Mamucium

I have to say that my time with the Festival was a full blown, seat of the pants, thrill ride from start to finish. To say that I loved it is just too much of an understatement for words!

I have occasionally got involved in charity fundraising projects in the past but I have to say that I may have had some pre – conceived ideas about what a volunteer workforce would be like that I am now rather ashamed of. The ambition of the Festival demanded a small army of 300 or so volunteers in order to make it happen and I can honestly say that I would be honoured to have this quality of workforce in any FTSE 100 listed company. Stuff just got done. It’s that simple!

As a photographer for the Festival my interactions with a lot of the volunteers were sadly quite minimal but the number of times in conversation I would hear visitors commenting on and praising the staff for their professionalism was simply too often to be coincidental.

Personally I was exposed to opportunities that I doubt I’d have got anywhere near otherwise and I’d like to think that in the main, I was able to deliver what I set out to achieve. have a flick through the photos and see what you think. They are held in the Gallery section of the main Festival site.

Missing It Already . . .

Well this is all very exciting!

Much to my delight I was recently accepted to be a photographer for the upcoming Manchester International Festival. This was a huge opportunity for me and , even though I do say so myself, a little unexpected. After all, little old me working on a project like this? Heady times indeed.

Still, what it did demonstrate is that sometimes even a mug with a portfolio gets lucky!

Even better than finding out this news however was finding out that I get another look at the Great Hall in Manchester Town hall tomorrow. MIF are hosting a volunteer event there for a couple of hours in the evening in a ‘meet and greet’ sense.Not only will the opportunity to meet all the wonderful people who are volunteering be great but the setting is truly magnificent.

The Great Hall does have to be seen to be believed. It’s a tremendous example of Neo – Gothic architecture (as is all of Manchester Town Hall) and the Ford Madox Brown Murals tell a magnificent story of the origins of Manchester. So, if you are a MIF volunteer I’ll see you there!

ED