What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 17th December

Welcome to our last working week of the year!

Yes, the team are having a nice long and well overdue break as the office closes this Friday and will remain closed until Wednesday 2nd January, when normal service will be resumed!

In addition to wishing all of our clients, friends, suppliers and supporters a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, we thought that to end the year, we would take a look at a our highlights from 2012.

So here is the Cloud 9 review of the year, some of it great, some of it not so great, but we gave it a shot, and we are still here to tell the tale!

January was a combination of highs and lows, with the low being our ill-fated New Year New You exhibition in West Bridgford. Despite a major promotion to attract visitors, all of our exhibitors were left hugely disappointed by the low audience numbers and who could blame them! Maybe our choice of Ken Clark to open the event was not on target and even the hunky chaps from Nottingham Rugby Club couldn't attract the crowds - maybe it was just too early in the year and the good folk of Nottingham were not ready for change!

The Fresh PR Awards were also judged in January down at BMB in London and we had record numbers in terms of entries this year, so much of the month was spent prepping the PR Awards.

February was a venue hunt like no other as we looked at potential hosts for the Fresh Creative Awards Judging, everywhere from Hastings to Hull. In addition, we ventured to several key business events in our local area and decided that the only way is networking was to be our new mantra! 

February also saw the launch of our new hire service, Dazzling Table Displays. With a variety of great decor to help theme events, to date, we have hired out everything from Lava Lamps to Peacock Feathers this year and we have plans to increase our stock in 2013!

March kicked off with the Fresh PR Awards at the Deansgate Hilton in Manchester and was a very successful event with over 250 guests celebrating creativity and innovation in the communications arena.

We also attended the initial filming of the Fresh Creative Awards work with the team from McCann Erickson in Birmingham, up in the Lake District, with Mrs Bogg, Mum of Dylan from Big in Leicester. This charming campaign, which featured three industry Mums, has been incredibly successful this year and thrust Fresh very much in to spotlight.

The call for entries for Fresh went live in April and without a venue booked for judging, we ventured down to the Cotswold Conference Centre for a nosey around and had an incredibly enjoyable weekend!

April was also the Conference and Hospitality Show in Leeds and the last How Do Awards, in addition to a very special event celebrating the 50th Birthday of a dear friend of ours in Manchester. Once Upon a Teacup Vintage Afternoon Tea Parties, which grew from this initial birthday party, is now doing a roaring trade in the North West and we can't recommend them highly enough!

May saw one of the best fam trips we've ever enjoyed at Cloud 9 with a fabulous trip up to Glasgow with Q Hotels to the Westerwood Hotel. The Westerwood Hotel &Golf Resort is one Glasgow hotel not to be missed and is located in prime territory whether you are craving the city buzz or the simple pleasures in life. With the recent opening of the M80 motorway, allowing extremely easy access to the hotel, The Westerwood Hotel & Golf Resort is now only fifteen minutes from both Glasgow city centre and Stirling giving you a world of options that other hotels in Glasgow could only dream of.

We also went to the launch of the new St Georges Park site, which as well as being the site of the new FA Training Academy, is the home to a brand new Hilton Hotel and Hampton by Hilton Hotel. Located in the heart of England, near Burton-Upon-Trent, St. George’s Park is set in the National Forest, in 330 acres of beautifully landscaped parkland.

June was certainly a mixed month. In between all of the Jubilee Celebrations that meant a few short work weeks, we also helped celebrate our friends at Orchard with their 20th Birthday Party and attended the inaugural bursary event staged by Birmingham University with the Beattie Foundation.

The plans to host a Royal Ascot Ladies Day event in Nottingham was not quite so successful and despite being sold out with stalls selling everything from jewellery to jam, tickets were harder to shift so unfortunately we had to cancel the event...

July should have been the CIPR Northern Conference but this was postponed until October, meaning most of the month was given over to processing the entries for Fresh, which was no mean feat this year as numbers were up by around 40%.

We also celebrated another legendary birthday - another 50th - of a great friend and valued client up in Manchester  as well as squeezing in a variety of site visits to a range of new venues for the CIPR.

August was all about Fresh again, as we held judging over four days back down at the Cotswolds Conference Centre. Entertaining 30 creative, digital, design and media directors is no easy job and despite terrible weather, we had a very successful trip and managed to extract a really good spread of results from the incredible entry levels.

Once the nominations for the awards went live it was all hands on deck as the normally quiet month of August was busy with ticket bookings for the event - something we don't normally see here at Cloud 9 until the kids go back to school!

September saw the launch of When the Lights Went Out, a film by our friend Bil Bungay, based on a true story - Yorkshire, 1974. Britain is in recession, the oil crisis and black outs loom large. The Maynard family move into their dream house, only to find a "presence" already living there. Len, Jenny and their daughter Sally must struggle to keep their already-fragile family together as they are attacked by poltergeists. Soon it becomes apparent that Sally is their main focus of attention. The house becomes a living nightmare. They must exorcise the evil spirits for them to survive.

October was certainly the most manic month of the year which kicked off with the Fresh Awards at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Over 350 guests celebrated creativity and did their utmost to "Make their Mums Proud".

This was closely followed by the CIPR Northern Conference, in its new date slot and at a new venue, Leeds Metropolitan University and their Rose Bowl Building. Headline speaker was Max Clifford and a wealth of industry professionals contributed to a very busy schedule on the day which was heralded a great success.

From this we went straight to Ettington Chase in Stratford to co-ordinate a weekend event for Beachcomber who were celebrating an Academy Reunion with Travel Agents from around the UK. 

November was Awards month with us attending the PR Week Awards with our clients Kantar Media and being guests of the PRCA at their awards which continues to grow each year. We even managed to sneak a picture with the host James Nesbitt (and yes we know the smoking is not good but he did nick one!).

We also celebrated with the team from McCanns who scooped the Grand Prix at the Cream Awards in the Midlands, a real culmination of the work they had put in to the Fresh Creative Campaign this year.

And, we went with Mercure for a rather special Willy Wonka themed night in Coventry at one of their hotels which was very fattening, but enjoyable all the same!

 

December has been given over to planning for 2013: Both Fresh and Cloud 9 celebrate 10 years next year so we have big plans, website revamps, celebrations and a host of client events already in the diary!

And in between all of this we have worked out, we have seen around 36 hotel reps, visited some 46 different venues, provided venue searches for around 23 events, attended six business seminars, been to four charity balls, networked the life out of Nottingham, hired out hundreds of decorations, delivered six destination guides and got through a box of teabags a week - Its no wonder we need a break over Christmas!

So, whatever your plans for the festive season, we wish you well and we'll be back on Wednesday 2nd January.

Enjoy!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 10th December

Welcome to another week!

Its time for another of our Destination Guides this week, and we've gone all Brummie!

As a conference and events destination, Birmingham leads the way. The city is one of Europe's busiest meeting points and home to a vast number of conference and meetings venues. These range from purpose-built, internationally renowned facilities, to academic venues and smaller, unique settings, making it an ideal location for events of all sizes.

Birmingham sits at the heart of a comprehensive transport network with a wide range of accommodation and a leisure offering that's second to none, making it one of the best placed cities to do business. There’s a level of energy and confidence here that’s clear the moment you arrive. Named as the UK’s most popular conference and events destination outside London during 2010 by the British Meetings and Events Industry Survey 2011/12, Birmingham is a city that welcomes major events and visitors like no other.

With undeniable connectivity, located in the heart of the UK, Birmingham’s incredible range of world-class venues and state-of-the-art facilities make it the best placed city for events of all sizes. Accommodation, amenities, entertainment, retail opportunities – in Birmingham, everything is nearby, the city centre alive with possibilities and new experiences with plenty of event space for you to choose from. From Michelin-starred dining to dazzling theatre productions and designer shopping, Birmingham really does offer it all.

 So, here are a few of our favourite venues in Birmingham...

The key to a successful event is a successful, accessible venue. A venue that fits your budget, supports your efforts and understands your requirements. A venue that promotes your values and enhances your reputation with superb surroundings and high quality presentations. That venue is The ICC Birmingham.

The ICC offers all of the elements key to delivering a superb conference, seminar, banquet or meeting. These include professional customer service, advice and support in event management, catering, technical equipment and other services.

The ten halls and ten executive meeting rooms, with dedicated registration and foyer areas, mean they can offer one of the UK’s largest selections of facilities under one roof. They also offer the support of a dedicated team of event managers and presentation specialists to ensure everything runs smoothly from start to finish.

Aston Villa offers an elegant ground-floor suite situated at the traditional Holte End of the stadium. The Holte, having undergone a complete transformation during the summer of 2009, is a purpose-built conference venue for a range of events, from prestigious conference and sumptuous black-tie dinners through to trade exhibitions. The Holte Suite is accessed by its own car park and benefits from a large foyer and a unique mezzanine level which overlooks the main suite.

With 12 meeting rooms accommodating from 60 to 550 people, 104 executive boxes, Audio-visual and presentation equipment, Stadium Tours, Professional in-house catering team and a convenient location with free parking – Aston Villa is a superb venue to hold your event!

Hold your next event at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel, a leading UK conference hotel located next to the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), only ten minutes from Birmingham International Airport via complimentary shuttle. With excellent transport links, this charming Birmingham hotel is ideally placed to visit the famous Bullring Shopping Centre and central Birmingham, eight miles away. This hotel in Birmingham is an attractive venue to hold conferences, meetings and banquets with impressive facilities including 33 banquet and meeting rooms for up to 2,000 delegates. Use the Business Centre and Executive Lounge to conduct business away from the office.

Bright and comfortable guest rooms at this Birmingham hotel have WiFi internet access. Choose a Deluxe Room for extra space. Upgrade to an Executive Room for Executive Lounge access with free breakfast and refreshments. Select suites boast a living room and working area.Enjoy international buffet dining in the Boulevard Restaurant, order from the a la carte menu in Millers restaurant or sip cocktails in the 24-hour Lounge Bar. 

Travel a little outside of the City and you will find the Copthorn Hotel Merry Hill-Dudley. One of the finest hotels in Dudley, it overlooks the canal marina and adds contemporary comforts and modern amenities to a waterfront location.

This hotel offers elegant guest rooms with contemporary amenities, dining options, a health club and spa, and friendly service. There are also impressive conference and banqueting facilities available, which are able to host 600 delegates for meetings, weddings and conferences.

For meetings, conferences, product launches, training courses and private occasions, the Copthorne Hotel Merry Hill-Dudley can provide a perfect venue. The air conditioned Earls Suite is a bright conference room that can hold up to 570 guests and has its own bar and cloakroom, and the Caslon Suite is suitable for large board meetings. There are also a further five purpose-built boardrooms for your convenience.

The University of Birmingham although known for its grand historic buildings,  also has a contemporary face with iconic buildings like Muirhead Tower; old and new sit together harmoniously.   

Today the University estate occupies over 276 acres of land on two different sites and has facilities that include modern laboratories, shops, performance venues, libraries, museums, sports facilities and art galleries. The main Edgbaston campus is close to the city centre but has all the amenities of a small town, as well as its own railway station.

If you are looking to hold a conference, event, wedding or party, the University has a range of stunning locations, first class facilities and dining options available for you. 

Additional the University can help with Video Conferencing; equipment can connect with up to three other locations simultaneously and allows sharing of Powerpoint presentations, all using the nearly-universal IP protocol. 

The Macdonald Burlington Hotel is located in the very heart of Birmingham amid the stunning architecture of the city's beautiful New Street. Offering guests an oasis of luxury and tranquillity in the vibrant and culture-rich city of Birmingham, this historic hotel is a short walk from all that's on offer in the area, with world-class shopping and entertainment on your doorstep.

The Macdonald Burlington Hotel's stunning central location and comfortable bedrooms plus delicious food and drink make it the perfect place for a city break or that special romantic weekend in central England. Macdonald Burlington hotel's flexible and well equipped executive suites also make the Burlington one of the best hotels in Birmingham for meetings and conferences and with 16 flexible and well-equipped suites they'll have something that suits your requirements. Whether you're planning a family occasion or business event, they'll have the facilities to suit you - and all conveniently located right in the heart of Birmingham, just a couple of minutes walk from the main railway station, Birmingham New Street

So there you go, all things Birmingham and remember that if you need help with sourcing a venue, then the team at Cloud 9 are on hand to help so take advantage of our free venue finding service...

Have a great week!
 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 3rd December

Welcome to another week and the countdown to Christmas is upon us!

Busy as we are planning a hectic schedule of events for 2013, we still have time to pop along to the odd Christmas do and sample a tipple or several...

With this in mind, this week is all about drinks, ideas for drinks at parties and what to do, if that last drink has pushed you over the edge and you are suffering from a dreaded hangover!

One of the cutest Christmas Drinks around is a Cuppa Good Cheer which includes Skyy Infusion Cherry, White Creme de Cacao, Hot Chocolate, a little sugar to taste, some whipped Cream and a Cherry.

If its cold out there and you want to stay with the hot drinks idea then you might like to try the Red Hot Chocolate, which is delicious and so unusual its bound to surprise your guests.To make one of these, put milk, cream and chocolate in a milk frothing cup, like you would for an espresso and froth as you would for a cappuccino. When the milk is hot and the chocolate has melted, add Campari and Brandy and garnish with a large marshmallow or a red peppermint stick.

Staying Festive with the lovely red colour, then maybe a Candy Cane Swirl is more up your street and is designed to add a simple yet festive element to your larger holiday parties, and you can make huge batches of this cocktail well in advance so its sure to be a crowd pleaser, and is easy to make.

Rim a martini glass with crushed candy cane. Combine SKYY  Raspberry Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, Cranberry Juice and Grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Top with Lemon Lime Soda and garnish with small peppermint candy cane. 

The Santa Shot is another great way to keep your drinks festive, as its a gorgeous little red and green layered shot that tastes like a candy cane. It’s Christmas ascetics combined with Christmas flavors, and it packs plenty of Christmas spirit. You might even want to leave one out for Santa with his mince pies! This is a great treat for parties, especially as an aperitif. If you don’t trust your layering skills under pressure, you can pour these in advance, put them on a serving tray and leave them in the fridge to stay nice and chilled. When the times comes, just pull the serving tray out carefully and carry it in to deliver the drinks to your guests. All you need is some grenadine syrup,green creme de menthe and peppermint schnapps and there you have it, a Santa Shot!

The Poinsettia is a champagne cocktail, which makes it ideal for holiday parties. It’s light on the alcohol, easy to drink (even for very occasional drinkers) and festive. It’s also a wonderful brunch drink, and the cranberry gives it a nice touch of Christmas flavour , as you simply add a little Cointreau and splash of Cranberry to a champagne flute and top with Champers or Sparkling Wine. If you want to give it an extra kick you can add a little vodka, or if you want to serve something non alcoholic then just change the champagne for Ginger Ale.

So, how big do you think your drink bill will be for the office Christmas do this year! It depends on where you take your team, but we are guessing that its probably best to avoid The Playboy Club in Mayfair where World-renowned bartender Salvatore Calabrese has broken the Guinness World Record for the most expensive cocktail with a Cognac-based drink priced at £5,500 a glass!

Guests at a London bar were hoping it wasn't their round after a £5,500 cocktail was mixed by a leading drinks expert.
Salvatore Calabrese broke the record for the world's most expensive cocktail with his 'Salvatore's Legacy' drink which was made up of ingredients more than 200 years old.
Salvatore, whose nickname is 'The Maestro', made the costly concoction using 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 1770 Kummel Liqueur, Dubb Orange Curacao circa 1860 and two dashes of Angostura Bitters circa 1900s.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2217984/Record-worlds-expensive-cocktail-broken-5-500-drink-mixed-ingredients-200-years-old.html#ixzz2CgzHndRV
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Guests at a London bar were hoping it wasn't their round after a £5,500 cocktail was mixed by a leading drinks expert.
Salvatore Calabrese broke the record for the world's most expensive cocktail with his 'Salvatore's Legacy' drink which was made up of ingredients more than 200 years old.
Salvatore, whose nickname is 'The Maestro', made the costly concoction using 1778 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 1770 Kummel Liqueur, Dubb Orange Curacao circa 1860 and two dashes of Angostura Bitters circa 1900s.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2217984/Record-worlds-expensive-cocktail-broken-5-500-drink-mixed-ingredients-200-years-old.html#ixzz2CgzHndRV
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2217984/Record-worlds-expensive-cocktail-broken-5-500-drink-mixed-ingredients-200-years-old.html#ixzz2CgzHndRV
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Salvatore’s Legacy”, concocted by  in front of an audience of London’s top bartenders on 15th October,  is also the world’s oldest cocktail, containing a liqueur from 1770 and Cognac from 1788, around the time of the American Revolution and Captain Cook’s claiming of Australia.

The cocktail, composed of 40ml of 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, 20ml of 1770 Kummel Liqueur, 20ml of 1860 Dubb Orange Curaçao and two dashes of Angostura Bitters from the 1900s, was bought by a friend and long term client of Calabrese.

Visibly nervous before the attempt, Calabrese asked his assistant to mop the sweat from his brow. Silence fell upon the packed room as he was presented with the first bottle – 1788 Clos de Griffier Vieux Cognac, which took Calabrese over five minutes to prize open with a combination of a knife, corkscrew and metal tongs

The following three bottles proved easier to enter, with Calabrese using his first ever shaker to mix the spirits in, pouring the result into a vintage cocktail glass.

The successful attempt, to coincide with London Cocktail Week, was overseen by a Guinness World Records adjudicator. The record comes just three months after Calabrese was left “heartbroken” when a treasured bottle of 1788 Clos de Griffier Cognac worth £50,000 was accidentally smashed by a customer at Calabrese’s bar at The Playboy Club.

The four components of “Salvatore’s Legacy”, including 1788 Cognac,The bottle, destined for the record attempt, fell off the table when the customer asked to look at the label, having ordered two glasses at £5,050 each.

“I was devastated when the bottle smashed and thought my dream of breaking the world record was over, but thankfully it has all worked out,” a jubilant Calabrese told the drinks business after smashing the world record today.

The previous record for the world’s most expensive cocktail was held by The Skyview Bar at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, with a £3,766.52 a glass tipple.

Calabrese, who has previously worked at Dukes Hotel in St James’s and The Lanesborough in Knightsbridge, is a vintage Cognac specialist. He has built a collection of fine and rare Cognacs worth over £1 million, dating back to the late 18^th century, many of which are displayed behind glass at Salvatore’s Bar at The Playboy Club.

Ouch!

So, what do you do the morning after? Hangovers rank right up there with drunk dialing your angry ex as one of the least pleasant drinking-related side effects. Stave off a hangover with these before and after tips—and skip the hangover myths.

Hangovers are no fun even if the events leading up to the hangover were a blast. so we're taking a look at the various preventive measures and cures people undertake in the name of keeping hangovers away, highlighting the good, the bad, and the worthless hangover "cures".

The only 100% effective hangover prevention is to drink conservatively or not at all, and the only 100% effective hangover "cure" is time and fluids, but lets take a look at The Myths, Hair of the Dog and Other Not So Great Ideas!

In every culture with access to alcohol, myths abound about how to cure a hangover. In Ireland it used to be said you should bury your friend up to his neck in wet sand to help him through his hangover. A Haitian myth has it that turning the cork of the hangover-causing-bottle into a voodoo doll and sticking 13 pins in it will keep the hangover at bay. Other strange remedies from around the globe include breathing in the smoke from a coal fire and rubbing limes on your arms. We won't spend any time debunking why rubbing fruit on your body isn't going to cure a hangover, but we will look at the most common remedy claims.

Drinking More Alcohol, aka Hair of the Dog: This is quite likely the most heavily toted hangover cure in the boozin'-recovery handbook. Unfortunately it's completely ineffective. Drinking when you're suffering from a hangover makes you—temporarily!—feel better simply because alcohol dulls your senses. You could just as easily prescribe a double-shot of Tequila as a "remedy" for bashing your thumb with a hammer.

 

You might achieve temporary relief from your hangover—if it works at all—but you'll just prolong the agony. Your body has to process all the toxins you spent all night shoving in it (delicious or not, alcohol is no wheat-grass smoothie when it comes to being body-friendly), and giving it more just extends the timetable.

Drinking Juice/Coffee Afterward: The base premise behind both of these seems to be that drinking lots of juice or coffee will speed up your metabolism and thus the processing of the alcohol. The problem with juice is that it would take gallons of juice to get enough sugar in your system to really change your metabolic rate—an already suspect line of reasoning since researchers in the 1970s established that drinking lots of juice slows down the metabolizing of alcohol. Then, even if the questionable trick worked, you'd have to deal with the massive insulin spike and sugar crash that followed—which can be just as nasty as a hangover. Hydration is important, especially after drinking it up, but juice doesn't do anything special to help you.

Coffee fails in a related fashion. If you drank enough coffee to speed up your metabolism enough to effect the processing of alcohol you'd give yourself heart palpitations and the side effects of mega-dosing on caffeine would dwarf the side effects of your hangover. Even worse, one study suggests that coffee-plus-hangover is a bad bad idea!

If a glass of Vegetable Juice or a strong cup of coffee makes you feel better/sober up then sure, drink some. Just don't expect it to magically absorb all that vodka. Between the two, the veggie juice is the superior choice—coffee is a diuretic and light on any nutritional value, whereas your juice is packed with vitamins and salt, both of which you could use some more of after a night of drinking.

Pain Killers: Don't load up on over-the-counter pain killers before bed. Not only do drugs like Aspirin  have short windows of effectiveness in the body—you'll be asleep for their most effective time—but they're hard on your stomach and liver. That's not normally an issue when you're sober, but now is the time to pay attention to those bottle-warnings. Acetaminophen is especially harsh on your liver—thus the big warning on the box of Tylenol about not taking it along with alcohol. Save the pain killers for the next day and only if you really need them—again, you need to let your body focus on purging the alcohol. 

So what does work? Just because drinking a gallon of orange juice and jamming pins into the cork from a bottle won't cure your hangover doesn't mean you're out of luck. Like we pointed out above, the only fail-safe to a hangover-free life is to drink little or no alcohol. For those times that a good time and a good bottle get the better of you, you can armor up with these tried and tested tips. 

Drinking Water: Water is a magical elixir that makes your body function. You can never go wrong drinking lots of it and it's the absolute best thing to keep yourself from getting hungover and speeding up hangover recovery. Even better than just drinking a lot of water after the fact is drinking water throughout the prior night.

Eat Up: Drinking liquids doesn't close the valve in your stomach or jump start the metabolic process—one of the reasons drinking cola fattens you up so quickly—so make sure you eat well before you start drinking. The myth side of this tip is that food some how absorbs alcohol and locks it up until your body digests the food. The real reason is the valve in your stomach closes to start the digestion process and it takes longer for the alcohol to absorb into your system—a huge cheeseburger is a metaphorical whiskey-sponge, not a literal one.

A solid meal will cause your stomach to focus on slowing the movement of food and liquid through your body so the digestive process can occur. If you skip the pre-bar-hopping meal, the alcohol you drink is essentially boarding a speed train to your blood stream. Focus on fat and protein-loaded foods to provide a nice slow-burning meal that will help regulate the absorption of alcohol.

Don't neglect a good breakfast, either. You may not feel like eating in the morning, but the last thing your body needs is you stumbling around like a zombie on and empty stomach. Mopping up the mess you made with a bottle of Tequila—just because it's lighter colour doesn't always mean it'll protect you from a hangover—is hard work, and you'd be a jerk not to feed the help. Get a solid breakfast with complex carbs and some protein—a case for a bacon sandwich if ever we have heard one!

You'll be able to discard hangover cures that are outright ineffective, will give you food poisoning, or worse. It's no fun being hungover but it's less fun ending up in the hospital because your friend convinced you that the perfect cure for too much Tequila would be raw eggs followed by a jog to a smokey sauna.

 So there you go, all things Drinks!

Where ever you are celebrating your Christmas Bash this year we hope you have a great time and remember that we can still help you organise a Christmas do on the cheap!

Have a great week and don't overdo it...!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 26th November

Welcome to another week!

Newcastle beckons this week as we are off to scout round for venues for the CIPR Northern Conference 2013- even though we haven't finished evaluating the 2012 event yet!

'Power to the people' will be the theme for the 2013 Northern conference which will take place in NewcastleGateshead. In a post-Leveson world where the traditional media is on the back foot and social media is everywhere and all seeing, the opportunities and challenges for professional communicators have never been greater.

June 2013 will see a one-day conference focusing on how organisations and PR practitioners are getting to grips with the new media landscape and coming to terms with the ever-increasing range of skills you need to communicate effectively with your customers and stakeholders now that it is the people who are taking control.

We've already started to contact potential speakers and can promise you an exciting line up.

There are three venues currently under scrutiny including the Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Services Training Centre, which is housed in a self contained site, located just 6 miles from Sunderland, 10 miles from Newcastle and 17 miles from Newcastle International Airport.

The purpose built Training and Development Centre  consists of numerous state of the art facilities including a Breathing Apparatus Centre, Conference and Lecture rooms an ICT training suite and multi-media studio and edit suite.

Other venues also up for consideration include The Discovery Museum. Discover all about life in Newcastle and Tyneside, from the area's renowned maritime history and world-changing science and technology right through to fashion through the eras and military history. The museum is bursting with interactive displays, which makes it the perfect place to learn and have fun.

The displays are regularly updated and complemented by an array of free, fun learning activities. One of their favourite exhibits - Turbinia - dominates the entrance to the Museum. Invented on Tyneside, it is the first ship to be powered by a steam turbine. The 35 metre vessel was once the fastest ship in the world and her history is brought to life in the Turbinia Story display. She sets the standard for a day out that is guaranteed to be filled with breathtaking discoveries.

The Great North Museum is also under consideration. The Great North Museum incorporates collections from the Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s Museum of Antiquities, the Shefton Museum and the Hatton Gallery.

Highlights of the £26million museum include a large-scale, interactive model of Hadrian's Wall, major new displays showing the wonder and diversity of the animal kingdom, spectacular objects from the Ancient Greeks and mummies from Ancient Egypt, a planetarium and a life-size T-Rex dinosaur replica skeleton.

The Living Planet display houses hundreds of creatures and by using a mixture of touch screen technology and hands-on investigations, visitors can investigate these animals and find out where they live and how they survive in such extreme places as the arctic and desert.

Live animal tanks and aquaria are integrated into this major display where visitors can see wolf fish, pythons and lizards to name a few. Star objects include a full size model of an elephant, a great white shark, a virtual aquarium, live animal displays, a polar bear, a giraffe and moa skeleton.

So, it should be an interesting day in Newcastle! 


As we run out of November this week and December beckons, the countdown to Christmas will begin and the frantic search for the perfect presents will no doubt add all sorts of stress to otherwise rational people!

Budgets are still tight for many so we have been looking at a few alternative ideas for Christmas 2012 and some of the current trends, and some cheap Christmas gift ideas that are sure to raise a smile.

Baked goods. Who doesn't enjoy a little "nummy in the tummy?"  Anything that is homemade is appreciated by recipients because, not only is it delicious (hopefully), but it shows effort on the giver's part.  Or, for anyone less than savvy in the kitchen, hit up your local deli and grab a cake, or even a nice bottle of wine.    

Picture frame. Here's a gift with a lot of heart for not a lot of cash.  Provide a loved one with a printed photo of a shared memory and pop it in a lovely picture frame.  You can get single photos printed quite cheaply and with a little effort, cheap but fab frames are easy to find.

  

Secondhand Treasures and Vintage items are still all the rage! Charity stores are filled with a plethora of items - some is trash and some is treasure. But hey, it's worth a gander for those valuable items marked down and always check out the jewelry and the artwork.  These are items that tend to still look great, even if they are used.  

Gift Baskets are also a great idea. The fun part about a homemade gift basket is that it can be made up with the recipient in mind at very little cost.  Baskets can be purchased at local craft stores or markets and you can fill it with items you know they will like, favourite candies, spa goods such as face creams, stuffed animals, and more. 

Plants and Flowers are always a great idea and whilst other items may be forgotten, anyone with a green finger can enjoy your gift long after the festive season!

And finally, in a world of computers and technology, books are all but forgotten.  However, the beauty of this gift idea is that there is a book out there for everybody...and chances are it can be acquired on the cheap.  Between online bookstores and local libraries, books can cost very little and be enjoyed for ages, and if you are a Kindle Owner, then a gift certificate to top up a Kindle is a great idea!

However, if you are feeling rather frivolous this festive season then you might want to splurge on Christmas  Crackers and we think we have found just the ones for you - a snip at £599.00....

Celebrate the festive season in true Harrods style with these 6 Romanov luxury Christmas crackers: individually handcrafted and hand decorated with the finest trims, each cracker contains handmade bespoke headgear, humour and trivia booklet and superb individually wrapped gift. Available exclusively at Harrods.

So there you go, and have a great week!