Month: December 2012

How to start the semester in style for the Guardian’s HE blog

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The Guardian’s Higher Education Network posted my blog about making a positive start to the new term this week.

Here’s an extract:

Yet most of us know these first contact hours are crucial to the success of the year overall. There are no second chances. So how should lecturers approach their impending big entrance with a view to setting the right tone for the year ahead?

It’s an advice piece with some tips for lecturers about how to approach the start of term differently. I also used the story as the basis of my own first class with the new first-year cohort.

I figured that, if I’m going to be critiquing their work all semester, then they might as well have a shot a critiquing mine.

You can also read the full story. Some of the comments were constructive, some just people who like the sound of their own voice trying to be clever.

Do you have a comment to add? Post below.

Walking in the footsteps of the Saints

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I’ve been on the trail of a saint this week.

Werburgh is the known as the Patron Saint of Chester; her feast will be celebrated at the city’s Cathedral on February 3.

The journey of Werburgh from a noble Staffordshire family to sainthood also provides the narrative backdrop to the Two Saints Way, a newly opened long-distance walking trail through the rural heart of England.

The trail recreates the ancient pilgrimage route between Lichfield and Chester Cathedrals via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent. The name refers to St Werburgh and St Chad, two Saxon saints who brought Christianity to the ancient kingdom of Mercia (the modern-day Midlands) in the 7th century.

These trails are increasingly popular again today with latter-day pilgrims seeking spiritual connections on a long-distance hike.

“The pilgrimage has become a contemporary quest for ancient wisdom. It encapsulates what life is about, namely going on a journey,” says David Pott, who devised the Two Saints Way and is walking with me on the trail.

“In the contemporary context, it’s about asking questions and seeking answers. But modern pilgrims seek to do so in mind, body and soul,” he adds.

Read more about St Werburgh in the February issue of Discover Britain magazine.

Read my Walk in Depth piece from Walk, the Ramblers’ magazine.

This story traces the other leg of the trail, focusing on the journey of St Chad.

More about the project from the Two Saints Way website.

 

 

Visit Llandudno tourism brochure 2013

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I was back around Conwy and Llandudno over autumn, working on my second edition of the annual tourism guide for Cowny County Borough Council.

The brief was to bring magazine-style writing to a traditionally info-heavy guide. This year, the two main themes I covered were nature and heritage.

The focus of the latter was a longer feature about the Princes of Gwynedd, a major new tourism project for 2013.

The brochure has a print run of 85,000 and is distributed in partnership with Visit Wales.

The 2013 brochure is out in the spring.

Meanwhile, read my story about the Wales Coast Path in the 2012 guide.

Post your comments below.

* Update. The 2013 brochure is now out. Read the editorial pages here.

Northern Ireland 2012 campaign for the Daily Telegraph

IMG_0053 I visited Northern Ireland several times during late 2011 and throughout 2012 to co-write a supplement for the Daily Telegraph. The supplement was commissioned by Tourism Ireland for a strong editorial feel to stories about Belfast’s cultural life, the Causeway Coastal Route and the Titanic anniversary. To read more, go to the Telegraph’s microsite. Do you have a favourite place in Northern Ireland? Did I miss something crucial? Post your comments below.