Week 33 was a good week in terms of numbers, with 20 posts from 17 contributors. There were also 4 first-time contributors, all bringing fresh perspectives. It’s really heartening to see that weekly blog club continues to encourage new contributors.
Songs of six me’s
The optional theme for this week was ‘songs’. This continued from last week, building on the Guardian’s Six Songs of Me and Janet Davis’ fiendishly difficult song challenge. It’s both fascinating and very entertaining to read and listen – and sometimes watch – these varied song selections . I’ve added some new tracks to my own playlist as a result and enjoyed hearing some of them again. Thanks to Janet Harkin for reminding me of Wang Chung’s Dance Hall Days – definitely a student memory. Here are the songs of six me’s:
- Six Songs of Me (Part 2) by Louise Brown
- Throw those curtains wide – Six Songs of Me part 2 by Kate Bentham
- The Songs of Me (Part 2) by Mark Braggins
- Songsof.me by John Patterson
- 6 songs part 2 by Martin Howitt
- Fourteen songs of me by Janet Harkin
A couple of weeks ago Kate Bentham tweeted that she was surprised to see Right Said Fred next to Pink Floyd in my earlier song blog post. We then had fun mashing up song titles – ‘comfortably dippy’, ‘I’m too sexy for my wall’, ‘deeply numb’ – to name a few. So I couldn’t help but mention that Kate’s selection this week has Wham! sandwiched between Queen and Nirvana. That’s us quits, I think 
Extra time
Continuing on a musical note, Chris Allan made his first contribution to WeeklyBlogClub this week, with Time Will Pass You By. It’s a really entertaining piece in which Chris gets to combine two life-long passions: Northern Soul and movies, by being an film extra. He gets to dress up in clothes from another time (the 1970′s), and hang out with the stars. Time is also the link between the next two posts, and they both have ten (10) in the title.
Ten (10)
In 10 years and counting, Phil Jewitt shares three photos of himself and his boys, showing what a difference ten years makes. In Phil’s case, he somehow manages to look younger after ten years. It’ll be interesting to see if he looks like a teenager in 2022! Time also features in the top ten by Ross Wigham who reflects on his top ten blog posts from the last year. I won’t give the game away who won the Gold.
Growing
It doesn’t take ten years to grow grass, but it does take time as Janet Harkin finds out in Watching grass grow. There’s a wonderful description of her two year old ‘up close and personal each day with a digger, a tractor and a dumper’.
Growing up and keeping safe in the process. Carolyne Mitchell introduces her eight step programme for Making my kid safe online. She shares her personal experience and offers really helpful advice for parents concerned about Internet safety.
Reflections
Janet Davis has submitted two photo posts this week. In her first, Reflective beach, Janet brilliantly captures the contrast between the colourful clothing people are wearing, and the cold greys and silvers of the beach they are walking on.
From Janet’s reflective beach to reflections of a work-related kind in Growth .. reflections from a student mental health nurse by Lauren Goudie. This is the first time Lauren has contributed to Weekly Blog Club, and we do hope it won’t be her last. This post, written for the ayrshire health site, and tweeted by Derek Barron, considers how reflection and understanding can support nurturing. For anyone interested in reading more, Lauren has also provided an extensive reading list at the end of her post.
In another work-related post, Rachel Karasik has written FutureGov is back on the Simpl-Train. Rachel – another first-time WeeklyBlog Club contributor - wrote this as a guest post on CityCamp Coventry. and Sasha Taylor posted it on Rachel’s behalf. Rachel tells us about the ingenious new challenge platform FutureGov have come up with: Simpl. Hopefully we’ll be reading more from Rachel’s in the future.
Nicola Rae of Harrow Council has written Harrow ‘How to’ online volunteer guide. This post represents two firsts for Nicola: She is the first ever guest blogger on Content Comms, and it’s also the first time she’s contributed a post to Weekly Blog Club. Matt Bond posted the link on Twitter on Nicola’s behalf. It’s a really interesting piece, explaining how Harrow are publishing video guides for volunteers wishing become more involved in their local communities.
I wrote A Blue Light on the horizon in which I fret ever so slightly that a post I wrote earlier might come back to haunt me. I also look forward to the return of BlueLight Camp, the ‘unconference’ (and possibly a bit more) for emergency responders and those who work with them
Olympic rings
Still on the work-related theme, Andy Wilson wrote London Calling – A Scottish Cop’s Experience of Policing with the Met. This is a fascinating look at policing a major event – you can’t get much more major than the Olympics – and includes Andy’s perspective on some of the differences in style and tactics between Police forces.
Carol Woolley also talks about the Olympics in her post Inspiring a generation through #twitterolympics. Carol shares some statistics with us and observes that Twitter has provided the catalyst for everyone to join in and share their views. She also wonders why local government seems to be lagging behind in this area and suggests that disengaged staff might be the result.
Peter McClymont shares his personal journey from cynic to enthusiast in Our Olympics. He shows us how he’s been there, done that, and bought the T shirt. It’s a really enjoyable read with some great pictures as well.
Janet Davis‘ second photo blog: Rings of iron shares a very tenuous link with the Olympic rings. The scale of the rings would have been difficult estimate were it not for the strategically placed fishing fly nestling inside. We also learn that Janet would have been a blacksmith in another life.
If you haven’t blogged before and you want to give it a try with a friendly, supportive audience, Weekly Blog Club is a great place to start. There’s information about the club in the ‘About‘ section of this web site. It’s pretty simple though, basically you just write about anything you like, and tweet using the #weeklyblogclub hashtag by midday on Thursday.
That’s it for this week. I’m handing back to Janet Davis again. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Janet for being the regular ‘voice’ of Weekly Blog Club week-in and week-out, with only occasional short breaks. If you’re a regular Weekly Blog Clubber and are interested in helping out by doing an occasional guest slot, please make yourself known!
Mark
Summary of Week 33 posts
- FutureGov is back on the Simpl-Train by Rachel Karasik
- The top ten by Ross Wigham
- Time Will Pass You By by Chris Allan
- Watching grass grow by Janet Harkin
- Harrow ‘How to’ online volunteer guide by Nicola Rae of Harrow Council via Matt Bond
- Six Songs of Me (Part 2) by Louise Brown
- A Blue Light on the horizon by Mark Braggins
- 10 years and counting by Phil Jewitt
- Making my kid safe online by Carolyne Mitchell
- Inspiring a generation through #twitterolympics by Carol Woolley
- Throw those curtains wide – Six Songs of Me part 2 by Kate Bentham
- London Calling – A Scottish Cop’s Experience of Policing with the Met by Andy Wilson
- The Songs of Me (Part 2) by Mark Braggins
- Reflective beach by Janet Davis
- Rings of iron by Janet Davis
- Songsof.me by John Patterson
- Our Olympics by Peter McClymont
- Fourteen songs of me by Janet Harkin
- Growth .. reflections from a student mental health nurse by Lauren Goudie
- 6 songs part 2 by Martin Howitt
