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October 2008 Blog Archive
31 October 2008 A Halloween to Remember
Being Halloween n 'all, I was hoping to regale you with spooky tales of gore and horror. However so far, I am sad to announce that there has not been much of the unexpected to report. That said, there was a treat in store for the early birds of the office this morning as we arrived to a spookily-themed Rapport HQ. Computer monitors were covered with cobwebs, walls decorated with skeletons and even a traditional - yet slightly mexican looking - Jack O 'Lantern menacingly greeted us upon arrival! Also for those of you calling the office today and unfortunate enough to find yourself put on hold, there's a special treat in the form on Michael Jackson's Thriller! Chamone!
Judging from the BBC news pages, it's not just us at Rapport who enjoy getting down to the menacing sounds of Wacko Jacko. More than 1000 zombies have converged on Nottingham for it's annual games festival, 'GameCity' in an attempt to break the record for the largest zombie gathering. Organisers of the festival want to teach more than 1,000 of the undead the pop star's moves as they set about to overthrow the current record set in November 2007 at the Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh USA. For the attempt to be successful though, more than 1,124 zombies must take part, however judging from my personal experiences of Nottingham, this shouldn't be too difficult a task!
Staying with the BBC, it's been refreshing this week - even if a little O.T.T. - to have a different top story adorn the Radio One news bulletins. With recent weeks being dominated by the doom and gloom of the credit crunch, it's actually been quite a nice change to have Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand steal the limelight with their now legendary joke-gone-wrong. Now, I don't intend to get involved in the now over-bloated argument of right or wrong here. However, I must show my disappointment towards the BBC's decision to broadcast the 1994 Keanu Reeves action film - 'Speed' as a replacement for 'Friday Night with Jonathon Ross'... it's halloween! where's the horror film? If it were down to me to choose a suitable replacement for the shamed Woss it would come from the following list of - in my opinion - horror classics!; '28 Days Later', 'The Shining', 'Blair Witch Project', 'Saw' (The Original), Dawn of the Dead (the remake), and maybe a bit of a surprising one, 2002s 'My Little Eye'.
Anyway, before I surrender the spotlight and sink back into the dark shadows of the Rapport design corner once more, may I wish you all a happy halloween 2008!
24 October 2008 It’s Not What You Know…
Due to unforeseen circumstances last week’s blog did not quite make it to print (or whatever the web term is!) so this weeks is extra special, or in other words longer with lots of pictures!
These past few weeks have definitely seen any vague memories that were lingering of the lazy summer months quickly disappear as we produced 3 events in one day last week! Abi and I found ourselves in the “Passenger Shed” in Bristol, this was the old platform which has been transformed into an interesting and historic venue, it provided a welcome change from the usual hotel chain conference room.
This week, however, was a star studded affair as Chris and I traveled to the culture mecca that is Liverpool for the much anticipated (and definitely eagerly awaited by all at Rapport!) 2008 NW Tourism Awards. As well as brushing crushed velvet shoulders with Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, who proved himself an excellent compare, we were wowed by the vocal talents (and amount of make-up!) of Rhydian “X factor” Roberts and to top it all off bumped in to Justin Hawkins of “The Darkness” fame coming out of the lift at our hotel (Liverpool central Travel lodge!).
The event was an astounding success (even if we do say so ourselves!) and we left Liverpool with a full autograph book and happy memories.
One of Rapport’s many talents and services includes design so we were following with keen interest last week’s Roses Design Awards which took place at The Hilton Hotel on Deansgate. The event recognizes the best in the world of design in our region and I wanted to say a big well done to my friend Emma who picked up a well-deserved gong for Emerging Designer of the Year.
There are certain things which make you proud to live in this great city; The musical heritage, the patriotism and soul of Manchunians, the wide range of diverse and creative festivals and events, but there is still the odd reminder that not all in Manchester is well… I read this week about X factor hopeful and twice rejected Emma Chawner from Ramsbottom who, along with her family has been evicted from their council house. They are now living in their Toyota which is parked up in a Manchester service station. A sad story until you realize that the family are only staying the car as the new house the council have provided for them doesn’t take pets. I love my cat as much as the next person but sleeping in a car with 3 other people, a dog, a cat and a bird is going a step too far.
A word of warning to anyone out and about in the Northern Quarter on Saturday; Abi will be celebrating her 30th Birthday in style with a lavish party (including champagne reception!) at Lamar’s. In celebration of this massive life mile stone I took the liberty of helping her fulfill one of the “must-dos” from the literature classic “30 things to do before you are 30” – number 2: see you name in print – happy birthday Abi!
10 October 2008 Another Accolade for Rapport
All you budding poet laureats out there should get in touch with a new website which launched this week as part of the 2008 Manchester Literature festival. “Rainy city stories” allows people to send in poems and stories about the areas of Manchester they live in. Although still in its first week I think it could be a fun way of all generations sharing thoughts and stories about our city and could pan out to be an interesting and informative read www.rainycitystories.com
Abi and Chris got the chance to be on the other side of the production area this week when they attended the Insider’s 42 under 42 dinner. Although the prestigious title went to a Liverpool business man (aged 42 which I think is pushing the rules!) Abi’s nomination means that Rapport has once again been recognized as a successful business in the region. For more info have a look on our news pages!
3 October 2008 Get with the “Credit Crunch” Lingo
Devastating news from across the Atlantic this week as it was announced the Hugh Hefner has had lay off a number of his “bunny girls” due to the credit crunch! With the bank’s “Loan to deposit ratios” becoming dangerously imbalanced and causing mass “nationalization” for both high street and “investment” Banks, which looks to cause a “stagflation” economy, it’s a good job this week that the BBC released a glossary of new words for the current “bear market”. Let’s hope that we can all remain “Recessionistas” (a person who manages to look fashionable on a tight budget)!
As one of the 5 regions which makes up the North West, I sometimes wonder why I rarely hear of any exciting news or events coming from Cumbria, I think a headline on the Cumberland Times website earlier this month answered my question… (there doesn’t seem to be any!)
I am sure they will have a more interesting front page this week though as 19 year old Ianthe Fullagar from Ravenglass, Cumbria become one of 15 winners to scoop a share of the £100 million Euro millions jackpot.
It was a pleasure last week to have a nostalgic trip down memory lane (well, the banqueting suite at the EMCC Nottingham!) when I got to meet a childhood idol – Rimmer from Red Dwarf (and Mr Brittas for you die-hard Chris Barrie fans). Chris more than lived up to the massive expectations we had all built up for him and was friendly, professional and a brilliant compare, he even treated us to a Gordan Brittas impression and impressed us with stories of being on the set of Red Dwarf.
