Category Archives: Whats on

The People, Whats on

The We Are Cardiff stage at Swn Festival 2012: presenting Mab Jones

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Not sure if we mentioned it or not, but we’re curating a stage at this year’s Cardiff-based musical cornucopia – SWN FESTIVAL! In the run up to the festival, we’re going to be running short profiles on each of the lovely people performing on our stage. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Madame Mab Jones. Mab has been involved with We Are Cardiff before – you can read her story here.

Q. You’re performing on the WAC stage at Swn this year! Can you describe yourself as a performer? What can people expect?
A. I’m a modern-day Pam Ayres with a penchant for the political; a naughty-but-nice Welsh ‘lady’ who enjoysentertaining with raw, rude, ribald rhyme. I’ve performed at the Comedy Store, Leicester Comedy Festival, in the USA, Japan, on BBC Radio 4, at Latitude, Green Man, and many, many more. People can expect “delightful comic verse, articulate and imaginative” (Three Weeks, Edinburgh Fringe review).

Q. Describe the spoken word scene in Cardiff for us
A. It’s pretty good, with regular nights at Tommy’s Bar and National Theatre Wales’s Word 4 Word. There are some cool events at Gremlin Alley, the squat on City Road. And I also organise the odd event through my spoken word collective Jam Bones.

Q. Any local spoken word artists you’d tip for people to see?
A. My favourite Cardiff spoken word artists are Jack Pascoe, Liam Johnson, Nicholas Whitehead, Will Ford, and Steven Kenward.

Q. What’s your favourite thing to do in Cardiff?
A. My favourite thing is trying different types of world food – there are lots of good eateries in the Diff these days.

Q. Give us your lowdown on Swn Festival
A. I’ve been to bits of the festival before, and seen lots of great bands. I think this time I’m mostly looking forward to seeing The Lovely Eggs, who I missed in Cardiff earlier in the year.

Q. If people want to check out your stuff online, where can they do that?
A. They can look at my website, www.mabjones.com. Or else they can google me and see a lot of things I never approved and don’t like come up *sigh* **wink**.

Whats on

Roath Stories at Made In Roath Festival, 2012

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We Are Cardiff: Open House mixed media exhibition at Made In Roath Festival
Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October, 11am – 4pm
13 Boverton Street, Roath, Cardiff

We Are Cardiff (Best Blog in Wales 2012!) is a community project that invites residents of the city to tell their stories of living in the city. This year at Made in Roath, We Are Cardiff will present an exhibition of Roath stories and portrait photography in the intimate setting of a family home! Come by and meet the characters who make up this vibrant part of the capital of Wales.

Facebook event

designed by Adam Chard

Made In Roath 2012

Download the Made In Roath 2012 brochure

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ProjectCardiff Exhibition Preview invitation, Monday 15 October 2012

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Earlier this year, ProjectCardiff announced their intention to create a portrait series of 50 people who make a contribution to the creative community of Wales’ capital city. The photographs were taken by Lann Niziblian, who is one of We Are Cardiff’s most recently acquired photographers! We Are Cardiffite Helia was asked to sit for a portrait, and the full series of photographs will be on display in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

An Exhibition of Photographs by Lann Niziblian

Kindly sponsored by Julie Morgan AM

Monday 15 October 2012, 18:00-20:00*
Oriel, The Senedd, Pierhead Street, Cardiff, CF99 1NA

Project Cardiff would like to invite you to attend our exhibition opening at the Senedd on Monday the 15 October. The exhibition continues until the 2 November 2012.

Curated by Spike Dennis.

See the full list of ProjectCardiff’s inaugural portrait participants

The People, Whats on

The We Are Cardiff stage at Swn Festival: presenting Ffred Jones

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Not sure if we mentioned it or not, but we’re curating a stage at this year’s musical orgasmia – SWN FESTIVAL! In the run up to the festival, we’re going to be running short profiles on each of the lovely people performing on our stage. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Mister Ffred Jones.

Q. Can you describe yourself as a performer? What can people expect?
A. Ummm people can expect some serious finger picking! Plus a lot more bluegrass inspired banjo tunes, gonna be promoting some of my new material, really excited!

Q. Describe the music scene in Cardiff for us
A. The scene in Cardiff is pretty good and vibrant, especially when you consider the economic climate, people aren’t coming out so much but it’s not stopping people playing which is pretty cool.

Q. What’s your favourite thing to do in Cardiff?
A. Favorite thing to do in Cardiff, hit New York deli for seriously killer sandwich after sound check.

Q. Give us the lowdown on Swn Festival for you.
A. I’ve actually performed at SWN a few times over the years. I opened for Benjamin Francis Leftwich last year which was awesome! Then I went and met Ben Howard after his set in Clwb Ifor Bach, that was pretty cool. Really looking forward to Among Brothers, awesome band.

Q. If people want to check out your stuff online, where can they do that?
A. People can find me at www.ffredjones.co.uk hopefully doing a website revamp soon, with loads new media and loads of free music!

The People, Whats on

The We Are Cardiff stage at Swn Festival 2012: presenting Laurence Made Me Cry

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Not sure if we mentioned it or not, (have we? HAVE WE?) but we’re curating a stage at this year’s Cardiff-based musical cornucopia – SWN FESTIVAL! In the run up to the festival, we’re going to be running short profiles on each of the lovely people performing on our stage. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Laurence Made Me Cry (aka Jo Whitby). Jo has been involved with We Are Cardiff before (she’s like our resident songstress!) – and you can read the entry she wrote for the site here.

Q. You’re playing the We Are Cardiff stage this year! Can you describe your music / your sound please? What can people expect?
A. I’m very excited to play the We Are Cardiff stage, so great to be a part of it. My music has developed into something quite different in recent months. The EP I released last year was pretty much all acoustic based lo-fi folk music but since working on my new album I’ve started to explore more of my musical influences. I guess you could call it electonica-folk-pop? Something like that! My performance will still be very much acoustic based but I will definitely mix in a few of the more electronic tracks. That’s what laptops are for!

Q. Describe the music scene in Cardiff for us
A. As Cardiff is a relatively small capital it’s quite easy to follow what’s going on in the music scene. There are plenty of venues hosting music events every day of the week so loads of opportunities to see the local bands and musicians. Most of the Cardiff-based acts and promoters are really friendly so it’s quite easy to build up a great network of folks you know you can rely on.

Q. Any local bands/artists/producers you’d tip for people to check out?
A. It goes without saying that you should all check out two of my album collaborators Alone and Dementio13 both of which create the most awesome electronica. For some folk loveliness I would definitely check out Horizon, Scriber and Albatross Archive. Then there’s Inc.A of course who are fab live.

Q. What’s your favourite thing to do in Cardiff? (music related or otherwise)
A. My favourite thing to do in Cardiff is to take a walk from my house, through Wellfield Road then up for a slow stroll around Roath Park making sure I come back via a coffee shop. Simple pleasures.

Q. Have you ever played Swn Festival before? Have you got any good Swn memories? And… who are you most looking forward to seeing at Swn Festival this year?
A. I’ve not played Swn before and this will be my first festival performance as a solo artist which is terrifying but also quite special. I’ve rarely been in a financial position to attend the festival and when I had the opportunity my body had the audacity to become sick. There are so many acts I want to see! My current ‘must see’ list includes Pulled Apart By Horses, Trwbador, Jewellers, Alone (if we’re not clashing) and Ratotosk. I’m really looking forward to making some new discoveries too!

Q. If people want to check out your stuff online, where can they do that?
A. You can find lots of info and music on my website: http://laurencemademecry.com or if you’d rather access all the sounds in one click: http://soundcloud.com/lmmcmusic

Whats on

We Are Cardiff at Swn Festival 2012

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Can it be true? Yes – that’s right – we’ve only gone and got ourselves a stage at this year’s Sŵn Festival! Sŵn is a multi-venue musical takeover that happens in Cardiff over four days every October. It’s always an absolute riot, and we’re chuffed to bits to be curating a stage this year. As We Are Cardiff is a community project, all our performers are Cardiff talent. We’ve got music, beatboxing, some spoken words, plus a series of short films being shown between the acts. And some comedy, if we can fit it in. AND a special We Are Cardiff photography exhibition, where photos and stories from the blog will be up on the walls for all to see!

Float your boat? Make sure you get your Sŵn Festival wristband now (you can order tickets from the Sŵn Festival website)

You should also check out the full festival line up for this year. It’s pretty amazing: Sŵn Festival line up

In the run up to the festival, we’ll be publishing profiles from each of our performers, plus more info on our stage nearer to the time. If you REALLY want to make sure you’re free, save yourself some time on Saturday afternoon between 3pm-10pm. We promise you’ll have a right old knees up!

We Are Cardiff Productions, Whats on

A Roath state of mind exhibition launch party

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Big shout out to everyone who came down to our Roath state of mind exhibition launch on Friday. It was really good to see you all there, and thanks to Waterloo Teahouse for putting on such a wonderful spread for our party! It was also nice to meet some new friends and see some new faces – including a couple of Penylan councillors and local MP, Jenny Willott.

Thanks to all your generosity in purchasing raffle tickets, we made a massive £273! Thank you all so much. That will cover the printing costs for the exhibition and go in the pot towards our documentary film that we are making about Cardiff. For more information on that, visit the We Are Cardiff: Portrait of a City blog.

Photos of the launch event were taken by Ffion Matthews:

roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-04

roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-01 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-02 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-03  roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-05 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-06 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-07 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-08 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-09 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-10 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-11 roath_state_of_mind_exhibition_-12

 

We also need to give a big thanks to everyone who donated raffle prizes or just helped out in anyway… in no particular order:

Don’t forget the exhibition is there until 2 July – Waterloo Gardens Teahouse is one of the nicest independent tea shops in Cardiff, so we definitely recommend setting aside a few hours to go enjoy some of their delicious teas and have a nose at our exhibition!

‘We Are Cardiff: a Roath state of mind’ exhibition
Waterloo Gardens Teahouse
Exhibition 29 May – 2 July 2012
www.waterlootea.com

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Whats on

You are invited to: ‘We Are Cardiff: a Roath state of mind’ exhibition, 29 May – 2 July, Waterloo Teahouse

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Friends, Cardiffians – it is our pleasure to invite you to our first localised exhibition, which is taking place in the heartland of Roath.

The boundaries of Roath spread further and run deeper than the thin lines on the map that separate it from surrounding Penylan, Cathays, Adamsdown, or even Splott. Roath is more than a place – it’s a state of mind, and we invite you to celebrate that with our first localised exhibition, featuring stories and photography of local residents who have been featured in the We Are Cardiff project.

You are invited to the launch party, on 1 June 2012. Come have a peek at the exhibition, and learn more about the film that we’re currently making about our fair city of Cardiff.

‘We Are Cardiff: a Roath state of mind’ exhibition
Waterloo Gardens Teahouse
Launch party: Friday 1 June 2012, from 6.15pm-8pm
Exhibition 29 May – 2 July 2012

www.wearecardiff.co.uk
www.waterlootea.com

RAFFLE PRIZES – UPDATE

A four-ball round of golf at St Pierre Golf Club in Chepstow (donated by Acorn Recruitment and Training

A speedboat trip for two around Cardiff Bay (donated by CAVRA)

A meal for two from the set menu at Ffresh (donated by Ffresh)

A luxury haircut (donated by the Constantinou salon)

A pair of trapeze taster session tickets (donated by NoFitState circus)

A meal for two in the Gallery Restaurant at the Grosvenor G Cardiff (donated by the Grosvenor G Casino)

A Fairtrade chocolate hamper (donated by Fairtrade Wales)

A print of Roath Park artwork (donated by Gayle Rogers)

A hand crocheted blanket (donated by Andrew Williams)

A framed print (donated by Jo Whitby)

A screenprinted t shirt (donated by Droneboy Laundry)

A bottle of champagne (donated by EstatesDirect Cardiff)

A screenprinted Shewolf t-shirt (donated by Spike Dennis)

A limited edition We Are Cardiff t-shirt

We’d like to say a very large thank you to ALL the sponsors who have donated prizes for this draw – you’re helping us out with a worthwhile project and we really appreciate your support.

So … more info on our lovely sponsors…

FFRESH. With stunning views of Cardiff Bay, a stylish and contemporary feel, and a wonderful seasonal menu showcasing the best of Welsh produce, ffresh Bar and Restaurant is catered to enhance your culinary dining experience.Excellent quality food and service is led by Executive Chef Kurt Fleming, along with consultancy expertise from Shaun Hill, Executive Chef at The Walnut Tree Inn at Abergavenny. The ffresh team have a great deal of experience to help you choose a menu that suits tastes and budget. All our menus have wonderful vegetarian options, and our Chefs are more than happy to cater for any special dietary requirements…
ffresh Restaurant is open Tuesday-Saturday 12 noon- 2.30pm; 5-9.30pm and Sundays 12 noon – 4pm. Please note that on Mondays, ffresh Restaurant is only open for pre-show dining. Whether you are visiting Cardiff bay for an afternoon, seeing a production at the Centre, or looking for a special evening dining experience book your table at the restaurant on 029 2063 6465 or ffresh@wmc.org.uk.

FAIRTRADE WALES. Did you know Wales is a fair trade country and Cardiff was the world’s first Fairtrade capital city? Fair trade is about creating opportunities for producers in the developing world to receive a fair price for their goods and to work their way out of poverty. Put simply, it is an opportunity for them to improve their lives and the lives of their families, and is as simple as the choices you make on your weekly shop.

ESTATES DIRECT – the 0% Commission Agent. At EstatesDirect we charge a fair fixed fee to sell or let your property.  To see how much you could save and find out more please visit our website. EstatesDirect Cardiff is owned and run by Paul and Helen Walters. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service throughout your property sale or let, from the initial FREE valuation, through to viewings and finally the sale or let of your property. We are local to Cardiff, and will offer expert advice on marketing your property to its greatest potential and to as many targeted buyers and tenants as possible.

JO WHITBY. Jo Whitby is an all-round creative type who likes to cram her days with as much arty/music/culture stuff as possible. I Know Jojo is where she freelances as an illustrator and artist doing all sorts of works from depicting classic Welsh myths to crowd surfing a Smart Car. You can also find Jo making music as Laurence Made Me Cry and sporadically updating a music and culture blog called Cat On The Wall.

SPIKE DENNIS. Spike is  a maker, an imaginator, a unicorn farmer & a Romanticist with a burning desire to understand that which lies beyond the stars but you can call him an artist for want of a better word. He has lived in Cardiff for five years and recently launched ProjectCardiff with co-conspirator Lann Niziblian. Spike will be exhibiting some collaborative work inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tales at St Donats Art Centre in the Vale of Glamorgan throughout June this year (full details available shortly)
More info at: www.spikeworld.co.uk / www.unicorn-porn.com

ANDREW WILLIAMS. Andy is a knitwear designer that has been knitting since 2004 and crocheting since 2009. He has free patterns available on his blog and Ravelry page, and some of his patterns are available to buy from Calon Yarns on Cowbridge Road East. Making blankets is an obsession he has. Blankets of all shapes, sizes and colours. “I’ve loved blankets since I was little. They make me feel safe and warm. A handmade blanket is even better, because not only are you getting a lovely handmade thing, you’re getting someone’s time – that’s a really precious thing to give. The blanket I’m making for We Are Cardiff is a giant granny square, which I will embellish with some appliquéd bits and bobs. It’s super colourful, hope someone colourful wins it!” See also: Ravelry

NOFITSTATE CIRCUS. No Fit State was founded in 1986 by five friends. During a politically charged time, in a recession, and as a creative reaction to the world around them, the circus was born. Twenty-five years later NoFit State still believes that the total outweighs the sum of the parts. The company lives together, works together, eats together, laughs and cries together – travelling in trucks, trailers and caravans and loving and breathing as one community. This is what creates the spirit that is NoFit State and gives the work its heart and soul. Contemporary circus combines live music, dance, stage design, text, and film with traditional circus skills. It is rooted in the travelling community who turn up, pitch a tent, drum up an audience, and then leave with only flattened grass and a memory to show they were ever there. The circus are the strangers who live amongst us – and if we run away to join them we are throwing off our inhibitions, our conventions, the rules of settled society. We are taking to the road knowing that there is no destination – only a journey.
Today, NoFit State is the UK’s leading large-scale contemporary circus company, producing professional touring productions and a wide variety of community, training, and education projects for people of all ages.

We Are Cardiff Productions, Whats on

We Are Cardiff invites you to Roath Rocks – 4 May, The Gower Pub Roath

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Wouldn’t you know it. Our wonderful friend Wayne Courtney is throwing us a fundraiser to try and raise some cash for the We Are Cardiff: Portrait of A City film that we’re making! The party is taking place at the Gower Pub in Roath as part of the Roath Rocks Weekend. It’s on Friday 4th May – there’s a raffle with some amazing prizes – and YOU are all invited!

Friday 4 May
The Gower Pub, Roath
6pm til late

Line up for the night:
– Hullaballo
– The Fflip Fflops
– Calum Ross & The Scarlets.
Also making special appearances that night will be Hobo Bogweed and comic duo The Chicago Boys.

RAFFLE PRIZES!

We also have a pretty amazing raffle as part of our fundraising … check out the list of prizes below!

A bottle of champagne (courtesy of EstatesDirect Cardiff)
A 60 minute treatment + spa voucher (value £50) (courtesy of City Marshall Massage Therapy)
A rare first issue of Blown magazine (courtesy of Blown)
Five free zumba classes (courtesy of Sarah Sen)
Two amazing plush toy robots from Milkwood gallery (courtesy of Milkwood Gallery)
Photography session and stills (courtesy of Pontcanna Photo)
2 tickets to any Indigo Live event (shows listed below, courtesy of Indigo Live)

So get yourselves down to the Gower Pub in Roath on Friday 4 May, and have yourselves a fun evening – win some prizes – and help us raise money to make our film!

The Gower Pub, 29 Gwennyth Street, Roath (click here for the map)

Join the Facebook event for the night here

A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED A PRIZE!

INDIGO LIVE
Indigo Live are passionate music fans first, and promoters second. As Indigo Live is not a commercial venture, but a labour of love, it enables us to have a diverse booking policy so that we are not limited by genre, venue, or demographic. Cardiff has a very vibrant and diverse music scene which is seeing a resurgence in local Welsh talent. Where possible we always seek to add local supports to touring artists/bands in order to generate exposure or introduce the band/s to a new audience. There will always be a place for live music in Cardiff, and Indigo Live in its small way is looking forward to playing a part in promoting the city, its culture and music.
Prize:
Indigo Live is offering 2 free tickets to one show of their choice from the following:
An Audience with Howard Marks | The Gate, Cardiff | 12 May | 16+ show
Keep it Cash w/Rusty Shackle | The Globe, Cardiff | 12 May | 14+ show
Said The Whale | Buffalo Bar, Cardiff | 20 May | 18+ show
Mark Morriss/Chris Helme | Clwb Ifor Bach | 24 May | 14+ Show
The Christians | The Globe, Cardiff | 25 May | 14+ show
Fossil Collective w/Paper Aeroplanes | Clwb Ifor Bach | 6 June | 14+ show

ESTATES DIRECT – the 0% Commission Agent
At EstatesDirect we charge a fair fixed fee to sell or let your property.  To see how much you could save and find out more please visit our website.
EstatesDirect Cardiff is owned and run by Paul and Helen Walters. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service throughout your property sale or let, from the initial FREE valuation, through to viewings and finally the sale or let of your property. We are local to Cardiff, and will offer expert advice on marketing your property to its greatest potential and to as many targeted buyers and tenants as possible.

BLOWN MAGAZINE
blown magazine is cultural intelligence from Wales, wrapped in a super glossy format full of pictures to make your jaw drop and writing from established heavyweights and emerging new talent: Art, performance, literature, music, fashion and photography. It’s distributed to Tooting, Toronto and Tokyo; Newport to New York and Sydney and Swansea. Produced with passion and sheer derring-so from the blown  Bunker (aka Chapter). Issue two has sold out but we have a few rare copies of issue one and issue three is on its way. Find us on facebook and on our (soon to be redeveloped) web site www.blownmag.com.

CITY MARSHALL
City Marshall is located in the heart of Queen St and has been voted by Wahanda as the Best Therapeutic Massage practice in Wales. It offers 18 therapies and every session is individually tailor made. Enjoy free use of their luxury spa and gym facilities with every treatment. City Marshall is located on the First Floor of Vitality Health Club
8-16 Park Place, Opposite The Parc Hotel and next to Henry’s Bar – Cardiff City Centre CF10 3DN. Call or Text: 07502 104 339. City Marshall website  Find City Marshall on Face Book
and  see a detailed street map here

Sarah Sen – Zumba!

Sarah’s Zumba classes have been running for over two years, and are a great deal of fun whilst also gaining fitness benefits. Zumba is a Latin inspired dance fitness regime and takes flavours from all kinds of music internationally. It is exercise in disguise which is why many people have joined the classes whom may never have done fitness previously. And more importantly, they keep coming back for more. Classes in Cardiff are Monday and Thursday 7.45-8.45pm and Tuesday 7-8pm in Roath Park Primary. For more information, call Sarah on 07545 326650 or email her.

 

Whats on

Did you miss us in the Guardian last week?

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Fear not! You can read the article online here
Patrick Barkham – Local bloggers: voices from the global village (Guardian G2, Tuesday 20 March)

Also, did we mention we’re making a film of We Are Cardiff? We’re crowdfunding it, so we need YOU to donate some pennies! Visit our Indiegogo campaign where you can invest in the film in exchange for great rewards like getting your name in the credits, posters and free t-shirts
We Are Cardiff documentary film fundraising page

Also, why not join our We Are Cardiff page on Facebook

or follow @WeAreCardiff on Twitter

And of course we’re still looking for residents of Cardiff to feature on this blog! So if you’re interested, ping us an email at wearecardiff@gmail.com

helia
x

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we are cardiff – in the guardian!

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image

we couldn’t be happier today – our lovely little project is featured in the guardian! and well done to photographer simon ayre, whose lovely picture of zoe howerska adorns the cover of g2.

what are you waiting for? go buy a copy! now!!

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Vote for We Are Cardiff in the 2011 Wales Blog Awards!

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You heard us. You’ve enjoyed reading the stories on the site. If you’d be so kind, we’d very much like you to vote for us in the People’s Choice bit of the Wales Blog Awards 2011. You’ve got until October 21st to do it. If you REALLY want us to win, why not vote, clear the cookies from your browser, then vote again?? Ok, it’s not really in the spirit of the thing, I suppose….!

Anyway. We’ve made it through to the final for best community blog, and we also want to congratulate the other two blogs that made it through to the final of that category:

http://photonicanglesey.blogspot.com/ – by The Photon

http://rhuthun.blogspot.com – by Non Liquet

(they make for very interesting reading – I especially enjoyed the lively comments on the Ruthun blog)

So, make sure you vote for us. But don’t worry if we don’t win, we’re not sore losers. We’ll be carrying on much as normal. So stay tuned!