End of the Pier International Film Festival

Let's Rebrand Britain is all about exploring kids talents. So The End of the Pier International Film Festival is a perfect example of the kind of competition event we are looking for. The festival, now in it’s 7th year, takes place at The Ritz Cinema, Worthing. The festival is an open competition, aimed at new young independent and low budget film makers from around the world. Film makers as young as 5 years old are invited to submit entries – don't be shy – you could be an Oscar winner one day!

So come on – if you know of any budding film makers, or you are indeed one yourself – now is the time to be bold, be proud and submit your entry. Visit the End of the Pier International Film Festival website for further information now!

The Festival takes place 23rd April to 1st May 2010. This time around, there will be over 40 awards, including:

• 5-11 age group
• 11-15 age group
• 15-19 age group
• The End Of The Pier Best Short Script Award
• The Miracle Screenings Award for Best European Feature Film

Last year's winner, Vicki Psarias, who happens to be a Cypriot, won Best Director and Best Short Film last year. Now she has been nominated for Woman of Year Award. Vicki’s film was a short drama about Cypriots and you can read more about Vicki at: http://www.myspace.com/brokenthefilm.

We would love to hear about happy stories from parents of kids of have followed their dreams and explored their talents. Remember, Let's Rebrand Britain is all about happy stories!

Making Great Britain Green Britain

Hey look! The boss has gone greentastic! She’s only recycling her old recycle bins from Worthing Borough Council as plant tubs. What fantastic planters these tubs make! Vicky has planted sugar snap peas, and potatoes and they are almost bursting out the planters waiting to be eaten! Can you get more eco than that?

Along with recyling all her empty wine bottles (and there is a lot of them) we are well on the way to be carbon neutral, along with celebrities like Matt Bellamy, frontman of rock band Muse.

We’ve found these cool websites if you are interesting in following in our footsteps!

• www.Carbonoffset.com
• www.globalcool.org
• funkyeco.sourcingeco.com/

If you fancy saving money on your print bills, plus help save the planet at the same time, why not call The Brand Surgery, who designed this website. The Brand Surgery have lots of green e-marketing solutions such as blogging and e-shot, e-zine, and e-newsletter design, and of course, brilliant website design and development. Call Vicky on 01903 824229 for a confidential, no obligation chat.

Worthing's Got Talent! Davide Arbisi

We are helping to launch this former Worthing High School student and general all-round talent into the Heineken FIB Festival in Spain this Summer. A lot more voting between now and the 12th is required. Click here to vote!

On Monday 1st June, Davide Arbisi found out that he had secured enough votes in the SupaJam contest to secure a place in the Top 20 nationally and to go on to the next stage. The next step in the public voting happens between 1 - 12th June. So you need to hurry! At the end of this period two bands will be selected by public vote and three by SupaJam to play at the London final on June 23rd at the Pigalle Club.

If people haven't already registered on Supajam.com to cast their vote they can do so now.

So, please, this is the last stage at which we need your votes! Please go to:
http://www.supajam.com/story/title/souled-out-1

If you get a moment, please go and vote - if you haven't already registered go to www.supajam.com and register then click on the Top 40 Artists box/link and go and vote - we have until the 12th!


After logging in, cast a five star vote and leave a comment as before! Not much time left but Davide will really benefit from your vote.

Davide was told that his fans provided superb support at the first stage and Davide needs everyone who voted last time to do it again. Not only is Davide in with a chance of reaching the live final at the legendary Pigalle Club in London on June 23rd but could go on to win a trip to Benicassim, Spain where he will play alongside Kings Of Leon, Oasis, The Killers, Lilly Allen, Franz Ferdinand, Paul Weller and many more in front of thousands at the FIB festival between July 16 - 19th this year. Additionally, his track ‘Souled Out’ will be available globally on iTunes and digital download stores worldwide.

Host of the competition, SupaJam has partnered with Apple to promote the top 40 finalists on the Apple QuickTime player which is viewed several million times a week internationally. Apple has also agreed to fast track the top 40 finalists on to iTunes stores around the world.

Many, many thanks

Roy

Happy British Kids!

We may have been slack with our blogging, but we've been keeping up with the British research!

Having just watched "Make My Kids Happy" we were happily reassured to see how happy kids are without their gadgets! Why do British children have such low self esteem? In a unique social and scientifically-tested experiment, the Tonight show stripped a group of typical teens from Baines School, Lancashire. These teens had to sacrifice their make-up, their laptops, mobile phones, Ipods, computer games and latest fashions to see if breaking the attachments to modern musthaves would make them happier. It did! If you missed the ITV Tonight show, you can watch it again by clicking here. Let's Rebrand Britain wants to encourage kids just like the one's one this experiment to lead a new fashion and make volunteering cool!

During their gadgetless month, The Baines School kids helped raise nearly £500 for Blackpool Bears (and really enjoyed their task). Blackpool Bears promotes sports activities for people with physical and learning disabilities. It is open to all ages and abilities, and provides qualified coaching/supervision in team games, sporting and active play, cycling etc. Sessions are divided by age/ability which allows the more active/physically able to do football and other ball games and the younger/less active to do games like boccia/cycling/active play or even table top games. Suitable and trained members may also access the fitness suite (subject to availability). Members can attend as they feel able. There is no need to pre-book and each 3 hour session is £2 for disabled residents.

We were really impressed with Danielle Lloyd who bared all (removed her make-up) in front of a class of kids from Baines School for this TV show, PLUS Danielle proudly admitted to her magazine shots being photoshopped.

We want to invite the headteacher of Baines School, Mr R J M McCowan, to be the flagship school to assist Let's Rebrand Britain in similar nationwide projects.

Last, but by no means least ... Let's not forget the Classical Brit Awards 2009. If you missed it ...

1. 

   Composer Of The Year

   Howard Goodhall

2. 

   Male Artist of the Year

   Gustavo Dudamel

3. 

   Critics Award

   Sir Charles Mackerras

4. 

   Young British Performer/Group

   Alina Ibragimova

5. 

   Female Artist Of The Year

   Alison Balsom

6. 

   Soundtrack Of The Year

   Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight

7. 

   NS&I Album Of The Year

   Spirit of the Glen – Journey - The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

8. 

   Lifetime Achievement Award

   José Carreras

Well, we are now off to watch Britain's Got Talent and Eurovision, (Go Jade!)

Diversity - Transformers - Britains Got Talent - Streetdance UK 2008

Did you see last night's Britain's Got Talent. Wow! It seems that Susan Boyle may have some tough competition with the Diversity dance group, and Hollie Steele! At Let's Rebrand Britain, we believe that everyone has a hidden talent. Unfortunately to date, many British schools don't seem to want to encourage kids to explore their dreams and their talents. Instead, they are told to, 'stop daydreaming', and to follow the school curriculum instead.

We happened to work with Horsham Montessori a few years ago. The Montessori way of teaching encourages kids to explore. If a child is concentrating when solving a puzzle or drawing, Montessori teachers will allow the child carry on discovering and learning it's own way and in it's own time (uninterrupted). Perhaps if Montessori was introduced to all children, we would see more talent like Susan Boyle or Diversity.

We applaud ITV for screening Britains Got Talent! We also want to work with organisations who encourage kids to follow their dreams, and explore their talents.

My granmother was mugged and badly beaten ten years ago in Croydon by a group of kids who were simply 'bored'. These kids got off with a caution and have probably committed the same kind of crimes since. If these kids had been encouraged to follow their dreams, and explore their talents from a kindergarden age, they may have instead been performing on Britain's Got Talent, and they may even be performing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Show.

If we all work together, we could make anti-social behaviour and street crime a thing of the past, or at least drastically reduce it. We have approached several celebrities who so far don't want to be involved with Let's Rebrand Britain unless they are paid a fee.

If anybody wants to encourage kids to appreciate the quality of life and explore their talents (celebrity or non-celebrity) happens to read this blog, and would like to help us on our mission to give kids a hope, and make Britain, Great Britain again. Please contact us on our contact form. We need your support.

Are you English or British?

Did you see The One Show last night? To celebrate St. George's Day, The One Show was joined by Ricky Tomlinson from The Royle Family. Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley wanted to know why why the British prefer to call themselves English, rather than British, so Arthur Smith, comedian and narrator of Life of Grime, went out to investigate.

So why do the Irish celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and the Scots celebrate Burns Night, but us English not celebrate St. George's Day? Is it because we are ashamed of being English or British? Professor Jon Tonge, University of Liverpool thinks its because we can't distinguish between English and British as England represents about 80% of Great Britain. So what is Englishness? And what is Britishness? What does being British mean to you?

Tell us what you think. We want to hear from you!

Britain's Got Talent

We've got two words to say to you: Susan Boyle. Wow! This is a definitely case of 'Don't judge a book by its cover'! Susan's performance of Elaine Page's 'I dreamed a dream', shocked Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden were so shocked, as was the audience. If you didn't catch the programme, you can see it on YouTube if you click here.

Good ol' ITV for bringing us Susan Boyle in Britain's Got Talent. You can see the Britain's Got Talent website if you click here.

So, if you've got some talent, or a great positive achievement, yet you never made it through the Britain's Got Talent auditions, then we want to hear from you. We promote your YouTube movies on this website – because we need more people like you!

Contact us by clicking here. We would love to hear from you.

Congratulations Worthing Herald

We discovered this happy feel-good story, which was printed by The Worthing Herald via Twitter. Let's hope that this is a first positive step towards the media printing good news stories, and that The Worthing Herald becomes a trend-setter! The next positive step is that this story would make the front page!

Back to the story ... Katie Norton, a 15-year-old from Worthing, West Sussex, has been named the St John Ambulance Sussex cadet of the year. Katie had to do a presentation, pitch for a TV soap featuring issues concerning young people and also had to have a uniform inspection and give an interview. Being cadet of the year also means that Katie becomes an ambassador for St John. We reckon that she would also be a strong contender for Dragons' Den !

In the future, she hopes her training will help her in her bid to become a doctor. Katies said: "I think having a first aid qualification is important for anyone. It's very useful and I hope it will help me in my career. "I would encourage young people to sign up as you can meet people of your own age and make friends."

Click here to read this fantastic story in full!

Katie's story proves that not all 15-year olds are trouble! We would like people like Katie to join us in our challenge. If you are interested in joining Let's Rebrand Britain, email us at info@rebrandbritain.co.uk

Thank You Britain

We've approached Richard and Judy to see if they would be interesting in backing us in our campaign: Let's Rebrand Britain. We watched them interview Stephen Fry (whom we have also approached). It is quite clear that Stephen (like us) believes that Britain, is no longer Great Britain in terms of innovation and a whole list of other things. We have been following Stephen on twitter for the past few weeks, and feel sure that he would make a massive difference to this campaign.

Did you see Piers Morgan interview Richard Madeley? So what did you think? Do you think that Richard and Judy would be good to represent Let's Rebrand Britain? We have also asked Stephen Fry and ... the Little Britain team! Keep watching.

If you think we have missed an obvious choice of a good ambassador for Let's Rebrand Britain, please tell us! vicky@rebrandbritain.co.uk

A Happy Story! Credit crunch miracle is born …

If the media refuse to print a happy story, then we will have to tell you the story of one of our clients ...

We are proud to announce the birth of the Air Comfort Centre. We love a happy story to come out of the doom and gloom; so a happy story is what we’ve created.

Mike Higginson, director of Air Comfort Centre, was made redundant after 20 years dedicated service to A.N.Other humidifier business in the area. What makes this story so special is that Mike didn’t sit and grumble, or feel sorry for himself. Instead, he put the plans in place to set up his own business, and what better industry to set up in … One that Mike knows very well - the AIR industry. His next brilliant move was to take a trip to our surgery, full of brand doctors and nurses. And alas! A star was born …

Now our brief was … “We want you to make air conditioning cute!”. Plus Mike does have a obsession with polar bears (don’t ask), so the two went hand-in-hand. We added some orange, to give an all-round warmer, cuter feeling . Mike had the great idea of affiliating with Polar Bears International, and the World Wildlife Fund.

The Air Comfort Centre specialises in:

• Air conditioners
• Air purifiers
• Ceiling fans
• Dehumidifiers
• Evaporation coolers
• Fans
• Fan heaters
• Panel heaters
• Patio heaters
• Storage heaters
• Workshop heaters
• Humidifiers
• Insect killers
• Ozone generators
• Spares: vacuum cleaners, water filters, weather stations, and even illuminated garden knomes!

The Brand Surgery designed the logo, the corporate identity templates, the stationery, signage and web banner. Unfortunately, Mike was already tied into an Indian web company before we could get in. Tsssk. We have heard that the money you save in hiring these companies, does end up in timely frustration with language barriers - even if you do have an English middle-man. So our advice is think carefully before you invest in long-term ’solutions’ with language barriers.

If you have been made redundant, then don’t despair. Most millionaires come out of recessions! Think about setting up a business, and then take a trip to our surgery, where our brand doctors and nurses will ensure your business remains in a healthy state. Call Vicky on 01903 824229 for a friendly no-obligation chat! Or contact us on our CONTACT US (top left-hand grey tab).

Positive British News

It's a tough ol' job trying to find 'good' or 'positive' British news. Have you ever tried typing this into Google? All I could find was news of the G20 which is not particularly ground breaking.

We (at Let's Rebrand Britain) challenge the media to print at least one happy feel-good story on the front page every day. Even better than that - print ONLY good news and funny stories on the cover, so readers have to turn the page to read the bad news. Good news can consist of sport, but only positive stories please (not who has sold who for £x million). We want to see a mixture of positive, feel-good stories about kids, businesses, sport, life would be top. Just do it! You will still sell papers - if you are worried, you could always print "SEE BAD NEWS INSIDE"! It would be interesting to study to see who turns the page immediately. We also challenge the BBC and ITV to start and end the news with positive, feel-good stories. Sandwich the scary stuff in the middle.

We would welcome your feedback on the following: Would you rather read: 'Jigsaw body man was knifed in back' on front front page, or 'My Olympic Dream' - a 'feel good' story of how an overweight young boy gave up his Xbox to start Ice Dance training for the 2014 Olympics?

It may take some getting used to, but everyone loves a 'feel-good' positive story with a happy ending. We predict that if a news-stand was packed with 'positive' headline news - people would be smiling in the street - instead of looking miserable!

So who is the bravest? Who would dare to try this out? Go on ...

Email us - we would love to hear your views on this.

GOOD BRITISH NEWS: Jack's Olympic Dream

Meet Jack Ford from West Sussex. Jack's dream is to go to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi when he is 17 and represent Great Britain in Ice Skating.

Let's Rebrand Britain met Jack's mum, Judith, who works (like a trooper) in our local convenience store. Judith happened to mention that she gets up at 4.30am every morning. Naturally, my inquisitive mind started wondering, when I was enlightened with some fantastic news!! Judith rises this early to take her son, Jack, for his ice lessons (at Guildford) to help him achieve his dream of winning the Olympics. This is just the kind of news we want to publicise. This is my favourite quote of the day – by Judith: "All in all I am proud of my son he has come a long way from an overweight Xbox punching child to a mature young man who knows what he wants and has changed his life to get it." We want to see more quotes like this! Anyway, back to Jack ...

Jack says: "I love skating so much, it is my life. With a bit of help and a lot of hard work. I might be able to make it. Competition is fierce in this cut-throat sport. But I am willing to give it my best shot. I began skating just over a year ago. A friend of my grandmas gave my sisters the Disney Ice Princess on DVD. Good film but I wasn't that taken with it. They drove dad mad until he booked some lessons for them at The Streatham rink which dad had skated at when he was a boy. Not wanting to be left out I went with them. I loved it. It was so much fun. At the end of the six weeks we all passed our assesment. the girls went on to grade 2 and I was promoted to grade three. Six weeks later I was in grade 5, then came grade 6, then 8, 9 and 10". Jack then graduated into the Dance Class led by Diane Towler Green, "I loved the sensation and the way it made me feel. I passed Bronze, Silver and Gold in Diane's class in 12 weeks. Diane had told dad that she thought I was a very talented skater with natural ability. Ever since then Ice Dance has been my discipline of choice and it is in that discipline that I hope to make it all the way into the British squad and beyond to The Olympics. HELP ME TO ACHIEVE MY DREAM."

So if you are business and think you could help Jack achieve his Olympic Dream, then click here to see how you could help. And if Robin Cousins or Torvill and Dean happen to stumble across this, then take a peak at Jack strutting his funky stuff!

Little Britain

Hello again! In our search to find a corporate partner or celebrity to help us with Let's Rebrand Britain, we have been digging around deep! We have also been checking out Little Britain USA! Hilarious. Matt Lucas and David Walliams are genius. Vicky Pollard is my favourite – the common teenage delinquent, the sort you can see hanging around any number of off licences in Britain, trying to persuade people going inside to buy them 10 fags and a bottle of White Lightening. Let's Rebrand Britain wants to ensure that we only see these characters on TV and not for real. That is why we want Matt Lucas and David Walliams to help us. Can anyone help us contact their agent?

Straight off the HBO website:

Whether nicking stuff from the supermarket or swapping her baby for a Westlife CD, Vicky reacts to any accusation with indignant outrage, while filling you in on 'this fing wot you know nuffin about'.

VIDEO: Watch Vicky in trouble at school »

VIDEO: Matt and David on where Vicky came from »

LISTEN: Radio - Vicky and her doctor »

PICTURES: Get Vicky wallpaper »

What is your favourite Little Britain character? Contact us now!

Britishness

During the research of Let's Rebrand Britain, I have discovered many references to Britishness, especially during my Googling. Today I listened to Radio 4's programme called Britishness. Click here to listen to the show.

It was interesting to hear the view of the general public on Britishness. We have launched our own online survey, and we can't wait to see the results. During the Radio 4 show, Matthew d'Ancona explored the meaning of 'Britishness'.

Words used to describe Britain:

Stiff upper lip;
Pub;
Mortgage;
Fish & Chips;
Roast Beef on Sunday;
Shopping;
Eccentric;
Standards;
Monarchy;
Harrods.

The programme explored the British National Identity. Many people who were interviewed, considered themselves English, Scottish, Irish or Welsh. But not British.

Michael Gove MP contributed to the show, and commented that he thinks the subject of Britishness is just a political stunt to persuade people voting for Gordon Brown.

May we reassure you that Let's Rebrand Britain is for people passionate about places and people – not politics! Vicky, the founder of Let's Rebrand Britain, is in it because she is passionate about Britain, and wants to feel like a proud Brit, instead of feeling ashamed.

Please take part in our online survey at www.letsrebrandbritain.com.