'Tis an ill wind

’Tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good.


(Taken in Spain last year)

Well the illness that has struck me down of late seems to have subsided and I'm feeling a bit better. While I'm far from rested, I am feeling verbose and have had time to do a bit of thinking, so please prepare yourself for a veritable raft of posts. A lot more of what I did rather than what I do, but still. (Ab)normal service resuming shortly.


Photo owned by malikyounas (cc)

On a slightly related theme, I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. If you're not feeling well, if you have aches and pains, a loss of appetite or energy, can't sleep or calm your mind; if you just don't feel right then please go and see a doctor. Even if you think ah it's just because of... the weather / the recession / stress /allergies / a dodgy take-away / problems at home / at work or whatever, do yourself the favour of getting it checked out. Stop making excuses and go. Though no stranger to a doctor, I'm glad I did.

Newstalk: Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Tonight on Culture Shock, the Newstalk 106 Arts and Culture show with Fionn Davenport, we're discussing the internet mini-series, Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Aspiring super-villain Dr. Horrible wants to join the Evil League of Evil and win the heart of Penny, the girl of his dreams, but his nemesis, Captain Hammer, stops him at every turn in this three-part musical.

The three part movie was written by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator and head writer of the well-known and popular television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.

Recognise the main actor - Neil Patrick Harris? Once upon a time he used to be Doogie Howser, M.D!

The Arts and Culture show is on Newstalk 106-108fm from 7pm. You can listen live through this link.

Have a look at the show. Let me know what you think of it!

Upgrading to version 3.0

Over the weekend there will be a scheduled upgrade to the current version available. While version 2.9 has been the best of the iterations thus far, with unknown talents being uncovered, stories being told, experiences shared and interesting people being met, it is time to make some improvements and Sunday, August 10 seems like the most appropriate date to do so.

Version 3.0 has been a while in the planning and implementation and I'm both hopeful and confident that the improvements we aim to introduce will be to your enjoyment and benefit.

Changes to existing version:

Some of the additions include:-

# Early to bed:

The suggestion has been made that some of the current energy problems may be due to lack of sleep. If so, the solution to the insomnia may be stepping away from the computer that bit earlier, laying down the book and adapting to an earlier time in the leaba.

# Early to rise:

In order to maximise the potential given by the bright mornings, a decision to increase the time in morning preparation has been agreed upon.

# Food is good:

A stricter diet of more food, with more fruit and vegetables has been in the running for a while now. With the increased variety of fruit and vegetables at reasonable prices, it seems like an appropriate time to take stock.

# Get back:

Communication is a two way thing. Therefore each email should be responded to, each tweet replied to, each comment appreciated and each commenter made feel welcome. Preaching can be easy, practising is the challenge.

# Saturday night at the movies:

To fully expolit the benefit of such resources as movies.ie, the cinema will have to be attended at least once a week. The night may vary but the hope would be to indulge in celluloid goodness if and when possible.

# The more you study...

Whether it's lessons online or a course offline, a bar/podcamp or training course, an interesting book or a conversation with peers, I hope to start making the most of the education I receive, in order to share it to make things better.

# Make the most:

Every problem is an opportunity and every opportunity could turn out to be something interesting, something innovative, something fun. Evaluating each one for what it could be worth is something both necessary and potentially interesting.

# Give something back:

There are some great opportunities to help make a difference. The hope would be to use some time, energy and resources to be that change I want to see in the world.

# Ba mhaith liom caint

as Gaeilge. Níl an iomarca agam, ach le cabhair agus caint, bhféidir níos mó agam níos déanaí. After all, Irish is the national language. I'd like to know more.

# Seek first to understand...

... then be understood. Though this has been in implementation a while, there is much more development necessary. The implementation may be tough but the challenge to better the instruction worthwhile.

# Meaning PLUS Happiness:

Mr. Linderman: You see, I think there comes a time when a man has to ask himself whether he wants a life of happiness or a life of meaning.
Nathan Petrelli: I'd like to think I have both.
Mr. Linderman: Can't be done. Two very different paths. I mean, to be truly happy, a man must live absolutely in the present. And with no thought of what's gone before, and no thought of what lies ahead. But, a life of meaning... A man is condemned to wallow in the past and obsess about the future. (From Heroes)

Let's aim for a little bit of column a, a little bit of b.

# Take a little time:

Time to sit by the sea; time to spend with friends; time to learn a new craft, to listen to some classical music; to learn a new language; to write some more letters; to make new friends and enjoy my time with old ones.

# All you need is love:

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.

Than you once again for your company over the past while, making version 2.9 of me the best year yet. I look forward to seeing what happens next year. It will be fun.

Just a comment

I'm sorry.

I haven't been replying to comments here and that's not a nice thing to do.

At the last count I had over 60 individual commenters on my blog. That's just amazing. I'm grateful to each and every one of you who have taken the time to do so. You have all helped me keep going at this, to keep the words coming and the thoughts flowing.

If I do one thing over the next week, it will be to reply to every unanswered comment on my blog and continue to do so from here on in. There's no excuse. I'm sorry. Thanks for sticking with me.

I hope you continue to do so.

08:08 08.08.08

Yep, I am *that* sad. Well, last year on July 7, I stuck a reminder in my phone that today I'd look back at what I was doing this time last year and see where I was.



I'd moved to Spain.



As opportunities go, the chance to move to a different country to work on what was promised to be an exciting project to add to my CV was a tempting one. Despite having spent the previous few months making new friends and getting back into the groove of living in Dublin having spent so long away, I was once again faced with the choice of go and give it a shot or stay and regret not going. I think I made the right choice.



The south of Spain in the summer sunshine is quite a stunning place. I'd moved to the tiny village of Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro, a short trip from Estepona, a few kilometers away from Gibraltar



and a short walk from the top-class resort of Sotogrande, home to millionaires, golfing enthusiasts, yachters and this view, one of my favourites.



It was to be a massive learning curve for me. I'd moved over alone with little idea of the locals, the language or the way of life. "I'll be grand when I get there" was my thought before going. "Sure it's Europe. They'll speak the language. Plus I'll be in an English speaking part". I'd been spoiled by having interviews in English, in flying to Gibraltar (little England in the sun) and by romantic notions that it was going to be easy.



I'd been apprehensive, yes. The night before I left, at his birthday last year, Darren had asked me "Are you sure you want to go?" and it wasn't until the plane touched down in Gibraltar on the afternoon of August 5 that I realised that I had to do this.



I was collected by the company driver to bring me to my new accommodation, a two bed apartment where I could stay rent free for the duration of my probationary period. Was I lucky? I felt blessed.



I soon became used to views of narrow streets, of vibrant flower colours and smells and to the sound of Spain - the second loudest country in the world, apparently. I also fell in love. With a rock. Gibraltar, with its views of Africa, its windy, tourist filled streets and most importantly its English bookstores became a regular destination for me, as I explored the rock, met its inhabitants and sat at pubs in the sunshine thinking how lucky I actually was.



In many ways it was a step into a different life. Things moved at a different pace, to a different beat. The sunshine ruled supreme. We went to a Bootleg Beatles concert where the announcement:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the management have informed us that many of you are using digital cameras and camcroders to record tonight's show without permission. We have to ask you to stop as it's the 1960s tonight and your devices haven't been invented yet".

Funny, but also appropriate in many ways. I didn't have internet access (which for a web addict editor is never a good thing), my belongings took ages to arrive and it took me a while to settle into this new place without friends, family or even the ability to ask for a carton of milk without struggling with the dictionary.

Mañana, mañana was the reason, the excuse and the driving force behind everything. If it didn't happen today, so what? The sun is shining, the water's great. Come on down to the beach. Watch the waves. Relax a little.



So that's what I did. One of my fondest memories is the lunchtime Elizabeth and I went for a walk on the beach, just to get our feet wet. Which sounds like a great idea. And was. because playing in the waves at lunchtime is always fun.



Sitting here this morning in D15 and looking out at the waves of traffic heading to the M50, hearing the sounds of this part of Dublin preparing for another day, I can't help but smile. It's been a good year. I'll do the same next September 9.

Where I'll be, what I'll be doing, whether I'll be in front of a keyboard or transmitting this directly to the interweb using the latest in mind-to-web technology, who knows? All I know is that I'll be doing my very best to enjoy it.

Where were you last year?

Our evening at Fáilte Towers

"Oh, I think I have one of your bum cloths"

Michelle Heaton

"I've worked 50 hours in the last two days"

Sean Ó Domhnaill

Every opportunity is interesting - some more than others. When I was invited to take part in an episode of RTÉ reality series Fáilte Towers produced by the fantastic Adare Productions, I was initially hesitant. At least for a couple of seconds. Would it be worthwhile, would it be fun, would I look foolish? Would this be a bad move?

The premise is simple - Irish personalities (TV people, weathergirls, singers etc) running a hotel and being voted off. The bloggers seemed intrigued by how good it would be.

But you only get one chance at things, so why not? So thanks to a very supportive boss and an equally up for the craic partner-in-crime, Niamh and I set out for Fáilte Towers yesterday.



The Hotel:

The show is filmed at Bellingham Castle in Co. Louth, north of Dublin. It's been a hotel since 1968 and speaking to the owner (of 42 years) last night at the bar, it's a place normally used for functions, weddings and the like.

Despite a ban on cameras (the flash affects live camera filming) I was careful enough with ours to grab a few shots.

The show doesn't really capture the size or scale of the hotel, confining the on-screen action to certain, necessary areas. It is however very suited to the style of show - the hotel needs work and updating. It's quaintly decorated in a simple style reminiscent of the original Fawlty Towers hotel.



with certain smile-inducing Irish touches



After being stopped by security at the gates for a bomb-in-the-car-boot-check (seriously!), we made our way up the drive to a dry-ice smoke filled reception, (you couldn't make this stuff up) where we were greeted by a enthusiastic Brian Dowling.

It's always funny to meet TV personalities in the flesh - he's exactly as he appears on screen, even when cameras aren't rolling. But more on him later.



People with cameras were everywhere and while we eventually became comfortable with them, they were never not noticable. Usually (despite the evidence this blog provides) I'm video camera shy, but this wasn't too bad.



Our room wasn't ready when we arrived. When I say "wasn't ready", I mean despite being given the key and directed upstairs, we walked into a mess. No clothes on the beds, crisp packets on the bathroom floor and a coke bottle discarded on the bedside table.

"Uh oh" was the initial impression, especially having watched the first show and seen the disasters that beset them. Down to reception I duly went and returned with a terribly apologetic Brian who assured us it would be sorted and brought us down to the resident's bar where the evening's guests already seemed to be entrenched, being looked after by the gentleman that is Don Baker.



A complementary beverage later - Niamh had a wine (in a brandy glass), I had a Guinness, that, though poured by a novice barman was a very welcome nerve soother - Brian returned to tell us the room was ready. Up we went to meet Jennifer Maguire who had raced very effectively through the preparations to give us what turned out to be quite a nice room...



... with the odd reminder that the hotel wasn't exactly manned by professionals.



We opted for the first sitting of dinner, mostly because we were starving. Brian, still feeling embarrassed and responsible for the room issue, came with us from the bar to seat us, ("I'll look after you both now") talking with a familiarity that put us both at ease.

Having seen the previous episode and reading some newspaper articles about Fáilte Towers, I for one was wary about the food. These people aren't professional chefs, they're not used to cooking and serving food in this way and there was always the danger that things would go wrong in the kitchen.

And with a menu boasting starters of carrot and coriander soup, Thai fish cakes and a Goats Cheese salad and main courses of Roast rack of Lamb with rosemary and garlic potatoes, Sirloin steak and Mussels there was a lot that could go wrong.



I needn't have worried. The food was fantastic - and even more impressively so when we heard that the production team had switched the menu an hour before.

In such an artificial situation it's almost natural, though cruel, to look for defects, for things to complain about, to see if they could be better. While I daren't openly accuse any fellow guests of doing that (despite some seeming to), I found it almost impossible to fault anything. I haven't had as good a meal in ages.

I'd chosen a sirloin (medium); Niamh went for the lamb. Both were delicious, with a great garlicky flavour to mine. Dessert too - brownie for Niamh, lemon tart for me were both very tasty. The food arrived well presented, hot and yummy.



Camera men went around getting reactions of the guests. There was quite a mix. Models, teachers, culchies and actors all chatting and waiting to see what, if anything, would happen. Having a hotel inspector there too caused a stir.

Brian, Jennifer, Michelle Heaton and former MEP Patricia McKenna were serving the tables. At one stage Patricia confided that there were substantial whispers that Bertie Ahern was due in that evening. "Possibly to make me serve him" she said with a smile. It didn't happen. That would just have been weird.



Post dinner we went back to the residents bar to await the start of the live show and eviction. The locals from the village came up bedecked (very much so) in their finery, the cameras were moving and the tension high.



For those of you who haven't been watching, the show documents the day to day activities in the hotel and has a live show where one of the "celebrities" is evicted. Each personality is supporting a charity and the proceeds of the calls that the public make for their favourite celeb goes to their chosen charity. Therefore, the longer they stay in, the more money they make.



Before the television show (which we got to see some of) there was good craic in the bar. The nudists of that night's show posed for photos (hence Michelle's bumcloth remark), and we got to meet fellow guests on the night as we chatted about our shared surprise that "it's so real, they're working so hard." I was convinced the lovely Emily (below) was a reporter, she that I was a spy or something.



We didn't get to meet all of the celebs taking part, though saw many of them. On my own list to meet were broadcaster John Creedon, weather person Evelyn Cusack, model Clare Tully and the McCauls, primarily because of the charities they were supporting but also with a morbid sense of "Are they really like that?" that I sometimes indulge in. Unfortunately they didn't seem to be in the 'public' part of the hotel so the people we got to meet were:



Brian Dowling

Brian is *that* guy - the overly camp and effervescent winner of 2001's Big Brother and subsequent successful shows in Ireland and the UK. He is great. As I said earlier, completely personable both on and off camera, he took a real interest and ownership of each guest, working hard to help where he could, responding to everything with a smile or an inappropriate but funny comment.

It would be rather difficult not to like him, exuberant as his personality is, and as the lovely Marian tweeted me this morning, he'd probably be great to go for a pint with.



Don Baker

Don, a "renowned singer-songwriter and harmonica and guitar virtuoso" is a gentleman. His sincere warmth and humour behind the bar remained unaffected by the somewhat ridiculous demands of some of the patrons. He was plain spoken, polite and affable.

I had a long and very funny chat with him this morning before checking out where he - in a very cheeky and sarcastic, but still friendly mode - quizzed me about my friendship with Niamh, about Limbo and about my motives. I strongly think that he'll do well out of this. He's extremely proud of the funds he's raised for his chosen charity and he seems a positive influence on the younger staff who both liked and respected him.



Michelle Heaton

Niamh knows a lot more about this ex Liberty-x singer than I do, so she wouldn't have been familiar to me. She seems like a confident and able young woman, managing busy dinner tables, pulling pints or dealing with car alarms at reception with great ease.

She is not as "up herself" as she seems to be portrayed, though I did note her checking the mirror the odd time to see if her make-up was okay. She's actually quite ordinary in a nice way and I doubt the show is doing her career prospects any harm. It would be nice to see her do well, now that she's moved to Ireland.



Baz Ashmawy

Again my lack of TV watching let me down here, as Niamh told me who this presenter of How Low Can You Go and Celebrity Bainisteoir was.

Baz, who is co-presenting the show is a very ordinary, friendly and good natured bloke who spoke to the guests as easily has he did the celebrities or the cameras. Niamh says he's exactly like he is on the telly, and if his party antics last night (till nigh on 5.30 am) are anything to go by, she could be right.



Jennifer Maguire

The image above is how I had pictured Jennifer - an ex Apprentice contestant - would be. A hard-nosed, direct and intolerant woman who wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way, and as such would neither be approachable or fun.

Imagine my relief so to find that Jennifer, though very professional and productive with a good eye for detail in everything she does is also a funny, sarcastic and witty woman who is enjoying the experience as much as she can, despite how different it seems to be for her. I'm glad I met her in person, as the side we see on the show and on the Apprentice doesn't do her actual persona and character any real justice.



Bibi Baskin

Ahh Bibi. I'll admit that I had a great wish to meet this woman, not only because I grew up watching her on TV but because once again I had this desire to see if she was really as she was portrayed in this recent interview. Personally I don't get what happened with the journalist because the Bibi I met was charming, engaging and friendly to the random young man who shyly approached to say hello.

We chatted about her hotel in India - she moved there because of an interest in Deepak Chopra and Ayurveda - and she gave me her email address and a warm invitation to come visit. Despite working all day and having to make a brave but brutal decision to evict one of the celebs, she was both accepting and happy to talk.

It's easy to see why the woman was a sex symbol (I really wanted to mention the famous "Where would you like to be buried question...", but didn't) and she still oozes charisma and style. I'm glad I took the opportunity - it was a treat of the evening. I could have done without her telling me the hotel dressing room was haunted though...



Donna and Joe McCaul

If there are two people in that hotel that deserve to win by sheer dint of hard work, effort, personality and enthusiasm, it's Joe and Donna McCaul. Legends is not the word. Both with duty manager roles last night, they were anywhere they needed to be, with a smile on their faces and a warm word for colleagues and guests alike.

Donna is strikingly beautiful - much more than she appears on screen in my opinion. She played a blinder in the restaurant last night, not only serving and clearing tables but checking at appropriate times if everyone was okay, making sure complaints were dealt with quietly to the satisfaction of the guest and the contestant.

Nothing was too much trouble and she was happy to talk, to invite us to join them at the bar and to enjoy ourselves. A memorable encounter, albeit all too brief. I didn't get a chance to ask for a photo as she was working too hard.

Joseph, above with Niamh, seems very different to his sister, though in the best possible way. He's a guy who knows how to get things done the right way. His skill was in speaking to people, to making them smile and in making them feel good without them realising what he was doing. He's a smooth guy with an undeniable charisma that should mean success no matter what he does.

Yes, he has a strong personality but what may not transfer is that in no way is he vindictive, malicious or disruptive. Everything he does is with concern for others and in their best interests. He looked after poor Clare Tully after her eviction like she was a close friend, rather than someone he met a week before. Joe would definitely be someone I'd buy a pint for.

it's easy to criticise, to point fingers and say "ahh saps" as a lot of people seem to have done to the McCauls, but in person they, as individuals as much as a duo are so natural, so warm and so inherently Irish that it's hard not to want to hug them. For some strange reason I was proud to see how well they managed everything.



The eviction:

I was sorry to see Clare Tully leave, not only because of the charity she supported but how much she'd fought to get someone on her side in an effort to make a real difference. More-so than anyone else perhaps, you have to admire the guts of the girl - her decision to model as a page 3 girl would have garnered enough criticism - who chose not to let the naysayers get her down, but instead to use the publicity she'd been receiving in an effort to do some good. it's very admirable and I hope it stands to her.

Her departure seemed to have hit the participants hard, as I'm sure it will every time. Here's a team of people all training, living, working hard and laughing together only to be faced with the truth that they're all against each other, no matter how worthy the cause is. As Don pointed out to us, it will get harder - the less people there are, the more jobs per person there are to do. It's not a task I envy them, given how hard they all worked already. They're exhausted.

Their camaraderie too was impressive. Sean Ó Domhnaill arrived to the bar late to give Michelle a hand, giving her snacks and chatting with her and the other guests about how difficult the few days have been. Niamh and I joined Joe and Michelle outside where they - like any other colleagues - chatted about the jobs, about the pressures and about their experiences with the other participants.

In such a bizarre and unique situation, it was somehow both amusing and reassuring to know that these people were all doing it for the charities, for the fun and they wanted to make the best possible go of it.

Equally the production team were amazing, particularly Lisa from Adare who worked tirelessly to make sure everything went well. In reality things could have been a hell of a lot worse. A lot of professionals worked hard to make sure that didn't happen.



As for me - well there's a reason I include the photo above. I took this at 5.45am, when the bar had finally quietened down (residents staying up all night, doing dares, naked races and other such stuff!) and quiet sleep was finally beckoning. Suddenly a car alarm shattered the silence. And did so a number of times. Not wanting to cause trouble but just to see what could be done, I had to go down to the now shattered but still working and cleaning Michelle to ask if something could be done.

What happened next? Despite an expectance that it may be on the TV, I think we escaped the camera's watchful glare. The experience was enough - meeting lovely people and getting to see a different side of things once again. All the episodes will be online here.

Details on voting and the charities that you can help by just sending a text message are all here.



Our thanks to everyone who made this a memorable experience. We're both dreading seeing if we end up on camera, but if we do, please be kind in your feedback!

Spencer Tunick: Images not available until next year

How do you manage an event with an online aspect, whatever that aspect may be? Here's my advice.

Dublin Docklands Development Authority just don't seem to get "it". The Spencer Tunick photos won't be available until 2009. I mean, seriously?

From the email I received this morning:

Dear Participants,

Thank you for making an exceptional art installation, the Spencer Tunick project happen in Dublin Docklands this summer.

This event was a tremendous success and as commissioners, Dublin Docklands and Cork Midsummer festival were delighted with how the project caught the public imagination and that so many participants signed up and took part.

Spencer Tunick is an extraordinary artist and we were privileged that he accepted the offer to work in Ireland and create some spectacular images. So few artists manage to engage so many people and create such powerful and beautiful images.

Now we can’t all wait to see the images!

We have received so many emails and letters of gratitude and thanks from the participants, we know that this was a special moment in the summer of 2008

We are now working with Spencer to create an event to exhibit the work in Ireland next year. As a participant, you will receive a print from the installation (Cork or Dublin) in which you took part in spring 2009.

We will distribute these to you around the exhibition we host or we will mail them to you at that time.

We have your details on file, as you completed them on the Participation form, and will contact you again early next year to confirm your details and with details of the distribution of prints and the exhibition

Thank you from all of us for making this a highlight of 2008 and for not letting our chilly weather put you off

Dublin Docklands Development Authority

You may recall I wasn't over enthused after my Spencer experience. I'm even less so now.

I had a long chat yesterday with the lovely Krishna De as part of the Podcamp Ireland series of podcasts. We talked about using social media to promote and otherwise complement events, with emphasis on the 4daymovie project, but also discussing the SPWC initiative with pix.ie.

I fail to understand how in this day and age, "authorities" are still so clueless about how to foster community, to engage and enthuse people and to validate their participation in what was a unique event. So much more could have been done:

• The event was Saturday June 21. The follow-up thank you email comes 6 weeks later. Why the delay?

• "We have received so many emails and letters of gratitude and thanks from the participants, we know that this was a special moment in the summer of 2008"
  
  What have they done to foster this? Why not scan and publish some of the letters and quotes online? Create/dedicate a section of their website (where a search for Spencer only brings up legacy articles) that allows people to share their own experiences, to talk about the event and to keep in touch with where Spencer is next. Create a Facebook event page even!

• The photos in Spring 2009: When Spencer was taking the shots, we joked about him needing a digital camera to speed up the process. Though not a photographer I fail to understand why the images can't be viewed for six months - at least online if nowhere else. Does that mean there was some serious photoshopping of Irish skintones?
  
  I understand that an exhibition takes time to prepare, that Spencer is a busy man and that as soon as the photos are released online, they'll be widespread. But, so what? Does that mean that people will think "Ah I won't bother going now" because they see the photo on a website? No. People did the installation for a number of reasons - a personal challenge, a chance to try something different but also a chance to be a part of something. To be able to say "I was there. I took the challenge. I did it." We could have been told that this was going to be the case, we could have been made feel part of that process as well.
  
  It's up to the organisers to promote that event as much as it is the participants to make the most of it. Who benefits more? The participants for their experience or Dublin Docklands for the coverage, the promotion and the publicity they're getting.

Krishna asked me yesterday if I had any tips for event organisers about using the internet to help at events. As I sit now, I can think of the following:

1. What would you like? Put yourself in the shoes of your participants, your volunteers, your audience and think about what you'd expect, how you'd react, what you'd like to come away from the event with. It constantly amazes me how little this actually seems to be done. Looking after your sponsors is important, but unless people enjoy the event, what's the point?
   
   
2. Ask for help Don't do it badly yourself - get other people - your team, your volunteers, your friends involved and ask them for advice, for help in seeing the wood from the trees and for that added extra eye over things.
   
   
3. Look at what others have done. There are so many great events in Ireland - think of what they've done to foster that sense of "I was there and it was great".
   
   
4. Allow people to talk about it. Give them somewhere to give feedback, to say "That was great" and thank them for doing so. Dublin Docklands - why wait until Spring to hold an event for people? Ask people to share their experiences, collect them into a book, publish it for charity, invite the participants to the launch. All that work? A bit of time. The good Word-of-mouth/word-of-mouse you get afterwards? Priceless.
   
   
5. Say thank you to everyone. I particularly like the way the Street Performance World Championships followed up their newspaper ads announcing the event with this advertisement thanking people for being there, for being part of it, for attending and laughing their way through the weekend. It gives that "aww" factor, it lends to the good feeling someone has and it gives them something to talk about.
   
   
6. Keep people informed. If so many people had such a good time, consider they might like to hear about what's going on, what the next step is, if they can help etc.
   
   
7. Be kind to your fans. People (volunteers especially) can be enthusiastic, excited and interested in helping out. That may be a hindrance sometimes but in the long run it's worth it. The Dublin Writers Festival brought us out to dinner recently in Eden of Temple Bar as a thank you. Thanks to Pix.ie the SPWC have an absolute deluge of great photos to choose from.
   
   Niamh sent the Dublin Burlesque Ball a Facebook message this morning after attending on Sunday night, saying "thanks, here's a link to my photos, any idea of when yours will be ready?" They replied this morning saying "Thanks for coming to the Dublin Burlesque Ball and for the pics. Glad to hear you and your friends had such a great time. Please watch our coming events information here on Facebook. Our official pics will be ready next week." That's just brilliant.
   
   
8. Very importantly is managing things online properly. Stickler that I am, I like things to be done properly. I can understand Damien's annoyance at the Darklight Film Festival for how they handled their mailing lists and he's right - ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Resource may be, but again - ask for help!
   
   Do not put all the email addresses in the "to" field, do not have wrong information that requires a follow-up email to say sorry and please please please spell check and read before you send.

At the end of the email today from the Dublin Docklands Development Authority was the line:

Do not rely to this email

I certainly won't. Nor have I come away with a good feeling about this. A pity. A real pity. I've emailed the DDDA with this article and an offer for help. I'll let you know what they come back with.

You and me both!

Every week I'm reminded why I visit Postsecret on a Sunday.