In a thicketed boyish hideout
my tin compass spins and spins.
Even before there is a problem,
websites throng with solutions.
Pointless to ask questions,
to stand in the woods and wait.
I should just turn the damn thing
to where I want north to be
and let it come round.
Tom Phillips, December 2011
Exeunt round-up of the year
Including a small two pennyworth of mine: http://exeuntmagazine.com/features/exeunt-critics-picks-of-2011/
Holiday Hours and Events
The department, its community centers and its cultural arts and community center at Pine Camp will be closed Friday, December 23; Monday, December 26; and Monday, January 2 for the holidays. All parks will remain open as usual from sunrise to sunset. The department’s Before and After School program is closed during Richmond Public School’s winter break and will resume when schools re-open on
RASAALA Journal
Recreation and Society in Africa, Asia & Latin America (RASAALA) is an open access e-journal; the current issue covers lifestyle migration and an archive is available. They are currently inviting papers on the subject of Sport Event Legacies (abstract deadline 22/2/120 and the Power of Place: Heritage, Archaeological and Sacred (abstract deadline 16/1/12).
Call for papers
This is a request for submission of full research papers, working papers, and/or posters for the 7th International Coastal & Marine Tourism Congress. It will take place 4-8 June 2012 in the Netherlands with keynote speakers, Dr Sheela Agarwal and Dr Brian Wheeller. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 13th January 2012.
Registration is now open for ENTER2012 - 'eTourism : present and future services & applications' at Helsingbord, Sweden from 24th-27th January 2012. Register here
Journal of Tourism Consumption & Practice
The current issue of this journal is now available online; contents include the following articles:
- Tracking tourists: Mobility, experiences and the supply-demand gap in a Swedish mountain resort. Bo Svensson, Robert Pettersson and Ingrid Zakrisson
- Madrid: Literary Fiction and the Imaginary Urban Destination.Graham Busby, Maximiliano E. Korstanje and Charlie Mansfield
- Hispaniola: The future tourism Destination of the Caribbean? Hugues Séraphin
- British and American Studies XXI, Timisoara, 19-21 May 2011
- Sixth Annual International Conference on Tourism, Athens, 1-4 July 2010
Book Review:- Flirting With Space: Journeys and Creativity by David Crouch. Reviewed by Les Roberts
I Went To Albania
My one-man show about Shkodra, Tirana, Gjirokastra, Saranda etc gets a test-drive at Bristol Old Vic in January:
I Went To Albania
Tom Phillips
Wed 11th, 7pm
Tom Phillips
Wed 11th, 7pm
Why did Enver Hoxha build 700,000 concrete bunkers across the whole of Albania? Were beards illegal under his communist regime? Can you really buy a secondhand Kalashnikov on the streets of Tirana? And what’s any of that got to do with Lord Byron, Edward Lear and John Constable’s picture framer?
Part travelogue, part personal history, part practical experiment, I went to Albania is a haphazard journey in search of a failed utopia, a debunking of myths, and a work-in-progress by writer/performer Tom Phillips in collaboration with director Andy Burden.
Tom’s previous work for theatre includes Hotel Illyria, Man Diving and Arbeit Macht Frei.
There will be bread and salt. Go here for more info and how to book: http://bit.ly/fmx1Bn
Seminar
The Centre for Death in Society (University of Bath), will be hosting a morning seminar tomorrow, 9th December, on Death Education in the UK. If you are unable to make it, Dr Philip Stone will be making his lecture slides available on his website next week.
Seeking Sport Charity Trustees
ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT SPORT?
WANT TO HELP CHANGE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE?
THEN WHY NOT JOIN OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES?
WANT TO HELP CHANGE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE?
THEN WHY NOT JOIN OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES?
Sport 4 Life is a local charity dedicated to bringing about real improvements to local communities and to the lives of children and young people most in need in Birmingham; they are now looking for 2 new Trustees to join the team - click here for more details.
Event
Can culture transform our cities?
Can we justify expending precious resources in an age of austerity?
Does art transform communities?
Be prepared to be inspired, provoked and challenged by this Talking Cities lecture by Dr Jonathan Vickery, Associate Professor in the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies, University of Warwick.
Date: Thursday 8 December 2011
Time: 6pm
Venu: MADE, 7 Newhall Square, Birmingham B3 1RY
Organiser & Tickets: MADE
IQS Travel
I spoke about IQS Travel in a previous post, when they opened earlier this year. Just months later, they are celebrating after winning the Social Enterprise West Midlands (SEWM) 'Choose Social Enterprise' SE Profit Award ! find out more...
City to Present Free Holiday Performance at the Landmark
WHO: City and Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities Officials WHAT: A performance of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a one-act opera for the entire family, sung in English, telling the story of a mischievous shepherd boy named Amahl, his mother, the three kings who visit them, and the miracle that changed their lives forever.WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.WHERE:
To the northern station
They come at me - and pass
like missed trains, failing
to stop on schedule, trailing
a line of lamp-lit heads.
Nothing is fixed -
or everything is -
and carriages rattle through,
each secure in its own place,
then off - beyond the horizon.
At a crossing
on the Shkodra road
(with mountains as horizon),
kids run up to the brink
of the train they've missed.
Kicking hard against shale
and cascaded shard,
they swing up to occupy
corridors that judder
at every joint in the rail.
Or maybe that's just how
I see it. At the fag-end
of a long haul, I'm only looking on
whatever might be expected.
The sun glints - of course -
and muezzins cry:
they're out of shot.
The train limps from sidings
back towards the capital.
In the aloof vacancy of a ticket hall,
I'm assuming something of moment
will occur. We've arrived!
Cars judder into parking spaces.
Puddles open. Nothing moves:
we step outside - and then
everything does.
Tom Phillips, November 2011
like missed trains, failing
to stop on schedule, trailing
a line of lamp-lit heads.
Nothing is fixed -
or everything is -
and carriages rattle through,
each secure in its own place,
then off - beyond the horizon.
At a crossing
on the Shkodra road
(with mountains as horizon),
kids run up to the brink
of the train they've missed.
Kicking hard against shale
and cascaded shard,
they swing up to occupy
corridors that judder
at every joint in the rail.
Or maybe that's just how
I see it. At the fag-end
of a long haul, I'm only looking on
whatever might be expected.
The sun glints - of course -
and muezzins cry:
they're out of shot.
The train limps from sidings
back towards the capital.
In the aloof vacancy of a ticket hall,
I'm assuming something of moment
will occur. We've arrived!
Cars judder into parking spaces.
Puddles open. Nothing moves:
we step outside - and then
everything does.
Tom Phillips, November 2011
Climb a wall
The BMC website provides news, features and events on climbing; equipment, safety and medical advice is available as well as various downloadable guidebooks. Whether you want to get the hang of climbing or need to stretch your skills a little further, the BMC Climbing Wall Directory gives details of all facilities around the UK here or try the Regional Access database. Their website also very helpfully contains videos, giving a step by step guide to beginners. For those researching the topic, grab this survey on climbing wall users,Johnny Dawes will be making a flying visit to the Redpoint Climbing Centre in Birmingham soon - book now for a masterclass or lecture.
Catch some of the action...
2012 Adventure Travel World Summit
Registration is now open for the ninth Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) to be held at Lucerne in Switzerland, from 8th to 11th October 2012. Adventure Travel Trade Association’s (ATTA) annual event will be held at the KKL Luzern (Culture and Congress Centre), built by renowned architect Jean Nouvel and is expected to draw 600 adventure tourism professionals from more than 50 nations more...
Links to reports and pictures from previous summits, can be found on this page.
2012 - Year of the Domestic Holiday?
 |
| Britannia Hotel, Manchester |
IMSPA news
Sean Holt, the interim chief executive officer of the new Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (IMSPA), has said the body will look to draw members from a much broader cohort than its forerunners. In an interview with Leisure Management, Holt said that while core membership will still comprise those employed by operators and suppliers, the institute hopes to attract professionals working across the physical activity 
sector. The broadening of the net is part of IMSPA’s aim to represent the whole of the active leisure sector. IMSPA was formed as the result of a merger of Institute of Sport and Recreation Management and the Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure (ISPAL). While IMSPA will look to expand its reach within the active leisure sector, Holt added there would be less involvement with parks – formerly a key element of ISPAL. Read the full interview
sector. The broadening of the net is part of IMSPA’s aim to represent the whole of the active leisure sector. IMSPA was formed as the result of a merger of Institute of Sport and Recreation Management and the Institute for Sport, Parks and Leisure (ISPAL). While IMSPA will look to expand its reach within the active leisure sector, Holt added there would be less involvement with parks – formerly a key element of ISPAL. Read the full interview Staged Reading Scheduled at Hickory Hill Community Center
The department, in partnership with My Creative Spirit, a new Northern Virginia theater company, will present a staged reading of “That ColorBlind Kind Of Love” at the Hickory Hill Community Center on Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m. The play, written by English teacher Rebekah Peirce, premiered at the Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage Festival in September. The drama tells the story of Sampson and his
Veterans Day Program Scheduled at Byrd Park Carillon
The city of Richmond will host a Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, November 11, at 4 p.m. at the World War I Memorial Carillon in Byrd Park. “The city of Richmond is proud to honor the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and we will never forget their courage and commitment to protecting our freedom and fighting for the rights of the oppressed,” said Mayor Dwight C.
The imaginary museum in northern Albania
They come at me – and pass
like missed trains, failing
to stop on schedule, trailing
a line of lamp-lit heads.
Nothing is fixed –
or everything is –
and carriages rattle through,
with each secure in its own place,
then off, beyond the horizon.
At a crossing
on the Shkodra road
(with mountains for the horizon),
kids ran up to the brink
of the train they’d missed,
kicking hard against shale
and cascaded shard
to swing up and take place
in corridors juddering
at every joint in the rail.
Or perhaps that’s how I saw it.
At the fag-end of another long haul,
once again I’m only looking on
whatever might have been expected.
The sun glints,
the muezzin cries.
Further up the track,
the train reverses for the capital.
In the aloof vacancy of the ticket hall,
I’m assuming the next moment will occur.
The train backs out of the station.
This manuscript page stays blank.
November 2011.
Department Recognized for Tennis Programs
The department received the Community Outreach of the Year Award from the United States Tennis Association’s Virginia District at the organization’s annual meeting and awards luncheon held at the Country Club of Virginia on October 29. Department Director Dr. Norman C. Merrifield and the department’s tennis program coordinator, Victor Rizzi, accepted the award on the behalf of the city and Mayor
Cheerleading Jamboree to Showcase 600+ Area Cheerleaders
The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will hold its annual Cheerleading Jamboree on Thursday, November 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Landmark Theater, located at 6 N. Laurel St. Approximately 600 cheerleaders from the department’s community centers and area high schools and colleges will perform during the event. Tickets for the event are $3 in advance for
Employability Week
Employability Week is full of activities and events designed to support UCB students as you develop your career options and prepare to enter the world of work. Themes this year are:
- Employability Skills Activities
- Short courses to help boost your skills and CV!
- Employer events
Find out more here
VisitEngland’s Regional Growth Fund Bid is Successful
A message from James Berresford, CEO, VisitEngland:
"I am delighted to inform you that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills announced today that VisitEngland’s bid for funding from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) was successful.
The money will be used on a three-year project entitled, Growing Tourism Locally which has been designed to stimulate economic growth and employment locally. A key part of the project will be a national campaign aimed at inspiring Britons to take more short breaks and holidays at home and in doing so create the equivalent of 9,500 full time jobs across the country.
VisitEngland will work with tourism partners and the private sector at a national and local level. Partners will manage elements of the campaign for their destinations, whilst VisitEngland will manage the national strategy supporting this local activity. The campaign will capitalise on next year’s once-in-a-generation events like The Diamond Jubilee, the Torch Relay, the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games that will act as a catalyst to showcase the whole of the country.
The funding will be divided into two parts, with some allocated to a number of destination partners who will work closely with VisitEngland to design and implement their campaigns, and the rest will be devoted to thematic activities, enabling a greater number of destinations to get involved and benefit. The thematic campaigns include countryside, heritage, coastal and business tourism.
VisitEngland and its delivery partners will work closely with private sector partners to match fund the grant received from the RGF. VisitEngland is currently working with Government on the next stage of the RGF process to confirm the fine detail and the terms and conditions of the funding.
This is great news for tourism businesses and English destinations and we will keep you up to date with the progress".
‘Let’s Pink’ Breast Cancer Event Set for Nov. 4
The department will hold a breast cancer awareness event and fundraiser called “Let’s Pink” at its Hickory Hill Community Center on Nov. 4 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event will include raffles, visual arts, vendors, food, music, entertainment and much more. The mission of Let’s Pink is to merge the vibrancy and artistic minds of Richmond’s youth and young adults with the knowledge and life
Kanawha Plaza Closed Today for Cleaning
Richmond, VA, Oct. 31, 2011 - Kanawha Plaza Park is closed to the public today while the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities inspects and cleans the park.
Tourism and more.com
Tourism & More.com is a website set up and run by Dr Peter Tarlow (author of 'Event Risk Management and Safety') which provides details on upcoming seminars, conferences and training. It also features the 'Tourism Tidbits' newsletter, aimed at giving "travel professionals a monthly, easy-to-read overview of creative ideas". It's published in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish.Sign up to receive the newsletter by emailing ptarlow@tourismandmore.com. Please contact them if you would like to see a particular topic covered by 'Tourism Tidbits'. Articles submitted for consideration for publication are welcomed.
NOW LIVE! Routledge Online - Olympic and Paralympic Games
· Read a selection of articles and chapters online free of charge
· Purchase online access to individual articles of your choice
· Search the platform by theme, author or publication
· Download reading lists, case studies and teaching materials
· Watch videos as academics share their thoughts on the Games
· Find research collaborators on our Resources page
· Submit online journal articles, book reviews and proposals
· Discover worldwide Olympic/Paralympic courses, projects, events and contacts
· Enter a free monthly prize draw
Symposium - iDTR
There will a panel of six keynote speakers, from both private and public sectors, the University of Cambridge, Kings College London, UCLan and the University of Limerick. The event is aimed at academics, students, industry and the media who have an interest in dark tourism.
Most Brits prefer to be beside the seaside...
The majority of Brits prefer to head to the beach on holiday, according to the results of a recent ABTA survey. More than a third of Brits chose a beach holiday as their perfect getaway, with women (42%) preferring to be beside the seaside more than men (31%). But as the majority of people prefer to travel with their family (42%), it is likely that the men will get dragged along.
City breaks were the second most popular type of holiday, favoured by 17 percent of Brits, and more popular with men than with women. Cultural breaks came third (11%) followed by romantic getaways which, curiously, were more popular with men.
While family holidays were the most popular with both sexes, men were found to be more inclined to take breaks with friends (19%) than women (16%); they also have a greater inclination to travel alone, compared to women.Split by age group, beach holidays were most popular among 35-44 year olds, while city breaks were favoured more by 25-34 year olds (24%).
Tourismos Journal
- The impact of macroeconomic country-specific factors on international expansion of US hotel chains
- The impact of carbon discharge legislation on future development of maritime tourism and cruising
- Tour guiding : interpreting the challenges
- Tourism activity and economic conditions in Britain
- The effect of wellness brand awareness on expected and perceived service quality
- Exploring the effects of destination's positioning on hotels' performance : the Milan case
- The economic potential of tourism : a case study of Agra
- Tourism development and politics in the Philippines
- Jet ski development strategies: the case of Caspian Sea's South-West Beach
- Assisted-suicide tourism : is it tourism?
- Rural tourism offer and local community participation in the Gambia
- Angkor heritage tourism and tourist perceptions
- Considerations for sustainable tourism development: perspectives from the South Pacific
- Local food in local menus : the case of Gokceada
- The D.I.Y. tourist
- Case Studies: benchmarking the Egyptian medical tourism sector
- Against international best practices: an exploratory case study
- The role of alternative types of tourism and ict strategy for the tourism industry of Lesvos
- Analysis of the economic impacts of cultural festivals: the case of Calabar Carnival in Nigeria
- Movies as a tool of modern tourist marketing
- The development of cultural tourism: a review of the UK experience
- The environmental management systems and contemporary tourism development
- The sustainability of tourism supply chain: a case study research
- Casino v. historical tourism destinations along Route No.9 In Savannakhet City
+ book reviews!
Boot Camp for New Mothers to start Nov. 2
The department will offer six weeks of fitness training for new mothers and their babies that will help the moms lose weight, get back into shape, and regain their confidence, while they bond with their babies. It’s called “Mom and Me Boot Camp.”
Classes will start on Nov. 2 and run through Dec. 14 and will be held at the department’s Humphrey Calder Community Center at 414 N. Thompson St.
Classes will start on Nov. 2 and run through Dec. 14 and will be held at the department’s Humphrey Calder Community Center at 414 N. Thompson St.
The UK Ropes Course Guide 2011
The AAIAC has produced a document for operators, trainers, builders, inspectors and constructors of ropes courses.This guidance is intended to assist all those involved with ropes courses to comply with EN15567:2007 which sets out the standards to be met for the installation of new ropes courses and the operation of both new and existing courses.
Tourism "vital" for the UK economy
In his recent speech, the prime minister said tourism is vital to help the UK get back on track, that it's "fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy". He stated the industry contributes £115bn to the British economy every year, and would provide "one of the best and fastest ways" of generating jobs and income.Listen to the speech here
Concrete cows
On that sixth-form geography field trip,
we hadn’t got that far
before the coach stopped,
pulled over in a lay-by on the Great North Road.
I wrote an essay on new town developments.
Houses happened behind revêtements,
the last of these fields to go.
You could just about see
the concrete cows along peripheral horizons.
On Saturdays, I traded in some unwanted records
at stalls spilling out from the shopping mall.
Under rain-scaped skies, we walked back,
paid the ticket, got into the car, went home.
Copyright Tom Phillips 2011
we hadn’t got that far
before the coach stopped,
pulled over in a lay-by on the Great North Road.
I wrote an essay on new town developments.
Houses happened behind revêtements,
the last of these fields to go.
You could just about see
the concrete cows along peripheral horizons.
On Saturdays, I traded in some unwanted records
at stalls spilling out from the shopping mall.
Under rain-scaped skies, we walked back,
paid the ticket, got into the car, went home.
Copyright Tom Phillips 2011
Two dreams
1
At the intersection of concrete platforms
where pedestrian flyovers converged
and plate-glass windows drew blanks
on the sun’s insistence, you emerged
from the campus-loving crowd
and said ‘This door’.
We made it through to somewhere
almost recognised: book stacks
flashed like so many blank spaces
in a Zoetrope. You insisted
that I hadn’t seen it all.
Around what looked like a lift shaft,
tentative borrowers pulled out
hard spines, hopeful cases.
Below us, contending zealots stood,
uttering the codices
of their various religions.
We heard their whispers
in the silences left behind
by the books whose titles we withdrew.
2
A grey wood. Predictable.
The First World War.
I might be either of my grandfathers.
At this point, I am about to tell
my comrades that I’m going
for a stroll. The elms
define the horizon
like lost opportunities.
I walk. When I return,
my bed’s been made:
not a sign of trouble.
The sergeant lumbers up
At the intersection of concrete platforms
where pedestrian flyovers converged
and plate-glass windows drew blanks
on the sun’s insistence, you emerged
from the campus-loving crowd
and said ‘This door’.
We made it through to somewhere
almost recognised: book stacks
flashed like so many blank spaces
in a Zoetrope. You insisted
that I hadn’t seen it all.
Around what looked like a lift shaft,
tentative borrowers pulled out
hard spines, hopeful cases.
Below us, contending zealots stood,
uttering the codices
of their various religions.
We heard their whispers
in the silences left behind
by the books whose titles we withdrew.
2
A grey wood. Predictable.
The First World War.
I might be either of my grandfathers.
At this point, I am about to tell
my comrades that I’m going
for a stroll. The elms
define the horizon
like lost opportunities.
I walk. When I return,
my bed’s been made:
not a sign of trouble.
The sergeant lumbers up
blocks out what's left of the light:
‘And where the fuck have you been?’
September 2011
‘And where the fuck have you been?’
September 2011
Czech mate
Apologies for the hideous titular pun but if you're at all curious about Prague and the Czech Republic, then I heartily recommend these three websites:
http://www.praguestory.com/ for the architecture
http://vrsovicedailyphoto.blogspot.com/ for variegated views of this Prague district
and http://pragueleaves.blogspot.com/ for poetry (in English).
http://www.praguestory.com/ for the architecture
http://vrsovicedailyphoto.blogspot.com/ for variegated views of this Prague district
and http://pragueleaves.blogspot.com/ for poetry (in English).
No. 11 - a Hidden Tourist Gem...
An article written by Nicky Gardner made the headlines in a local newspaper recently because it's all about the No.11 bus route. She has described the 27-mile route as one of 'Europe's hidden tourist gems'.
Read the article in the Birmingham Mail and an excerpt of her article can be found in Hidden Europe.
The route will also be covered in a new travel guide 'Bus-Pass Britain', out soon.
Journal of Tourism Challenges and Trends
There is free access to the archive of the Journal of Tourism Challenges and Trends, available here.
Previous issues have covered the following topics:
- Rural Tourism
- Tourism assisting Sustainable Development
- Health Tourism,
- Mountain Tourism
- Event Tourism
Call for Papers
Call for papers:
International conference
Gender issues: Implications for leisure and tourism
March 1st-3rd, 2012
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Gender issues: Implications for leisure and tourism
March 1st-3rd, 2012
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Key Dates :
Abstract submission: December 15th, 2011
Acceptance notification: January 20th, 2012
Full paper: May 25th, 2012
For further information visit the website
or email: degei-gentour@ua.pt
Abstract submission: December 15th, 2011
Acceptance notification: January 20th, 2012
Full paper: May 25th, 2012
For further information visit the website
or email: degei-gentour@ua.pt
Views from over the bridge
From Jozef Tischner: ‘An encounter marks the beginning of a drama. The drama has a time and place of its own, as well as its own major and minor heroes. This implies that a drama has a hierarchy. Every encounter is threatened by separation, and in every separation lives the muted memory of the encounter. The impossibility of radically cutting ourselves off from one another is one of the sources of the tragedy that permeates human relations. This accounts for our tendency toward repeated encounters and repeated separations. There is nothing in an encounter as such, however, that requires it to end tragically. The horizon of the drama, even if it is open to the phenomenon of the tragic, contains many other possibilities as well, such as the possibility of the triumph of the good, the possibility of the ennoblement of the person, and also the possibility of comedy and farce. All the variations of the drama are possible, however, only where the interpersonal sphere has taken on a hierarchical character and preferentiality has penetrated to the very core of human thinking.’
Now and forthcoming
A new (very short) poem of mine is posted amongst those marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11 on Todd Swift's blogsite Eyewear - http://toddswift.blogspot.com/
This coming Wednesday (14 Sept), I am doing a poetry reading at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution as part of an event called 'Four Voices Of Freedom', a commemoration of the centenary of American anarchist Paul Goodman. Dinal Livingstone and two other poets are on the bill. It starts at 7.30pm.
This coming Wednesday (14 Sept), I am doing a poetry reading at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution as part of an event called 'Four Voices Of Freedom', a commemoration of the centenary of American anarchist Paul Goodman. Dinal Livingstone and two other poets are on the bill. It starts at 7.30pm.
City to Hold Sept. 11 Day of Service and Remembrance
In conjunction with the City of Richmond’s Neighbor-To-Neighbor Initiative and HandsOn Greater Richmond, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will hold a Day of Service and Remembrance on Sunday, September 11, 2011 in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In addition, residents are asked to give back to the community by volunteering for various
Public Pools, Some Community Centers Closed
All city parks and recreation swimming pools are closed today due to power outages and storm debris. Site inspections are currently underway, and pools will re-open once determined safe for public use. In addition, the following community centers are closed today due to power outages: Westover, Ann Hardy, Hotchkiss, Battery Park, and Creighton Court.
Tonight's Movie in the Park Cancelled; Park Trails May be Closed
Due to impending inclement weather, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has cancelled tonight’s Movie in the Park at Jefferson Park, “Dogs and Cats: Revenge of Kitty Galore.” the movie, which will concludes the department’s series of free family Movies in the Park, will be rescheduled at a future date.
In addition, it is the department’s policy to close park trails
In addition, it is the department’s policy to close park trails
Seven Years Later
There are words we would rather skirt around,
when the sky becomes an excuse,
or this arrangement of ducks across sloping cobbles
distracts from what we talked of last night.
We were only hypothesising, weren’t we,
about a society of amputation,
the whole bloody foreign situation?
At the turn of the road, rage between drivers
who, moments ago, were merely strangers.
From here, from this angle, the headlines
behave like a cliché, precisely,
read: ‘Everything is wrong.’
They have worn us down – or out –
and we have no more choice than
to reach for another bottle or shout.
Tom Phillips
when the sky becomes an excuse,
or this arrangement of ducks across sloping cobbles
distracts from what we talked of last night.
We were only hypothesising, weren’t we,
about a society of amputation,
the whole bloody foreign situation?
At the turn of the road, rage between drivers
who, moments ago, were merely strangers.
From here, from this angle, the headlines
behave like a cliché, precisely,
read: ‘Everything is wrong.’
They have worn us down – or out –
and we have no more choice than
to reach for another bottle or shout.
Tom Phillips
Department Extends Free Movies in the Park Series
Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has added another free movie to its series of family films shown in parks around the city. “Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore” will be shown at 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26, in Jefferson Park at 21st and East Marshall streets.
In the animated family comedy, cats and dogs join forces for the first time in history to take down Kitty Galore, a
In the animated family comedy, cats and dogs join forces for the first time in history to take down Kitty Galore, a
City to Host First Friday Event Promoting Teen Arts
The City of Richmond in conjunction with First Friday’s will host RVA presents The Lounge at Center Stage (The Lounge). This Teen Arts event will take place outside at Seventh and Broad streets on Aug. 5, 2011, from 6 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. The pilot project - coordinated by Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities; Richmond Police; CenterStage and SMG, with support from the business community
Through the outskirts
Almost precisely as you’d expect,
it's the wires’ thickening cross-hatch
across pocked tarmac, stained render,
comes closest to local authority boundaries.
Or, approached another way, the pale
concrete sweep of southerly ring-road
with its phalanx of 50s council housing,
TV dishes and double-glazing sun-glints:
the cusp of a city that will draw you in
through misnamed, treeless avenues
(Boer War victories, bird species, poets)
or up and over railway bridges,
past gravelled yards, construction sites,
the terraces’ gradual narrowing
to these fin-de-siècle cul-de-sacs.
With buddleia and footpaths
gathering to allotments, mesh gates,
there are marram grass patches,
sunk culverts’ mossy blockages,
and a security guard, arms akimbo,
pacing limits of occupied land.
From here then, best move on
through burnt ochre cars relapsing
to spare parts, domestic whims expressed
as pebbledash frontage, garden gnomes
and koi carp winking dirty orange
in the glaucous eye of a pond.
These, too, are part of the city:
indented chalk vale, schoolyard,
billboard, improvised belonging –
left around for decades in one place,
we’re hardly more at home than Russian vine
or this branch of Lidl opening late
beneath defaced factory buildings
and scaffolders joking, on overtime.
At a guess, it will only be months
before we no longer recognise
reconfigured thoroughfares,
arrangements of girders and plate-glass.
Tom Phillips, 2011
it's the wires’ thickening cross-hatch
across pocked tarmac, stained render,
comes closest to local authority boundaries.
Or, approached another way, the pale
concrete sweep of southerly ring-road
with its phalanx of 50s council housing,
TV dishes and double-glazing sun-glints:
the cusp of a city that will draw you in
through misnamed, treeless avenues
(Boer War victories, bird species, poets)
or up and over railway bridges,
past gravelled yards, construction sites,
the terraces’ gradual narrowing
to these fin-de-siècle cul-de-sacs.
With buddleia and footpaths
gathering to allotments, mesh gates,
there are marram grass patches,
sunk culverts’ mossy blockages,
and a security guard, arms akimbo,
pacing limits of occupied land.
From here then, best move on
through burnt ochre cars relapsing
to spare parts, domestic whims expressed
as pebbledash frontage, garden gnomes
and koi carp winking dirty orange
in the glaucous eye of a pond.
These, too, are part of the city:
indented chalk vale, schoolyard,
billboard, improvised belonging –
left around for decades in one place,
we’re hardly more at home than Russian vine
or this branch of Lidl opening late
beneath defaced factory buildings
and scaffolders joking, on overtime.
At a guess, it will only be months
before we no longer recognise
reconfigured thoroughfares,
arrangements of girders and plate-glass.
Tom Phillips, 2011
James River Park Programs Scheduled
The department has scheduled three programs to be held in its James River Park System.
On Friday, July 29, children and their families are invited to come to the park’s headquarters at Reedy Creek, 4001 Riverside Drive, for a program called “Insects at Night.” This program offers a hands-on investigation of insects caught in light traps and is co-sponsored by the James River Park
On Friday, July 29, children and their families are invited to come to the park’s headquarters at Reedy Creek, 4001 Riverside Drive, for a program called “Insects at Night.” This program offers a hands-on investigation of insects caught in light traps and is co-sponsored by the James River Park
Grant Helps City Provide Free Summer Meals for Children
The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities will be able to expand and enhance its free summer meals program for children and its child and adult care food programs with a funding boost from Walmart and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). The department was among 30 agencies chosen nationwide to benefit from a $2.1 million grant from the Walmart Foundation and
Department Kicks Off Free Outdoor Movie Series
The department will kick off its third year of free movies in the park on Friday, July 15, at 8 p.m. with the showing of "Megamind” in Byrd Park beside Fountain Lake. The animated film features Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Tina Fey in a sci-fi comedy that finally gives the underdog a chance to save the world. “Megamind” will be followed by six more free family movie nights in
Fireworks Rescheduled for Tonight!
The City of Richmond has rescheduled its Festival of the Arts’ Fourth of July program at Dogwood Dell for 7 p.m. tonight, July 5. The program, originally scheduled for last night, was postponed due to inclement weather.The program this evening will begin with a performance of patriotic music by the Richmond Concert Band, and will be followed by fireworks starting at approximately 8:30 p.m. The
City to Cut Ribbon on New Basketball Court
WHO: Richmond Chief Administrative Officer Byron MarshallCarMax President and CEO Tom FolliardCarMax Foundation President Lynn MussattRichmond Director of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities Dr. Norman C. MerrifieldOther City and CarMax Officials and Youth Basketball TeamsWHAT: A ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a new basketball court and recognize the CarMax Foundation for its donation of a
2nd International Forum, Russia
The Second International Forum St Petersburg, Russia 23rd - 26th November 2011
Organised by St Petersburg State University for Service and Economics, in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, the Forum will feature key speakers from the Russian hospitality, tourism and events industry. The aim is to identify the key problems and challenges faced by these industries and to find practical solutions for these. There will also be ample opportunity to network with many other organizations from around the world.
The Conference takes place in Tavrichesky Palace, the headquarters of Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States The agenda will be linked to the preparation for the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014.
Academic papers submitted will be published after the event as a book chapter. For more information and to register your interest, email c.green@shu.ac.uk.
Travel Journal.com
Whether you are a first-time traveller, seasoned explorer or experienced traveller, this website aims to offer a 'travel writing home' to share your adventures. It has a search facility to see posts with photographs of visits from around the world as well as featured journals. There are useful resources and tools and current geo-related information – all in a 'state of the art and fun environment'. 
The winner of the 2011 World Nomads Travel Writing Scholarship was named as Zoe Smith. She’s currently in Turkey with her Rough Guides mentor, Terry Richardson. If you want to follow Zoe’s adventures, keep an eye out for #RGZoe tweets and tales from the road in upcoming Rough Guides newsletters.
The Michael Hoppen Gallery are pleased to announce an exhibition of photographs by Ruth Orkin including American Girl in Italy, one of the most widely known photographs ever taken. Co-curated by Orkin's daughter, Mary Engel, the exhibition will feature rarely seen photographs from Orkin's travelogue encapsulating the tourist's experience in Italy alongside iconic images spanning Orkin’s career.World Nomads.com
WorldNomads.com was launched in 2002, with an aim to provide a range of services to help ensure the safety of independent travellers. As well as flexible travel insurance, they have created a number of tools such as language guides and travel blogs plus current travel safety information. They also run a number of travel programs such as scholarships, where they partner with companies such as National Geographic, Sydney Morning Herald and ABC Radio to provide unique learning experiences for travelle
Children Encouraged to Join Guinness World Record Attempt
City children between the ages of one and 14 are invited to join the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and other children at sites around the world to help set a Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson™.All children need to do for a chance at becoming a world record holder is come to the department’s Swansboro Pool at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, and
Discount Theme Park Tickets Available
The department of is selling discount tickets to Kings Dominion, Water Country USA and Busch Gardens at prices that range from $31 to $54.Kings Dominion Good Any Day tickets are on sale for $42 for adults and $32 for youth and senior citizens. In addition, discount tickets for admission on Park and Recreation Days, July 1 through Aug. 5, are available for $32 for all ages.Water Country discount
'Tourism and the Truth: Stacey Dooley Investigates Kenya'
In case you missed it last night, here's a link to a TV programme with Stacey Dooley investigating the side of tourism the average holidaymaker doesn't see, from hotels exploiting workers to tourist developments affecting the environment. Click here to viewConference
The Association for Tourism in Higher Education is pleased to announce its
Annual Conference and Call for Papers
VALUING TOURISM IN HIGHER EDUCATION:
Capitalising on HE-Industry Links
7th-9th December 2011, St Anne's College, Oxford
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
Kurt Janson, Policy Director for Tourism Alliance
Sport and Recreation Alliance
The Sport and Recreation Alliance is the new name for the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) and is the umbrella organisation for the governing and representative bodies of sport and recreation in the UK, representing more than 320 members – such as the FA, the Rugby Football Union, UK Athletics, the Ramblers, British Rowing and the Royal Academy of Dance.
Their role, as a trade association, is to speak up on behalf of their members and represent their views. They promote the interests of sport and recreation and also campaign on major issues such as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy, the regulatory burden on Sports and Recreation Clubs, attracting major sporting events to the UK and improving access to waterways and countryside.
Their role, as a trade association, is to speak up on behalf of their members and represent their views. They promote the interests of sport and recreation and also campaign on major issues such as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy, the regulatory burden on Sports and Recreation Clubs, attracting major sporting events to the UK and improving access to waterways and countryside. City to Kickoff 55th Annual Festival of the Arts June 10
Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City of Richmond will kick off the 55th annual Festival of the Arts on Friday, June 10, at 8 p.m. on the Dogwood Dell stage with the Upper East Side Big Band. The festival features 30 evenings of outdoor family entertainment at Dogwood Dell throughout out the summer that are free to attend.Highlighting the annual festival will be the city’s Fourth of July Celebration
Report - More than a Game
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) was set up in 2004 to help find solutions to poverty in parts of the UK. They have since produced over 50 publications looking at asocial issues and seeking to harness the experience and dedication of grass-roots organisations into the policy formation process. In January 2010, they launched six new policy areas, expanding the CSJ’s overview into areas such as youth justice, mental health, older age and sport. This report is the second of those new areas to publish after Outcome-Based Government in January 2011, while the rest will be released over the course of the summer and autumn. 'More than a Game', seeks to examine the use of sport as a tool to engage and work with young people in deprived communities. Topics covered in the report are:
- Sport, disadvantage and social reform
- Governance and leadership
- Maximising the potential of coaching
- Access to facilities
- Overcoming the barriers – volunteering and sport
- London 2012 and the legacy
'Man Diving', Ustinov Studio, Bath, Wed 15 June, 7pm. A play about the Bosnian civil war.
"One day I am close to there. It is on the frontline now. On their side... We are hunting Croats. Besnik and I. And I look out across the street, over the frontline, and there is the window of our bedroom. Where Marketa and I have slept. Only then I see - like slow motion - smoke comes out of it. Then boom. And then fire. Up the side of the building, turning concrete black. And I run out into the street, duck behind a car, and shoot and shoot and shoot at the Croats, all the time that my home is burning."
"One day I am close to there. It is on the frontline now. On their side... We are hunting Croats. Besnik and I. And I look out across the street, over the frontline, and there is the window of our bedroom. Where Marketa and I have slept. Only then I see - like slow motion - smoke comes out of it. Then boom. And then fire. Up the side of the building, turning concrete black. And I run out into the street, duck behind a car, and shoot and shoot and shoot at the Croats, all the time that my home is burning."
Voluntary Code of Good Governance
A new 'Voluntary Code of Good Governance for the Sport and Recreation Sector', has been published by the Sport and Recreation Alliance to help sporting and recreational bodies aspire to and maintain good governance and assist those in senior management positions to run their organisations more efficiently. It has been welcomed by UK Sport and the Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Roberts. More...View the Code of Governance in full here
IMSPA eNews
Britain is failing to harness the power of sport to divert young people from a life of anti-social behaviour and crime, according to a landmark new report from a major think-tank published this week (May 24, 2011). Read more...
CPD is the mark of a Professional, and IMSPA in partnership with the Regional Management Boards (RMB's) have been working hard to put together a comprehensive and contemporary package of CPD events. Read more...
Seb Coe current Chairman of the London Organising Commitee of the Olympic games will team up with Britain's best known diver, Tom Daley to officially open SportPark at Loughborough University. Read more...
For the past 5 years, ISRM and IQL have run a competition to test the UK's Lifeguards based on 3 elements, timed swim, CPR and theory. Entries are coming in thick and fast click through to see who's winning. Read more...
Journals
JURN is a search-engine dedicated to indexing free ‘open access’ ejournals in the arts and humanities. Here's a link to the directory for a list of the titles they include.
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