encourage consumers to cosy up in front of the TV with McCain wedges. McCain has also expanded this link to at-home film by running banners on LoveFilm that say “McCain Wedges and movies – a great combination.”

Similarly, Pizza Hut has teamed up with Blinkbox.com, offering customers up to 20% off the online film/TV streaming service. The promotion is aimed at 18-30 year old males, who are likely amongst the ones feeling the crunch and in search of alternatives to big nights out.

I look forward to seeing what other brands will do to appeal to consumers who have lightened pocketbooks but are still eager to be fed and entertained.

Try then buy……online

 

Tube journeys are often what I term a ‘necessary evil’, so when something grabs my attention and puts a smile on face my face it definitely sticks in my mind.

A recent example of this is the latest ad campaign launched on London Underground by Dixons.co.uk. The campaign which does not actually mention any other retailer by name, advises shoppers to go into stores for advice and then buy from the Dixons site.

The ads cleverly use and rely on the well known style, location and resounding features of the chosen large department stores in order to execute their message.

The campaign in my opinion is simple yet effective and encourages a behavior that is very familiar in this ‘comparison website’ fad era.

Lynx

This is a really cool link, I had a bit of fun with this and I must admit did make me laugh. It does switch between different scenarios and takes a little time to load up but definitely worth it. Its directed at a young male market making you interact through different scenarios linking in the brand through out. The journey starts like a normal internet site then progresses through some interesting clips, games and finishing off linking you to their facebook page. Definitely worth a look, even if its just to play the games.

Cam you dig it?

Just a quick one. Have a look at this amazing video. I’m sure there’s a bit of digital trickery in there somewhere, but it’s still incredible.

MARTINI Racing 2009 Monza finale

MARTINI_® 2009 season finale in Milan

 

So another MARTINI Racing^® season has drawn to a close – and what a season it’s been for the 23red MARTINI Racing^® team!

We have courted controversy in Monte Carlo and bonded with Bernie in Belgium. We’ve  put Jessiqa in a J-Craft, taken Tamara to the Terrazza and joked with a jolly Jenson.

But all good things come to an end and in September MARTINI Racing^® headed to Milan for our 2009 season finale. We took key trade guests from Switzerland and Italy to the 2009 Italian Grand Prix for an unforgettable weekend.

The two day guest experience included gourmet food, magically re-filling champagne flutes and general decadence in Paddock Club,  tempered by dinner and drinks at the Dolce & Gabbanna MARTINI_® concept bar and D&G GOLD restaurant. Which are pretty ordinary frankly. Honest.

GOLD restaurant is so called because everything in it is made out of the stuff. Even the waiting staff. It’s like the aftermath of a King Midas all-night bender. Dolce & Gabbana have long been associated with MARTINI_® – both icons of Italian style and sophisticated glamour. For our guests, these moments of glamour were the highlights of a weekend where MARTINI_® facilitated Gioia di Vivere and introduced some key influencers to the brand in premium environments which also included a breakfast visit to the original MARTINI_® Terrazza, overlooking the beautiful Piazza del Duomo.

Apparently there was some racing going on during all this too. The weekend was supposed to be about Giancarlo Fisichella, homegrown hero and freshly arrived at Ferrari after his second place in Spa. But it was Fisi’s former Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil who seemed set to sneak pole until losing to a last-gasp Lewis mugging.  Race-day turned out to be all about the battle of the Brawns between Button and Barrichello. Lewis lost it with a last lap spin and it was Raikkonen’s Ferrari which pootled home in third, much to the delight of 100,000 Tifosi and some tired-looking MARTINI_® guests.

Nick Heideld pulls a textbook David Paul motorway over-take manoeuvre...

The success of the MARTINI Racing^® hospitality programme in Monza was summed up by Swiss Bacardi-Martini representative Marco Vogel:

‘I would like to thank you again for this unforgettable weekend and for the spectacular Monza hospitality programme. We all are overwhelmed by this splendid event and  still cannot believe that we were able to get so close to the speedway and the VIPs. We had the time of our life and will keep these superb memories for a very long time.’

All in all a great end to another highly successful season for the MARTINI Racing^® team. We look forward to another exciting season in 2010!

 

The crowd had spotted Cheryl Cole's wardrobe malfunction...

 

Wot I learn’d in Milan

 

by Mark

 

(aged 23 ¾ )

 

1. F1 drivers don’t do ego. Mark Webber eating army-issue Chilli with his engineers, Jenson Button and Vitantonio Liuzzi flying cattle class BA to Heathrow and DC taking time out to chat to mad Italian fans.
2. Marco Materazzi doesn’t do Limos. Can you see Beckham swapping VIP for the back of his mate’s Vespa?
3. MARTINI_® Rosso, on the rocks with a twist of orange is a cheeky aperitif.
4. Being top of the F1 Drivers’ championship standings doesn’t always guarantee you the best seats in the bar. Jog on Jenson…we were here first.
5. Che Casa and Che Caso mean two very different things…
6. It’s important not to get carried away on the motorway. It’s Milan – not the Mongol Rally. Chryslers weren’t built to be driven by budding Colin McRae’s.
7. Italian petrol pumps are foolproof in their design. Apparently.
8. Don’t ever let a professional barman choose the wine unless they’re footing the bill
9.  And don’t ever trust an Italian driver who drops you off 500 yards from your destination. Try five miles mate – get your sat-nav fixed!
10.  How to make a top notch Manhattan – 1 part MARTINI_® Rosso, 3 parts Canadian Club rye whiskey, 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters. Spot on.

 

That’s all. See you next year………