2008 – Capital of Culture, Facebooking and iPhoning…
Liverpool was full of culture with a giant spider roaming the streets and Lambanans everywhere. Ringo was beheaded (or rather a statue of him was) for not appreciating what Liverpool has done for him.
Although our Capital of Culture Year didn’t provide loads of cash for the creatives, it did put the city on the map and helped to turn around the poor reputation of the building site that is Liverpool. Unfortunately it looks like the impending doom from the fall out of the credit crunch will put everything on hold. It could be worse; we could be living in Siberia where unemployment and lack of investment seems to be increasing dramatically. (and its -20°c!)
The company has been going along steadily with our EU projects and we have moved into the city centre above a bar in a renovated Georgian house, the office still isn’t finished and we have to enter via the bar, so no hardship there as we have to exit that way as well. I cut back on my travels but still went to Slovakia, Antwerp and Dresden. My Russian adventures have come to a halt with the repercussions of the Litvenyenko affair and the closure of the British Council. My emails to Russia have been blocked and my colleagues in Krasnoyarsk have lost their jobs – spooks and politicians, when will they grow up and stop playing the Empire game.
Did manage to get some designers over from Siberia for the Liverpool Design Show, my idea of years ago finally made it with hundreds of designers and over 6,000 visitors. (see www.creativesiberia.info)
Ellen’s been a busy student and although she likes London doesn’t care much for UCL, its too big and impersonal. I think now she would have preferred to go to Liverpool. She had a good holiday busking around northern France in her little Citroen with her boyfriend and is hoping to have her third year out in Provence or Languedoc but it might be Alsace. Joan has been teaching in the music department at Hope University and working on her research. Her new band, yet another new band has a CD out. (go to www.thehexmen.co.uk) and she is the star of the jam nights down at the Albert. Frankie continues to be a joy and I actually enjoy the early morning walks across the fields or on the beach, he’s just a gentle pyjama case of a dog and although weighing in at over 7 stone he is still a playful puppy.
My big creative industries project comes to an official end today but I now have two months of reports and chasing up final financials. We have put in a big tender for creative industries business support but as many of these decisions are political it will be a miracle if we get it.
Nothing in the pipeline at the moment, but for some reason I’m not worried – something will turn up, did Mr Micawber say that and look what happened to him. With all the complaining and whinging going on around me I actually feel confident and I think 2009 is going to be a good year.
So get your wonderful iPhone out, get onto Facebook and get networking – beyond the sillyness these technologies could be the answer.
