http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/ News feed for Brett's website en-usTue, 10 Jun 2003 04:00:00 GMT Fri, 24 May 2013 19:28:45 +0100 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Hand coded brett@brettdavies.co.uk brett@brettdavies.co.uk Over the last few months I've been practising astrophotography, taking pictures of the night sky with a digital camera. You don't need masses of equipment, just a camera where you can set the exposure and sensitivity, a tripod, patience and free software to combine (stack) the images such as  Deep Sky Stacker . I was particularly pleased with this image of Mars which I captured with a Canon 550D and a standard lens (without the use of a telescope). Click the image to see Mars in situ . http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Mars Attacks Tue, 03 Apr 2012 6:19:27 +0100 I'm pleased to announce that I will be running another bookbinding workshop at the Rising Sun Arts Centre . If you would like to come along, I'll be happy to teach you how to make a book. Come along from 1pm until 5pm on Saturday, 15th October. I aim to teach limp or soft-cover bindings. The course costs £10 and all materials are included but you can bring some funky paper if you like. I look forward to seeing you there! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Bookbinding at the Rising Sun Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:08:55 +0100 From July 9th - 30th, Reading plays host to the UK's first Pop-Up festival, organised by Outside Inside. A few weeks ago, a shop in Reading popped up and started selling art and other works by local artists and craftspeople. If you pop along, you can now find copies of my first two books, Pete's Snow Day and Tim's Bad Hair Day priced at just £1.50. http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Inside Outside Festival Sat, 02 Jul 2011 4:25:06 +0100 This Saturday, I will be teaching another bookbinding class at the Rising Sun Arts Centre . If you would like to learn how to bind a book, or if you've been before and would like to try something different, come along at 1:30. http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Back at the Rising Sun Mon, 06 Jun 2011 6:11:32 +0100 I will be teaching another bookbinding workshop at the Rising Sun Arts Centre on Saturday, June 11th from 1:30 until 5:30. Everyone who attends will make a book using a needle and thread to stitch paper. It should be a really enjoyable afternoon: it will cost £10, all materials are provided and hopefully we should make some brilliant books together. Contact me if you'd like to come! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/More bookbinding at the Rising Sun Sat, 21 May 2011 10:59:44 +0100 Today, I taught a bookbinding course at South Hill Park. I had a great time and together we made some fantastic books. Students started by stitching a Coptic binding using four needles. It's pretty tricky to keep track of all the needles and the string, but we created some excellent books. Following students' success, we moved on to create variations on the Japanese Four-Hole binding. I was really pleased that students experimented with the bindings to create their own designs. Altogether a brilliant (if very busy!) day. Check out the photos! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Bookbinding at South Hill Park Sun, 08 May 2011 10:03:51 +0100  Prieska is a small town in the Northern Cape. There's not much there except farms, a few shops, a couple of churches and friendly people. Lonely Planet describes towns in the Great Karoo as "few and far between [...] those that do exist are of little interest to travellers". Despite Prieska not being the most exciting place in South Africa, I really like it there. I took the picture when visiting Tipuana Guest Farm which is owned and run by a friend's aunt and uncle. Just beyond the treeline is the Orange River, the largest river in South Africa. http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Back to Prieska Wed, 20 Apr 2011 8:08:57 +0100 I arrived in South Africa on Sunday after travelling for a whole day via Doh, Qatar. Not my favourite of airports. Thankfully, I spent more time in Johannesburg airport than in Doha. They serve whiskey in Jo'Burg airport whereas they don't in Doha. I'm staying with my friend in a school in Kimberley in the girl's hostel. So far, I've seen the inside of her room, read a few good books and met some of the students she teaches. It's a bit of experience standing in front of a group of 40 students - less like teaching, more like crowd control. I'm used to teaching 12 students and having the help of two other adults to do so. I was really interested to hear what they thought about South Africa and what they knew about the UK. One group wanted to know all about the Royal Wedding in a few weeks and it was a bit of a feat explaining that the Queen was married to a Duke, not a king. The thing that surprised me the most was that every group I talked to did not feel safe in Kimberley and the majority said that they would leave if they had the opportunity. I thought this was really sad and an indication that a whole generation of young people are being let down. The disparity between the education system  in South Africa and in the UK (and the teaching methods that have to be adopted when you're working with 40+ students) is a real eye-opener. Again, I feel like a tourist who has the privilege of being able to observe and comment without having to live the life I'm watching. http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/South Africa Wed, 13 Apr 2011 9:16:25 +0100 I added some more photos of books to the binding section. These are my favourite of all the books I've made. They're varied in appearance and techniques and represent a lot of work. Hope you like them as much as I do. http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/New Book Photos Sat, 26 Mar 2011 10:17:08 +0000 I am teaching another bookbinding workshop at the Rising Sun Arts Centre on Saturday, March 26th from 1:30 until 5:30. The last session was great and we made some wonderful books. Hopefully the March workshop will be equally great. Check out the Rising Sun's flyer for more information about all of the exciting things going on this month. Hope to see you on the 26th! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Book bookbinding at the Rising Sun Thu, 03 Mar 2011 1:58:24 +0000 You can now book on to the courses I'm running at South Hill Park. The adult course is on Sunday, 8th May from  11:00 - 5:00. Click here for more information or to book a place.The children's course is on Tuesday, 31st May from 1:30 until 3:30. Click here for more information or to book a place.It would be great to see you there! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Book bookbinding at South Hill Park Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:07:06 +0000 I am teaching a bookbinding class at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading from 1:30 until 5:30. Together, we will be using a coptic binding to make multi-section books. I'm really looking forward to meeting some new people and making some books!Click the buttons below to see a map to the Rising Sun or to add this event to your calendar.  http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Bookbinding today! Sat, 26 Feb 2011 11:57:22 +0000 Today I taught a bookbinding class at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading. I had a great time teaching a group of people to bind books in the coptic style. Hopefully this will be a regular thing as people seemed quite interested. If you are interested in coming along or if you would like to know more, please contact me or check out the Facebook group! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Bookbinding Class Sun, 30 Jan 2011 9:01:40 +0000 I am teaching two bookbinding courses at South Hill Park in the near future. The first course will be on Sunday, May 9th from 10pm until 4pm and will focus on creating sketchbooks, scrapbooks and journals using a needle and thread to stitch paper. Participants will create simple stab bindings and single-section books. Some students may also try more complex multi-section bindings. No previous experience is necessary and everyone will leave having made a book.The course costs £48 or £44 if you are a member of South Hill Park.The second course is on Tuesday, May 31st (in the Summer Half Term) from 1:30 until 3:30 and is suitable for children.Together, we'll create beautiful books for stories, drawings and ideas. Children will create a colourful Japanese-style book using a needle and thread to stitch paper.Again, if you are a member of South Hill Park, this will cost £13.50, otherwise it will cost £15.50. http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Bookbinding at South Hill Park Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:26:56 +0000 I happened to go to the Rising Sun Arts Centre todayfor an event called Bookface. Within five minutes of turning up, I had my picture taken for the Reading Chronicle and some of the books I have made littering the table. I also met some interesting people including the lady that made the Sonic Tuck Shop and people who made and illustrated their own books. Brilliant afternoon! http://www.brettdavies.co.uk/article/Bookface Wed, 29 Dec 2010 10:11:44 +0000