text:
I had an idea.
I was going to manufacture a children's sock that would be adored by parents of toddlers around the world. A sock that would help new walkers stay upright.
Had I ever designed a piece of apparel? No.
Had I ever manufactured anything? No.
Had I ever put a product into the stream of commerce? No.
I didn't let that deter me.
They say ignorance is bliss and that is exactly where I was. In bliss. Ready for an adventure in the unknown.
It turned out to be a long adventure but one of the best I've ever had. I learned tons about how things happen in the real world and that sometimes things don't progress in a neat, orderly fashion as one might imagine from reading books on the subject.
Instead, once the idea is unleashed in the world, it takes on a life of its own – growing organically and responding to the twists and turns of synchronicity.
What I am going to share with you is what I discovered about turning a product idea into reality: observations, learnings, and practical tips. It's too much to capture in just one post so you might want to follow along to get all the information.
Step 1 – Starting
The truth is that if an idea is ever to see the light of day – you must actually start. You must move past the idea phase.
This first step is sometimes the hardest but I have found an easy way to move through it: I figure out what I don't know and then identify someone – anyone – who might have that information. And I go talk to them.
I knew someone needed to make the socks so that is where I started. I asked the question: who makes socks?
Living in a state with strong trade ties to Asia, I knew I could probably find a sock manufacturer in that part of the world so I contacted the World Trade Center office in my area and scheduled an appointment.
It turned out to be an incredibly helpful conversation.
I learned that a number of options existed:
- I could work with a trade consultant – someone who is in business to make trade connections for people. Trade consultants are usually natives in the country they represent who can connect you personally with manufacturers they are familiar with.
- I could do my own research on global sourcing sites.
- The World Trade Center could research and supply me with a list of potential options.
- I could also look for US manufacturers on ThomasNet.
At the end of our meeting, the World Trade Center representative casually mentioned that he knew of a woman who was doing something similar with legwarmers for children.
My ears perked up. She was definitely someone I needed to talk to.
Step 2 – Doing What You Need to Do to Find Out What You Need to Know
Because it is easier not to reinvent the wheel, I decided to track down the legwarmer lady. She had founded a successful company called BabyLegs and I knew she was just the person who could answer my questions if only I could have a few minutes of her time.
I made several phone calls and emails trying to connect with her. It proved to be challenging since her business was in a growth phase and she was massively busy.
So I did the next best thing: I cornered her in the bathroom.
OK, it's not as weird as it sounds. We ended up being at an event together and, as luck would have it, I ran into her as we both made use of the facilities.
Being the gracious person she is, she readily agreed to a meeting.
Sometimes a bit of persistence and creativity is all that's required to get the information you need.
Step 3 – How to Share
Ideas are like children. Precious. Brilliant. Beautiful.
I suppose that is why our natural inclination is to protect them. We don't want anyone to steal them away. After all, we have labored so hard to have them and to see them grow. We don't want to lose out on our investment.
Everyone has these fears – especially when it comes to making money.
So what do you do? Well, the way I see it, you have two options:
- You can prepare a non-disclosure agreement that you require people to sign before your share your idea; or,
- You can go on trust alone.
The decision to choose one over the other depends on a number of circumstances and you may wish to consult your legal counsel about the best route to go if you ever find yourself in this situation.
As I fleshed out my idea around the socks, I decided to go on trust alone and to freely share what I was trying to do.
My rationale was simple:
- There were other products out there similar in nature to mine;
- I didn't want to operate from a place of fear and loss but instead, wanted to operate from a place of possibility;
- If I gave freely, then others would likely be inclined to do the same; and,
- If someone took my idea, I could always beat the pants off them through market positioning.
Granted, it's always best to be the first one to market with an idea since it automatically gives you a leg up, but that was my rationale nonetheless.
The payoff from my approach??
I garnered a new friend and found a trusted manufacturer.
What happened next? Stay tuned for Part 2 where I cover some of the nitty-gritty (like legal stuff and product design).
If you are intrigued about pursuing ideas and making changes, you might want to check out my guide on changing your livelihood. It's mostly about changing your work but has tons of helpful tips that just might shift your perspective.
I'd love to pop into your inbox. Subscribe to get blog posts, an occasional newsletter, and other good things.


text:
Have you tried a mindfulness meditation?
A mindfulness meditation, mindfulness, benefits of meditation. Watch this free video or read the step-by-step guide and enjoy the benefits of meditation.
The primary focus of a mindful meditation is your breathing...
However, the primary goal is maintaining a calm, non-judging awareness, allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go without getting entangled in them.
The practice of a mindful meditation should encourage you to live mindfully.
Your stress will evaporate if you approach every part of your life with an attitude of mindfulness.
Some of us prefer to learn by listening and watching rather than by reading...
So I have included the following video to guide you through the meditation. However, if for some reason you are unable to - or prefer not to - watch the video, the simple steps are listed below.
This easy guided Mindfulness Meditation is presented by The World Wide Online Meditation Center. You can either watch the whole video or close your eyes and follow the voice.
Remember it is quite natural for thoughts to arise, and for your attention to follow them. No matter how many times this happens, just keep bringing your attention back to your breathing.
Benefits of this meditation:
Go from A Mindfulness Meditation to What Is Mindfulness
Go from A Mindfulness Meditation to DIY Stress Relief Home

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Batch Compiler v3.0.0 - NemPosted: Sep 15th, 2004 - 4:44:16 pm
Batch Compiler v3.0.0 is finally ready to be taken out of beta. The final build includes several fixes and improvements over the beta builds and as such beta users will want to upgrade. You can pick up the final build here. Special thanks to all users who helped debug the application and its specifications.
Modified: Apr 24th, 2005 - 5:38:59 pm[ 31906 Views ]
[ 1 2 ]
1. BluefangModified: Sep 17th, 2004 - 12:49:57 pm
Alright, here is my installer.
it is still in beta so any feed-back would be great.
2. NemPosted: Sep 17th, 2004 - 8:14:40 pm
Will look at it shortly.
3. NemModified: Sep 24th, 2004 - 3:22:36 pm
I'm sorry for the delay in testing it, I honestly forgot about it.
Anyways, I gave it a try and I'm very impressed. Nice work there, this should solve a lot of newbie problems. I do have two small suggestions regarding the config.xml file you generate though:
Anyways, I gave it a try and I'm very impressed. Nice work there, this should solve a lot of newbie problems. I do have two small suggestions regarding the config.xml file you generate though:
- Since the presets you included are basically templates it might be an idea to add them to the presets menu. This way it is easy for users to find them and use them.
- Not really a suggestion, but how are you selecting the logviewer path? Depending on which version of windows you have this can be in different locations.
4. BluefangModified: Sep 25th, 2004 - 4:10:39 pm
hey, thanks.
Atcually, the presets should have been added to the list and the normal (easy) preset should have auto loaded.
But that dosn't work because I changed around a couple paths and forgot to update the config.xml template source ><
I'm selecting the system dir with a '$SYSDIR' variable
"The windows system directory (usually C:\windows\system or C:\winnt\system32 but detected at runtime)"
so it should auto detect what the proper dir is. so, in a very basic sense, the generation line is '$SYSDIR\notepad.exe'
So, as soon as I correct that I'll upload the new version.
5. NemPosted: Sep 25th, 2004 - 4:39:33 pm
Cool, that's how BC searches for your log viewer too.
6. BluefangPosted: Sep 25th, 2004 - 4:46:25 pm
I've uploaded the new version. it is the same link as before.
--I fixed the config.xml problem so the presets work properly now
--I updated the steam username internals.
before it would take what ever the user put in and put that as the steam username in the path.
later on, the installer would make syre that the <gamedir>/<moddir>/maps folder existed.
but if the user put their username in with capitols, it would mess up because the steam username folder didn't have capitols.
now it should convert the A-Z/a-z to lowercase and solve that problem.
And you said I could change the auto-update url. how exactly do I do that?
7. NemPosted: Sep 25th, 2004 - 6:11:45 pm
In the config.xml file the options element should have the attribute:
The updateurl is the url for the folder that the automatic update tool downloads specifications from. On your server you would place all your specifications in that folder along with a file called index.xml which is a specification file hash list. You can create this file in Batch Compiler. To do this:
The updateurl is the url for the folder that the automatic update tool downloads specifications from. On your server you would place all your specifications in that folder along with a file called index.xml which is a specification file hash list. You can create this file in Batch Compiler. To do this:
- Click on the Help menu.
- Click Check For Updates.
- Click Export.
- Save the hash list to you hard drive.
8. BluefangPosted: Sep 25th, 2004 - 7:12:51 pm
cool. I've updated it once again. only changes are the updateurl.
9. NemPosted: Sep 26th, 2004 - 10:47:49 pm
Nice work. I've put a link up on the Batch Compiler download page.
10. richeiPosted: Oct 5th, 2004 - 12:15:28 pm
Before i go and download this, just tell me that u fixed the problem with the -wadinclude not working.
11. NemPosted: Oct 5th, 2004 - 1:33:44 pm
Shouldn't be a problem if you have everything set up right...
12. richeiPosted: Oct 6th, 2004 - 11:58:51 pm
This is my batch file.
@echo off
set WADROOT=E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\CompileTools
echo ###################################################
echo # Batch Compiler #
echo ###################################################
echo ###################################################
echo # Please report bugs to: email@example.com #
echo ###################################################
echo Written At: 10/7/2004 2:51 AM
echo BC Version: 184.108.40.206
"E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\CompileTools\hlcsg.exe" -cliptype Simple -wadinclude "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok.wad" -estimate -dev 3 "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3"
"E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\CompileTools\hlbsp.exe" -estimate -dev 3 "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3"
"E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\CompileTools\hlvis.exe" -full -estimate -dev 3 "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3"
"E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\CompileTools\hlrad.exe" -customshadowwithbounce -extra -bounce 2 -smooth 50.0 -nomatrix -estimate -dev 3 "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3"
if not exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p0" goto nodelp0
del "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p0"
echo E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p0 deleted.
if not exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p1" goto nodelp1
del "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p1"
echo E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p1 deleted.
if not exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p2" goto nodelp2
del "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p2"
echo E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p2 deleted.
if not exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p3" goto nodelp3
del "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p3"
echo E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.p3 deleted.
if not exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.bsp" goto nocopybsp
copy "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.bsp" "E:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\email@example.com\half-life\firearms\maps"
echo ok3.bsp copied to E:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\email@example.com\half-life\firearms\maps.
if not exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.pts" goto nocopypts
copy "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.pts" "E:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\email@example.com\half-life\firearms\maps"
echo ok3.pts copied to E:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\firstname.lastname@example.com\half-life\firearms\maps.
if exist "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.log" "C:\WINNT\system32\notepad.exe" "E:\Program Files\Worldcraft\maps\ok\ok3.log"
I don't get any errors when it compiles. the only way i know the wad didn't get included is because when the map starts, i get a message saying the wad is missing. When i use the wadconfig, i don't get any errors unless there's a leak or something.
I have the input path set the compile tools and the output path to the mod folder.
13. BluefangPosted: Oct 7th, 2004 - 12:23:15 pm
1. don't put the full path for the WAD file. just put in the 'ok.wad'
2. make sure that you are using WAD AutoDetect. this some times fixes the error.
3. if all else fails, use HLFix to rebuild the WAD LISt (which is much like using a WAD Config)
you also might be getting the problem because the wads, the compile tools and/or the game are on seperate drives.
if they are on seperate drives, you have to use either HLFix or a WAD Config.
and FYI, the putput path should be set to the modfolder/maps folder.
14. richeiPosted: Oct 7th, 2004 - 7:07:59 pm
the putput path? is that a new setting ;)
The maps, wads, and compile tools are on the same drive.
I'm doing a compile without the wad path now. should know in a few minutes if it worked.
15. richeiPosted: Oct 7th, 2004 - 7:34:09 pm
Taking the path out worked. thanks Bluefang :)
[ 1 2 ]
You must be logged in to post a comment.
New users can register here.
New users can register here.


text:
what THEY do not SAY or want YOU to KNOW. B&W Open Third Eye.Listen to 6 Senses..Trust The Gut..Re-check with History, ?uestion Everything,. You are the Only Perfect Version you are Looking for.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Written by Ecspedition (197) Life of a Vocalist (189) Common Sense and Life Lessons (83) African Culture and African History (61) Music stories (58) Hidden and Government against peoples (37) Future Possible Outcomes and Prophecies (36) Downloads (28) Bible And Science (22) Herbal Healthy Living (17) Videos (14) RIDDIM FULL (13) Hidden and Government against peoplest (11) The Southern Kikuyu before !903 (10) Science & History Sun and Planets Human body (7) See Also Other Science & History Sun and Planets Human body (7) Games Reviews (4) RIDDIMS Downloads (4) Ebony&Ivory (3)
Featured post
How We Live Beyond 120 yrs Max [Guide to longer Life]
www.ecspedition.co.ke The Following is my Guide to slowing down the aging process and increasing life experiences in happiness , being...
tHE sTORY OF iANGEL
Biography of Ecspedition found at, www.reverbnation.com/ecspedition Ecspedition is Kenyan, born [1988,December 18th) Ezekiel Mwangi Kar...
TOGETHER DOES NOT MEAN AT THE SAME TIME What is wrong with the city life why does someone feel alone in the city why does the city have ...
Also see action-man-riddim-medley-official-hd love-model-donteh-official-music-video i-angel-m-pesa-shop-official-music-video REnaga ...
Also see renaga-turn-di-place-up-official-hd action-man-riddim-medley-official-hd love-model-donteh-official-music-video I am an ...
I know we all, or most of us has a song have never heard again or do not even know the name since you were either young in ,a hurry or he...
Also see renaga-turn-di-place-up-official-hd action-man-riddim-medley-official-hd i-angel-m-pesa-shop-official-music-video Call him a ...
TRANSLATIONS TO CHINESE ,GERMAN ,FRENCH,HINDU and PORTUGUESE SONG https://www.reverbnation.com/ecspedition/song/28502926-who-am-iworlds-m...
Its dawn again,and i am gonna have a late session tonight since its Saturday .I hate that these only happens on one day in a week,while i w...
Also see renaga-turn-di-place-up-official-hd love-model-donteh-official-music-video i-angel-m-pesa-shop-official-music-video INTRODUCT...
Please,GO FUND ME.
Fundraising with GoGetFunding
- Written by Ecspedition
- Life of a Vocalist
- Common Sense and Life Lessons
- African Culture and African History
- Music stories
- Hidden and Government against peoples
- Future Possible Outcomes and Prophecies
- Downloads
- Bible And Science
- Herbal Healthy Living
- Videos
- Hidden and Government against peoplest
- The Southern Kikuyu before !903
- Science & History Sun and Planets Human body
- See Also Other Science & History Sun and Planets Human body
- Games Reviews
- RIDDIMS Downloads
- Ebony&Ivory


text:
Live updates
- ITV Report
Treasures of India on display in new exhibition
The pieces were gifts presented to the Prince of Wales as he toured across India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal.Read the full story ›
- ITV Report
Student filmmaker returns to India for next documentary
An award-winning student filmmaker is returning to India for her next documentary about the plight of female construction workers.Read the full story ›
- ITV Report
Candlelit vigil in solidarity with Punjab protests
Sikhs from across the Midlands have held a candlelit vigil in Leicester, to remember people killed and injured in demonstrations in India.Read the full story ›
Sikh Community holds vigil for people killed in Punjab
A candlelight vigil will be held in Leicester today for the people killed and injured in Punjab in India.
Members of the Sikh community will gather at Leicester's Clock Tower in solidarity today with those affected by recent protests in India.
Two people were killed by police in demonstrations across the Punjab over the desecration of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib.
- ITV Report
Mother fights for justice after daughter dies in India
The mother of 8-year-old Gurkiren Kaur from Birmingham says her organs were returned in such a state it's impossible to tell them apart.Read the full story ›
- ITV Report
Mother says medic took child's life with mystery jab
The mother of an 8-year-old girl from Birmingham has told an inquest she believes a medic took her life with a mystery injection.Read the full story ›
Midlands MP calls for statement on new Amritsar claims
Tom Watson - the Labour MP for West Bromwich - has called on the government to make an 'urgent statement' about new claims of British Government involvement in a attack on Sikhs in India 30 years ago.
It comes after an Indian TV station suggested that SAS officers trained Indian forces before the Golden Temple siege in Amritsar.
The Prime Minister has said he is investigating but Tom Watson wants the government to address the House of Commons immediately.
Indian Visa Centre opens doors to the public
The first Indian Visa Centre opened its doors in Leicester today.
After a twenty-year campaign to establish such a centre in the city, the long wait was brought to an end when the doors opened at 11:30 this morning.
Keith Vaz, MP for Leicester East, officially opened the centre and said:
I cannot believe that after so many years of campaigning it has
finally become a reality. It is a wonderful gift to Leicester.
The centre will be initially open every Friday, between 10am-2pm, with additional days to follow provided there is sufficient demand.
Family order DNA tests on organs returned to UK
The family of an eight-year-old Birmingham girl who died while on holiday in India have revealed they are to order DNA tests to ensure the organs repatriated today are actually hers.
Gurkiren Kaur Loyal went to a clinic in the Punjab suffering from dehydration, where she died - and when her body was returned to the UK, it was discovered her organs had been removed.
Doctors in India have now returned organs to the UK - but her mother told ITV News Central they will be getting a DNA test to ensure they really belong to her daughter.
She described the pain of losing the child as "totally numbing".
Callum Watkinson has the full story.
Girl's organs expected back in UK
The parents of an eight-year-old girl from Birmingham, who died while on holiday in India, have told ITV News Central her missing organs are expected back in the UK today.
Gurkiren Kaur Loyal went to a clinic in the Punjab suffering from dehydration. She died in the hospital, but when her body was brought back to England, many of her major organs were missing.
Doctors in India said they were kept for further tests to be carried out.


text:
Monday, December 26, 2011
Merry Christmas, Y'all.
Our Christmas was very nice. I cooked delicious vegan foods, we skyped with family, gifts were opened, candle light service at church attended, caramels made (thank you, Eric!). I love how our holidays are spent in unique ways, and yes, I consider chillin' at home a unique way.
Can you believe that around this time two years ago I was freaking out about abdomino-perineal resection surgery? When I talk about surgery or treatments, wound vacs and pumps, it just seems so long ago. Years and year ago. It's weird. I often wonder what is in store for me in the next two years. I'm sure it will be exciting. :)
I have chemo this Thursday. It's a little bit easier to deal with since it seems the drugs are working. I still get anxious though. Got some prayers? I'll take 'em.
5 comments:
Sending you many prayers. Glad to hear your Christmas was nice! :)ReplyDelete
I will be praying, Sheri. I spent last week with my parents in Maryland. Wednesday was my mom's first chemo treatment. Stage 1a endometrial cancer. She had no nausea which thrilled me to no end!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 28, 2011 at 5:53 PM
Hi Sheri, Prayers are being said for you and your family everyday!!! What a blessed Christmas we have had. I feel so full of hope! It is hard to believe that you have been fighting cancer for two years. I thank God everyday for you! Keep on keeping on!! Your Dad and I love you sooo much! Love, Mom and DadReplyDelete
Enjoy your blog, as i'm also dealing with rectal cancer. I have a question concerning your original tumor. Was it a Stage1 with one node, Stage 2 with 1 node?
Hope the current drugs keep working.
Hang in there.
- AnonymousDecember 29, 2011 at 8:05 PM
The cancer was staged at III, 23 lymph nodes were removed during my big surgery (along with the rectum, where the tumor was hanging out). 4 were positive for cancer, but all but one were fried by the radiation I had before surgery. Does that help? I'm happy to answer questions. Do you have a blog? :) sheriReplyDelete


text:
Review: Istanbul's Museum of Innocence
Yazeed Kamaldien
Nobel prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has established arguably the first museum in the world replicating the chapters of a novel.
Pamuk's ode to literature is hidden away – but not far away – from the tourist noise of terrifically busy Istanbul. It is found in a residential area adjacent to the popular Istiklal shopping street where thousands of the city's estimated 13 million inhabitants traverse daily. It is named after Pamuk's novel, The Museum of Innocence, published in 2008.
Inside the museum unfolds the love story of Kemal and Füsun against the ever-present mesmerising Istanbul. The romance between Kemal, described in the novel as a "wealthy heir about to be engaged to aristocratic Sibel", and the "beautiful shopgirl" Füsun starts in the mid-1970s.
As often happens, love leads to tumult for Kemal too, as he "finds his established world of westernised families, opulent parties, society gossip and dining-rooms rituals is shattered". But he shares a love worthy of being documented in a museum which Pamuk as author and curator uses to elicit the desire to fall in love.
The epic chapter titles of Pamuk's novel accompany each box and announce tragic one-liners such as "An Indignant and Broken Heart Is of No Use to Anyone". Another noteworthy announcement is contained in this chapter title: "Happiness Means Being Close to the One You Love, That's All".
Pamuk's passion project comforts what he refers to, in an audio clip issued by the museum, as an inner artist needing release.
"There is a dead artist in my soul alongside a novelist and he is trying to resurrect himself. The museum is a way for the artist in me to express himself visually," he says.
"I conceived such an idea because I love small and neglected museums in the backstreets of big cities. When you come across one of these small jewels you feel that once upon a time a person with big ambitions and a vision established this institution but now it is fading away and it has an aura of poetry and neglect. I started the Museum Of Innocence to create such a place in Istanbul."
Pamuk explains in the audio clip that when he "bought this building (housing the museum) the neighbourhood was completely run down and full of neglected buildings". That was in 1999.
"Like all of Istanbul, this neighbourhood improved and developed parallel to the urban renewal of the city," he says.
Pamuk wrote The Museum of Innocence from 2002 to 2008 and while writing worked on the museum.
"It's not that I wrote a novel that turned out to be successful and then I thought about a museum. No. I conceived both the novel and the museum together," he says.
Wood and glass boxes – one box for each of the 83 chapters of the eloquently crafted 728-page novel – are spread across three floors. A book shop stocking Pamuk's published work is located in the basement.
At the entrance of the museum is one of its most intriguingly detailed exhibits. It is named '4,213 Cigarettes' and is dated 1976 to 1984. It holds the same amount of cigarette butts referred to in the piece's title. It represents all the cigarettes that Füsun smoked when Kemal was with her.
Kemal collected them all and Pamuk – as documenter of their story – has pinned all the cigarette butts to the wall and made notes below them to mark significant moments that the two lovers shared. Füsun's red lipstick is still evidenced on many of the cigarette butts that cover the wall from top to bottom and left to right.
Nine small TV screens fitted into the wall on the left of the cigarette butts are part of '4,213 Cigarettes'. The TV screens show black-and-white footage of a Füsun's right hand holding a cigarette. She is seated at a dinner table with her Kemal not in frame.
These personal touches run throughout the museum and Pamuk allows one to feel as if you have met his fictional characters.
In the museum piece depicting chapter one, 'The Happiest Moment of My Life', Pamuk uses sound to bring to life the moment when Füsun's earring dropped during her love-making with Kemal. The sound of a light breeze, referencing the novel, is heard in the background.
Pamuk has also recreated reality by juxtaposing poignant moments with everyday rituals. On the museum's first floor, which chronicle chapters one to 51, is a piece entitled 'I Was Going to Ask Her to Marry Me'.
It comprises a mirror above a bathroom sink. Shaving equipment, a toothbrush, soap and the sound of water running make up the rest of the display items. This is how Pamuk visualises his novel's chapters, like movie scenes, that draw spectators closer to the heart of his story and characters.
A recurring character in the intimate museum is Istanbul. The love story of Kemal and Füsun is chronicled in the city's streets. It is unsurprising that Istanbul features heavily in The Museum of Innocence as Pamuk has previously dedicated a novel to the city where he resides.
Pamuk is like countless other Istanbul locals who are proud to show how much they love their historical city. It is presently common to see Istanbul's residents wearing a T-shirt boldly displaying 'Istanbul' across their chests.
Two striking chapters visualise the city and its famous love story; the novel has been translated into various languages in almost sixty countries. One is 'The Streets That Remind Me of Her' which includes a map of streets marked in red to trace the young lover's passions.
Another piece shows a picture of the Bosphorous Sea that runs through Istanbul life as citizens cross it to make their way between the Asian and European sides of the city. 'The Shadows and Ghosts I Mistook for Füsun' maps points around the Bosphorous where Kemal may have spotted his lover. Connected to each point is a black-and-white photograph that features only one person dressed in colour: Füsun wearing red.
The museum's second floor covers chapters 52 to 79. It includes vintage cologne bottles, a collection of miniature ceramic dogs and a reflection on time.
Pamuk writes on the museum wall, in the voice of Kemal, that if we treasure our time "for its deepest moments then lingering eight years at our beloved's dinner table no longer seems strange and laughable".
"Instead, this courtship signifies 1,593 happy nights by Füsun's side. It was to preserve these happy moments for posterity that I collected this multitude of objects large and small that once felt Füsun's touch, dating each one to hold it in my memory."
The last floor is a penthouse that covers chapters 80 to 83. It showcases the copies of the novel's various translated versions. It displays Pamuk's handwritten manuscript of the novel and offers insights into his writing process.
Pamuk's ring-bound A4 notebooks contain scenes that never made it into the novel. Also contained therein are sketches, started in December 2008, for the museum.
Pamuk took breaks while writing the novel. When he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006 he returned to the novel only two months later. But he persisted during the "Cannes film festival in May 2007, where he was a member of the jury, Pamuk spent mornings working the novel in his room".
Pamuk wrote the novel's last sentence in late April 2008. This was six years after he had written its first line: "It was the happiest moment of my life, though I didn't know it yet."
Museum notes inform: "Pamuk had decided on the novel's opening sentence far in advance. On 18 March 2002, during a visit to New York, he sat in the famous library on 42nd Street and wrote it down over and over again."
The penthouse is enveloped in a sense of longing. One feels a sense of loss in this room even though Kemal and Füsun had never been part of anyone's real lives.
"Between 2000 and 2007 Kemal Basmaci lived in this room, where Orhan Pamuk sat and listened to his story. Kemal Basmaci passed away on 12 April 2007," reads the museum note on the room's wall.
Kemal's simple metal bed, a suitcase, a side table with drawer and orange wall paper complete the minimalist setting. A wooden chair is placed near the bed, presumably where Pamuk would have sat while listening to Kemal's story for seven years.
The novel's last line, Kemal's testimony, is also written on the wall. "Let everyone know, I lived a very happy life."
The Museum of Innocence opened in Istanbul on April 28 2012. For more information, log on to the website www.masumiyetmuzesi.org.
(This article was published in the Weekend Argus regional newspaper in Cape Town, Western Cape province in South Africa, on June 24 2012.)
Book review: The Institute for Taxi Poetry
Review of The Institute for Taxi Poetry
Published by Umuzi
Reviewed by Yazeed Kamaldien
Working class characters have never carried such an air of middle class about them as in Cape Town-based writer Imraan Coovadia's latest offering.
Perhaps this appears as a result of becoming so accustomed to 'poverty porn'; depictions of the working class as pitiful illiterates who do not care much for refinement. Yet this is the beauty of a book that aims to reflect a working class story without allowing readers to feel sorry for the misery associated with being poor.
Coovadia's strength is in creating believable characters like this novel's narrator Adam Ravens. The author locates these characters in a mix of real and imagined worlds.
Ravens is employed at the fictitious – and oddly-named – Jose da Silva Perreira Institute for Transport Poetry based at the University of Cape Town. He is a former taxi poet who is troubled by the murder of his mentor Solly Greenfields who was found dead in his Woodstock home.
The reader follows Ravens from his mentor's funeral while discovering along the way that he has a dislocated affection for his rebellious son Zebulon who is a "sliding-door man" in the taxi business.
Ravens meanwhile also has to play host to Gerome Geromian, a pretentious but respected taxi poet, who happens to be his mentor's rival, in the same week that he eventually discovers who killed Greenfields.
Coovadia does not offer much else in terms of the storyline. He keeps the narrative simple, avoiding twists and turns generally expected after a body turns up dead on the opening page of a novel.
Coovadia writing is brilliant. He strings together words to form lyrical sentences. He creates endless memorable one-liners. He entertains with his wit and irony.
His shortcoming though is that he does not paint enough descriptive scenes with his words. The taxi industry where his story is located screams with colourful characters and dramatic episodes. But this novel, for example, does not describe the taxies that would carry the poems penned by taxi poets.
One finds very little visuals to grasp. We fail to be lured into the visual setting where these romanticised documentarians of the working class experience played.
Likewise, Coovadia references Cape Town alongside the city's humourous edge on every other page. As a local, one locates the context with ease. It elicits a pleasurable satisfaction. Like when you watch a film, and spot Table Mountain, and feel that you've been in that film.
But without the detailed or descriptive writing there is not much meaning to the references within our backyard. I wanted to feel the words breathing while engaging them. I longed for the visual and visceral Cape Town to be shared with the world.
This does not detract though from Coovadia's ability to leave one with memorable left-wing characters who talk truths about townships that vote for electricity.
On an ordinary day, these characters might come across as terribly ordinary losers. But Coovadia's taxi poets could stand in front of an elite audience and teach them a thing or two about poetry. They can reference, as they do in this novel, the greatest pens that ever wrote. And that makes them terribly posh working class heroes.
PS. This book review was published on 11 June 2011 in the Cape Argus newspaper (see photo below by Mishqa Rossier)
South African visual artist shows at Istanbul arts festival
Yazeed Kamaldien
When art, fashion, film and media power-players gathered recently to reflect on their craft it was Cape Town-born artist Robin Rhode who opened the three-day festival with a series of video works.
The Istanbul International Arts and Culture Festival, held last weekend in Turkey's we-never-sleep Istanbul, pulled so many stars it made the moon look lonely.
Rhode was in stellar company alongside New Zealand-born film director Andrew Dominik who has worked with actor Brad Pitt on two films. Dominik has another Pitt project lined up and will also shoot a film about late actress Marilyn Monroe.
Skinny-forever fashion veteran Carine Roitfeld, who was editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris for a decade until last year, was also at the festival to launch her latest book.
Turkish big-timers meanwhile did not disappoint as this country's novelist Ayşe Kulin, who reportedly sells the most books in her homeland, shared insights into how she would research a dialect of a region that she was going to write about to ensure that her work remained true to her subject matter.
It was the third edition of a free-for-all festival organised for the third year by its Turkish founders Demet Muftuoglu-Eseli and Alphan Eseli. Filmmaker Eseli describes it as a "cultural weekend where participants feel very relaxed".
Rhode found his way through opening night's flashing lights and a presentation about his art the following day to talk to Weekend Argus about what it's like working in an international context.
"A lot of South African artists have become so self-engulfed and self-relational that they have forgotten that we live in a global village. Art needs to be so transcendental. There are certain ideas that I grew up with that can now be celebrated internationally," he says in between interruptions to have his photo taken.
But he adds that throughout his career he has always kept his eye on home because "there is a lot that we can gain from South Africa".
"It influences us wherever we are. We can't discard that experience," he says.
Rhode is an international artist though, represented by the Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York. He has been Berlin-based for the last 10 years, having emigrated shortly after graduating from the South African School of Film, Television and Dramatic Arts in 2000.
Since then his artistic works – in photography, performance, video and street art – have been praised and shown worldwide. His narrative is described as a "comment on urban youth culture, post-colonial context, and society at large".
Rhode's work has also been snapped up for public collections at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., United States; and a few New York museums, including the Museum of Modern Art.
The question comes up whether he thinks he would have been as successful as he is now had he never left South Africa.
"That is not a guarantee," he offers. "If I lived in South Africa I would still succeed, but differently. Maybe I would be more socially active. I would be more community orientated. Maybe I wouldn't work with a gallery. Maybe I would have moved into education."
In any case, he adds: "Young South Africans, especially coloureds, assimilate global culture". So his work might not even have been that different from what it is now. He understands that this is why his work speaks beyond borders; references similar sub-cultural experiences in the existence of urban anywhere.
"We assimilated a globalised identity. When I project this out to an international context it is found to be startling. When someone from the geographical periphery mirrors the global experience it becomes a major talking point," says Rhode.
It is near ironic – but not unique – that Rhode, initially gazing in from the periphery, has garnered recognition and global art credentials for challenging the art world with what started as street art. He started drawing on public walls before showing photographic and video works inside art galleries.
"I have an obsession with walls that exist in the public realm. I want to bring the outside world into the white cube (of the gallery) and destabilise the atmosphere of a gallery or museum space," he explains.
"I wanted to use the street as a starting point to create my art. A lot of my work takes place on the walls of various street corners. I want to communicate my work to the broader public, especially where people have limited access to art galleries.
"I was interested in shifting the idea of the viewer from being elites who had access to attend galleries to the broader public, people who were unemployed, walking the streets. This was my target audience."
Protest graffiti and the "tension of being one of very few students of colour" articulated Rhode's dialogue with society. He sought to redefine the art world and produce work on his terms. He adopted humour and play as his tools.
"The idea of play can be used as a quiet force to deal with other more dramatic or serious issues. Humour allows me to engage with serious issues. It allows me to destabilise very important issues in society, whether it's political or social," he says.
"It is part of my identity as a coloured South African. We are a community filled with gesture and role-play that has allowed us to overcome other social issues. It's a way of building resilience, coping and to show a smile in the face of fear."
He continues that humour and play "helps us to endure".
"It is amazingly positive. It has helped me to sustain my ideas in a very ruthless international context. I've adopted these particular languages of art and coloured identity to find an authentic language. It's not only specifically South African but it relates to other societies and geographies."
Intersections of class, race and culture all appear in the work that Rhode presents. His Piano Chair, for example, shows a black man "sacrificing" a piano. The latter includes – as with all Rhode's works – a simple chalk drawing on a wall that a performer interacts with.
Rhode says while there are "many deep meanings" in this piece, it is essentially paying homage to a deceased black South African pianist that he admired.
While continuing to reflect on his work, Rhode explains that what he does "comes from a sub-cultural influence born from a social margin". Fortunately, it has led him to "being on to something". Does he mean to say that he is successful?
"Success is so hard to define… but I'm working my ass off," he offers.
He would be working hard these days as he has just established a record label to "publish limited edition vinyl records not for financial gain. I have also started a publishing company because I love publishing".
"If you have a platform to pursue your thoughts then you are on to something," he continues.
"If you are able to be free… Freedom is important. Being able to do what you want to do. If you are able to pursue a career and self-actualise then you are successful."


text:
Directed by Dennis Hopper, filmed in the country of Peru and released in the director's home country of America in 1971.
Dennis Hopper has always been one of the most rebellious filmmakers and actors in American cinema, so it's really no surprise that the film he would make directly after Easy Rider (his directorial debut and an incredibly unconventional film in itself) would be The Last Movie – another unconventional movie but this time he really stretches the structure of your typical Hollywood picture and the meaning of the word "unconventional".
The movie starts out in Peru and on the set of a western being made by, none other than, Samuel Fuller. Hopper is only seen in the background mostly during the first half an hour of the film as a stunt man. The film being shot is full of violence and death and soon enough the shoot ends in a real death of one of the actors. The film wraps up but Hopper decides to stay in Peru and shack up with a local prostitute. As they begin to settle into their home in the mountains a priest approaches Hopper's character and tells him that the villagers are re-enacting the scenes from the movie but for real. They've no idea that what they saw previously was all faked. Soon enough they're asking Hopper to re-enact the part of the stunt man who died.
In the style of Easy Rider, Hopper edits rapidly and there are random cuts to things that aren't really relevant to much but it all makes you feel like you're right there in Peru with these villagers re-enacting these scenes. Hopper's performance goes from emotional to drunk within seconds in some scenes and this really is a showcase of both his acting abilities and his directorial abilities. The wide cinematography looks like it's taken right out of a John Ford movie, but then when the camera closes in and gets closer to the characters it looks like a filmmaker toying with his camera on his first film.
This really is a splendid film and it's one that challenges the viewer to think, not once, not twice but three times about how a feature film should be presented and for the filmmaker viewers it challenges them to rethink the linear structure in which these films are made. It's not like Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction in it's structure but it's definitely similar to films like those that tell stories in this way and in that respect this film is miles ahead of it's time.
Hopper's next film Out Of The Blue, which I have already seen, was – after seeing this – the logical step for Hopper to go and I now am dying to rewatch that because I know I will like it much much more.


text:
P.S. I Still Love You
It's satisfying flying through a good book. I moved P.S. I Still Love You right to the top of my to-read pile after devouring the first book. I find the series adorable and I'm a big fan of the narrator who narrates the audio books. The lead character, Lara Jean, is a very cute character and I love her enthusiasm for themed parties, her adoration for old-fashion and vintage things, and of course, her love of baking. This book is an easy, light, feel-good read. It was perfect for summertime.
Face Masks
I recently visited The Face Shop during my last trip to Hamilton and I fell in love with the store instantly. They had a whole wall of Korean face masks - you know the paper masks with cut out holes for the mouth and eyes? I wanted to buy one of each but I settled on ones that'll be appropriate for the next few months. Ones to help exhausted skin from the hot summer and preparing for Fan Expo and then moisturizing and rejuvenating masks for the cool weather to come.
Other things I'm loving - Pretty Little Liars Season 5, Lola And The Boy Next Door audio book, Mad Men season 5, s'mores everything!
Have a good weekend!
xo Jen
What I'm Loving Now
Saturday, 22 August 2015
4 comments
I am ADDICTED to sheet masks. I've even seen them pop up in Dollarama from time to time, but Korean ones are still my favourite.ReplyDeleteReplies
Oh, I'll have to look out for them in Dollarama too!Delete
I love a good face mask, mmmm!ReplyDeleteReplies
They do a good job making me feel like I'm pampering myself.Delete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
When Mervin Whipple turned on the lights, people came by the thousands. He turned his Killingly home into a Christmas Wonderland, with lights and animations, and became known as Connecticut's Mr. Christmas.
He died on Saturday, Steve Farner, the director of the Gagnon Costello funeral home in Danielson, which is handling the funeral arrangements, said. He was 81.
Whipple's Christmas Wonderland opened in 1967 with a nativity scene and 225 lights as a tribute to his stepson Edmond, who died in an automobile accident.
Through the years, he added new animations and more lights.
When he closed the display on New Year's Day 2003, Whipple had approximately 112,000 lights and nearly 350 animations.
Whipple said he stopped putting up the lights because it was hard to find volunteers to maintain it, and he could no longer afford the $19,000 electric bill.


text:
This is how you attach new window films
General advice:
Step 1:
To mount it yourself you will need:
Step 2:
To select a window film and order:
Film cutting (cut on request):
Particularly if you have little or no experience with the mounting of window films we recommend that you order a precisely cut one.
This is how you do it:
Please begin by accurately measuring the glass surface millimetre precise. If you would like to mount on a window without and wrinkles, make sure not to remove the often mentioned tolerance value of 2-5mm. This can make the alignment easier. Window films can also be used from isolation to isolation without any issue. This way small strips can be avoided, that may not only look bad, but can also cause a blending effect on the sun protection films.
For an easier mount, remove 2mm from the width (A) and height (B) from the measured total surface. This way you will have a 1 mm border for the isolation (rubber, silicon). This border makes the mounting easier due to this simplifying the alignment.
Ordering running metre:
For larger areas we recommend ordering our cheap running metre on a roll (similar to wallpaper). You must then cut this according to the isolation with the help of the included scraper.
Step 3:
Preparing the window:
Thoroughly clean the window pane to remove any resistance on it with the help of a regular glass cleaner.
Remove all sticky particles (for e.g. paint) with a glass scraper There must not be any leftover dirt on the window pane.
Step 4:
Preparing the window film:
All window films are covered in in protection film. The easiest way to remove this is with the help of tape.
Stick the tape on the front- and backside of the film. On smaller window film bits you can simply pull the two sides apart.
For larger films you will need a helper. Hold the window film at the front with the help of tape whilst your helper removes the protecting film from the backside.
Step 5:
Mounting the film:
Fill a spray bottle with water and the mounting fluid (in a 10:1 ratio. For e.g. for 3 litres of water you will need 30 ml or 10 ml with 1 litre of mounting fluid.)
Start of by spraying the film and then the - clean and dry - window pane with the mixture.
Step 6:
Place the film central on the window pane. If the film can not easily be moved around, more mounting fluid is needed on the window. Spray again!
Spray on the backside of the film to make the work with the scraper easier.
|Step 7: Now push the mounting fluid from the middle to the right and to the left in the direction of the isolation until there is no longer any fluid remaining under the film.
Step 8:
Dab the edges and the backside of the film carefully with a soft cloth. If needed press the scraper against the edges again.
Now let the film dry for 3 days without touching it. By outside mounting the edges should, after having dried up, be covered with an acid free silicone , for e.g. from the brand WÜRTH.
Wait a few weeks with the first cleaning of the film and do not use hard objects (brushes or blades) to clean. Window films can be cleaned with regular household window cleaner.
A demounting instruction can be found below. demounting instruction.


text:
English | Espańol
All Issues > Volume 27, Issue 2
We can stand on God's words even more firmly than we can stand on a rock. God's words are permanent (Ps 119:160). They endure forever and are firm as the heavens (Ps 119:89). When we stand upon God's word, He steadies our footsteps (Ps 119:133) and keeps us from stumbling (Ps 119:165). He sets our feet upon the rock of His word and makes firm our steps (Ps 40:3).
The literal meaning of John 8:31 is that we make our home in the word of God. Therefore, in standing upon the rock of the word of God, we abide in His word to the point that we build our home on that rock (Mt 7:24). In building our lives on the rock of God's word, we are building our spiritual house on a firm and sure Foundation (1 Cor 3:11). Jesus, the living and incarnate Word of God (Jn 1:1), is the Foundation (1 Cor 3:11), the Rock (1 Cor 10:4), and the Cornerstone (Mt 21:42). "Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I am laying a Stone in Zion, a Stone That has been tested, a precious Cornerstone as a sure foundation: he who puts his faith in It shall not be shaken" (Is 28:16).
With the psalmist, let us say: "I considered my ways and turned my feet to Your decrees" (Ps 119:59). Stand upon the rock foundation of Jesus, the Word of God. You will not be shaken.


text:
Interested in Acting Classes?
If acting chops are supposed to be something innate, then why is there a need for acting classes? Many people misconstrue acting as something akin to reading and memorizing scripts, and crying, laughing or going ballistic on cue. But it's farther than the truth.
Just like with any other artistic talent, acting needs to be forged in order for it to become a skill. Nobody becomes a star overnight with acting talents alone. If your aspiration is to be an actor or actress, you may take courses to obtain a degree in Associates of Fine Arts for Acting. These classes offer you knowledge, insights, training and even hands-on experience in a more in-depth and structured way. It has more perks, too!
Taking classes in acting could:
- Bring you out of your shell. Got stage fright? Are you extremely shy? Taking an acting class can make you face your (public speaking) fears by building up your confidence and teaching you techniques on how to keep yourself calm and focused when you're in front of hundreds of people. In addition, it will teach you how to protect yourself with poise, finesse and confidence.
- Make you well versed in literature. Yes, acting classes can do that to you. Where else can get more exposure to the famous works of well-known playwrights, from Shakespeare to Chekov?
- Give you a more in-depth understanding of the characters. Many people mistake acting as merely reading out lines and crying and laughing when necessary. But that's not how acting is supposed to work. In order for you to become a good thespian, you need to delve into the psyche of the character you're portraying. You need to know his or her inner-most thoughts, desires and motivations. If you can, you need to be a psychologist in order to understand or portray the character better. Think of your acting class as a crash-course in psychology.
- It makes you a better writer. You didn't see this coming. But if you want to gain more inspirations, create better characters and become more observant (a skill any writer must possess), then by all means, take acting classes.
Taking courses for Associates of Fine Arts for Acting may not be mandatory but it's a good route to take. Moreover, if you decide you want to further your knowledge in acting you may also pursue your degree in Bachelors of Fine arts for Acting after completing the AFA. The rigorous training you undergo and, of course, the connections you make in your drama classes will certainly come in handy later on.
Looking to become an actor or actress? Get more information on art degree programs in your area and online using our Art School Finder.


text:
. A record 50 performances took place over three days, covering drama, dance, music, theatre, films, visual arts and children's events, with stage shows and workshops.
More than 1,500 tickets were sold, across 22 venues with hundreds more attending un-ticketed free events throughout the weekend and previews earlier in October.
There were sold out performances every day with the festival attracting diverse and enthusiastic audiences and a delighted Council Leader Richard Farnell said:
"Without doubt this has been another great festival. Ticket sales were strong, the atmosphere was fantastic and we welcomed an incredible calibre of artists. We take great care to programme unique events that are stimulating, surprising and entertaining, so in the coming days we will be taking a close look at all the visitor feedback. I want to thank the staff, volunteers and local arts groups for helping to support creativity in the borough, we couldn't have done it without you."
One of the highlights was the appearance of X Factor favourite Lucy Spraggan, who took to the main stage on Saturday afternoon. In front of a capacity crowd the soulful singer/songwriter played some of her most well-known songs including 'Beer Fear', 'Lighthouse' 'Last Night' and 'Tea and Toast' along with world premieres of two new tracks from her upcoming album. Following the gig she went back on stage to chat to festival compere Norman Warwick about her inspiration, motivation and career so far.
"It was quite scary playing some of the new stuff, but I enjoyed it and the fans were great. It was brilliant to get time to actually talk about my work too, quite therapeutic actually! This festival has a lovely feel to it," said Lucy Spraggan.
Highlights on Friday included a hilarious poetry masterclass from the ever enthusiastic Ian McMillan (pictured). The renowned wordsmith presented some of his best known work in front of a sell-out crowd.
Novelist, poet and punk singer Rosie Garland delivered a writing workshop before reading some of her most popular poems, and writer Alan Gibbons presented his moving film 'And She Cried'.
Stand-up comedian Dave Spikey came up with plenty of punchlines in his new live show at Middleton Arena, taking an hilarious look at jokes and the art of being funny.
The much loved dramatist, lyricist and composer Willy Russell talked about his life and work before taking questions from another sell-out audience at Number One Riverside.
Children's shows were hugely popular too, with John Pipers timeless puppet theatre sold out, and a Where's Wally? hunt providing entertainment to both adults and children!
Also on Friday 125 people were in awe, watching poets and international musicians for the 'World of Poetry and Music' representing cultures from across the borough.
At the Flying Horse Hotel the Inspiral Carpets frontman Tom Hingley talked about what it was like to be in a band which changed music for a generation before performing some of their biggest hits in front of a lively crowd.
On Saturday Coronation Street star Jane Danson hosted an acting workshop, showing budding young actors how to develop their skills. The session included getting participants to act out a real Coronation Street scene, under the guidance of Jane who won a coveted British Soap Award in 2011 for 'Best Dramatic Performance'. Following the workshop she took to the main stage to talk about her television career and life off camera. She said she really enjoyed the experience:
"The acting workshop was great … everyone really got into it and said they learnt a lot. I've really involved being part of the festival … the line-up is great and I think it's a really positive thing for the town. The reception from the audience during the interview was great … lots of thought provoking questions but it was fun!"
MOBO nominated rapper GHETTS, fresh from last week's performance at the O2 Arena in London brought some cool sounds and thought provoking words to the festival on Saturday evening, performing tracks from his recent 'Rebel with a Cause' album.
Jackie Kay MBE (pictured) was another highlight, performing some of her most celebrated work and extracts from her novel 'Trumpet.'
There was more fun for children on Sunday with the Afrocats, prior to a talk by BBC broadcaster Liz Kershaw. Liz talked about her life and autobiography 'The Bird and the Beeb' and her career in radio since leaving BT in the 1980s. After tracing her journey from Rochdale to Radio One she talked about the challenges she's faced and how her determination has ensured her rich Rochdale tones graced the national airwaves for decades.
There was no shortage of humour and sparkling wit when BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull took to the stage on Sunday afternoon. Bill began by chatting about the typical day of a breakfast television presenter, beginning with his 3.30am alarm call! As well as some of his most memorable moments on the famous sofa he talked about his love of bee-keeping and his time on 'Strictly Come Dancing' before taking questions from the audience and meeting fans.
Performance poet Tony Walsh took the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions, with his talk ranging from comedy to tragedy. Reading from his recent book 'Sex & Love & Rock & Roll' his set was brimming with northern warmth and humour.
Music filled Number One Riverside on Sunday evening, with an exquisite concert from Manchester International Roots Orchestra, combining influences from Eastern Eurpoean melodies, Middle Eastern percussion and vocals through to soulful chants and African gospel.
The festival certainly lived up to its aim of 'expanding your mind', concluding with a chilling Ghost Walk around historic parts of Rochdale town centre and a Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery at Heywood Library.
Public feedback has already been positive, with many visitors taking to social media to describe performances as "magical" "great" "ace" and "a real treat".
Other performers included Sarah Crowe, Manchester Salon, Littleborough Oakenhoofers, M6 Theatre and Cartwheel Arts.
The event was down to the generosity of Annie and Frank Maskew, a Rochdale couple who shared a passion for reading and thinking, and originally met in Rochdale Library. They left a sum of money to be used on resources and events related to literature, and philosophy to ensure classic works are available for future generations.
The festival was organised by Rochdale Borough Council, funded by the Maskew Bequest and sponsor Bright Books.
For more photographs, feedback and highlights from the festival visit www.rochdaleliteraturefestival.co.uk
Gallery of images here
Poet, broadcaster and comedian Ian Mcmillan is the latest name to be confirmed for the three day festival in October.
The arts extravaganza will include a performance by Ian, one of the most popular poets in Britain.
As well as hosting 'The Verb' every week on BBC Radio 3, he's a regular on Coast, Pick of the Week, You and Yours and The Arts Show. Renowned for his razor sharp delivery and sparkling sense of humour he's worked extensively on Radio 1,2,3,4 and Five Live as well as for BBC2's Newsnight Review.
Mcmillan is Poet in Residence for both The Academy of Urbanism and Barnsley FC. He's been a castaway on Desert Island Discs and featured with his Orchestra on The South Bank Show.
Last year's festival headliner Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, describes Ian as a world class performer.
During his visit to Rochdale he'll be performing a show called 'Taking Myself Home', which he says is a mixture of stories and poems about his mum and dad and the place he grew up: That will be some of it. But I won't know exactly what I'll do until I see the audience. I love literature festivals, it's like being in a big reading group together. I love that shared excitement.
The festival runs from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 October, with a feast of events covering drama, comedy, dance, music, theatre, films, visual arts and children's shows. Preview events will also be held across the borough earlier in October.
Already also on the line-up is singer/songwriter Lucy Spraggan and comedian Dave Spikey.
The festival will include guest speakers, authors, writers and local arts organisations and is aimed at encouraging more people to engage in reading and philosophy.
It will include events at venues in Rochdale town centre and boroughwide, aimed at all ages.
More authors, acts, performers and workshops will start to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
The festival is due to the generosity of Annie and Frank Maskew, a Rochdale couple who shared a passion for reading and thinking, and originally met in Rochdale Library. They left a sum of money to be used on resources and events related to literature, and philosophy to ensure classic works are available for future generations.
For information about appearing at the festival or getting involved in other ways, email firstname.lastname@example.com
For festival updates on Twitter connect with @RochdaleLitFest
The festival is organised by Rochdale Borough Council, funded by the Maskew Bequest.
For more information on this story please contact Mark Roberts on 01706 924761 or email email@example.com
Subscribe to posts by Mark Roberts via RSS
Since 2002, Time to Read has been showcasing writers and books strongly linked to the North West for your enjoyment.
More about Time to Read
Say hello to the 22 local authorities who provide great library services in your area...
More about Who we are
If you have any questions or comments about our site, please do get in touch - we d love to hear from you!
Get in touch now
People in the North West all reading and talking about one book
Science Fiction | Biography | Non-Fiction | Crime | Romantic | Short stories | Poetry | more...
View the authors A-Z
See our latest additions
By Helen Dunmore
The North West contains a wonderful pot of writing talent who love to engage with groups, young and old, to spread their love of writing.
See our directory
If you re interested in being included in our directory of writers, simply complete our profile form.
Add your profile
From book readings, through discussion groups to performance – a good book gets the world talking.
See upcoming events throughout the region
Library News
Funding Opportunities
Prize Winners
See all our latest posts
Posted Monday 25 November 2019 by Sue Lawson
in Latest Libraries News
Posted Tuesday 5 November 2019 by Sue Lawson
in Latest Libraries News
Browse our archive of activities and practical promotion techniques for attracting new readers into libraries.
Explore our toolkits
In this area you will
find a range of resources to support reader development practice. The pages
include Time To Read's promotional downloads, toolkits and training
modules, as well as a discussion forum. These are currently only available to
staff from subscribing Time To Read Authorities.
Librarians in the North West have pioneered partnership working to encourage new readers into libraries. Time To Read is a partnership of librarians engaged in reader development activity in public library authorities in the North West Region. 22 public library authorities in the region currently support Time To Read.
We use cookies to help us provide you with a better service, but do not track anything that can be used to personally identify you.
If you prefer us not to set these cookies, please visit our Cookie Settings page or continue browsing our site to accept them.


text:
Rail officials downplay federal government's latest setback
California High Speed Rail Authority officials, at a Thursday board meeting in Sacramento, denied that the project's series of recent setbacks are anything more than minor glitches on their way to building a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco rail line.
But Wednesday's decision by the federal Surface Transportation Board, rejecting the authority's request for approval to build a 114-mile segment of the line between Fresno and Bakersfield without an extensive environmental review, was significant.
In late September, the authority asked for the environmental exemption so that it would not have to renegotiate price and timetables with a contractor, which would result in substantial increases in the cost of building the segments. The authority also asked the feds to waive these rules so that the matter could be resolved before a rail board vacancy at the end of the year.
"The authority has not presented any unique or compelling circumstances …," the federal board explained, in rejecting the request. "The fact that the authority contractually agreed to notify its contractor by a certain date that construction can proceed is not a sufficient basis for the board to carry out its statutory obligation in a piecemeal fashion."
The Surface Transportation Board's vice chairman issued even tougher words in a concurring ruling: "Earlier this year, the board rushed to meet the authority's request for expedited action on the first segment of the project. Unfortunately, in order to do so and over my objections, the board chose to ignore key components of the project's viability – its projected costs and funding."
At the rail authority board meeting, authority CEO Jeff Morales claims that the media has misreported the significance of this decision "including that it's a major blow to our project, and frankly there's no basis or credence to that."
But the transportation board's words were harsh. And the vice chairman Ann Begeman, an appointee from the Obama administration, made it clear that the board's ruling was based in large part on questions about the California project's overall viability: "Today's decision acknowledges the growing controversy regarding California's bond funding process. Considerable federal taxpayers' dollars are already at stake and the recent state court decisions may very likely impact construction timing and costs."
The rail authority this week also downplayed those court rulings and agreed to file a new motion. Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny in August ruled that key elements of the current rail plan do not conform to the promises in the voter-approved measure authorizing the beginnings of the project. Then last month, the judge ordered the authority to revamp its funding plan, forcing it to identify realistic sources of funding before it spends bond dollars.
Rail authority Chairman Dan Richard said that "The easiest thing in the world to do is to go back and put more information on the record." But the problem is not revising the funding plan from a technical sense, but finding the realistic funding sources that are needed to satisfy the judge as he upholds the requirements in voter-approved Proposition 1A. Even many rail supporters realize that the problem is a lack of identified funds – not a need to simply add more information.
These hurdles may indeed be surmountable, but it would be nice if the rail authority took seriously what the courts and federal government are saying and adjusted the rail plan to match the initiative's promises.


text:
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Impactfully Impacting the Impact of the Transitive Verb
I'm taking this opportunity to weigh in on the controversy (!) over the use of the word "impact" as a verb. Dictionary.com provides definitions for both the verb and noun forms. The American Heritage Dictionary entry reports that the use of the word as a verb constitutes a "Usage Problem." I could not agree more.
While it is reported there that the word has been used as a verb since 1635, this word has colloquially and publicly occupied a perfectly respectable position as a noun. Dictionary.com opines that the use of "impact" as a verb is an attempt by public figures to gain intelligence-respect by using the word in new or fresh way. Again, I agree.
My objection to use of impact as a verb is NOT that the use is incorrect grammatically, because esteemed sources list the word as a verb. I object to the ego-centric audacity with which people claim a new use or create a word out of thin air ("impactful," for example, in a recent car commercial). This ego-pumping, acquisitive, and unacceptable trend of colonizing nouns to become verbs started at least ten years ago but proliferated during the dot-com boom/bust ("incent" is another one with a target on his back). I hoped that the bursting bubble exploded this practice, but it has not. Who is CNN to say that I can impose my will on the world? I'm not the target audience but I appreciate the brash, fresh, youthful, hip, enabling message this sends to a bunch of people who already believe they are entitled the spoils of the entire world.
27 comments:
- Carrie said...
What's your call on "surveil" as a verb? I laughed out loud the first time I heard it, thinking that "to conduct surveillance" would be a better way to express the thought. However, the large bureaucracies I work with seem to insist on proliferating it. Is that legit??
- January 11, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Bowels and teeth get impacted. When one object hits another with great force an impact occurs.
All other uses of the word "impact" and its myriad machinations should be banned from the language and any writer who uses the word, when an explanation is called for, should have all her pens and pencils taken away from her for one year.
Impact is a cheap word choice by a slovenly thinker and lazy writer
- March 13, 2008 at 5:47 PM
- johnbillsbrother said...
i bruised my elbow when i impacted the world.
- December 16, 2008 at 6:44 PM
- Blues said...
I'm having trouble with this as I had learned that "impact" could not be used as a verb, but now I have seen it in two online dictionaries, one of which I consider reputable (Collins):
- May 27, 2009 at 10:20 AM
not only is "impact" a verb, Webster considers it both transitive and intransitive. . .
- June 18, 2009 at 11:01 AM
To Anonymous ("bowels and teeth get impacted"), can I have your love child?
If I thought for one second that the people who perpetrate this crime could actually write and speak properly, I might be able to swallow it. Unfortunately, experience suggests otherwise. People who use "impact" as a verb are, without exception, morons. Or to state it more politely, as the father (hopefully, since I'm woman) of my future love child just stated, impact is a cheap word choice by a slovenly thinker and lazy writer.
If Harold Bloom (just to pick a name out of a hat) ever uses it this way, I will unfurl the white flag.
Death to the impactors!
- July 24, 2009 at 11:51 AM
I've even seen "impactfulness" [shudder]...
- September 8, 2009 at 12:06 PM
How ironic. An arrogant rant about those arrogant bastards who use impact as a verb -- about the "ego-pumping, acquisitive, and unacceptable trend of colonizing nouns to become verb." Whomever wrote this has a severe mental problem. To go from a simple grammatical issue to assumptions about people who think they deserve everything in the world is just nuts. And who cares anyway? If someone wants to use impact as a verb, is this really a four-alarm national crisis? Completely nuts.
- October 17, 2009 at 9:13 AM
- Cicero said...
Thank you, Anonymous (10/17/09) for your impactful comments. Sincerely, Cicero
- October 17, 2009 at 2:30 PM
Thank you for your drivel. You are a case study in "waste of time." Yet I'm sure everyone on your dissertation committee is on the edge of their seats waiting for you to resolve this international word crisis. What's the next mind-numbing project for the philosophy-of-ideal-forms word Nazi club? How about those morally bankrupt nitwits who say "very unique." Please, Cicero! Stop the madness! Whatever will we do without your penetrating wisdom?
- October 18, 2009 at 1:41 AM
impactability is key
- November 4, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Uh oh! Anonymous doesn't realize that "everyone" and "their" don't agree!
As my father always says, "Good grammar is free."
- November 11, 2009 at 11:03 AM
We must be more precise. It is the figurative sense of verbal impact to which we rightly object. That usage dates only to 1935, so hang the antiquity defense. More to the point, the figurative use is a vague generic usurper of real, concrete verbs. "To impact" can mean to tickle or to murder; which is it? Maybe the proposal will "impact" commerce, but will that impact be to inhibit or to promote commerce? Both are "impacts," but opposite in effect. To use impact as a figurative verb is to confess fraud. It says that I, the speaker, either don't know what will happen, or I know but won't tell, or I'm unaware that English contains 1,000 vibrant verbs specifying every possible tone and degree of "impact."
- January 20, 2010 at 10:44 PM
- CHarvey said...
A la incent, how about my favorite colonized noun: parent?
- February 12, 2010 at 3:26 PM
- Colin Hamilton said...
When was "party" (a sociaL gathering) converted into a verb?
I am irritated frequently by the misuse of "unique".
Why is there a superfluous "of" used so often - as in "The best route is to turn off OF the main highway....."
People who should know better in the media repeatedly confuse singular and plural as in
"The government are considering...."... "Toyota are telling the public". The business is a singular corporate body.
MEMBERS of the government might be considering, but "the government IS considering..."
"Less" and "fewer"
There are not "less troops in...." There are fewer. But there is less milk in one container than the other one.
Another irritant to me - "disassociate"! Dissociate. As for
- February 23, 2010 at 10:56 AM
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- March 8, 2010 at 1:25 AM
The latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has a section entitled "Good Usage Versus Common Usage" (Section 5.202). In it they suggest that we resist using impact as a verb, except in a physical context. Its use as a verb to mean "affect" is hyperbolic, besides being widely considered a solecism.
- June 5, 2010 at 10:27 AM
How about your ego-pumping adoption of the name "Cicero"? Just a thought.
- June 8, 2010 at 7:05 PM
- Jinon said...
There are two sides to this. Yes, there are nouns being turned into verbs for silly reasons, mostly to do with marketing. The reintroduction of "impact" as a verb began this way. However, "impact" has a slightly different nuance than "have an impact on." As an exact synonym for the verb "affect," it still sounds contrived ("your kindness impacted me" -- blecch). Used to describe a more forceful or direct action, it makes more sense ("this event impacted my thinking"). Which leads me to point two: Language is a living thing. Its reason for being is communication. Hence, it's always looking for ways to describe the current reality of the culture it represents. From time immemorial, nouns have been appropriated as verbs to fill perceived gaps in a language. Even self-proclaimed "grammar snots" use these verbs every day, with no idea these words were once exclusively nouns. In other words... stop taking yourself so seriously. People who want to entomb the language in concrete are fighting a losing battle.
- March 30, 2013 at 11:22 AM
- skweeds said...
When my US Airways flight was delayed last December, I got an email titled "Flight delay impacting ...."
I found their verb choice distasteful not only for the reasons given in this blog post & comments, but also... if you are an airline company who needs to warn a person of a problem with his or her flight, wouldn't IMPACT be a word you'd want to avoid altogether? (Verb OR noun!)
Insightful post, and great comments.
- April 9, 2013 at 5:44 AM
- apeymama said...
Thank you for helping me see that I am not the ONLY one in the world who notices and hates this bad language use. It is akin to those who say "same difference". It drives me nuts. Why didn't their teachers correct them? You are indeed right that impact is meant to be used (mostly) as a noun and the only acceptable verb use up until a few years ago was in reference to teeth and bowels. LOL. The reason you find it in so many dictionaries is that it has been used so long and so widely that it is coming into acceptable use. I think it takes ten years, maybe? Too bad that as long as "everyone does it" it gains legitimacy. My dad would object.
- April 9, 2013 at 10:18 AM
- Emily R. Anderson said...
- July 6, 2013 at 9:53 AM
- Nigel Smites said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- September 8, 2015 at 7:01 AM
- Nigel Smites said...
What can I say about a tooth or molar that won't sprout out properly from the gum-line? What could equal an impacted wisdom tooth in "impactfulness"?
- September 8, 2015 at 7:02 AM
- Derrick Neveu said...
These are the possible concerns and probable opinions which would help students to some extent and they must needed to bring around all those concerns if they really wanted to get success. check my sentence online
- November 27, 2016 at 1:17 PM
- The Palmer said...
It might interest readers that in this month of May alone I have heard three different speakers at professional seminars say "impactful" with complete sincerity. Educated people demonstrating their ignorance.
- May 29, 2018 at 6:02 PM
- Unknown said...
These kinds of impactfulicatjons are concernicating. Really!
- May 3, 2019 at 12:34 PM


text:
La soutenance de thèse de Zeinab Badreddine (McTAO, thèse sous la direction de L. Rifford et B. Bonnard) aura lieu le 4 décembre 2017 à 10:30 à Dijon, à l'Institut math. de Bourgogne (salle Baire).
Titre. Mass transportation in sub-Riemannian structures admitting singular minimizing geodesics (slides)
Abstract. This thesis is devoted to the study of mass transportation in sub-Riemannian geometry. More precisely, our aim is to extend previous results on the well-posedness of the Monge problem to cases of sub-Riemannian structures admitting singular minimizing geodesics. In the first part, we show that, in the case of rank-two analytic distributions in dimension four, we have existence and uniqueness of solutions for the sub-Riemannian quadratic cost, as soon as the distribution satisfies some growth condition. Our strategy to prove it, combines the technique used by Figalli-Rifford which is based on the regularity of the sub-Riemannian distance outside the diagonal in absence of singular minimizing curves, together with a localized contraction property for singular curves in the spirit of the previous work by Cavalletti and Huesmann. In the second part, we deal with regularity issues of the sub-Riemannian distance and we define a class of sub-Riemannian structures on Carnot groups, called h-ideal sub-Riemannian structures, on which the sub-Riemannian distance is h-semiconcave. Together with an assumption on the distribution, we prove heuristically the MCP property on Carnot groups. Anyway, we attempt to prove that MCP property defined on this class of Carnot groups is sufficient to apply the Cavalletti-Huesmann method to prove the well-posedness of the Monge problem.


text:
Soft! What dulcet verse
From yonder 'puter gush?
'Tis a wondrous podcast
Of contrast rare...
Yep, this week Contrast Podcast gets all poetic on yo' collective arses, Dearest Friends. The focus is on the words, the images, the cadences, the syntax, as each contributor offers up a poem of their choice for your delectation. But of course there's always music, and each plate of verse comes with a side order of song, carefully selected to complement the main dish. You can download it all here, and pen your own poetic responses here.
Of contrast rare
And wordsmiths fair:
(00:00) Dorothy Parker - I shall come back
Hungry Lucy - Love vigilantes
Adam from Pretending life is like a song
(06:19) Richard Brautigan - Map shower
Johnny Powers with the band of Stan Getz and Tom Cats - Long blond hair, rose red lips
ZB from So the wind won't blow it all away
(08:37) Shel Silverstein - Hug O War
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs - Hug you, kiss you, squeeze you
Natalie from Mini-Obs
(12:02) John Cooper Clarke - I wrote the songs
Jodi Jett - Greasy
Tim from The face of today
(16:05) John Anderson - Blair Bush news conference on Iraq
Barenaked Ladies - Fun and games
James from Appetite For Distraction
(20:21) Janet Paisley - Glen Village
Passenger - Night vision binoculars
Greer from A Sweet Unrest
(24:31) Carl Sandburg - Stars, Songs, Faces
Shearwater - The hunter's star
Linda from Speed of dark
(28:19) Mountain - Nantucket sleighride
Lyle from Mentok the Mind-taker
(35:05) Ted Hughes - Lovesong
The Fugitives - Haunted
FiL from Pogoagogo
(41:05) Joyce Maxtone Graham - Evening
Counting Crows - Colorblind
Marcy from Lost in your inbox
(45:14) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - The Erl King
Hannah Fury - Beware the touch
Victoria from Muruch
(50:20) C.P.Cavafy - Despair
Japan - Despair
Conrad from White Car Records
(55:14) John Betjeman - Loneliness
Joy Division - The Eternal
John Q.
(01:01:35) Attila The Stockbroker - Nigel wants to go and see Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode - Leave in Silence
(01:06:32) Robert Burns - Despondency: An Ode
The Smiths - I know it's over
JC aka The Vinyl Villian
(01:13:35) The Undertones - Teenage kicks
Dirk from Sexy Loser
(01:17:10) Edgar Allan Poe - The Lake
Antony and the Johnsons - The Lake
Agnes from It all started with carbon monoxide
(01:23:12) E. E. Cummings - Love is more thicker than forget
Elbow - Newborn
Mark from Cinema du LyonI chose a Ted Hughes poem because, although the man was a cad and a bounder, I find his words electrifying, uncomfortable, mythical, and revelatory. And he wrote about crows, wot are one of my favourite birds. The piece I went with, Lovesong, brilliantly captures the anguish and horror of all-consuming lust/love. But there were other contenders:
Billy Childish - The Huddie Poem (buy here or e-here)
Childish is not only a garage guitar hero, but also a painter, author, and poet. But he's no posey art-school fop, Dearest Friends; for starters, he's entirely self-taught and his work --in whatever medium-- is pure and authentic and uncontrived. This piece, relating the birth of his son Huddie, squeezes my soul until tears of love seep out.
Ivor Cutler - I Believe In Bugs (buy here)
I wasn't really in the mood for Dadaist whimsy this week, or else you might well have gotten a delightful dose of Scotland's finest.
As for the music, well, The Fugitives fairly leapt up to be chosen. I've mentioned them in passing before, and I thought the slam-poetry-peppered music purveyed by these shining Canadian youngsters would be most complimentary to Teddy Boy's verse. Here's another track of theirs, one that's abit more upbeat about this whole love thing:
The Fugitives - French Tattoo (buy here)
And here's the video for Haunted, so you can see what they look like. Well, sort of.


text:
Posted in Wisconsin June 28, 2015
10 Places In Wisconsin You Must See Before You Die
We get so caught up in our lives sometimes that we don't see the beauty and wonder around us. We've all been there. And we should take time to really appreciate what we have. We have some awesome treasures in Wisconsin. And so I'm counting down the top ten places in Wisconsin you really need to see before you die:
What other places in Wisconsin should be on our bucket list? Let us know in the comments.


text:
BC: May The Bounty Of The Season Fill Your Heart And Your Home
1: "Thanksgiving Day will soon be here It comes around but once a year If I could only have my way, We'd have Thanksgiving every day."
3: "There is always something for which to be thankful." -Charles Dickens
4: Life is Good!
6: A Day Of Thanks | Air Boat Ride
7: "The airplane went up and the airplane went down" Darren
9: Great Memories
10: We Give Thanks
11: The word of the day....FUN!!!
14: Life is a Beach!
15: "Real abundance is found when we join hands with those we love."
20: Chillaxing!!!!
23: "Forever on Thanksgiving Day, The heart will find the pathway home." ~ Wilbur D. Nesbit


text:
Welcome to NO1 Plumber Brisbane
Your Local Plumber and Gas Fitter
Are you looking for a reliable plumber? NO1 Plumber Brisbane is dedicated to delivering outstanding results each and every time. From large commercial projects through to small domestic jobs in residential homes or apartments, we do it all. For immediate assistance after hours call our emergency plumber who is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whenever you call our team you will always be speaking to a trained professional plumber, no salesman.
We are a full service plumber providing solutions to residential and commercial clients throughout South East Queensland. Locations include the CBD, Brisbane Northside and Southside, Redland Bay and Moreton Bay.
About Us
NO1 Plumber Brisbane provides professional, expert and cost-effective plumbing solutions. We are a team of plumbers who live by our reputation. We are serious about the work we do and the commitment we make to our clients.
Our mobile vans each have a trained and experienced plumber and gasfitter ready to service your home or office. Our plumbers are registered with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, QBCC. We also hold public liability insurance to the value of $10,000,000. If you require a contractor from the Masters Plumber Association please request this during your call.
No matter the type of job or plumbing issue, we will deliver a world-class service with guaranteed results.
Residential Plumber
We take care of all repair and installations for home owners, real estate agents and body corporate. Our residential plumber can provide sanitary and water plumbin services. This includes, hot water systems, air conditioning, ducted heating and gas installations. No matter what your requirements, we can have a professional to your door the same day. Whether you have a leaking tap or a broken faucet, we'll send a local plumber to take care of it.
Commercial Plumber
The contractors at NO1 Plumber have a dedicated division for commercial and industrial requirements. We provide services for restaurants, retail stores, hotels and schools. Some of our commercial plumbing services include new installations, repairs, leak detection, pipe renewals and gas fitting and repairs. We can also design and implement complete drainage and pipe systems for new property developments.
Emergency Plumber
For all after-hours emergencies contact our emergency plumber for a fast response. Our emergency service is available to residential and commercial clients, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From water leaks to broken pipes, we handle it all. We diagnose and resolve problems quickly.
Gas Plumber
The safe operation of gas appliances is crucial. Our qualified gas-fitter can help you with any gas problem. This includes all gas leaks and repairs, new gas pipe installations and gas heater and gas oven installations and repairs.
Blocked Drains
Blocked drains can cause over-flowing water and flooding. Schedule a regular drain cleaning service to ensure your system is in tiptop condition, free of obstructions. We can also carry out CCTV drain surveys to locate blockages.
Hot Water Heaters
When winter comes along, the very last thing you need is to be without piping hot water. We'll provide boiler repair and maintenance to get your system back into perfect working order. Our hot water plumber can supply and fit tank-less hot water heaters. As well as combi-boilers, electric water heaters, gas powered water heaters and more.
Why Choose Us
- Qualified & Licensed Contractors
- Public Liability Insurance – $10,000,000
- Upfront Prices With No Hidden Extras
- Reliable and Punctual
- Fast & Efficient
- No Obligation Free Quotes
- Brisbane CBD, Central & Inner City Suburbs
- Brisbane Northside and Southside
- Redland Bay & Moreton Bay
- Ipswich & Toowoomba
Contact Us
To find out more call NO1 Plumber Brisbane today for a free quote and consultation. Get in touch today.


text:
In recent times, we have seen a shift in society whereby an increasing number of couples are choosing cohabitation over marriage. For those who do decide to marry however it may be worth considering what constitutes a long marriage and what affect would the length of your marriage have on any potential financial settlement if you were to divorce?
In 2015 the Office for National Statistics published a report concluding the average marriage last for 11.9 years. Would you consider this a long marriage or a short marriage?
Before a recent decision made in the Court of Appeal, there was no legal distinction as to what constituted a long marriage rather than a short marriage.
In the case of Sharp –v- Sharp, the Court of Appeal confirmed the legal distinction between a long marriage and a short marriage. In that case, the parties married in June 2009 and their relationship ultimately came to an end in December 2014. The Parties cohabitated for some 18 months prior to their marriage and they were both earning modest salaries when they met. The parties did not have any children.
In the First Instance, Sir Peter Singer held that "the parties, in effect, subscribe [to the sharing concept] when they marry unless they choose to opt out (or attempt to do so) with a prenup". As such, Sir Peter Singer awarded the Husband £2.725 million from the matrimonial pot; effectively half. The total assets of the marriage totaled £6.9 million however the matrimonial pot was agreed at a figure of £5.45 million which did not include the £1.1 million home owned by the parties together with £350,000 to reflect pre-acquired assets.
The Wife appealed the decision of Sir Peter Singer on the grounds that the parties did not have any children, they were career focused, the marriage was short and the parties' finances were such that they were effectively separated.
The Respondent Husband argued that the Wife is attempting to distinguish between 'family assets' and 'business/investment/unilateral assets' however there is no distinction. The Husband argued that that the sharing principle applied equally to long marriages and short marriages.
The Court when considering the division of finances in matrimonial cases will have regard to the list of factors set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act. Generally, the starting point for such a division is 50/50 unless either party can demonstrate to the Court that there should be a departure from equality.
During the course of the marriage in the case of Sharp –v- Sharp, the Wife received discretionary annual bonuses totalling £10.5 million whilst the Husband's bonuses were trivial. The Judge stated that although there was no "deliberate and agreed intention on their part to maintain strict separation of their finances. For example, they would, not infrequently, split restaurant bills between them and, regularly, each pay half of any utility bills on the two properties. Further, although the husband was aware that the wife received substantial bonuses during the period, he was never privy to the details and, in addition to providing the total purchase price of the two houses, the wife fully funded the couple's various holidays and bought a series of three Aston Martin cars for the husband" this suggests that they maintained separate finances.
The Court of Appeal confirmed the approach laid out by the majority in Miller in relation "to short, childless marriages, where both spouses have largely been in full-time employment and where only some of their finances have been pooled" advising fairness may require a departure from equality rather than a strict application of the equal sharing principle. The departure may occur via "a reduction from a full 50% share or the exclusion of some property from the 50% calculation".
It was further confirmed that a 'short marriage is no less a partnership of equals than a long marriage. The difference is that a short marriage has been less enduring. In the nature of things this will affect the quantum of the financial fruits of the partnership'.
McFarlane LJ concluded that the Judge at first instance did not act in accordance with the findings in Miller. 'A departure from the sharing principle may occur to achieve the overarching goal of fairness – therefore, in the instance where the marriage is short, there are no children both parties have their own income and separate their finances, this is sufficient to justify a departure from equal sharing in order to achieve and overall fairness between the parties'.
McFarlane LJ advised that the Husband should receive half of the capital of the two properties owned by the parties (worth £1.3 million) and an additional award to reflect a combination of 3 factors: "(a) the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage; (b) the need for a modest capital fund in order to live in the property that he is to retain; and (c) some share in the assets held by the wife". The additional award was valued at £700,000 making the award to the Husband a total of £2 million which would be made up of the property transferred to him in the value of £1.1 million and a lump sum of £900,000.
In this case, the husband made the concession that the property he was awarded could be discounted as matrimonial assets however; the Judge concluded that it was not appropriate that the property purchased prior to the marriage did not fall in the pot as the wife's liquid assets were not being treated as part of the matrimonial assets for sharing. He concluded that both properties were matrimonial homes and therefore should be divided equally between the parties.
In light of the above case, it can be expected that the guidance in relation to short marriages may justify a shift from equality in cases where the parties do not have any children, are not financially reliant on the other party and have similar earning capacities.
If you are considering a divorce or are already within the process and require advice in relation to financial matters, please do not hesitate to contact our expert team of family solicitors led by Head of Department Pauline McNamara. You can contact us by telephone on 0151 375 9968 or email .