Thursday, November 26, 2009

A PRESENTATION FOR THE BBC SENIOR EDITORS TEAM












Today, I had a great time with Mark Byford, Deputy Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation and head of BBC Journalism, and his Senior Editors Team.

They wanted me to present the INNOVATION experiences and models on Newsroom Integrations.

They understand that this is a crucial issue for their future.

The BBC doesn’t buy the “us” against “them” idea and they have decided to reorganize the newsroom facilities around “content and audiences”, our mantra in this field.

So they were really interested in how to create new working flows, how to build an agnostic platform super-desk, etc.

After the presentation and many questions from this group, I have the feeling that the BBC can lead better than anybody else the new online journalism narratives of the 21st Century.

They have the talent, credibility, reputation, people and leadership to re-invent journalism in these new new platforms.

The old Regent Street Bush House or the BBC Broadcasting House will become, for sure, the biggest and most advanced state-of-the-art multimedia newsroom of the world.

The huge new rebuilding project will cost over 200 million pounds.

In less than 2-year time, more than 5.000 BBC people will move there and work together under one roof.

BH has been the BBC’S headquarters since 1932 and has survived every attempt of Hitler to destroy it.

The architects will have produced an estimated 10,000 drawings by the end of the project that will include 80.000-square meter of production areas, studios and staff facilities, plus a 4.000-square meter newsroom.

64,000 tonnes of debris will be removed from the site.

Around 17,000 lorry loads of rubbish will be taken from BH

During excavation, work will be taking place 4 meters from the Victoria tube line.

There will be six new studios for television news.

The new News studio will be one of the largest live newsrooms in the world

There will be 140 acoustic spaces for Radio & Music, News and World Service.

There will be 10,000 miles of cabling in the new building.

The focus of the complex is an atria-lit newsroom at the base of the main building.

See here more pictures from the old and future newsrooms.

(iPhone picture of Mark Byford introducing me to his team)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

DEBORAH AND TAM DAVID WITH THE CHILDREN OF STEPHEN CRABB

Last Saturday, Deborah led the children of Stephen Crabb in a papier mache lantern workshop. Deb was invited to bring her Cheese + Pickles Studio craft-making to the fantastic Really Wild Farm Shop "opening day party."

Stephen, the very popular Member of Parliament for Preseli Pembrokeshire that in January 2009 was promoted to the Conservative front-bench team as an Opposition Whip, was born in 1973, grew up in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, where he attended Fenton Infants, Barn Street Junior School and Tasker Milward VC School. After a gap year spent working with voluntary projects in USA and Colombia, he studied at Bristol University and graduated in 1995 with first class Honours.

Following a year spent working in the House of Commons as Research Assistant to Andrew Rowe MP, Stephen became Parliamentary Affairs Officer of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services in 1996.

From 2002-04 Stephen completed an MBA at London Business School. During this period, and leading up to the 2005 General Election, he worked as a Marketing Consultant.

In 2004 Stephen and his family returned to Pembrokeshire and settled a few miles outside Haverfordwest.

(Picture by Debbie James, via Brian Powdrill )

Sunday, November 22, 2009

THE "OPEN DAY PARTY" AT THE REALLY WILD FARM SHOP

























These are pictures from yesterday's Really Wild Farm Shop "opening day party" in Wolfscastle at the Nant y Coy Arts Centre, "the Watermill with Art and Soul" that adds unique "Food" to its description thanks to the smart efforts of Brian Powdrill and Julia Horton-Powdrill.


The Wild Farm Shop was born with Adam Vincent of Trehale Farm, Mathry, who's vision was to open an outlet for the high quality produce of the rare breeds meat and charcuterie, from his family farm.


Today it's a magnificent reality.

Yes, this is a lovely and magical place, even on a rainy and windy day (nothing special here in Wales!)


The Really Wild Farm Shop is a spin-off of the five-year old Really Wild Food & countryside Festival that got the attention of the Online Micheline Guide.

The shop, which is managed by Katie Kerpner and assistant manager, Adrian Clifton, is open six days a week from 9am to 7pm and on Sundays from 10am to 5pm.

Deborah brought her Cheese + Pickles Studio workshop to the event with craft activities for children.

As you can see, we had an eight-hour roasted pig, warm Gethins Welsh Cider, fabulous premium quality coffee roasted near Solva by Rafael Hernandez-Ariaza, local cheeses, great fresh fish from the onshore tanks of Claws Shellfish in Mildford Haven... and the company of ducks, gees, wild board cross Berkshire pigs and "Ozzy", a fantastic Manx Loghtan ram.



Thank you to all of you!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

MORE CREATIVE COURSES AT ST. DAVIDS ORIEL Y PARC






















Learning Pembrokeshire has added more creative classes beginning January 2010.

All the classes will be held in the lovely Discovery Room, at Oriel y Parc.

The tutor is my wife, Deborah Withey, of Cheese + Pickles Design Studio, who currently leads the Color in Art + Design class at the same location.

For questions about the courses offered contact cheesepicklesstudio@gmail.com.

Booking is going on now, call Learning Pembrokeshire at 01348 872 488

(Click in the picture to see it bigger)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

FOUR NEW ST. DAVIDS CATHEDRAL CHORISTERS























Last Friday November 13, the Dean and the Organist and Master of the St. Davids Cathedral admitted four new choristers.

One of them was our son, Tam David Withey Giner.

The present Cathedral Choir is unique in the UK in that its top line consists of girls aged 8-18.

The choir sings at four services each week and has recorded several CDs and broadcast many times on BBC radio and television.

In the last ten years the choir has toured widely in Europe, Australia and the USA (three times).