Monday 29 November 2010


It was with slight trepidation that I signed up to see 14 people, (yes 14!) share their slides with an audience of just 50 people at the Bar des Arts in Guildford last week.

Dubbed PechaKucha (Japanese for chatter) the presentation has a simple set of rules: 20 slides displayed for 20 seconds each. That’s it. Say what you need to say in 6 mins and 40 seconds of exquisitely matched words and images and sit the hell down.

I settled myself at a table with a couple of strangers and a large glass of white wine and was totally captivated as each speaker took to the floor.

Pirate radio, volunteering in the Haiti earthquake, an actor, an electric motorbike designer, a festival organiser, the joy of sound - all very different topics spoken about by very normal people with a real passion for their chosen subject. And in the interval a bit of chit chat at the bar.

The atmosphere was excitable, friendly and hugely supportive. This was an event that delivered on so many different levels yet it was organised purely as a social gathering with not a spot of selling or heavy networking in sight.

I loved it. Another Pecha Kucha is planned for February - watch this blog for details.


Tinx Newton Nov 2010


Art group exhibitions can send a shudder down the spines of some people. Daffs in vases, children paddling in rock pools, a favourite pussy sitting at a window - these images are all too familiar so it was a joy to discover how adventurous, and indeed talented, many members of the Guildford Art Society are.

John Walker captures light so beautifully it was hard to me to move along the gallery. Wide expanses of foreground loosely painted with daring swathes of mauve contrast with careful, but never laboured, detail of buildings in the distance. Mixed inbetween are glimpses of sunlight creating interest across the whole canvas.

I was excited and fascinated by the mixed media of Nagib Karsan and Liz Clinton - colourful, layered work that jumps off the page. And pictures by the wonderful Juliet Renny always make me smile - I was in her art class a few years back and was struck by how incredibly talented she is in all types of medium.

Yes there are vases of flowers in the exhibition but they are very much the botanical illustration quality. I can't remember if I saw a cat, but there was a fine painting of elephants by Rosemarie de Goede.

More details of the exhibition from www.guildfordhouse.co.uk 01483 444751

Wednesday 3 November 2010


Have decided to rent desk space in order to (hopefully) a) work more efficiently without distractions and b) work more efficiently with more interesting distractions. After 6 years out of an office it's great to share a joke over the photocopier and gather info and opinions from fellow desk spacers. Already I feel a play coming on.....
The desk space is in a very groovy converted chapel in Leatherhead, called, not surprisingly, The Chapel. The interior is awesome - massive stained glass windows, the original organ, and a pervading sense of calm but with a comforting buzz of productivity. Fellow 'spacers' include a couple of marketing agencies, an SEO company, a concierge, a remote PA, a theatre touring company, a cartoonist - all very interesting stuff.
And best of all - a sandwich lady! Surely the most enjoyable job on the street - how wonderful to always be greeted with huge smiles and people digging in their pockets.
So - I'm trying it out for a month - watch this (desk) space....