Friday 13th - Monday 23rd October
Photo Opportunity
Friday 13th October A great fun day! The main meeting for me was 12.30pm at Peter’s Shoes, Low Pavement for photo shoot arranged between Peter Bullock, Lilly Deeming, Adam Greenwood with Christopher Frost as photographer. I was present today helping with the photo direction. (Telling stories to share the delightful business owners I encounter day to day representing my artists and promoting art, culture and tourism around me makes me happy.) Today was all in aid of The Outlaw and the Shoemaker series, this one introducing the Shoemaker’s Apprentice, Lilly, and later on Maid Marian played by Lisette Sorensen. Check out my press release to see more wonderful Christoper "A Touch of Frost" pictures. The PDF version can be downloaded for press purposes.
Oxjam
Saturday 14th October Yay! OXJAM Beeston Take-over!! I managed to get to see and hear some amazing talented musicians and singers perform during the afternoon in Beeston. Check out Christopher Frost’s report for The Beestonian and his fantastic photos on the Oxjam Beeston Takeover Facebook Page! Well done Chris, you must have been exhausted with all your coverage all day and night! Read The Beestonian on ISSUU Check out the website
Social Media Sunday
Sunday 15th October Bright and early, 6.00 - 7am a 3-way talk via FB Messenger with dear friends & ACT supporters Von Striker in Dallas and Mr Johnny Kim in Los Angeles! Yes I do get up early especially to talk with USA friends about business!
Time to THiNK
Monday 16th October
Busy catch up day starting with social media, emails and telephone calls.
In the evening I attended a great evening at THiNK, Cobden Chambers from 6.30-8.30 pm "Hard Heads & Hang Ups" to support our Mental Health Nottingham initiatives and listen to some amazing women with their stories, plus a round of collective democracy voting for best community/social enterprise idea.
The winning 'pitch' collected £670 that evening, congratulations!! And thank you Jeanne and Emma for organising a great SOUP evening with marvellous attendance!
#NottsSoup with Hard Heads and Hang-Ups
Donate a fiver for tasty soup and hear 5 pitches for Art + Mental Health ideas. Idea voted the best gets the sum of the fivers and additional donations. Check Out What's On at THiNK
Networking Diva
Tuesday 17th October Up early with the lark again. Attended D2N2 breakfast meeting at BioCity, Nottingham, 8.30-11.00am at their Discovery building. An impressive line up of guest business speakers with Brendan Moffett, Chief Executive of Marketing NG, speaking about Nottingham’s bid to be European Capital of Culture in 2023; and Dr Glenn Crocker, Chief Executive of BioCity Nottingham, talking about the site’s facilities (the new £30m BioCity Discovery building was part-funded by D2N2’s Local Growth Fund allocation). This was followed by D2N2 Officer Matthew Wheatley, Growth Plan Manager, speaking on D2N2’s use of EU funding and its European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) allocation.
Yes I had a chance to network with Notts and Derbys representatives too. I took the opportunity to pass on ACT's continuing support to Brendan Moffett after his speech and update with 10 days left to send off Nottingham's 2023 Bid for European Capital of Culture. (At the time of this being edited now submitted initial bid.) A shortlist decision of two/three cities is to be decided upon in January 2018 and then in October 2018 an announcement of which city is selected. So a nail-biting wait til January to see if Nottingham gets that far! Other city contenders are Belfast, Derry, Dundee, Leeds and Milton Keynes.
Later that day 6-8pm I attended Business Business Networking at Rudyards. Hadn’t attended for quite a long time so was good to catch up with everyone led by Celia Clayton of Pin Sharp Marketing. Said my one minute bit updating everyone on ACTivities and telling everyone to buy their art prints by Joe Ganech and Marcus Gilmore now on sale from Nottingham TIC and Robin Hood Legacy/Robin Hood Experience. They were impressed!
Wellbeing Wednesday
Wednesday 18th October Waved off ACT artists and my son, Marcus Gilmore to the city for his NCN lecture before he then headed to Ruddington presenting to Wig Wag brands creative agency at 2.00pm. He said it went great and they were very impressed with his illustrations of Wag especially Inspector Wag!! They requested more follow up creations so well done Marcus! For me? A spot of domestic health maintenance! 11.45-12.30pm Beeston Dental Practice for a hygienist clean-up. Right cheek numbed! I concluded my day 6.30-10.00pm with a fantastic evening with dear friend Fiona Greenslade at her and Tan’s House at Edwalton. What a brilliant interior designer/builder and landscape designer Fiona is!! Marvellous spread of food and sizzling company with 7 of us (photo below), great fun and laughter! Thank you Fiona! Xx
Have you heard about Hoodwinked?
Thursday 19th October
Had great meeting today (10.00-11.00am) with Julie Walker and Caroline Elmhirst at Loxley House, Nottingham City Council, discussing their fabulous Hoodwinked 2018 initiative. This gave me the chance to talk about ACT initiatives and how we could link up together in 2018. Good to be back in Loxley House and catch up about city council colleagues as I worked for Chief Executive Gordon Mitchell and his CExec team quite some years ago on 6 month contract, before I returned to Gleeds at Wilford House.
Julie has been with NCC since year dot, and Pam Miller and I met up with her four months ago during the Wollaton Festival at Wollaton Hall’s ‘secret’ walled garden, organised by her and Friends of Wollaton Park. Julie and Caroline were Nottingham in Bloom leaders before the council cuts.
It's a quirk and fun project, I said I'd promote Hoodwinked on social media for them with some Twitter calls to artists and designers in the ACT Twittersphere. There will be about 30-40 Robin sculptures erected around the city, and sponsored by businesses. July - September 2018, so bringing in lots of tourism. Artists will get £800 if selected. Artist packs can be downloaded now, and designs must be submitted by 30th January.
... all before lunch! For lunch I met up with Peter Bullock for catch up on PR and comms for Peter’s Shoes. Thank you Peter, always a delight to talk with you about upcoming events and publicity. And thank you so much for heeling and restoring my black suede boots! Afterwards, I drove up to Nottingham Castle and dropped off bag to the Gatehouse Shop with all of Marcus’s and Joe’s mounted art prints (5 of them total) for Rachel James, NCMuseums Commercial Manager so she can select for display in the Castle shop and Newstead Abbey shop.
Works by Joe Ganech
Works by Marcus Gilmore
To end the day... 6.00-8.30pm I popped in to Beeston's White Lion Bar & Kitchen to see the preview of ACT represented artist Sara Gaynor’s Photography project showcasing her and her local fine art photographer students artworks. Fabulous get-together with Marcus, Sara, Matt, Amanda, Sheila and more. We all tried on Matt’s wicked wonderfully-made witch’s hat and Amanda took photos of us all! Can’t wait to see them us all on Facebook Amanda lol!!!
Everyone has a book inside them?
Friday 20th October Dropped off some watercolours (by Leonard Searle) kindly sent to me by Miss Joan Searle in Suffolk, to Jenny Aldridge, Visitor Ops Manager, at Canalside Heritage Centre. Joan is daughter of Arthur Leonard Searle, 1900-1986 who was President of the Nottingham Society of Artists, and teacher of woodwork and metalwork. Visit the Canal Heritage Centre mini-museum upstairs to see how the Searle family is connected to the Beeston Spray family and see photographs (and copied paintings) of both family members. Entry is £2.90 to the restored interior of the end Weir Cottage downstairs and upstairs. A real treat! I also discovered this amazing Beeston history website. To end the week... Marcus and I spent hours removing the canvases ACT artist Angelos Mavraidis (at his request) from their frames following the ensamble OutThere Exhibition so can be dispatched flat packed cost effectively back to Angelos' studio in Athens. Fine artist best friend Pam Miller said I should write a book with suggested title - "Fun, Flirtations and Fairs (The Joys of Being an Art Agent)" - Yes Pam, I think I will!!
Civic Duty
Saturday 21st October
10.30 - 12.00 I'm back at Beeston's White Lion Kitchen & Bar to attend a Beeston Civic Society event with Stefan Saunders, Planning Officer for Broxtowe Borough Council.
Stefan came to explain Broxtowe’s Local Plan published which shows the sites it has allocated for housing. Essential reading and studying of this document is required, so Beeston residents can object to anything in the plan and submit their reasons/comments by Friday 3 November. For more information including an online response form please visit: www.broxtowe.gov.uk/part2localplan
Back home for the afternoon to start I received a telephone call from photographer friend James Hutchinson who is also behind the motoring aficionado's ChronEVO a website documenting a personal perspective on motoring, highlighting the experiences of an international audience
from classic to concept cars, sharing news and features. ChronEVO (an online motoring magazine) promotes some of the most luxurious brands in the motoring world with the character and soul that many were built.
James is now based back in England, we intend to meet up in December.
4.00pm and the day is almost at an end!
Pam Miller came round for catch up to discuss ACT art exhibits at Gallery Without Walls International art exhibition taking place in Potters Bar on 1-3 December.
Pam and 3 other ACT represented artists are exhibiting 10 of their artworks there (which I have arranged) and Pam and I are attending and selling there.
This is an exciting event for us and a fabulous chance to meet international art collectors, dealers, and other artists.
More importantly we've been introduced to this event personally by Simon Liquorish and Angela Blackburn from Black Burn Galleries in Florida who we are to be collaborating international with in the near future.
Best Cake in Town
Sunday 22nd October
10.00-12.00 Volunteering at CHC and had chance to talk with Jenny Aldridge with latest news and potential workshop events for 2018. I do ‘Meet and Greet’ there and chat with visitors in the shop and take visitors round the oldest part which is the existing end Weir Cottage up and down rooms. Always fabulous food and drinks and... the best cakes by Brian and Alice, and... hot chocolate in Nottingham! The new lawn at back is looking a treat!!
Media Catch Up with Caron
Monday 21st October
Started at 8.30am today preparing a warm welcome for Daisy, a gorgeous Beagle cross who was dropped off to me for two night stay by her Bramcote owner. I'm a Pet Hotel!
10.00 -12.30 I had a great catch up with Caron Lyon of PCM creative on all ACTivities and events/initiatives planned from now to December and onward to March 2018.
Always fantastic working with Caron who is ACT genius media producer. We also popped in to see The Hive, a new independent incubator business hub in Beeston's Union Street - great units there and two already occupied by creatives. I had look at empty one being offered and looks excellent. Watch this space!
Almost at the end of this blog epic! 1.30-2.30pm Back home I take a call from Marilyn Comparetto who is an amazing international artist/agent and gallery/destination owner in Hertfordshire.
I finished off packaging Angelos’s paintings ready to be dispatched from local Post Office on Tuesday.
And Finally...
I ended this day Relaxing with Daisy, after her walk, and we settled on the sofa together to watch bits and bobs on TV. One programme broadcast on BBC4 I'd like to share with you. The Sussex garden feature was superb, mesmerising and meditative, you must see it on catch up if you can… programme of the year contender!!
Here is the link on BBCiPlayer, it won't be available forever A Year in an English Garden "A striking and poignant portrayal of time passing in a beautiful Sussex walled garden. Using real-time and time-lapse footage, the film explores the relationship between the seasons and the plants and people who work within the walls of the garden. Locked into the clock of the solar system, the garden performs its annual display, guided by those passionately engaged with its soil."