The other day I met two women working in a kitchen on Oldham Street in Manchester. I was greeted by the warmth of steam coming from a huge pan of chopped up meat and vegetables and  the warmth of two women who had a genuine love for what they were doing. On the menu that day was shepherd’s pie and pasta. The women were volunteers, preparing lunch for 60 people on a budget of just £16.  The kitchen, located in an old converted warehouse, is the home of The Mustard Tree.

I also met a guy called Graham. A gentle guy with a far from gentle past. A man who had caused harm and misery as a member of a notorious family at the heart of Manchester’s gangland, had been in and out of prison, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, and battled with depression. And who, through an opportunity presented by The Mustard Tree,  has found a new passion for life through art – a passion that he now passes on to the students in his classes as he teaches them to draw, paint and sculpt.

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It’s rubbish when it rains on holiday. There are two good things, though, about the little weather blip on my holiday. One is that it is giving my balding head a break from the evil rays of the sun… and enabling it to stop looking like it is radioactive… and the second is to take a little time out and share with you one of the amazing things about this place. That thing being the street art that seems to be everywhere you turn in this fabulous country.

One of the things I love about going on holiday, is the moment when I start getting the desire to leave the beach and my trashy novels and grab my camera and just go exploring. This happened yesterday. The weather had become noticeably cooler… no longer were we in the energy-sapping heat of the low 90s… so I took the chance to go walk the streets of central Rio.

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Before we go any further… no… the 14 times World Darts Champion is not moonlighting as a Commercials Director… the Phil Taylor we’re talking about is far taller, skinnier and has considerably less hair! Phil recently finished filming a new advert for us for Cottages4you… an ad that everyone here at Red C is incredibly proud of and was brought to life by both Phil and Sharon Gunnel, the Producer at Velvet.

Our first introduction to Phil was through his reel which immediately grabbed us for his clever subtle use of humour and ability to capture some lovely moments on films as well as getting some memorable performances from his actors. On meeting him I was instantly sold by his passion for both our concept and his desire to stay true to my original idea and deliver an advert that had high production values and quite simply and beautifully converted a singular message in a memorable way.

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Holiday Cottages Group (HCG), the UK’s number one holiday cottage rental agency with more than 10,000 properties in the UK, is launching its first TV campaign in three years. The advert will premiere on Boxing Day and run throughout quarter one.

Holiday Cottages Group has reported sales of domestic holidays are up by 12 percent on 2008 and following this success it is looking to strengthen its position further in 2010.

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In no way strange.

Studio music policy. Now there’s a touchy subject. When Julian, our Creative Director, isn’t insisting on a start-to-finish playback of the Grease soundtrack, there’s Studio Manager Dawn requesting Energy 98’s hands-in-the-air euro-trance cheesefest. It’s enough to drive you insane. Or in my case, put some headphones on.

I like listening to music when I write, but it has to be the right kind. When you write, you should be listening to the words in your head as they hit the page. So any particularly vocal tunes are distracting. That means hip-hop’s a no-no, Olivia Newton-John is out and Energy 98 should be locked in a soundproofed room…full of vipers.

Matthew Herbert on the other hand is just right – light and sinuous, deep house grooves with hushed rhythms and jazzy melodies. He’s pretty cool, I’d recommend him.

He’s an interesting guy too…

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Red C have been giving their time generously to help Bupa staff members celebrate Bupa’s 60th anniversary as well as help raise funds for cancer charities.

The Bupa celebrity cook book “Around the World in Sixty Dishes” includes recipes donated by world famous chefs including Delia Smith, Gordon Ramsay and Brian Turner as well as recipes from staff members around the globe. Read more…

Red C’s Creative Director, Julian Gratton, has added yet another award to his list of accolades. He has been announced as a winner in the prestigious ‘Creatives Behind the Lens’ competition.

Julian’s picture, taken in New York in January 2007, shows an image of Peter Sellers from ‘Dr Strangelove’ that had been pasted on to a window; the window had then been broken to create the striking image you see to the left.

‘Creatives Behind the Lens’ is a Creative Review and Corbis project inviting non-professional photographers to submit unpublished photographic work and receive recognition from a jury of industry experts.

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