Moral Tales in publishing, old and new: Discovering an illustrated 1563 edition of Ovid's Metamorphoses

Be careful what you wish for! Ovid's Metamorphoses 1563

In an unthinking free moment at the Norris Museum, St Ives, UK last Friday, I offered to put something up on their facebook page. Curator Helen took me to the store to see what she could find. “You’re interested in books!” She enthused, as she brought out a small miscellany of the museum founder’s collection.

Chaos at the World's Beginning. Ovid Metamorphoses in Tetrastichs, 1563

I carefully opened one book and was immediately entranced. It was a mediaeval picture book from the era of Queen Elizabeth I, 1563, at a time when printing presses were gaining in influence across Europe.

The book was a pictorial version of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (1), called "In Tetrastichi Ovidii Metamorphoses". Each page had detailed woodcut. Above the picture were four lines of poetry in Latin. Below the picture, were four lines of descriptive poetry in German blackletter font. And below that were handwritten notes in old English, again interpreting the rhyme.

Pictures, old fonts, and ancient handwriting. I was caught; hook, line and sinker!

After 451 years, the paper was fragile. Fortunately I had my camera with me. Without fully opening the book, I carefully began photographing it page for page, with the help of the museum’s tripod.

Two hours later, my legs had almost seized up from standing in the same position. The raw image files were copied to the museums digital store. The book could now be studied from the images without subjecting the original to further risk.

Back home, I edited the images and compiled a PDF version on behalf of the Norris Museum. 

The whole book is now available and accessible to all online, in the Internet Archive, at https://archive.org/details/OvidMetamorphoses1563 (2).

A small suggestion had grown into a larger project.

A book like a Swan, Serene on the water, paddling furiously below

The book is “In Tetrastichi Ovidii Metamorphoses”,a popularisation of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” or tales of change.

Further investigation on its creation revealed an involvement of people and places not expected from an apparently simple picture book.

In Tetrastichi Ovidii Metamorphoses was published in 1563 by Georg Coruinus, Sigismund Feyerabent, & haeredes VVygandi Galli. 

In the same year, they also published a prose version of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” (3).

Both books include woodcuts by the engraver Virgil Solis. However, in the Norris picture book, the original engravings are framed by additional elaborate woodcut borders (4). Solis was a prolific Nuremberg engraver who had died in 1562. His woodcuts would grace 25 further editions for another 90 years after his death.

Since the pages contain both printed text and illustration, it is most likely that the inked set type and the woodcuts were placed together on the pages, to be printed simultaneously (5).

There are tetrastich poems (poems in 4 lines, also known as quatrains) in Latin and in German, written by Johannes Posthius of Germersheim, Germany, above and below each image. At this point in his career, he was destined to become the personal physician to the Duke of Alba and then later the Prince Bishop of Wurzburg. In later life he became a poet laureate (6).

Johannes Posthius’ dual interests in poetry and medicine are already apparent in the Latin introductory dedications for the book. The first was by Karl Hugelius (Latinized as Carolus Hugelius), a German physician, with meagre known references dating from 1598 to 1613 (7). The second introduction was co-authored with the Viennese poet laureate of the day, Johann Lauterbach (8).

Mystery surrounds the English handwriting that graces most of the pages of the book. We do not know the author or how the book came to England. However, such illustrated works were very popular in the 16th century and the German presses were very prolific. Presumably the subject matter was also relatively safe in an era where the printed word was under strict control and needed to avoid the jaundiced eye of both the rulers and the printing guilds.

Grappling for control of the written word

Since the invention of the Gutenberg press with movable type, around 1452, printing had flourished throughout Europe. Germany and Italy were major printing countries with hundreds of presses printing millions of pages. (9).

It was astute of Gutenberg to ensure that the first printed book was the Bible! Both the clergy and secular rulers could see the advantage of printing, not only for educational purposes but also to spread their message. The printers themselves wanted to protect their trade too and formed their own guilds.

The printed word also had the capability of spreading new ideas, as seen by the Reformation spreading like wildfire throughout Europe.

Germany was now a hodgepodge of Dukedoms, kingdoms and free city states (10). This did seem to permit a lively variety of opinion, dissent, if not freedom for the printed word, as long as was printed in the appropriate place.

After William Caxton had learned his trade in Bruges and printed several English works there, he came to a slightly different environment when granted an indulgence to print in England in 1476.

The state ensured considerable control of what could be printed and by whom in England either directly or through the Stationers Company. Typically, 20 printers were permitted within London. The universities Cambridge and Oxford were also granted a licence to print certain works, although Cambridge did not begin printing until it gained a master printer in 1584.

Imprisonment and fines were the consequences of non-compliance (the first executions did not occur to the 17th century)(11).

There are remarkable similarities with the current information revolution and its effects on developed and developing nations and governments via the World Wide Web. Now as 450 years ago, rival ideas, opinions and ideologies wage battles in print and pictures for the hearts and minds of the readers.

Overall, printing was a great liberator and educator - hopefully that will be the legacy of the internet too.

Conclusion

I hope that this has given you a brief glimpse of the information strands and potential for research initiated by a chance comment and find in the Norris Museum, St Ives, UK.

References:

1. Publius Ovidius Naso (20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known as Ovid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid

2.  Ovid Metamorphoses, Illustrated, 1563, Latin & German, The Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/OvidMetamorphoses1563

3. Ovid Illustrated: The Reception of Ovid's Metamorphoses in Image and Text, http://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/about.html

4. Ovid: Metamorphoses Illustrated by Virgil Solis, University of Glasgow (1999), http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/sep1999.html

5.  The Printed Image in the West: Woodcut http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wdct/hd_wdct.htm

6.  Johannes Posthius, Wikipedia, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Posthius

7. Karl Hugelius, Consortium of European Research Libraries http://thesaurus.cerl.org/record/cnp01083807

8. Johannes Lauterbach, Wikipedia, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Lauterbach

9. Global spread of the printing press, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_spread_of_the_printing_press

10. Political Borders of Europe from 1519 to 2006, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq0KNfS_M44

11. Henry R Plomer (1900). A short history of English printing 1476 – 1898, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20393/20393-h/20393-h.htm#Page_31

Images from a Photography workshop for the Eastern Region Textile Forum

As a textile artist, you want to take photographs to do your work justice. I was privileged to be invited by the Eastern Region Textile Forum (http://www.ertf.org.uk/) to give a talk and workshop - on how best to photograph their creative efforts.

If you cannot see the slideshow, all images can be found in the online album at https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/PhotographyWorkshopWithEasternRegionTextileForum

I chatted with several attendees in the coffee break before giving the talk and was amazed at the wide variety of skills and techniques that the 17 participants represented. I had naïvely come with the perception of simply patchwork. I met felters, embroiderers, modern knitters and experiment lace workers. Their materials ranged from smooth silks and metallic fibres to textured fabrics and 3-D artwork.

They brought with them a range of photographic equipment, from smart phones, via compact cameras to SLRs. The audience also had a range of photographic experience and knowledge of photo editing. What they were looking for was some very practical advice on getting the basics right for taking a photograph and editing it.

I hope that I fulfilled this objective (and thank you for the favourable comments, dear audience). The next step, after a good buffet lunch, was to put the new-found knowledge into practice in a workshop.

The noise level rose perceptibly within the meeting room as they scattered in groups of threes and fours. They first ensured that each camera had been adjusted to the optimum settings and that the lighting was right. The groups then chose which of the many works of textile art to photograph first.

After 75 minutes, I collected the images from a miscellany of memory cards and loaded them up onto the laptop to show on the projection screen. Each of the participants then shared what they had learned from the practical and resultant photographs.

We looked at the successes and the not so successful; everyone contributed to the learning curve!

However, as you can see from the slideshow above, they achieved some beautiful pictures of their brilliant textile artwork.

Thanks too to the Cambridge Golf and Conference centre near Hemmingford Abbots (http://www.cgcc.co.uk/) for the great venue and looking after us for the day’s event.

If you are an artist who works in 2-D, 3-D or with reflective materials, would like some straightforward guidance on photography and photo editing, whatever your camera, you can always get my:

Quick Reference Guide on Photographing Your Own Artwork here from Selz.com for only £3.33

Buy this on Selz Sell digital downloads on Selz

My modern portrait taken with a 150 year old photography

Yvette Bessels and her camera

It’s a cold March day and I’m sitting in a graveyard. No, this is not a sudden onset of existential angst, I’m having my photo taken!

This may seem like just desserts by those HBNers who took part in the portrait Photoshoot that I organised a couple of weeks ago. There, they had to pose, smile, answer my every whim as I lorded it behind the camera.

The activity aroused in me a desire to have my portrait taken too. But not just any portrait! No, I had set it in my mind to have mine taken using a technique that would have been familiar to Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the late 1800s, wet plate colloidon photography.

The idea had become ingrained in my mind when I met Yvette Bessels at a Cambridge Bloggers meeting and heard that this was her photography interest. We arranged to meet up for a photo shoot on a sunny day and the graveyard on Histon Road, near her house, was a convenient location.

The set in Histon Road graveyard

Wet plate collodion photography is pretty descriptive of the process. A glass plate is coated in a colloidon/halide solution. Collodion is an early type of plastic. The plate is immersed into a silver nitrate solution in the dark to activate it. The wet plate is then removed, still in the dark, placed inside a light-tight box and taken to a positively enormous box camera. Once the subject is posed and absolutely still, the lens cap is removed, the shutter opened and the plate is exposed for at least a couple of seconds. The plate then has to be developed and fixed before it dries out.

With our HBN photoshoot, I took hundreds of pictures over two hours. There are subtle nuances and emotions flashing across the faces of the sitters. You want to capture the best one.

We spent 3h in the graveyard and exposed 5 plates, of which three were exposure tests as we moved around. The most difficult aspect is posing absolutely still. Ideally, Yvette would like to have a head brace to keep the sitter still. The longest time I posed was 20 seconds in the shade. The final picture was taken deliberately as the sun when behind cloud – it was bright enough for a “short” 6 second exposure, but not too bright to make me squint.

Composition was far more important with these photos that in the studio shots. I wanted to make this photograph count! So I reverted to the 19th century still pose with some items that are of importance to me and my work.

Even when we had finished and obtained a well exposed and developed plate, the process was not over. I waited three days as Yvette carefully dried the plate and varnished the plate.

I collected the photograph on Saturday and was pleased with the final result. The plate can be viewed as a negative with light shining through it. Alternatively, if backed by a black glass plate, it gives a positive image.

Showing how the plate can appear both as a positive on a dark background and a negative on a light background. Middle image is plate placed over white and black card simultaneously.

I photographed both negative and positive views. Glass can break, so I also created a digital positive from the negative plate, the final image in my online album.

The final portrait after digital capture and editing.

I leave you with a final note of something that can only happen in Cambridge.

Thirsty after our photoshoot, we wandered to the nearby pub, The Grapes, as the friendly publican Sandy had let me park there.

Coincidence 1: I plonked my box on the ground near the bar and a man seated there turned round and asked “What sort of microscope is that?”. I answered Bob, after we were introduced, that it was a Watson.

Coincidence 2: We explained that we had been doing some old style photography. “Oh, glass plates? I used to do that at school”, was his reply and a discussion on photography ensued.

Coincidence 3: I asked Bob what he did. “I’m in life sciences”,  – something that I had been working in for over two decades before my present business.

That’s Cambridge!

Roman infant death in Godmanchester.

Inbetween business meetings on Fridays, I drop by the friendly Norris Museum in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, UK. One Friday...

“Bones of an infant at about nine months, Roman cemetery, Godmanchester 1905”. The words were written in copperplate lettering on the slightly battered cigar box. It lay in an archive box amongst the remains of Roman pottery sherds(1). Norris Museum volunteer Rodney Scarle was meticulously photographing and recording the large collection of Roman artefacts held at the Museum. He pointed out the box to me whilst we were chatting about his work. I asked whether I, as a biologist, could lay them out for photography.

The Reverend Walker’s box containing Roman infant bones, from 1905

I opened the box, and there, protected by cotton wool, were the small bones and fragments. I gently began laying them out on a piece of card. The task was complicated by the fact that the bones of infants and very young children do not look like those of adults(2). Our adult hip joints for example, are made up of several bones that fuse together.

On the one hand, it was obvious that not all the bones were present. On the other, there seemed to be duplication. If you look closely at the picture, you can see that bottom right there are at least three very robust long bones that are most likely to be femurs or thighbones. This suggests that we may actually have the bones of several infants mixed together.

The Roman infant bones laid out on card. Thighbones bottom right.

Even today, thighbones are used for estimating the age of an infant before birth and after. With lengths here of about 7 to 8 cm, these matched those of new-born infants(3).

The infant bones were part of a larger excavation by the amateur archaeologist, Reverend Walker, who lived in the north of Godmanchester. He recorded that in 1904 he was actually digging a hole in his orchard when he came across pots and other artefacts(4). It seemed to be a Roman cemetery, possibly belonging to a villa located in a neighbour’s garden to the north and inaccessible to Walker. Coins found in the cremation urns of adults, perhaps for the ferryman to take them across the river in the underworld after death, suggested a date in the first or early second century A.D..

Rodney and I could not pinpoint the location of Walker’s finds on an online map. So I visited the Huntingdonshire archive to try and find the exact location of this Roman cemetery and Rev Walker’s garden. The extremely helpful staff directed me to the old Ordinance survey maps. 1885 - nothing. 1900 - nothing. 1926 - bingo! The cemetery was marked just to the west of where two important Roman roads came to a junction, namely Ermine Street and Cambridge Street, as also described in Walker’s notes.

Section of 1926 Ordnance Survey Map held in the Huntingdonshire Collection, showing North of Godmanchester. Roman finds in circle.

According to Walker, the infant bones were found scattered near the adult cremation urns. Yet, as far as I could tell, they had not been near fire as you might expect for a cremation. Why were there so many new-borns buried here? Both the dating and in association with the Romans could provide some of the answers.

Today, we live in a very child-centric time. We value the new-born child as it is welcomed into the world. Perceptions in Roman time were very different. Men came first, their wives and children were regarded as their property. And then of course there were the slaves, chattels that had very little say over their own existence. If there truly was a villa north of the cemetery, the number of its slaves may well have outnumbered the owners.

When a child was born in a Roman household, it was presented to the head of the family, the Pater Familias. It was then his decision whether to keep the infant or to let it die by exposure. If he rejected an infant from his wife, then the custom was to place it in a bowl outside the house or more often outside the temple in the town where there was a chance that someone else might take it into care - or into a life of slavery. This did happen. Roman remains show a peak of deaths at birth - a large number of infants were left to die. Infanticide and abandonment was not just a Roman practice. It was practiced in many other cultures at the time. Infant abandonment was not universally accepted even amongst Romans, but it was an open and recognised fact of life at the time. 

The future might have been more brutal for births amongst slaves. They had no say. The head of the household would decide: can we afford to keep the baby as a new slave? Could it be sold on, or was it simply surplus to requirements – to be disposed of(5). 

The situation only changed in the 374 A.D., when infanticide was banned - You were only able to either keep the infant or sell it! Unless, that is, it was seriously ill or disabled, when it could still be killed. The practice of infanticide and abandonment at birth continued and was prevalent in Europe right up to the Middle Ages. It probably led to the creation of the first orphanages(6). 

So, the infant bones found by the Rev Walker in Godmanchester could very well be of those unfortunate new-born children that did not find favour with the head of the family, were abandoned and discarded when they died.

The Romans feared the ghosts of the dead(7). Adult cremation and burials were conducted outside of the town or villa, with enough soil to cover them so that they could not return to haunt the living. The bodies of slaves (and unwanted infants) ended up on the rubbish tips. Whilst there seemed to be less regard for the newly born, we are left with a vision of the Roman underworld, where the dead would go, in Virgil’s Aenid (book VI)(8) :

“Immediately a loud crying of voices was heard, the spirits
of weeping infants, whom a dark day stole at the first
threshold of this sweet life, those chosen to be torn
from the breast, and drowned in bitter death.”

After photography, the bones were carefully collected again and this time placed in a new, separate box, to protect them in storage, following guidelines on the handling and storage of human remains in museums(9).

Exploring the story of a small cigar box with its collection of bones reminded us of the harsher aspects of Roman life in Godmanchester. It also brought home how fortunate we are in the present day: Free and with more control over our own destinies, whatever our age and gender. And, above all, in most cases cherished from birth.

Dr Chris Thomas, Norris Museum volunteer
Rodney Scarle, Norris Museum volunteer
With kind thanks to the Norris Museum, St Ives, Cambridgeshire

References

(1)  In archaeology sherd referes to pottery fragments and shard to glass fragments.

(2)  Louise Scheuer; Sue Black, 2000. “Developmental Juvenile Osteology”, Academic Press. Image seen in blog Lawn Chair Anthropology; article “Osteology everywhere: A sign I might have a problem”. http://lawnchairanthropology.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/osteology-everywhere-a-sign-i-might-have-a-problem/ 

(3) Fetus Growth Charts Graphs and Calculators http://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html 

(4)  Reverend F G Walker, 1909. “Greek coins and Syrian arrowhead dug up in a Roman cemetery at Godmanchester”, Cambridge Antiquarian Society, volume XIII, pp280-290.

(5)  Slavery in ancient Rome, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Rome

(6)  Wikipedia “Infanticide”, 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infanticide#Greece_and_Rome

(7)  Burial with the Romans, British Archaeology site, http://www.archaeologyuk.org/ba/ba69/feat2.shtml 

(8)  Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil), 19BC, “The Aenid”. Book VI, 417-439 “Beyond the Acheron”. http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/VirgilAeneidVI.htm#_Toc2242932 

(9)  Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums, 2005. Department for Culture, Media and Sport. https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk%2Fassets%2Fuserfiles%2Findex.php%3Ffile%3D000212.pdf&ei=ZyIqU4n3NoWk0QWvo4CgBw&usg=AFQjCNEKL3JHqG_U2BPcT_XefMW5P-tDxA&sig2=Me_uEf92sKwqSbVwhaFGxA&bvm=bv.62922401,d.d2k 

Full article as PDF (8MB) available from

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1646983/Articles/roman-infant-remains.pdf

Social media for business, where do I start?

If you’re new to using social media as part of your marketing strategy, the first advice usually given is: Make sure you have a clear social media/marketing strategy for your company before getting started!

“How am I supposed to do that?” You may well ask,”When I don’t know anything about social media!”

My objective is to help you take that very first step.

Let’s take a look at what other social media marketers have done and think are important. The data comes from the Social Media Marketing Industry Report for 2013 and is based on responses from 3025 participants. (I thoroughly recommend getting the full free report from www.socialmediaexaminer.com).

The benefits of social media marketing

The chart below gives the percentage of positive responses on nine different benefits.

More than three quarters of respondents saw both increased exposure and increased traffic to their sites as the main benefit of social media marketing. Third on the list was the ability to gain marketplace insights. In contrast, only 43% saw an immediate benefit of improved sales. However, this did increase where companies have been marketing by social media for several years or more.

The immediate benefits of social media marketing are high visibility and interaction with your customers and being better informed about your market place.

Which Social media?

This question can be interpreted in two ways:

1. Which social media do companies use?
2. Which is the most important social medium for a company?

The answers fall out slightly differently, depending on whether you’re a B2B business or B2C business.

B2B Companies tended to use several social media in their marketing strategies. Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging were the most used social media for B2B. Twitter, YouTube and Google plus followed with Pinterest being a new star on the horizon.

However the two media that had the greatest importance for B2B marketers in 2013 were Facebook and LinkedIn.

For businesses marketing directly to customers, the two main media used were Facebook and Twitter, with LinkedIn, blogging and YouTube roughly equal thirds. Pinterest was also a rising star here. However Facebook was by far the dominant medium of first choice for B2C business marketing at 67%, with blogging and Twitter following with 19 and 16% respectively.

Possible trends for 2014

The next targets for companies using social media marketing in 2014, were greater use of YouTube, Pinterest and Google plus. Another star on the horizon is the use of podcasting, i.e. using downloadable voice and sound.

Taking the first steps towards your own social media marketing strategy

My personal recommendation is to proceed as follows:

1.  Choose ONE social medium to start with and join.
2. Set up an interesting personal profile and/or company profile to get started with on your chosen platform.
3. Invite a close circle of business friends and colleagues to like you or follow you or link with you, depending on which social medium you’ve chosen.
4. Use your membership of the social medium to mine it for facts, information and contacts in your business area of interest.
5. Do add your own interesting and relevant contributions to discussions and groups.
6. Persevere on a regular basis until you have a good feel for the medium you’ve chosen.
7. With the information and confidence gained, re-assess and refine your company’s social media marketing strategy. Add other social media to your marketing strategy.

How much time should I spend on social media marketing?

Newcomers to social media tend to spend less than five hours a week on their social media marketing. As people become more confident over time, this increases to more than six hours a week. In fact a third of marketing businesses spend more than 11 hours a week on social media marketing. The reality seems to be as with anything, the more effort you put into it, the more you get out of it.

Where can I get more help and information?

I thoroughly recommend getting the full free report from www.socialmediaexaminer.com for more statistics and insights on social media marketing in 2013.

Ask friends and business colleagues who are more experienced at social media marketing. See if there is one who is capable and willing to share their experience at a level comfortable to the novice.

The Huntingdonshire Business Network members are helpful and knowledgeable in social media.

Look for free or paid courses in getting started in social media. If the teacher is great, fantastic! You’ll learn directly from them. If they confound you with long words and lose you pretty quickly, turn to your classmates - at least you’ve gained a self-help group!

If you’re based in and around Cambridge, UK, I’m available to help for a small fee :).

Good luck with your social media marketing adventure. Let me know how you get on!

Have a Punt on Cambridge TV

Spaceman in Ely - An idea for the new Cambridge TV?

I was glad that I’d made the choice to give up an armchair evening watching “Murder in Paradise” to hear about the new local Cambridge TV station, being set up by Peter Dawe, at Sue Keogh’s Creative Ely meeting.

Peter Dawe is a serial entrepreneur who has worked with more than 80 businesses over 30 years, including the founding of Pipex and Internet Watch. Peter had had a brush with setting up a community TV channel in the past. His great achievement at the time, as he wryly remarked, was to lose money more slowly than other equivalent stations. Community TV disappeared when the funding and support was dropped. But now, Offcom is again encouraging local TV.

Seizing the opportunity, Peter gained the licence for Cambridge TV. There would be a free view signal from Madingley and the potential for one from the Sandy Heath transmitter. The anticipated launch will be in summer 2014 at the earliest but must occur no later than September 2015. In a humorous link between the gamble and its location in Cambridge, a possible name is “Punt TV”.

Peter’s Punt TV has an obligation to provide 11 hours of locally produced programmes a week and he hopes to be able to share local news items from the BBC diary.

That just leaves another 157 hours per week to fill! So how does Peter propose to do this?

Whilst there will be a small team of five professionals, the reality is that there is no money in local TV. One route is to give trainees an opportunity to learn about the sector. But most of the entries will be high-quality submissions by contractors who are willing to self-fund their activities. A key factor would be to provide weekly content. And what you get for this? Well initially there is going to be no charge for broadcasting.

There will however be quality control. Good TV broadcasts don’t just require content, they need excellent lighting and sound recording. Peter and his team will be screening incoming material, presumably via a wormhole in space to screen one week’s TV simultaneously in a parallel universe.

Who’s the audience? Well, the people of Cambridge, with above average income and a high proportion of the population with at least one degree. An audience that is willing to watch more challenging and interesting programmes. How about local business news, hot topics from university research and local documentaries, broadcasts of concerts and talks.

“Yes, at last! Snob TV!” was my wicked thought, eliciting a chuckle from the audience and resonating in the discussion afterwards.

But seriously, I can see some great opportunities here. At the meeting itself, we had creative people with considerable media experience, artists, and basically the whole of Creative Ely as a resource. With a lead time of several months at the earliest till the launch of Punt TV, planning, storyboarding and filming technically high-quality programmes is a serious possibility. And this extends to the business community too. Key will be the provision of programs that can be broadcast over several weeks

I personally really enjoy interviewing people and bringing the best out in them.

Before returning home from an exhilarating evening, I still had one last task to do. It was a cold chill night, and the Ely waterfront reflections in the river called out to be photographed. For added interest, I had lured Jon Torrens out with me. Illuminated by the light of mobile phone, he provided a fantastic eerie counterpoint to the night-time river reflections. Thanks Jon!

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Seven Steps to Writing Case Studies

Executive summary

Case studies are a vital part of your company’s future strategy. This article gives you practical advice on seven aspects for you or your copywriter to consider in the design of your articles. By being aware of the wider aims and audiences targeted and through the design of your texts, you can write interesting case studies. Ultimately, they should take your clients through to a call to action – to get in touch with you.

This document also gives you an idea of our writing style and approach to working with you.

Did you look at this image? See section 5, “Headline & Image”
Photo of Richard Wishart, Delivery Management –
Postal logistics and disruptive technologies.

1. Aim

The main purpose of your case studies is to provide your company with an additional marketing tool. Case studies demonstrate your competence in finding solutions for your current and future clients.

There is also a secondary objective - to throw a positive light on your existing clients. By writing about their success (even though achieved through your input), you are providing them with a positive marketing message. This in turn reflects positively on you.

2. Your Audience

At first glance, your audience would appear to be the individuals or departments with issues that you can resolve; i.e. new clients.

In the long term, however, most of your business is likely to come from existing customers. Case studies give you an excellent way to keep in touch with them. Your existing clients are also made aware of the other services that you can provide. By acting as a touchstone for progress in your field, you become the trusted partner that they turn to first when new issues arise.

Your immediate contacts in the client company are not necessarily the financial decision-makers. A clearly written case study, with an executive summary that appeals to the financial director could help both you and your contact clinch the contract.

The final audience for a case study includes your staff. It’s a way of recognising, engaging and motivating them. A good case study can help your own board present the company positively at their level.

As well as distributing case studies yourself, consider sending them to magazines in your field. Often, such trade journals and magazines are looking to feed the constant need for copy. If you can demonstrate a unique application or solution to a problem without overtly pushing your company, there is a high likelihood of getting published and read.

By creating case studies that reflect and inform these different audiences, you can turn them into ambassadors for your organisation and your services.

3. Telling a Story

People remember a good story. So grab their interest right from the start and follow with a thread that leads the reader through the scenes that you set. People relate to people, so include some of the players involved, where possible, to bring additional life to the story.

There is also a subtext. Your writing style and language give an impression of more subtle factors. By demonstrating ability, integrity and confidence in your work you build trust. By showing your passion, company ethos and guarding your reputation, you increase your status with the reader.

I personally also follow a further strategy; making the text as readable as possible.

4. Content

If we believe Christopher Booker and his book “The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories”, then there are two plot types appropriate for your positive case studies!

There’s “Overcoming the Monster”, where you and your client set out to defeat a problem which threatens the client company’s existence.

Alternatively, there is “The Quest”, where you and your client set out to acquire an important objective or to get to a result, facing many obstacles and temptations along the way.

Of course this is all couched in language that is appropriate and associated with the work of your clients.

5. Structure

The story needs to be packaged in a certain structure, so that you maximise impact for both your company and the reader.

Headline and Image

Most of us are under considerable time pressure and are confronted with conflicting demands. A good headline can arrest the eye so that the reader is tempted to continue to the rest of the text.

With many people searching the internet for a solution to their immediate problem, a good headline is one that promises to answer their question or offers them a solution.

We humans are also visual people. The presence of an image at the beginning of a document can have a significant impact on whether we stop and read further.

Executive Summary/Teaser

An executive summary has two functions; to provide a summary for those without time to read on and as a promise of what will be revealed in more detail further in the document.

The executive summary is often mirrored in part in the conclusion at the end of the document.

The Body

This is the actual story.

Summary and Conclusion

At the end, remind the reader of the key elements of the story just told. Often the summary and conclusion reflect the executive summary at the beginning of the document.

6. Call to action

The call to action is perhaps the most forgotten and underestimated element of a case study and therefore deserves its own heading.

We hope that your reader will have followed through the story and emerged after the summary and conclusion with a conviction you and your team are the people they should talk to. A call to action following immediately may prompt them to call you.

It can be as understated as “For more information on this project and others by Eagle Genomics, please contact (named individual) on (telephone number or email)”.

7. Design

The final consideration is the design and styling of the content of your case study.

It is important to have a template so that future case studies have a recognisable style. This will be influenced by the way you share your case studies. Are they purely web documents, displayed in browsers? Or are they intended for web and print, where PDF is definitely the preferred format.

Your documents should be hyperlinked to enable fast access to the company website.  If the case studies are printed, then either QR Codes (open source availability) or Aurasma Auras (proprietary technology) can be incorporated. These make the documents web-enabled to anyone with a smartphone or tablet.

Conclusion

Case studies are a vital part of your company’s future strategy, as they communicate the skills and competencies of the company to your existing and future clients. The seven aspects covered in the text should allow you or your future copywriter to generate informative and interesting case studies that your audience will want to read.

Please feel free to use this document as a guide your own case study writing.

Milton Contact would be happy to work with you, to write and produce professional documents to showcase your company.

My call to action

If you think that we could work together, please contact me: 

Chris Thomas on 01223 440024 or chris@miltoncontact.com

Dr Chris Thomas

Director, Milton Contact Ltd

3 Hall End, Milton, Cambs. CB24 6AQ

Helping you communicate in print, picture and person

Letterpress printed on my mind

Going  out in the biting wind to the Ely Creative Event, on "Loving letterpress: Meet Ely's master printers", seemed a mad idea when a warm home beckoned. Yet, there was the reward of a reviving  hot chocolate at the Ely Cutter Inn. Bagging the last available chairs,  we were in for an enjoyable imprinting on the subject of  letterpress.

The inventive Chinese used letterpress printing from the 9th century onwards,  with movable type following. Gordon  Chesterman gave us a whirlwind ride through letterpress history,  right through to the rise and ignominious fall of the printing unions.

Yet despite technology's attempt to eradicate letterpress with digital printing,  Phil Treble explained  how he succumbed to its infectious lure. His studio will be open to all interested during Cambridge Open Studios in the summer.

We were treated to a demonstration of printing on the cutest little platen press and on banner sized sheets. From delicate bookplates to elephantine poster typefaces. I learnt the difference between monotype and Linotype and was amazed at the casting of letters for single use, only then to be melted and recast anew for the next print run.

After the talk,  Phil and Gordon were surrounded by a flow  of the curious coming to inspect their artwork up close.

An evening well spent with Ely Creative.

Diolch yn Fawr (thank you very much) Swansea!

(As written on the train back on last Friday).

Swansea on a grey  winter's day may not appear very appealing, yet I leave today with three great positive experiences.


 First, a wonderful antidote to the bigotry and racism that is becoming pervasive in politics and media. The graduation ceremony here for higher degree students was a perfect illustration of both the openness, tolerance and ability to reach  out and provide an equal opportunity to all who enter a university in the UK. Of course, this has to be tempered with the reality that it is also a reflection of whether you  can pay the fees or not!

As the Vice  Chancellor greeted and spoke with every graduand, their names and dress revealed different nationalities, creed and gender, from all four corners of the globe. Physical ability or looks were irrelevant. They were honored equally, for their intellectual achievements. And the audience applauded them all equally too.

The second were the two examples of making your own destiny and future.

We stayed at the Windsor Lodge Hotel, in the middle of refurbishment. Thanks to Luke, Sabrina and Jazmine, their welcome and genuinely friendly attentive care made this small Victorian hotel a great place to stay. it was the difference between professional courtesy in order keep your clients satisfied and actually giving the impression you genuinely cared.

The third was Garbo's, a small cafe just across the modern footbridge over the River Tawe , to your right off Kings Road. It was a friendly haven with a welcome hot drink. Lesley took over the café a mere six months ago, changing from one career to a dream. An ethos of customer service and high food standards have made this café / bar a dream turned successful reality. Lesley showed that even in difficult times, you can create your own successful business if you work at it. I wish her every future success.

An added bonus - a brisk walk along the beach. Sand, sea and seashells, even if the wintry wind was cold and grey clouds scurried across the sky.

Links:
Windsor Lodge hotel http://www.windsor-lodge.co.uk
Jazmine Cant Fashion blog http://www.jazminecant.blogspot.co.uk
Garbo's Cafe/Bar www.garboscafebar.co.uk

The A to Z of Biotech Success for Medimmune in Cambridge

When I say in Cambridge, I’m speaking figuratively about Medimmune; Babraham, Melbourn and Granta Park could be described as “Cambridge, but in pretty countryside without the traffic problems”. That aside, the story told at the Cambridge Network meeting today was one of our regions great successes. We were privileged to have an insight provided by Jon Green, VP Business Operations, Medimmune and and Dr Paul Varley, VP Science and Collaborations, Biopharmaceutical Development.

It all started with CAT, Cambridge Antibody Technology, back in the 90s. The company was founded on the development of an antibody technology.

When you or I catch a bug, our bodies go into overdrive to make large amounts of unique antibodies. And by sheer volume of numbers, some, or even just one type of unique antibody, will bind to that bug and set off our immune reaction to fight it. The researchers at CAT harnessed these molecules in the lab. Using harmless viruses and converting them into little factories, it was now possible to create libraries containing millions, if not billions of different antibodies. These libraries could then be screened for antibodies that had a real medical benefit against a variety of illnesses and diseases.

With such potential, backers were found in several funding rounds and by the beginning of the new millennium, the company had grown rapidly. It was first floated on the stock exchange in London in 1997 and then on NASDAQ in 2001. The company grew and almost constantly had to move to larger and better buildings. The current significant presence is at the Granta Park.

One of the main factors that helped the company progress rapidly, was the willingness to collaborate and work with other biotech companies in the area.

Success generates interest. In fact many small companies in Cambridge thrive on this phenomenon, waiting to be bought up once the technologies had got past the first proof stages. So it was that AstraZeneca first took a share in the company. The US company Medimmune was bought and combined with CAT, resulting in a successful synergy of research and production.  The current Medimmune was born.

AstraZeneca’s involvement increased, but it was a two-way process. Medimmune issued an invitation to AstraZeneca’s CEO to come to Cambridge. Rather than blow their own trumpet, they let him hear what other partners thought about the company and our region. This led to a momentous step, AstraZeneca’s decision to base its global headquarters here in Cambridge It will be located on the new biomedical campus at Addenbrookes. An influx of several thousand new jobs to the area is expected.

Medimmune still retains its identity. Now it is large enough to itself buy up companies and technologies in the area. Its current pipeline of products covers areas from cardiovascular, oncological, respiratory to inflammatory diseases.

What was most fascinating at the end of the talk, was that the big fish were not interested in just swallowing up the small fry. It was recognised that the concentration of Biotech expertise, the innovation created by small and medium-sized businesses - these created the buzz that made Cambridge so attractive. AstraZeneca and Medimmune want to work with and in appreciation of the SMEs in our area.

Paul Spurgeon creates waves in St Ives

A wave of gold curves sensually to grace a woman’s neck and completes a final graceful swirl gently caressing a large single South Sea pearl. Paul Spurgeon’s style as a Fine Jeweller and Master Goldsmith is distinctive and renowned for its simplicity and elegance.

The modest window at 1 East Street, St Ives, Huntingdon, seeks not confuse the eye with an excess of distracting sparkle and sell-now products. It is an invitation to those looking for exquisite bespoke jewellery, designed for the individual client.

Paul’s workshop is visible and accessible next to the studio where you might visualise your dreams in platinum and sparkling diamonds.

Paul Spurgeon’s apprenticeship to David Pearce led onwards to commissions for Elton John & Suzi Quattro and to his own independent business in 1984.

Inspired by the work of other master jewellers, Paul is a two-time UK Jewellery Award winner, with De Beers promotional campaigns under his belt.

Coming from a background of over the top and richly detailed influences, he has evolved is own unique pared down aesthetic of simple, beautiful lines.

Paul commented on being featured in the 2012/2013 Goldsmith’s review, “What’s an Essex lad doing in here!” His wonder and appreciation, that becoming a master in your art can be life changing, has led to Paul devoting time and effort to encourage and develop new craftsmen in disadvantaged regions in South Africa and Afghanistan.

In 2009 he formed a partnership with Soweto born jeweller Nqobile Nkosi to create Cornerstone. The result is a coming together of creative ‘hearts and minds’ from the African communities fused with a European influence, expressed in silver and stone.

With his own craftsmanship and through collaborations, Paul Spurgeon in St Ives has something to offer the discerning client, whatever your pocket,.

“But why come to St Ives?” I asked Nicola, who has worked with Paul for nearly a decade.

“He loves the river and the town!” Was the simple answer.

And who can blame him. St Ives is a jewel in the East of England.

Visit Paul Sturgeon' site or gallery in 1 East Street, St Ives, Huntingdon.

Angry cyclists v Christmas Spirit: You reap what you sow on social media

The headline of your social media message can have a profound effect on both the tone and way people respond. Two personal examples follow. In each case I had quite a number of responses - but with totally different outcomes.

1. The Angry Cyclists

I have to start with an apology to Cambridge Cyclists. My obviously eye-catching blog title “80 percent of Cambridge cyclists are illiterate! A cultural survey”, in true Red Top Newspaper style, immediately got a response – primarily through Twitter. Cyclists were deeply offended!

I thought I’d written a light article on the different ways people would respond to the sign “Cyclists Dismount” in the UK and Germany. Message: In the UK you basically ignore it; In Germany you would probably ignore it – unless there were other people around.

What I’d actually done was land in an existing pool of simmering rage within the cycling community about meaningless advisory signs, such as the “Cyclists Dismount” one.

Most responses were educational, generally negative and verbally robust – along the lines of “insult me – and I’ll give as good as I get!” Some respondents managed to reply simply or even with some humour and they have my special thanks.

The post with 93 hits had 4 comments and at least 21 twitter responses within 24h. Of these, 2 did state that they would choose to dismount if there were pedestrians.

Do have a good look at the responses in the appendix below. They are in the public domain – just summarised here.

2. The Christmas Spirit

I would like to thank all respondents on the Anglo-German Business Network in LinkedIn. With Christmas coming up and remembering the German Christmas Markets, I posted a question to the group, “Do you have a favourite (German Christmas Market)? Which ones would you recommend? Which ones will you be going to?”

LinkedIn items have a longer response time and are still coming in after 12 days of the original post.

So far, this has resulted in 16 responses (including my own). All are positive and informative. In fact, if you want to visit a German Christmas Market, whether in the UK or Germany, there are some great personal recommendations there.

Again, as the items are in the public domain, they are summarised below for your convenience.

You reap what you sow

The question you have to ask yourself when putting material out on social media is – what sort of response do you want?

A Shock-Jock headline is likely to get a lot of robust responses. Great if you are trying to boost radio show responses. Bad if you are trying to make a positive connection. Humour is a double edged sword. Not everyone may share yours and you could equally well land face down in the mud.

Appealing to people’s better nature will generate a positive response, but only if it is relevant or of interest to them.

So what am I going to do? Definitely tread more carefully!

Cyclist responses

Christine Jones (Carter)26 November 2013 10:55
Blue signs are advisory, legally you don't have to dismount. Yes this sign is optional and you are an ignoramus.

Cab Davidson26 November 2013 11:01
The blue sign there is entirely advisory, carrying no compulsion. A no cycling sign has a bike on a white background with a red circle around the outside.
I put it to you that most of the cyclists there know this - and you do not. Neither conclusion you draw - Brits see rules as optional or that cyclists are illiterate - is reasonable. 
Your blog post reveals your own ignorance of the rules as they stand - nothing more.

William NB26 November 2013 11:30
Really? You're accusing cyclists of being illiterate, when actually you are the only one that appear to be. And if you're not illiterate, then you are certainly ignorant of the law.
As others have pointed out, "Cyclist Dismount" signs are advisory. This means it is like a request, and cyclists are under no obligation whatsoever to adhere to it. Moreover, as is the case nationally, that sign is used contrary to DfT guidelines. This means it simply should never have been placed there. 
But don't take my work for it - go do some research, eradicate your ignorance regarding this and then do the right thing: publish a new blog post that clearly admits how wrong you have been, and also go post several tweets on Twitter, again admitting your ignorance.
And while you're at it, why don't you read the Highway Code - yes, ALL of it.
Then go write a ranty, insulting post on driver that don't yield to pedestrians crossing the road that the drivers are turning into, drivers that park on pavements, drivers that encroach on ASLs and similar everyday occurrences that are a WHOLE bunch more important and dangerous than cyclists (justifiably!) ignoring a Cyclists Dismount sign.

rich25726 November 2013 12:38
All you have demonstrated is that 'Cyclist Dismount' signs cause confusion. Cambridge Cycling Campaign have been asking for 'Cyclists give way to pedestrians' signs here and elsewhere http://www.camcycle.org.uk/campaigning/papers/legality/.


Rob Haynes favorited a Tweet you were mentioned in
26 Nov:  .@miltoncontact sign is advisory carrying no compulsion. The cyclists are not 'illiterate' - they simply know the rules better than you do

abby chicken ‏@photochicken 26 Nov
@miltoncontact that's nothing, 87% of your tweets are meaningless #madeupstats

 MJ Ray ‏@mjray 26 Nov
@hushlegs @gnomeicide @miltoncontact if I either dismount or wait at the one nearest me, walkers panic, rush and glower #noWin #betterToRide

Mike the Moustache ‏@MikefromLFE 26 Nov
@WilliamNB @miltoncontact Well said William! I always thought that those signs were giving information 😄'some cyclists dismount here'

Cycling Front ‏@cyclingfront 26 Nov
@miltoncontact @gnomeicide Lots of innumeracy and colour blindness in Cams too. Signs with a 30 inside a red circle

 Cab Davidson ‏@gnomeicide 26 Nov
@SpanishPirate1 highway code also tells you right near start blue rectangle signs are information. @AsEasyAsRiding @miltoncontact

William ‏@WilliamNB 26 Nov
@miltoncontact You, sir, are an idiot for a) calling cyclists illiterate and b) launching such an attack on incorrect information.

Nick Kocharhook favorited a Tweet you were mentioned in
26 Nov:  @AsEasyAsRiding @gnomeicide Hilarious! You obviously never seen this mockery, @miltoncontact, long since removed.  http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/September2007.htm …

Spanish Pirate ‏@SpanishPirate1 26 Nov
@AsEasyAsRiding @gnomeicide @miltoncontact page 36 confusing https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222621/dg_191955.pdf … #cyclistsdismount

christine jones ‏@christabelaroo 26 Nov
@cotnm @AsEasyAsRiding @gnomeicide @miltoncontact Wow. How did we get engineers this stupid? I thought Gove said we are a clever lot?

christine jones ‏@christabelaroo 26 Nov
@gnomeicide @miltoncontact Blue signs are advisory, you don't have to dismount. Clearly you are not an academic, best keep away from stats.

Gill Cooper ‏@Tw1tterati 26 Nov
@miltoncontact Erm, the "rule" in question is indeed optional.  Blue signs are advisory only.

Cranky Acid ‏@CrankyAcid 26 Nov
@miltoncontact You have very little idea what you are talking about. Do your research before inflicting your prejudices on the world

Cab Davidson ‏@gnomeicide 26 Nov
@HushLegs ...because like nearly all the cyclists and unlike @miltoncontact I know what the sign means :)

 Cottenham Cyclist ‏@cotnm 26 Nov
@AsEasyAsRiding @gnomeicide Hilarious! You obviously never seen this mockery, @miltoncontact, long since removed.  http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/September2007.htm …

Cab Davidson ‏@gnomeicide 26 Nov
@HushLegs yep, me too. If it looks busy I dismount there. If it isn't busy I ride over.  @miltoncontact

Hush Legs ‏@HushLegs 26 Nov
@gnomeicide Entirely advisory. I would dismount or wait if there was a ped, but would continue if it was clear. @miltoncontact is ignorant.

Mark Treasure ‏@AsEasyAsRiding 26 Nov
@gnomeicide Yep, all @miltoncontact has demonstrated is that he doesn't know the meaning of the sign. It's advice, not a rule

Cab Davidson ‏@gnomeicide 26 Nov
@miltoncontact and, frankly, to call others illiterate from a demonstrable position of ignorance is offensive. Retract please.
Cab Davidson ‏@gnomeicide 26 Nov
@miltoncontact sign is advisory carrying no compulsion. The cyclists are not 'illiterate' - they simply know the rules better than you do
 Cab Davidson retweeted you
25 Nov:  80 percent of Cambridge cyclists are illiterate! A cultural survey http://aweber.com/t/IEMr3 

Christmas responses

John Grant
I like the Christmas market at Gelsenkirchen Buer......especially the Glühwein stands

Susanne Jones
My favourite Christmas market is in my hometown, Bad Wimpfen. The medieval surroundings add extra charm and atmosphere.

Chris Thomas
Thanks John, Thanks Susanne :)

Waclaw Slezak
Birmingham is a great success; crowded, vibrant and all the trimmings. 
German Christmas markets - just those three words create a thousand pictures, hundreds of aromas and decades of memories - from child to adulthood for those lucky enough to have that experience; mine was limited to just a dozen or so years.

Lee Hubbard LCGI EngTech InstRE MCMI
Any Christmas Market, Paderborn, Hannover, Koln, Celle ...... the list goes on. I think I would like to visit a different town or city each year! Germany is defiantly the best place to be in December which ever market you manage to visit!!

Chris Thomas
Now of course we have an additional factor, do you prefer the modern German Christmas markets, or the ones adhering to the older mediaeval form! Essen had both last year.

Colin Perry
Köln had a medieval market, but it hasn't been there for the past two years. My personal favourites are Köln's markets at the Dom and Alter Markt. My son is going there on a school trip next month - I wish I was going too.
Alex Wieck
Does anyone know of any good ones in Dusseldorf or near to Dusseldorf?

John Grant
There is bound to be some within the Düsseldorf altstadt area, a great place that i frequented a lot when I lived in Düsseldorf for over even years.

Alistair Starling
Having just moved to Berlin with Cambridge English, I'm really looking forward to the Berlin Christmas markets...

ROSS JC WATSON
Der Nürnberger Christkindl Markt!! Absolutely fantastic. Spent a week down there at Christmas time two years ago and it made a big impact! The highlight for myself was the "Biggest Feuerzangbowle in the World", with the famous German Christmas Classic "Die Feuerzangbowle" from 1944 projected onto a white building next to the Pegnitz river that meanders through the town. We also make a point of visiting the Goslar Weinachtsmarkt near the Harz Mountains once every year. It´s not so big and crowded, and is in a nice picturesque setting. I LOVE GERMANY AT CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!! http://tourismus.nuernberg.de/erleben-geniessen/events/christkindlesmarkt/d/christkindlesmarkt-der-beruehmteste-weihnachtsmarkt-der-welt.html

Robert Partridge
I would say Koln was pretty close, but Dusseldorf will have it's own. 
Personally I like Koln, adore Monschau a little village between Koln and Aachen but for a really interesting experience the Valkenburg Caves in Limburg in the Netherlands just over the border takes some beating...especially when you reflect on its historical background during WW2 and that it could accommodate seemingly 35,000 people in the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War!

Robert Partridge
Koln is without doubt the best in Germany we have visited along with the pretty little village of Monschau, but you should try the Valkenburg Caves in Limburg just over the border in The Netherlands...natural caves where soldiers took cover during more troubled times and also where seemingly there was accomodations for 35,000 people in the event of a Nuclear Attack during the Cold War...quite a venue for a Christmas Market I can assure you....plus the prices are cheaper!

Michael Clarke
Manchester's Christmas German Market is huge, thousands of people from all over the North West of England are drawn to it, its so big they have added a French section and a Spanish section too. It is also a great opportunity for lots of small artisan supplies from all over the UK to take advantage of the Christmas trade in the UK's second biggest city.

Barry Davies
There is an excellent market in Kempen (near Krefeld) which specialises in 'home-made' goods. The town itself is also very interesting. Check first though for dates/times. If you do go to the Köln market go by public transport (the parking is horrific). 
Of the Berlin markets the one around the Gendarmenmarkt is the most spectacular. But do get out to Spandau for a contrasting experience.

Marleen Mertens CertRP
Dresden!

80 percent of Cambridge cyclists are illiterate! A cultural survey

Green Dragon Bridge, Cambridge, showing signs and two cyclists

When you cycle downstream along the Cam, you eventually come to the Green Dragon Bridge. Signs on either bank ask cyclists to dismount. I conducted an impromptu survey of 102 cyclists last Friday, on whether they dismounted or ride across. 80 rode across, 22 dismounted.

Two curious dog walking passers-by asked what I was surveying, to which I solemnly replied I was monitoring cyclist literacy. One commented that surely it was alright to cycle across the bridge - as long as it was done safely and with due consideration to pedestrians. The other reflected that this survey was actually a reflection of cyclist fitness. Those who dismounted did so because they could not cycle up the bridge incline!

Later that day I was in two separate Skype conversations to Germany, where I asked what the German response would be. One replied that they would only cycle across if no one was there to see, as otherwise someone would object. The second posited that this situation would not arise as all pedestrian bridges they encountered naturally ħad a cycle path.

So, we Brits assume that rules are generally optional, with leeway for interpretation by our common sense whilst in Germany sensible construction makes regulation unnecessary.

What do you think?

Baits Bite Lock on the River Cam

Moonlit cycle ride home along the Cam

Out of the warm room, departure from the friendly bloggers group. I wheeled out the bike, all wrapped up against the chill on Burleigh Street.

Dropping speed for the approach to Elizabeth Way bridge, I made a split moment decision to go back via the river. Seventeen swans silently swam down the silver stream of the Cam, towards the gibbous moon.

Cycle tyres thrummed past the new Chesterton bridge, the last of the road, then across the cattle grid onto the tree shadowed towpath. Across the Green Dragon bridge, a right turn to ignore the warm invitation of the pub lights. Soon I was back on the river path, with a swerve to miss the last of the night's lovers on their romantic walk.

No city lights, just the bright moon, cycle headlight and the occasional golden squares from moored riverboats. The hard dirt path sparkled as its route mirrored the river's ribbon. Now dark adapted, eyes had no problem finding the way under the tree-framed starry sky. The only sounds were the crackling gravel under the tyres, the air rushing past the anorak hood and the steady breaths of aerobic exercise.

On the opposite bank, the sodium glare of garden floodlights marked The Plough at Fen Ditton. Back in the welcome night, it was under the A14 flyover until the guillotine shadow of Baits Bite Lock heralded the return to a tarmac path.

Then a left turn onto Fen Road, leaving the river behind. A night train crossed the fields under the now open sky and, with windows glowing, continued like a slow horizontal firework towards Ely.

Into street-lit Milton. Harsh frost glittered on the car in the drive. The bike was safely parked in it's Apple-store-scented garage. Glasses suddenly misted over on opening the kitchen door to find the promise of a hot, streaming mug welcoming me home.

Wizards, Manga and Role Play at Cambridge’s CamCon 2013

Manga, cartoons, role-play and lots of fancy dress, how could I resist! I heard about CamCon 2013 when Sue Dougan of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire was interviewing Ziggy aka Sonic, the head organiser of Camcon’s event. Arriving at about 10:30, Saturday morning, the queue was already snaking across the square in front of The Junction with the patient but eager set of visitors.

You can see my video impressions below or by visiting the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPCTQz3VERA&feature=share&list=UUkwwvTB6RbAGmdH3N33BWgw

The dealer’s room was already bustling with crowds of visitors around the tables and displays. Hat makers, comic book sellers, fancy dress costumes and artists displayed their skills and wares. Pikachus, heroes - both male and female - and the occasional Doctor Who in his various incarnations mingled amongst the more conventionally dressed population.

The Maids of England, the epitome of cute in Japanese, were first on the stage in Junction 2, dancing away to Maids’ tunes that will have been played in tens of thousands of Japanese Maids cafes. Later they would be providing a full Maids’ service to hungry and thirsty CamCon visitors in the upstairs cafe.

They were followed by a range of special interest panels, from the world of Manga via indie web comics to Doctor Who. The first floor gallery had been turned into a variety of gaming events where the aficionados and a novices could try out their hands on the latest games and equipment.

But for me, as a novice to a convention like this, the most enjoyable things were the costumes and the role-play game.

People didn’t just dress up, they also immersed themselves in their roles and characters. So one moment I could find myself interviewing Pikachu and her abductor Japan, and the next moment I was talking to Esmeralda from the hunchback of Notre Dame.

Dungeons and Dragons had up to now simply been meaningless words to me. Seeing a role-play of the game, conducted with humour and audience participation, not only gave me an insight into the fun can be had but also had me chuckling along.

Above all, it was the friendly, open atmosphere and the buzz that surrounded this second CamCom convention in Cambridge. Next time round, I’ll also make time to visit some of the films. Perhaps I might also pluck up the courage to go as a character myself.

If you couldn’t make it to CamCon 2013, then keep a lookout for next year and book your tickets early as they sell out like hotcakes!

Chris Thomas, www.miltoncontact.co.uk

German Cloud descends on London

Thirteen German IT and cloud companies came to London mid-June, to find UK partners, distributors and other useful business contacts. Long time partners, Milton Contact had been invited to assist Mark Dodsworth of Europartnerships http://europartnerships.co.uk/ , who was managing the project for the BMWi http://www.bmwi.de/EN/root.html.

 The visiting companies were:

• B & IT Solutions www.buit-solutions.com 
• Filespots GmbH www.filespots.de 
• Foss-Group GmbH www.foss-group.com 
• HOB GmbH & Co. KG www.hob.de 
• IQSoftware® Vertriebs GmbH www.iqsoftware.de 
• Jedox AG www.jedox.com 
• KMS Computer GmbH www.kms-computer.de 
• Knowledge Intelligence AG www.ki-ag.com 
• Moving Image 24 GmbH www.movingimage24.com 
• Novadex GmbH www.novadex.com 
• Seneca Business Software GmbH www.seneca-control.com 
• 7 Business Consulting AG www.7bc.net 
• TIQ Solutions GmbH www.tiq-solutions.de 

On the Monday, Jane Thomas and I found ourselves taking the London train and then walking from bustling High Street Kensington station to the quiet leafy Kensington Square.  Briefly distracted by the film crew shooting a motorbike scene, we arrived at St Jame's house where Goodwille had made their rooms available http://goodwille.com/.

Petra, Nora, Carolina and team were running a hectic schedule, trying to meet the needs of visitors, guests and language support.  Mark was already on the road with one of the companies with a meeting outside London.  Jane, new to this type of event and providing German-English facilitation, was understandably apprehensive.
"Be your usual sensible self and simply spread calm!" was my advice, and so it proved that Jane soon complemented the skills of our multinational team of Germans, Colombians, American and Brits.

Our German companies all had exemplary English skills and were able to represent their businesses and offers coherently in the one to one conversations with British companies. Our skills were in assisting understanding with fast speaking and unfamiliar (to Germans) UK accents, and in facilitating the flow of the business meetings.

Wednesday’s events were held at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, 44 Belgrave Square http://www.ipa.co.uk/.

The day comprised a morning of 16 presentations plus Q&As before lunch and one to one free networking in the afternoon. Mark delegated me as chair for the presentations. In advance,  I had advised the German Cloud and IT companies to:

• Prepare an informative 7 minute presentation
• Use no more than 7 slides
• Send presentations to us in advance so we could plan a seamless delivery

Full credit to our German guests who kept to time on the day, making this an interesting and varied program for the audience.  We had presentations ranging from business support software, though totally secure cloud hosting, to specialist software for the steel industry. It was with good humour that I noted the imaginative interpretation of "7 slides" to mean any number between 5 and 17, or seven slides but with multiple click actions.

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. So we also ensured a good time together in the evenings in the pub or restaurant. Our Columbian contingent certainly provided us with laughter and entertainment to break the ice on the first night in the  Star Tavern, Belgrave Mews http://www.star-tavern-belgravia.co.uk/.  Relaxed conversation filled the air at the Del Aziz Restaurant on Tuesday http://www.delaziz.co.uk/.

Amongst my charges were Sebastian Schulze of KMS, Hans Peter and Andreas of Novadex and Britta & Dirk von Pechmann od Seneca Business Solutions.

Sebastian and I made an excursion to the Science Museum, where we had an interesting time in the basement with the Google interactive exhibit. My handsome face managed to confuse the drawing software that sketched portraits in sand from snapshots of visitors.

Hans-Peter and Andreas were lured into a meander across the centre of London, starting at the Royal College of Surgeons (where they had attended a Postal Exhibition with my my good friend Richard Wishart in attendance), via St Pauls, the Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern to the Restaurant.

Dirk, Freiherr von Pechmann  and Britta, Freifrau von Pechmann  introduced me to their intriguing family history as knights created during the 17th Century, after the battle for Budapest. Their knighthood was awarded both in the Holy Roman Empire and in Hungary (http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz94335.html).

As ever, London always provides me with fascinating photographic opportunities and you can see the results of my occasional diversions or views on the way in the picture slideshow here.
If you cannot see the slideshow, visit the album here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/107595387761034666575/GermanCloudITVisitEuropartnerships?authuser=0&feat=directlink


After the three full days, we said goodbye to new friends, shared a farewell drink with Mark, Petra, Nora and Carolina, before making our way back home to Cambridge on the train.

Some of the Europartnerships Team