Author Archives: Frostie

Fashions Finest | London Fashion Week 2012

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Fashions Finest

 

The strong tribal theme last seen in AW12 was resurrected in the collections showcased by Europe’s emerging designers.

 

Creative graduates were given an opportunity to exhibit their latest projects at the Fashions Finest event that sidelined the main London Fashion Week schedule.

 

And as some of the female designers played it safe with key black trends, others attempted to make their collections stand out at The Westbury in Mayfair on Sunday.

 

Here’s a summary of each designer’s catwalk lines:

 

Blackpearl’s Secrets

Elegant and formal, the runway featured shimmering floor-length dresses and fitted men’s suits with tribal motifs etched on the pockets, elbows and lapels.

 

Blackpearl’s collection imitated the split-at-the-thigh gowns worn by Angelina Jolie and the hip-revealing dresses first adorned by Cheryl Cole.

 

But the contemporary was intertwined with the past, with square buckles nipping in at the waist and lace-up detail to the front and back of the dresses.

 

The catwalk line showed off the female form, with deep v-neck lines, high-rise slits and pieces which exposed the back.

 

Agatha Hambi

Black is the signature style of the Hambi designs as each model walked out to the chilled beats of the music.

 

Sticking to a black colour scheme with silver zips for all her pieces, Hambi’s collection was again floor-length but loose fitting against the frames of the models.

 

Halter necklines were prominent but there was little in the way of detail apart from a couple of dresses with feathers on the straps at the base of the neck.

 

To make each dress unique though, she incorporated different materials, such as netted, see-through textiles to the arms, shoulders and chest area.

 

Ella Bethel

A refreshing splash of colour delighted the audience in the next line-up by Bethel.

 

With the first model dressed in fruity reds, oranges and yellows in a skirt and blazer combination, the designs that followed were anything but consistent.

 

They were glam and cute with a look of ‘cocktails in the summer’.

 

All skirts were above the knee and Bethel experimented with materials, distinguishing the top and bottom halves of her projects.

 

There was also a hint of the tribal with delicate designs at the waist to the bolder print dresses. 

 

Tribal Gem

As the name suggests, Tribal Gem featured statement tribal motifs printed on blazers.

 

Models were dressed in black leggings so the eye was drawn to the bright designs on the jackets.

 

Sitting at the waist in either a straight or curved cut, the suits often featured a single button below the breasts, exposing the midriff.

 

The standout blazer was one that looked somewhat like a pillowcase – see the picture.

 

Mademoiselle Aglaia

Using black as the base of her designs, Aglaia’s collection was more experimental than her fellow designers.

 

The male models were dressed in a futuristic, street goth trend, while the women sported soft-flowing skirts, juxtaposed with crude short cut shorts and mini-skirts exposing the flesh.

 

A memorable piece was the half sequined, half feathered ball gown with a zig-zag design to the front which wouldn’t look too out of place on the high-street.

 

Established Beauxtique

Formal but with cheeky, playful undertones, the designs also incorporated the ongoing tribal theme.

 

Bold print jackets in deep yellows and reds were matched with elegant black skirts and dresses.

 

There were gasps as a model wearing a frilly dress and sheer turquoise bodice strutted down the catwalk.

 

Eva Cammarata

As a finalist in Britain’s Top Designer, Cammarata’s collection had to match her glowing introduction.

 

And she didn’t disappoint.

 

Unusually, her collection stuck to thick-threaded/woollen jumper dresses and belly tops teamed with tweed three-quarter length trousers.

 

Sticking to rusty gold and bronze colours, there was also a touch of S&M in her clothing.

 

Belt-like straps clung to the shoulders and hugged the area below the chest in a couple of her pieces.

 

And one of her more unusual designs included white lace teamed with a thick blue-layered woollen skirt. 

 

**********

Overall, Fashions Finest gave a good glimpse of the collections London Fashion Week followers can expect from future generations of designers. The model’s timing when entering the runway and the narration of the event may not have been perfectly executed, but their projects were promising

 

Unlock iPhone 4 and 4S cash value for the new iPhone 5

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Mazuma Mobile, the UK’s leading mobile phone recycler has released the current prices consumers can expect to get for their current iPhone handsets as Apple make iPhone 5 announcements. Mazuma expects to see high volumes of the iPhone 4 & 4s to be sent to them as soon as Apple announce the release of its latest handset mirroring the 2011 4S launch. Mazuma recycle over 20,000 handsets per week, with iPhone launches representing the biggest spikes in consumers wanting to unlock the cash value stored in their current handsets.

Charlo Carabott UK MD says: Generally speaking, we expect very high volumes of iPhone 4 and 4S to be recycled worldwide once the iPhone 5 is available. More so than any other iPhone release, simply for the reason that Apple sold more iPhone 4 and 4S than previous models and the iPhone 5 has been long awaited. For consumers wanting to maximise the return they get, we would recommend getting their handsets in early!”

Currently Consumers can get the following prices from Mazuma Mobile for their current iPhones:

·     iPhone 4 8GB- £145
·     iPhone 4 16GB- £150
·     iPhone 4 32GB- £155
·     iPhone 4s 16GB- £250
·     iPhone 4s 32GB- £275
·     iPhone 4s 64GB- £300

*Prices correct at going to press

 

 

Mazuma is committed to safely and efficiently recycling old mobile phones, mainly through reuse. Mazuma’s reconditioned mobile phones are sent for reuse to a number of developing countries where there is a demand for used phone handsets.

www.mazumamobile.com

Stuart Cosgrove reflects on the Paralympic Games

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In his role as Director of Creative Diversity at Channel 4, Stuart Cosgrove managed the team in charge of the coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Here, he reflects on the last few years, and in particular the last 12 days, contemplates the legacy of the games, and looks ahead to the future of Paralympic broadcasting.

 

When we signed the rights to the Paralympic Games, what do you think it was that secured them for Channel 4?

There’s no question that we were in quite a keen, competitive battle for the rights. There’s always two or three dynamics going on with negotiations, one of which is money, and the amount we were willing to spend on securing the rights, but it’s actually always about more than simply money. There’s also the amount of air time that you’re going to commit to giving the event, and for the Paralympics that was mission-critical, because this was the first time ever that the Paralympics had effectively been sold to the international market as a rights asset. It had always been seen in the past as something that was added-on to the Olympics, with all the down-sides of being associated as the junior partner. This was the first time it had been separated out as a package in its own right. So clearly money was important, but so was the amount if air time, which ended up being close to 500 per cent bigger than the BBC had done in Beijing. That was a seismic step-change, a paradigm-shift in the way in which people had perceived the Paralympics before. Then the third thing to add to that would be the level of creative vision that we committed to bringing to the games. That included the support in poster campaigns and on-screen trails, and working with commercial partners to do a range of films in advance. For two years we’ve been working on programming content, magazine shows, documentaries, short films, all of those things, to build up a public awareness of the athletes and of the competition. And I think there was another thing that helped us, which is that if you offer something to a broadcaster like Channel 4, which can never compete with the BBC in terms of scale, or size of staff or that sort of thing, it mattered to us because it was something big that we’d won. So in terms of our corporate ambitions, the whole organisation got behind the Paralympics in ways that it wasn’t just another thing for us, it was the biggest thing that we would do, and for many people on the team possibly the biggest thing they’ll ever do in their career. So with that, you get the emotional engagement with it, of caring about it and giving it that attention, whereas with other broadcasters, it might just be another sporting occasion.

 

What were the main challenges you faced between winning the bid and the start of the Games?

First and foremost, engaging people with the specialness of it, the fact that we had something here that was clearly different. Another area of it was to try to decode the sometimes complex classification systems brought about by the different levels of impairment of the athletes involved. The other thing was striking the best balance between high-quality, elite sport, and emotional narratives about the lives of the people competing – how their impairments had come about, how their disability had affected their lives. Those human interest and emotional stories had to run alongside great sport and coverage of it, because if it wasn’t good sport, you don’t earn the right to tell the other story.

 

Why was it so important to get disabled talent on-screen presenting?

I think that Channel 4 is always looking to put forward a degree of authenticity that maybe other channels wouldn’t aspire to. Other channels might have seen it purely as another sporting occasion, where they put their sports team and their sports anchors on it. Channel 4 has a remit to develop new talent across the UK, and so embarked on a nationwide search for first-time presenter talent who themselves had a disability. We then trained them for almost two-years off-air, and then brought them on-air gradually, in late-night shows and as-live situations. We brought them through in partnerships, where they were always on air with experienced professionals sitting with them in the studios. I think, by and large (and there’s always a subjectivity about whether you do or don’t love a presenter, but putting that subjectivity to one side and looking at this as an objective piece of work) I think that most people would conclude that we’ve had a really good success rate at bringing fresh new talent to the screen, some of whom the audience have clearly fallen in love with. And as presenters, they were able to bring their own experiences to the screen, so you had Daraine being filmed getting fitted for prosthetic blades, or Arthur’s experience as a member of the British development team for the Paralympics in Rio. Having a guy like him, who can give you that sense of what it feels like to become a wheelchair athlete after you’ve become paralysed in an accident, that’s quite an important emotional engagement for the viewer. That sort of takes us back to the Superhumans campaign, and that controversial moment in the trailer where the bomb goes off, and it flashes to a car crash, and then to a prenatal ward where a woman is clearly struggling with bad news about birth defects – it just gives you that sense that this is not just athletics as we know it.

 

Now that the Paralympics have finished, how do you feel that the coverage went?

Really well. The Olympic Broadcast Services provided a very extensive and high-quality coverage for us, as they had done previously for the BBC with the Olympics. And I think we benefited from the fact that the BBC kicked off one of the most remarkable summers of sport that Britain’s ever witnessed. We harvested some of the national mood of that, and I think people were just up for this summer never to end. I think they enjoyed embracing new stars who they’d never heard of before. One of the editorial tones we set for ourselves was for our coverage to be ‘More of the same, but different’. We wanted to harvest the gold medals, we wanted Team GB to be successful, all of the things we’d seen in the Olympics, but we wanted to do it differently, the difference of course being disability and all of the things that come with that.

 

Is there anything you’d change about how Channel 4’s covered the games?

I think inevitably with hindsight, you’re always looking to see “Should we have done more on that particular sport?” “Could we have enriched the coverage with even more cameras?” There’s always those technical things that you look at, of that there’s no question. One thing I was struck by, as a viewer, was the very deep and high quality expertise. Pure sports fans will have come away, particularly with the swimming from Giles Long, and the middle and long-distance wheelchair sports with Jeff Adams, knowing they’ve been in the company of real experts who can analyse sport to a point where it becomes revelatory for you. You can never have too much expertise.

 

Are there any other aspects of the coverage that you’re particularly proud of?

Yeah, I’m really proud of the fact that we managed to tell great stories about previously unknown talent. I’m really proud of another thing: I had a conversation with a colleague of mine, who’s the Scottish Football Association’s Disability Development Officer, a guy called David McArdle. He had been telling me that Channel 4 didn’t understand that, by virtue of placing these games so into the public domain, we were converting a lot of people to disabled sport, who didn’t even know some of these sports existed. This will have a major impact, in a transformative sense, for families with disabled kids, or for people who acquire disabilities and want to rebuild their life and find purpose in their life, whether that’s through cerebral palsy football or wheelchair racing or whatever. By virtue of putting this coverage on air, with the level and depth that we’ve done, we’ve played a role in alerting people that they can participate in sport to a significant standard, and start to rebuild their lives after either accidents or inherited disabilities. I feel proud of that because it’s a lasting legacy. It goes beyond the ideas of “Oh, did you win an award for the title sequence?” or “Did you win an award for best promotions?” Those are nice to have, but they’re industry values. What’s really important is that people are now looking at disabled sport through an entirely different lens.

 

What was your own personal high point, in sporting terms, of the games?

I’m from an Irish family, although I’m a Scot, and I thought that the Irish team did extraordinarily well, particularly on the track. That was something I felt very proud of. If I had a little bit of a setback, I was personally putting a lot on Jerome Singleton in the 100m. My reasons for that are to do with another passion – I’m obsessed with black American music, and Jerome is a graduate of the famous Morehouse College, where Spike Lee went – it’s one of black America’s most famous colleges, and he’s one of their elite athletes. I’d been following him through the American trials, and secretly wanted him to win the 100m. But he didn’t. You watch people for all sorts of different reasons. Libby Clegg won silver in the 100m. She’s a young girl from the borders of Scotland. I’ve been following her. I’ve had a photograph of her on my desk from last season, of her with peroxide blonde hair and her running dark glasses, and running with her guide athlete, who’s a young black man from South London. And that image, of this blonde white girl in sunglasses running tied to a young black British athlete in an elite disability sport, if you freeze-frame it as a moment, you couldn’t get a better moment of diversity in contemporary Britain. It just comes alive. So all of those things really sparkle for me.

 

Were you surprised by the viewing figures?

Personally I have, yes. I thought that we would do well across daytime, because we’re offering something that’s different and live. But I’ve been taken back by the numbers, and how that converted into prime time viewing. We comfortably beat the 3 million mark night after night, and for a Channel the size of Channel 4, that’s a huge reward. I’ve been at Channel 4 for the best part of 15 years, and I can’t remember a time where we’ve delivered on this scale both commercially and in terms of our public purposes. It’s almost the event that’s defined why Channel 4 exists. It’s changing public attitudes, it goes to the heart of our remit, but people want to engage with it, it’s hugely popular television.

 

You’ve already touched on legacy a little. But what will the legacy of all this be on Channel 4? How are you going to keep up this momentum?

First and foremost, the legacy around all of this is that we’ve not only increased the visibility of the Paralympics, we’ve nurtured in the audience a passionate interest in it. And I think we’ve helped educate our audience about disabled sport, so that as you move forward, the audience has every expectation of wanting to see more of the thing that you’ve awakened in them. Obviously we’ve got our new presenters, and we’ll be looking to find ways of returning them to other parts of our schedule in the years ahead. And obviously we have to look to the other Paralympic events that we can bid for. But we’re not going to be gifted anything. The BBC have seen the success that we’ve had with the Paralympics, and they’ll want a bit more of that. They’ll consider, as the national broadcaster, that by rights the Paralympics should be theirs. ITV might turn around and say “This was commercially a good thing for Channel 4,” and want to look at it. We know that ESPN and Sky are keen to dominate the sporting market, and may be interested. So we can’t take anything for granted. We don’t own the rights, yet, to Rio, but clearly we’d be interested in looking at them and being part of the bidding process. But nothing is guaranteed.

 

And what about the legacy away from Channel 4? What do you think the long-term effect will be of these games, and the coverage of them, on the nation as a whole?

The effect is three-fold for me. Number one, we’ve brought disability absolutely into the mainstream. There’s been plenty of disability-themed broadcasting on all channels over the years, but this is the first time that it’s come so profoundly and so energetically into prime time, and made such an impact commercially. The days of saying that disabled content is a ratings disaster are over. What you do with disability content, how you frame it, and how you bring it to audiences, that is the big issue now. Secondly, I think we’ve really educated audiences about disabled sport, about the ranges of sports out there. And they’ve taken a lot of the athletes and turned them into household names. There’s an enormous appetite out there for the blade runners, the amputee cyclists, the wheelchair racers, as there is for wheelchair rugby, which is a high-impact sport in every sense of the word. Disabled sport has come of age. And the final thing is the legacy of sporting participation. If you’re a young couple and you live in Lincolnshire and you’ve got a four-year-old kid who’s disabled, maybe with cerebral palsy or a genetic condition, or they’re an amputee, and you’re sitting down saying “What’s the future for our kid?” suddenly a world has opened up where they’ll be saying “How do we get our kid to be more of a participant in sport?” “Shouldn’t we be taking them to swimming lessons?” “How do we get them to understand that a wheelchair is something they can use as a sporting device, rather than just a piece of mobility?” So for all of those reasons I think levels of participation in disabled sports will increase across the whole of the UK, and I think Channel 4 should be very proud to have been part of that.

New Recipes For National Curry Week

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To celebrate National Curry Week this October (8th – 14th), British Onions have partnered with Indian street food entrepreneur, Vinod Patel of Chula Fused Foods, to devise some mouth-watering Indian recipes using the best homegrown ingredients, ensuring the highest quality.

 

Onions are a vital ingredient to adding distinctive flavour to any curry, sauce or Indian side dish, and these quick and easy recipes show off this essential vegetable at its best.  Whether you’re an experienced chef or a beginner in the kitchen you’ll be able to impress your family and friends with these delicious recipes and celebrate an Indian summer!

 

Chula Fused Foods is Vinod Patel’s reinvention of the Burrito, through which he has taken the beloved Mexican concept and added an Indian fusion twist. Travelling from San Francisco to London, via Bangalore, Vinod immersed himself in all types of food, from dining at high end restaurants to trying out pop-up cafes on the roadside and was drawn to the creative side of creating high quality food for those on the go. His menu is a combination of slow-cooked meats and bean curries, roasted tomato chutneys, Gujarati yoghurt dips and crunchy salads, or as he says, a balanced lunch that will give you energy using less fat and salt than the norm.  His first street food stall launched in June 2011 and he hasn’t looked back since. To discover more about Chula Fused Foods and to find your nearest market visit www.chulafusedfoods.com

 

Lamb Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
Prep: 20 min
Cooking 50 min
3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp green cardamom powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 kg lean lamb, diced
2 British onions, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
2 bay leaves
400ml boiling water
2 tomatoes, halved and thinly sliced
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp garam masala
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large non stick pan and add the ginger paste, garlic paste, cloves, cinnamon,
cardamom, turmeric, salt, chilli powder and cumin.
2. Cook for one minute then add the cubed lamb and onions, tossing well to coat evenly in the
spices.
Cook over a high heat for 5 minutes to seal the meat then add the boiling water. Bring to the boil,
then reduce the heat, cover the pan loosely and simmer for 40 minutes.
3. Add the sliced tomatoes, lime juice and garam masala, then stir well and cook for a further 5
minutes.

Onion Bhajis with Roasted Tomato Chutney
Serves 7
Bhaji Ingredients
3 large British onions cut into medium half rings
1 cup chickpea flour, also know as gram flour
1 tblsp coriander powder
½ tsp caraway seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1-4 Green chillies, depending on how spicy you want it
1 tblsp coriander leaves, chopped
1 tblsp cumin seeds
1 inch of ginger, chopped finely
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli powder
Method
1) In a large bowl mix together the onions, chickpea flour, coriander powder, caraway seeds,
turmeric powder, green chillies, chopped coriander, cumin seeds, ginger, salt, red chilli
powder
2) Add sufficient water to form a moldable paste, and mix well.
3) Heat some oil in a non-stick wok, then make small dumplings of the mixture and deep fry
until golden brown.
Chutney Ingredients
2 medium tomatoes, roasted evenly until slightly black
3/4 tsp of salt or to taste
1 green chili
1/4 of a red British onion, diced
3 strands of coriander, finely chopped
1/4 lime squeezed
Method
1) Wash the tomatoes and place on a baking tray lined with foil. Grill the tomatoes on a high
setting, so that all the outside edges are slightly black.
2) Pulse all the other ingredients except the coriander and onion together in a blender.
3) Add the coriander and red onion and mix well. Serve alongside onion bhajis.
Onion & Potato Curry
Serves 5
Ingredients
4 medium potatoes, diced into small to medium cubes
2 medium British onions diced into medium cubes
3 tblsps sunflower oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp salt, add more to taste
1 tblsp heaped coriander powder
Method
1) Heat the oil in a wok or deep pan, then add the mustard seeds, cooking until warm
2) Add the potatoes and onions, then cover with a lid and cook for 2 minutes.
3) Add the turmeric, red chili powder, salt, and coriander powder then cook for 5 – 10 minutes
on a low to medium heat with the lid on.
4) Remove the lid and stir, then put the lid back on and repeat the process for up to 30 minutes
or till potatoes are cooked through.

Edwina Currie, Ben Shephard go head-to-head to help young people cook

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The oven gloves are off as Edwina Currie and Ben Shephard go head-to-head to help young people master their signature dishes

 

Will Edwina’s Curry or Ben’s Shepherd’s Pie triumph in the
Red Tractor beef and lamb 5by25 challenge?

 

Celebrities Ben Shephard and Edwina Currie are hitting the road as part of the 5by25 campaign which calls for young people to master at least five simple dishes by the age of 25.  On 12th and 13th September, in an election-style campaign, Ben will be visiting southern England, whilst Edwina tours the north of England, in a bid to get young people up and down the country cooking and mastering their signature dishes.

 

Each celebrity is aiming to gain the biggest following for their dish by encouraging people to vote for their favourite via the campaign website www.5by25.com and by spreading the word through Facebook and Twitter.

 

TV presenter Ben Shephard will be visiting youth organisations and community centres in Southampton, Bristol and Watford, teaching young people to cook his very own version of the traditional Shepherd’s Pie.  Former politician, novelist and Strictly Come Dancing star Edwina Currie will be cooking her simple lamb curry – with her own special twist – in Wigan, Birmingham and Halifax, Yorkshire.

 

The young people taking part in the initiative are 16-25 years-olds currently involved with organisations around the country including The Prince’s Trust Fairbridge Programme, Kids Count, Food Positive, Southampton Voluntary Services and Focus on Food.  Each of these organisations have recognised how important learning to cook is as a life skill and that teaching the young, whatever their background or circumstance, is a key priority.  The organisations have been working with the Red Tractor beef and lamb 5by25 campaign to help make this happen.

 

Ben Shephard says: “I’m really looking forward to going on tour with 5by25 and, in the spirit of friendly competition, I am fired up about winning this challenge as I believe cooking is such a vital skill to learn.  More important than beating Edwina, success in this competition means ensuring young people master my simple shepherd’s pie and can cook the dish for their friends and family for years to come.”

 

Edwina Currie, novelist and Strictly Come Dancing star said: “All young people should have the choice to cook and feel empowered by the knowledge of how to select, prepare and cook simple dishes from fresh food. I can’t wait to get on the road and start teaching my delicious lamb curry to all the young people I will meet. Beating Ben aside, seeing my lamb curry become the champion dish means that young people across the country will learn the skills to cook from scratch and feel confident in the kitchen for years to come.”

 

The Red Tractor beef and lamb 5by25 campaign was launched in October 2011 after research revealed almost 60% of Britain’s 16-25 year-olds are leaving home without the ability to cook even a simple Spaghetti Bolognese.   The website is core to the campaign and contains a selection of simple but tasty recipes including Edwina’s Curry and Ben’s Shepherd’s Pie as well as guidance on selecting the best ingredients and food preparation.  Young people are encouraged to cook these simple meals from scratch and complete the ‘Master the Dish’ challenge.

 

Jane Ritchie-Smith, Head of Consumer Marketing at EBLEX, the organisation that founded the Red Tractor beef and lamb 5by25 campaign, said: “We’re very excited to have Ben Shephard and Edwina Currie involved in this year’s campaign which we hope will really boost the profile of 5by25.  It’s all about helping young people learn skills for life including time management, planning and self-sufficiency through cooking; but we’re hoping to have a bit of fun along the way as well!”

Nominations for 2013 FDM everywoman in Technology awards are open

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CALLING THE UK’S LEADING WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY

 

Nominations for 2013 FDM everywoman in Technology awards are open

 

Applications are being welcomed for the UK’s leading Awards scheme recognising the achievements of women working in IT. The 2013 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards were launched by the UK’s largest female business community, everywoman, in association with womenintechnology.co.uk  to recognise the achievements of women working in the sector and to encourage a pipeline of new talent who will become future industry leaders. FDM Group is partnering with everywoman for the first time in 2013, following the international IT service provider’s Chief Operating Officer, Sheila Flavell receiving the accolade of ‘Leader of the Year in a Corporate Organisation’ in last year’s Awards.

 

Currently there is a significant gender imbalance within the technology sector with females making up only 19% of ITC managers and only 14% of IT strategy and planning professionals*. However the GCSE results announced in August showed that more girls than ever are choosing science subjects, and a higher percentage are achieving grades A-C than their male counterparts, demonstrating that the tide may be turning in terms of the gender imbalance amongst future generations**.

 

This Awards programme, backed by industry leaders, aims to encourage women to see technology as a fast-moving, innovative sector where they can excel, as demonstrated by the role models unearthed since the programme’s launch in 2011.

 

The FDM everywoman in Technology Awards are free to enter and the 2013 categories include:

 

  • Rising Star of the Year – awarded to a woman under 26 who is excelling in her technology career and is the one to watch.

 

  • Team Leader of the Year in an SME (with under 500 employees) – awarded to a woman whose team leadership has greatly contributed to the organisation’s success.
  • Leader of the Year in a corporate organisation (with over 500 employees) – sponsored by Cisco – awarded to a women operating in a senior technology position making a contribution to the strategic direction of the business.
  • Innovator of the Year – sponsored by IET – The Institution of Engineering and Technology – awarded to a woman designing, developing, researching or implementing technology in an unconventional and innovative way.
  • Entrepreneur of the Year – awarded to an owner/operator of a technology business whose vision and talent will inspire others.
  • Inspiration of the Year – awarded to an individual (male or female) for their active commitment to encouraging, advancing or championing the progress of women working in technology.
  • Woman of the Year – sponsored by FDM Group – awarded to an exceptional woman whose vision, innovation and success makes her an outstanding role model for future generations.

 

Entries are open from 7 September 2012 until 19 November 2012 and full details are online at www.everywoman.com/techawards. 

 

Maxine Benson MBE, co-founder of everywoman comments: “Technology has provided businesses of all sizes with the tools to thrive and succeed and is vital for the future growth of our economy. These awards celebrate the extraordinary talent in the sector and uncover the women who are excelling. We want to get the message out that IT offers diverse and creative opportunities, particularly to a new group of tech-savvy women that have grown up with consumer technology as part of their every-day lives. What’s more, those companies that nurture and develop their female talent are most likely to achieve success”.

 

Sheila Flavell, Chief Operating Officer and Founder Director of FDM Group states, “The FDM everywoman in Technology Awards are a fantastic platform to showcase and celebrate the efforts and successes of so many high-calibre women in such a male-dominated industry. We are delighted to be sponsoring the 2013 Awards and support everywoman in their determination to raise the profile of women in technology. Like everywoman, FDM is fully committed to helping more women further their careers and break through the ‘glass ceiling’.  At FDM, we are dedicated to supporting our female workforce and encouraging other women to pursue IT, and as a result we have seen the percentage of female staff increase to 23%, well above the 14.4% industry average.”

 

Maggie Berry, Managing Director of womenintechnology.co.uk adds: “Women currently only make up less than 20 per cent of the UK’s IT workforce so we are delighted to be working with everywoman again to uncover and celebrate some of the hidden female talent in the UK’s technology profession through the 2013 awards programme. We want to actively champion the women who are already doing great work in this sector and who, through these awards, will become inspirational role models for a future generation of female technologists.”

 

The awards programme will culminate in a glittering awards ceremony to be held on 19 March 2013 at The Savoy.

 

Twitter @everywomanUK – Hashtag – #ewtech

Joe McElderry set for a home run for Teenage Cancer Trust

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Joe McElderry will be taking part in the Great North Run for the third year running to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust.

 

Joe, who is the charity’s celebrity ambassador and North East Patron, completed last year’s 13.1 mile race in 1 hour and 40 minutes and smashed his fundraising target by raising over £10,000. All monies raised from sponsorship will go towards developing Teenage Cancer Trust services and facilities for young people diagnosed with cancer in the North East.

 

Joe, whose new album is out now, has been fitting in training around his packed schedule. He said, “Completing the Great North Run last year was such a great experience. The atmosphere was incredible and I was really happy with my time.”

 

Talking about Teenage Cancer Trust, he adds, “Teenage Cancer Trust is an absolutely amazing charity. Their units feel like home and really help to boost morale for the young people being treated there. Not only do they look great, but there is a real family atmosphere in the charity and I love that! With the help of my fans, I know we can raise loads of money to help young people fight cancer. Please help me to reach my target and donate £5 by texting JOE91 to 70500.*”

 

Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for the six young people aged between 13 and 24 diagnosed with cancer every day.  We build specialist units within NHS hospitals bringing young people together to be treated by teenage cancer experts in a place designed just for them.  We want every young person with cancer to have access to this specialist support, no matter where they live.

 

Traditionally treated alongside children or elderly patients at the end of their lives, young people can feel extremely isolated during treatment, some never meeting another young person with cancer.  Being treated alongside others their own age can make a huge difference to their whole experience.  There are currently 22 Teenage Cancer Trust units across the country, including two in Newcastle – both of which Joe helped to officially open.

 

Teenage Cancer Trust also educates young people and health professionals about cancer to ensure a swift diagnosis and referral to specialist support.  Cancer in young people is rare but we want young people to know the common signs and symptoms so they can seek medical advice if they are worried.

 

There are over 90 runners in Teenage Cancer Trust’s Team this year, and their cheering squad will be based at Simonside Youth Centre, between miles 8 and 9 from 10am on the morning of the race. To get involved, email Emily.fitzwater@teenagecancertrust.org or call 020 7612 0720.

 

* Please text JOE91 to 70500 to donate £5 and help Joe raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. The charity will receive 100% of every donation

https://www.justgiving.com/Joe-McElderry0

 

 

For more information about Teenage Cancer Trust visit www.teenagecancertrust.org

Michael Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson to star in Frank

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Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave, Prometheus, Shame) and Domhnall Gleeson (True Grit, Harry Potter, Anna Karenina) are attached to star in Lenny Abrahamson’s next project Frank. Frank is written by Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats) and Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Men Who Stare At Goats) and has been developed by Film4 who will also co-finance the film with the Irish Film Board.

Frank is a comedy about a young wannabe musician, Jon (Gleeson), who discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Fassbender).

The film is a co-production between Runaway Fridge and Element Pictures and will be produced by David Barron, Ed Guiney and Stevie Lee. Exec producers for Film4 are Tessa Ross and Katherine Butler and for Element Pictures, Andrew Lowe.

Protagonist Pictures are handling international sales. Abrahamson’s current film What Richard Did will premiere in Toronto 2012, and is also being handled by Protagonist Pictures.

Fassbender, who won Best Actor in Venice in 2011 for his performance in Steve McQueen’s Shame, is currently shooting Ridley Scott’s The Counselor alongside Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz, while Domhnall Gleeson recently finished shooting Richard Curtis’ new comedy About Time, and was recently named as one of Variety’s ’10 Actors to Watch’.

Abrahamson’s past features include Garage, which won the CICAE Cinema Prize at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes 2007, and Adam & Paul which played at the Berlinale Panorama in 2004 and won Best Director award at the Irish Film and TV Awards.

Frank is scheduled to commence principal photography late 2012.