tell the hours

made in shropshire
 

New home for Shrewsbury #JellyUK works very well

Folk working at Shrewsbury Jelly

So Shrewsbury Jelly has a new home for 2012: Shirehall, the Shropshire Council HQ. I really wasn't sure how this would work. Would the hallowed halls of local government suppress the freedom and spontaneity of Jelly?

It looks like my fears were unfounded. We have a large meeting room along a row of meeting rooms so there is quite a lot of passing traffic, people chatting and coming and going. We can also spill out onto comfortable sofas and chairs outside the council chamber. The on-site cafes are very reasonably priced. The coffee, though from a machine, is palatable. Parking is a bit of a 'mare but then you can't have everything. And anyway Shrewsbury is great for cycling.

In summary: it works. You should come to the next one. Tickets are available now. It's free. Obv.

Thanks again Shropshire Council Economic Development Team.

To find out more about all the "Jelly" casual co-working events in Shropshire visit this wiki page or this brand new and shiny Shropshire Jelly facebook page.

To book for the next Shrewsbury Jelly go to this eventbrite page.

 

Posted January 24, 2012 by Ben Proctor 
 

#ukgc12 types can you spare a sec to help build a fruit map?

I'm off to UK Gov Camp and I plan to pitch a workshop on Ushahidi and Crisis Mapping. I floated this idea andd at least 2 people expressed an interest.

Ushahidi is an open-source platform for crowd-sourcing reports and displaying them on a map. It's commonly used in conflict zones, post-disaster etc.

In order to illustrate the platform I'm hoping to gather reports on a map set up for UK Gov Camp. For simplicity and fun I'm asking for your home town and your favourite fruit. There are a range of ways you can submit reports

Through a webform https://ukgc12.crowdmap.com/reports/submit to which you could add pictures of fruit or fruit video (if you were so minded)

By SMS to 07578664873 (this is actually an Android device running an Ushahidi-created app functioning as an ad hoc SMS gateway).

By email to ukgc12@likeaword.co.uk 

Or by tweeting with #ukgcfruit in the tweet.

Any questions drop a line to @likeaword 

Thanks very much

 

Posted January 20, 2012 by Ben Proctor 
 

Shrewsbury Social Media Surgery: additional date

Due to huge (or at least some) demand. An extra date has been added to the Shrewsbury Social Media Surgery programme: we will now be giving free, tailored, one-to-one advice to community activists and people from voluntary groups on 6th February 2012. 

You could help spread the word by sharing this carrot-based flyer with people you know who might benefit (or with your local shop window, village notice-board etc).

Thanks very much.

Click here to download:
carrot_flyer.pdf (7.27 MB)
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Posted January 19, 2012 by Ben Proctor 
 

Raven Meadows - Smithfield Road Connect2 Junction official opening

Over the past three years I have become deeply familiar with and even rather interested in something called "cycle infrastructure". Essentially cycle paths, dedicated cycle crossings, big red areas with bicycles painted on them. 

This is because I have been a member of the Cycle Shrewsbury steering group. We get together a few times a year to discuss how Shropshire Council is setting about improving cycling and to ask the occasional question about some detail of a proposed Twocan crossing.

The Council has used some central government funding through the Cycle Demonstration Towns programme (and now through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund), some of its own money and some lottery funding through a Sustrans project. 

You can now cycle all the way around the Quarry, cross the Welsh Bridge and cycle up past the Bus Station on dedicated cycle routes. Or walk. Or scoot. Or be pushed in your pushchair. I genuinely think this is something to celebrate.

The work doesn't stop here. Eventually there should be safe and speedy ways past the Railway Station and off into Castlefields and Greenfields and byond. 

But for now let's be a little bit pleased with how far we've got.

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Posted November 30, 2011 by Ben Proctor 
 

More #hyperwm random photos

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Posted October 21, 2011 by Ben Proctor 
 

People sitting and talking about facebook #hyperwm

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Posted October 21, 2011 by Ben Proctor 
 

Last night at Shrewsbury Folk Festival

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Posted August 27, 2011 by Ben Proctor 
 

Pembrokshire final shots

Spent the weekend in Pembrokshire with my dad and a bunch of old gaffers.

Despite what you might think, the term old gaffers refers to the boats not the sailors. 

It's basically a bunch of people who sail traditional or traditional-style boats. They get together for the weekend, sail during the day and drink during the night.

That is my idea of fun.

I posted some photos from the water before I realised that my mobile had a big smudge on the lens. Thankfully my camera didn't.


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Posted July 25, 2011 by Ben Proctor