The end of the year

Holidays in The English Lakes, Barcelona and The Loire region of France. Working in Hull, Blackburn, Bolton, Skelmersdale, Cheltenham, Leeds, San Francisco, New Jersey, Leicester and York. Leaving the BBC after 18 years and starting my own business called digistories. Cycling, walking and enjoying the hills of the North of England. Visiting friends and family and enjoying the challenge of my church friends in York. Working with Daniel Meadows, Joe Lambert and Leslie Rule and broadening my experience of digital storytelling. Adding to my music collection and loading up my first iPod. Some of the things that made up the year for me.
I also observed the national and international events that made their impact on our recent history. The natural disasters - Tsunami, earthquake, hurricane and flood. Man’s violence in Iraq, London, Bali, and many other hotspots around the world.
In my own small way I participated in the Make Poverty History campaign. Measuring the impact is not easy, but whatever the outcome it’s better than doing nothing. If we learn from the experience we may be more effective next time.
Regrets? Could I have done more with some of the time that I’d been given this year? There are certainly thing I wished I had done - more digital stories, more of my research documented, more articles written, more stories told. But I won’t sit and mope around in regret. There’s a new year beginning and 365 days to achieve what remains to be done. So look out for a storytelling podcast, performance based storytelling, training trainers events to pass on my digital storytelling skills to other tutors, features both about storytelling and simply telling good stories. A radio experiment to refresh journalism with authentic voices and a cross generational storytelling project on local TV. I’ve also been asked to assist in an Alpha Course at my church. Joan says I’m going to learn to dance properly this year, and as soon as the weather improves the road bike will be out again. We’re planning to travel to the US for our annual holiday and no doubt storytelling will take me to some interesting places too.
Have a happy and busy new year.

History making

Whose year has this been? The generators of things good and evil in our time are people. Living people. People like us.

Bono and Geldoff raised our sights and challenged us to join them in the campaign to Make Poverty History. Twenty years after Band Aid, Live8 was staged this summer and we were confronted with how unequal a world we live in. I admit that I have incremented my thinking making small changes in the way I act as a result. I use the car less, take more care about the source of the food I eat, recycle my waste more diligently and ask for Fair Trade drinks when I'm out. It may be a small shift but I hope each step is set on a new direction. So eventually .....

At Christmas and New Year I usually feel that I am tying up one era and stepping into another. Christmas is about hope. Something happened in history. A child's birth both fulfilled and brought a promise of change. As a Christian it marks the arrival of the redeemer of the world. To quote the old testament prophet Isaiah, Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government will be upon his shoulders. His name shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. I look forward in faith and hope because of him. Strangely, as the year draws to a close, New Year's Eve is more about looking back than looking forwards; back over the events of the last twelve months.

Leaving the BBC has not marked a big change in direction for me. It has allowed me to stick to my course. I am still promoting and delivering digital storytelling, and in some ways I have more freedom to pursue that direction since setting up digistories early in the year.

Each year end I write a short summary of the key events for the many friends who are scattered around the country. It's a family newsletter. You can read it here.

Evil people have also contributed to the direction of both our lives and world. Their activities have been documented elsewhere, I don't need to repeat them again now. Natural disasters have left their mark too. In the chaos, sadness and destruction of these events, people display great courage and find the strength to carry out selfless acts of kindness.

Looking back I am thankful. Looking ahead, hopeful. I pray for the courage to live 2006 in faith. I may not make headlines, but I can inspire positive change and love more.

They're back

I was feeling smug. The squirrels had deserted my bird feeders. I hadn't seen a single one since, following the advice of the RSPB, I had added hot chili powder to the seed.
Until yesterday.
There were two of them who seemed to be undeterred by the taste and they promptly emptied the hopper of its peanuts.
What next? I think I'll let them enjoy Christmas and once the benevolent spirit of the season is over I shall draw up the battle lines again.
Thankfully the birds don't seem to mind sharing their supplies with their agile mammal friends. The garden is full of tits, sparrows, finches, blackbirds and a pair of robins. If you don't have a bird feeder out at this time of year - get one. You never know what might call round for a few vital calories in the cold weather. It'll be a better show than watching the telly during the short winter days of the Christmas holiday.

Truths withering on the vine?

I am alarmed that the BBC is ending Home Truths simply because it is unable to find a suitable presenter to replace John Peel.
I immediately sent an email to the Controller of Radio 4 Mark Damazer

Dear Mark,

I have just read an article in The Times that reports the demise of Home
Truths because you are unable to find a suitable presenter. The stars of
Home Truths are the listeners who submit and tell their own stories.
John Peel made the format work because he gave the most prominent voice
to his audience. If subsequent presenters have failed it's because they
want it to be their show when in fact in belongs to the storytellers.

It will be a sad day if you allow the show to fail - there are many more
stories to be told and very few genuine opportunities for people to tell
them on national radio or TV. I won't say anymore at this stage - but
would happy to continue the discussion if it sheds any light.

Yours home truly


He replied immediately:

Dear Mr. Stevenson

The programme that will take its place will feature the audience too. It
won't be done in exactly the same way but it will feature the audience !

Best wishes

Giving people their true voice is an important part of broadcasting if it to be saved from the distortions of the media elite. Home Truths went part of the way to addressing the issue - I trust the new show will give listeners a louder voice.

A restaurant without a kitchen

It's in Amsterdam.
Does anyone know if there's anything like this in the UK or USA. It's such a good idea, especially when everyone wants to eat different kinds of food.

Thanks Danny

I don't always sleep well so I often listen to the radio in the early hours. Danny from Embrace was choosing his favourite tracks on a show called One Click on Radio 1 this morning.
I really enjoyed his selection. It included songs I have never heard before and anecdotes about why they were important to Danny. Nice bloke - fond memories genuinely told. None of the arrogance or foolishness I sometimes hear when band leaders present their collections.
Thanks mate.
This is his playlist

Always winter and never Christmas

The curse of the White Witch turns her enemies to stone and subdues the land of Narnia to the permanent chill of a winter which never reaches Christmas.
I went to see CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia at the City Screen in York last night. I loved the book and knew that the cinema version could never match it. The Disney treatment was pretty true to the original text and the characters were close to the ones that lived in my imagination.
As an aside , this is the first time I've been to City Screen since they installed a digital projector system. The picture quality was stunning. If I was disappointed with the film I could at least console myself with the technological miracle of the projected image.
I was not disappointed. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe lived in vivid Hollywood colour before my eyes. Aslan overcame the White Witch in a classic story of double dealing. The deeper magic brought justice to a corrupt power and summer warmed the land from the lamppost to Cair Paravel.
At times the Disney treatment was too sugary and by the end I was left with the feeling that the whole story belonged to another age. One into which I was born but no longer felt close to.
In some of the scenes where the children were in serious danger, they didn't look at all frightened. A little more horror on their faces would have helped the story along. But Tilda Swinton as the evil White Witch was convincing and the animation was superb.
Altogether a good night leaving a hope for the final triumph of good over evil.

Art, truth and politics

Guardian Unlimited Books | Special Reports | Art, truth and politics

I've never been a big fan of Harold Pinter's work. I think I was put off by the long silences and the way my youthful mind failed to connect with the spirit of the 60s - at least while it was still the 60s.

But this acceptance speech, given by Harold Pinter on receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, is compelling. It's powerful in that it eloquently exposes how the United States has abused its power. It is also an inspiring insight into the development of Pinter's writing.

On screen the article looks long. It's worth reading it to the end. Print it out if it helps. Whatever you do; read it. Let this extract tease you to read it all.

"The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis."