Ellee Seymour

A guest post by Audrie Reed.

I met Audrie at a friend’s house recently and she told me about her business of capturing family memories on video and recording them for posterity, and I thought it would make an interesting post. However, it’s not all plain sailing. She would appreciate any advice on how to take this forward and make it a success. This is her story:

I received a camcorder for my 50^th birthday and since then I can’t stop making short films! I had not thought how much joy it would give my family and friends to be presented with a film of a holiday or special birthday. In 2005 I started recording my mum and dad’s life stories and was lucky that I had almost finished, as my mum died suddenly in Feb 07. I made a tribute film for her family and friends to show after the funeral, which made everyone laugh, despite the occasion. This generated a lot of interest and comments such as, “I want to do my life story, but where do I start” and, “I never thought I could be filmed, that’s so much easier” and my favourite, “so I can be a movie star at the age of 79!”

So…I thought if there is a need, perhaps I should look at turning my hobby into a business. I did research by posting a questionnaire to just about everyone I know and on the Internet. The feedback told me more women then men consider the importance of capturing a parent’s life story. They expect a film to be no more than 30 minutes and would pay £500+ Most said they would search on the Internet for such a service using the key words of ‘Life Story’.

This was encouraging and in July 2007 Beautiful Memories was born (chosen because it’s inscribed on mum’s gravestone). Firstly I wrote a press release and placed a small but costly advert, in Cambridge Agenda magazine aimed at the Christmas market. Christmas came and went and no phone calls. Ummmm. Maybe the price scared people off.

What next? Launch a website design a brochure and business card and sign up to the free Business Link courses and workshops, that’ll do. Dozens of proofs later (and reams of paper in the bin) the brochures take shape. I shyly handed them out to other attendees and tutors on the courses. Comments included “what a great idea” and “the prices seem high” – but hey, each life story takes days of filming and weeks of editing.

I’ve fallen at the first hurdle and now not confident that I would get even an enquiry. I decide to reduce my prices - I can always increase them again when I get more commissions than I can handle!.

So I am happy and confident that the new brochures and website look amazing. But how do I drive people to my site? How do I meet these people who want to tell their life story and are willing to pay for the privilege??? I made an appointment with a Business Advisor, called Jay. Our meeting was amazing. She was full of ideas for cheap and free marketing and gave me loads of encouragement. I came home buzzing. She said firstly find where older wealthier people shop, eat, have fun, relax and what they read. Then she tells me “you need to go out and talk to people, this is not a service you can sell over the phone. They need to see your enthusiasm and zest.”

Plan A and B for promoting myself

I pick up the phone, and call the manager at of a high-class supermarket. “Can I have a pitch inside your store to promote my new business please?” “No. We protect our customers from being pestered whilst they are here to shop.” “Well, can I stand outside the store give out leaflets?” “No. This would be also be pestering.” “What about leaflets under the car windscreen wipers?” “No. This would create rubbish and we can fine you for that.”

Plan B. I call every nursing and care home in Cambridge area. Everyone is very interested and says they are happy to display a poster and leave some brochures in the reception. Phew…that’s an better start. (but these are not necessarily the right target customer, as many are frail and with a certain amount of memory loss.) I’ve since found that recalling life memories is used as a reminiscence therapy during activity sessions.

Now my next task is to be more creative and think how I can get free advertising. I email every church admin. office in Cambridge area and ask if I can advertise in their church magazine or newsletter. I consider this is a good target area. As at the date of writing I have space reserved for a couple of low cost adverts and about six completely free. I also have an ad going in the next edition of the Age Concern Newsletter and COPE (Cambridge Older Peoples Enterprise) magazine. So between now and the end of September I am hoping that quite a few people will have seen an advert or poster somewhere in Cambridge and Beautiful Memories begins to take off.

I think this would make a great Christmas present, don’t you?

I received a cheque for £750 yesterday from John Hayes MP, a generous patron of Headway Cambridgeshire of which I am vice chair of the trustees. John,Shadow Minister, Innovation, Universities and Skills, suffered a serious head injury following a road accident in his early 20s.

The money was the proceeds of a charity cricket match held last year in Moulton, Lincolnshire where John lives, and it is a regular fixture on his annual calendar which is played against his very sporting local cricket team.

It was held again the weekend and I was looking forward to it immensely as I had heard what great fun it was, and that a great hog roast always followed. My only doubts were if the weather would be dry enough as there were heavy showers overnight and in the morning. Sure enough, as John’s wife Susan had predicted earlier in the week when she said they always have fine weather for the match, this year was no exception and the sun shone in time for play to go ahead.

I didn’t realise John’s team was the Lords & Commons X1, and they kindly allowed my son James to join them. Although he was the 12th man, he took a wicket when bowling, though had no time to shine during batting as his turn came for the last ball. The programme will be a nice souvenir for him as he is listed with them.

His fellow team mates, which John captained, were MPs Iain Duncan Smith and Henry Bellingham and MEPs Den Dover and Chris Heaton-Harris. However, they proved to be no match for the local cricket team who soundly beat them. James thought Iain was a great bowler.

It was a lovely afternoon and I don’t think you can find a more picturesque English countryside setting than at a cricket match on a village green with genial folk laid out on deck chairs soaking up the atmosphere. It is also very generous of MPs to give up a day over August Bank Holiday in support of John and Headway.

However, I must admit I still don’t understand the rules of the game, I am baffled by it.

Pic: In the team pic, James is kneeling second left next to Chris Heaton Harris. And John and Iain show their rebel side by playing next to the “No Ball Game” sign.

UPDATE: Here is a YouTube I made of the cricket match, hope you enjoy it.

My MEP Robert Sturdy has a letter in The Times today stating it is time to ditch the absurd "travelling circus" to Strasbourg following the partial collapse of its ceiling.

He says:

Surely this is the perfect time to stop throwing away good money after bad. I am referring to the partial collapse of the European Parliament’s ceiling in Strasbourg, which proves that it is a flawed and costly white  elephant.

MEPs will now have to meet in Brussels next month instead of their Strasbourg parliamentary building as planned, so that essential repairs can be carried out. And I suggest we keep it that way, instead of continuing with a farcical and costly “travelling circus”, forcing 735 MEPs and staff to leave their offices and meet up hundreds of miles away — just to appease French protocol. This is costing the EP an estimated £160 million each year, as well as being environmentally unjustifiable.

The majority of cross-party MEPs believe it is time to end Strasbourg meetings. I call upon Gordon Brown within the Council of Ministers of 27 member states to urge all of them to bring this to an end.

My son David is taking part in a sponsored punt race in Cambridge this evening, and he has banned me from going to watch. I doubt he will end up with a Cambridge blue as this is his first try at steering the long pole, along with team mates from the city’s Dune Shoes where he works at weekends.

As I understand it, Cambridge and Oxford stand at opposite ends of the punt when they steer. I went punting many times in my young and carefree days, and often ended up in the Cam with my friend Sue - and runny mascara. Our punting sessions inevitably required a drying off trip at the local laundrette.

I did eventually master the skill, but like everything else, you need to keep practising to improve. The last time I tried punting was when I took the boys into Cambridge for a birthday treat and hired a punt as a surprise. We constantly coasted from one side of the bank to the other and didn’t travel more than a couple of meters up river in an hour. It caused great hilarity for the tourists who were watching.

Punting is big business in Cambridge and the cause of "Punt Wars" as rival businesses tout for trade. The touts are a real pain and I lose count of the number of times I tell them I am "a local" after being accosted by them in the city’s streets.

I hope David does well tonight as it’s for a good cause, the Teenage Cancer Trust.

He is sensibly taking some spare clothing with him…

Because of my increasingly involved role chairing trustees’ meetings at Headway Cambridgeshire, I have signed up for a two-day facilitator’s course in London next week.

I am quite shy in the leadership role and am keen to learn the skills required to carry out this new role with confidence. I am undertaking lots of other new tasks for the first time too, helping to set up sub-committees for this fantastic charity which supports people with brain injury, and will also be involved in giving an appraisal to our CEO.

I wondered what advice you would give for facilitating meetings so I can go to my course well equipped with the best info. How is it that some people make it look so easy and effortless?

On Facebook, I read a message from a Ukranian friend Katerina saying how she was fed up reading "so much contradictions and lies" on British and Russian websites about the situation in Tskhinvali, South Ossetia

She has been following the conflict on a blog written by a student turned soldier from South Ossetia who was in Tskhinvali sending updates to his blog via his mobile as there was no electricity and the city was destroyed.

Alan, 26, studies at a university in Moscow and was visiting his parents in Tskhinvali when the fighting started.  Later he volunteered to fight and joined Ossetian military forces. Katerina describes his political views as conservative, "seeking no revolutions, but prosperity and peace". However, one has to defend his own country.

This is Alan’s description about how the conflict began, and many thanks to Katerina, who I met at Cambridge Speakers Club, for the translation:

4 August

Today I decided to start my diary. I have never done it before but what I see around is so worrying so I want to share it. It’s been a week when we arrived to Tskhinvali with my friends. On 28 July there was a sunny day promising relaxing holiday. Nothing could tell what would happen in the near future: children were playing in the streets, teens were hanging around, city was as usual and it was like that until 30 July. On 30 July we started receiving worrying news from neighbourhood villages. There were rumours that Georgian troops started shooting from large-calibre weapons in some areas of Ossetia and that some people got wounded. Then I heard that on 1 August at 6 p.m. Georgians killed five civilians and one soldier. Night 2 August Georgians started shooting the city from large calibre weapons and trench mortars. As a result I heard that about 10 people were wounded. After I with my friends went to morgue and saw three dead bodies – all clad as civilians. There was very heavy atmosphere: blood, women’s cry and stern faces of men full with grief, bewilderment and desire of revenge. The city got empty very quickly: no one can be seen in the streets except soldiers (I think he refers to local Ossetian army - Katerina). Cars were moving with enormous speed, engines revving and grinding sound of caterpillar tracks.of armoured troop carriers. On every corner one can see armed local policemen. All windows of the houses were dark. Street lighting was turned off to make it difficult for Georgian snipers and artillery to aim. Shooting continued until 7 a.m. with short breaks.

Morning was hectic: women and children were being evacuated. At the railway station there was a huge crowd of leaving people. Taxi fare to Vladikavkaz rose up to 1000 roubles compared to 350-400 roubles in usual days.

One could tell that the situation was serious judging by number of men in camouflage and how cars were driving. Usually if every second man in the city wears uniform and cars driving at high speed ignoring pits on the road this means that the situation is very serious. That morning was exactly like that: many men changed for camouflage and cars were moving very fast. Women and children living in the villages were evacuated. There was an announcement that women and children would be  evacuated to North Ossetia where they would wait until the situation calmed down.

5 August

Today about 300 women and children were evacuated to Vladikavkaz. The city looks empty. Theatre square crowded in usual days is empty. Only a police car with a signal indicates that the city is not completely abandoned. On every crossing one can see policemen checking  every passing car. Shops are closed or empty. Market was closed yesterday as it is situated at the outskirts of the city. I heard that Georgian troops are getting nearer to the city boundaries, and along the border there are a lot of Georgian snipers. People are irritated, there is already lack of water and food.

An hour ago I saw in the sky a signal rocket. My friends were frightened as they thought it was trench mortar shot. People are waiting for Georgian attack. There was announcement about partial mobilization. Few of my friends now did not change into uniform. There are rumours that in the villages Georgian snipers disrupt funerals by shooting and hunting people like rabbits.

7 August

At last I got to the computer. Today was a very difficult day. My friends had to come back and I decided to stay and if necessary to fight. The situation is critical. There is no one in the streets except soldiers and journalists. I can hear trench mortar fire from the direction where Georgian villages are located. I heard there is a shooting in the village Tsunar. There rumours that the war has already started. It is difficult to say what will happen by the morning. Remaining people go hiding in the cellars and do not panic.

I heard in South Ossetia there are open counterstrikes of Ossetians with Georgian troops. Yesterday I heard the announcement from South Ossetia authorities that two Georgian armoured troop carriers were put out of action.

Russian peacemakers did not confirm that but say that yesterday noticed unrecognised jets flying from south to north. As Ossetians do not have own aviation I think they were Georgian. If they were Russian, Georgia would announce that…Probably they did reconnaissance.

1-40 a.m.

One still can hear sounds of fighting. Gunfire shots at the outskirts of the city.

Trench mortar shooting from the direction of the villages. I do not think it will stop before morning. Georgians must have gone mad!!!

2-49 a.m.

Now everything calmed down. Shooting and explosions stopped. I have just talked on phone to my friend who was mobilized and is now in the village Dmenis. They still have shooting. Many houses are destroyed by Georgians. He told me that there some wounded people but he does not know their names. The city is not sleeping, military jeeps are passing by at high speed.

6-53 a.m.

Heavy trench mortar fire! Shooting did not stop all night. People say that Georgians aim at the Ossetian army headquarters. People spent night in the cellars. Was has started!!! I can hear gunfire in the city!!! Closer and closer!!! There were talks that today would be negotiations! Seems no peaceful dialogue will  happen anymore!

6-57

Mamsurov street – gunfire and machinegun fire. I can hear explosions. Very distinctive, so it must be really close. Unceremonious Georgians firing in the city!

7-00 a.m

It’s time for me to go. I can’t write anymore. Later I will tell more about what happened. My neighbour arrived from Tsunar and I want to talk to him.

10-46

Today I went to bed about 4 a.m. (there is some confusion about time as I showed Greenwich time previously as it is set in my LiveJournal. I did not take into account the time difference – Katerina). In morning my mum waked me up. I was so tired that I did not hear even the grenade explosion very close to my house. We went to the cellar because of the heavy fire and stayed there until 8 a.m. There were about eight different explosions near our house. The house which stood opposite was hit twice. One flat on the fourth floor is fully destroyed. Another flat on the first floor was in a slightly better condition – one room remained intact.

While we were in the cellar our windows and walls got scratched with shell-splinters. In the bedroom all window glass was gone. Luckily all our relatives were not home. In the neighbourhood house one old man was wounded: he happened to be between ground floor and cellar during the explosion. By 9-00 a.m I managed to get to one of the military headquarters as I wanted to volunteer to join the Ossetian military forces. At 10 a.m. shooting stopped. There were about 20 other guys with me willing to be volunteers and fight. We waited until 11-00 when soldiers came back from their positions. The commander told us that he is unable to make any decision right now as he did not sleep three nights and asked to come again by 2 p.m again.

There are rumours that Georgians are preparing to storm the Shankhai district in Tskhinvali: there was heavy fighting in this area in the morning. Volunteers from North Ossetia and other parts of the world are arriving to the city. Guys who were defending the city at night say that Georgian did not expect such a strong resistance. Ossets were shooting to the last bullet, almost everyone has run out od ammunition. My friend is still on the position at the Shankhai district, Tskhinvali outskirts,  he has been there for two days. Georgians are cruel: they fire at the houses of the civilians and civilians themselves. It is dangerous to walk on the central streets as you can be killed. One can see in binoculars that armoured weapons and equipment are being drawn to the southern border of Tskhinvali. In the city all guys are preparing to fight. There is a lack of ammunition for the guns. I could not find the gun for myself but I managed to find some ammunition.

Besides war there is a problem with water. It seems that Georgians cut the water communications and water coming into the city reservoirs is not enough for the whole city. Only one city district is provided with water and only in the mornings and in the evenings. But there are water-carriers who deliver water to the population.

From the official information: there are about 50 wounded and killed people in the last month and all of them have Russian passports (about 90% of South Ossetia population hold Russian passports)

11-08 p.m.

I have just come back from the city. I spent whole day at the military warehouses. Today I received uniform and a gun. My platoon consists of 14 people and most of them are my friends.

Today will be a difficult night: my platoon has to defend its first position. Today is the calm night – thanks to the Russian ambassador Popov (I heard he negotiated stopping the shooting for the night). But everyone is alert as nobody trusts Georgians. During today’s fight in the village Tsunar my friend lost his parents and I am sincerely upset about him. In this village Georgian burned the whole quarter! Many people are now homeless. Georgian tanks and grad rocket launches can be seen from the binoculars on the south outskirts of Tskhinvali. People   say, that Georgians decided to send to Ossetia their famous special forces. People also say that Georgians lost lots of soldiers and do not want to attack “these crazy Ossetians”. They condemn their leaders but forced to fight with us. Ossetian guys in the city are ready to fight. Everyone is tired of constant tension. People say: It is better to fight once in full and decide this problem that has been lasting for 18 years.

*Some of these incredible pictures were taken boston.com, and there are many more too.

What really was the point of this war? Despite the end to military operations just announced by Russia against Georgia, were there any winners? Has the "constant tension" been resolved which Alan refers to?

I have a hectic month ahead of me, so I shall be taking a summer break from blogging. We are spending some time in London over the next few days and have booked into a boutique hotel in Covent Garden for a few nights. I am so looking forward to the buzz of city life and a brief cultural swap from my quiet Cambridgeshire village.

I asked bloggers for recommendations about which London show teenage boys and parents would both enjoy, and Spamalot came out as our favourite choice, which I have booked tickets for. I hear it’s a gas.

I shall have a day of indulgence too at The Sanctuary Spa, including an all over detoxing mud treatment which should leave my skin glowing. I am looking forward to touring some art galleries, while James is keen to visit the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.

When we return it will be David’s 18th birthday and he has chosen to go to Ascot for the day with his family and best friends. The racing will be followed with live music by ABC, Bananarama, Belinda Carlisle, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Paul Young, Toyah and T’Pau. I know it will be a great day.  And yes, how the years have flown by. What has happened to my little baby!

We will also be holding a family party which will give me the opportunity to try out my new dream kitchen, just finished today. And the dust is still everywhere. I particularly like the white wall tiles, some of which have tiny black and grey glass mosaic squares as a centrepiece and look stunning. I have suddenly developed strong culinary urges and want to be the next Domestic Goddess.

We also have to finalise David’s university arrangements when his exam results come through in the middle of the month, as well as visit friends and family, and I have to keep on top of work commitments too.

I also want to relax!!! I hope to do some more lovely country walks, one of my greatest pleasures - and it costs nothing.

Before all that, there’s one heck of a lot of cleaning to do in my kitchen, putting back stuff in the new cupboards - and my husband will hopefully give the walls a coat of paint tonight before we leave early tomorrow morning. We are travelling by train and have already been warned about having to transfer to coaches for part of the journey, meaning it will take twice as long to reach London. Why doesn’t that surprise me?

I hope you all have a relaxing summer. And do remember to leave the laptop behind if you go away, and keep your mobiles switched off too!!

Chill!!!