Happy St. David's Day!

My Beautiful Town!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something....Green?!

Yes, eco-friendliness has reached the aisle. www.greenweddings.org.uk is a site allowing you to plan your ethical big day. Initially, this idea may seem a little OTT and it may be thought that your wedding day is one on which you can allow for a little luxury. However, if some people feel very strongly about environmental issues they may feel much happier knowing that they haven't gone against their principles on a day, which is all about what is important in their life.

Aside from these deep arguments, there are actually some quite quirky ideas that might make your wedding stand out from the crowd, regardless of whether you're deeply concerned with the environment. For example, throwing bird seed or rose petals as opposed to confetti actually sounds pretty romantic.

Why Formula 1 Is Good For The Environment...

Did everyone see the recent unveiling of Honda's new formula 1 model? A car that features no advertising logos but just a massive map of the world. The public can sponsor a pixel on this map and their money goes to a green organisation. So, not only does this raise money, it is meant to raise awareness among the millions of Formula 1 fans who will train their eyes on the car this year.

In addition, this year Max Mosely, head of FIA, explained his plans for Formula 1 cars to include new technology that would make them more environmentally friendly. He noted, ''This is quite clearly something that is and will be developed for the road and all the major manufacturers are working on different systems at this time. By allowing it in F1 we will be accelerating its introduction.'' In other words, with top F1 engineers working on improving the eco-friendliness of cars, it would happen at a much greater speed.

So, gas-guzzling and jet-setting aside, could Formula 1 be doing out planet some good?

Pimp My Retro Ride

Would you spend hundreds of pounds on an old, second-hand toilet? Unlikely. However, some vintage car accessory enthusiasts would delight at such an item.

This is the kind of fact that I have found out when researching a piece on retro car accessories.

Here are some other quirky finds:

1. In 1955 you could buy a record player for your car but could only play specially designed vinyl on it featuring songs from stage shows and nursery rhymes - not so rock and roll.

2. It is possible to buy an accessory that turns your car into a flame thrower.

3. In 2004 8m people in the UK had car air fresheners, 4.5m had bumper stickers and 2.1m had dashboard figures.

4. In the days when sleeping kits were popular (allowing you to turn the back of your car into a double bed) a Volvo advert for its sleeping kit was banned as it featured a couple stretched out in the back of their car but someone spotted that the woman didn't have a wedding ring on - shocking!

There's something to tell your mates at the pub!
Let me know if you've any such gems to share.

Irish Dancing

Despite not knowing what softshoes, hardshoes or feis are, I have just begun writing freelance for www.irishdancing.com. I'm producing news for the site which is pretty exciting as it means I will have a continuous stream of work to do, in the form of rolling deadlines, which will be great experience. It will also test my journalistic skill. After all, a journalist has to try to absorb expert knowledge on any topic that comes his/her way. It's a strange business really.

If anyone knows anything about Irish Dance or has any news they want covered let me know.

Big Up PR

I have begun writing my first feature for my specialist motoring module. As a result, I have been trying to get in contact with the PR departments of certain motoring companies. I thought that I would be trying in vain. It seemed hard to find any relevant contacts and I am, after all, only a student. However, I was wrong.

A lady from GM got back to me and said that my request wasn't really in her field so she referred it to two colleagues who also got back to me and offered me some answers to my questions and their phone numbers. This all happened in the course of one day.

A lot of times journalists and PR people are at odds. What a delight to see that we can work in harmony. Cheers guys!

Inappropriate

I just had to draw attention to an act that I saw play at Cardiff Barfly last night called no bra. I just don't understand it. The performer has a moustache, long hair and big breasts that were on full show. The songs consisted of talking about sexual acts, body parts and disease. No one in the crowd seemed to think that this act was at all odd. I thought it was pretty appalling. Are there not even rules about this kind of performance? Surely there should have been some warning for youngsters in the audience. I hate to be a prude but this was one surreal and pretty disgusting experience.

Shorthand REALLY IS worth it...

I was pleased to see a fellow blogger extolling the virtues of shorthand but he seemed concerned, as everyone does, that it is far surpassed, in terms of practicality, by the dictaphone. I suppose there is no doubt that using a dictaphone will mean getting that extra snippet of information but I really believe that shorthand has a lot more going for it than that.

1. Quality Not Quantity:
In some respects the genius thing about using shorthand is that you don't get a record of every 'um' 'ah' and false start sentence. You get exactly what you need and thus it is a much more manageable entity to work your way through when it comes to transcribing.

2. The Wonder of the Human Eye:
When transcribing, if you have a pad of shorthand you can transcribe exactly one line at a time without rewinding and fastforwarding (which wastes unbelievable amounts of time). Equally, you can scan the pad for key quotes that you need and pick them out without searching through a recording.

3. Trust:
It's silly for people to think that a dictaphone recording is more dependable than shorthand. Shorthand does need to be practiced to be at its best. However, eventually it should be as strong as standard writing and it is rare for a journalist to doubt his or her longhand. Equally, even during the time we have spent on our course technology has failed to record one student's interview with someone in America, the batteries have run out for another and for myself, the background noise that was picked up on one of my recordings drowned out the best part of the interview. With shorthand you know whether you have everything as you go along - you can ask people to slow down or reiterate and you can double-check your notes with them. You only find out how successful your recording is when you get it home.

4. Having a Secret Code is Nice:
Sad but true.

I rest my case.

Lights, Camera, Inaction...

We were very lucky to have a camera training workshop today. It's not often that I would count myself lucky to work ten to five on a Sunday but this was one such rare occassion.

The merit of this workshop was that it was run by Tony O'Shaughnessy of the BBC i.e. someone who really knows his stuff. As a result I learnt this....

1) To keep the camera still - pans, zooms and jaunty angles belong to naff wedding videos taken by drunken uncles.

2) Not to film everything - watching someone move through a shot is often more effective than running around in circles after them (unless you're a hardened Challenege Anneka fan).

3) To vary the size and angle of shots - variety is the spice of life.

4) PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE BEING FILMED.

Wild....Wales is Calling!

I have a new baby...No no, not the crying, sicking up sort. I have started work on a magazine called Wild with some of my colleagues. It's about getting out and about in Wales and focuses on activities, nature and green issues. We're all really very excited about it.

My role is actually in the online aspect. As Online Content Editor I am learning just how much is involved in an editorial role... Especially when you are starting a brand from scratch. I (with my editor Harry) am having to think of every tiny bit of content we want on the site. I then have to provide a style guide that covers how the writer should present this content. Then there's the commissioning, the chasing people up and the editing. It is a lot of work but I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm glad. It bodes well for the future.

Definitely check out our magazine. It's suited to 18-35 year-olds who are either already into getting out and about or who would like to be but don't really know what to do with themselves. It'll be fun and informative. You'll like it - we promise!

The site itself hasn't launched yet but you can check us out on MySpace!

Hang 'Em High Hopkins

I attended a talk the other day by judge Stephen Hopkins. Fascinating. For some odd reason I had never really thought about the fact that a judge's job is rather harrowing. I guess it is a mark of the sheltered life that I lead that I hadn't realised that court cases involve an intricate study of the details of crimes. So much so that Judge Stephen Hopkins told us that he was delighted when he got through a court case without hearing the word 'vagina'.

Just recently, Judge Hopkins has had to deal with a case in which some little girls were raped by their father, uncle and brother. In addition, he has had to view all of the horrific images off a paedophile's computer to judge how harsh his sentence should be. Finally, he has had to watch a man walk free who confessed to being a paedophile but convinced the jury that he was into little girls so had had nothing to do with the little boys in question in that particular case.

I cannot blame a man who sees that much human depravity on a daily basis for being tough in his sentencing. I can understand why Hopkins would want to Hang 'em High.

The Blog is Back

There has been something of a blog-less interlude in my life. It's not that I don't love my blog it's just that he makes great demands on my time - the possessive type.

Anyway, a highly rewarding work placement at Big Issue Cymru, an exam in Public Adminstration and a membership to The Guild of Motoring Writers down and we're back.

The first thing I just have to note on my return to blog-land is my disgust at the anti Ugly Betty feeling flying around. It seems some are dismayed to see that Ugly Betty is actually quite beautiful in real life. "Why can't we see a really ugly character?" they cry! The thing is, surely that's the irony. She's not a bad looking girl but in the eyes of the fashionistas she's dirt.

Another thing that I thought was worth drawing attention to was a programme I caught on Channel 4 the other day called Homemade. It's basically a TV programme based around YouTube type clips. So it seems that UGC does have a future. But how long will it last?!