Tag Archives: Frost Magazine

Vivienne Westwood & Cool Earth- It's No Fun Being Extinct

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World Bank sits on 90% of Unspent Funds for Forest Projects

Vivienne Westwood & Frank Field MP Launch Campaign to Expose Failings

Dame Vivienne Westwood is investing 1 million of her own funds to launch a 7 million pound fundraising campaign supporting the rainforest charity Cool Earth. The action is to highlight World Bank’s expenditure failings as a staggering 90% of funds pledged to halt deforestation remains unspent. (See bottom of press release for details). The designer and environmental campaigner, coupled with Frank Field MP (founder of Cool Earth) aim to demonstrate how rapidly money can be deployed into rainforest programmes.

The campaign called “No Fun Being Extinct”, (nofunbeingextinct.org) supported by fashion’s biggest names, such as Kate Moss, Lily Cole and Sadie Frost will run for 18 months during which time Westwood will aim to help Cool Earth secure three of the world’s most endangered forest.

Former Minister, Frank Field founded the rainforest charity Cool Earth in 2007 as a vehicle to allow ordinary people to leapfrog governments and take immediate action in the fight against climate change by protecting rainforests. The conservation method is a ground up approach, which works with indigenous communities to make rainforest trees of greater economic value left standing than cut down.

Despite a growing number of research papers highlighting community led management as the most effective way to keep rainforest standing over traditional reserves, many communities are not receiving pledged funds.1, 2

The Climate Investment Fund dedicated 600 million dollars (£390 million) to the Forest Investment Programme (FIP) to “tackle drivers of deforestation” with UK tax payers providing the most generous contribution – almost four years on, only 15 million dollars (£10 million) has been spent, all of which has gone on administration and advisors.3 Vivienne Westwood will demonstrate how taxpayers money should be spent when it comes to saving rainforest for the benefit of the nations future.

Frank Field founded Cool Earth as a result of his utter despair at governments’ failure to solve the problem of deforestation, “The lack of action in spite of such generous funding is a real disgrace. It shows that political will is just as important as money.”

Fashion designer and environmental campaigner, Vivienne Westwood, has been working closely with Cool Earth over the last 3 years, “Cool Earth has a plan to save the rainforest. If we don’t save the rainforest forget it! I am personally supporting Cool Earth and investing in our future. I’m inviting anyone interested in saving our beautiful world to join me.”

Frank and Vivienne are calling on the government to invest in community-led forestry management, which has been proven to be the most effective way to halt deforestation. Vivienne is presenting a report to No. 10 to showing how her funds have been spent to show that an effective mechanism to halt deforestation does exist.

Cool Earth has protected over 2.5 million acres of vulnerable rainforest since its launch in 2007, which has cost just £1.75 million with less than 10% spent on administration. This is because the charity has worked from the ground-up with local communities who have a clear interest in keeping the forest standing. This works out as costing just a half of a percent of the FIP’s budget.

Vivienne will also be calling on the public to help protect trees at Cool Earth’s new website launched on a November 28th called ‘No Fun Being Extinct’. Individuals can save as little as 3 trees for £3 on the website at www.nofunbeingextinct.org. Every tree makes a difference.

Passing the Torch: Bletchley Park Today

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In July next year the Olympic torch will be passed through Bletchley Park, with a special audience of young schoolchildren and I couldn’t be happier. Only in 2008, volunteers and companies such as IBM were working to save the park from running into the ground, so long had its work and significance been overlooked. A campaign spread rapidly with academics writing to national papers in outcry over Bletchley’s neglect. After admirable work, the site was eventually saved in October this year with a lump sum from the Heritage Lottery Fund, enabling the park to be fully restored and brought up to the ‘highest modern standards’. It is time the public took advantage of seeing them.

Bletchley is a place we all know of: famed as the main decryption centre for enemy cyphers during World War Two. It was a place enshrouded in secrecy and that secrecy has been fictionalised and re-imagined several times since its information became public. Films such as Enigma glamourise the park’s history and are surely responsible for a certain amount of popular interest; but the real story of the Park I fear still remains largely secret.

On a recent visit to Bletchley, I couldn’t help but notice I was one of the few people under sixty, or just above the age of five. It seemed to have become a place of nostalgia rather than learning, and through no fault of its own. With its preserved huts- the places where Bletchley workers lived and worked- interactive equipment and real life accounts that are far more interesting that those in the fiction, Bletchley offers one of the few places in the country where history can be experienced rather than learned dryly in a classroom.

Now this may come from a lack of personal mathematic genius, but I believe that perhaps an off-putting feature of the site is that its filled with codes, numbers and theories we assume we’ll never understand, and a day of failing at maths doesn’t sound very fun. It is true, everywhere around the site are the legendary code-breaking machines, accompanied by signs explaining the history of their invention and how they worked. Indeed, some still are working and look rather fascinating whirring around- who would have thought a computing device ever used belts? So people saunter over transfixed by the complex machines, glance at their history, marvel at their construction, look at the buttons and the explanation some very kind person has tried to simplify for us; then sheepishly move on to the next part.

But, contrastingly, these machines epitomise the magic of the place (yes, magic). A spell binding quality comes from the stories of the real people who did understand these clever machines and for the first time. Channel Four recently recognised this with its docu-drama ‘Britain’s Greatest Codebreaker’ about the life of Alan Turing, the radical mathematician who was responsible for the foundation of computer technology and the intelligence instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma code. Yes, to try and summarise his work is a mouthful, he did a lot. Turing is a figure who seems to embody much of Bletchley; an eccentric personality whose genius was allowed to breathe at the park. Yet, only a few years later he would commit suicide after facing chemical castration for the ‘gross indecency’ of his homosexuality. The history of Bletchley Park, for me, comes alive at this point. Whilst I already had some understanding of the great things achieved here, I couldn’t believe that the man whom our country owed such huge debt to was prejudiced against so disgustingly. History became personal as I measured Turing’s treatment against our modern principles.

For a long time Turing’s work received no thanks or recognition, but both his work and his personal life are commemorated at Bletchley and the Channel Four documentary is made in similar spirit. What is more, ‘Britain’s Greatest Codebreaker’ has the potential to reach a younger audience through Channel Four, particularly whilst still playing on 40D next to shows such as Misfits. This will hopefully encourage a new audience to visit the place where such an interesting character lived and worked for a crucial period of his life. The program’s patchwork of interviews, dramatisation and archive footage could easily be seen as a bit of a mishmash, but in fact recreates a fittingly eclectic portrait of the tragic genius.

In this vein, it should be also noted that Bletchley too has a somewhat eclectic mix of things to see, aside from it’s straightforward wartime history. I had no idea, for instance, that our National Museum of Computing is currently housed there (and I had no idea I would find that remotely interesting). But compared to the likes of the National Science Museum, this little exhibit is housed in a rather ramshackle hut that is almost comically quaint. Not only did it feature a fully operating Colossus machine, but also a tiny room with Wallace and Gromit figures- hardly the modern idea of technology. An old postcard shop selling arrays of stamps, a retro toy museum and a room dedicated entirely to Winston Churchill memorabilia also left me wondering why there wasn’t at least a younger generation of thick framed glasses, skinny jeans wearing vintage seekers. It is a national treasure, packed full of secrets to explore.

 

Wendy's baby diary – 7 months

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Time to cut off the milk supply?

Signs indicating it’s time to stop breastfeeding:

1) Baby’s got more teeth than you’ve got nipples

2) Baby tugs down your top

3) Baby tries to suck other parts of you, in the belief that mummy is made of milk

4) Friends and relatives say ‘You’re not still breastfeeding are you?’

5) Bitty

I think it’s time to hang up the Closed sign on the milk bar. Baby Dillon’s got six teeth. He’s eating solids (toast, blueberries). He’s rolling around the floor and knocking stuff off the TV stand. He’s sleeping through the night in his own bed, in his own room. He’s racing around the
kitchen in his baby walker (able to reverse and manoeuvre past the clothes
horse). What happened to my newborn? Before I know it he’ll be scaling Everest and
I’ll be crying into his baby clothes saying “you used to be this big”.

Baby Rash

Dillon was ill with a rash which turned out to be a viral
infection. It’s so scary to see a bright red rash on his trunk. The instant
concern is, is it meningitis? do the tumbler test. He recovered in a couple of
days, so we took him to visit my mum with a new travel cot, which of course he
didn’t sleep in, and when he doesn’t get any sleep nor do we. The travel cot
also functions as a portable prison ahem playpen so it will get used one way or
another.

Festive

I had thought Dillon was too young to appreciate Halloween
or Guy Fawkes but nearer the time I realised we could enjoy these special
occasions and get some memorable photos. My friend carved him a pumpkin lantern
and Dillon wore a monkey outfit for Halloween and went to a themed baby sensory
class and fancy dress day at his nursery where all the staff wore pyjamas.
Cute. Now I’m looking forward to his first Christmas. He’ll be dressed as baby
Santa with a red hat. The dog will have on a pair of reindeer antlers. And wearing
a knitted Christmas pullover will be Colin Firth. Who can stuff my turkey anyday.

Swimming

Baby swimming lessons have finished, it was a bit of a wash
out with nearly half the lessons cancelled or postponed so we didn’t learn a
lot. Dillon got used to being carried around in water. We might try again in the
New Year so that one day we can have our own Nevermind album cover.

Juggling

Can I manage baby Dillon and a Masters degree and go back to
work? I’m unsure. But you don’t know until you try. Some people thought I was
mad to be starting a MA when I was pregnant. It has been tough and I wouldn’t
still be on the course without support from certain people. Getting out of the
house to go to class has been positive for me. So many mums work full time then
it’s a shock to the system to be at home all day for 9 months to a year. So commuting
into London one or two days a week gives me a bit of normality. I think every
mum, however much she loves her kids, needs an occasional break.

So when I’m worried about running out of nursing pads and number
3 baby formula I can take my mind off it with French and Greek philosophers,
the classical dramatic paradigm and bright young things running about campus.

The main problem I have is burning the midnight oil as I can’t
concentrate until he’s gone to bed and by then I’m hankering for some medicine
(see previous baby diary http://frostmagazine.com/2011/10/wendys-baby-diary-six-months-guilt-isolation-and-men/), go to bed at 2am and get woken by Babezilla at 6.45am.

Congratulations

Lots of happy baby news – congratulations to our friends
Nathan and Bonnie on the birth of baby Samuel, Kevin and Louise who had baby
Aidan and my brother Terry and his wife Ola who had baby Matthew. And to our
friends L&M who are expecting. First timers – you don’t know what you’re in
for. Second timers – memory lapse?

Until next time

I think my get up and go, got up and went!

(c) Wendy Thomson 2011

Wendy Thomson is the editor of www.femalearts.com an online publication
which promotes women in the arts and in business.

Vintage Seekers First Birthday Party {Social Diary}

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Frost joined Vintage Seekers at the RIBA institute on London’s Portland Place to celebrate their first birthday party, alongside shoe designer and vintage muse Charlotte Dellal, Bip Ling, Gemma Cairney, Cara Delivgne, Savile Row tailor Patrick Grant, and Henry Conway.

 



Vintage Seekers sources premium vintage goods from wine to watches and everything in between. The beautiful and historic artifacts on show – and for sale- included beautiful Dior dresses, a picture of Apollo 11 signed by all of the astronauts, a flag signed by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, classic cars- I loved a beautiful Citroen parked outside- and an Andy Warhol ‘Mao’ screen print.

They do these on their amazing website, and they also have a magazine. I also loved seeing Steve McQueen’s sunglasses. The crowd of collectors, press and celebrities were joined by Vintage Seeker’s two valued investors, luxury retail expert Jurek Piasecki (his experience include being CEO of Mappin & Webb and Goldsmith jewellers) and e-commerce guru Guy Hipwell, the former managing director of Liberty online. Co-founder and director Rob Keylock gave a brilliant speech and seemed happily overwhelmed at how well the night was going.

We drank Champagne and enjoyed Hendricks Gin. The evening finished off with Port and Whitfield cheese. It just may have been the party of the year.

 

Black Friday needs to have an effect in the UK

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The US Retail sector enthusiastically braces itself for a horde of bargain hunters

Today, Black Friday, so-called as it is the day when a vast swathe of the retail sector head out of the red and into the black, may make an economic turning point in the run up to Christmas. With half of the entire US population, some 152 million people, expected to hit the shops over the course of this weekend, up 10% on last year- the spike in trade could mean good news across the economy.

Black Friday usually sees shopping chains throw open their doors in the early hours. But this year that rush has crept into Thanksgiving Day itself. The effect isn’t limited to the US however, as Britain’s biggest and most well-known retailers have started “mega sales” early this year in an attempt to boost Christmas shopping amongst cash strapped shoppers. Amazon, in the run up to Black Friday is offering bargains for its ‘Black Friday Deals Week’ and Comet are offering a 5day Frenzy super sale. In effect this has turned black Friday into one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.

In the run up to Christmas consumers are expected to spend a whopping £7.75 billion on online shopping according to e-tailing trade association IMRG. An estimated £13 billion will be spent across all sectors online, however figures on the high street are expected to fall by 2.1 per cent in spite of so many sales starting early. It is clear that this year’s success stories will be told with a distinctly online lilt.

Kevin Flood, CEO of the leading social shopping website Shopow said, “Retailers that were desperately in need of a reversal of their fortunes have found that they now have an encouraging platform on which to build in the run up to Christmas. High street stores have had to pull out all the stops to make their shops attractive by reducing prices early and creating imaginative promotions to increase footfall and more activity at the tills. It is still far from plain sailing and there is still a lot of pressure on retailers and as long as business and consumer confidence remains low, the battle will continue to persuade shoppers to return in their droves.

“Online activity has emerged as a vital area that will only continue to grow in importance over Christmas. We are expecting a significant amount of Christmas activity online and those who have introduced innovative shopping tools that make shopping easier and more cost effective will take capitalise.”

For the past six years, a combination of increasingly early opening times and an array of discounts have helped make the day after Thanksgiving the biggest shopping day – and cement the term “black Friday.” It will be nonetheless difficult for chains that have struggled with sales declines lately, including the likes of Topshop, to see a benefit from thoroughly deep discounting. Many have opted instead to move into the social shopping environment in order to drive sales through peer to peer reviewing and sustainable discounting.

Social shopping has emerged as an exciting trend in online retailing as many of these high street stores look to engage consumers. It involves the use of social networking to share recommendations, share discounts, post reviews and ask for advice on products before purchase.

Mike Harty COO of Shopow (www.shopow.co.uk) said “Regular web shoppers are now empowered to talk about their purchases in an honest way. Social shopping enables shoppers to use their trusted networks to make informed decisions but also makes online shopping more interactive, enjoyable and indeed sustainable.”

Higher Online Fraud Risk at Christmas

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RESEARCH SHOWS THAT CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS FACE HIGHER ONLINE FRAUD RISK

– Xmas shoppers set to spend 14% more online this year¹

– Only 8% of women aged 26 to 35 update anti-virus software²

– Be Card Smart Online advice can help every Christmas shopper stay safe online

In the lead-up to Christmas, The UK Cards Association is running its successful Be Card Smart Online campaign again. The focus this year is on younger female shoppers, as research shows they are at greater risk of online fraud as many of them are failing to take simple steps to stay safe when they shop over the internet.

Banking industry initiatives coupled with cardholders being more aware of fraud prevention measures have resulted in a 40 per cent drop in card fraud losses in the past couple of years, down from £609.9 million in 2008 to £365.4 million last year.

However, research from the National Fraud Authority (NFA) has revealed that only 8 per cent of women aged 26-35 protect their computers with up-to-date anti-virus software. In response, the Be Card Smart Online campaign is urging young women in particular to follow the simple checklist below to reduce their chances of being a fraud victim this Christmas.

More than 35 million of us shopped online in the past year – 52 per cent up on the 23 million who shopped online just six years ago. And figures from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) forecast that UK shoppers are set to spend £7.75 billion online between 28 November and 31 December, an increase of 14 per cent from the £6.8 billion spent online last Christmas.

As part of the campaign these top tips will be featured online at selected shopping websites until the end of December and also at www.becardsmart.org.uk:

1 Keep your PC protected by installing up-to-date anti-virus software. Ensure your browser is set at its highest level of security notification and monitoring – the safety options are not always activated by

default. Turn on ‘automatic updates’ when asked. This will allow you to decide when and how updates are installed.

2 Look for the padlock symbol – especially if you’re buying from a website for the first time. It’s a good indication that the online retailer is reputable.

3 Register your cards with Verified by Visa, MasterCard SecureCode or American Express SafeKey when prompted. It is quick and easy and makes shopping online even safer.

4 Always log out after shopping online and save the confirmation e-mail as a record of your order.

The UK’s banking and retail industries are fully supportive of the Be Card Smart Online campaign. Katy Worobec, Head of Fraud Control for The UK Cards Association, says:

“Christmas should be a time for taking things easy, but unfortunately fraudsters don’t stop targeting our cards over the festive period. This is why we are urging anyone who is planning to shop online this Christmas not to be complacent about security. You are your own best front-line of defence and following Be Card Smart Online’s simple steps can help prevent you becoming another fraud statistic.”

In addition, shoppers can make sure that gift buying online is stress-free by doing the following:

· Be sure you know who you are dealing with – always access the website you are planning to buy from by typing the address into your web browser.

· Ensure you are the only person that knows your PIN – never share it with anyone, either in person, over the telephone or in an email.

· Trust your instincts – if an offer looks too good to believe then there is usually a catch. Be suspicious of prices that are too good to be true.

· Keep records – keep details of your order and the retailer’s terms and conditions, returns policy, delivery conditions, postal address (not a post office box) and phone number (not a mobile number). Having this information will help if you subsequently encounter difficulties with your order. Keep your receipts and check these against your statement. If you spot a transaction you did not authorise tell your card company immediately.

· Section 75 protection – if you are buying something between £100 and £30,000 consider using a credit card, as you will then have extra protection through Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This covers you whether the online retailer is based in the UK or abroad. Section 75 states that should a problem subsequently arise, such as the company going out of business, you can claim your money back from your credit card company.

· Fraud protection – If you are an innocent victim of any type of card fraud you will not suffer any financial loss.

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to be the victim of card fraud should report the incident first to their card company and then to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.org.uk.

More information about shopping safely online is available at www.becardsmart.org.uk.

¹ source: Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index

² source: research commissioned by the National Fraud Authority (NFA)

Caprice & American InterContinental University celebrate Thanksgiving with Meals For Homeless

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U.S. supermodel Caprice and American InterContinental University celebrate Thanksgiving with a meal for the homeless for second year running

Supermodel Caprice, along with students from American InterContinental University London, celebrated their heritage and the American holiday of Thanksgiving yesterday, 23rd November by providing a meal for homeless women for the second year running.

Supermodel Caprice, who is renowned for being an ‘all-American’ girl joined in the festivities by helping to carve the giant turkey and serve out the dinner – waving American flags all the way. AIU London students were also on hand to serve out the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, stuffing, and gravy. American flags and pumpkins decorated the room as the women enjoyed the seasonal feast.

Caprice said: “I’m so delighted to be sharing the spirit of Thanksgiving with the women of the Marylebone Project and the students of AIU London for the second year in a row. An American Thanksgiving is all about bringing people together, so to be able to celebrate with these inspiring women is a real honour.”

The roast turkey meal was provided to more than 60 homeless women at the Marylebone Project, based on Cosway Street, in Marylebone London. The Marylebone Project works with vulnerable homeless women to help empower them towards independent living through making informed choices.

Dr. Randolf Cooper, Campus Director and VP of Academic Affairs at AIU London, which is also based in Marylebone, said: “Thanksgiving arrived in America with the Pilgrims in the autumn of 1621, when the 53 surviving Pilgrims celebrated their successful harvest, as was the English custom. Today Americans celebrate Thanksgiving without a religious connotation; the emphasis is on abundance and family. We are happy to share that spirit with the community and delighted that our students can be involved in supporting a local charity such as the Marylebone Project.”

Established in 1978, AIU London offers a wide range of U.S. associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Fashion, Visual Communication, Interior design and Business. AIU London design programs are validated by the University for the Creative Arts www.ucreative.ac.uk to award BA (Hons) degrees in Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing, Fashion Marketing and Design, Interior Design and Visual Communication. The AIU London business program is validated by Buckinghamshire New University www.bucks.ac.uk to award BA (Hons) degrees in Business Administration.”

AIU is accredited in the United States by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, a regional accrediting body for U.S. degrees.

For more information, please visit http://www.aiuniv.edu/London

Life of a Super Sports Blogger

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—Independent bloggers drive sports industry—Fortune 500 companies engage with the citizen journalists —

It’s the ultimate dream for many a football fan. Swapping the nine to five for a career spent posting on a blog about the sport you adore. No editorial limits, no suit, no boss. For Alan Spurgeon and his blog Footy-Boots.com, that dream is reality.

What started as a series of niche articles in 2006, Alan’s blog which focuses primarily on reviews of football apparel now reaches four million people worldwide, three hundred thousand of whom read his words on average every other day. It’s the sort of platform any of the major football brands would pay serious sums to control, but Footy-Boots.com remains independent, relying upon a small team of mostly volunteer staff and freely available publishing technology to engage the fans.

In a year which has seen every major sports brand jump on the social media bandwagon, Alan’s seen a shift in attitude when it comes to dealing with the marketing departments representing the kit he reviews—

“Our job is to review everything we can get hold of and when a product comes with an already established online fan-base that can explain the benefits in our terms, an invitation to meet the people who produce the product and a willingness to engage in feedback, there’s an obvious advantage. For years we struggled away ordering products as soon as we could get hold of them, crawling through the maze of PR departments to get comment or information and then taking the stuff to the field to run it through the paces before posting our opinion online. These days it’s a little different. Whilst we’re still just a couple of lads operating from their laptop, it’s not unusual for us to be invited to meet the people who produce the kit or to go down to the pitch to chat to the premiership players who are wearing it. The biggest names in the world like Nike, adidas and Puma have got used to the fact that if you want to sell your boots to a digital generation, it’s not just the print media and broadcasters you need to engage with celebrity endorsement, it’s the little guys like us. We need data and it’s in their interests to make sure we have it.”

Whilst the manufacturers are falling over themselves to accommodate the ‘super-bloggers’, some team brands have been better than others at adjusting to the social media era. Manchester United and Arsenal rule Facebook with 20million and 7million fans respectively. Arsenal in particular have embraced the digital revolution, recently hosting web chats for up to 2.5million international fans at a time. The players themselves are thrust into this world, somewhat dazed, to play their part. In May this year Rio Ferdinand posted on Twitter “Yesterday I’m signing a few autographs + a guy pulls out his phone + says ‘can you follow me’! A follow is the new autograph!”.

So what does it feel like being taken from your backroom office to the glorious highs of sports stardom? According to Alan, whose site is successful enough to “pay the bills”, some things will never change. “We are now considered de facto I guess in our niche, particularly for the Football Boot Awards we run every year where the public come to us to vote for the product of the year. That’s great and it’s astonishing of course to get to meet your heroes through your work as we have done when premiership players are lined up to take part in things like the awards sessions, but other things remain the same. We’ve not yet been able to get to some of the international product launches, not because of the cost, but because we’re a simple set up, a couple of guys and a few computers, we just wouldn’t be able to take the time for a long flight which would mean being offline for 9 or 12 or 24 hours. We miss out on that sort of stuff. We’re still geeks attached to our umbilical tech.” When asked if they would accept a private flight sponsored by a major sports brand, their reaction is typical of the new generation of citizen journalists— “No way, the fans of the blog would slaughter us. Our greatest asset is being unbiased. You can’t buy our opinion.”

Nobody at Footy-Boots.com has made a dot com million, but the site owners need an income. The key to success might be seen in the addition of sponsors and affiliates on the boy’s website which help to bring in stable financial support whilst they focus on reviewing kit and steering conversation in the forums. “We’re not salesmen, we never have been, never could be. We’re not good at going out there to find sponsors. I’m sure there are plenty of ways the site could make more money, but it’s never been about the money for us so we’re happy to just let a couple of sports shops link through the site as long as we get positive feedback about them. It’s a happy compromise between running a basic blog and being a commercial website.”

As someone who has tested every major boot released since 2006, Alan has a few pointers for those wanting to be on the Christmas list this year and next. “The best boot in the world is only good for one man. Reading our forums (especially the “ask geeks” channel), you know every player has their own strength, speed, accuracy, strength, ability and confidence to take risks on the pitch. No one cleat is going to fit them all. Just like social media has opened up a million different varieties of opinion, the manufacturers of the product are going to have to follow too. Bespoke might be the way to go. I’m sure the technology will exist to let players pick every aspect of their kit through an app very soon.” Which raises an interesting question- what will be the value of celebrity if and when every boot is customised not to the famous foot, but to every man or women on the pitch? There will be bigwigs in PR breathing a sigh of relief in some cases— we all know Football and Twitter don’t always a happy marriage make. Alan has a list of social media disasters on his site to tell that story.

So where next for Alan and his happy team of sports bloggers? “2011 was a great year, we saw some astonishing products hit the pitch and through our relationships with the brands, we felt like we were pretty much front row. We’ll continue to offer a space where your opinion matters and we’ll be bringing that to a climax with this year’s awards which launch online December 5th and we’re expecting tens of thousands of votes again.”

The one difference between this year and last for Footy-Boots.com, a 1765% rise in the number of visits originating from mobile phones. Let’s hope that Nike and co have their iPhone apps in order when voting kicks in.