Another hot day - spent working on the linkage elements of the bid. It seems that the West Midlands Region have secured a sizeable sum of EC money for regeneration and competitiveness purposes. Some of this money has been allocated to securing a more qualified workforce in manufacturing and it is this element which is being let competitively and which we are pitching for. My part of the pitch includes the writing the passage on the links to related initiatives - which is fine by me - the main problem is in doing this stuff in parallel - trying to write links between X and Y when X is still in an early process of formation. This looms large when the Y is (for example) a 250 page business plan. The more challenging aspect is the ouput matrix - the numbers required are perspectives on a consistent core and the core has to be consistent and credible.

I had a visitor last night at the flat - a very rare event. It was Paul Bell (drummer Ghosts) who was doing his GKN communications course at the Leamington training centre of the employers federation.. I have visited one of the courses before - the participants have been recruited globally for the management elite of a top UK engineering firm.

I showed Paul some of the 10 Short Stories AV. We had talked about the general form and he is interested in using the technique in his teaching. His initial reaction was that he could see the power of the medium in linking words, animated image and original music. The piece that he liked most is the one based on the Saxon Mill which used a remix of the Carpenters� Rainy Days and Sundays. I like the track a lot - partly because I like the original track - but also the way it has developed. I suppose the piece would support Henry�s contention that at the end of the day the narrative thread is an important component of effective pieces. I also showed him Kyle Aesthetics and Two Faces - the two pieces that have been most widely seen.

I will call in on Paul�s course after work tonight. I can see I need to curate the last three months work in this medium.

I mentioned to Gilbert that I would give him a copy of the 10ss AV on Friday when he plays at Mark�s D Graham event. I am also just beginning to hatch a wider pitch policy.

Yvonne seemed to like her birthday card - which has an AV element - as you open it a George Bush voice delivers a message about invading your birthday party.

I have realized that after making my contribution to the pitch, Steve and I need to put together a motorsport presentation to deliver to the Board on Tuesday. This is a bit crowded - feasible but not much leeway - esp as the Board may be a bit uppity. This event will be one where looking credible will be very important - not especially my strong suit. But working with Steve will be good - he has an amazing command of practical rhetoric.
I think it might be something to do with the fact that he actually enjoys going into a class of 13 and 14 year olds and getting their attention and making them do some work.