tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43170387188094734192024-03-13T19:24:02.280+00:00Marishka VSMarishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-62058612743447666472013-01-11T18:40:00.000+00:002013-01-27T21:53:34.271+00:00New Portfolio website coming soon and what I've been up to recently...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I apologise for the lack of content on this blog over the past few months.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After completing my internship at the Guardian I spent a month in South Africa where I helped make this film about my Dad's farm in Mpumalanga:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/55520740?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Since then I have been working as a freelance journalist for publications such as the Guardian producing content such as this film about Roseline Akhalu, a Nigerian kidney transplant patient who is facing deportation to Nigeria:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<!-- Start of guardian embedded video -->
<!-- To autoplay video, set 'a=true' in the following line of code-->
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="397" src="http://embedded-video.guardianapps.co.uk/?a=false&u=/uk/video/2013/jan/12/graduate-kidney-failure-risk-deported-nigeria-video" width="460"></iframe>
<!-- End of guardian embedded video -->
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I am now working on a longer documentary version of the Guardian film about Roseline Akhalu with my partner <a href="http://www.joebream.com/" target="_blank">Joe Bream</a>. We will be submitting this documentary into film festivals such as the Sheffield Doc/Fest.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I am also developing a new version of my <a href="http://www.sheffieldunchained.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sheffield Unchained</a> website which will be re-launched in the next few months, along with a new portfolio website about my work and projects.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Look out for all this exciting new work coming soon!</span>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-84322335399636076982012-09-30T11:03:00.002+01:002012-09-30T11:03:52.289+01:00Coming soon...You may have noticed that this blog has been a bit quiet recently.<br />
<br />
This is because I have been working on my websites <a href="http://www.sheffieldunchained.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sheffield Unchained</a> and <a href="http://www.unheardvoices.org.uk/" target="_blank">Unheard Voices</a>. I have also been doing an internship at the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/marishka-van-steenbergen?INTCMP=SRCH" target="_blank">Guardian</a> over the past few weeks.<br />
<br />
I am currently working on my own portfolio website where I will bring together content from my other websites and from my writing for the Guardian and other publications.<br />
<br />
In the meantime please click on the links above to see my recent work.<br />
<br />
Thanks!Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-7971195202986335732012-07-25T00:31:00.000+01:002012-07-25T14:32:35.400+01:00A second detainee threatens to jump from detention centre rooftop<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">(Published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/jul/25/detention-centre-protest-morton-hall-asylum-seekers" target="_blank">Guardian Northerner</a> on 25th July 2012)</span></span><br />
<h4>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Long delays in asylum cases
and conditions at Morton Hall in Lincolnshire prompt unrest, according to
detainees and the centre's visitor group</span> </span></h4>
<h4>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozlUuVSWPz7HVGJ2oXcA-6etzWZBYoT-Fe2UfgO9t20jdoNCob6D0EUmDLbd1kgoGpkkU-gYQiejaAAy7XTWO3JDIhUDloxe2V6-djWPuoSc7XYEAlSKHELhHoT57VdZtZHjJd_rZ490/s1600/Entrance+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozlUuVSWPz7HVGJ2oXcA-6etzWZBYoT-Fe2UfgO9t20jdoNCob6D0EUmDLbd1kgoGpkkU-gYQiejaAAy7XTWO3JDIhUDloxe2V6-djWPuoSc7XYEAlSKHELhHoT57VdZtZHjJd_rZ490/s400/Entrance+WM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to Morton Hall Detention Centre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
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A Malaysian man is the <a href="http://marishkavs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/palestinian-detainee-threatens-suicide.html">second
detainee</a> in less than 24 hours to protest against the 'harsh' treatment of
detainees at <a href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/organisation/immigrationremovalcentres/morton-hall">Morton
Hall detention centre</a> in Swinderby, Lincolnshire.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">He climbed the nine-meter high Fry building
at 11.30am yesterday morning, Tuesday 24 July, and refused to come down even
though temperatures reached around 29°C in Lincolnshire.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Malaysian said he was protesting at the
injustice in this country and could be heard shouting for water and saying that
he thought he was going to faint. He said the officers refused to bring him
water and he threatened to jump off the roof in frustration at the way they
were treating him. He said in a telephone call from the rooftop:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">They're not human, how can they treat me
like this. There is no point anymore.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A <a href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/">UK Border Agency</a> (UKBA) statement
said that they sent trained staff to negotiate with the detainee and that they
convinced him to come down shortly after 5pm yesterday afternoon. The UKBA said
he was placed in a separate unit at Morton Hall where staff could talk to him.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Malaysian is allegedly only one of a
group of detainees who have threatened to climb the buildings of Morton Hall in
protest at the 'disrespect' and 'inhumane' treatment they claim to be
experiencing.</span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisED7XY5QCIpaDdYz-i2_UGZaeztuifkK6NGa8xzL6Vj3SExQPMU-bjS97NtxRNmo9j3Zh8eepnFE01kFAtvTE_grAJ7cp62UNUfoCR8ZCLD4Zb_3VNXP5aKBVYfcqz08ehlFVqDNnUz4/s1600/building+side+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisED7XY5QCIpaDdYz-i2_UGZaeztuifkK6NGa8xzL6Vj3SExQPMU-bjS97NtxRNmo9j3Zh8eepnFE01kFAtvTE_grAJ7cp62UNUfoCR8ZCLD4Zb_3VNXP5aKBVYfcqz08ehlFVqDNnUz4/s400/building+side+WM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the rooftops of a building inside Morton Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The protest began on Monday night, when a
<a href="http://marishkavs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/palestinian-detainee-threatens-suicide.html" target="_blank">Palestinian detainee</a> climbed onto the roof of the Library building at Morton
Hall at 5pm and refused to come down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Detainees said they woke up yesterday morning to
find that the Palestinian had disappeared from the roof of the building. A UKBA
spokesperson said that the Palestinian was talked down during the early hours
of Tuesday morning and is safe and well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Palestinian, around 25 years old,
climbed on to the roof in protest at being detained for eighteen months. He had
recently been unsuccessful in a bail application and had been on hunger strike
for a couple of days.</span></div>
</div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib04MpnVmMfMBfGTMhFlBGZz-sLGFgfWTRICoecha5MMaC4AOYki0C4SLk0eojdSayBXGHhDpYNWQRhSDVSILMpfqzKnEgUfKFDRYeTUCAw7622zmtj_pv90GemJ0SA5mw-TzFchnBqEo/s1600/roof+and+fence+dappled+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib04MpnVmMfMBfGTMhFlBGZz-sLGFgfWTRICoecha5MMaC4AOYki0C4SLk0eojdSayBXGHhDpYNWQRhSDVSILMpfqzKnEgUfKFDRYeTUCAw7622zmtj_pv90GemJ0SA5mw-TzFchnBqEo/s400/roof+and+fence+dappled+WM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morton Hall, previously a female prison, is surrounded by 5m high razor wired fences</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An Iraqi Kurdish detainee at Morton Hall,
who helped to translate for the Palestinian, said:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">People are generally angry with the UKBA,
they are fed up with the removal policy.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In an interview yesterday, he said that he
couldn't believe how bad the situation was for many of the detainees.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Some people are in a really bad situation
here, they have been here for years, but they are innocent, they haven't done
anything wrong.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Iraqi Kurd said that there is an atmosphere
of revolt in the detention centre, with many detainees planning to climb to the
roofs of the buildings. He said that around six detainees had been taken to
prison for protesting and that staff had subsequently locked detainees in their
rooms.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_T5m__wfCMnYZPOspC9jUT6j-kUqyFt5eIgmoMJa7RJvJ2x57LWmrHgWGUMat_3VD10mna30vNpRnEtBvo2ViDJqkObKDGNDujWs3Q5Kvukthz4Z-GOZ1xUwOjosoVzka_NcSRFJ6_H0/s1600/geoamey+pulling+away+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_T5m__wfCMnYZPOspC9jUT6j-kUqyFt5eIgmoMJa7RJvJ2x57LWmrHgWGUMat_3VD10mna30vNpRnEtBvo2ViDJqkObKDGNDujWs3Q5Kvukthz4Z-GOZ1xUwOjosoVzka_NcSRFJ6_H0/s400/geoamey+pulling+away+WM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geoamey, a prisoner escort service, removes detainees from Morton Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2690">Nottingham Indymedia</a>
has reported that many of the detainees are protesting because of the centre's
disrespect of their Muslim faith during Ramadan. They published a statement by
the detainees who say they are on strike:<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Sir we are here in detention centre Morton
Hall. We are with fasting in the last four days but management not supply
proper food for it. We demand proper food at the proper time. Today they don't
give food at all and guys are on the roof. We are on strike. Why they don't
treat us as human?</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Dave Hewitt from <a href="http://www.aviddetention.org.uk/">Morton Hall Visitors Group</a> said:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">We fully support the detainees inside the
detention prison Morton Hall in their hunger strike and protests. Having to
live under the intolerable conditions they are forced into, often for years on
end, being moved around the country from one detention prison to another, in
many cases having no contact with the outside world, it's no surprise they have
had enough. We will continue to support those detained in any way we can whilst
doing all we can to end the inhumane system that puts them there.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A UKBA spokesperson said:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">A one man protest at Morton Hall in which a
detainee scaled the roof of the centre has been resolved. The man is safe and
well.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The identities of the detainees have been
withheld for their protection.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Photographs by <a href="http://www.joebream.com/" target="_blank">www.joebream.com </a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-34748076626070803302012-07-23T23:30:00.000+01:002012-07-25T14:41:07.465+01:00Palestinian detainee threatens suicide whilst staging a protest on detention centre roof<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgHOqEeavqFJokxsRei2DMj2LUDbdtddwjwztbpFNn1DXYgVWn6nXnFV6mDhlT8nNN81BgeO4fEK6boL0zg428mp1PaLKj5sEp_CAlJil4mc0VrNOjXpwZyVEJSCvd29IvrY1J22zefE/s1600/building+through+trees+WM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgHOqEeavqFJokxsRei2DMj2LUDbdtddwjwztbpFNn1DXYgVWn6nXnFV6mDhlT8nNN81BgeO4fEK6boL0zg428mp1PaLKj5sEp_CAlJil4mc0VrNOjXpwZyVEJSCvd29IvrY1J22zefE/s400/building+through+trees+WM.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morton Hall detention centre, which is surreounded by 5m high razor wired fence</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
A Palestinian detainee
has allegedly been on the roof of the Library building at <a href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/organisation/immigrationremovalcentres/morton-hall">Morton
Hall Immigration Removal centre</a> in Lincolnshire since 5pm this evening.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
An
Iraqi Kurdish detainee who came to the UK after living as a refugee in Germany
during the first Gulf War, said that the Palestinian was around 25 years old
and that he climbed onto the roof in protest at being detained for eighteen
months. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Iraqi Kurd said that the
Palestinian had recently been unsuccessful in a bail application and that he
had been on hunger strike for a couple of days. He said that two or three
detainees tried to help each other climb up to the roof, but that the
Palestinian was the only one who managed to climb onto the roof. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He described how there
were a lot of detainees standing outside watching and shouting and that some of
them refused to go back to their rooms. “The detention centre was out of
control for a while, but eventually people started going back to their rooms.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“People are generally
angry with the <a href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/">UK Border Agency</a>
(UKBA), they are fed up with the removal policy.” The Iraqi Kurd said that the
detention guards asked the Palestinian to come down from the roof but he
threatened to jump off every time they came near.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He wants to kill
himself now, if anybody comes near he wants to jump. He’s standing on the roof
and he wants to jump soon, if anyone comes near him” The Iraqi Kurd, who has been in
Morton Hall for two months, said he helped to translate for the Palestinian a
couple of times.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He expressed
shock at the things he had seen since being at Morton Hall Immigration centre:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
England is a country that says it believes in <a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/governmentcitizensandrights/yourrightsandresponsibilities/dg_4002951">human
rights</a>, but not in this detention centre. They need help somehow, all the
cases I have seen, some really sad stories, people who are here for no reason,
they haven’t committed any crimes, they are in detention for nothing.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He believes that this
is the beginning of a revolt in the detention centre, “There will be more, I
can see how people are reacting to the situation, there is tension amongst the
groups who have been here for a long time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having lived in the UK
for twelve years, The Iraqi Kurd claims that after he was given temporary leave to
remain, the UKBA delayed granting him indefinite leave to remain for five years
and then detained him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They are trying to
deport me to Iraq, even though I spent my childhood growing up as a European.” The Iraqi Kurd fled Iraq with his family during the first Gulf War, when the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3320293.stm">Kurdish
population suffered an 'ethnic cleansing' campaign by Saddam Hussein's regime</a>.
He arrived in Germany with his family when he was ten years old. He is now
waiting for a response from the European Court of Human Rights, and hopes to be
able to return to Germany.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Iraqi Kurd believes that
the Palestinian is not the only detainee who will revolt. He said there are ten
or fifteen detainees currently on hunger strike and that one has tried to kill
himself through self harm. “Something is going to happen soon, because there is
no help from outside at all and if we ask for help the guards say it is not
their problem.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Palestinian will
stay there all night and he will eventually jump and there are others like him,
there are over one hundred of them who want to do something like this</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The identities of the detainees have been
withheld for their protection.</span></div>
<br />
Photograph by <a href="http://www.joebream.com/">www.joebream.com</a> </div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-33124568100692837412012-07-23T12:30:00.000+01:002012-07-25T14:40:22.549+01:00Double documentary screening explores asylum in the UK<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/Ip3YV_UcLSk/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ip3YV_UcLSk&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ip3YV_UcLSk&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>Trailer for Hamedullah: The Road Home</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US">An anti-deportation campaign group is hosting a documentary screening on
detention and deportation in the light of recent news that <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/17/jimmy-mubenga-guards-no-charges">G4S
security guards will not face charges for the death of Angolan refugee Jimmy
Mubenga</a>, who collapsed while being escorted on a flight from Heathrow
airport in London. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The <a href="http://www.ncadc.org.uk/index.html">National Coalition of
Anti-Deportation Campaigns</a> (NCDAC), who will host the free event this
Tuesday 24 July at <a href="http://www.93feeteast.co.uk/">93 Feet East</a> on
Brick Lane in East London, laments the decision not to bring a charge of
corporate manslaughter on the private security firm and believes that
accountability for the insitutionalised abuse of those seeking sanctuary in the
UK seems further away than ever.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lisa Matthews of NCDAC said, “This incident is just one of many examples of
the detention and deportation machines being used to silence the voice of
migrants, divide communities and try and make us forget that asylum seekers and
other migrants are individuals with human stories to tell.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjExXLpN26Yyw1bvzPiXX5PEEWT3Whb0A1C7hcGblO8SWVzHwoN6y3_QLkXe8c730CL8AYJOjt2jWj_JI8qBOk05y529cQ97ijQ6d6RYJTkitGcAsmxPrC7VMjQyPo52_SErXt8GYSSs/s1600/titile+card+no+text+colour(small).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjExXLpN26Yyw1bvzPiXX5PEEWT3Whb0A1C7hcGblO8SWVzHwoN6y3_QLkXe8c730CL8AYJOjt2jWj_JI8qBOk05y529cQ97ijQ6d6RYJTkitGcAsmxPrC7VMjQyPo52_SErXt8GYSSs/s400/titile+card+no+text+colour(small).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside an Immigration Removal Centre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">NCDAC will screen two documentaries; <a href="http://www.hamedullahtheroadhome.com/">Hamedullah: The Road Home</a> and </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://howlongisindefinite.wordpress.com/">How Long is Indefinite?</a>,
which both claim to highlight injustices of the asylum and immigration systems.
</span><span lang="EN-US">The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion with the directors of
the documentaries, young people from Afghanistan, ex-detainees, Lisa Matthews
of NCDAC and Kate Blagojevic of <a href="http://detentionaction.org.uk/">Detention
Action</a>. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US">Hamedullah: The Road Home, which </span>won Best Short
Documentary at the <a href="http://www.londonindependent.org/OS2012.htm">London
Independent Film Festival</a>, tells the story of a<span lang="EN-US"> young Afghan who claims asylum in the UK, and
his struggle to cope after being deported on a 'ghost' charter flight back to
Afghanistan. </span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US">UK film director and screenwriter Sue Clayton </span>filmed
Hamedullah and his friends up to the day he was deported. Clayton gave
Hamedullah a small video camera when he was deported, hoping to find out
whether he would survive in Afghanistan. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN85v4nv-xQ8JSZffCcCVahC3-0yyFZiEzPd7wdwvoT10BQQpnbJf2ZqYHwDJdJiIDKQ7wHDEWMHADrVbUMN4C3FPIe873zA7pSA6jB1M8jaKq0X_X-Qd7wl1AyY8eHb8ZwpQCiCl82Nc/s1600/Water+pump(small).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN85v4nv-xQ8JSZffCcCVahC3-0yyFZiEzPd7wdwvoT10BQQpnbJf2ZqYHwDJdJiIDKQ7wHDEWMHADrVbUMN4C3FPIe873zA7pSA6jB1M8jaKq0X_X-Qd7wl1AyY8eHb8ZwpQCiCl82Nc/s400/Water+pump(small).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamedullah in Afghanistan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Clayton has made over 20 award-winning films for BBC and
Channel 4, including <a href="http://www.sueclaytonfilm.com/finbar.html">The
Disappearance of Finbar</a> with Jonathan Rhys Meyers. “A lot of my films are
about people who go on journeys, and what people are looking for in their lives
and how they change. Are they running to something or from something and who do
they become when they go on a journey?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I thought about these unaccompanied children; who do they
grow up to be, do they feel Afghan, do they feel British? So my real
inspiration wasn’t even the political side at first, it was more about how you
put your identity together every morning, what makes you you, is it your
friends, your music, do you really cling onto your family and your past or do
you have to let that go? So it was a sort of emotional interest in how they
keep themselves going, because a lot of them are very positive, so how do they
face each day with all that difficulty behind them?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US">How
Long is Indefinite?, directed and produced by Alexis L Wood, claims to be the
first documentary to expose detention without a time limit being exercised on
thousands of immigrants in Britain every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6emUTBQWGoy2DDH_FZy4BkUWl-EdILMZFgvv85LZY1QQTaW-IVsYc_5vGpgYjSTJbJgzoWcrprbFsGAhbqiZMvqM476uGLeqW5xtXRaiLHY12gg8fqRFRj_8vyOO1a83UhwNltMitAgk/s1600/Still-Guard(small).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6emUTBQWGoy2DDH_FZy4BkUWl-EdILMZFgvv85LZY1QQTaW-IVsYc_5vGpgYjSTJbJgzoWcrprbFsGAhbqiZMvqM476uGLeqW5xtXRaiLHY12gg8fqRFRj_8vyOO1a83UhwNltMitAgk/s400/Still-Guard(small).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reconstruction of a detention centre from How Long Is Indefinite?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US">The
film follows the lives of three people caught in immigration limbo and detained
for almost four years between them. They cannot be removed from the UK, yet
they remain detained in prison at an average cost of <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2011-04-26b.51834.h&s=immigration+detention+section%3Awrans#g51834.q0">£40,150
each, per year to the taxpayer</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US">Wood,
assistant producer at <a href="http://www.dochouse.org/">DocHouse</a> in
London, said she made this documentary because she wanted to represent the main
issues leading to detainees caught in detention limbo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONgJ-xFuatV-VeLM3o8GdMJAmwPCwyE5mTo9WY5C1JM0Y-l7KE2MG3UMlUQRhWRE0HQ0tUEZQAGN6lmxUqOfZzCQ7M9sc0A-5jl6QYYNFOVb6kaJdvDQuEDamxJBOGoFr2rarhkKgSdQ/s1600/Still-Aissata(small)+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhONgJ-xFuatV-VeLM3o8GdMJAmwPCwyE5mTo9WY5C1JM0Y-l7KE2MG3UMlUQRhWRE0HQ0tUEZQAGN6lmxUqOfZzCQ7M9sc0A-5jl6QYYNFOVb6kaJdvDQuEDamxJBOGoFr2rarhkKgSdQ/s400/Still-Aissata(small)+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aissata, one of the characters in How Long Is Indefinite?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US">“I
made a film for people to actually see the faces, the families and the lives of
people detained which is so easy to forget when we are given statistics of
people removed, told that they are illegal and without rights. In fact the case
is not so simple and many are never removed from the country but held in
detention indefinitely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US">“The
longest case we know about is someone being detained for 8 years. Many are held
for several years wondering each day if they will ever be released or be
removed to a regime in which they fear for their lives. I want my
film to make people empathise with the people in this situation and realise
that it is happening to thousands of people every day.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-1137769397659469322012-07-14T02:39:00.001+01:002012-07-15T12:12:47.431+01:00Political asylum seeker fears torture and detention if deported<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(As published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/jul/15/sheffield-asylum-seeker-cameroon-bernard-mboueyeu-amnesty-international" target="_blank">Guardian Northerner</a> 15 July 2012)</span><br />
<br />
<h4>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Sheffield journalist married local charity worker two years ago, but must return to apply for spouse's visa in Cameroon where he faces persecution.</span></h4>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/45735973?title=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">An emergency protest has been
held outside<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/sheffield" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Sheffield</span></a></span>
Town Hall in support of Bernard Mboueyeu, who fears persecution and jail if he
is deported to <span style="text-decoration: none;">Cameroon</span>
first thing tomorrow, Monday 16 July.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Mboueyeu, who is currently being
detained at Pennine House in Manchester, was arrested by the<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">UK Border Agency</span></a></span> on Tuesday morning. This
is the second time he has been held, after being released and allowed to return
to Sheffield just six weeks ago.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Mboueyeu fled his homeland of<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/cameroon" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Cameroon</span></a></span> in 2007 after he
was allegedly beaten up and tortured by the ruling regime for supporting
opposition groups. The treatment followed his arrest by President Paul Biya's
security forces for taking photographs of students being attacked during
protests in 2006. Biya has been in power since 1982.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Supporters say that the
journalist, who was working for a newspaper in southern Cameroon at the time,
was stripped naked, beaten up and kept in jail for forty days. Mboueyeu's wife
Sharon, who lives in Wincobank, Sheffield, said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">They cut his feet with machetes -
he's still got the scars on his legs.</span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKbnOsCnBHt6QkMsCwQDME7y0B2CLTwiMxmSAO1Q-Y31CDB-LDLG4PCWz2a6TXmXcnCky_ArsvyY4cAizkr903c1evHNllL_vh3R2YZrbW4rpDmgJTnHzvO0NP3PaLgMDFiLrhpeu_6o/s1600/Bernard+and+Sharon+Mboueyeu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKbnOsCnBHt6QkMsCwQDME7y0B2CLTwiMxmSAO1Q-Y31CDB-LDLG4PCWz2a6TXmXcnCky_ArsvyY4cAizkr903c1evHNllL_vh3R2YZrbW4rpDmgJTnHzvO0NP3PaLgMDFiLrhpeu_6o/s400/Bernard+and+Sharon+Mboueyeu.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Bernard and Sharon Mboueyeu</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Mboueyeu married charity worker
Sharon in 2010 but the Home Office is insisting that he returns to Cameroon to
apply for a spouse's visa. His supporters say that if he is returned as planned
early tomorrow morning, he could be arrested, face torture, or be locked up
indefinitely.</span></span></div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqW5RDI5l-ra2PRstR_F2F4YektJHJ_FPiutuMj3XYS5RPo6kEnLsijQEgIOoQhM6BYqCN-sAypN5pG2W2Ow68KNaVp9xawPdEt7jf94tTkrW-FSu48awIewpWFlNZGrEhFnBQaKwOv1k/s1600/Marriage+vows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqW5RDI5l-ra2PRstR_F2F4YektJHJ_FPiutuMj3XYS5RPo6kEnLsijQEgIOoQhM6BYqCN-sAypN5pG2W2Ow68KNaVp9xawPdEt7jf94tTkrW-FSu48awIewpWFlNZGrEhFnBQaKwOv1k/s400/Marriage+vows.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Bernard and Sharon getting married in 2010</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.sheffieldlibdems.org.uk/tag/shaffaq-mohammed/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Shaffaq Mohammed</span></a>, </span>Sheffield's Liberal Democrat Leader, who was at the Town
Hall protest, said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Mboueyeu has offered to return
voluntarily to Cameroon if the Home Office guarantees his safety but the Home
Office have refused to make that guarantee.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We think Bernard's safety is at
grave risk, if not his life. All because a bureaucrat would like a piece of
paper to be sent from a foreign country.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Commenting on a <span style="text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/cameroon-catalogue-human-rights-abuses-20090129" target="_blank">2009 Amnesty Report</a></span> on Cameroon, Tawanda Hondora, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/amnesty-international" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Amnesty International</span>'s</a> </span>deputy director for Africa said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Cameroon has a horrendous record
of gross human rights violations, including torture and killings, against
dissidents and members of opposition. Political opposition is not tolerated in
Cameroon. Any dissent is suppressed through either violence or abuse of the
legal system to silence critics.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A UK Border Agency spokesperson
said:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Our rules are very clear, when
someone has no right to be in the UK we expect them to leave voluntarily. If
they fail to do so, we will seek to remove them.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Cllr Mohammed said that whilst in
Sheffield, Bernard was making a great contribution to the city. </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span">He volunteered with the </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.srsb.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Royal Society for the Blind</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> and another
charity called </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.aspire.org.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Aspire</span></a>.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"> Two years ago,
when the devastating floods hit Pakistan, one of the first people outside the
Town Hall was Bernard. He helped to highlight the plight and to raise thousands
of pounds.</span></span></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkeWVYXeaq7QDR_zELudBrz4-lA6UztfyBTP9fLbyPyZ7SamS76cXqKFCMfc4ywnnd34tiVFyil89Ys4R3leDDG47EZC0ti1PoSS4gDFE2xGxxWDABgMsRWdU-Hd4LObytmQMONBtSvE/s1600/Bernard+Mboueyeu+with+his+grandchildren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkeWVYXeaq7QDR_zELudBrz4-lA6UztfyBTP9fLbyPyZ7SamS76cXqKFCMfc4ywnnd34tiVFyil89Ys4R3leDDG47EZC0ti1PoSS4gDFE2xGxxWDABgMsRWdU-Hd4LObytmQMONBtSvE/s400/Bernard+Mboueyeu+with+his+grandchildren.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Bernard Mboueyeu with his grandchildren</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Bernard’s wife Sharon
said:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">He’s my husband, he’s
a step-dad, he’s a granddad and its so annoying that they’re quite happy to
take him away from us and not allow him to have a family life.</span></blockquote>
<br />Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-57763367818607369932012-06-28T13:32:00.003+01:002012-06-28T14:10:41.405+01:00Square Hole- lovingly assembled live comedy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gSMNDjkckmlWf-ZePxBSGRTXNYOE8zeTCYtIoh3PrtbkMAWz6JCUvZ7psjyDb_Jid8bXZzrfqVEZvVk_SUW0dUbd7i0gri91VI13S0xgi1d0kkfdP5Eg9eW1m-CGjO78dNQZIG16Ddk/s1600/Seymore+MaceEdited+IMG_2295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gSMNDjkckmlWf-ZePxBSGRTXNYOE8zeTCYtIoh3PrtbkMAWz6JCUvZ7psjyDb_Jid8bXZzrfqVEZvVk_SUW0dUbd7i0gri91VI13S0xgi1d0kkfdP5Eg9eW1m-CGjO78dNQZIG16Ddk/s400/Seymore+MaceEdited+IMG_2295.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professional comedian Seymore Mace at Square Hole</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Square Hole, a monthly comedy night held at the Red Deer pub in
Sheffield, is a down to earth event, offering laughs, free cake and a welcoming
atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Usually held on the second Monday of every month, Square Hole has
recently changed its format to include more acts from professional comedians.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Host Rich Milner, said that two professional acts would now open and
close the evening, with a few new acts sandwiched in between. He said, "I’m trying to
book comedians who are very distinctive, where you’re going to go away and
remember them."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Rich is keen to keep the original ethos of the night:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I hope to
maintain a friendly, relaxed atmosphere where the new acts can experiment a
bit. Hopefully it will still be an enjoyable night where everyone can take
part.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The name Square Hole
comes from the idea of a square peg in a round hole. Rich explained that the
ethos of the event is to have a place where comedians can try something
different and where everyone is welcome, with an emphasis on originality.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3dYvwvXBZ6I-3Z65gqz2wC9CIOkyezoCQ7YURCsK5p4qpZ6ZViqbAfhyphenhyphen0U7oeomaw-OJtGUlmFyWjv6UpVSqgLNMq8SLT_VCfeHAA4_dSyBZ3oA_TqqPfhr0lNsZ5dquAaDRPHDu3ss/s1600/Free+cakeEdited+IMG_2112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3dYvwvXBZ6I-3Z65gqz2wC9CIOkyezoCQ7YURCsK5p4qpZ6ZViqbAfhyphenhyphen0U7oeomaw-OJtGUlmFyWjv6UpVSqgLNMq8SLT_VCfeHAA4_dSyBZ3oA_TqqPfhr0lNsZ5dquAaDRPHDu3ss/s400/Free+cakeEdited+IMG_2112.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rich Milner handing out his homemade free cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://squareholecomedy.com/">Square Hole</a>, which started in December
2010, has become a popular night with a regular fan base. The event originated
out of Rich’s frustration with over-priced and badly advertised comedy gigs. He said:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I
wanted to do a night that was good value for money. I also wanted to find acts
that were a bit more original and intelligent and to give people space
to experiment. Whilst the onus is still on being funny.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rich, 29, has been gigging
as a comedian for one year. He entered into comedy after doing performance poetry
with <a href="http://wordsaloud.org/">Words Aloud</a>, a popular spoken word
night which ran in Sheffield between 2006 and 2008. His first comedy gigs were
‘Gong’ shows where the acts get ‘gonged’ off if the audience don’t like them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whilst Rich enjoyed this competitive experience, he decided that he wanted to
host gigs that would be enjoyable for the audience but also a pleasant
experience for the acts so that they would want to do it again. “So the
emphasis is on being friendly and fairly relaxed,” said Rich.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiguO7v1yPHEmvSdxpjAwR3wo9cqbw10pppF79vwhM9izK_70hxcJRDjJAN-4lumLVGI2KUa7OQGzUhyphenhyphenbQcQaqi7PB7lCmJ4Di4AkEhwxOZENG3wb5jhlMtIqghB6Rug8Jl52AFcu8HmU/s1600/Outside+Red+DeerEdited+IMG_2097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiguO7v1yPHEmvSdxpjAwR3wo9cqbw10pppF79vwhM9izK_70hxcJRDjJAN-4lumLVGI2KUa7OQGzUhyphenhyphenbQcQaqi7PB7lCmJ4Di4AkEhwxOZENG3wb5jhlMtIqghB6Rug8Jl52AFcu8HmU/s400/Outside+Red+DeerEdited+IMG_2097.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Deer pub near West street in Sheffield</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Friendliness is also
important for the <a href="http://www.red-deer-sheffield.co.uk/">Red Deer pub</a>,
landlord Jake Nickles said:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The team at the Red Deer are all down to earth and
we try to keep the character of the pub alive by sharing our own characters.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jake took over the Red
Deer in August 2010, which was perfect timing for Rich, “Jake had just taken
over and was trying to breathe life into the place.” The pub now hosts a number
of events including a Tuesday night quiz, Sunday night movie screenings and
live acoustic music every Saturday and Thursday evenings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next Square Hole
will be held on July 9<sup>th</sup> 2012, you can find out more at: <a href="http://squareholecomedy.com/">http://squareholecomedy.com/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-20025176857332308432012-06-28T12:59:00.001+01:002012-06-28T12:59:06.603+01:00Sheffield asylum-seeker deportation blocked
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<!--StartFragment-->
(Published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/jun/27/refugees-immigration" target="_blank">Guardian Northerner</a> on 27 June 2012)<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyb37BnsNj4uT-8K-t55eUosT0iHNBQ7X5AfQ76zV6a9EHM_hTZTL8Sr1T5iYhcxnM6pkJs9biSZBeLZ0PQHFWFGLE4WvKEr8a0qKo-sMqxDnUuFSDbnB0lI12hHu9Fgy1N0ljkMFlaY/s1600/Lemlem+arriving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyb37BnsNj4uT-8K-t55eUosT0iHNBQ7X5AfQ76zV6a9EHM_hTZTL8Sr1T5iYhcxnM6pkJs9biSZBeLZ0PQHFWFGLE4WvKEr8a0qKo-sMqxDnUuFSDbnB0lI12hHu9Fgy1N0ljkMFlaY/s400/Lemlem+arriving.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lemlem Hussein Abdu arriving at Sheffield train station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><b>Campaigners in Sheffield have been
victorious in helping to block the planned deportation of an elderly and
disabled asylum seeker reported in the <i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/jun/25/sheffield-asylum-seeker-ethiopia-eritrea?newsfeed=true">Guardian
Northerner</a></i> yesterday.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lemlem Hussein Abdu, 62, was released from
Yarl’s Wood detention centre last night as the result of an earlier meeting
between Labour MP Paul Blomfield, Sheffield priest Father Shaun Smith and the
Immigration Minister Damian Green. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Gina Clayton, chair of Sheffield charity <a href="http://www.assistsheffield.org.uk/home">ASSIST</a> said:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">We’re delighted at
the outcome of the meeting. This is an exceptional and compelling case. We
won't relax until Lemlem has a residence permit, but following the Minister’s
intervention we are very hopeful that Lemlem will soon have security and be
able to live without fear.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lemlem was arrested on Tuesday 19 June when
she visited the <a href="http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/">UK Border Agency</a> at
Vulcan House in Sheffield to begin a new asylum claim. She was taken straight
to <a href="http://www.guardian.cok/uk/2010/jul/21/yarls-wood-family-wing-shut">Yarl's
Wood</a> detention centre, ready for a flight to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> on Sunday 24 June.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, a demonstration in Sheffield last
week, addressed by both Blomfield, and the city's Liberal Democrat leader <a href="http://www.sheffieldlibdems.org.uk/tag/shaffaq-mohammed/%3EShaffaq">Shaffaq
Mohammed</a> was followed by an eleventh hour reprieve.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Home Office minister <a href="http://www.damiangreenmp.org.uk/galleryflash.aspx?id=25">Damian Green</a>
cancelled the Sunday flight and agreed to delay further action until the
meeting in London with Blomfield and Father Shaun Smith from Sacred Heart
Church in Hillsborough.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Friends and supporters
applauded Lemlem as she arrived at Sheffield train station. The group paid
tribute to the hard work and commitment of Sheffield Central MP <a href="http://paulblomfield.co.uk/home.html">Paul Blomfield</a> and the faith
leaders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Lemlem said, “Thank
you thank you, I’m happy now,” when she arrived in Sheffield train station last
night. She has been released without conditions while the UK Border Agency
considers her case for discretionary leave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sheffield's campaigners say that Lemlem,
who left her home country of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/eritrea">Eritrea</a>
in 1978, would have been left destitute if she was sent to Ethiopia. She fled
after her family was murdered during an attack by Ethiopian forces. Allegedly
targeted due to their support for the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), which
was fighting for independence from Ethiopia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sarah Eldridge </span><span lang="EN-US">of Sheffield's <a href="http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/sheffield">City
of Sanctuary</a> </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">said:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It’s hard to know
exactly which part of the campaign led to the change of heart. But it has been
immensely heart warming to watch the spontaneous groundswell of support from
hundreds of ordinary people that sprang up in the space of a few days and led
to Lemlem’s emotional welcome back to the city.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<!--EndFragment-->Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-46729479841998581332012-06-22T18:51:00.000+01:002012-06-25T13:48:18.061+01:00Sheffield asylum seeker deportation halted - for now<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
(Published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/jun/25/sheffield-asylum-seeker-ethiopia-eritrea" target="_blank">Guardian Northerner</a> on 25th June 2012)<br />
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></b>
<b><span lang="EN-US">Plea for elderly and disabled refugee from Eritrea will be put to the Home Office by MP and Bishop of Sheffield tomorrow.</span></b>
<b><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span>
</b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgunZCzAk5h8ki1zXXQl4bpPPbohZqCHRhkQWJdHqJMJzyUcaoTonTlacwI3YSiMSnI8ciQDOSmz5fs3jvq7t_1mIbgj1WI2dXEQHJ4U2HkpT9Q3Xy5HZ1eiI-LIzbVnbnxdw9RJbWm2A/s1600/LemlemEdited+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgunZCzAk5h8ki1zXXQl4bpPPbohZqCHRhkQWJdHqJMJzyUcaoTonTlacwI3YSiMSnI8ciQDOSmz5fs3jvq7t_1mIbgj1WI2dXEQHJ4U2HkpT9Q3Xy5HZ1eiI-LIzbVnbnxdw9RJbWm2A/s400/LemlemEdited+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lemlem Hussein Abdu</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>
<b><span lang="EN-US">
</span></b></b></div>
People power in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/sheffield">Sheffield</a> has helped to delay
the planned rapid deportation of an elderly and disabled asylum seeker whose
future now hinges on a meeting tomorrow, Tuesday 26 June.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Home Office has agreed to halt action
against Lemlem Hussein Abdu, 62, who was arrested last Tuesday when she visited
the <a href="http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/">UK Border Agency</a> at Vulcan
House in Sheffield to begin a new asylum claim.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Lemlem originally sought asylum in the UK
in 2007 but was refused, and after her arrest last week she was taken straight
to <a href="http://www.guardian.cok/uk/2010/jul/21/yarls-wood-family-wing-shut">Yarl's
Wood</a> detention centre, ready for a flight to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> yesterday, Sunday
24 June. But a march and demonstration in Sheffield last week, addressed by
both the Labour MP for Sheffield Central, <a href="http://paulblomfield.co.uk/home.html">Paul Blomfield</a>, and the city's
Liberal Democrat leader <a href="http://www.sheffieldlibdems.org.uk/tag/shaffaq-mohammed/">Shaffaq
Mohammed</a>, was followed by a temporary official change of heart.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Home Office minister <a href="http://www.damiangreenmp.org.uk/galleryflash.aspx?id=25">Damian Green</a>
cancelled the Sunday flight and agreed to delay further action until after the meeting in London tomorrow with Blomfield and the <a href="http://www.sheffield.anglican.org/index.php/home/about-the-bishops/bishop-steven">Bishop
of Sheffield</a>, Rt Rev Steven Croft. Blomfield says:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">We will be highlighting the support that
Lemlem has within Sheffield, and that her deportation would shame the UK.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Earlier he posted on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/102878976433976/">Lemlem Must Stay</a>
Facebook group page:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">I've written to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/theresamay">Theresa May</a> seeking an
urgent meeting and calling on her to halt the deportation. I've pointed out the
huge support for Lemlem in Sheffield and that the decision to remove an
elderly, disabled woman to a country where she does not speak the language,
where she has never lived and to which she has no affiliation is a gross error
[and] will be quite rightly viewed by many as scandalous.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Last week's demonstration saw a procession
to the UK Borders Agency at Vulcan House where a delegation met staff to put
the case against the decision to deport Lemlem. A petition was also handed in,
with over 1000 signatures asking for Lemlem to be given the right to remain in
the UK.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/44520911?title=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
<i>The demonstration and interviews with Paul Blomfield and Gina Clayton. Filming and reporting by Marishka Van Steenbergen</i><br />
<div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br />A spokesperson for the agency said that the
case had been considered carefully by the department and an immigration judge
when Lemlem appealed against an original asylum refusal. He said:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Both concluded that this lady does not have
grounds to remain in the United Kingdom.
The UK has a proud tradition of
providing protection to those who genuinely need it, but those individuals with
no right to be here must leave and if they choose not to, we will remove them.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sheffield's campaigners say that Lemlem,
who left her home country of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/eritrea">Eritrea</a>
in 1978, will be left destitute if she is sent to Ethiopia. She fled after her
family was murdered during an attack by Ethiopian forces. Allegedly targeted
due to their support for the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), which was
fighting for independence from Ethiopia.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Gina Clayton, trustee of <a href="http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/sheffield">Sheffield's City of Sanctuary</a>
says:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">Lemlem is absolutely terrified to the core
of being taken to Ethiopia. She has no family and no connections in that
culture and no physical ability to work. She doesn't speak the language and she
probably would be reduced to begging. The chances are she would simply die of
starvation.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">
There will be a vigil in London tomorrow
morning, supported by friends and supporters of Lemlem and faith leaders from
Sheffield.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<b>
<b>
<b>
<b>
</b></b></b></b>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-4073003601118621092012-05-17T18:27:00.000+01:002012-07-04T18:31:27.373+01:00'Getting lost is essential': The Quay brothers on their city-wide Leeds art project<h4>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">From 18 to 20 May, theatrical artists the Quay brothers will turn the whole of Leeds into a stage, as part of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/cultural-olympiad" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Cultural Olympiad</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">. The artists promise that every person strolling through the city will contribute to the choreography. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/may/17/leeds-arts-quay-brothers" style="background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-collapse: collapse; color: #005689; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Prepare for a labyrinth</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;"> to get lost in.</span></h4>
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Film by Joe Bream and Marishka Van SteenbergenMarishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-50269140069639431522012-05-17T18:21:00.000+01:002012-07-04T18:37:46.909+01:00The Quay Brothers re-imagine Leeds for 2012 Cultural Olympiad<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">(Published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/may/17/leeds-arts-quay-brothers" target="_blank">Guardian Northerner</a> on 17 May 2012) </span>
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Yorkshire's swishest shopping streets, and
the mysterious Dark Arches, will turn into strange and different places for the
next three days.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rZTmq3Yk5X4Vbj7l63JTWuWlhAtlitppfmoQm28BpdxEkT6k13xPnIka-9sOzhGmS16eUGPhL1HX0CBbcR-zD5AFDkngPukPjkSUTs8uJ6TjzR4_l49-scvkMGBEZrQLLIKIYyFBm-I/s1600/darkarches+QuayBrothers-5+By+Tom+Arber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rZTmq3Yk5X4Vbj7l63JTWuWlhAtlitppfmoQm28BpdxEkT6k13xPnIka-9sOzhGmS16eUGPhL1HX0CBbcR-zD5AFDkngPukPjkSUTs8uJ6TjzR4_l49-scvkMGBEZrQLLIKIYyFBm-I/s400/darkarches+QuayBrothers-5+By+Tom+Arber.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Leeds Canvas and the Quay Brothers. The
Dark Arches are one of the most atmospheric corners of the city centre, hidden
below the train station and above the river Aire Photograph: Tom Arber</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Residents
of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/leeds">Leeds</a> have woken up to find
a boat lodged in a tree in the middle of Briggate, the handsome pedestrian-only
street at the heart of the city's shopping district. The unexpected shipwreck,
14 metres across and four tall, is the first major public <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/installation">installation</a> to mark
the beginning of the <a href="http://www.overworldsandunderworlds.com/its-happening/">Overworlds and
Underworlds</a> event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The internationally acclaimed artist
filmmakers, the <a href="http://www.egs.edu/faculty/stephen-timothy-quay/biography/">Quay Brothers</a>,
have designed this temporary installation as part of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2012/apr/17/10-things-cultural-olympiad">2012
Cultural Olympiad.</a> Overworlds and Underworlds, happening from tomorrow,
Friday 18 May until Sunday night, will see the pair, plus a group of carefully
selected fellow-artists, using the city centre of Leeds as their canvas.</span></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">This is the first project by <a href="http://www.leedscanvas.com/">Leeds Canvas</a>, an arts consortium chosen
three years ago as the Yorkshire region winner of a commission for <a href="http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/our-priorities-2011-15/london-2012/artists-taking-the-lead/">Artists
Taking the Lead</a>. The commission is one of 12 across the UK which are celebrating
the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Steve Dearden, associate producer for Leeds
Canvas, explained:</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Initially the arts council invited
proposals for a large piece of public art in all the English regions. That's
when the consortium came together and made a very basic invitation. We would
say to an artist, here's our city, our people, our buildings, make a piece of
art which explores and celebrates that.</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The free event will include three days of
public performances and installations involving light, live music, dance and
film. However, specific details of the event are being kept secret until closer
to the weekend. Dearden said:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">What we want is for people to suddenly be
surprised by happenings in their own city or visitors seeing things in the city
that have never been seen before.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">All along with the brothers what we want to
make is a piece of art based on the city. Based on themes in city life, the
flow and movement of people and of water around the city. So the day-to-day
activities in the city suddenly becoming strange with strange interventions
being made, whether by physical objects or moving objects or people.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The Quay Brothers are working in
collaboration with eight of the city's key arts organisations; <a href="http://northernballet.com/">Northern Ballet</a>, the <a href="http://www.wyp.org.uk/">West Yorkshire Playhouse</a>, <a href="http://www.operanorth.co.uk/">Opera North</a>, <a href="http://www.yorkshiredance.com/">Yorkshire Dance</a>, <a href="http://www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk/">Phoenix Dance</a>, <a href="http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/">Leeds Museums and Galleries</a>,<a href="http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/arts/"> Leeds Met Studio Theatre </a>and <a href="http://www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery/">Leeds Art Gallery</a>.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Leeds Canvas said they chose the Quay
Brothers because of their previous work in Leeds creating art installations for
Leeds Art Gallery. They also knew that the brothers had always had a
fascination for the <a href="http://www.urbexforums.co.uk/showthread.php/9067-The-Dark-Arches-Underneath-Leeds-City-Station-July-09">Dark
Arches</a> under the city's main train station.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Dearden explained why Canvas is hosting a
fleeting public art event rather than a lasting installation.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">By choosing the Quay Brothers we always
knew we weren't going to get a monumental sculpture. They work with light; they
work in that ephemeral way. We knew it would be an amazing thing that came out
of the city that would be there for a period and then disappear again. But
hopefully it is one of those interventions where it is something that becomes
part of peoples' memories or the way they talk about the city.</span></span></blockquote>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Overworlds and Underworlds will begin on
Briggate in Leeds city centre, including the illustrious <a href="http://www.lookingatbuildings.org.uk/cities/leeds/arcades.html">late 19th
century arcades</a> and leading down to the mysterious underworld of the Dark
Arches. Dominic Gray, projects director at <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/opera-north">Opera North</a> said:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The idea of Overworlds and Underworlds is
that we've got these very mysterious atmospheric worlds, one underneath and one
above.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">There are subterranean movements going on
underneath our feet that are historical as well as physical, the movements of
people over hundreds of years. Overworlds is the angels and the things we
aspire to, the things that are in the air that we glimpse out of the corner of
our eye. The project is about how us, the living people, walk between one or
the other and negotiate our map through a city where those things are going on.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocQATHY5cgmeL5uFF4AVWa81V8akbDYcohW7-0NvItvyG1fsuOntkCd2ubx1yNVOpMm8ANsItliD-HWntvpRG978AP1vEDuxw1GUYJda59LfZnr43ssCmFcR58M-oTlKzWh3nPmpRzXk/s1600/Dark+Arches-85+By+Tom+Arber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhocQATHY5cgmeL5uFF4AVWa81V8akbDYcohW7-0NvItvyG1fsuOntkCd2ubx1yNVOpMm8ANsItliD-HWntvpRG978AP1vEDuxw1GUYJda59LfZnr43ssCmFcR58M-oTlKzWh3nPmpRzXk/s400/Dark+Arches-85+By+Tom+Arber.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US">The Dark Arches. Photograph: Tom Arber</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Dearden hopes that the event will leave a
lasting legacy of collaboration between the artists.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It's important to mention that it has not
just been about the core team of chief executives or artistic directors. People
from different levels have been working together, including the education and
marketing teams who have collaborated for the first time. So hopefully the
legacy of this, apart from the artistic legacy, will be a much closer
relationship between those key organisations in the future.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">He also enjoyed his time with the Quay
Brothers:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It's been fantastic working with them, it's
been wonderful to go and meet them in their studio. In this very unique working
space, you knock on door in the south of London, open it up and suddenly you
are in this junk room of a Russian monastery, lots of icons, books, decanters,
you could spend years in there exploring. And at the other end there is this
high-tech editing suite where they are making films with the newest equipment.</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Leeds Canvas expects Overworlds and
Underworlds to be an event that will be remembered for years to come. Dearden
said, “I think when people see some of the set pieces there will be a sense of
wonder and fun. I expect that on Friday and Saturday night people will be
taking photos of themselves in front of these amazing things and it will become
part of the photographic record of the city and part of the way people talk
about the city in the future."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Y-gilGMwHM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here's
a clip of Steve Dearden and Dominic Gray talking </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">about the weekend's excitements in Leeds. Film b</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">y Joe Bream and Marishka Van Steenbergen. </span></div>
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-36257552363060741762012-05-17T16:51:00.000+01:002012-07-04T18:33:05.443+01:00Leeds centre prepares for OverWorlds & UnderWorlds<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">(Published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/may/17/leeds-overworlds-underworlds" target="_blank">Guardian Culture</a> section on 17 May 2012)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Quay Brothers to take over city centre with
mysterious mixture of light, dance, music, film – and a boat in a tree</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OIujwH6K4-zgK5lPAnr3871zhYOzkLw6gk3tb1WWEfPS3K8d4_KIVCjlGnafQ60TNg_M9AIM7lt0i1EyoukRxqX_9gf3YPWoOlrJ8dPXmH2acRU1aYme9h3XSn8LmDHXXaiy37M4qcM/s1600/Boat+on+Briggate+-+14+May+2012+Yorkshire+Dance+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OIujwH6K4-zgK5lPAnr3871zhYOzkLw6gk3tb1WWEfPS3K8d4_KIVCjlGnafQ60TNg_M9AIM7lt0i1EyoukRxqX_9gf3YPWoOlrJ8dPXmH2acRU1aYme9h3XSn8LmDHXXaiy37M4qcM/s400/Boat+on+Briggate+-+14+May+2012+Yorkshire+Dance+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The
Boat on Briggate: the free three-day event begins on Friday. Photograph:
Yorkshire Dance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The
Quay Brothers, acclaimed American artist filmmakers who live and work in
England, will be transforming the city of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/leeds">Leeds</a> this weekend as part of the
2012 <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/cultural-olympiad">Cultural
Olympiad</a>.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The free three-day <a href="http://www.overworldsandunderworlds.com/">OverWorlds & UnderWorlds</a>
event, which starts on Friday, will involve the identical 64-year-old twins
Stephen and Timothy and other artists putting on a series of public
performances and installations involving light, live music, dance and film.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Secrecy surrounds the exact content of the
shows but a large clue appeared last weekend with the overnight arrival of a
boat lodged in a tree in the Briggate shopping district. The installation is 14
metres wide and four metres tall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Visitors will be invited to explore the
city with fresh eyes, following a map that will lead them through the city
centre, where they will encounter public performances involving water and
music. Venues will include the County Arcades, which will be filled with the
sound of children's voices and live music. The map will then lead visitors down
into the subterranean Dark Arches, where they will encounter film and performers
within the alcoves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Quay Brothers have been working in
collaboration with eight of the city's arts organisations: Northern Ballet, the
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Opera North, Yorkshire Dance, Phoenix Dance, Leeds
Museums and Galleries, Leeds Met Studio Theatre and Leeds Art Gallery.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Asked for more details about the events,
the Quay brothers, who have a habit of finishing each other's sentences, said: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">You have to experience it. We have set all
these things in motion that make it unpredictable and that's the whole point.
The journey is the essence of this thing, to be in the middle of that journey
and [to know] that being lost can be pleasurable.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Quay Brothers are renowned as original
filmmakers who usually work on a small scale, creating stop-motion animation
films, often using puppets.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In contrast, the OverWorlds &
UnderWorlds event will be on a large-scale, challenging the artists to
translate their dreamlike style using puppets into a dreamlike world of
dancers, film and public installations. The brothers are best known for the
1986 film Street of Crocodiles, adapted from a short story by Polish writer
Bruno Schulz.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Light is also a motif of the artists'
stories. In 2000 the Quay Brothers were commissioned by the BBC to make the
film In Absentia in collaboration with the composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. The
film combines live action and animation, using relentlessly changing light to
convey the thoughts of a woman repeatedly writing a letter.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Quay Brothers have also created set
designs for theatre and opera, which has informed how they approach the
OverWorlds & UnderWorlds project. "It's the idea that with the little
bit of theatre and opera work we have done, [we're] seeing the city as being a
stage so you're staging a large installation piece.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US">We're hoping there will be a certain
choreography of events but that things will overlap or intersect or happen. It
is a thing we have to let go, we have to set the parameters, [we] have to wind
it up and then off it goes.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The OverWorlds & UnderWorlds event is
the first project by Leeds Canvas, an arts consortium, chosen three years ago
as the Yorkshire region winner of a commission for Artists Taking the Lead. The
commission is one of 12 across the UK celebrating the London Olympics and
Paralympics.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When asked for their views on the 2012
Cultural Olympiad, the Quay Brothers said: "It's too big for us, it's
hysteria, we're not good at that. We're closer to rats that stay underground
from all of that."</span></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-36927196711425340592012-04-27T22:46:00.001+01:002012-04-27T22:46:15.395+01:00City of Sanctuary fears for welfare of asylum seekers as housing contract is awarded to private security firm<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvvz-dUYedf0o686KlEMZ8xQeztulwKp7VhagRM4ZkZgrhrgg4-ECQ8NgIwma_r3n0LgYRbTGIYFmD15geoaPPx4k4P9OCbXsu2hkcKwKjX_MF4lgqXNEGOyBZa6Sgxeh-Z3mEHDTEmY/s1600/Power+&+Society+Image+by+the+South+Yorkshire+Migration+and+Asylum+Action+Group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvvz-dUYedf0o686KlEMZ8xQeztulwKp7VhagRM4ZkZgrhrgg4-ECQ8NgIwma_r3n0LgYRbTGIYFmD15geoaPPx4k4P9OCbXsu2hkcKwKjX_MF4lgqXNEGOyBZa6Sgxeh-Z3mEHDTEmY/s400/Power+&+Society+Image+by+the+South+Yorkshire+Migration+and+Asylum+Action+Group.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protests outside the UK Border Agency HQ in Sheffield after G4S won contracts to house asylum seekers. Photograph: South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the Chileans arrived in the
seventies, the Kenyans in the eighties and the Kosovans in the nineties,
Sheffield has developed a long tradition of offering sanctuary to those seeking
asylum from war and persecution in their own countries.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The Sheffield council has played a large
role in offering accommodation and support to these new arrivals. They have
established an asylum team to deal with accommodation and a drop-in centre to
offer advice. They have also set up a multi-agency forum representing the
various organisations and charities that support asylum seekers and refugees in
the city. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In 2007, with the support of the council,
Sheffield became the UK’s first ‘<a href="http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/sheffield">City of Sanctuary</a>’ for
asylum-seekers and refugees. City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture
of welcome and hospitality for refugees and asylum-seekers. There are now more
than fifty City of Sanctuary groups all over the country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Change
for the worse<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, many asylum seekers and voluntary
sector organisations in Sheffield are worried that this is all about to change.
From May 2012 the private security firm G4S will take over the housing contract
from Sheffield City Council. In a bid to cut costs the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
will give £203m to G4S to house asylum seekers across Britain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Myra Davies, founder of <a href="http://www.assistsheffield.org.uk/">Asylum Seeker Support Initiative</a>
(ASSIST) said, “ASSIST and the Sheffield council have built up organically as a
network in which people co-operate for the well being of asylum seekers. What
we fear with G4S coming in is that all the mutual respect and understanding we
have built up is going to be wiped out.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Under its new procurement arm, <a href="http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/workingwithasylum/compassprogramme/neyh/">COMPASS</a>,
the UKBA have reduced the number of prime suppliers of asylum services from ten
to three. G4S and the two other multinational security companies SERCO and
Reliance already provide immigration, detention and removal services to UKBA. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">These three companies have now won a total
of £620m worth of contracts to provide housing for 18,108 people in asylum
accommodation. The Home Office claims this will save £150m over the seven years
of the contract. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Accused
of brutality <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This cost cutting venture has been met with
widespread opposition from unions, charities and organisations working with
asylum seekers and refugees. Campaigners highlight the unsavoury track record
of G4S who have been criticised over their treatment of asylum seekers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On 6<sup>th</sup> October 2010, Jose
Guttierezz, a Columbian deportee was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/27/deportation-restraint-rules-chaos">badly
injured</a> and had to receive hospital treatment after being forced on to an
aircraft by G4S. In that same month Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan asylum seeker, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/16/jimmy-mubenga-decision-due">died</a>
as a result of his forced deportation by G4S prison guards. Three guards are
facing criminal charges and G4S <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/29/g4s-security-loses-deportee-contract?intcmp=239">lost
their contract</a> to escort deportees after the killing of Mubenga. <span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Campaign organisations like <a href="http://www.symaag.org.uk/">South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action
Group</a> (SYMAAG) fear that asylum seekers will be subject to further abuse
and negligence and that the UKBA is deliberately intimidating asylum seekers by
threatening to install prison guard companies as their managing landlords. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stuart Crosswaite from SYMAAG said, “I
don’t think we should be cooperating with these people, I think we should be
putting all our resources into monitoring exactly what they are doing and
challenging them about the rights of the children they are going to be moving
and the housing that will be sub-standard.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Myra Davies believes that G4S have a
profile that is totally terrifying to asylum seekers. “G4S will not have the
same sort of brief that the council has had for the well being of people, they
have a brief for the profit margins of their company, for making asylum seekers
accept poor accommodation because it will be cheaper. They have also got
responsibility for removing asylum seekers, so overall G4S is not someone who
will want to listen to humanitarian concerns.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Lowering
of standards<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But Stephen Small, the Managing Director of
<a href="http://www.ukimmigrationbarristers.com/index.php"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">UK Immigration</span></a>
and Borders at G4S, said: “We take the welfare of all people who receive our
services extremely seriously.<span style="color: #ff6600;"> </span>We will use
housing assessment specialists to drive up the standard of housing provided and
employ dedicated social cohesion experts to work with local authorities,
migrant support groups, and health and education bodies.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, Jim Steinke, chief executive of
the <a href="http://www.nrcentre.org.uk/">Northern Refugee Centre</a>, believes
that housing standards will lower once G4S are in control. He is concerned that
the loss of local authority influence will destroy the strong relationships
that have been built up between the councils, asylum seekers and voluntary
sector organisations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“The level of service has been better in
Yorkshire than in other regions and this is why the campaign against G4S has
been so acute; the campaign is not only against G4S but also the potential
lowering of standards,” said Jim Steinke.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Councils
are cornered<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Stuart Crosswaite from SYMAAG said,
“Sheffield council has a tradition of being humanitarian and we’ve got a pretty
good relationship with them. We have spoken to them about G4S and in the end
they gave in and agreed that it would be really bad if housing was privatised.
The problem is that they said they have to work with these people, so they have
to keep a good relationship with them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“I suspect there will be a lot of
unofficial support from the council and a lot of official silence. I hope there
will be official support as well because if you allow housing standards to
lower for one group it pulls down the level for everyone else. We want to
appeal to them on humanitarian grounds to get involved.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Sheffield Councilor <a href="http://meetings.sheffield.gov.uk/council-meetings/cabinet/cabinetmembersadvisors">Mick
Rooney</a>, responsible for asylum, immigration and migration said, “As a
Cabinet Member I will enter into a working relationship with G4S without
prejudice. I cannot and will not allow their past record to colour my
relationship.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, when asked about how this will
affect asylum seekers he said, “I believe the COMPASS procurement process
showed that this was a cost cutting exercise. Will it benefit asylum seekers
and refugees? That remains to be seen.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-62707735609216397832012-04-27T22:35:00.000+01:002012-04-27T22:38:45.288+01:00Leeds will be a canvas as part of the Cultural Olympiad<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(As published in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner" target="_blank">Guardian Northerner</a> on 20th April 2012)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ahead of the event, in May, the
Quay Brothers will be at the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds, next week<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwu7DFaukMtf2IiOxeMfFKVeZ7_IJNOjiyNMJL6hO7k0Y9_-0sH5nHEzIcOtcZKxw67thmGf5v9k8ed_NtDIGLCJuSXvKNLjyoPZPvZIUBemePYWxhEa1PdBb8HH4iUnXm_oi1-BneYM/s1600/hyde-park-picture-house-l-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPwu7DFaukMtf2IiOxeMfFKVeZ7_IJNOjiyNMJL6hO7k0Y9_-0sH5nHEzIcOtcZKxw67thmGf5v9k8ed_NtDIGLCJuSXvKNLjyoPZPvZIUBemePYWxhEa1PdBb8HH4iUnXm_oi1-BneYM/s400/hyde-park-picture-house-l-001.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The Quay Brothers will be at the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds next week Photograph: Betty Longbottom</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The critically acclaimed
artists and filmmakers, the Quay Brothers, will be at the Hyde Park Picture
House in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/leeds"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Leeds</span></a> next week ahead of a
major event in the city that is part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In May, the <a href="http://www.overworldsandunderworlds.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Overworlds and Underworlds </span></a>event,
will transform parts of Leeds for a weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On Tuesday 24 April, the Quay
Brothers will be at the iconic venue for a collaboration with <a href="http://www.leedscanvas.com/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Leeds Canvas</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.theculturevulture.co.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Culture Vulture</span></a> that
features Maska, Street of Crocodiles, In Absentia and Stille Nacht I: Dramolet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Quay Brothers normally work
on small scale projects creating stop motion animation films. But in contrast,
on the weekend of 18 to 20 May, they will use the city of Leeds as a kind of
canvas as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad Artists Taking The Lead project.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Collaborating with seven other
artists, they will 're-imagine' the city through a series of public
performances and installations involving light, live music, dance and film.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The free event will begin in
Briggate and also involves other landmarks including the subterranean Dark
Arches tunnels extending beneath Leeds railway station and bridging the River
Aire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Quay brothers, Stephen and
Timothy, said: "This is the first time we have been invited to work on
such an enormous scale, and we're delighted to be working with such a renowned
and talented group of artists and designers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"Leeds is a city full of
unusual spaces that resonate with our ideas and those of the creative team.
Overworlds and Underworlds is going to take all of us into new territory,
through familiar spaces, perceived in unfamiliar ways."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It is the first project by
Leeds Canvas, chosen three years ago as the Yorkshire region winner of a
commission for Artists Taking the Lead. The commission is one of 12 across the
UK, each inspired by their location and celebrating the 2012 London Olympics
and Paralympics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 13.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Quay brothers are keeping
the specific details under wraps until next month, when they will reveal more.
They will work in collaboration with eight of the city's key arts
organisations; Northern Ballet, the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Opera North,
Yorkshire Dance, Phoenix Dance, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Leeds Met Gallery
and Studio Theatre and Leeds Art Gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ron Magliozzi, associate curator at
the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/new-york"><span style="text-decoration: none;">New York</span></a> <a href="http://www.moma.org/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Museum of Modern Art</span></a> said: "The Quay
Brothers bring a unique poetry of gesture and alienation to a remarkable range
of media from graphic design and cinema, to music videos, ballet and the
settings for live performance on stage. Their approach to each new project is
intensely personal and multi-layered. In all its forms, their work presents
audiences with the luminous gifts of wonder and delicious uncertainty."</span></span></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-70626223013425398342012-03-28T21:27:00.002+01:002012-03-28T21:27:44.503+01:00Old Man Pie is crowned as Yorkshire’s finest unsigned band in second round of Yorkshire Unplugged<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Yorkshire Unplugged is a search
for the region’s finest live, unsigned, & unplugged talent. This free to
enter competition takes place every Thursday in March and April at The Forum in
Sheffield.</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">The second round of the regions newest search for
raw acoustic talent featured the Twin Bears, Old Man Pie, Don Barrel Gents, Spit
N Strings and Andrew Tregoning.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> Before the
competition got under way, we grabbed the bands for an exclusive insight into
what they had in store for the night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/39340436?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Up to six different acts are competing in each of
the five rounds, with the audience voting for the winning act from each round.
The winners are entered into the grand final, where the audience will crown
Yorkshire’s Finest Live Unsigned & Unplugged Performers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">After a night of quality performances, the
audience decided that Old Man Pie should enter the grand final, which will be
held on 19<sup>th</sup> April 2012 at The Forum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Yorkshire Unplugged is one of a number of events
hosted by the Sheffield company BIG LIVE EVENT Limited. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">The company was recently set up
by a group of entrepreneurial event management students with the help of
Sheffield Hallam University’s Enterprise Centre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">BIG
LIVE EVENT Limited aims to promote upcoming, unsigned artists from Yorkshire
and Derbyshire and give them a chance to show their talent. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sam Wherrett, competition
co-organiser and Managing Director at BIG LIVE EVENT Limited said;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“By running the Yorkshire Unplugged competition these musicians not only
get the opportunity to play in front of audiences at a local musically
prestigious venue, but get produced, photographed and paraded in front of local
music industry professionals.”</span></blockquote>
</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">The
winners of Yorkshire Unplugged receive </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">£1000 of professional
recording and production provided by <a href="http://www.platinumears.com/">Dan Worrall Recordings</a>, main stage
performance at <a href="http://www.limetreefestival.co.uk/">Limetree Music & Arts Festival</a>, a</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">promotional photographic shoot courtesy of <a href="http://www.charliebarkerphotography.com/">Charlie
Barker Photography</a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> and </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">the Yorkshire Unplugged Trophy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Round
three of <a href="http://bigliveevent.com/coming-events/yorkshire-unplugged/">Yorkshire
Unplugged</a> is taking place on Thursday 29th at 7pm at the Forum, featuring <a href="http://soundcloud.com/thesavoyballroom">The
Savoy Ballroom</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Mattlongdenmusic">Matt Longden</a>, <a href="http://%20http//www.myspace.com/martyngoldsackram">Martyn Goldsack</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/liberty-train/liberty-train-the-light-of">Liberty Train</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/justjodiacoustic?feature=mhee">Just Jodi</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ichaboduk">Ichabod</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-79440275850694066622012-03-22T00:10:00.002+00:002012-03-22T10:19:22.865+00:00Yorkshire Unplugged: the audience decides who wears the crown in this live acoustic competition for local musicians<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Yorkshire Unplugged
competition is a search for the region’s finest live, unsigned, & unplugged
talent.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8YYDUyCuGY7FSB_jNEK1WPiQxF7FgwjKtYo4aUH8xZhOdzfeijyag1XgwCySIRlMDpVud_o7CK3crEt33QYrZe4K2j_0xuuf5FT33pwNLP3sWatiV7Ddy8TaCQtJyGb3orQRZaPM6Ms/s1600/yorkshire+unplugged+poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8YYDUyCuGY7FSB_jNEK1WPiQxF7FgwjKtYo4aUH8xZhOdzfeijyag1XgwCySIRlMDpVud_o7CK3crEt33QYrZe4K2j_0xuuf5FT33pwNLP3sWatiV7Ddy8TaCQtJyGb3orQRZaPM6Ms/s400/yorkshire+unplugged+poster.png" width="283" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">The free to enter competition is taking place
every Thursday at the Forum Café Bar over the next five weeks.
The second round will take place today 22<sup>nd</sup> March, featuring the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/thetwinbears">Twin
Bears</a>, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/oldmanpie">Old Man Pie</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-Banfi-music/230138053669846">Joe Banfi</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=don+barrell+gents">Don Barrell Gents</a>, <a href="http://soundcloud.com/the-manual-york,%20http://soundcloud.com/josh-boswell">Climbing Trees</a> and <a href="http://www.andrewtregoning.moonfruit.com/">Andrew
Tregoning</a>. </span>Local up and coming comedian, Carl Maloney, will
be hosting the competition.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Up to six different acts will compete in each of
the five rounds, with the audience voting for the winning act from each round.
The winners will enter the grand final, where the audience will crown
Yorkshire’s Finest Live Unsigned & Unplugged Performers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://bigliveevent.com/coming-events/yorkshire-unplugged/" target="_blank">Yorkshire Unplugged</a> is the regions newest
search for raw acoustic talent organised by a new local company BIG LIVE EVENT
Limited. </span><span lang="EN-US">The
company was recently set up by a group of entrepreneurial event management
students with the help of Sheffield Hallam University’s Enterprise Centre. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Competition co-organiser and Managing Director at BIG LIVE EVENT
Limited, Sam Wherrett said, "It has become obvious to us that the region
is rich in fine un-identified musicians who simply love playing to people. By
running the Yorkshire Unplugged competition these musicians not only get the
opportunity to play in front of audiences at a local musically prestigious
venue, but get produced, photographed and paraded in front of local music
industry professionals.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">BIG
LIVE EVENT Limited have teamed up with what they consider ‘the very best
organisations in the local music industry’ to offer the winners a staggering
prize. This includes the Yorkshire Unplugged Trophy, </span><span lang="EN-US">£1000 of
professional recording and production provided by <a href="http://www.platinumears.com/">Dan Worrall
Recordings</a>, main stage performance at <a href="http://www.limetreefestival.co.uk/">Limetree
Music & Arts Festival</a> and a</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">promotional
photographic shoot courtesy of <a href="http://www.charliebarkerphotography.com/">Charlie
Barker Photography</a></span><span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Velcro Teddybears – Exclusive Interview.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Velcro Teddybears are the winners from
the first round of Yorkshire Unplugged. Sam Chadwick, Mike Griffin, Josh
Griffin and Mike Holland are based in Sheffield, so we caught up with them for
an exclusive interview.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrafekdHdX_TR2VdkUX_wp-dyRwe14_nQtVM2lyrBpsBZ4yiOPJ43BI4mYclwXe3g3dfyxFTW5aumgrn4L0xx6hDXM44K56GfasQbpTPOHkdhyphenhyphensLyF490GRNUiD8XX_7ECfZCOCV7GMP0/s1600/Velcro+Teddybears+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrafekdHdX_TR2VdkUX_wp-dyRwe14_nQtVM2lyrBpsBZ4yiOPJ43BI4mYclwXe3g3dfyxFTW5aumgrn4L0xx6hDXM44K56GfasQbpTPOHkdhyphenhyphensLyF490GRNUiD8XX_7ECfZCOCV7GMP0/s400/Velcro+Teddybears+.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-bottom: 6px; padding-left: 6px; padding-right: 6px; padding-top: 6px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Velcro Teddybears at Yorkshire Unplugged by <a href="http://www.charliebarkerphotography.com/" target="_blank">Charlie Barker Photography </a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<!--StartFragment-->
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-weight: bold;"><span lang="EN-US">Which records do you come to for inspiration and which never leave
your playlist?</span></b><span lang="EN-US"><br />
<i>Old School rock and roll is what all of
the band grew up listening to, especially from the 60's and 70's, although we
do have a tendency to give a fairly large nod to the Blues. Creedence
Clearwater Revival never fail to make an appearance in our set, and their
intelligent combination of riff and lyric is a constant inspiration.<br />
<br />
</i><b style="font-weight: bold;">What do you consider to be your
defining moment to date and what would you like to be remembered for?<br />
</b><i>The full line up coming together in
our first gigs was definitely one of those moments when we all realised what we
had to offer, but also the rewards and recognition that have come through our
constant efforts. Both in the evolution of our 'ballsy' rock and roll and the
development of our live show have definitely come to define us.<br />
</i><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Talk us through how you started out as
an act.<br />
</b><i>The 'Velyteds' originally started as
an acoustic duo, playing various open mics after a period of constant writing
spawning from an ignorance of doing anything else. The addition of bass and the
cajon only solidified what we knew we had and this in turn further developed
the 'bluesy, rock and roll' sound we found for ourselves.<br />
</i><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Why did you enter the Yorkshire Unplugged
Competition?</b><br />
<i>After being approached by 'Big Live
Event', it was obvious that this was something we could not turn down. We have
always been committed to the raw acoustic sound and revel in being part of such
an event. We were also aware of the quality of some of the other acts that had
been offered the chance to play, and felt we had to put ourselves alongside.<br />
</i><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;">How are you feeling about qualifying for
the live heat stages of the Yorkshire Unplugged Competition?</b><br />
<i>The news that we had got through was
obviously a massive compliment, and we appreciate everything that people did to
aid in this. It is just a case of justifying our place now and that sort of
pressure only excites us. Also to play at a venue that we have not frequented
yet, alongside some other quality artists, is sure to provide a mixture of
exceptional musical revelry!<br />
</i><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;">What can people expect from your live
heat performance in the competition?<br />
</b><i>We pride ourselves in playing proper
acoustic rock n'roll and our show will differ a fair amount from some of the
other more laid-back styles. With guitar inspired from timeless riffs, and a
voice of present times, we give rhythm and blues back to the roots that have
been lost by so many other bands. We give our songs with gusto and we'll have a
drink in hand (mines a dark rum and coke). Find reviews on the MyBand section
of our facebook page.<br />
</i><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;">What form does the creative process take
for you? Do you sit down with an instrument or do you write the lyrics first,
then a melody? Or is there no set formula?<br />
</b><i>The creative process is definitely
one that changes with every song. Every member of the band has the right to
write, both lyrically and musically, and there is never a feeling that a single
member of the band has ownership over any song. Some songs will take minutes to
come together, where as others will develop over months at a time. <b><o:p></o:p></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">What is consistent however is the trend for content to derive from
real life occurrences and observations. Having all grown up rurally, a bucolic
theme has run through, although more encompassing themes such as inebriation
and refusing to get out of bed have also made an appearance. We crave
originality and this can sometimes be a limiting factor as more songs get
rejected than come to stage. But this is something we all feel strongly about
and has only served us well so far.<br />
</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><br />
<b style="font-weight: bold;">Are there any other exciting things you
would like to tell us about that you have in the pipeline?<br />
</b><i>In the t'old pipeline the bears have
what is looking to be an exciting summer ahead of them, kicking off with a full
set on 4th April at the Metrodome, Barnsley. Various gigs are to be confirmed
afterwards, working towards supporting the splendid 'Bad Manners' on 4th July
at Mosbrough music festival. A variety of other summer festivals are to be
confirmed around the country.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Peace and Pears...The Velcro Teddybears x<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<!--EndFragment--></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-41375499297193242902012-03-13T14:04:00.000+00:002012-03-13T20:48:18.144+00:00The Cucumber Lounge defies the Monday blues<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">A brand new Sunday event offering a mix of live
music, art </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">and DJ’s has come to Sheffield to remedy those end of the weekend
blues. Combining art exhibitions, performance and music, The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/298401976887927/?ref=ts">Cucumber Lounge</a> endeavors to conclude our
weekend with some pleasurable entertainment and a little bit of culture.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8b8kCp9QHKizFelkdEe-6ey9PA9D9PY5wu_eULCEwbwhla8zqaptlRaNoyV9p8kwhkiLli2L35I8hk2xcF1KEqs6yaRCFU1BImn1oB1MOssaUWFXmv3DKccQ_ap3iL3oYDFpUdRwSXQ/s1600/Cucumber+Smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8b8kCp9QHKizFelkdEe-6ey9PA9D9PY5wu_eULCEwbwhla8zqaptlRaNoyV9p8kwhkiLli2L35I8hk2xcF1KEqs6yaRCFU1BImn1oB1MOssaUWFXmv3DKccQ_ap3iL3oYDFpUdRwSXQ/s320/Cucumber+Smaller.jpg" width="212" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">The event is organised by <a href="http://www.sheffieldartforge.com/">Sheffield
Art Forge</a>, a non-for-profit social enterprise offering arts
programming and professional artistic development. Every second Sunday of the
month artists and musicians will fill the rooms at <a href="http://www.cads-online.co.uk/">Creative
Arts Development Space</a> with eclectic sounds and thought-provoking
art and performance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Billy Christmas, a Fine Arts student at Sheffield
University, runs The Cucumber Lounge for Sheffield Art Forge. Billy said he was
inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vineland</i>
in which there is a club called Cucumber Lounge. “It’s playful but surreal and
as the event is on a Sunday evening I thought ‘lounge’ was quite appropriate.
It’s a chilled out event that is about appreciating a bit of culture rather
than getting wasted,” said Billy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Sheffield Art Forge runs the arts programme for <a href="http://www.cads-online.co.uk/">Creative
Arts Development Space</a>, a multi-purpose arts complex in Shalesmoor.
Dan Butlin, Sheffield Art Forge curator and event organiser said this event is
part of their outreach programme. “We’re trying to broaden the appeal to people
who aren’t the contemporary art crowd by creating a synthesis between art and
music.” Dan said that they are also creating opportunities for artistic
development by giving artists like Billy Christmas the opportunity and freedom
to run an event with the support of Sheffield Art Forge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt-KJ93OjfhDRO_84yMIjBf-eti6KXADriH6LLOLkvWsRArue_PUnvSQmzoEDfeGZb-ws9Pe8iAVIyTKhGkTarQj3bLevLy6HcRneEN9Vh3jYneH_T7oMG1IwJRbwyBMa7RZ0g0JGIY8/s1600/Band+Smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGt-KJ93OjfhDRO_84yMIjBf-eti6KXADriH6LLOLkvWsRArue_PUnvSQmzoEDfeGZb-ws9Pe8iAVIyTKhGkTarQj3bLevLy6HcRneEN9Vh3jYneH_T7oMG1IwJRbwyBMa7RZ0g0JGIY8/s320/Band+Smaller.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entertainment at The Cucumber Lounge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">The first Cucumber Lounge kicked off last Sunday
with music from Meat, Motherfolkers and Loveboat accompanying art exhibitions
from Jessica Wong and <a href="http://stuartfaulkner.tumblr.com/">Stuart Faulkner</a>. There was also free face
painting, poetry by <a href="http://www.stanskinny.co.uk/w/doku.php?id=start">Stan Skinny</a> and an art performance by
Stephen Milligan.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">Jessica Wong’s exhibition featured installation art
exploring the idea of things that are beautiful and ugly at the same time. Her
work explores items such as the human body, which is both beautiful in the way
it works and yet its guts and gory insides are also ugly. Stuart Faulkner’s
exhibition included paintings with a subversive pop-cultural reference,
including a painting of Harry Potter with the body of an imp. This painting
refers to the American Christian reaction to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
novels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPfi4t5rCQ7k04Q92EVBE59jJU9iU8Vwj8VOZ8dVHzm5qQGSK3F4zZ96KLMmANvE6LTALr4hrDi6z-shw7MT_WNZcUy0s6sXUqD5Z_RhBt7GkMMHi6VGPpkmHgfz2DxQXRehRFSrXp4A/s1600/Harry+Potter+smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPfi4t5rCQ7k04Q92EVBE59jJU9iU8Vwj8VOZ8dVHzm5qQGSK3F4zZ96KLMmANvE6LTALr4hrDi6z-shw7MT_WNZcUy0s6sXUqD5Z_RhBt7GkMMHi6VGPpkmHgfz2DxQXRehRFSrXp4A/s400/Harry+Potter+smaller.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuart Faulkner's exhibition </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">The music included a mixture of folk, punk and an
eclectic mix of everything in between. Performance poet Stan Skinny, who
ensured the atmosphere remained light-hearted and relaxed, entertained the
audience between bands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQyjDWoARepsMf2XWj3NLnoUV7kYmIuZPw6LCyuS2hmuRvkWZssJNpOy-XUnaX5qA-wiS6-c5FdAjJaj1ADumMDkcNyRca6Rp0XQ5CDUpIyTtgwH1IJD89lxY3vVZzEbZXy0BHdZIg2s/s1600/Stan+Smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQyjDWoARepsMf2XWj3NLnoUV7kYmIuZPw6LCyuS2hmuRvkWZssJNpOy-XUnaX5qA-wiS6-c5FdAjJaj1ADumMDkcNyRca6Rp0XQ5CDUpIyTtgwH1IJD89lxY3vVZzEbZXy0BHdZIg2s/s320/Stan+Smaller.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stan Skinny</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">Billy has many ideas for future events. “I want to
have people walking around with platters of cucumber sandwiches and I also
wanted to have a poet selling custom poems for shrapnel, but he couldn’t make
it this time.” Billy also hopes to incorporate The Cucumber Lounge into other
Sheffield arts and music events like the <a href="http://skin-network.blogspot.com/">SKINN</a>
festival and <a href="http://www.tramlines.org.uk/2012/">Tramlines</a> or <a href="http://web.peaceinthepark.org.uk/">Peace
in the Park</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">If any bands or artists would like to get involved
in future events you can email Billy Christmas at <a href="mailto:cucmberlounge@gmail.com">cucumberlounge@gmail.com</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 16.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">Photos by <a href="http://www.joebream.com/">www.joebream.com</a> </span></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-53858560649086441442012-03-05T19:06:00.000+00:002012-03-05T19:08:11.126+00:00James Dodd’s Olympic Dreams and the stories behind everyday lives<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://jamesdodd.net/">James Dodd</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">
is the kind of photojournalist every city needs, focusing on the people that
make up the life of the city and portraying them in their everyday lives. James
believes that there is an interesting and important story right on his
doorstep. Instead of following the crowd and chasing the sensational or the
shocking, James is determined to tell the real stories about real life in the
city in which he lives.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIK6e-MqDegneVfssy6FtUkOGx5rc5DjeZUOd8m64ctJB-j2vO4ee4QF84Y_aomQvpvwD1ueNvqJAHljLGnz5kjQfWqcrVeyaFChNSFLbApRnppAcSQQm6oobvBj1LjCnWWMh-qVMWTRk/s1600/jamesdodd-olympic_dreams-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIK6e-MqDegneVfssy6FtUkOGx5rc5DjeZUOd8m64ctJB-j2vO4ee4QF84Y_aomQvpvwD1ueNvqJAHljLGnz5kjQfWqcrVeyaFChNSFLbApRnppAcSQQm6oobvBj1LjCnWWMh-qVMWTRk/s400/jamesdodd-olympic_dreams-10.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympic Dreams Project © James Dodd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial;">James’s <a href="http://jamesdodd.net/projects/olympic-dreams/#.T0rm4Jh-QUU">Olympic Dreams project</a> was the first of
these stories. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Inspired
by a quote from David Beckham, the project explores the physical and mental
pressures placed on children competing for the Olympics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“David
Beckham said he was so good at free kicks because he dreamt about doing them.
This repetition meant that he became so comfortable doing them that is was just
like an everyday activity,” said James, Sheffield based photographer and
founder of <a href="http://statementimages.co.uk/">Statement
Images</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“These
kids were obviously doing the same thing, going through the same routines,
doing a dive twenty times over. I tried to convey the emotions that the kids
were going through without showing the actual emotions, but showing images of
them in this dream-like state.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Olympic
Dreams also questions the role of children in such high-pressure roles in our
society. “I wanted to create really strong images which people could remember,”
said James. He conveys the children in uncomfortable positions, isolated from
everything else, whilst their bodies are tense in mid dive or grasping at the
water as they swim towards the surface. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EUHoGN39-O2jfaqQf9RBzGAQ0sHeUl2V3llPGNoUUfVme_moIngIegdNY3-oIGxZYdNY-71SkeDqpDn4lxG1ad9aEjuEtvPqQwqQcxl8rsEi4r9EQqJegGCHoXSnr6O4LzFdUlIP46c/s1600/jamesdodd-olympic_dreams-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EUHoGN39-O2jfaqQf9RBzGAQ0sHeUl2V3llPGNoUUfVme_moIngIegdNY3-oIGxZYdNY-71SkeDqpDn4lxG1ad9aEjuEtvPqQwqQcxl8rsEi4r9EQqJegGCHoXSnr6O4LzFdUlIP46c/s400/jamesdodd-olympic_dreams-25.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympic Dreams project © James Dodd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Neither
photojournalism nor art, James said that people struggled to pigeonhole the
project. Yet he has gained coverage from publications such as the Guardian, the
BBC, Burn Magazine and Newsweek Japan. He also exhibited the project at Bank
Street Arts in Sheffield in 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
now has plans to create a photo documentary of life behind the scenes during
the Olympics. Following the children who don’t get into the Olympic teams or
the younger children who continue training whilst watching their older
colleagues compete. James believes that there will be plenty of coverage of the
Olympic teams but “these are the stories that need to be told.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A
qualified photojournalist, James believes in the hyper local and the importance
of the everyday stories that are never told. “The Olympic Dreams project was
the start of this idea that stories exist locally which can have national and
international significance,” said James. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">From the extremes to the
everyday</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
was inspired to become a photojournalist through renowned photojournalists like
<a href="http://agency.magnumphotos.com/about/about">Robert
Capa</a>, <a href="http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/">James Nachtwey</a>, <a href="http://www.henricartierbresson.org/index_en.htm">Henri
Cartier-Bresson</a> and <a href="http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/nmem/exhibitions/donmccullin/">Don McCullin</a>. Yet, his experience of
journalism has led him along a different path to those he was inspired by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After
working as a freelance journalist and experiencing the limitations of news
journalism, James began to question the mindset of his vocation. He had
reservations about the chase for images of extreme sadness and destruction
which newspapers often request. He questioned the virtues of chasing the image
that would give him a career-break and the eagerness of his colleagues to
travel to war torn countries or places of disaster to cover these ‘extremes’.
“I thought, is that really what I want to be involved in? I’m more interested
in the subjects within the world where I live, rather than chasing images
around the world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
decided that he wanted the time and space to work on stories which were
important and interesting without the restrictions and limitations of news. So
he sought advice from other photographers like <a href="http://simoncroberts.com/">Simon Roberts</a>,
an award-winning photographer who studied Human Geography at Sheffield
University. Simon, who was also
the official <a href="http://simoncroberts.com/work/election-project/#PHOTO_0">Election artist</a> in 2010, has become a
mentor for James and has helped him to pursue his dreams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This
idea of exchanging ideas and expertise informed the creation of <a href="http://statementimages.co.uk/">Statement
Images</a>, a collective of photographers from around the world. The
collective acts as a support network and a forum for sharing ideas and
projects. “We’ve all got similar goals and to some extent it is easier to pull
together and to become known under one name.” James’s Olympic Dreams project
led to the collective gaining a commission from Channel 4. “We’ve all got
different sets of skills and we can pitch for each other,” said James.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">An alternative platform- slow
journalism<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
is also co-editor of <a href="http://streetreverbmagazine.com/">Street Reverb Magazine</a>, a website dedicated
to promoting, publishing and discussing contemporary street photography. James
believes that the agenda-focused media has driven photojournalists to look for
alternative platforms like Street Reverb and <a href="http://statementimages.co.uk/">Statement
Images</a> as a means of publishing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The
inspiration to create such platforms has come from photographer Rob Hornstra
and his <a href="http://www.thesochiproject.org/home/">Sochi
Project</a>. In 2014, the Olympic Games will take place in Sochi,
Russia. Sochi is a largely impoverished region, next to the conflict zone
Abkhazia. Rob Hornstra and filmmaker Arnold van Bruggen are spending the next
five years documenting the extreme makeover of the region and how Sochi’s
‘economic crises is glossed over as much as possible’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
marvels at how Rob and Arnold have created their own platform for their
stories, without going through the standard publishing routes. He said that by
creating their own platform they have ensured a level of control which means
they do not have to follow the media’s agenda. “They cover stories that the
newspapers aren’t interested in and concentrate on the daily life in the area,”
said James. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One
of their stories is about the <a href="http://www.thesochiproject.org/articles/">Sochi singers</a> and how in the Sochi culture the
same traditional songs are sung in the same settings in every town in the
region. James values the everyday nature of these stories, “It’s a very simple
sharing of this way of life. It is not an ‘extreme’ of life but it is still
intriguing.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sunday Morning Sales<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p> </o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
is currently working on his own project of similar simplicity and everyday
nature. His <a href="http://jamesdodd.net/projects/sms-sunday-morning-sales/#.T0roeJh-QUU">Sunday Morning Sales</a> project documents car
boot sales across the country. James simply captures the people and their
objects, portraying the tranquil nature of a car boot sale; a man relaxing in a
chair in the middle of a field, a woman standing behind her table of trinkets
staring into the sky and categories of books, clothes or toys neatly laid out
for someone else to treasure. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPhMZDuEAxU87CyQau_Iouurpy_v4DODZUv702SXZy1_5ZIg9izyNbxh6UEwXnv44Br4BEaYKnM-7dJsePbRTETlIF8hp4aLiIOoHWoSOgwXlxhyphenhyphenMJFVJiQeD2usO6mIR4bZ-Jq2uUf0/s1600/jamesdodd-sunday_morning_sales-36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPhMZDuEAxU87CyQau_Iouurpy_v4DODZUv702SXZy1_5ZIg9izyNbxh6UEwXnv44Br4BEaYKnM-7dJsePbRTETlIF8hp4aLiIOoHWoSOgwXlxhyphenhyphenMJFVJiQeD2usO6mIR4bZ-Jq2uUf0/s400/jamesdodd-sunday_morning_sales-36.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday Morning Sales project © James Dodd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
believes that each stall is a portrait of the sellers, “a piece of themselves
spread out right there on decorating tables and on the floor for all to see and
buy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Staying
true to the ideas of alternative platforms, James plans to exhibit this work
‘in the context it was created in’. He is buying picture frames from the car
boot sales in which he will place the photographs to exhibit at the car boot
sales. He aims to use the work to approach new audiences who might not normally
step into a gallery and who aren’t going with the purpose of seeing art<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“They
will also have an interest in the subject because they are part of it, there
are few places you can exhibit where you know that 300 odd people will be
interested in the subject,” mused James.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_ZuvVv0aN85x2WphHCpntC1MKSnfUK0toB0Q3CBD2kx0DjUoTGHUkUE1ax4EeCJf9mREq8KWsEFfYdRbYhT8PJXOx1n2DvACTDBa4LzxFbdl3ULbejwe-3SXAABR1FBJdX9Q4tTI7U0/s1600/jamesdodd-sunday_morning_sales-64.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb_ZuvVv0aN85x2WphHCpntC1MKSnfUK0toB0Q3CBD2kx0DjUoTGHUkUE1ax4EeCJf9mREq8KWsEFfYdRbYhT8PJXOx1n2DvACTDBa4LzxFbdl3ULbejwe-3SXAABR1FBJdX9Q4tTI7U0/s400/jamesdodd-sunday_morning_sales-64.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday Morning Sales project © James Dodd </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sheffield as a subject</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Taking
the idea of hyper local to its extreme, James has been working on Sheffield as
a project for the last five months. “I want to find out more about the city
which is the single geographical location that has the most connection to me,
but I don’t feel this same connection to it,” said James.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">He
is exploring the idea of the city having seven hills and the fact there are
more trees per person than any other city in Europe. James is also interested
in where Sheffield’s industry has gone and what has replaced it. “I want to
explore whether Sheffield’s identity has changed with its industry.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Now
that he has bought a house in Sheffield, James feels more of a need to explore
the city, “I have lived here for 27 years and yet there are still areas I have
never been to. I feel like I have explored other cities more as a photographer
where as I’ve neglected my own.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">James
is currently exploring Sheffield’s past through his <a href="http://deadphotographers.co.uk/">Dead
Photographers</a> project. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Using his father's removals company,
James is collecting the unwanted items discarded during house clearances of the
deceased. He has found whole photography archives of once keen photographers.
James is using this collection to explore the relationship between photography
and time, and how people’s attitudes towards photographs have changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">With
each new project James maintains a determination to simply document the everyday
lives of people around him, exploring the intriguing stories of the regular
person, the ‘stories that need to be told’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A
review by</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.nocultureicons.com/collective/2012/1/29/article-james-dodd.html">No Culture Icons</a>, a collective of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">photographers and artists, sums up James’s style perfectly; “The images are
without mystery or questioning, but instead revel in the few times in which
there are no great unknowns to be fought against: here are the people, and this
is what they do, what they buy and sell, what they are and what they want to
be.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pMhLSwZ71yP3TGtzbU1GLOW0nI5G23JVaJi_w9HbUXublfBnkOYXZAbHAcK2DC2XPJ4wJ3aLL4fHN4ZaSXLdRXSJhdhltMa1rMFclUwLCoMQC5Q5_UikJFpP8AEPsPRfRn7B7nVjHAg/s1600/jamesdodd-sunday_morning_sales-29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9pMhLSwZ71yP3TGtzbU1GLOW0nI5G23JVaJi_w9HbUXublfBnkOYXZAbHAcK2DC2XPJ4wJ3aLL4fHN4ZaSXLdRXSJhdhltMa1rMFclUwLCoMQC5Q5_UikJFpP8AEPsPRfRn7B7nVjHAg/s400/jamesdodd-sunday_morning_sales-29.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday Morning Sales project © James Dodd</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN-US"></span></span></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-84770982482089068752011-12-21T14:16:00.000+00:002011-12-21T14:20:08.642+00:00The chance of a lifetime<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sheffield charity, whose patrons include Def
Leppard, Tony Christie and Sheffield United’s Chris Morgan, helps fund
life-changing operation for three-year-old<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjileBH9cTzppR5CtAwsCn2B0pMv_WLG708mqEcF2s80ZRiuZaPdyJbXxQlhwxyd4dhHj3KSCa7_Ugu9da8xDGv-bhzMUy2FHOhmOskjGB9UKNZBCPRNegJTeyBDWWDIRI5jfqsavxmjCc/s1600/alex+burland+grab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjileBH9cTzppR5CtAwsCn2B0pMv_WLG708mqEcF2s80ZRiuZaPdyJbXxQlhwxyd4dhHj3KSCa7_Ugu9da8xDGv-bhzMUy2FHOhmOskjGB9UKNZBCPRNegJTeyBDWWDIRI5jfqsavxmjCc/s320/alex+burland+grab.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex Burland- "more confident after the operation"</td></tr>
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Local charity Help a
Child Have a Chance have given £1000 to three-year-old Ollie Saxton at his
nursery in Intake, Sheffield. The donation will contribute towards funding a
vital operation in America, which will help Ollie to walk for the first time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ollie was born five
weeks prematurely and at 19 months he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He
cannot sit or balance by himself and he will never walk unaided. As Ollie
grows, his muscles will shorten and his joints will become deformed or possibly
dislocated. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Whilst there is no
cure for cerebral palsy, there is an operation to treat its affect on his body.
“Selective dorsal rhizotomy” involves surgery on the spine, which will free up
the tightness in Ollie’s legs and help him to be more mobile. This specialist
surgery is carried out at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, USA and
costs up to £37,000.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Parents Rachel and
Russell Saxton of Intake have been fundraising for six months so that Ollie can
have the “best possible future”. Rachel, aged 33, said of the donation by Help
a Child Have a Chance; “We feel really relieved, it’s been quite stressful
organising all the fundraising events, but now we can relax.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Whilst the Saxtons
have enough to pay for the operation, they still need to raise another £10,000
to pay for Ollie’s aftercare.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last Christmas, Help a
Child Have a Chance gave a similar donation to six-year-old Alex Burland, from
Hunter’s Bar, who needed to fly to America for the same operation as Ollie’s. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Alex is a lot more confident after the
operation, he can now attend the sports club at his school, he has a lot more
balance, he can even climb out of the car by himself and he is learning to walk
with his walking sticks,” said mum Jayne Burland, aged 41.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Alex’s dad, Christian
Burland, a self-employed builder, said of Help a Child Have a Chance, “It’s
really fantastic of them, there are so many kids who need help, you don’t
realise it until you find yourself in that position.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Help a Child Have a
Chance launched in 2010 in memory of the Sheffield radio broadcaster Dave
Kilner. Throughout his radio career, Dave Kilner raised hundreds of thousands
of pounds for local disadvantaged children. In 2009, at the age of 48, Dave
Kilner died in hospital after being ill for some time. To continue his legacy,
his wife Shirley Kilner and two daughters Rebecca and Nicola organised the
charity’s first fundraising event, ‘Dave Kilner A Night To Remember’ at
Sheffield City Hall in April 2010. The charity supports local sick, needy and
disadvantaged children “giving them that chance to make their lives a little
bit better”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the last 18 months
the charity has organised a number of fundraising events and has recently
donated £500 to <span lang="EN-US">Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind</span><span lang="EN-US"> Little Sparklers, a pre-school
group for children with visual impairments and £2000 to Work Ltd for students
with learning disabilities. They have </span><span lang="EN-US">also funded a
children’s Halloween party for the Little Rainbows Autism Group in Doncaster.</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This Christmas, the
charity is partnering with The Sheffield Star newspaper and others to launch a
12 days of Christmas appeal, splitting £10,000 between 12 nominees across South
Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. </div>
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You can find out more
about the charity and their appeal at: <a href="http://helpachildhaveachance.co.uk/category/news/">http://helpachildhaveachance.co.uk/category/news/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-23500722591909985152011-12-21T13:35:00.000+00:002011-12-21T13:41:32.275+00:00Top UK Mountaineer, Andy Kirkpatrick speaks about pushing the boundaries<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>With the release of his second book
‘Cold Wars’ one of the UK’s top mountaineers, Andy Kirkpatrick returns to
Sheffield as part of his book tour around the UK.</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFngq3FdLr8t3a4f13cCyscP3Wq0YQYwx7gZV3EYnuOoYaBR3kQe0Boz7z5ERj80o5dQMNm2PJgfKbdLBPWQSCvVTuo2-WBzgfrq0Fiam-_NmNFTC0eVtfHahW1gaHPYfuHU2wTXwkI4/s1600/andychild1+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFngq3FdLr8t3a4f13cCyscP3Wq0YQYwx7gZV3EYnuOoYaBR3kQe0Boz7z5ERj80o5dQMNm2PJgfKbdLBPWQSCvVTuo2-WBzgfrq0Fiam-_NmNFTC0eVtfHahW1gaHPYfuHU2wTXwkI4/s320/andychild1+copy.jpg" width="221" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Andy Kirkpatrick as a child</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Andy Kirkpatrick was brought up on a
council estate in Hull, one of the UK’s flattest cities. He was diagnosed with
severe dyslexia at the age of 19 and left school with no qualifications. At the
age of 40, he is now one of the UK’s top mountaineers, an award-winning author
and an acclaimed motivational speaker. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4317038718809473419" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick claims it was his father, Pete
Kirkpatrick, one of the longest-serving team leaders in the <a href="http://www.rafmra.com/">RAF mountain rescue</a>, who motivated him to
start climbing. When he was six years old, his parents got divorced and he
moved with his mother and siblings to Hull. He remembers his father visiting
often to take them climbing and walking in the <a href="http://www.peakdistrictinformation.com/outdoors/climbing.php">Peak
District</a>. “So I feel like I always had a connection with the outdoors,”
said Kirkpatrick.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">When Kirkpatrick left school he began working
in outdoor shops. It was then that he met other climbers who inspired him to
start <a href="http://www.supertopo.com/a/Preface-of-my-How-to-Big-Wall-Climb-Book/a10531n.html">big
wall climbing</a> and winter expeditions. “<a href="http://www.andypmountainguide.com/">Andy Perkins</a> was one of my
heroes, he is an all-rounder who does Scottish winter climbing, big wall
climbing and expeditions.”</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Winter
Expeditions<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick has climbed the 3000-foot <a href="http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/formations.htm">El Capitan, in
Yosemite</a> over 15 times and in 2010 he attempted a one-day solo ascent,
climbing it in 30 hours. In 2002 he undertook one of the hardest climbs in
Europe, a 15-day winter ascent of the <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/aiguille-du-dru-or-les-drus/150757">west face
of the Dru</a>, Chamonix. He has also took part in four winter expeditions to <a href="http://www.patagonias.net/">Patagonia</a> and climbed El Capitan with his
girlfriend, paraplegic athlete <a href="http://karendarke.com/">Karen Darke</a>.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5HBdVpNhjVY65kmzOBUGd85MpyaTplEf2KGJMGY_3vkf0485a7zvgmMuERMCh5l5diEExeXwQAANTdz8s6taSQvdHGwLESsUTfWjAQbS5_hOfvobewxIeGIrgHx8dk6b2iz8rHyWTJc/s1600/Andy+on+the+west+face+of+the+Dru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-5HBdVpNhjVY65kmzOBUGd85MpyaTplEf2KGJMGY_3vkf0485a7zvgmMuERMCh5l5diEExeXwQAANTdz8s6taSQvdHGwLESsUTfWjAQbS5_hOfvobewxIeGIrgHx8dk6b2iz8rHyWTJc/s320/Andy+on+the+west+face+of+the+Dru.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick on the west face of the Dru</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick says that his most memorable
climb was when he climbed El Capitan with Darke, with whom he has been for 5
years. “It was such a mad idea, to climb with someone who hasn’t climbed in 16
years and can’t walk and then you’re there, on El Cap without a lot of training
or preparation.” </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Darke is training for the London 2012
Paralympics in handcycling, as part of the British Cycling Team. We’re both
quite obsessed and focused,” said Kirkpatrick musing over how seldom they see
each other. He said that he tried to show this in ‘Cold Wars’, “My book shows
the reality, there are a lot of downsides to this kind of lifestyle, and I
tried to be honest about it.” </span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">The under-dog<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Jack
Geldard, chief editor of <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/">UKClimbing.com</a>
said in his <a href="http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=4164">review</a>
of ‘Cold Wars’, “The running theme in both Cold Wars and in Psychovertical is
that of the tormented husband, to-ing and fro-ing between the strains of normal
life…juxtaposed with the complexities and simplicities of big wall life and
seemingly constant 'near death' climbing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick
believes that ‘Cold Wars’ won’t necessarily appeal to all climbers. He said
that ‘extreme’ climbers often don’t have family or kids. “They are yet to see
the reality of these things, for them I am just whining.” Kirkpatrick has two
children who live with him in Sheffield; Ella aged 13 and Ewen who is 10 years
old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
explained, “A very good climber gives 100% so there is nothing left for
anything else, even relationships. For me writing is as important as climbing,
so I’ll easily put aside six months just to learn to be a good writer.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick
believes you can only do two things well, “So I do things in binges and
sometimes I have to be a crap climber or a crap father.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Geldard
also observes, “Kirkpatrick's style, which both in writing and in climbing, is
that of the underdog, the wannabe, the have-a-go hero.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick
acknowledges this self-deprecating tendency, “It’s because I never give
climbing 100%, I just dip in and out of it, so I’m never in a position of being
really strong, I always know I’m not as good as I could be.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He also
believes that this tendency to ‘flagellate’ himself comes from having a working
class background. “Working class people are like that. Which is why they are
working class, because they think they’re shit at everything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Pushing the boundaries <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiSxE-tDnYIikeDBeNxuXiMCghkQLga1ZNN_lIr5iWfl1WNRGMIQ93yNquMJxgGB0EgMwjIYM7jdb33YeNtjkCfSAQDuQp4TFK2-AUo-5Q-JBE8knpnCiVz8k8mVSAQmKKpxxN3nVjPI/s1600/Andy+K+mixed+climbing+in+scotland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiSxE-tDnYIikeDBeNxuXiMCghkQLga1ZNN_lIr5iWfl1WNRGMIQ93yNquMJxgGB0EgMwjIYM7jdb33YeNtjkCfSAQDuQp4TFK2-AUo-5Q-JBE8knpnCiVz8k8mVSAQmKKpxxN3nVjPI/s320/Andy+K+mixed+climbing+in+scotland.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick, mixed climbing in Scotland</span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">However,
Kirkpatrick believes that it’s all to do with your parents, “My mum was never
an academic, but she always said ‘the world is your oyster’.” Whilst
Kirkpatrick admits he never really knew what that meant, he believes his mother
inspired them to go further afield and be ambitious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Kirkpatrick’s
reputation for pushing the boundaries goes beyond his climbing, “As a comedian
you have to push beyond what people expect, that’s what makes it interesting,”
said Kirkpatrick. He said he finds it hard to take himself seriously, “You know
your mates will just laugh at you for saying something like ‘I climbed the hardest
route in the UK’.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-40682151961865763092011-12-18T13:02:00.003+00:002011-12-18T13:04:51.116+00:00Homeless numbers rise whilst a million homes stand empty<b>Vicky had a ten-year heroin and cocaine habit. She was working as a prostitute and carrying out street robberies. “I did anything I could to get my next fix. I’d fallen out with my family, my mum had disowned me and I fell pregnant three times.”</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpaGENBmVrq4aXUC0TI_8iKFihbn_eNNv_IKC-apVgcDEIah5W0azu5D7NMnu-lb0Yo49HK50Px7482_VxKCoLFueTKeG8mCsg7GVdIaDl02UEtur1uOI6h5Lcma1MiiZKjj4OmwMM78/s1600/Vicky+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpaGENBmVrq4aXUC0TI_8iKFihbn_eNNv_IKC-apVgcDEIah5W0azu5D7NMnu-lb0Yo49HK50Px7482_VxKCoLFueTKeG8mCsg7GVdIaDl02UEtur1uOI6h5Lcma1MiiZKjj4OmwMM78/s320/Vicky+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vicky</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One morning, after a long night in the
cold, Vicky stumbled upon the <a href="http://archerproject.org.uk/">Cathedral
Archer Project</a>, a day centre for homeless and vulnerable people in
Sheffield. She started going there regularly for breakfast, and soon began to
trust the drugs worker who encouraged her to give up her drug habit. Slowly but
surely the project seemed to be ‘pulling her out of it’, but Vicky said she
‘kept lapsing back into her old habits’ until November last year. “I woke up
one morning and decided I couldn’t take it anymore, so I went on a cold turkey
rattle for three weeks. Afterwards I was terrified of going back to the drugs
due to boredom, so I asked if I could start volunteering to give me something
to do.”</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Secret
Millionaire<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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During May this year,
Channel 4’s <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-millionaire/episode-guide/series-14/episode-2">Secret
Millionaire</a> TV programme visited The Cathedral Archer Project, along with
two other Sheffield charities, <a href="http://gracetebbutthouse.org/default.aspx">Grace Tebbutt House</a> and
the <a href="http://www.gvcf.org.uk/">Gleadless Valley Community Forum</a>. The
programme featured millionaire and former boss of the Priory rehabilitation
clinics, Dr Chai Patel, who volunteered as a retired doctor with the charities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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He spent four days
volunteering at the Archer Project, helping in their medical centre, in the
kitchen and even going ice-skating with clients. Dr Patel later reflected on
one of his <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-millionaire/articles/interview-with-chai-patel">favourite
memories</a>, “<span lang="EN-US">A young lady, with an extremely
difficult life and huge loss of self-esteem, taught me not only how to skate,
but also to trust her not to let me fall - which she didn't.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This young lady was Vicky, who expressed
her gratitude to Dr Patel, not only for the ice skates he bought her, but also
for securing the job of Sam Pryor, the charity’s longest-serving project
worker. “Sam keeps this place going,” said Vicky.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dr Patel donated £15,000 to the Archer
Project to help run their medical centre over the next three years and £30,000
to secure Sam Pryor’s position. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ucpAOFB6qiaLKAF6wUK21L9evbZ6LU1pcjPEHZ-ZyV9N19Tc-3NNK2oChSSzj4VJaJ7ISM5Rfl1kVLoOOx4qq7ff3SFCCjKErjy60F2vm9tJTgXr4-6flPFiiSnkObh0v-5C8WeD9bU/s1600/Eating+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ucpAOFB6qiaLKAF6wUK21L9evbZ6LU1pcjPEHZ-ZyV9N19Tc-3NNK2oChSSzj4VJaJ7ISM5Rfl1kVLoOOx4qq7ff3SFCCjKErjy60F2vm9tJTgXr4-6flPFiiSnkObh0v-5C8WeD9bU/s320/Eating+breakfast.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A client eating breakfast at the Archer Project</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">Ms Pryor, aged 42, works with a team
helping up to 80 homeless and vulnerable people. Everyday the team and
volunteers serve breakfast and lunch to whoever walks through the door. They
also offer medical treatment, hygiene facilities, education opportunities and
advice services.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tim Renshaw, Chief Executive of the Archer
Project said, “We’re taking people off the streets and giving them alternative
things to do with their time and alternative futures. So volunteering is a way
of getting people to do things differently, seeing if we can change people’s
life and expectations.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Victims of their parents<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Dr Patel also
donated £25,000 to help Grace Tebbutt House, in Nether Edge. Grace Tebbutt
provide temporary homes and support for Sheffield’s most vulnerable women,
including ex-offenders. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
In an <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-millionaire/articles/interview-with-chai-patel">interview</a>
after the film was made, Dr Patel reflected, “<span lang="EN-US">The most
important realisation was how innocent young children become victims of their
parents' condition and how they are brought into a way of life over which they
have very little control, creating the potential for history to repeat itself.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBocXXCpHIknWxQBMQZzBkilC0klQcKITf7Xe1TUNWCRCFlEZiAwTJfQOWHd6VKNRLLbHLrOXWOsB4AwHEU-W_P9uykHuXlIQuqb-Z-cG-DPomcqIfK2tk2HJPhF8ocMaptY8xurMm7TY/s1600/GraceTebbutt+Pic+IMG_0437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBocXXCpHIknWxQBMQZzBkilC0klQcKITf7Xe1TUNWCRCFlEZiAwTJfQOWHd6VKNRLLbHLrOXWOsB4AwHEU-W_P9uykHuXlIQuqb-Z-cG-DPomcqIfK2tk2HJPhF8ocMaptY8xurMm7TY/s320/GraceTebbutt+Pic+IMG_0437.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Save Grace Tebbutt House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US">He was so inspired that he returned to
Sheffield to launch an official appeal campaign to help raise funds for Grace
Tebbutt House. In March 2012, Sheffield City Council will withdraw its £110,000
annual funding for the charity because of spending cuts. Dr Patel appealed to
the Sheffield Council to reconsider their decision. He said that the charity
saves taxpayers money in the long run because it offers effective support work
and accommodation to these vulnerable women. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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However, Sheffield
City Council’s executive, Richard Webb told The Sheffield Star that they would
not reconsider. He said, “Good practice and research highlighted that large
accommodation was not conducive to rehabilitation”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs Harris said that
their charity offers a unique service, “Other services won’t accommodate women
who are considered as medium or high risk, meaning that they have an
uncontrollable drug or alcohol habit and may be verbally abusive to staff.” She
said there are many more vulnerable women they could help, “we get enough
referrals everyday that we could fill this hostel four times over.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Great British property scandal<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uEAk8379OXbkaCQMLrNajDdvgWnIN9eYa2DUWwakG_2bigPp9GWPFeQlvrTHybS2LkDwxlftN0VhP4_NTqjVT5gtrd0xVfM8Vw9pfP5z4IAykORV5TwhBKccMT5eNz66CEmkm20qDYY/s1600/Centrepoint+stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uEAk8379OXbkaCQMLrNajDdvgWnIN9eYa2DUWwakG_2bigPp9GWPFeQlvrTHybS2LkDwxlftN0VhP4_NTqjVT5gtrd0xVfM8Vw9pfP5z4IAykORV5TwhBKccMT5eNz66CEmkm20qDYY/s320/Centrepoint+stats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
On 8<sup>th</sup>
December, official figures revealed that homelessness in the UK has risen by
13%. The figures, released <span lang="EN-US">by the <a href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/homelessnessq32011">Department
of Communities and Local Government</a> </span>show that 35,680 households in the UK have been accepted as homeless by
local authorities at the start of 2011. According to Shelter’s <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/oct/10/housing-statistics-database">new
data search</a> there are 371 households accepted as homeless in South
Yorkshire.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ironically, even as
homelessness figures increase, there are one million empty homes in the UK; of
which 350,000 have been empty for more than six months. According to George
Clarke, architect and TV presenter, “That’s the equivalent of a city the size
of Leeds full of empty homes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
George Clarke’s
campaign <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-british-property-scandal/articles/home/">The
Great British Property Scandal</a>, has gained over 100,000 signatures which
means that the issue will now be debated in parliament. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The campaign proposes <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-british-property-scandal/articles/about-the-campaign/">two
changes</a> that they hope will give individuals and communities the power to
use empty houses:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">1. A law change to give people the power to
turn abandoned properties into homes for people who need them.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">2. Access to low-cost loan funds for people
who need financial help to get empty properties back into use.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4c4Zt6FyQbmzAYZJ_uyJOpBfmZUadyaJaoo0wOVRdURwR8QxMvKZSWRyZ_W9hWF5zvbt_xPHDV_AzQX3l0aL3iWTmGTPh67Qw-a6vVdFg9EptJJcG9g6-BoKhSFu9rHdF-eywPF_UDGs/s1600/Crisis+stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4c4Zt6FyQbmzAYZJ_uyJOpBfmZUadyaJaoo0wOVRdURwR8QxMvKZSWRyZ_W9hWF5zvbt_xPHDV_AzQX3l0aL3iWTmGTPh67Qw-a6vVdFg9EptJJcG9g6-BoKhSFu9rHdF-eywPF_UDGs/s320/Crisis+stats.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
According to a Freedom of Information request there
are 5,068 empty homes in Sheffield and at the same time there are 93,532 people
on the housing waiting list.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Something to live for<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Grace Tebbutt House and The Cathedral Archer Project say they
could help a huge number of homeless people if they were able to turn abandoned
properties into homes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Vicky is now working in the kitchen at the
Archer Project and has even started cooking her own meals for the clients. She
is hoping to do an NVQ in Catering once she has finished her NVQ in Health and
Social Care. “It has given me a goal to aim to, something to live for. I’ve not
been in jail for two and half years, which is so unlike me as I was in and out
of prison every other month. I’m now talking to my mum and am back in contact
with my kids.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Vicky said that all she used to think about
was where the next £20 was coming from for her next bag of heroine and cocaine;
but she is a different person now. “I love getting up in the morning, it sounds
weird but I can’t wait to go to bed at night, to get up and come here in the
morning.”</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNBWXds4aEDgoRgxjPIex5ju_UWpcngON8sGf0PeXQEggZgoPNVlW5iHcs0F6rVYXGuX39a2K_jinv5-FQEkf11-IJGZl0IvaMYhahSiDBT23305DuT4qCrEAqv9GxrNU1LeT4B-p_p4/s1600/letter+from+CAP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNBWXds4aEDgoRgxjPIex5ju_UWpcngON8sGf0PeXQEggZgoPNVlW5iHcs0F6rVYXGuX39a2K_jinv5-FQEkf11-IJGZl0IvaMYhahSiDBT23305DuT4qCrEAqv9GxrNU1LeT4B-p_p4/s320/letter+from+CAP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-66200860275868446342011-12-18T12:28:00.001+00:002011-12-21T13:10:06.127+00:00SKINN, a new network of businesses and organisations in Sheffield, proves that Cameron’s ‘big society’ is already here<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">SKINN- Shalesmoor, Kelham Island and Neepsend
Network, officially launched on the weekend of the 29th of October with a mini-festival and ‘art crawl’.
The event featured two free days of art exhibitions, crafts stalls, fashion
shows, improve theatre, pop-up bars and live music. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nIFkM9CTGQk_qlzMhYbMPbSVLtGmKQDR910qTiQa3l1W2lFaLDMiCqDnPTWAjQHT9f6HuYCaEgVnQpOBEyw_zDpJK5Wgi87P2owEZDfycuOM3MrJpiyANmxD-rmA5USua14iPCtTRbE/s1600/CADS+%2526+SKINN+IMG_3370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nIFkM9CTGQk_qlzMhYbMPbSVLtGmKQDR910qTiQa3l1W2lFaLDMiCqDnPTWAjQHT9f6HuYCaEgVnQpOBEyw_zDpJK5Wgi87P2owEZDfycuOM3MrJpiyANmxD-rmA5USua14iPCtTRbE/s320/CADS+%2526+SKINN+IMG_3370.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CADS entrance at Shalesmoor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Set up to “share
resources, information and skills”, SKINN is a non-for-profit network of
businesses and organisations whose aim is to improve the local area and its
community. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Studio complexes,
including <a href="http://www.nicholsbuilding.co.uk/">The Nichols Building</a>
in Shalesmoor, CADS in Smithfield and Pebble Dash Studios in Burton Road,
welcomed visitors throughout the weekend. An industrial area in the past, the
SKIN area now comprises of award-winning restaurants, real ale pubs, studios,
galleries, vintage stores and designer workshops.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">SKINN aims to encourage local people to get more involved in
events and workshops held in the studios and galleries, linked into mini-festivals and events held with the restaurants and local pubs.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Creative collaboration<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is one of the many
new projects supported by <a href="http://www.cads-online.co.uk/">CADS</a>, a
multi-purpose arts complex in Shalesmoor, who rent out studios for “all forms
of creativity”. Ivan Rabodzeenko, development officer for CADS, explained that
SKINN originated from the ‘Ideas Bazaar’ event hosted by Sheffield University
in September, for Sheffield’s creative community.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1oCXDFIRTooKeC1inJGN8TSDy9po9DQdfh3i9LrAUfrM-1b6dD-J9KOXc0rvKwpvXabbKhwr_1runExc_qwKGRXp5uAukgxMLktOx0OcCTujle6fXap627E9k_iE-khHBdlCKeJy88I/s1600/SKINN+pop+up+bar+IMG_3390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1oCXDFIRTooKeC1inJGN8TSDy9po9DQdfh3i9LrAUfrM-1b6dD-J9KOXc0rvKwpvXabbKhwr_1runExc_qwKGRXp5uAukgxMLktOx0OcCTujle6fXap627E9k_iE-khHBdlCKeJy88I/s320/SKINN+pop+up+bar+IMG_3390.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working with local breweries like Kelham Island and Five Rivers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ivan said that they
realised there was a lack of communication between the different creative and
other industries in the SKIN area. So a meeting was organised between the
industries and the idea of holding an ‘art crawl’ and other similar events transpired.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“The Nichols building,
which only opened in July, is a good example,” said Katja Porohina, communications
and development officer at CADS. The building is an antiques, arts and crafts
centre, run by an interior designer. “They are really keen to promote their
building so they offered us the use of their upstairs space for free. We said,
ok we have experience of running events and music nights, so lets do it
together.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Katja believes that
the lack of communication between industries is due to a culture of
competitiveness rather than one of collaboration. “But if you collaborate you
end up with something better, this is the way we want SKINN to work,” said
Katja. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A policy of inclusiveness<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wrY58__3vVszqh7uryinuh0Vuh0bisJP7KhPLH54SD5DCqZTc1jf38YrpAukAVudt6YAqyz5Ctfr0y_ZwV-inkBNd4CTKpCHR5IMZfGNVTClcdEibImeVpzqLlT-ENr_UaZCGboD7fM/s1600/CADS+exhibition+space+IMG_3440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2wrY58__3vVszqh7uryinuh0Vuh0bisJP7KhPLH54SD5DCqZTc1jf38YrpAukAVudt6YAqyz5Ctfr0y_ZwV-inkBNd4CTKpCHR5IMZfGNVTClcdEibImeVpzqLlT-ENr_UaZCGboD7fM/s320/CADS+exhibition+space+IMG_3440.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CADS gallery space</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
CADS was born from
director Steve Rimmer’s frustration with the exclusiveness of artistic
communities. Mr Rimmer, aged 25, said that research and general experience
taught him that “many creative art spaces don’t accept you if you are not doing
contemporary art or fulfil their criteria, but there is so much more to
creativity.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Rimmer acquired his
first studio space whilst hot-desking at <a href="http://www.portlandworks.co.uk/gallery/regeneration-song/">Stag Works</a>
(a building of significant industrial heritage). He then discovered he could
hire three studios for the same price as one if he moved to the Shalesmoor
area. Mr Rimmer decided to rent out the two extra studios to cover costs, which
meant he could take on a larger studio to do more events. CADS soon consisted
of eight studios and continued to expand from there. “It just organically
evolved as we needed more resources and space for studios, by filling the
studios, we were able to re-invest in our own expansion or other projects we
were supporting.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mr Rimmer explained
that CADS works within a mutually beneficial management mode, “everything we
set up links into and benefits everything else.” SKINN has mapped out a network
of businesses and organisations within the area. During the ‘art crawl’ on the
weekend, this map, marked with the various businesses and organisations, was
presented for people to look at. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKZaVV6YQc5CUSy-lutK_0ajQgRfsoGNlbGup_unFiSUWSJQiB240qPVLYk5j3dtt258DPqXuaxy6LXccfdsxss0e0XPMMZ6EKPrif3FOshM8dkxosyW1YYassUCfMvfuk6Xz_r2j2RQ/s1600/SKINN+MAP+IMG_3395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKZaVV6YQc5CUSy-lutK_0ajQgRfsoGNlbGup_unFiSUWSJQiB240qPVLYk5j3dtt258DPqXuaxy6LXccfdsxss0e0XPMMZ6EKPrif3FOshM8dkxosyW1YYassUCfMvfuk6Xz_r2j2RQ/s320/SKINN+MAP+IMG_3395.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SKINN Map</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
“We’re asking people
what they think of the area, and for ideas of how it can be developed,” said
Katja. She explained that they want to be inclusive to all businesses,
organisations and residents in the area when deciding how existing resources
and spaces can be used. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Utilising empty spaces<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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“We are also looking
into what can be done with the empty buildings in the area, trying to link up
with property owners of vacant buildings to find a way of making positive use
of those spaces,” said Mr Rimmer. CADS aims to utilise waste materials from
these properties, which can be recycled and used on projects such as the urban
garden at Pebble Dash studios. CADS is working with volunteers from Sheffield
University to build seating and flowerbeds in the studio yard, out of waste
material from local building firms. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mr Rimmer explained
how this is an example of drawing on the resources of the network system; he
explained that when people are aware of other businesses and what resources
they have or spaces that are vacant, others are able to utilise these resources
until they are needed again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’ve always said it
is better to have collaboration rather than competition,” said Mr Rimmer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You can find out more
about SKINN at <a href="http://www.cads-online.co.uk/">http://www.cads-online.co.uk</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-40524186225096196212011-12-11T08:28:00.001+00:002011-12-11T20:44:25.858+00:00As "the baton is passed from artisan to artist" can we look forward to a new kind of regeneration?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Sheffield's City Centre is turning into a ghost town of empty shops along The Moor and surrounding areas. This is due to the thwarting of ambitious plans of developers and the city council by the recession in 2009. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Yet, whilst writing an article about <a href="http://www.cads-online.co.uk/" target="_blank">CADS</a> and their new project SKINN, I come across similar fascinating and exciting projects like the 140 year old Stag Works and the adjacent<a href="http://www.portlandworks.co.uk/" target="_blank"> Portland Works</a>. And I wonder whether the halting of urban regeneration is really such a terrible thing?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">What other exciting projects are being born out the 'crisis' which leaves us with no option but to 'do it ourselves'?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/W82hhV2qWts?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">"Sheffield's 'Stag Works' is a decaying, crumbling curiosity with a fascinating place in the city's cultural and industrial heritage. As the old workshops and artisans give way to new music studios and artists, the building bears witness to a tapestry of innovation, passion and imagination. A metaphor for the modern city?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-69011396653374914712011-12-01T22:52:00.001+00:002011-12-06T15:15:55.738+00:00As world leaders delay over climate change, Sheffield groups are ‘getting on with it’This week country
representatives debate a global agreement to cut carbon emissions at the <a href="http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UN Climate Change Conference</a> in Durban,
South Africa. Unwilling to await their decision, Sheffield groups are calling
for voters to help them tackle climate change today.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://friendsofmillhousespark.org/">Friends of Millhouses Park</a> and <a href="http://www.sheffieldrenewables.org.uk/">Sheffield Renewables</a> are two
Sheffield groups taking part in a national X-Factor style vote to win over
£125,000 towards local community renewable energy projects.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The two groups have
made it into the final stage of the <a href="http://www.energyshare.com/voting/">EnergyShare</a>
Launch Fund, run by British Gas and celebrity chef Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall’s environmental organisation River Cottage. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Public voting ends at
5pm this Saturday and the two groups only need to beat one other scheme to win
their categories. They are calling for everybody to <a href="http://www.energyshare.com/index/" target="_blank">vote online</a> today. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Millhouses mill
buildings project, run by <a href="http://friendsofmillhousespark.org/">Friends
of Millhouses Park</a>, is transforming the oldest water mill site in the city into
a sustainable community centre. The group have already raised £68,000 towards
refurbishing the historic 13<sup>th</sup> century corn mill in Millhouses Park.
If they win, the buildings will be fitted with solar panels, insulation and a
ground source heat pump, which will save over .5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per
year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL6NtjBwTxfbKMj2bRw91o0K3r-h28lRYhQq838LYo3jS-tPRE-fJwhhRMNXUwIqBgQ379gGVQl1ewqrV48RqjnYBvGDW9pGldhgEd5JX81MjTQFqMjyLOaKNsdXoJfC6RHD3S-VwCds/s1600/Millhouses+Mill+Buildings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL6NtjBwTxfbKMj2bRw91o0K3r-h28lRYhQq838LYo3jS-tPRE-fJwhhRMNXUwIqBgQ379gGVQl1ewqrV48RqjnYBvGDW9pGldhgEd5JX81MjTQFqMjyLOaKNsdXoJfC6RHD3S-VwCds/s320/Millhouses+Mill+Buildings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jane Hunter, <span lang="EN-US">executive committee member of </span>Friends of Millhouses Park, said: “It’s all about awareness raising;
micro-generation can make a big contribution to the total energy mix.” Jane
believes that by installing renewable energy in community buildings they are
providing concrete examples of how people can create their own energy. </div>
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<a href="http://www.sheffieldrenewables.org.uk/">Sheffield Renewables</a>, a
volunteer-led social enterprise, has already raised over £65,000 towards Jordan
Dam, a hydro-electricity project on the River Don, near Meadowhall. The group
have been granted planning permission to install a modern Archimedes screw at
Jordan Dam. This community owned waterpower scheme would generate enough
electricity for 80 typical family homes, saving 170 tonnes of carbon dioxide
each year. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91m0iRP8M4ph0Rz9t3SXmVMwDs9TMCIv9oXgogglKeY84nBmynkDUvYC0XGq5aj332rvGC3z0C4VIcSPEKKz_5dmPKZCX9pBYh61MZY1CpAbM89PflgLFUfhWsnL_dtQrQwP9xjr1Vi8/s1600/Jordan+Dam%252C+an+Artists+Impression+of+the+Hydro+power+scheme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91m0iRP8M4ph0Rz9t3SXmVMwDs9TMCIv9oXgogglKeY84nBmynkDUvYC0XGq5aj332rvGC3z0C4VIcSPEKKz_5dmPKZCX9pBYh61MZY1CpAbM89PflgLFUfhWsnL_dtQrQwP9xjr1Vi8/s1600/Jordan+Dam%252C+an+Artists+Impression+of+the+Hydro+power+scheme.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An artist's impression of the Jordan Dam Hydro</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
“We want people to
feel empowered about tackling climate change, we’re all about getting things
done on the ground, so that people can see what is possible and start spreading
ideas” said Miss Cariad Thomas-Cooke, project officer for Sheffield Renewables.<br />
<br />
Megg Munn, MP for
Sheffield Heeley said: “This project is a great example of how local
organisations can work with local people to make a real difference to our
environment. I’ve already voted for it- and want to give the Sheffield
Renewables team my full support for this project.”<br />
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Voting is open until 5pm,
Saturday 3<sup>rd</sup> December, to vote log on to <a href="http://www.energyshare.com/voting/">http://www.energyshare.com/voting/</a>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4317038718809473419.post-35603393193583189482011-11-22T20:13:00.000+00:002011-12-18T12:46:42.270+00:00Heeley City Farm offers hope to Sheffield youths<b><br /></b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/32416959?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
(footage by Joe Bream)<br />
<br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.heeleyfarm.org.uk/">Heeley
City Farm</a>, an oasis in the heart of Sheffield, is fighting to prevent young
people from entering a life of crime. In response to devastating budget cuts to
Sheffield’s youth services, the charity is determined to offer young people an
alternative to the void left by diminishing provision.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The city farm, in the
urban district of Heeley, Sheffield, is a community based and led training,
employment and youth enterprise. Along with facilities such as a café and
children’s playground for the community, the charity also teaches and supports
young people and adults with learning difficulties. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QlEeu7O_mQfYHK_gXKRSzjC85y6yXC5fLTgOZDE8y7Y2NMmBqx6TG-eGCvMHX9G0xbE6ZkbZJ1T0sVO5wwH1iPcjkdnnw2USPEfOebnOpGfulSYj0-jz9Tk0GIcHWjOUud0rEEppwK0/s1600/horses-and-girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4QlEeu7O_mQfYHK_gXKRSzjC85y6yXC5fLTgOZDE8y7Y2NMmBqx6TG-eGCvMHX9G0xbE6ZkbZJ1T0sVO5wwH1iPcjkdnnw2USPEfOebnOpGfulSYj0-jz9Tk0GIcHWjOUud0rEEppwK0/s320/horses-and-girls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young people bringing in horses for the night </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sam Bennett, from the
human resources and finance team at Heeley City Farm, said that cuts to council
spending on youth services has left only a few community centres and youth
groups in the area. He said that the farm offers practical work, team building
and confidence boosting activities. “They come and they’re allowed a bit of
responsibility, so it’s their responsibility to bring the animals in at night
or clean their living areas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Young people can
volunteer or attend work placements at the farm, and adults with learning
difficulties are offered supported placements. Participants learn life and
vocational skills through looking after the animals and garden centre. There is
also a farm kitchen where participants can learn catering and hospitality
skills, as well as classrooms to teach a range of vocational courses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Mr Bennett, aged 24,
epitomises the benefit of the charity; he left university without a degree and
was unemployed for a while. He then started working at Heeley City Farm as an
office assistant and 18 months later he has worked his way up the ladder. <b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Cuts ‘hit hard’ <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The government’s
recent austerity measures have hit young people hard. They have scrapped the
Future Jobs fund, tripled student fees and caused local councils to cut
spending on youth services. Sheffield City Council has cut spending this year
by £80 million out of an annual budget of 1.5 billion. This has led to £17
million being cut from services for children, young people and families.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mr Bennett said that
Heeley City Farm relies on many sources of funding, but they have still been
affected; “With council funding gone for youth work, we’re having to rely more
on private donations and to be more inventive and diversify in order to find
the money to help fund everything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5APiTtDxo2NgkSLUiELCtV5SgqQ5jAWwSTShxGB2xMWjTc30H1F2xlh9P1vaFXA5uaegcsrfTXSZj0hYgv7hyVXHCdU-WUOADHS0lP7ikAJAkl86iNyrDXKDYkTXAnFLkyJ9Py4emEE/s1600/sign-post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5APiTtDxo2NgkSLUiELCtV5SgqQ5jAWwSTShxGB2xMWjTc30H1F2xlh9P1vaFXA5uaegcsrfTXSZj0hYgv7hyVXHCdU-WUOADHS0lP7ikAJAkl86iNyrDXKDYkTXAnFLkyJ9Py4emEE/s320/sign-post.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><a href="http://www.getconnectedsheffield.com/">Sheffield Futures</a> is a
council-funded charity which runs the Connexions careers services for young
people in Sheffield. The charity funds the ‘<a href="http://www.heeleyfarm.org.uk/index.php?id=courses">Young Rangers Course</a>’
for NEET’s (young people not in employment, education or training) at Heeley
City Farm. However, they have had to cut 95 jobs out of their 368 staff, whilst
£2.4 million has been cut from Connexions this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emma Taylor,
information and marketing team leader at Sheffield Futures said; “We have been
hit hard, its been awful and we’ve lost a lot of highly skilled workers, it’s
not right that we had to cut as many as we did for a service that is so
valuable.” Sheffield Futures said that they worked hard to make sure young
people aren’t affected by the cuts, but Mrs Taylor admitted, “It’s been very
tough.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-weight: bold;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Destined for a life of crime<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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Mr Bennett believes
that when less money is spent on youth services, more is needed for addressing
the crime that results from young people being left without provision. “A lot
of the young people we work with aren’t at school, so having them come here and
help look after animals means they aren’t up the road mugging somebody,
breaking into houses or getting involved in drugs and gangs, it gives them
something to do that means something, that means they aren’t then destined for
a life of crime.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mrs Taylor said that
cutting youth services will have a knock on effect on crime; “NEET figures have
been terrible for the city, we are working to lower these as we speak, but
there will still be somebody out there who might not have had any intervention
from us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddQLbbaimVOnUyJky1qkbBsN0qNqeZmS-ikdpibxbTUs9V7hQJ4_ml64T-atLFdrs7oNzDNWilUaVxbIQpIQ-WPvCSDJHZ_y6ASUq8vu2pgx4RCC2bGPHSpLK92kTsAWbAbkuqH_BE8Q/s1600/view+from+farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddQLbbaimVOnUyJky1qkbBsN0qNqeZmS-ikdpibxbTUs9V7hQJ4_ml64T-atLFdrs7oNzDNWilUaVxbIQpIQ-WPvCSDJHZ_y6ASUq8vu2pgx4RCC2bGPHSpLK92kTsAWbAbkuqH_BE8Q/s320/view+from+farm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Oasis in the middle of the city</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Despite the funding
cuts, Mr Bennett believes that Heeley City Farm can be an oasis for the
community and its young people; “This is quite a novel environment to teach
people, everybody likes looking after animals so we’re teaching them the very
basic things, like maths, that they might struggle to learn at school, but in a
different way that is fun.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>Marishka Van Steenbergenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06278409805079995217noreply@blogger.com0