I must have entered hundreds of balloon races over the years and have also conducted official launches in my broadcasting career too. (One memorable one in Essex saw the organisers and I desperately throwing hundreds of rain-sodden balloons into the air only to see them fall forlornly into the nearby estuary).
Usually my balloon disappears into the clouds never to be seen again. Does anyone ever win a prize with these things? I might now find out....
My husband spotted the remnants of a balloon, with ticket attached, in the gutter near our home in Felixstowe. What excitement- it was from Northern Ireland!
We have sent the label back and wait to see if we have won the prize for the furthest travelled balloon. Even if the school children don't use the race as a chance to learn more geography, the Sloane household has!
Tuesday 30 June 2009
Monday 27 April 2009
Bryan Adams and the mystery of a competition
Isn't it amazing how new technology can help a story spread? I heard on BBC Suffolk the other day about a photography competion run by my old friends at the Hearing Care Centre) ...
and suddenly the details are on the offical Bryan Adams website.
Is he a keen photographer, concerned about hearing loss or just likes the theme of photographs of favourite Suffolk sounds???
How it got there no-one seems sure but it proves the worldwideweb is a wonderful and mysterious thing at times...
After all there was the guy who "twittered" about his amazing escape from a plane crash - one we can all now see, filmed as it was filmed by someone who saw it!
I first taught companies and councils how to maximise their chances of publicity and do great media interviews back in the late 1980's. I had a break when working for the BBC and am now running similar workshops for individuals, NHS staff, small businesses, councils etc and yes, I now include "citizen journalism" as well as blogs, podcasts,etc.
It does make you wonder what the next development will be.... there could be someone working on the computer right now, having one of those lightbulb-over-the-head moments of inspiration...
and suddenly the details are on the offical Bryan Adams website.
Is he a keen photographer, concerned about hearing loss or just likes the theme of photographs of favourite Suffolk sounds???
How it got there no-one seems sure but it proves the worldwideweb is a wonderful and mysterious thing at times...
After all there was the guy who "twittered" about his amazing escape from a plane crash - one we can all now see, filmed as it was filmed by someone who saw it!
I first taught companies and councils how to maximise their chances of publicity and do great media interviews back in the late 1980's. I had a break when working for the BBC and am now running similar workshops for individuals, NHS staff, small businesses, councils etc and yes, I now include "citizen journalism" as well as blogs, podcasts,etc.
It does make you wonder what the next development will be.... there could be someone working on the computer right now, having one of those lightbulb-over-the-head moments of inspiration...
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Snow talk....
Some thoughts on the snow now over... as seen from the Suffolk coast where we had very little, and almost felt left out of all the fuss.
Quite rightly, people in more northern counties, Wales and Scotland found it amusing and/or irritating that southerners were making such a fuss. They have snow like this every winter.
One reason there was so much about it in the press and media was that the journalists were so relieved to have something other than the gloom of the recession to talk about. (A good example for me to use in my courses on ways to get publicity for your organisation or business .... make use of repetitive news periods with lighter stories).
The snow fell on a weekday and hundreds of schools and nurseries closed. OK - if the snow was very deep and there weren't enough staff to supervise the pupils then it is understandable - after all we don't all live in walking distance of each other now. However a couple of points have stayed in my mind:
- The headteacher interviewed on Radio Four who got up early with his caretaker to clear a safe pathway to school and said something like "Surely children have to learn to cope with the unexpected. Aren't we teaching them to give up too easily?"
- after a TV debate about hospital staff complaining that they were not being paid for the days they didn't make it into work, I heard at least one comment saying "Why should they be paid?" Are those staff the ones who have grown up in an era of schools shutting and giving in? After all, a hospital has to keep open.
As some-one who has always worked freelance I have only ever been paid when I was actually in work. Apparently the police suggest their staff work get to their nearest police station or at home, when possible - but otherwise they don't get paid either. In the past I have had grumbles when, upon hearing me presenting a programme on the radio as usual, workers no longer had the excuse that the roads were too bad to make it in to work, as their bosses knew I had made the journey OK.
Snowmen and sledges: Let's be positive. The kids all had a great time playing in the snow with their parents and friends and now have memories that they will cherish as adults. Even super-cool teenagers were pictured playing happily alongside five year olds...
Now that is good news!
Quite rightly, people in more northern counties, Wales and Scotland found it amusing and/or irritating that southerners were making such a fuss. They have snow like this every winter.
One reason there was so much about it in the press and media was that the journalists were so relieved to have something other than the gloom of the recession to talk about. (A good example for me to use in my courses on ways to get publicity for your organisation or business .... make use of repetitive news periods with lighter stories).
The snow fell on a weekday and hundreds of schools and nurseries closed. OK - if the snow was very deep and there weren't enough staff to supervise the pupils then it is understandable - after all we don't all live in walking distance of each other now. However a couple of points have stayed in my mind:
- The headteacher interviewed on Radio Four who got up early with his caretaker to clear a safe pathway to school and said something like "Surely children have to learn to cope with the unexpected. Aren't we teaching them to give up too easily?"
- after a TV debate about hospital staff complaining that they were not being paid for the days they didn't make it into work, I heard at least one comment saying "Why should they be paid?" Are those staff the ones who have grown up in an era of schools shutting and giving in? After all, a hospital has to keep open.
As some-one who has always worked freelance I have only ever been paid when I was actually in work. Apparently the police suggest their staff work get to their nearest police station or at home, when possible - but otherwise they don't get paid either. In the past I have had grumbles when, upon hearing me presenting a programme on the radio as usual, workers no longer had the excuse that the roads were too bad to make it in to work, as their bosses knew I had made the journey OK.
Snowmen and sledges: Let's be positive. The kids all had a great time playing in the snow with their parents and friends and now have memories that they will cherish as adults. Even super-cool teenagers were pictured playing happily alongside five year olds...
Now that is good news!
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