“20 is plenty”

@MPSSouthfields

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/foundation
@wimbledonFdn

#SmallBusinessSaturday

Heart of Glass is a 1980s modern pacy literary thriller being crowdfunded right now on Unbound/Penguin Random House. It is written by me. I am a local author. I live in Southfields. I am taking you behind the scenes today. We will be looking inside a rare 1964 book, which inspired Heart of Glass, found in a wet market called Chowrasta in Penang’s Georgetown.

Make yourself a cup of coffee or a martini. Be prepared to be taken back in time to an exciting world of casinos, jazz, cocktails, pizza, crime. It’s only 5 minutes long, packed full of ideas and most of all contains ORIGINAL vintage material not available anywhere on the internet!

Watch it here.

We urgently still need patrons. We are 78% funded today, 22% to go! Without sponsors or patrons, there would be no arts, no culture, no diversity. Every patron’s name will be in print with mine. Why not pre-order a book and have your name in print? Not to mention the fact that you might be invited to a very cool 1980s launch party. This is an exciting opportunity for all those who wish to support a local SW London author. Read the synopsis, excerpt, About Me, and become a patron.

www.true-islam.uk

“Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hei Fatt Choy!” I am a South West London writer and I live in Southfields. I have been living in Southfields for 17 years! My children go to Sheringdale School, which is, I am proud to say, the third top school in Wandsworth. Naturally, being a Sheringdale mum, I also have high standards for myself. I wrote a novel six years ago called Heart of Glass and I have landed a publishing deal with Unbound/Penguin Random House with whom I am crowdfunding this project.

Last Tuesday I was talking to a wonderfully friendly and kind producer/presenter Ms Becks on her show which is the Wandsworth Workday show on Wandsworth Radio, London. Here is the YouTube recording of the interview.

We touched on these questions/topics:

• What is your name and where did you come from today and where did you come from originally?
• Tell us about the book in themes and ideas and tell us about the book in a brief extract,
• Tell us about your writing journey and how it all started,
• Was cultural diversity a focus or what you like to promote or portray?
• When did you start writing and playing music?
• Tell us about your music teaching.
• Let us have a SNEAK PREVIEW of what you are working on next!

I felt at ease with her and that I could go on forever chatting not just about the book but about our common interests in children’s education, music and dance. Our sons are roughly the same age and just started playing guitar. She found out that I of course loved Bruno Mars, who I believe is the Michael Jackson with Swearing. We got on very well. It was a bit heartbreaking for me, in my “editorial suite” in the wee hours, to cut the interview down from 32 minutes to 13min 52sec. Culling is caring (kill your darlings etc).

Today we have 117 supporters/patrons from all over the world and we are 63% funded. We are 54 days in and 36 days to go in this 90 day campaign. Again, please show your support by checking out the link and pre-ordering your copy. See you at a cool 1980s book launch in where else but South West London!

Please support their crowdfunding campaign by making even a small donation via:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Southfields-speed-gun

Special thanks to the officers of the Southfields’ Safer Neighbourhoods Team and the Wandsworth Traffic Team.

Produced by our good friends at The Quick Brown Fox.

www.thequickbrownfox.co.uk
@quickbrownfoxUK

stbarnabas-southfields.org.uk
@stbarnabasUK

Students and staff at Southfields Academy had a lot to celebrate this summer.  Our 6^th Form’s A Level pass rate was 100% for the third year running with A*-C grades coming in at 80% and 23% A*-A.  Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Economics results were particular strengths.  The results of the new style A Levels were even stronger than those of the old style exams.  And most importantly 110 of our Year 13s have accessed their first choice higher education place, many at Russell Group universities.

Our Year 11’s GCSE results were our best ever and considering the increased rigour of these exams and the challenges that some of our students face it makes these results all the more fantastic.  Our English and Mathematics results are our best ever at 68% A*-C.  Our 5+ A*-C with English and Mathematics came in at 63%, a 20% improvement on last year’s figure.  In terms of the new measures by which schools’ exam results are judged, on average every single exam taken was graded a third of a grade higher than expected based on the students’ Key Stage 2 performance.  As for specific subject areas that stood out, our Further Mathematics results of 100% A*-A are an astounding success.

Our results have demonstrated the value of the amount of care and attention given to every single student.  We don’t expect our students to fit into a standard curriculum, we tailor the curriculum to fit each student’s strengths so that he or she can shine in their own way.

Academic success is only part of the story at Southfields Academy though.  We nurture and develop individual talents whether they are musical, sporting, creative or in the performance arts.  Our many successful former students are testament to this including Michail Antonio (West Ham footballer recently called up to play for England), Malachi Kirby (actor who has recently received much acclaim for his performance in the recent version of Roots) and Kenny Annan-Jonathan (whose own fashion label, Playdot Apparel is a favourite of many music stars).

While our results are impressive, our focus remains on ensuring that each of our students is supported and challenged and how we can continue to give our students the best education possible.

I normally arrive shortly before filming and the Producer briefs me over coffee. By the time I sit down to edit I already know what’s required from my editing work. As a cameraman / editor it’s important I have as much information as possible before filming starts and Peter is always very mindful of this. Having loads of information means the final product has a better chance to be successful.

When it comes to equipment and gadgets, SWL.TV is always on the ball with every little detail required during a shoot. There’s always accessories and gadgets available at a moment’s notice. Bits of kit you didn’t know you would need during the shoot – you can be sure we have them in the bag! Whether there’s a problem accessing power or you need a different cable or connector there’s always a solution.

SWL.TV is extremely committed to their brand; they’ve prepared  clear guidelines specific to each type of video they create for the channel and train all the channel’s Presenters and Crew on the channel’s in-house style. On top of that, support is always available over the phone or via email if I have any questions, or I can refer to the Top Secret “SWL.TV Style Guide”!

I’ve also worked on a couple of projects with SWL.TV trying out collaborative editing.  This has proved to be extremely convenient and relevant for this day and age when technology, and customer expectations are moving so fast. Working remotely on video editing is becoming more and more important for videographers across the world.

When I’m not working on SWL.TV productions I run my own successful business, The Quick Brown Fox Video Production. We specialise in carefully crafted video content for family friendly brands, products and services, working closely with agencies and events organisers.