I'm having a good search through is PhotoRights - it seems a good place, and certainly the place to ask questions about your rights. Last year I posted the following on Facebook. Sadly, it is just as relevant now as it was a year ago. These days I carry a Bust Card just in case the police or a PCSO stops me. You can download it from the I'm A Photographer Not A Terrorist website.
I also came across this film about the law, photographer's rights, what the polce can do, and so forth. Its on the NUJ website, and features photographer Peter Macdiarmid and solicitor Anna Mazzola, who works for one of the leading criminal justice and human rights law firms. Video
There appears to be some confusion regarding the info I posted about the Counter Terrorism Act and Section 76 - section 76 really does exist - it adds to section 58 of the act. Also about the police and PCSOs stopping people, deleting photos, and such like. Unless the rules and laws have been changed and no-one noticed, we have the right to film and take photographs in public places (private property is a different matter) without interference. The police cannot make you delete photographs, confiscate your camera, etc, without a court order. They actually have to have a really good reason to stop you in the first place. As for PCSOs - they have even less authority - read them here.
So at the risk of being boring, I'll post links to the info I have. They're offical websites such as the government OPSI (Office of Public Sector Information) and the PNLD (Police National Legal Database).
The following is the section in the act open to mis-use and mis-understanding (as we have seen) Please note, it says NOTHING about buildings, transport, children, the general public, etc etc. Scroll down to Section 76. Click here.
The following links to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 PACE Code A amended January 2009. There is a PDF to open and it is interesting reading.
The following are links to police stop and search procedures:
One Two Three Four Five Six Seven
If anything has changed with regards to the above information, please let me know, give me links to the info and so forth.
In the meantime, enjoy your photography and filming!
Books To Treasure
Don't you just LOVE picture books. Weird stories, peculiar artwork - some of the oddest books that have crossed our threshold have been in this section (more on those in another post), but equally some of the most beautiful and wonderful too.
Quirky, fun and makes me laugh and smile every time I look at it. I love the bright colourful artwork, and the fun way it makes you turn the page to see whats next. The interaction between reader and book is engaging and stimulating. The cats inside are friendly and want to play, they talk directly to you....there is wool, and flaps and .....well its generally just wonderful. If it can make this bookseller go back to read it time and again, it has to be good. You'll have to go get one. and to see what I mean.
Sadly, many picture books come and go, and are barely noticed. Others stand the test of time and are read by several generations.
One of my all-time-favourite picture books to recommend is The Kissed That Missed by David Melling.
The King blows the little Prince a kiss goodnight, but the kiss misses and flies out the bedroom window. Prince cries, Queen calls King, King calls Knight. The clumsy knight is sent to track it down and after some mishaps and misadventures, catches the kiss, makes an unlikely new friend and as with all good stories, everything ends happily. In The Kiss That Missed every time you look at the pictures you will find something new. If you know anything about David's illustrations in other books, then you see what he has cleverly included! Published in 2002, I still read it occasionally, am still finding new things in the illustrations, and as you may have guessed, recommend it often. I adore it. I've been privileged to see the sketches he made for this and his Jack Frost book. David's artwork is beautiful, engaging and worth a book on its own.
This is new.
There Are Cats In This Book by Viviane Schwarz.
Quirky, fun and makes me laugh and smile every time I look at it. I love the bright colourful artwork, and the fun way it makes you turn the page to see whats next. The interaction between reader and book is engaging and stimulating. The cats inside are friendly and want to play, they talk directly to you....there is wool, and flaps and .....well its generally just wonderful. If it can make this bookseller go back to read it time and again, it has to be good. You'll have to go get one. and to see what I mean.Sadly, many picture books come and go, and are barely noticed. Others stand the test of time and are read by several generations.
If you live in the UK then you'll probably know, have read, or own picture book classics such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Where The Wild Things Are, and The Gruffalo, as well as character books like Kipper and Spot. Surely, there can be few people who remain unaware of Thomas the Tank Engine and his various friends.
And talking of small, easy to carry around books, (for those all important moments when your child is building up to a full scale screaming fit and you want to distract them), who hasn't read at least one of the Mr Men or Little Miss series.
One of my all-time-favourite picture books to recommend is The Kissed That Missed by David Melling.
The King blows the little Prince a kiss goodnight, but the kiss misses and flies out the bedroom window. Prince cries, Queen calls King, King calls Knight. The clumsy knight is sent to track it down and after some mishaps and misadventures, catches the kiss, makes an unlikely new friend and as with all good stories, everything ends happily. In The Kiss That Missed every time you look at the pictures you will find something new. If you know anything about David's illustrations in other books, then you see what he has cleverly included! Published in 2002, I still read it occasionally, am still finding new things in the illustrations, and as you may have guessed, recommend it often. I adore it. I've been privileged to see the sketches he made for this and his Jack Frost book. David's artwork is beautiful, engaging and worth a book on its own.Come back for more Books To Treasure, but in the meantime, what is your favourite picture book? Tell me below.
Favourite Books 3: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
I read this book back in 1970s, and it had the most profund effect on me. Part memoir, part philosophy, the story of a motorcycle trip drives the book forward, while its personal, emotional stamp gives us a helpful insight into practical application of what Pirsig is theorising.I find it impossible to talk about this book without talking about the life of its author, Robert Pirsig. He was a child protégé, scoring an IQ of 170 at the age of 9 and studying chemistry at university at 15. He lost faith with science, served with the Army in Korea and afterwards studied philosophy. He constantly pursued truth and meaning but by his thirties he was falling apart. Pirsig spent three days sitting cross-legged in his room where he either achieved enlightenment or went insane, depending on your point of view. In an extremely rare interview some years ago, he suggests,
“It was a contest, I believe, between these ideas I had and what I see as the cultural immune system. When somebody goes outside the cultural norms, the culture has to protect itself.”
He was treated at a mental institution but after leaving things got worse. Eventually a court had him committed and he underwent comprehensive shock therapy. Despite the severity of this, he was able to keep some hold on his former self, and knowing he would be locked away if he told anyone he was an enlightened Zen disciple, he wrote a book about a motorcycle trip he made with his son, using that to get across his ideas. Although published in 1974, the narrative takes place in 1968, and Pirsig uses "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" to illustrate classical and romantic ways of thinking and that they can co-exist in harmony; a combination that can potentially bring a higher quality of life.
At one point he writes,
“What I am is a heretic who's recanted and thereby in everyone's eyes saved his soul. Everyone's eyes but one, who knows deep down inside that all he has saved is his skin.”
It is an awe-inspiring examination on how we live and how we can live better. 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' is intensely thought provoking and insightful; it will change the way you think about yourself and your life. As Pirsig tells us, the motorcycle we’re working on is ourselves, so do yourself a favour get a copy of this book and read it. Buy it, borrow it, beg it but get one and read it.
On another note, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is (or was) in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling book rejected by the largest number of publishers – one hundred and twenty one (121).
Review: Already Dead by Charlie Huston
I came across this in the search for 'something different' in vampire books, and boy, is this different, so if you want a traditional or even semi-traditional vampire story then find another book.
Huston blows away many of the ideas we hold about vampires and sets them up in clans, societies and hoods, with all the rivalries and turf wars seen in human society, but Joe belongs to none. Set in New York (Manhattan) where vampyres live and work, their secret known only to the select few in ‘normal’ society, the clans support and protect their members, and ensure that so vital blood supply.
Joe Pitt is a tough talking Private Investigator who has no loyalties to any clan but has a current problem with one, The Coalition. He’s also trying to find a carrier of the zombie bacteria, and is obsessing about whether or not to cure his girlfriend Evie who is HIV positive and terrified of passing it on. Joe isn’t sure the consequences for her are worth it.
When Joe is summoned by the Head of The Coalition, his life just gets worse. To put things right between them, he has to find the missing daughter of a prominent New York family who know about their vampyre existence. With rivals hampering him, the clans upset with him, Joe is in a very precarious position. Getting a rough ride on all fronts, he sets about his work in what is one of the most unusual vampyre books I’ve read to date.
There is a gritty realism to the characters and setting, and the hard-hitting, wise-cracking style gives more than a passing nod to the detective novels of Chandler, et al. except our 'hero' is infected by the Vyrus - Joe Pitt is a vampire. I was quite a few pages in before I realised there were no chapters which was a little disconcerting at first, as were the dialogue markers, but I was so absorbed by the story that eventually I didn’t notice.
Huston has produced a hard-edged story that is cleverly plotted, fast paced and tenacious. It is an almost perfect genre mix of Horror and Crime that kept me glued to every page as the plot twisted and turned, with the inevitable body count, through a dark-world of vampire and human politics and power-brokerage to an edge-of-your-seat climax.
Huston blows away many of the ideas we hold about vampires and sets them up in clans, societies and hoods, with all the rivalries and turf wars seen in human society, but Joe belongs to none. Set in New York (Manhattan) where vampyres live and work, their secret known only to the select few in ‘normal’ society, the clans support and protect their members, and ensure that so vital blood supply.
Joe Pitt is a tough talking Private Investigator who has no loyalties to any clan but has a current problem with one, The Coalition. He’s also trying to find a carrier of the zombie bacteria, and is obsessing about whether or not to cure his girlfriend Evie who is HIV positive and terrified of passing it on. Joe isn’t sure the consequences for her are worth it.
When Joe is summoned by the Head of The Coalition, his life just gets worse. To put things right between them, he has to find the missing daughter of a prominent New York family who know about their vampyre existence. With rivals hampering him, the clans upset with him, Joe is in a very precarious position. Getting a rough ride on all fronts, he sets about his work in what is one of the most unusual vampyre books I’ve read to date.
There is a gritty realism to the characters and setting, and the hard-hitting, wise-cracking style gives more than a passing nod to the detective novels of Chandler, et al. except our 'hero' is infected by the Vyrus - Joe Pitt is a vampire. I was quite a few pages in before I realised there were no chapters which was a little disconcerting at first, as were the dialogue markers, but I was so absorbed by the story that eventually I didn’t notice.
Huston has produced a hard-edged story that is cleverly plotted, fast paced and tenacious. It is an almost perfect genre mix of Horror and Crime that kept me glued to every page as the plot twisted and turned, with the inevitable body count, through a dark-world of vampire and human politics and power-brokerage to an edge-of-your-seat climax.
A great read - and yes, I will read more in the series.
Shortlist for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards 2010
The shortlist for the 2010 awards have been announced by IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young People),
The authors are:
David Almond (UK)
Bartolomeu Campos de Queiros (Brazil)
Louis Jensen (Denmark)
Ahmad Reza Ahmadi (Iran)
Lennart Hellsing (Sweden)
The illustrators are:
Carll Cneut (Belgium)
Roger Mello (Brazil)
Svjetlan Junakovic (Croatia)
Jutta Bauer (Germany)
Etienne Delessert (Switzerland)
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is considered one of the most prestigious in international children’s literature and is given every two years to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made lasting contributions to children's literature.
The 2008 Jurg Schubiger won the Author Award and Roberto Innocenti won the Illustrators Award. Previous winners have included authors Eleanor Farjeon, Astrid Lingren, Scott O'Dell and Aidan Chambers, and illustrators Maurice Sendak, Robert Ingpen, Anthony Browne, and Quentin Blake.
The 2010 winners will be announced on Tuesday 23rd March at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
Shock and Awe? Or Shocking and Awful?
I have always been astounded at people who go to a foreign land and never learn anything about the place they're visiting. What better way of getting to know our fellow men than by looking at their history and culture. Like most families I'm sure, our holidays were fun to plan with the children as we negotiated 'days of culture' and 'days of lazing'. My children (now adults) aren't cultural philistines, nor I anti-seaside, it was just a question of balance; a morning in the museum, an afternoon at the beach, and so forth. So when I came across this short film, I was deeply shocked. The cultural rape of a nation is a loss to us all whatever our nationality. As one commenator says, if you want to destroy a people, destroy their history, their culture.
So it begs the question, why were the museums and archives of Iraq not protected against looters? Surely someone in authority must have at least thought about it? Looking at some of the scenes and listening to what has been destroyed - its heartbreaking.
During the Second World War, the Allies had the foresight to create a special group, attached to the British and American armies, to ensure the protection of cultural heritage (as much as war would allow). They were also to track down and restore stolen artworks. This was the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section, nicknamed the 'Monuments Men' . The group of about 350 (mostly men and some women) were museum directors, curators, art historians, and educators from thirteen countries, and their work was utterly remarkable.
Before everyone jumps up and starts talking about places like Monte Cassino, I know there were many places destroyed. My point is that at least there was thought given to the protection and reclamation of Europe's cultural heritage. Why not in Iraq?
If you are interested in reading more on either of these topics there are two books.
So it begs the question, why were the museums and archives of Iraq not protected against looters? Surely someone in authority must have at least thought about it? Looking at some of the scenes and listening to what has been destroyed - its heartbreaking.
During the Second World War, the Allies had the foresight to create a special group, attached to the British and American armies, to ensure the protection of cultural heritage (as much as war would allow). They were also to track down and restore stolen artworks. This was the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section, nicknamed the 'Monuments Men' . The group of about 350 (mostly men and some women) were museum directors, curators, art historians, and educators from thirteen countries, and their work was utterly remarkable.
Before everyone jumps up and starts talking about places like Monte Cassino, I know there were many places destroyed. My point is that at least there was thought given to the protection and reclamation of Europe's cultural heritage. Why not in Iraq?
If you are interested in reading more on either of these topics there are two books.
by Peter G Stone & Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly
(click above for an interesting Times Online article)
(click above for an interesting Times Online article)
Review: The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
Waterstone's Children's Book Prize
Piper McCloud isn’t like any other girl her age; actually she isn’t like any other girl of any age. Piper can fly. In the farming community of Lowland County this is not a good thing, so it seemed like the best idea all round for her to go to a top secret school for children with unusual abilities just like hers, abilities such as x-ray vision and telekinesis. At INSANE Piper soon settles in and makes friends, but she soon realises that not everything is as it seems and this might be the most dangerous place to be.
A strange mixture of Little House on the Prairie meets Heroes, with enough twists and turns to make you dizzy. From start to finish, this story of courage and defiance holds the reader and won’t let go. Piper is an irrepressible character, and her story is exciting, terrifying, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Piper McCloud isn’t like any other girl her age; actually she isn’t like any other girl of any age. Piper can fly. In the farming community of Lowland County this is not a good thing, so it seemed like the best idea all round for her to go to a top secret school for children with unusual abilities just like hers, abilities such as x-ray vision and telekinesis. At INSANE Piper soon settles in and makes friends, but she soon realises that not everything is as it seems and this might be the most dangerous place to be.A strange mixture of Little House on the Prairie meets Heroes, with enough twists and turns to make you dizzy. From start to finish, this story of courage and defiance holds the reader and won’t let go. Piper is an irrepressible character, and her story is exciting, terrifying, and thoroughly enjoyable.
Review: The Seven Sorcerers by Caro King
Waterstone's Children's Book Prize
Ninevah is the only one who remembers her brother Toby, to everyone else its as if he never existed, and because she is the only one who remembers him, Nin knows she will be next. As Skerridge the Bogeyman removes all memory of Nin from her mother, she escapes to the Drift. Skerridge, who steals the children for the mysterious Mr Strood, has never lost a child before and he’s not going to let it happen now. Nin finds help in the form of Jonas who explains what is going on and helps her in this new world peopled by mudmen, tombfolk and the spirits of the once time rulers of this land, the Seven Sorcerers. Will they escape Skerridge and Strood? Can Nin find and rescue her brother Toby? What is the secret of the Seven Sorcerers?
In the best traditions of fairytales, this is a rich fantasy, sometimes dark and gruesome, populated with fabulous creatures and woven with mystery and magic. Its well-paced and gripping, told with humour and thoroughly enjoyable.
Ninevah is the only one who remembers her brother Toby, to everyone else its as if he never existed, and because she is the only one who remembers him, Nin knows she will be next. As Skerridge the Bogeyman removes all memory of Nin from her mother, she escapes to the Drift. Skerridge, who steals the children for the mysterious Mr Strood, has never lost a child before and he’s not going to let it happen now. Nin finds help in the form of Jonas who explains what is going on and helps her in this new world peopled by mudmen, tombfolk and the spirits of the once time rulers of this land, the Seven Sorcerers. Will they escape Skerridge and Strood? Can Nin find and rescue her brother Toby? What is the secret of the Seven Sorcerers?In the best traditions of fairytales, this is a rich fantasy, sometimes dark and gruesome, populated with fabulous creatures and woven with mystery and magic. Its well-paced and gripping, told with humour and thoroughly enjoyable.
Review: Desperate Measures by Laura Summers
Waterstone's Children's Book Prize
The serious issues in this family drama are handled with warmth and humour. Twins Vicki and Rhianna, and their younger brother Jamie are in foster care. The twins are very different as Rhianna has been brain-damaged since birth. It’s their fourteenth birthday and they should be having fun, but foster parents Paul and Sarah can’t cope and decide to give the children up. Their fate lies in the hands of social worker Mrs Frankish, and it looks like the three will be split up and sent to different families and schools. They don’t want to go; they don’t want another foster family; something has to be done and Jamie has an idea…
This is an exciting, well-paced and moving family drama where serious issues such as loyalty, responsibility, and bullying are handled with warmth and humour. I felt for the three children: Vicki the fourteen year old who acts as mother to her brother and sister; Rhianna who knows that people treat her differently to her twin, Vicky; James who has problems with anger. Thought-provoking, and imaginative, this is a really good read.
The serious issues in this family drama are handled with warmth and humour. Twins Vicki and Rhianna, and their younger brother Jamie are in foster care. The twins are very different as Rhianna has been brain-damaged since birth. It’s their fourteenth birthday and they should be having fun, but foster parents Paul and Sarah can’t cope and decide to give the children up. Their fate lies in the hands of social worker Mrs Frankish, and it looks like the three will be split up and sent to different families and schools. They don’t want to go; they don’t want another foster family; something has to be done and Jamie has an idea…This is an exciting, well-paced and moving family drama where serious issues such as loyalty, responsibility, and bullying are handled with warmth and humour. I felt for the three children: Vicki the fourteen year old who acts as mother to her brother and sister; Rhianna who knows that people treat her differently to her twin, Vicky; James who has problems with anger. Thought-provoking, and imaginative, this is a really good read.
Review: The Toymaker by Jeremy de Quidt
Waterstones Children's Book Prize
When Gustav, Mathias’ grandfather, is drunk he talks of a secret that men would kill for. Before Mathias can discover what the secret is, Gustav has an disagreement with a mysterious man then dies. Mathias is sold to and escapes from the menacing Dr Leiter. Then the hunt is on, for Mathias has a piece of paper his Grandfather had hidden in the lining of his coat. A piece of paper that might be the key to Gustav’s mysterious past and the secret he talked of. In a world of shadows and fear, Mathias is on a quest to stay alive and uncover the secret.
There is an eerie gothic quality to this novel. Yet while threaded through with scenes that are dark, terrifying, and violent, it is also exciting, atmospheric and intriguing. Well paced, with an inventive plot, it has a rather sudden ending.
Gary Blythe’s fabulous illustrations deserve a special mention. I first discovered his work some years ago in a picture book called Whale Song.
When Gustav, Mathias’ grandfather, is drunk he talks of a secret that men would kill for. Before Mathias can discover what the secret is, Gustav has an disagreement with a mysterious man then dies. Mathias is sold to and escapes from the menacing Dr Leiter. Then the hunt is on, for Mathias has a piece of paper his Grandfather had hidden in the lining of his coat. A piece of paper that might be the key to Gustav’s mysterious past and the secret he talked of. In a world of shadows and fear, Mathias is on a quest to stay alive and uncover the secret.There is an eerie gothic quality to this novel. Yet while threaded through with scenes that are dark, terrifying, and violent, it is also exciting, atmospheric and intriguing. Well paced, with an inventive plot, it has a rather sudden ending.
Gary Blythe’s fabulous illustrations deserve a special mention. I first discovered his work some years ago in a picture book called Whale Song.
