AND Connection Countries

Olympic Sustainability Commissioner Resigns Over Dow Stadium Wrap

Fri, 26 Jan 2012 22:16:00 GMT

Questions over the decision to accept the sponsorship of the Olympic Stadium ‘wrap around’ from Dow Chemical were brought back into the spotlight yesterday as Meredith Alexander head of policy at ‘ActionAid’ resigned from her role as board member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 live on Newsnight. Her resignation came in protest at the involvement of [...]

200 (or so) Days to Go

Wed, 10 Jan 2012 18:59:00 GMT

Yesterday was, as you may be forgiven for having missed, an auspicious day. Why? Yet another Olympic milestone was passed as it was 200 days before the start of the Olympics, marked by what will no doubt be an extravagent and impressive Opening Ceremony. The white elephant in the room? The Olympics are starting to [...]

Welcome to an Olympic Year

Wed, 03 Jan 2012 16:39:00 GMT

A happy new year to you all! Right that’s the happy part out the way as lets face it; it’s cold and wet; the sun is stuck down low in the sky shining only the faintest of it’s rays down upon our embattled isle and nobody seems to have any money. But of course this [...]

Guardian Newspaper Tour: Journalism Sure Isn’t Easy

Thu, 07 Dec 2011 17:21:00 GMT

On the 22nd of November Benji Lanyado who works as a travel writer at The Guardian was kind enough to take us on a tour of the paper’s headquarters near Kings Cross in central London. During the tour we spoke with three editors; Joanna Geary, Digital Developments Editor; Ian Prior, Sports Editor; and David Shariatmadari, [...]

An explainable absence…

Thu, 07 Dec 2011 14:08:00 GMT

As you may have noticed there has been a distinct lack of posting over the last few weeks. In one sense I’m happy because I have quite a good excuse for not getting anything done for once ,however I’m not sure that the nasty scars on my face as a result of a rather unfriendly [...]

Hi!Happy New Year!

Wed, 04 Jan 2011 14:27:00 GMT

Hi I’d just like to say that I’ve now finished this programme with A New Directon, and I have started a new programme with them called Headstart.But dont worry this programme is still related to the 2012 olympics. My New Blog And also I’d just like to wish you all a happy new year and [...]

All You need is Love <3

Wed, 13 Jul 2010 15:03:00 GMT

Hey did I ever mention a group of real nice students that I met back in Vancouver ? Well one group was called Sharing the Dream, and the other Students Live. I was looking at one of their blogs the other day, and found a really sweet video. It got me thinking ” WE SHOULD DO THIS IN LONDON!!!” a guy [...]

Told Ya i’ll Be Back!!!

Mon, 04 Jul 2010 21:59:00 GMT

Wow, gosh i did’nt realise how hard it is to write in full sentances after being on Facbook… Any way Yesterday was one hell of a day!! I went to the to the ‘View-Tube’ with my fellow vacouver ‘peeps’ we got a really amazing view of the new olympic stadium and a not-so amazing view [...]

The craziness that was the 16th…

Sun, 19 Jun 2010 16:46:00 GMT

It was completely and utterly not what we had expected but before we get to that lets start with our arrival at the AND offices. The whole crew were almost reunited except for Johnny and Steve (Gene). We quickly settled and finally got to watch the film, which just made me really sad because i [...]

2012 Update:What do you think of the mascots?

Thu, 19 May 2010 22:45:00 GMT

A couple of weeks ago we went back to a new direction HQ and sent,a very ( how shall I say)charming email to Katherine(LOCOG’s education manager) about our feelings towards the age(over 18 by January in 2012) you had to be in order to volunteer for the 2012 Olympic games,in London and how unfair it would be [...]

Under 18s can now volunteer for the 2012 Games!

Sat, 07 May 2010 20:15:00 GMT

Read more on the matter in this article published by the London Evening Standard.

Reflecting on Vancouver…

Sat, 07 May 2010 20:11:00 GMT

It’s now over a month ago since the group and I flew off to the land of the happy, jolly and laid-back Canadians. I have had lots of time to reflect on the journey and all the experiences we had. “I am a sporty and lively sort of person. I love a challenge and working [...]

The Memories…….

Thu, 14 Apr 2010 15:28:00 GMT

Its wednesday the 14th of April,and this time last month I was packing to leave for Canada on the New Direction Take Five trip to the winter paralympic games in Vancouver.Today we’ve just been doing a bit of reflection at the New direction offices in stratford,along with Rebecca,Steve and Franma. We began the day by [...]

It’s not over yet

Thu, 14 Apr 2010 15:28:00 GMT

It’s been a month to this day that we jetted off to vancouver for our cultural exchange trip as british reporters. And hopefully it’s not the end of our educated journey. Our goal was to find out about how the Winter olympic and paralympic games and their cultural events are oraganised. Along with experiencing the dramatic affect both [...]

‘London to Vancouver – A Tale of Five Friends’ by Kim

Thu, 14 Apr 2010 14:06:00 GMT

more about “‘London to Vancouver – A Tale of Five…“, posted with vodpod I wrote this poem on the long 10 hour flight back to London. At that time, i was feeling very reflective about the trip and wanted to write about what we did. However, the more i wrote and the way my words [...]

Day Five in VANCOUVER

Fri, 25 Mar 2010 16:36:00 GMT

Only as I waffled on a waffle for breakfast did I first start to realise that the experience was coming to an end. The day after we appeared on the CTV news, we were shown around the Vancouver CTV headquarters. Steve Murray, news photographer/editor for CTV, (also the nicest dude you’ll ever meet!) was on his [...]

The Eventful Day Four in VANCOUVER

Tue, 22 Mar 2010 16:38:00 GMT

In the morning we all visited Britannia Secondary, a school in Vancouver, to learn more about the differences in education, culture and lifestyle. It was very interesting. We met their Principal and throughout the morning she toured us around the building. In the school they had a huge ice rink that Olympic teams wanted to [...]

Day Three in VANCOUVER

Mon, 21 Mar 2010 16:47:00 GMT

Day Three started with no outrageously early start and we had time to work on our blogs, videos and audio recordings in the morning. We all worked hard for several hours and we made use of the spare time we had. It’s been really busy while we’ve been here so catching up on work and [...]

Interview with Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the Cultural Olympiad – London 2012

Mon, 21 Mar 2010 15:35:00 GMT

Earlier today (or yesterday – a bit lost now, as back in the UK and still haven’t slept), our reporters were lucky enough to interview the reasonably new in post, Ruth Mackenzie, Director of the Cultural Olympiad for London 2012. Ruth met up with us at our hotel an hour before we were leaving for [...]

Skills, Confidence and Understanding

Sun, 20 Mar 2010 15:35:00 GMT

”Not many people know the Paralympics actually stands for the ‘Parallel Games’….” Sarah Hunter, Wheelchair Tennis Player What’s been so fantastic about this experience is watching the students develop, both in their journalism and media skills, and in their understanding of the Olympic and Paralympic experience through meeting those involved – athletes, volunteers, organising committees, [...]