Although some regulars were too busy to write in Week 18, what with elections and getting married and stuff, we had 11 contributions. Some were were practical, sharing of useful information and digital tools. Some were about our society. One was ostensibly about football, but really about much more. And two were light-hearted playlists.
Matt Bond launched a survey in his post this week: Local Government Film Survey Launched. He considered use of film by local government and would like people to participate in the survey. Lesley Thomson enthused about one of her favourite tools this week Stuck on Storify. Or, do as I say, not do as I do… – and has probably encouraged at least a couple of us to think again about trying it.
Janet Harkin shared a Great infographic on grammar mistakes, which some will find useful as a reminder or as training material. In the old days, it would have been called a poster, or an illustration – and if it had been arranged more horizontally, it would have been called a comic strip. What to call things and how language is not always as straightforward as it sounds was on Phil Jewitt’s mind this week. He wrote an entertaining and interesting post about how Yorkshire dialect could cause fatal misunderstandings in ‘appen it’s reet.
How language is used can really mean life or death when in the context of the emergency services. Mark Braggins’s post this week – BlueLightCamp: Weekend Camping Pt1 – was the first part of his account of an event focused on the emergency services using digital communication. It is really interesting, and relevant to us all since we all may need to use one or more of these services at some point.
Social responsibilities were a theme in other posts this week. Irena Souroup wrote about her concerns about the long hours and low pay for those who work on some of the big cruise ships in Old Pirates Yes They Rob I. Simon Hope was concerned about the lack of information and discussion in social media about the issues relating to the question of whether some cities should have mayors: Elected Mayors – social media where are you? The issue of what to do about vanishing heart of many communities – the village shop – was covered in Peter McClymont’s post this week, Playing shops – an update, as he shared some of the story behind setting up his village’s new community shop.
The most moving post of the week was undoubtedly Dan Slee’s Losing and connecting in a Cup Final. It is about so much more than football, and is one of those “must-read” posts – but do have a hanky to hand, whether you support the blues, the reds or any other colour of the rainbow. Dan certainly started his new personal blog with a kick.
Although I put together The Blue playlist, it was not inspired by the BlueLightCamp but had been sparked off by @BlackPlaques inspiring me to collate The Black playlist. More suggestions were added by Simon Fogg. Of course, I had to do a substantial list for the original Blue Plaques, which is probably another British invention since the earliest known were in London. Deirdre of @OpenPlaques put forward a further substantial lists. Wherever you are in the world, do have a look at what Open Plaques do and consider participating.
I wrote a short ‘aside’ post on the blog this week with the stats from April, if you want an idea of how many read and ‘Like’ this blog. Thank you very much to all readers who contribute by commenting and clicking ‘Like’ buttons. It is great for all writers to receive positive feedback. Thank you to all the writers who have shared their thoughts with us during Week 18. If I have missed anyone’s post in the hurly-burly of tweets during the week, do just tweet or comment and point me in the right direction so I can include it.
Last week, whilst writing the summary, I had a thought for this week’s (entirely optional) theme…but I failed to write it down and have forgotten it. So, at present there is no suggested (entirely optional) theme for Week 19. If you have any suggestions (I assume that all Weekly Blog Club members would have only polite suggestions – in this context at least) for the (entirely optional) theme for this week, let me know. As always, there will be some of us around if you are lost for inspiration – just tweet for help. Between us, we usually manage to help to shift writer’s block.
Janet
Summary of Week 18 posts
Great infographic on grammar mistakes by Janet Harkin.
‘appen it’s reet by Phil Jewitt.
BlueLightCamp: Weekend Camping Pt1 by Mark Braggins.
Old Pirates Yes They Rob I by Irena Souroup.
The Black playlist by Janet E Davis.
The Blue playlist by Janet E Davis.
Losing and connecting in a Cup Final by Dan Slee.
Local Government Film Survey Launched by Matt Bond.
Stuck on Storify. Or, do as I say, not do as I do… by Lesley Thomson.
Elected Mayors – social media where are you? by Simon Hope.
Playing shops – an update by Peter McClymont.
Weekly Blog Club was set up in early January 2012 to encourage people to blog regularly, and especially to encourage those working in and with the public sector, charities and voluntary organisations in the UK to find their own 'voice' through writing.
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