2013-05-19T11:49:11-04:00 Jim Thornton http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=jim-thornton Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Jim Thornton Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1886297 2012-09-16T19:00:00-04:00 2012-11-16T05:12:02-05:00

Jim Thornton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-thornton/ #thiswondrousisle project.

I say 'our', because it is a project that belongs to all of us, of course. To everyone who has taken part by sending or tagging photographs so far, we profusely thank each and every one of you.

As the last of the bunting is swept up and empty bottles gathered for recycling, thoughts inevitably turn towards The Legacy. Legacy was a cornerstone of our bid, and up until that opening scene of the opening ceremony had only really ever been contemplated in terms of the sporting legacy. "Good sport make good people do good sport..." Or something like that...

Whilst these games will have undoubtedly inspired at least some of a generation to try to emulate their new-found heroes and heroines on all those playing fields that haven't been sold off by successive governments, I hope, nay believe, these games will inspire many more unexpected and often intangible legacies.

Amongst such legacies I fervently hope will be: the re-discovery of the joys of volunteering in exchange simply for the satisfaction of contributing to the greater good; the beginning of the decline of our obsession with celebrity and fame for its own sake; a renewed belief in the power of the ordinary citizen to make a tangible difference to the quality of life; the realisation that our cultural and economic future and spiritual well-being will be secured not by the politicians, nor the selfish, the greedy and the corrupt, nor by any elite, but by the creative endeavours of each and every one of us; a greater tolerance and respect for all who make up our society, and the fostering of an environment in which all can realise their potential; a cessation of the demonisation of youth and recognition that with the right support, they have the energy, imagination and commitment to create a better future for themselves and our nations; the acknowledgement from all that there is such a thing as society, and it can be a force for real, tangible good; an understanding that happiness can't be bought, but is found in our connections and shared experiences with our fellow human beings; renewed support for the unique virtues of the BBC and indeed Channel 4; and, of course, a campaign to elect Claire Balding Prime Minister in 2015.

Call me naïve, call me optimistic (I'm a Stoke fan - these attributes have been a lifelong necessity) but to see these past few weeks as merely an errant chapter in the seemingly inexorable story of our decline is to admit defeat in a way that is an insult to, and disrespects the dedication, hard work and humility of, every single one of our Olympic and Paralympic competitors.

It's been suggested to us that #thiswondrousisle is part of this legacy, albeit a very tiny one. If it proves so to be, and we would be utterly delighted if it did, it will be because of another, greater, legacy of these games - a renewed pride in our nation and its myriad virtues, as shown by the hundreds upon hundreds of photographs of everything from our glorious countryside to Gay Pride to fish and chips (a LOT of fish and chips) to urban graffiti and pretty much everything in-between.

We haven't edited the photos in any way, shape or form, as to do so would be to undermine the wholly democratic and wonderfully personal nature of such a collection. Every day I check in at www.thiswondrousisle.co.uk, I never cease to be surprised and delighted by just how diverse the things about Britain that we hold dear are.

Which made us think; maybe it's not enough for this to be 'just' a gift to Danny Boyle and his team. How do we make it a part of the legacy for everyone?

Because we have become increasingly infused with the spirit of 'anything is possible' that's pervaded Britain these last few weeks, we've dreamed of how this could become, amongst other things, a modern version of that mass observation masterpiece the Domesday Book. Whilst that may sound terribly grandiose, we've always wanted this collection to be 'It's From Everyone', so all our thinking has been about how we might achieve actually make it so.

The best idea we've had so far is to try to persuade the Royal Mail to partner with us. They, like so many of our institutions, have had a great games and this would be a way of continuing the momentum gathered by the Gold Medal Stamps and gold post boxes. Plus, of course, they are a wholly British organisation and arguably the only single organisation who can connect every household in Great Britain. Which is an incredible thing when you think about it.

We like the idea of every postie contributing a picture and encouraging everyone on his or her round to do the same. And it's not an unprecedented idea either; in 2006 the Royal Mail gave every postie a disposable camera and asked them to take photos on their rounds on one specific day. The resulting photos were curated into a collection called Unseen Britain, with help from Stephen Gill & Jon Ronson. So #thiswondrousisle is really just a more visible and comprehensive twist on their original and brilliant idea.

The other lovely idea comes from one of my erstwhile partners in this whole endeavour, John V Willshire; to ultimately sell the book in some form or another, with all proceeds going to Great Ormond Street and the Singing Signing Choir.

But for the moment we're just concentrating on how we can get the idea out as far and wide as possible.

So please tweet, blog, instagram & talk about #thiswondrousisle at every opportunity, and if you haven't done so already, upload some photos of what makes this isle wondrous to you.

If you don't do social media, we now have an email address to which you can send your pictures too: caliban@thiswondrousisle.co.uk.

There will be many more important legacies from 2012 than this that's for sure, but it's the only one so far that enables every single one of us to show future generations what makes this isle wondrous to them, and in so doing, thank Danny Boyle and his team for their part in Inspiring A Generation.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1825076 2012-08-23T19:00:00-04:00 2012-10-23T05:12:11-04:00

Jim Thornton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-thornton/
Even though it had been masterminded by Stephen Daldry and Danny Boyle, two of our greatest ever directors of stage and screen, we don't have a great track record of staging these big showpiece events.

And after seven years of meddling politicians, sponsors, politicians, LOCOG and more politicians, it was hard to believe it wouldn't end up another cringeworthy mess like The Jubilee Concert or every Brit Awards ever. It turns out that what I was expecting was the closing ceremony.

The opening ceremony, on the other hand, was quite simply a revelation.

For the first time someone had produced a vision of Britain I not only recognised, but of which I was extremely proud. A Britain that started in 1948 rather than ending in 1945. A Britain that wasn't reliant on pageantry, Churchill, the Empire & the '66 World Cup final as the sole representations of its accomplishments.

A Britain that was created not by celebrity, Royalty, the military or any elite, but by ordinary, nay extraordinary, working people. A Britain for which the soundtrack is drawn from, and inspired by, all generations and genres, not merely thrown together after watching a few episodes of Top of the Pops 2.

A confident Britain. A proud Britain. Above all, a Britain able to laugh at itself and its institutions whilst at the same time celebrating them.

As a production it was nothing short of mesmerising. If it did nothing else (and it did plenty) it showcased the very best of British stagecraft. It was brilliantly choreographed yet felt entirely spontaneous and unstructured. It was wonderfully performed yet featured only a handful of professionals. And it moved from one showstopping set piece to another with barely a pause. It was humble and humbling, imaginative, daring and so, so beautiful.

Best of all, it was truly of the people, by the people, for the people.

It felt to me like Danny Boyle had given Great Britain a very personal gift, a vision of us as a people that reminded us just how Great we can be. It felt like he'd wrestled our cultural and creative heritage back from those who for the last 30 years led us to believe that being creative with money was the be-all and end-all.

The 2012 Opening ceremony lit up the world, then lit the torch for an Olympic games in which the athletes themselves emphasized all the virtues of hard work, team ethic, community, family, humility and excellence that were celebrated in the opening ceremony.

It made me more happy and proud and optimistic than anything I could ever remember. It represented all of the things which make me proud to be British, and none of the things that make me ashamed.

So just as Danny Boyle gave us a very personal gift, the memory of which will last a lifetime, I'd like to give him a personal gift in a similar vein from all of us. A book containing photographs of each person's interpretation of what makes this isle wondrous to them.

It's going to be called 'It's From Everyone'. We kicked it off via Instagram and Twitter three weeks ago and so far have over 1,212 photos posted on Instagram, and many more submitted via Twitter. You can see a lot of them here at http://www.thiswondrousisle.co.uk/

But if it's to truly be from everyone, we need everyone to contribute.

It couldn't be easier: simply tag a photo that sums up what makes this isle wondrous to you with #thiswondrousisle on Instagram, on Flickr, or on Twitter and we'll do the rest.

And of course, if you like the idea, please, please tell your friends and spread the word.

It's a daunting task we've set ourselves, but we like to think that if Danny Boyle showed us anything, he showed us there's no limit to what we can achieve if we put our minds to it.

Thank you,
Jim

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.975756 2011-09-22T19:00:49-04:00 2011-11-22T05:12:01-05:00

Jim Thornton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-thornton/
As toe-curlingly embarrassing as a Kate Winslet acceptance speech, this campaign brings to mind the old adage 'don't tell me your funny, show me' because anyone who feels they have to remind people that Britain is great are obviously starting from the point of view that people don't think it is.

Which given debt, riots, dwindling international and economic influence, union unrest and the perennially laughable attempts of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football teams to make any kind of impression on the world stage, they can be forgiven for thinking we no longer are.

The real tragedy of this campaign is that there are so many things that are Great about Britain. One of them is our sense of humour and another is our natural self-deprecation, both of which this campaign would have done well to incorporate in spades.

The work's too general and non-specific, and works on a thoroughly outmoded and defunct advertising model of 'if you repeat something often enough and loud enough then people will eventually believe it'.

What a wasted opportunity, because if our creativity is one of the other things that makes us Great, which it surely is, then this brief should have been an opportunity to show the world just how creative we are.

But whilst this campaign looks great and was clearly art directed by someone great, the strategy and writing are most definitely not great.

I think the moment they decided that including shopping as one of the things that makes us great should have been the moment they realized they were flogging a dead horse rather than a great idea.]]>