Have you seen the 2012 summer festival line-ups? Some cracking stuff going on. I've thought long and hard but my festival of choice this year is Suffolk-based festival of music, comedy, arts, coloured sheep and general strange-goings on, AKA Latitude. Check it out.
Rach x
'22 Stories'
Apparently it doesn't matter which Hollywood film you look at, the plot will follow one of these 22 stories. See here for the full shebang. Using this model, my analysis tells me this:
1. Transformers = a classic 'Monster'
2. The Rock = somewhere between 'Quest' and 'Pursuit'
3. Gran Torino is another classic, this time of 'Maturation'. Albeit 'Maturation' with slight hints of 'Tragedy'
4. Zombieland, whilst an amazing tale, involving 'Escape', 'Maturation', 'Discovery' and 'Rescue', is ultimately a total 'Underdog'.
Rachel x
PS I hardly need point out that our 5th learning is my questionable taste in films.
(Image – PROTEIGON from BURAYAN on Vimeo)
If you're anything like us, at this time of year we're inundated with cards, calendars and choccies - most of which will end up in the bin or landfill site... So last year, in the vein of saving the planet and keeping you entertained, we created a Christmas-themed blog and packed it full of Christmas-themed posts that would either inspire, instruct or just generally entertain.
It went so well it looks to have become a new favourite festive tradition of ours - and so for 2011 we've turned blue, gotten crafty and sexist, shared secret recipes, put together an abridged TV run-down and much more. Pop over just for a quick stop and we're pretty sure you'll find something to amuse or assist, whatever your tastes!
Merry Christmas from the Team at Thompson.
Some of us are eating carbs like we've never heard of Atkins, some stretching like Black Swan auditionees and others (like me) are just trembling in their trainers...
Why? Well, this Sunday come rain or shine the most dedicated members of the Thompson team will be taking part in the annual Age UK 10k, The Abbey Dash.
We're running in aid of a fantastic cause, the NET Patient Foundation - a charity close to our hearts. The charity is the only one in the UK to offer advice and support to sufferers and families of those with NETs (neuroendocrine tumours), a relatively uncommon group of cancers. Symptoms are often confused with more common complaints such as IBS, meaning NETs are frequently diagnosed incorrectly or missed completely.
The money you help us raise will enable the NET Patient Foundation to continue their amazing work offering up to date support and advice, raising funds for vital research projects and increasing awareness of this little known illness. Read more here: NET Patient Foundation
So please dig deep for Sarah, Guy, Jonny, myself and the NET Patient Foundation and help us to hit our target of £1,000. And if we do, we promise to take share lots of pictures of Jonny's goosepimply legs.
Thank you! x
Hola Geeks:
9 different colours available for iPhone, 4 for iPad, available from a shocking £30 each in your local Apple store.
Now if you ask me, the Pantone mugs were pseudo-ironic cool, i.e. if I got one in my stocking, I'd secretly be pleased and insist on having my Earl Grey in nothing but. That chap on Come Dine With Me lining his kitchen with a spectrum on green mugs because he thought they were the height of designer cool? Get off my telly.
As for the iPhone cases - not for me thanks.
Rach x
...but I got there in the end!
Yesterday, I had a FABULOUS morning running the 5th ever Leeds 10k Run For All - and I'm now feeling very proud!
Over 9,000 runners took part, despite the astonishingly bad weather (apparently it's the first time in the 5 years that it's rained...), and as my first 'proper' race it was really something to be part of! My only target was to finish without stopping and not only did I do that, I also did quite the sprint finish. Unfortunately, according to the official photos, I look like a complete idiot when I sprint...
Here are my vital statistics:
Time: 1 hr 16 mins 41 secs
Position: 5691st
Blisters: 2
Money raised: £182.00
Thank you to all those who sponsored me - Cancer Research UK will be very happy indeed.
Rach x
Rachel and I had the privilege this week of a tour of the London 2012 Olympic Park, and were both blown away by the experience. With just over a year to go and the Torch Relay details just announced, all the main venues are nearly finished and the Park is really starting to take shape.
Even our high expectations, fuelled by those fantastic shots of the aquatic centre and velodrome in particular, were well and truly left standing in the blocks. As the 2012 branded bus circled slowly round the site, wonderful building after wonderful building came into view, generating great excitement amongst our fellow guests.
The main stadium came first, with its steep sides and angular floodlight stantions. I hadn’t realised that only 25,000 seats are permanent and the other 55,000 are temporary fittings. The other thing that strikes you is how much the field of play is sunken below ground level, which must make for a dramatic entrance when you first take your seats (apologies for the quality of the pics, but we were not allowed off the bus!)
The biggest of all the buildings, and most impressive in its own way, is the media centre. Its wide enough to take 5 jumbo jets wing-tip to wing-tip. It is colossal and will take over as the permanent home for many global broadcasters, for the duration of the Games. Some start to move in this year, needing 9 months to fit out their space. Just getting your head round the scale of the media event, the time scales and numbers involved and the worldwide thirst for coverage is difficult in itself.
Next up is the dedicated energy centre, one of two, designed to provide sustainable power for the entire Park. Then a new school for the community, post Games. Then the village (make that 17,000 apartments!) the athletes will live in. Then the temporary basketball building, with its cool white irregular cladding. Then the new shopping centre wrapped around Stratford station. Then the BMX course, tumbling over rocks and rivers. Then the hockey stadium. Then… well, you get the idea.
If anything, the aquatic centre is a shade disappointing, due to the temporary stands fixed either side of Zahir Hadid’s beautiful sweeping roof. Once these two additions are removed after the games, the building will be stunning, sweeping like a stingray, encapsulating two pools and a diving centre.
The outstanding building amongst all these gems though, in my opinion, is the velodrome. I know that the shape of the track is an architect’s dream, lending itself to the creation of wonderful shapes, but this building surpasses even our heightened expectations. The sharp roof, sitting snugly over the banked track, juts out over the adjoining A12 with utter confidence. It is an outstanding example of the best in British design and engineering and will no doubt form one of the iconic images of the Games.
What doesn’t quite come over yet is the extent of the gardens, waterways and park space between all the buildings. It surprised me how much the Park really will be a park. Once complete with the landscaping in place, it will form a stunning backdrop to the events and a superb place to circulate and chill.
And if that is not enough, the other venues for the Games include such icons as Wimbledon, Wembley, Lords, The Serpentine, The Mall and Horse Guards Parade. After all the hype and coverage, today has made it feel so real. My prediction is the biggest wow factor will come from one of my all time favourite views of London. For me, nothing beats sitting by the Royal Observatory at the top end of Greenwich Park, where the equestrian events will be held, looking down over the Naval Buildings on to the East End and Isle of Dogs to the Olympic stadium itself. This will be one of those truly breath-taking views of what should be a breath-taking Olympic Games.
I can’t wait now. Did you get any tickets?
Times are tough. We all know that. And as brand experts, one of the best pieces of advice we give is the need to find and occupy a distinctive positioning in your market. Get this right, communicate your point of difference creatively, usually with the help of your own brand personality, and the rest should sort itself out. Right? Well, that's the theory.
This week Oddbins, one of my favourite brands, went into administration. Well, the brand didn't, but the company that owns it did. They have struggled against the supermarkets for years, and when the companies they owed money to decided not to accept 21p in the £ and a voluntary settlement (who can blame them), the administrators were called in. My hope in these situations is that the staff continue to be paid, which the guy in Street Lane said he has been. On Sunday night at least.
Established in 1963, the Oddbins brand has been built around a very distinctive personality. It stands out from the usual crowd of offies (as we used to call them) with its tone of voice. Great messages in the windows, knowledgeable staff with their welcome and sense of humour, Oddbins has always served me very well. Their recommendations have very rarely been anything other than great, and for someone that knows little about wine, its a great help.
So what went wrong? Well the obvious factor has been the power of the supermarkets. Stack it high and the masses will buy. We all love a good deal after all. Everyone moans about supermarket shopping and the convenience of buying everything in one go, but very few manage to avoid it. Oddbins has also made some mistakes too. It has concentrated on a very narrow slice of the market, selling wines of between about £8 and £15 a bottle. Nothing here to really compete in the mass market, which is looking for decent plonk for 6 quid or that ever popular brand of 3for. At the top end, Oddbins also used to look after the connoisseurs, with an excellent range of finer wines for the finer palette. But that went too, as the money men pushed too hard in too narrow a niche. And for all the efforts to create individuality and avoid generic POS, their game has noticeably slipped over the last couple of years, and their performance with it.
In the end, with the familiar tale of strangling debt, the brand has not been able to compete in our evermore competitive markets. So one of the most distinctive brands out there has gone the way of so many. I personally hope the brand lives on and can still be true to the itself. It sounds as if a number of buyers are in the frame, so the name at least will rise from the ashes. For me, there is definitely still room for specialist advice from a trusted advisor, which is what Oddbins is all about, and I for one will be supporting it as much as this moderate drinker can.
