now...November 2015

This is what I'm doing now.

Sharing Learning Doing (my work)

1. starting and working on an action research project with Greening Wingrove CIC to run until January 2016 (in partnership with Ethical HR Ltd)
2. starting a short project with a community centre in the east end of Newcastle to help them build a stronger network around them 
3. helping two organisations to become charities
4. planning an evaluation with Neil Shashoua of Trapeze Consulting for a Newcastle-based charity to start in 2016
5. helping Claire, the Broadacre House manager, to set up a co-working space in Broadacre House
6. (still) working on the backlog of my bookkeeping - I won't do this again (the backlog not the bookkeeping)
7. trying to write a regular newsletter to share inspiring, useful and exciting things. The plan was to send it out every two weeks or so but I'm not doing that well - none this month or last month but two in September

My learning and networks

1. learning social entrepreneur stuff - I'm a student on the School for Social Entrepreneurs 2015-2016 Start up programme with the Yorkshire and Humber school. It's a year-long programme with study days, action learning sets, a mentor and small start up grant. The first two study days were were in October and next two are in December. I'm meeting my new mentor, John, in Edinburgh at the end of this month
2. planning the next Urbanistas North East meet up in Broadacre House on 24 November (I'm part of the planning group. Urbanistas is a women-led network for women working on social change in cities)
3. planning the 2016 collaboration superheroes meet ups and collaboration supperheroes supper clubs (I host (now with Marc Jones and Robert Laycock) collaboration superheroes, a quarterly meet up about learning how to be super at collaboration, and new for 2016, collaboration supperheroes, a supper club. This came out of North East Together, Leaders Network for Social Change)
4. reading Social Gravity: Harnessing the natural laws of relationships by Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt for my book group. Our next meeting is in January so there's plenty of time to read the book (in theory)

Being an active citizen

1. volunteering as a trustee of Northern Creative Solutions, which runs Broadacre House, a meanwhile space project turning an empty 40,000sq ft/6 storey office block in Newcastle upon Tyne into a thriving community hub and home for charities (20 and growing), social action and creativity. It's brilliant
2. volunteering as a trustee of Scotswood Natural Community Garden. We run and manage a beautiful garden in Scotswood, Newcastle upon Tyne, to help people learn about nature, sustainability and growing and be more healthy
3. running (with William Mortada and Holli Brown) Newcastle Social Media Surgery to help people (community activists, charities, community groups) to use social media better 

Sequins and Tweed

1. working on some product lines for the alternative Christmas fair at Broadacre House on 5 December - so far I've made felt ball garlands, repurposed fuzzy felt for Christmas cards, and, inspired by 70s string art, have hand-stitched more Christmas cards - and now need to get on to packaging and pricing
2. learning how best to mount and frame nursery rhyme vintage playing cards
3. wondering what to do with this blog

I stole this idea from Derek Sivers. It's such a good idea to steal that loads of other people have done the same and there's now a now page movement plus a website that lists people's /now pages nownownow.com.

now...October 2015

This is what I'm doing now.

Sharing Learning Doing (my work)

1. starting an action research project for a Newcastle-based CIC to run until January 2016 (in partnership with Ethical HR Ltd)
2. waiting to hear about an evaluation project after a recent interview (in partnership with Trapeze Consulting) *update - this one didn't work out, but I'm pleased as it means I can work on another project that was waiting in the wings
3. helping two organisations to become charities
4. helping Claire, the Broadacre House manager, to set up a co-working space in Broadacre House
5. working on the backlog of my bookkeeping - I won't do this again (the backlog not the bookkeeping)
6. trying to write a regular newsletter to share inspiring, useful and exciting things. The plan was to send it out every two weeks or so but I'm not doing that well - none this month but two in September

My learning and networks

1. learning social entrepreneur stuff - I'm a student on the School for Social Entrepreneurs 2015-2016 Start up programme with the Yorkshire and Humber school. It's a year-long programme with study days, action learning sets, a mentor and small start up grant. The first two study days were this month (October) and next two are in December. I'm meeting my new mentor, John, in Edinburgh in November
2. planning the next Urbanistas North East meet up in Broadacre House on 24 November (I'm part of the planning group. Urbanistas is a women-led network for women working on social change in cities)
3. planning the 2016 collaboration superheroes meet ups and collaboration supperheroes supper clubs (I host (now with Marc Jones and Robert Laycock) collaboration superheroes, a quarterly meet up about learning how to be super at collaboration, and new for 2016, collaboration supperheroes, a supper club. This came out of North East Together, Leaders Network for Social Change)
4. reading How good we can be by Will Hutton for my book group

Being an active citizen

1. volunteering as a trustee of Northern Creative Solutions, which runs Broadacre House, a meanwhile space project turning an empty 40,000sq ft/6 storey office block in Newcastle upon Tyne into a thriving community hub and home for charities (20 and growing), social action and creativity. It's brilliant
2. volunteering as a trustee of Scotswood Natural Community Garden. We run and manage a beautiful garden in Scotswood, Newcastle upon Tyne, to help people learn about nature, sustainability and growing and be more healthy
3. running (with William Mortada and Holli Brown) Newcastle Social Media Surgery to help people (community activists, charities, community groups) to use social media better 

Sequins and Tweed

1. working on some product lines for the alternative Christmas fair at Broadacre House on 5 December
2. learning how best to mount and frame nursery rhyme vintage playing cards
3. wondering what to do with this blog

I stole this idea from Derek Sivers. It's such a good idea to steal that loads of other people have done the same and there's now a now page movement plus a website that lists people's /now pages nownownow.com.

off on my travels...tenerife sunset with cards and a cortado leche (condensada)

april = blue

a spot of culture...typography - what's my type

words are all around us. how they look is as important as what they say. how they look affects not only how easy it is for us to read them, but also how we feel about them. how words look can give us subtle messages and dictates whether reading words is a soothing or scratchy experience. it's also deeply personal: what i like will give you a headache; what you like will make me shudder or tut.

i've never understood those people (including many i've worked with) who only focus on the content of a piece of text and totally ignore the design including typography. in writing we must have content and design, you can't have one without the other, so it is always worth spending time on how something looks.

typography takes us from calligraphy to graffiti; helvetica to comic sans.

one of the small highlights of my recent trip to new york was the eye-pleasing use of helvetica in the subway. now, helvetica (released in 1957), has its critics for being too corporate and too commonplace but for me it is a good, strong choice for a public space and a major transport system. it is easy to read, clean, practical yet beautiful, tasteful, and well-designed.

if you want to learn more about helvetica, i recommend the film helvetica made when the typeface was 50 years old in 2007.

i'm really grateful to @noelito for tweeting some beautiful examples of typography used in public spaces. in transcending tags: 16 typographic works of urban art, weburbanist takes us on a short tour of some great examples of street art using the beauty of lettering.

here is my favourite from anna garforth...

photo credit: crosshatchling

and what's the next book on my reading pile? just my type: a book about fonts by simon garfield. it was recently radio 4's book of the week.

eating in...my january challenge: mushroom ragout with soft polenta

so, my january challenge is continuing. the main challenge is being in to cook things from my three books as i've been out gallivanting a lot recently. anyway, here's something i made the other day...it's river cottage veg everyday's mushroom ragout with soft polenta. you'll find it in the comfort food and feasts section, and very accurately named that section is as it was very comforting and felt like a bit of a feast. the polenta was delicious and very easy, a surprise as i've been putting off using it for reasons that are now beyond me. i'll be making it - this recipe and polenta - again.

and yes i am back to photographing food again...a bit weird but is pretty helpful when blogging about cooking and eating. i need to do a bit more work on lighting. i've read that it's best to photograph food in natural light. it's a bit tricky to do this on a winter's evening but i'll try my hardest in future.

eating out...ssh! it's a secret

private pies, clandestine cakes? who knew there was such a furtive, secretive food making and eating going on in the coffee shops and spaces in newcastle?

clandestine cakes club was the movers and shakers on this trend. i'm clearly behind the times because there are clandestine cake clubs all over the country, taking great delight in baking and sharing cakes but strictly no muffins, pies (there's a separate club for that), tarts or cupcakes.

if you like pies and want to eat them in private then clearly private pie is for you - who doesn't like pie?

whatever next? covert curries? mysterious muffins? furtive flans?