Middlefocus

It has been fun going through old digital photos, retrieved from the hard disk of a previous computer. They are now transferred to my laptop, curated through Picasa and backed up to Google+. Many of the photos belong to 2 ongoing album collections that from time to time I share on Facebook. The largest is called "Closed Openings" - some of my favourite pictures of closed windows, doors, gates and other openings.  The other is called "Postbox Read", a collection of the various pillar and wall postal boxes that are so common place we sometimes miss the fact that many date from the time of Victoria. Other photos were taken for use in some presentation or other. Pictures are worth a thousand words and a well chosen image can make a presentation by reinforcing a point.  Same goes for blogposts and articles.  Just check how many writers use visuals from professional picture galleries. Using attributes of one thing to describe an unrelated something else is the bu...

Years ago one of my cousins who had worked in the United States brought back an idea called the "brown bag" lunch.  Essentially in a busy workplace with inherent difficulties of finding time for meetings and updates, his colleagues met over lunchtime to share learnings from work they were engaged in or industry conferences and seminars they had attended.  It was workplace learning shared by and for professionals. I suppose a more recent development is the growth of "meet-ups" where other professionals organise activity or learning sessions online, agree on topics and speakers and then meet at a convenient venue to share expertise. A quick look at the  meet-up website  shows that there is plenty going on around Belfast. Isn't it interesting how some people extend their professionalism to learn more about the things that interest them?  It reminds me of way back in my career when I was seconded as an assistant organiser to a Teachers' Centre. In those h...

For a while, we had been on the look-out for a small plaster bust of Charles Dickens to sit alongside our collection of his works.  A finishing touch. We spotted one on the online shop for the Charles Dickens Museum in London and duly made the purchase. It arrived quickly and was securely wrapped. We are very pleased. What was a surprise was to find inside the package a hand-written thank you. Not a printed invoice or payment slip, a simple:  "Thank you for purchasing your item from our online shop.  We appreciate your support. Kind regards, Charles Dickens Team." A nice little twist in these hard times .   A personal touch that's so missing these days.  Must send for some notelets. Now where's that fountain pen?

Just came across an interesting creative arts project that needs funding to ensure its success. No different, you might think, from any other project but what I liked was the funding model.  More in a moment. The project is called The Parisianer and the idea is that 100 artists/illustrators will share 100 pictures capturing the essence of Paris.  At the end of this year there will be an exhibition, a book and posters of the artwork. Funding To succeed the project needs financial backing and rather than chasing grants or money from other sources it uses the concept of CrowdFunding fuelled by social media.  People share details of the project on their social networks and if they are so minded contribute to specified subscription ranges. When the project is realised they are sent the items listed for the respective price bands. If insufficient funds are raised and the project does not go ahead any monies contributed are returned. Progress is recorded on the website to s...

Stored in their original cardboard posting box for 75 years, twelve books of the Live Successfully! educational course show that personal development literature was going strong in the 1930s. What was the advice given then? Is it still relevant? That will be the focus of a series of posts on this blog over the months ahead. Cardboard box with 1938 postmark over George VI stamp The course was published by  Odhams Press , an innovative business that eventually succumbed to financial pressures and ceased trading in 1969. The constituent books are still in circulation though, fetching £5 each at some online booksellers. Most are uncertain about the date of publication.  There is a copyright reference, G638, that may mean something specific to those in the publishing trade.  However, the postmark is clear evidence that they were around in the 1930s - a decade characterised by devastating economic decline, still referred to as the Great Depression .   ...

When travelling, it's a custom in our family to pick up a souvenir or two of the places we visit and usually these take the form of prints, drawings or ceramics. Nothing too expensive mind but we do aim to go for the highest quality at the best price. Stopping at the stall of a local artist on a recent trip we were surprised to see a notice stating, "Pay whatever you like". An interesting and unusual concept. Engaging him in conversation, he explained that he wasn't alone in taking this approach.  He pointed out that some musicians, restaurants and even hotels were offering similar "payment" arrangements. This seemed a long way from the story I once heard about an event where the price of the cold, soft drink rose in line with the temperature in the stadium.  It is also quite commonplace for the price of hotel rooms to rise in relation to the importance of events going on in their area.  The inevitable law of supply and demand. The artist...

  Hadn't realised just how much fun a packet of Starburst could be as an icebreaker with small groups. Each wrapper is printed with a dare/task that you must do if you pick that sweet. There's nothing too strenuous and it's good fun. Alternatively there are four colours in each packet, and depending upon which colour is picked so each group member can be asked to reveal something about themselves.... I recently co-facilitated a session with my colleague Beth... She allocated these tasks to each colour: What Starburst tasks/dares would you pick? Got some? C'mon share!   Posted with Blogsy

On a day trip to Carlingford, County Louth spotted this handwritten notice on the glass door of the  Oystercatcher restaurant.... Simple, fun, effective.....