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Archives for August, 2016
Scripting Living History Events for Re-enactors – in Five Steps
It has been quite a while since I was last involved in scripting living history for an event. It has also been a while since I attended one, but I spent this weekend at the ECWS living history site at Newport Pagnell. The ECWS living history has come on a long way over the last few years. There is an excellent small town feel to it with a load of talented people showing a wide range of skills and aspects of 17th century life. This is how it should be. The next stage in the evolution is scripting living history cameos so that there is a hook for the public to learn more. About a decade ago the Fairfax Battalia, now sadly gone, saw this and ran a series of living history events. I was lucky enough to be able to script some…
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Failure is the Foundation for Success
Our culture fears failure more than anything else. We talk about failure less than we talk about death, even though failures are way more common than fatalities. If we are honest with ourselves we know that there are many things we do wrong in our lives. Most of them are inconsequential, although a handful have lasting consequences. Failure is good At work I've learnt the true value of embracing failure. I tell my team that I expect them to fail. I do this not to undermine their confidence, but to build it. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? I don't mind if you fail, as long as it is a novel and interesting failure. That's the core quote I give my team, they'd all recognise those exact words. My gloss is that the only way to avoid failure is not to do…
How will you be choosing your next boss?
Boss at Rochester Cathedral. Not the right sort as your next (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I'm now in a position of needing to choose my next boss. My loan to DCMS is nearly over, a year has flown by, mostly very enjoyable. If I had a free choice I’d be staying here, my team are excellent and we work well together. The subject matter that we’ve been dealing with is interesting too, and we’re also trying to develop material to help other officials learn from our experiences (and those of others in DCMS). However I can't stay, so I thought I would write a post about how to choose your next boss. Recruitment is Two Way Anyway, this leaves me in the place of finding another job again. So I see recruitment as a two way process. I need to want…
Ghostbusters new movie review
Logo used by the "Ghostbusters" in the film (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Alexander and I went to see the new Ghostbusters movie the other week. It was a very civilised experience in the Reigate Everyman cinema. It even featured bespoke sundaes made in glass jars. The best bit was definitely the movie though. New Ghostbusters or Original? The new movie is most definitely not a remake of the original. It takes the same basic premise and brings it firmly into the 21st century. The movie itself is pretty straightforward, we get what we expect, in that there's a bit of action and some spectacular effects. However the case is an all female group, which I think makes it a better movie, for social reasons as much as how it gives a new angle to make fun. The team are all slightly social outcasts,…