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Liverpool Carols
by Candlelight concert raises Ł12,000 for NSPCC
THE NSPCC's Carols by Candlelight concert in
Liverpool has raised over Ł12,000 for the NSPCC's ChildLine Schools
Service. The concert, which took place at Liverpool Anglican
Cathedral, saw performances from local children and young people
including Resonate Singers, Wirral Schools Concert Band and the
Liverpool Signing Choir, who also performed at the London 2012
Olympics. Over 800 people attended the evening on Tuesday, 16
December 2014 to hear Christmas carols in the stunning candlelit
setting of the Cathedral. NSPCC community fundraising manager, Helen
Gazzola, said:- "We'd like to say a big thank you to the
evening's sponsors Home Bargains who have kindly sponsored the event
for the eighth year in a row and to everyone who attended the
concert and got into the Christmas spirit. It was great to hear a
mixture of traditional music and carol singing and to see everyone
joining in and feeling festive. The Liverpool Carols by Candlelight
concert is in its ninth year and the money raised will help support
the NSPCC's ground-breaking ChildLine Schools Service locally. This
service uses trained volunteers to deliver age appropriate workshops
and assemblies to 9 to 11 year olds in order to educate them about
abuse, how to protect themselves, and where to get help if they need
it." NSPCC research shows that, on average, 2 children in
every primary school classroom have suffered abuse or neglect.
However, whether it's through fear or lack of information, children
are not seeking help or telling anyone what's happening until they
are much older. Helen Gazzola continued:- "With the support of
local people we can visit every primary school in Merseyside and
give children the confidence to talk about abuse and to seek help if
they ever need it. There are lots of other ways people can support
us over the Christmas period and into the New Year with family,
friends or colleagues. We'd love anyone who's interested to get in
touch." For more information about other local
forthcoming events or if you would like to support the NSPCC locally
please contact:- 0844 892 0253 or visit:-
NSPCC.org.uk.
What a surprise...! European Court Of
Justice rules are again contradicting UK's laws!
LEGAL experts say the new ruling may impact a
much wider set of technologies in the emerging Internet of Things (IoT),
not only affecting video images. A case set against Mr František
Ryneš, a Czech citizen, at the in Czech Republic, might just affect
our way of life in the UK, as well as the rest of Europe! Now The
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO),
in the United Kingdom, has said that:- "We are just
considering the ruling and what implications might have."
The problems came after František
Ryneš used a personal CCTV camera, that had been installed in his
home to catch images of assailants who had been attacking his family
and property and had been used in court. The filming lead to 2
people being convicted, but 1 of them challenged the courts ruling,
asking if Ryneš recording and holding the images was legal. As a
result it was asked at The Czech office for the protection of
personal data, if Mr Ryneš infringed data protection rules, to
expose the perpetrators of a crime, and Mr Ryneš was then issued a
fine.
So how does this affect us in the
UK? Well it is all thanks to:- "Directive
95/46/EC" of the
European Parliament and of The Council, passed on 24 October 1995.
Broadly speaking, these rules prohibit capture of personal data
without an individual's consent, like an image capture, which could
be used to identify a person without their consent. The strict
guidelines about how such data can be stored and moved around have
been updated many times both in the UK and across Europe. So this
badly thought out ruling has potentially far reaching implications
for people who use devices at home to capture public activity, may
it be by film or stills... No matter how taken, say via a mobile
phone or via a drone. In the case it was said that the camera
had been pointed at the street, so it had not only captured the
attackers, but also passers-by who were innocent. The footage might
have helped convict the attackers, but the first judge also ruled
that as the images of passers violated strict data privacy laws
within the little known "Directive 95/46/EC", as the
information was stored on a hard drive. So they ruled that it
potentially affected the individual's rights around their own
personal data in Europe. Mr Ryneš appealed against the ruling and
the case was sent to the Supreme Administrative Court in the Czech
Republic. They then referred the case to the ECJ, asking whether
European data protection directive rules on the processing of
personal data applied as the device was that was used was used for
domestic purposes. After hearing all sides, the court decided Ryneš
was not liable for a fine, because he his actions had to help
prosecute a criminal, but then came the sting! The judges said:-
"The operation of a camera system, as a result of which a video
recording of people is stored on a continuous recording device such
as a hard disk drive, installed by an individual on his family home
for the purposes of protecting the property, health and life of the
homeowners, but which also monitors a public space, does not amount
to the processing of data in the course of a purely personal or
household activity, for the purposes of that provision."
That long winded response has major implication, looking at the way
private home are monitoring cameras regarding filming public spaces.
The ill thought out judgement might not just affect way we film at
home, but also at all public events..! It could result in the
installation of many new CCTV signs amongst others things, in order
to comply.
In the UK filming in Public is
legal, but thanks again to The Court of Justice for the European
Union (CJEU) who have sent down a new ruling, could now cause huge
legal problems very soon. For the public it is bad news, but
for the media and arts businesses it might be the opposite, as this
will have a massive impact on Citizen Journalism throughout Europe,
if it enforced!
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Gig Review:-
'Peter Gabriel at Liverpool Arena!'
ON 7 December 2014, those
attending the almost fully packed Liverpool Arena had a chance to
spend more than 2 hours in a company of the former 'Genesis'
front man,
Peter
Gabriel who returned to
Liverpool with his extraordinary:- 'Back To
Front' concert and
created an unforgettable feast for thousands of eyes, ears and
hearts.
The evening was opened up by 2 young and talented Swedish
musicians:-
Linnea
Olsson and
Jennie
Abrahamson, who performed 4
songs of their own composition and immediately captured the hearts
of the audience. After such a triumphant warm up, on stage appeared
the hero of the occasion; astonishing and legendary,
Peter
Gabriel. With a greeting:-
"That's me!" he sat at the piano and performed his first
song called:- "What Lies Ahead". Splitting the show
into 3 sections, Gabriel began the first part with the acoustic set,
which included some favourites as:- "Come Talk to Me",
"Shock the Monkey", "Family Snapshot" and
"Digging in the Dirt". However, the absolute highlight
was the breathtaking:- "Solsbury Hill", which got
everyone out of their seats. Although the selection and delivery of
songs was very successful and the visual effects were simply
amazing, I could not fully enjoy the show. The reason behind that
was the absolutely disrespectful behaviour of my neighbours who were
sitting in front of me. Coming to the show totally drunk, middle
aged folks were shouting, singing and spilling the beer on the poor
people sitting around them. All that continued over the whole first
set of the show, until the security made them leave the arena.
Unfortunately, my neighbours were not the only drunk people present
at the show; I guess that almost half the crowd were not sober. I
found it very annoying that during the show people were constantly
walking around to get another glass of beer or some snacks. There
was a feeling like no one is feeding these people at home and the
concert of Peter Gabriel is the only place where they can put
something in their mouths.
The 2nd part of the show was electronic and was based on Gabriel's
biggest and most commercially successful album; 1986's "So",
in its entirety. This part for sure will remain in my memory for a
long time, mainly, due to its spectacular light show, which was
simply amazing. Opening with a song:- "Red Rain", the
arena shone in red light and a crowd of technicians, wearing fencing
masks, came on stage to operate powerful spotlights with cameras on
huge legs. All that reminded me some episodes from Transformers
movie. Giant video screens, located on the stage, flickered in black
and white, and from time to time displayed close ups of the band.
The concert was being filmed for DVD release, and unfortunately that
also has spoiled my impression from the show. At times, Gabriel was
interacting with cameras more than with the crowd and it often made
me feel as if we were just invited to observe the filming process
and sponsor a DVD film rather than attending a live concert.
Nevertheless, the performance did not lose any quality because of
that.
Later on followed legendary:- "Sledgehammer",
"Big Time" and "In Your Eyes". It was clear
that Gabriel played crowd loved music, and the audience immediately
reacted to it, praising the artist with standing ovations. Sometimes
when I looked at a standing massive crowd of Gabriel's dedicated
fans, who were singing and raising their hands all as one at the
same time, unconsciously, I remembered about Hitler. This was very
powerful and, at the same time, a scary scene and I was happy that
Gabriel managed to dilute fast and loud songs with the ones that are
calm and gentle. "Don't Give Up" was one of these
songs. This emotional song was performed by Gabriel in a duet with
an outstanding Jennie Abrahamson, who showed all the beauty of her
pure sugar sweet voice. Another song that was welcomed by warm
ovations was "Mercy Street", which Gabriel sang whilst
lying on his back in the centre of the stage.
The final part of the show included the song:- "The Tower That
Ate People" that was supplemented with a very spectacular
visual effect that reminded a huge UFO lamp slowly going down to
take Gabriel on board. This was very impressive! The night was
closed with the famous:- "Biko" which ended up with
almost everyone in the arena punching their right fists in the air.
What a night! This was a truly awesome performance by a great
artist. Even 30 years on, Gabriel is still rocking the audience!
Mobile coverage
deal is just not good enough, says CLA
PROPOSALS to deliver mobile phone coverage to
90% of the country by 2017 do not go far enough according to the CLA
in the North. The organisation, which represents thousands of
landowners, farmers and rural businesses in the area, says the new
commitment agreed by the four major mobile phone providers with
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid will still leave swathes of the
North's countryside without mobile phone connection. CLA North
Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn said:- "This announcement
contains big numbers and strong words but in reality it perpetuates
the status quo and will leave thousands of homes and businesses with
the prospect of poor or no mobile phone coverage for years to come.
It is deeply disappointing that the Government has not pushed the
providers to come up with more radical solutions. We are keen to
know whether this agreement ends the prospect of a national roaming
network that we know is hated by the mobile phone providers, but in
our view has the potential to provide choice and access in rural
communities." Miss Fairburn said the CLA would continue to
campaign for affordable universal mobile coverage across rural
communities. "We will continue to fight for a mobile phone
network that provides accessible and affordable mobile coverage
across the whole of the UK." she added. Details of the new
deal are available to view online
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