The new girl 'first day' experience

So, this is it.  The safety is Off.

No more trekking into the office.  No more 'working for someone', no more 'wage slave'.

Nope, I haven't won the lottery that I don't play, married a millionaire or taken over a dark, lurid and lucrative drugs cartel.

This is in fact my first day as a freelance writer.  I am a pen for hire.

The glamour of it kills me.  I slept till I woke this morning (not something I intend to do every morning but it felt necessary to mark this Monday with a treat).  I had coffee brought to me in bed.  After listening to the woes of the world via the Today programme I read a few pages of a novel.

It's not all glamour though.  I've been sat at my desk for over an hour trying to fulfil a promise to myself to start each day writing 'something' - be that blog, journal, article or short story - only to face down constant interruptions from the boyfriend:

"do you want a coffee babs?"
"are we going to have a sit down and a chat before I head off?"
"oh, you're working now aren't you?" (snigger)

Followed by 7 separate occasions in which he has 'presented' himself desk-side to inform me that he is now going to work.  SEVEN.  The front door has finally banged shut.

Where on earth was I?

Oh yes.  The Plan.  In a moment I'll pop the kettle on and settle down to write two copywriting/content marketing proposals to two potential clients.  I've a list of financial 'stuff' type jobs to do, some prep work for my Journalism MA and a catch-up-cuppa with a mate of mine who's disappearing off to Thailand again the day after tomorrow.

That's the immediate plan. My broader vision is to earn a living telling stories.

They'll range from corporate stories, helping people to tell their tales to the wider world on the web and via emarketing campaigns through to news worthy local stories, investigative pieces, lifestyle columns and reviews on plays and books I've seen and read.  I will also be writing and publishing short stories, plays and a sprinkling of poetry.

It probably doesn't sound very focused.

I've been warned if you want to be 'successful' you have to be really focused. You have to have a really clear niche market all figured out already.  You probably need to start day one with a website already up and running and a couple of clients lined up.  You should have your finances worked out really carefully and know exactly how it's all going to add up, how the ends, as such, are going to meet.

As it happens I haven't done any of those things.  The intention was there but, well, that really never seems to be the way things happen for me, neatly planned and all in a row. Does it work that way for anybody?  I'm not sure.

What I do know is I'm here now and I plan to turn up at the page each morning and see what unfolds.  Any which way, I'll keep you posted.....

The Persistence of Memory - by Alison Farina (and Salvadore Dali....)

There are two reasons why you should go see Alison Farina’s ‘The Persistence of Memory’.

The first is to see Mneme (played by Meghan Leslie), the muse of memory, sent to aid and ease professor Dante DeLucca’s descent into dementia.

She is quite literally divine.  She is everything a deity (albeit minor) should be. Elevated above mere mortals as the audience enter and settle, Mneme sits graceful and statuesque on top of the bookcase ladder for what must feel like an eternity.  Yet once the show begins she is personable and playful in her connection with both the audience and Dante. Nibbling chocolate whilst observing the mortals, joking with the audience and sensitively portraying scenes from Dante’s life with his wife – she is effortlessly engaged and engaging.

The second reason to see it is the emotional truth at the centre of the piece: that we are the sum total of our memories and without them our bodies are mere empty shells. 

Dante’s recognition and response to that realisation and his daughter Iphee’s devotion to her father despite her own life being less than perfect are believably painful portrayals of a situation no one wants to be faced with.  The story is told with gentle humour and sensitivity.

Playing at the Alma Tavern, Bristol, Saturday 14^th September and the Rondo Theatre Bath, frin 29^th September.

LINKS

http://www.almataverntheatre.co.uk/theatre/what-s-on.html

http://www.rondotheatre.co.uk/production/670/

Bristol Tbilisi Association - Celebrating 25 years of friendship

Earlier this summer I was invited to be involved in a fascinating project interviewing people in Bristol who have been involved with the Bristol Tbilisi Association.

Tbilisi, as I'm sure you know, is the capital of Georgia a country which gained its independence from Soviet Union in 1991.

'Freedom from' Soviet rule was a clear objective, but 'freedom to' what exactly remained unclear initially.  After the celebratory parties had passed a nauseous hangover of political and social unrest settled in on the Georgians.  They faced civil war.  Unemployment was high.  Money and goods were scarce.  The very infrastructure on which society is based, such as a fully functional police force, above corruption, had to be rebuilt brick by brick.

To some extent, this is the 'known' story - although there are any number of people who will still frown a little when Georgia or Tbilisi is mentioned.  Despite the world shrinking  into a global village, Georgia remains on the fringes of our western geographic knowledge.

The story I did not know was that people in Bristol have been working with people in Georgia since 1988 - learning about their culture through music and art, sharing knowledge and skills and helping to support the rebuild of the city.

The Bristolians I spoke to told stories of how they had fallen in love with Georgia, with the people, their culture, their boundless hospitality (despite often having nothing), their vitality and energy for life.

Sue and Richard are a couple who were so inspired by their visits to the country, they decided to make it their home.

The interview with Sue and Richard is provided below, as is the link to the Bristol Tbilisi Association website.

http://bristoltbilisi.com/index.php/101-latest-bta-news/88-bristol-couple-build-house-near-tbilisi

What inspired you to up sticks and move to Georgia?  What is your daily life like?  

We knew of Georgia after reading Stalin’s autobiography and seeing the Rose Revolution on TV. We came here for a holiday and fell in love with it. Part of the attraction was the climate.

On the 31^st May 2009 we arrived with a car, a caravan, lots of enthusiasm and 2000 square metres of land to build a home on.

Aside from some minor improvements the house is now finished. We have a garden and small vineyard of around 100 vines that we have just planted.

In the summer we shop in Tbilisi twice a week, for meat and vegetables. Every three days or so we walk to our spring about ½ km to fetch 8 litres each and carry in our rucksacks. There are 3 springs in Kojori.

In the winter on wet or snowy days we read our books, do a crossword or Sudoku and watch DVD’s or TV.

How do you communicate with local people?

We are learning Georgian - the little we know helps enormously. Sign language of course explains a lot of things and after a few glasses of homemade wine or Ch Cha you can speak any language.

 What are the local people like? 

They are very friendly and helpful people. The villagers have really accepted us.

We were here during the 5-day war in 2008, which I think helped to demonstrate our commitment to Georgia. When we returned in 2009 and lived out the winter in our little caravan that just consolidated our position.

 Is there any living habits and customs different from the UK that you have to adapt to? 

The amount of wine you have to drink when offered. It is always a minimum of three glasses during a social visit. A party is a lot more because of all the toasts, minimum of 10. Each toast you are expected to finish your glass.

Ian Wright of Globe Trekker fame said “the only thing that will kill you in Georgia is the hospitality”.

What has been especially challenging in your Georgian adventure?

Getting the electric connected once we had built the house was a challenge. The process isn’t terribly straightforward and even less so if you don’t have a full grasp of the language. 

We had help from a number of people along the way including someone in our District office who spoke English and wrote a letter for us to take to the main office in Tbilisi. We didn’t know quite where we had to go but again we were helped by a number of people along the way, which meant that we got the certificate we needed to get ourselves connected. We did take a wrong turn and ended up in the Internal Security Headquarters but in true Georgian style there were lots of smiles and we were directed to a policeman who showed us the right building.

After we were connected we took a box of chocolate to the lady in the electric office. She was close to tears at our gratitude.

WOMEN COMBAT VIOLENCE - Bristol

http://www.cityofsanctuary.org/files/bristol_globe_3rd_edition_2013_1.pdf

Published in the Bristol Globe - June 2013 

MARYSE SUGIRA and REBECCA MEGSON turn the spotlight on Bristol women who are determined to challenge the despicable treatment faced by many women worldwide

ST Valentine’s Day will never be the same again. This year it saw the start of One Billion Rising, a global campaign against gender-based domestic violence.

It is the latest manifestation of a move dating back to 1998 when a group of women in New York declared 14 February V-Day, for Victory and Vagina as well as Valentine. The idea was to highlight all forms of sexual violence including rape, incest and female genital mutilation.

In Bristol the gauntlet was taken up by Jodi Ahmed who organised ‘flash mobs’ around the city to raise awareness about the number of women hurt and killed by husbands and partners.

“One in four women have been violated in some way,” says Jodi. “You can easily name four close friends, it could be your mum, sisters, aunties, daughters.”

There were big demonstrations across the world, but Jodi was disappointed at poor coverage by the UK media, and appalled to see that when the issue was debated in Parliament only about five MPs were present.

“There is a high percentage of people thinking that domestic violence is something that should not be spoken about,” she says. “But it is not a private matter. Women who have experience domestic violence are frightened, and few speak out when they have been victims.

“There is a lot you can do to support a friend in that situation. Try to restore and increase their self-confidence and self-esteem so they can stand up against domestic violence themselves.”

There is another silent group of women and children in our midst. The police estimate there may be as many as 75 houses in Bristol in which women, and some men, are trafficked for sex.

Gillian Douglas of Bristol City Council’s Safer Bristol project says the true extent of trafficking in the city is unknown. The victims are extremely vulnerable and unlikely to identify themselves. They fear not only their traffickers, but the risk of deportation if identified to the authorities. Some have take great risks to start a new life in Britain.

Frequently they are told they  have incurred massive debts for their transport, and to pay them off they are forced into various forms of exploitation. Some are required to guard cannabis farms. Avon & Somerset police found 676 such farms in 2012 alone.

Gateway

As a major transport hub, with an airport, two mainline railway stations and major roads in all directions, Bristol is an ideal gateway for the traffickers. The international trade in people is estimated to be worth more than £20billion, on a par with drug smuggling and the arms trade. In effect it means there are more slaves in the world today than ever before, and one in eight are in Europe.

There have only been four police investigations locally, but several women have now devoted their lives to the issue. Working in an orphanage in Ukraine, Kate Garbers was horrified to discover that many of the children would end up trafficked into the sex trade. Back in Bristol she set up Unseen, which provides a safe house and support for trafficked women.

Jan Martin is another Bristolian who feels passionately about this sickening trade. She set up a group called Bristol Anti-Sex Trafficking in 2012. “I just can’t be a bystander,” she says. “Even if it takes the rest of my life to change things for just one person, I have to do it.”

Trish Davidson was recovering from a serious illness when she first heard about these modern forms of slavery while attending a talk at her church.

“I was shocked to discover that slavery goes on today, right here in Bristol,” she says. “I felt a calling. I had to get involved and do something about it.”

Trish set up Unchosen, an anti-trafficking charity to promote awareness through film campaigns. “I was incredibly impressed with film as a medium for getting a difficult, challenging message across,” she said.

A filmmaking competition run by Unchosen will screen its winning entries during Anti-Slavery Week in October.

Jan Martin’s group have held some dramatic ‘happenings’ including painting a mural and holding a demonstration opposite one of the city’s many massage parlours – often a front for prostitution.

Thanks to these women and their supporters, the city council now has an anti-trafficking officer to galvanise authorities and rescue agencies to work together.

Meanwhile Jodi Ahmed and her friends hope to put together a scheme which will allow them to go into schools to talk about domestic violence. As she says, the future is the the hands of the new generation.

• www.onebillionrising.org

• www.unseenuk.org

• www.unchosen.org.uk

A pill a day won't keep the diseases at bay....

Urgent calls have been made for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to put antibiotic resistance on the global agenda by Sweden, the UK and Ireland at the Sixty Sixth World Health Assembly in Geneva.

UK Chief Medical Officer Prof Dame Sally Davies said “this is going to affect our children and grandchildren, as well as our old age.” 

Antibiotics are becoming less effective in the treatment of illness in humans.  This is due to the over-use of antibiotics not only in human and animal health but also in agriculture and food production. 

Dr Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) addressed the panel from the floor.

She said “there is a disturbingly dry pipeline of new antibiotics.  The time for action is now.”

Of particular concern is the resistance of micro-organisations such as bacteria, viruses and some parasites to antimicrobial medicines such as antibiotics. 

The side event, co-hosted by Sweden, the UK and Ireland at the Sixty-Sixth World Health Assembly (WHA66), was an attempt to raise the profile of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to garner support and leadership from WHO.

AMR threatens a return to a pre-antibiotic era. Drug resistant strains of diseases such as tuberculosis are already on the increase in the UK.  Without the front line protection of antibiotics the likelihood of catching and dying from previously treatable illnesses will also rise over the coming decades.

Mr Goran Hagglund, Swedish Health Minister said “the fight against antimicrobials cannot be a side event.  It has to be the main event because if not it will simply take the attention that it needs.”

The panel called for greater public awareness as well as higher profile action at a national and international level. 

Ensuring the appropriately level of prescription and use of antibiotics will be part of the UK’s strategy on antibiotic resistance, due to be launched in the summer.

Reference Information

Written Reports submitted to the side event:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200505/WHA_Written_Contributions_Report.pdf  

Link to WHA66 journal:

http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA66/A66_JourP-en.pdf

UK Strategy for antibiotic resistance – to be launched summer 2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/responding-to-the-threat-of-antimicrobial-resistance