I will start a Russian diary just see what I can do.
Day 2 yesterday went for walks. Across the Yenesy to the park. Snack lunch and then a walk around the State University through the birch woods - came across an enactment of medieval Russia? All very surreal. Then to the foothills of Stolby for salted pickled mushrooms and salted cabbage (rich in vitamin C) at a Siberian traditional restaurant.
Today went to the city’s centre for culture. A very shabby place full of amateur artists and aerobics. All very welcoming and an early lunch of things without the meat. The BC youngsters took me to Stolby where we sat on the rocks and had intense discussion on "liveart" and what it is and politics. Marina hates Indians from her experiences in London - "they're all mean!"
Then to a pizzeria and an early night after more intense conversation. Alex told us of his village where there is still a population living in exile and the criminals control the fuel. Also his surname means hare and he has the ears to match.
Tuesday - after a meaty breakfast, its hard being a veggie in Russia I walked to the BC in a warm damp morn and met nice girl from Radiotechic. Katya so pleased to see me - hugs in the street. In a long meeting I gave a presentation that confused them so they spent the rest of the day discussing it! They do get very intense & philosophical about it all. I just said in Lpool we just got on with it and worried about it after. Some good people met Sergey curator of museum - he will be visiting the Biennale in Oct after I had slagged it off. Yoko Ono and all that...
Wed. Very good morning from sunny Siberia. Another day of meetings and another long tortuous lecture byme! Yes, Krasnoyarak you do want business incubation!
UAZ jeeps and vans?
Went to the culture and historical centre saw Lenin exhibition that they have presented in an almost ironic fashion or so it seemed.
The arrival of the bossy women from, Moscow - are they all bossy from the city when they come to the provinces. However, 1lena did get to the point of why discuss the issue of is the CIs commercial and a business. An agency need to be formed that looks at incubation, information, projects, several suggested inc, Museum Night Biennial, TV (virtual incubator) Elena "what is your aim?"
They keep asking for my opinion. After hours of confused loud discussion they ask what I think! The Russians even make the ordering of a meal into what seems like a debate. Do Russians smell? Is this because they are in the habit of not washing or is it like it was when I was young you didn't have the access and it was expensive to wash. Like having a shadow and PA.
2 barriers - finance & long-term development
I will look like an aubagine after this week. Eating at the restaurant below Stolby. Christmas vodka, cranberry juice and aubergines in sour cream but did have lots of salted mushrooms and quails eggs.
Justin 0'Conner from U of M project in St Petersburg. No HG tonight Amile instead at least its more visual.
Last day - morning with my shadow to folk lore museum the one that looks EGYPTIAN good artifacts and v interesting 20 c illustrations bought Lenin banner celebrating workers competition at least 70 yrs old for 19 pounds. Then for coffee and shopping for vodka etc. lunch with Vassily Dept Mayor good to see him again still seems keen but is clear that people in the city do not know what is going on. ELANA jumped in and has already orgnised seminar with Sergey for Feb. Russians coming to Lpool at that time to see the world of CI.
Eve with ML to Chinese that couldn’t serve "the problem is that the chef is Chinese" pleasant eve.
Russians don' smile because of the way they talk. We use the sides of our mouth and therefore naturally tend to smile when we talk. However the Russians don't and tend to move their mouth only up and down so they are not grumpy its just the way they speak.
Sunday, 1 July 2007
Siberian Diary March 07
Arrived in Kras 10 below and 5 o'clock dark sans luggage. somewhere in Amsterdam. no veggie, Sim air even the pot salad had chicken in but the wild mushrooms were good..and the beer.
Monday...after sleep in the morn met by Irina and went to the Italian for lunch, lots of salad etc. brief meeting with Victoria. Then to shop for shirt underpants etc. toothpaste and vodka purchased. Up to see ski resort - closed because it was Monday and then to the Irish bar for lent menu - no meat. strange jazz trio with accordion.
Tuesday
Russia does not have BlueTack!
Sasha from Omsk joined us (Marsha on Thus) the Siberian BC gang. Went to Turkish restaurant and told of the conditions in 1989 when Irina's boyfriend left her for Israel and she was paid in boots with nothing for the baby. Sash told her experience of the Russians invading Azerbaijan with shooting outside her house. Husband’s family is from there.
Wed more of the same but the document is getting done. Vladimir took us to the museum. Went behind the scenes to his office missed Sergey but although I have been before it was interesting as always. An early night after the Irish bar and the Lent menu.
Thursday
Irina's birthday couldn't find card but bought chocs. Everyone made a fuss of the 'boss' André brought cake and flowers - but the cake never appeared although we had wine at lunch with our pizza (veggie) had pineapple ugh! Marsha arrived From Irkutsk the Siberian triumbirate was complete. After dinner with the ladies at 'Tet a tet' Vladimir showed Sasha and me around the museum centre - Sasha had never seen it on her many previous trips to Kras. I had a ride on the 'bicycle'. A very friendly good bye from tall Sasha (she met her solider husband when she was selling ice cream as a teenager) - I managed to escape for drinks with Marina didn't get drunk or fall over in the snow. At least I got out even though it was to the Irish bar again.
Friday
The big day - chicken on the salad! for breakfast but the omelet was good. and fresh orange juice.
Visited Virkov house - turn of century artist. Old wooden house v interesting. Full of small smelly school kids - one with shaven head, nits maybe, some looked v poor. Little old ladies in all the museums. The ones here smelt of old ladies! Virkov house an oasis in the middle of the city. Early snow soon disappeared into mud and slush seems to be no street drains to take the water away.
Following a meeting she had Irina tells of underlying feeling of soviet times in the relationship between UK and Russia - something is up and about to break, spy case or something.
Sign missing from the front of the BC building! First to the city hall in the corporate lecture room. Went ok but still nervous. Krill’s face looking anxiously up to change the slides. Only a few mistakes Marina lost confidence with Irina’s critical looks. Met and had tea with Vassily. Off to museum centre. Met André and he took us to see the Henry Moore show going up.
Then our act again all went ok with tiredness - well that’s my excuse- I made one or two silly mistakes. (Marina corrects my English) Then confusion over the dinner venue + Irina had invited all. Couldn’t escape. Ended up in 'Tet a tet' again but was with Elna? Olga and Kril so ok. To the Irish bar to see band and eat - 10:30 by this time. More beer and long chats . Band played 60s 'Pretty Woman', ‘back in the USSR’ and Beatles. Late back.
Sat
Woken with a start and it was 5 time to leave! Never dressed and packed so quick. Only 7 mins late for Helen and taxi downstairs. Set alarm for the wrong time but how did I know when to wake?
Monday...after sleep in the morn met by Irina and went to the Italian for lunch, lots of salad etc. brief meeting with Victoria. Then to shop for shirt underpants etc. toothpaste and vodka purchased. Up to see ski resort - closed because it was Monday and then to the Irish bar for lent menu - no meat. strange jazz trio with accordion.
Tuesday
Russia does not have BlueTack!
Sasha from Omsk joined us (Marsha on Thus) the Siberian BC gang. Went to Turkish restaurant and told of the conditions in 1989 when Irina's boyfriend left her for Israel and she was paid in boots with nothing for the baby. Sash told her experience of the Russians invading Azerbaijan with shooting outside her house. Husband’s family is from there.
Wed more of the same but the document is getting done. Vladimir took us to the museum. Went behind the scenes to his office missed Sergey but although I have been before it was interesting as always. An early night after the Irish bar and the Lent menu.
Thursday
Irina's birthday couldn't find card but bought chocs. Everyone made a fuss of the 'boss' André brought cake and flowers - but the cake never appeared although we had wine at lunch with our pizza (veggie) had pineapple ugh! Marsha arrived From Irkutsk the Siberian triumbirate was complete. After dinner with the ladies at 'Tet a tet' Vladimir showed Sasha and me around the museum centre - Sasha had never seen it on her many previous trips to Kras. I had a ride on the 'bicycle'. A very friendly good bye from tall Sasha (she met her solider husband when she was selling ice cream as a teenager) - I managed to escape for drinks with Marina didn't get drunk or fall over in the snow. At least I got out even though it was to the Irish bar again.Friday
The big day - chicken on the salad! for breakfast but the omelet was good. and fresh orange juice.
Visited Virkov house - turn of century artist. Old wooden house v interesting. Full of small smelly school kids - one with shaven head, nits maybe, some looked v poor. Little old ladies in all the museums. The ones here smelt of old ladies! Virkov house an oasis in the middle of the city. Early snow soon disappeared into mud and slush seems to be no street drains to take the water away.Following a meeting she had Irina tells of underlying feeling of soviet times in the relationship between UK and Russia - something is up and about to break, spy case or something.
Sign missing from the front of the BC building! First to the city hall in the corporate lecture room. Went ok but still nervous. Krill’s face looking anxiously up to change the slides. Only a few mistakes Marina lost confidence with Irina’s critical looks. Met and had tea with Vassily. Off to museum centre. Met André and he took us to see the Henry Moore show going up.
Then our act again all went ok with tiredness - well that’s my excuse- I made one or two silly mistakes. (Marina corrects my English) Then confusion over the dinner venue + Irina had invited all. Couldn’t escape. Ended up in 'Tet a tet' again but was with Elna? Olga and Kril so ok. To the Irish bar to see band and eat - 10:30 by this time. More beer and long chats . Band played 60s 'Pretty Woman', ‘back in the USSR’ and Beatles. Late back.
Sat
Woken with a start and it was 5 time to leave! Never dressed and packed so quick. Only 7 mins late for Helen and taxi downstairs. Set alarm for the wrong time but how did I know when to wake?
Thursday, 7 June 2007
End of year missive 2004
"Hello all"
Will 2004 be a landmark year? I have been angry and depressed by World events but happy and elated in my own little World. Oh! Dear, how pretentious, I have to be careful what I say after all the comments on Radio 4 about Christmas 'round robins'.
After an extended Christmas holiday I finally washed up on the shores of the Liverpool Design Initiative, a small organisation that promotes the designer/maker creative industry. Great office in the Tea Factory, one I share with the Arts Council, Royal Institute of Architects and the Liverpool Biennial Art team, great colleagues and a great job but one that is so frustrating because the opportunities are great and no one shows any initiative! However, the Designers Block exhibition in London was great, a week of hard work but it was like a cross between a design show, the Edinburgh Fringe and Glastonbury - even the music was good and the beer was free.
Pacificstream has landed more EU projects and I have enjoyed trips to Burgas; Bulgaria, Bilbao, Larrisa; Greece and Lisbon. The visit to Bulgaria was interesting with a 6 hour rail journey across the country to the Black Sea - walking on the beach 70ºf in February! Joan accompanied me to Lisbon and outside the meetings we were able to explore the city and wonder at some bizarre religious art
Ellen had a very successful GCSE year and is now at 6th Form studying, maths, English, French and environmental science, as she is an avid reader of the Ecologist she could be going in this direction. She is also a member of Shropshire Youth Orchestra and off to the Edinburgh Festival next year.
Little Joe is still growing and is the size of a small dog - in fact I think he thinks he is a dog, he is still bringing sticks in!
Joan is still pursuing her research - and is down at the British Library as I write; though not enjoying it as she has the flu. She has started some part-time teaching to Foundation art and HND students at Runshaw College, Chorley. The new band, Tomcatz, is great with superb musicians, Phil ex sound engineer for the Smiths (and Andy Pandy!), Roger on vocals ex mate of Mark Almond and Trevor the guitar wheeling hairdresser
" …driven along by our own Lady Joan who gets better all the time and does not need to rehearse like other mortals!"
All are looking forward to the Christmas Eve gig. Joan has new Rickenbaker JetGlow guitar, purchased from Ebay which included an adventure to Glasgow to pick it up and yes it was there, we weren't mugged and it’s the genuine article.
We had visitors from Norway at the beginning of the year when Geir and Anita were over and in the summer Mark, Feng, Jenny and Glynn were over from Oz. This included a trip to St Michael's and fortunately the weather was good.
The New Year is a new adventure for me as I start my own company, I move into Digitalinc a business unit managed by John Moores University. I will be supporting design firms wishing to be involved with EU research and development funding - sounds a bit dull but I will be working in a very motivated environment with young companies and there is a lot of funding available. I need to take advantage of the last years of Objective 1 money for Merseyside and exploit the initiatives that will engage with Eastern Europe. I'm hoping to work on a project with Western Siberia!
Hey! Almost the bottom of the page without mentioning the US elections - what a disaster, what a fool! How could they do it…?
Will 2004 be a landmark year? I have been angry and depressed by World events but happy and elated in my own little World. Oh! Dear, how pretentious, I have to be careful what I say after all the comments on Radio 4 about Christmas 'round robins'.
After an extended Christmas holiday I finally washed up on the shores of the Liverpool Design Initiative, a small organisation that promotes the designer/maker creative industry. Great office in the Tea Factory, one I share with the Arts Council, Royal Institute of Architects and the Liverpool Biennial Art team, great colleagues and a great job but one that is so frustrating because the opportunities are great and no one shows any initiative! However, the Designers Block exhibition in London was great, a week of hard work but it was like a cross between a design show, the Edinburgh Fringe and Glastonbury - even the music was good and the beer was free.
Pacificstream has landed more EU projects and I have enjoyed trips to Burgas; Bulgaria, Bilbao, Larrisa; Greece and Lisbon. The visit to Bulgaria was interesting with a 6 hour rail journey across the country to the Black Sea - walking on the beach 70ºf in February! Joan accompanied me to Lisbon and outside the meetings we were able to explore the city and wonder at some bizarre religious art
Ellen had a very successful GCSE year and is now at 6th Form studying, maths, English, French and environmental science, as she is an avid reader of the Ecologist she could be going in this direction. She is also a member of Shropshire Youth Orchestra and off to the Edinburgh Festival next year.
Little Joe is still growing and is the size of a small dog - in fact I think he thinks he is a dog, he is still bringing sticks in!
Joan is still pursuing her research - and is down at the British Library as I write; though not enjoying it as she has the flu. She has started some part-time teaching to Foundation art and HND students at Runshaw College, Chorley. The new band, Tomcatz, is great with superb musicians, Phil ex sound engineer for the Smiths (and Andy Pandy!), Roger on vocals ex mate of Mark Almond and Trevor the guitar wheeling hairdresser
" …driven along by our own Lady Joan who gets better all the time and does not need to rehearse like other mortals!"
All are looking forward to the Christmas Eve gig. Joan has new Rickenbaker JetGlow guitar, purchased from Ebay which included an adventure to Glasgow to pick it up and yes it was there, we weren't mugged and it’s the genuine article.
We had visitors from Norway at the beginning of the year when Geir and Anita were over and in the summer Mark, Feng, Jenny and Glynn were over from Oz. This included a trip to St Michael's and fortunately the weather was good.
The New Year is a new adventure for me as I start my own company, I move into Digitalinc a business unit managed by John Moores University. I will be supporting design firms wishing to be involved with EU research and development funding - sounds a bit dull but I will be working in a very motivated environment with young companies and there is a lot of funding available. I need to take advantage of the last years of Objective 1 money for Merseyside and exploit the initiatives that will engage with Eastern Europe. I'm hoping to work on a project with Western Siberia!
Hey! Almost the bottom of the page without mentioning the US elections - what a disaster, what a fool! How could they do it…?
End of year missive 2005
"I'm a celebrity get me out of .....Siberia"
Another year of change and challenges – however the most important has been the finishing of the decorating, the main bedroom now has carpet (after 3 years of floorboards!) and Joan handing in her MPhil, so no more punk, no more fanzines (and as John Lennon pointed out fan is short for fanatic!) and no more late nights at the computer for Joan – she doesn’t know what to do with herself.
Little Joe is still getting bigger but his little furry nose has been put out of joint by the arrival of two characters called Chick and Jenny. These two ‘rescue’ cockatiels now seem to dominate the household; they’re demanding, noisy and have real personalities, who would have thought that little birds could be such company. Jenny has laid four eggs this month – nothing to do with Chick, well we hope not, they’re brother and sister. No, evidently it’s my fault as she has become fixated with me and is in love! The living room is like a pet shop!
I started my company in January but continued doing some freelance work for the Design Initiative, however it didn’t last long in that incarnation as I was joined by two old colleagues from St Helens and we formed a social enterprise company to work with other no-governmental organisations specialising in cultural heritage, the creative industries and digital content. We are based in a great office in the refurbished Marconi building in Liverpool on a very good deal; thank goodness for EU funding, the Labour government and the regional development agency. I also mentor young start-up designers on a project for the Arts Council – the nearest thing I get to teaching these days.
My most exciting adventure of year came in April when I was sent to Siberia via Moscow, courtesy of the British Council. My mission was to encourage the development of design industries in a post-industrial city, Krasnoyarsk, 6 hours by air from Moscow. As they rarely see ‘outsiders’ I had celebrity status, interviewed on television – several times, including the Siberian version of Richard and Judy, press conference with the mayor, flash guns going wherever I went etc. I have to admit I enjoyed the experience. I also had to judge a fashion show.
My other European project trips of the year were to Kosice in Slovakia, Vienna and Poland to Warsaw and Lodz.
“ Aspens all the way to Lodz
At the rail crossing a heavy man stands
puppet chamey covering his hand…”
Joan went to Florence and Pisa in September with JMU 3rd years – purely cultural trip of course and Ellen went to Mons in Belgium and stayed with a family who only spoke French. It was a good experience for her and confirmed her intention of specialising in French. So her first choice for university is UCL and a joint honours course in French and Art History (I wonder where she gets that from!). Ellen also went to the Edinburgh Fringe performing with the Shropshire Youth Orchestra and apart from getting lost I think she had a good time. Although she still plays piano and violin she has now discovered bands and seems to spend all her time seeing The Coral, The Dead 60’s and the Babyshambles (and went to see Bob Dylan – why?).
I was in London in September with designers from the NW at 100% Design Show at Earls Court. It was the first time for me and it was a terrific experience although hard work having to promote and encourage our designers in a World class show.
Joan has had some ups and downs with the band, The Tomcatz are a great band, all good musicians and have had some very good gigs but for Joan they just don’t take it seriously enough so she is now looking to go professional again. She was invited to join Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds but….
…so if you know of a rockin’ band that are seeking a bass guitarist of quality let us know.
Another year of change and challenges – however the most important has been the finishing of the decorating, the main bedroom now has carpet (after 3 years of floorboards!) and Joan handing in her MPhil, so no more punk, no more fanzines (and as John Lennon pointed out fan is short for fanatic!) and no more late nights at the computer for Joan – she doesn’t know what to do with herself.
Little Joe is still getting bigger but his little furry nose has been put out of joint by the arrival of two characters called Chick and Jenny. These two ‘rescue’ cockatiels now seem to dominate the household; they’re demanding, noisy and have real personalities, who would have thought that little birds could be such company. Jenny has laid four eggs this month – nothing to do with Chick, well we hope not, they’re brother and sister. No, evidently it’s my fault as she has become fixated with me and is in love! The living room is like a pet shop!
I started my company in January but continued doing some freelance work for the Design Initiative, however it didn’t last long in that incarnation as I was joined by two old colleagues from St Helens and we formed a social enterprise company to work with other no-governmental organisations specialising in cultural heritage, the creative industries and digital content. We are based in a great office in the refurbished Marconi building in Liverpool on a very good deal; thank goodness for EU funding, the Labour government and the regional development agency. I also mentor young start-up designers on a project for the Arts Council – the nearest thing I get to teaching these days.
My most exciting adventure of year came in April when I was sent to Siberia via Moscow, courtesy of the British Council. My mission was to encourage the development of design industries in a post-industrial city, Krasnoyarsk, 6 hours by air from Moscow. As they rarely see ‘outsiders’ I had celebrity status, interviewed on television – several times, including the Siberian version of Richard and Judy, press conference with the mayor, flash guns going wherever I went etc. I have to admit I enjoyed the experience. I also had to judge a fashion show.
My other European project trips of the year were to Kosice in Slovakia, Vienna and Poland to Warsaw and Lodz.
“ Aspens all the way to Lodz
At the rail crossing a heavy man stands
puppet chamey covering his hand…”
Joan went to Florence and Pisa in September with JMU 3rd years – purely cultural trip of course and Ellen went to Mons in Belgium and stayed with a family who only spoke French. It was a good experience for her and confirmed her intention of specialising in French. So her first choice for university is UCL and a joint honours course in French and Art History (I wonder where she gets that from!). Ellen also went to the Edinburgh Fringe performing with the Shropshire Youth Orchestra and apart from getting lost I think she had a good time. Although she still plays piano and violin she has now discovered bands and seems to spend all her time seeing The Coral, The Dead 60’s and the Babyshambles (and went to see Bob Dylan – why?).
I was in London in September with designers from the NW at 100% Design Show at Earls Court. It was the first time for me and it was a terrific experience although hard work having to promote and encourage our designers in a World class show.
Joan has had some ups and downs with the band, The Tomcatz are a great band, all good musicians and have had some very good gigs but for Joan they just don’t take it seriously enough so she is now looking to go professional again. She was invited to join Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds but….
…so if you know of a rockin’ band that are seeking a bass guitarist of quality let us know.
End of year missive 2006
"Year of the dog..."
what a year. business all over the place and an emotional roller coaster with the arrival of Charlie. a 18 month rescue dog - a german shepard cross who became my best chum. early morning walks on the beach. however if for 99% of the time he was a great dog there was a sadness about him. he was a doomed dog with arrested development. he had been in a kennel for most of most young life and had not know love or friendship. i had to have him put down after 8 months of struggling to get him to relate to others..including the cat - although i soon realised that as going to be impossible. after he had attached joans friend and then joan i realised that it couldn't go on. we had tried a behavourist and nothing seemed to work. a great sad event which neither of us have really got over.
on the rebound as it were and to heal the wounds of sadness we aquired a wonderful golden retriver puppy called Frankie (or Cubby). he is a delight but very pretty and the total opposite to the underdog Craken that had claimed our love.
frankie grows in front of your very eyes. LJ is full of distaine especially when junior has an accident! but his reconciled to the situation and is just making sure he is the boss when all Frankie wants to do is play.
pacificstream has been difficult and stressful and would have given it all up if the big EU project hadn't come in. This EU project is with 12 partners and is looking at developing a virtual business incubator for the creative industries. one director was sent packing after she was discovered taking money out of the company without permission and had also had a detremental effect on work and getting other projects. she turned out to be a walter mitty character and a blagger with a disarming front then my long time colleague had a nervous breakdown. so its just me doing everything!
so far ok but hard work but the books are now straight I think! moved out of the incubator and into a new office sharing with a gaggle of young companies. good exciting atmosphere.
eventually got back to Siberia after my first planned visit had been canceled due to joan ending up in hospital with a frozen back. i have never seen someone in so much pain. the paramedics had to give her gas & air. so I made it to Krasnoyarsk in September the weather was mild and sunny and this time made it to Stolby National Park. the Russians came to Liverpool on two occasions. went too see the Antony Gormleys. I also made it to Antwerp twice ( two different EU projects with the university - one about language and culture support for medics on PDAs) and Warsaw where my wallet was stolen.
joan got her MPhil and at graduation was hugged and kissed by Cheri Blair. i was on the front row with the past Lord Liutenants of Merseyside. It was also good to see Mathew - he of The Little Flames and Colin. It looks as if Ellen has had a good year, good results, a great week in the Lakes with her mates, a week in S.France with her boyfriend Leo and Reading Festival. Arctic Monkeys and all that. ellen was successful with her A levels and got into UCL after a difficult interview " what is the link between the Summer of Love exhibition and New Wave French cinema?"!
However she has decided to go to Shrewsbury Tech to do Foundation Art but fortunately she doesn't like it and will be taking up her defered place in London - I hope!
a very busy year ended with joan and i having a long weekend in London for a bit of culture. holbien, renassiance interiors and the V & A. we hadn't been way together for over three years didn't even get to St Michaels. things will have to change.
what a year. business all over the place and an emotional roller coaster with the arrival of Charlie. a 18 month rescue dog - a german shepard cross who became my best chum. early morning walks on the beach. however if for 99% of the time he was a great dog there was a sadness about him. he was a doomed dog with arrested development. he had been in a kennel for most of most young life and had not know love or friendship. i had to have him put down after 8 months of struggling to get him to relate to others..including the cat - although i soon realised that as going to be impossible. after he had attached joans friend and then joan i realised that it couldn't go on. we had tried a behavourist and nothing seemed to work. a great sad event which neither of us have really got over.
on the rebound as it were and to heal the wounds of sadness we aquired a wonderful golden retriver puppy called Frankie (or Cubby). he is a delight but very pretty and the total opposite to the underdog Craken that had claimed our love.
frankie grows in front of your very eyes. LJ is full of distaine especially when junior has an accident! but his reconciled to the situation and is just making sure he is the boss when all Frankie wants to do is play.
pacificstream has been difficult and stressful and would have given it all up if the big EU project hadn't come in. This EU project is with 12 partners and is looking at developing a virtual business incubator for the creative industries. one director was sent packing after she was discovered taking money out of the company without permission and had also had a detremental effect on work and getting other projects. she turned out to be a walter mitty character and a blagger with a disarming front then my long time colleague had a nervous breakdown. so its just me doing everything!
so far ok but hard work but the books are now straight I think! moved out of the incubator and into a new office sharing with a gaggle of young companies. good exciting atmosphere.
eventually got back to Siberia after my first planned visit had been canceled due to joan ending up in hospital with a frozen back. i have never seen someone in so much pain. the paramedics had to give her gas & air. so I made it to Krasnoyarsk in September the weather was mild and sunny and this time made it to Stolby National Park. the Russians came to Liverpool on two occasions. went too see the Antony Gormleys. I also made it to Antwerp twice ( two different EU projects with the university - one about language and culture support for medics on PDAs) and Warsaw where my wallet was stolen.
joan got her MPhil and at graduation was hugged and kissed by Cheri Blair. i was on the front row with the past Lord Liutenants of Merseyside. It was also good to see Mathew - he of The Little Flames and Colin. It looks as if Ellen has had a good year, good results, a great week in the Lakes with her mates, a week in S.France with her boyfriend Leo and Reading Festival. Arctic Monkeys and all that. ellen was successful with her A levels and got into UCL after a difficult interview " what is the link between the Summer of Love exhibition and New Wave French cinema?"!
However she has decided to go to Shrewsbury Tech to do Foundation Art but fortunately she doesn't like it and will be taking up her defered place in London - I hope!
a very busy year ended with joan and i having a long weekend in London for a bit of culture. holbien, renassiance interiors and the V & A. we hadn't been way together for over three years didn't even get to St Michaels. things will have to change.
Pacificsteam Projects...
VirIncCreate - virtual incubator for the creative industries
This Leonardo Pilot project will develop a virtual business incubator for the creative industries using innovative ICT including, CMS, SMS and RSS feeds.
The project will provide specific business support and training for start-up creative companies.
Three key modules for the project will be
1. Content development
2. Online environment and collaborative communication tools development
3. Training programme
The content will include: Virtual Business Support, Virtual Mentoring, Networking and Collaborative Working, and a training programme covering generic and specific support. The virtual incubation process will follow these stages: ENTRY Protocol (Counselling and Application) - Pre-Incubation Activity - Incubation - Green housing (Preparation for independence and progress towards a stand-alone company) - EXIT Protocol.
Research into best practice clearly illustrates how effective business incubation is. However, within the creative industries graduates move towards self-employment in specialist workshops with only 11% of graduate designers progressed into major design companies. The traditional incubator environment is not suitable because of the specialist resources and needs of the industry yet these companies require generic and specialist business support that is delivered in suitable and appropriate modules with on-line support and training. Design graduates are reluctant to develop business skills and entrepreneurial acumen.
Additionally:
Traditional areas of business support were not geared up to dealing with creative businesses
There are challenges with persuading talented entrepreneurs of the importance of commercial skills
There are challenges with clients of the worth of their IP
This project will address the issues above and alleviate the lack of skills necessary to deal with them within the creative industries.
The virtual incubator will support start-ups from the creative content sector, that is, those developing innovative content within art and design industries. It will be developed as a best practice model for business incubation with the specific focus on developing an environment condusive to success within the Creative Industries. This will allow the virtual incubator model that will be developed to be flexible in it’s’ design and implementation and allow it to be adapted to a wide range of industrial sectors.
The aims of the project are to develop, research best practice, test, evaluate the impact, improve and disseminate and exploit an innovative ICT approach to targeted business training and development based upon business incubation.
Partners: Vefsn videregaende skole - Mosjoen Norway, Universitatea “Danubius” - Galati Romania, University of Antwerp - The Centre for Language and Speech - Antwerp Belgium, LYNfabrikken - Aarhus Denmark, Network for Experience Industries- Malmo Sweden, Technická univerzita v Kosiciach - Kosice Slovakia, Design Initiative - Liverpool UK, ANNUR-FORMACION-CULTURA - Badajoz Spain, Splinter Ltd - Liverpool UK, University of Central Lancashire - Preston UK, Innovationworks Ltd - Stockport UK.
Leonardo da Vinci
Period: October 2006 - September 2008
Medics on the Move
In collaboration with Universiteit Antwerpen, Applied Linguistics, Research Unit Language Studies, (BE)
The motivation for medical professionals to work abroad can range from a desire for greater practical experience, financial gain, challenging job conditions and/or scientific curiosity. According to a survey carried out by EMSA, the European Medical Students' Association1, German students for their specialist training preferably select England because of the good training facilities and the growing need for doctors, or Switzerland because of the good salary. But also France and the Nordic countries are very popular. Suffering from a shortage of qualified medical professionals, nearly every European country welcomes and even specifically encourages this “doctor traffic”. In 2004, Germany, to stick to the initial example, had around 18,0002 foreign doctors registered. 7,072 migrated from another EUmember state, mainly from Greece (1,265), Austria (1,130) and Poland (1,086). The biggest group of foreign doctors from outside the EU came from Russia (1,591), followed by Iran (1,265). Generally speaking, half of these people work in a hospital; the other half has his/her own practice. Also in other countries the percentage of foreign doctors is considerable. According to the General Medical Council in the UK only 162,000 of the 230,000 doctors registered are UK nationals; 12,000 come from EU countries as well as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein and 60,000 from the rest of the world. These highly skilled medical professionals who, are mobile citizens, do not lack the motivation to study a foreign language to its full potential. However, in practice they are so busy acquiring all kinds of other knowledge and skills that they often just not seem to be able to interculturally operate as near-native professionals and remain stuck at a level of acquisition hovering around B1 (Common European Framework of Reference). On the part of the professional this does not only lead to faceloss when in an unequal power relation with his interactant (whether a professional or a patient), but often also to miscommunication and even communication breakdown. This has an adversary effect on the professional status of the practitioner, because these linguistic deficiencies can easily be interpreted as professional unqualification.
Innovative/European dimension • The tool helps medical professionals to overcome their linguistic deficiencies in a very efficient way: A unique vocabulary will focus on their linguistic needs in a way that a general language course can never do. The alternative to enhance the specific language skill would be one-to-one teaching, which is time consuming and not cost-effective. • Learning via a PDA is a flexible and self-directed way to broaden the expertise on medical topics (i.e. legal background) and terminology with tailor made information. • The tool enhances the communication between professionals and patient in a field were perfect understanding and precise communication is vital. • It will foster mobility within as professionals will be provided with a profound tool to progress from a level of acquisition around B1 (Common European Framework of Reference) to a level were they will be able to operate as a near-native. • Especially for this target group, with a heavy workload and often lack of time, a PDA gives the possibility to access the information everywhere and in a matter of seconds. The tool will enable this vocational group to continue learning despite of their busy schedules. • The project combines field expertise (hospitals, schools for Nursing and Social work) and scientific partners (universities/ schools for Nursing and Social work/training institutions). • The tool will also pay special attention to intercultural differences that are so crucial for mutual understanding. Centre for Language and Speech, University of Antwerp (BE)
Leonardo da Vinci
Period: October 2006 - September 2008
Virtual Cultural Perception -
To develop a visual rich asset system for cultural archives (inc.
heritage sites) that is fully navigable and available on
multi-platforms targeted at diverse audiences, from subject specialists
through to the general public
target="_blank">link to the VCP presentation
TRET
-The aim of Training in
Renewable Energy Technologies (TRET) is to enable managers and workers
in Environmental and Energy departments to put into practice EU
policies towards the use of Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) as a
basis for conservation and recovery of the environment.
link
to the TRET platform
link to the TRET
web site
target="_blank">link to the Review doc
Artificial
Immune System
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence
Signal & Image Processing
Pattern Recognition
Immunology
eBusiness
eTraining
Partnership:
Digex Ltd – UK
Petita I Mitjana Empresa de Catalunya (PIMEC-SEFES) Spain
Tomsk University – Russia
Institute of Cybernetics – Uzbekistan
The Immunopathology Centre – Russia
Gomel Fr. Scaryna State University – Belarus
Summary
The purpose of this project is to collect a critical mass of experts
from fields of Mathematics, Information Technology, Life Sciences,
Economics, Social/Human Sciences, and Commercial Exploitation to
construct an ‘Intelligent System’ that builds upon recent advances in
Artificial Immune Systems and Computational Immunology. This will be a
scalable proof-of-concept dynamic parallel self-organising middleware
platform that relies upon web-based cellular automata algorithms to
dynamically mirror the actions and functionality of the human immune
system. Hence, further enabling the application and effectiveness of:
- Distance
spanning eLife (commerce, education, health etc.) - Metadata
ontologies - General
pattern recognition - Network
security
By
developing/implementing algorithmic paradigms that can identify
information from data streams, self-heal, react to friend/foe chaotic
stimuli and detect benevolent/malicious behaviour.
The goal of the project will be to establish a core of expertise and
develop an open source toolkit; the emphasis will be to distribute the
knowledge base via downloadable code/documents, explicit papers in
refereed journals and conference presentations. Besides the
aforementioned networking, this will benefit the academic community and
general society by:
Providing tools that will help shift informatic networks from a rule
configured/relational database centric paradigm to an organic dynamic
based philosophy
Reducing the need for endless software patches, virus detection
upgrades, interfering firewalls and archaic techniques in data
warehousing which tend to be labour intensive, inefficient, prone to
failure and cost organisations time and money
Enabling the automatic detection of security violations and identifying
’interesting’ behaviour by recognising systematic patterns out of
seemingly chaotic data streams. Thus freeing resources spent analysing
redundant data and catching malicious behaviour in the act
It is the hope that the core audience will consist of information
driven organisations which can become more globally competitive by
involving paradigms involving computational immunology and metadata
ontologies to alleviate problems and grasp opportunities.
EDORCO
- E-Developing of Oral Competence for Power Engineering Specialists
The project has been designed in response to a need brought about by a
new unifying EU markets with power energy. The process of
liberalisation and deregulation of energy markets will start in the
near future in 2004 and will last to 2009. / from the
document "Liberalisation on European energy market", European Union
Issues and Trends, /. As it was stated in the document " the Council
reached an agreement on a draft regulation on cross-border electricity
exchanges, which is crucial to the creation of a single energy market
as opposed to the coexistence of fifteen liberalised markets." The
document "Energy policy of the European Union" indicated energy to be a
key factor for Europe's competitiveness and economic development. The
aim of the project is to develop the online courses enhancing the oral
competence in two official European languages, English and French that
are important for vocational communication of power engineering
specialists (PES) on the European level. It is the first online
language course in English and French for the sector of energy
production and supply aimed at upgrading oral skills in
specific vocational areas.
The co-ordinator of the project is the Technical University of Kosice,
Slovakia. The partner countries involved in the project are the UK,
Belgium, Poland, Greece, Germany and Slovakia. All the products of the
project will be developed and disseminated in mutual cooperation of all
partner institutions within two years. After the procedure of
accreditation of the project products in all partner countries
the online courses in English and French will be delivered across
Europe. During the project EDORCO the learning materials will be
developed in two modules, English and French.
download
Dissemination Guide documents from
download valorisation presentation from
VIRCOUNS-
Lifelong Learning and
Carrier Counselling using new ICT approach and Tools
To improve
the access to continuing vocational training and the lifelong
acquisition of skills and competences by developinga new ICT based
approach and methods in vocational guidance and counselling - the
virtual cousellor (VIRCOUNS) The project will also promote
entrepreneurship, envisaging the development of new employment
possibilities
view
Quality Management Background document from here
view Quality
Management Plan example from here
LINGUA 2[04]
view
documents from target="_blank">here [EN]
view documents from here [DE]
DEPTH -Digital
e-procurement
techologies in health
view
documents from here
Health
Technologies Task Force link
Innovations
not reaching patients 17th Nov 04 - BBC News
Measures
are to be taken to speed up the delivery of lifesaving new medical
technologies to patients.
A report by the Healthcare Industries Task Force says
innovations do not reach patients quickly enough, partly due to
structural flaws in the NHS.
It recommends the NHS's Device Evaluation Service be modernised, and an
innovation centre established to stimulate to promote new ideas.
Health Minister Lord Warner has pledged to act on the recommendations.
The task
force was set up by the Department of Health and industry last year,
and charged with drawing up proposals to promote better use of medical
technology in the NHS.
Among its other recommendations is the creation of academic centres of
excellence to pioneer specialist treatments and techniques.It also says
NHS staff require improved training and education on the use of medical
devices.Better information should also be made available to patients
and the public on healthcare products.And a new data collection system
is needed to gain a clearer picture of the industry and its performance.
Sir Christopher O'Donnell is co-chairman of the task force and chief
executive of the medical equipment company Smith and Nephew.
He said: "A lot of technology is available, but it is a case of how can
we speed this up across the whole of the NHS and develop innovation,
and really improve patient health."
Sir Christopher said examples of technology which could be made more
widely available included MRI scanners, deep brain probes for
Parkinson's disease and new materials for orthopaedic surgery.
The NHS is not a unitary market, it is series of trust hospitals.
"What we are looking to do is have a consistent evaluation system for
new medical technology which is also locked into the procurement system
in such a way that once you have tested something, and got a firm
opinion on it, you can get it more widely used more quickly across the
whole of the country."
Sir
Christopher said it was particularly important to help smaller
companies gain access to the huge NHS market.
Health
Minister, Lord Warner, welcomed the report.
He said: "An enhanced Device Evaluation Service and a new Innovation
Centre are particular practical improvements we want to follow through
with. "We will continue to work in partnership to encourage the best
use of NHS resources and stimulate science and industry in the UK."
Old Pacificstream News
May 07 - Magazine article on 'Creative Siberia'
Roy Jones, Director of Pacificstream on'his bike' - article published in April 07 following the CI workshop.
March 07 - The development of 'Creative Siberia'
Roy Jones, Director of Pacificstream with the Deputy Mayor of Krasnoyarsk following a presentation to the City Hall on the British Council's proposals for the develpment of the Creative Industries in the region.
Presentations:
"CI: Re-Thinking and Re-Imagining the City" - download pdf here
"Creative Clusters: Competitiveness & Success in the Post-Industrial World" - download pdf here
Krasnoyarsk Gallery click here
The goal of the proposed project:
To contribute to positive social changes in Russia by brining CI approach and expertise to Siberia region from the UK
Aim:
To develop an efficient model for creative clusters initiation & development in the industrial cities of Siberia
Objectives:
- To train 4 teams of change agents capable of starting, developing, sustaining and disseminating creative clusters in their cities (Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Irkutsk)
- To develop Creative Agency model in support of creative cluster, creative network, creative community and creative individuals
- To design a mechanism enabling local creative businesses support
- To facilitate the establishment of Creative clusters in the four Siberian cities
- To contribute to creative community and networking development in Siberia
Outputs:
- UK expertise of post industrial areas re-generation disseminated to Russia via appropriate adjustment to local contexts
- Positive long-term partnership established between the North West of England and Siberia
- CI recognised by local policy makers in Siberia as a meaningful tool for post-industrial areas regeneration
- CI viewed as a means for making industrial cities in Siberia comfortable for their citizens, creating unique image of a city, serving a good ground for winning in the world’s competition of cities
Jan 07 - Pacificstream is now part of the Euromed Network for Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures
The Foundation is the first common institution jointly established and financed by all 35 members of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This far reaching partnership between the European Union and their partners in the southern Mediterranean region was launched at the Barcelona Conference in 1995. The declaration adopted at Barcelona strongly promotes regional cooperation in the economic, social and cultural fields.
The establishment of the Foundation in the ancient Egyptian seaport city of Alexandria underlines the commitment of the partners to work for increased cooperation and solidarity.
The Middle East as well as the southern and eastern Mediterranean region form an area of vital strategic importance to the European Union. The general objective is to transform the Mediterranean basin into a common area of peace, stability and prosperity.
The Foundation's main objective is to bring people and organizations from both shores of the Mediterranean closer to each other and to help bridging the gap between them. Particular importance is given to the development of human resources, while youth is the main target group.
Another priority is the promotion of tolerance among people by furthering exchanges between members of the diverse civil societies. The Foundation acts as Network of 35 national networks established by the Euro-Mediterranean partners.
For more information see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/euromed_foundation/index.htm
Dialogue between Cultures is essentially a dialogue between human beings, not between anonymous cultural entities. Present and future generations must, therefore, be given the instruments for dialogue. In the Euro-Mediterranean region, they need to be provided the opportunity to learn at least one foreign language, preferably more, and to acquire knowledge about all religions and cultural traditions that have shaped this region as crossroads of civilisations.
Jan 07 - Pacificstream joins CONSEN
CONSEN coop born in December of 2006 as the spin-off of the CONSEN EEIG Euro-Group A.E.I.E. with the aim to migrate and boost the grouping of members to a real business cooperation in the recent SCE legal form.
CONSEN coop is committed to the evolution of a networked world in which everything is smart and connected in a complex, ubiqutous and distributed - MeshUp - as information and communication environment which electronical micro-devices are first capable of generating and memorizing meaningful information and second capable of interacting and cooperating among themselves and with the external world for a effective, affective and assisted living and working ambient.
CONSEN coop works toward a networked world, in collaboration and cooperation, in reseach, development, promotion and business, for working, trading, learning and living.
CONSEN coop is part of CONSEN EEIG and actively support its mother company in Innovation and Technology reasearch project to developped solutions focused on Information, Communication and knowledge Society technologies.
CONSEN coop - in process of constitution and registration - is building a Open-Source community of cooperants, partners, and collborators and members to share, manage and exploit jointly their shared pool of knowledge and catalog of competences.
Oct 06- Pacificstream coordinates the Leonardo VIC Pilot Project
Initial meeting at Digitalinc, Liverpool
Sept 06- Seminar on the Creative Industries Development - Krasnoyarsk September 19th – 21st 2006
A brief report
Click here for pdf
Jan 06- Photographs of the Vircouns Liverpool meeting
Click here for links to photo gallery
Jan 06 - On Spatial Aspects of European Cultural Policy
[Non-additive European networking and 'excursionism' ('ekskursionistika')]
Click here for links to pdf
June 05 - Photographs of the Vircouns Vienna meeting
Click here for links to photo gallery
June 05 - Photographs of the Siberian Rock Scene
Click here for links to photo gallery
May 05 - Photographs by Yuri Antonov
Yuri works at Radiotechnic, a youth arts and culture organisation in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. The young people there produce exciting multimedia work under the direction of Yuri and his colleagues.
APRIL 05 - Report of visit to Siberia
This was a very stimulating and enjoyable visit to the city of Krasnoyarsk, a relatively remote region which appears keen to establish international partnerships. The discussions were productive, the hospitality was superb, and thanks go to the British Council Russia for facilitating the visit.
Click here to read the report
MARCH 05 - DIGEX/ is off to Siberia
Roy Jones
has been invited to represent Merseyside by the British Council to
advise on the development of the ICT and creative industries in
Krasnoyarsk.
Click here
to see the article in Febuary Mersyside ICT Newsletter.
MARCH 05 - DIGEX/ is to work with LYNfabrikken
LYNfabrikken is situated in Aarhus, Demnark's second city and is devoted to extend people's knowledge of the arts, craft and design. Digex will be working with the Design Initiative in the NW and LYNfabrikken to help develop OPN> NETwork an online database of European designer makers.
Click http://www.lynfabrikken.dk to link to LYNfabrikken's web site and for more information on OPN>
MARCH 05 - eCulture Workshop Wednesday 16th March 2005 Natural History Museum London
About 100 delegates attended including representatives from Germany, Italy, Israel, Luxembourg and Liverpool!
Mainly academics but some SMEs, BBC, DCMS, ACE and museums.
Keynote speaker was Pat Manson, Head of Learning and Culture Unit, EC. She went over the main points of the work programme for the new call that will take place in May 2005. Deadline September 2005. With a target for projects to start May/June 2006.
- How to provide users with simple means of accessing and using digitised content
- Developing technologies to enable the maintenance of the digital heritage
- Less emphasis on capture with a shift to conceptualisation, models and access
- Strong relationship to knowledge technologies
- Towards more participative and creative use of cultural heritage by citizens and by cultural institutions, at all levels, through creative, online communities.
An indicative budget of 42 Meuros
Full set of ppt slides will be available on the Information Society Technologies web site:
Other important speakers were:
Prof David Arnold, University of Brighton, Coordinator of EPOCH a current eCulture project.
Alberto del Bimbo, University of Florence
Presentations by prospective proposers were the least successful aspect of the day as most of the academics just wanted to present their latest research. However, two of the most interesting were:
Stefano Tagliaferri
Pf2 Software Sri
Naples, Italy
Merav Mack
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Al Quds University
Cambridge Research
http://www.cambridgeresearch.co.uk/
Scheduled information day – 16th June Luxembourg.
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Hello and welcome to my annual (ish) blog. This will hold regular rantings and news of Pacificstream etc.
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