The Oxjam Ball

We decided to kick this years Oxjam off in style here at Oxfam house in Oxford…literally.

We had a weeks worth of activities including a guitar hero competition in the Atrium of the building, where us office bods got the chance to strap on an “axe” and rock out to our favourite soft rock anthems. £1 a play.

We also had a lunchtime talk were we explained all the going ons, and the ins and outs of Oxjam this year. Plus, we took a stock of the finest evening wear kindly donated from the local Oxfam shops to sell in the Atrium in preperation for the Oxjam ball at Friday lunchtime!

I actually managed to buy myself a rather fetching grey pinstripe suit for £20, which is quite surprising considering I can’t find clothes to fit me in topshop.

People also got a chance to buy a raffle ticket to win a bottle of bubbly at the end of the week.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2943459383/” title=”Oxjam Ball 08 (3) by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/2943459383_7175a6aab0_b.jpg” width=”1024″ height=”683″ alt=”Oxjam Ball 08 (3)” /></a>

Then on Friday we were very lucky to have the fabulous Pavlova Wind Quintet (http://www.pavlovaquintet.co.uk/) come and perform in Oxfam’s reception – greeting employees as they entered the building. What a great start to the day, and to show people that Oxjam’s not all about indie music!

Then at lunchtime Oxfam’s own ceiledh (I’m never quite sure how to spell that) band performed a selection of all your highland favourites while Oxfam employees and volunteers took a well earned break from their work and flung themselves around the conference rooms.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2943457875/” title=”Oxjam Ball 08 (22) by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2943457875_7611769dd9_b.jpg” width=”1024″ height=”683″ alt=”Oxjam Ball 08 (22)” /></a>

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2943458187/” title=”Oxjam Ball 08 (20) by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3168/2943458187_c1be0646a9_b.jpg” width=”1024″ height=”683″ alt=”Oxjam Ball 08 (20)” /></a>

All in all we managed to raise £140, and spread a lot of awareness of Oxjam.

And, it didn’t stop there. The Oxjam after party continued in the Marsh Harrier (local pub) where they were invaded by 50 evening wear attired Oxfam employees and volunteers…which I don’t have any pictures of fortunately.

Oxjam Regional Managers training weekend (part deux)

So, we finally got to meet the rest of our beautiful and exotic Oxjam Regional Managers. We were joined in the exclusive YHA in London by people from as far afield as and the Isle of Wight!

Most people arrived on the Friday night for a few quiet ones in the hostel bar and the pub around the corner. The team bonding was a bit too succesful and for a handful (who shall remain nameless) the “few” turned into double figures before closing time. The more sensible among us got an early night, only to be awakened by the fire alarm at 2am…I wonder who that was..hmm??

We picked up with a nice early breakfast (8.45 on the dot) to begin training at 9.30. Much the same as the last session we covered Oxfam, Oxjam, and then were really lucky to be joined by Mary Saunders (an Oxfam shop manager) who had been on an exposure tour to Bangladesh, and had some pretty inspiring pictures and stories to tell us about.

Oh, I didn’t mention that our projector broke first thing and Benny (the man legend!) got his daily excerise by running around to local currys superstores looking for replacement bulbs, but to no avail.

We then had a quick workshop about how you generate and maintain a good team environment, with some really useful outputs. We identified that keeping your team meetings regular and creating a good social environment are some of the most important things keeping your team together/

Claire then led an interactive session on how to recruit event organisers. The groups came away with a solid, practical plan on how to recruit Oxjam music event organisers in their areas.

One of the great things about these sessions is just the great diversity of people who come to them, which such a huge spectrum of experiences and skills. It was great to see people thinking about the same problems in completely different ways, and one of our challenges is going to be making sure that all this learning and experienced is shared within the volunteer network.

We finished a little late at about 6pm for a quick departure to brick lane to go get a curry innit.

I can’t speak for everyone else but mine was amazing – Brick lane is so cheap and cheerful, you can a feast for a tiny Oxfam price (we negotiated a discount too of course!)

Off to the ten bells for a couple of drinks and then the brave went onto Cargo, and the tired and small of pocket change (led by me of course) went for a couple more drinks before trying to flag a taxi down for 45 mins ( I can’t do London). If anyone else cares to tell us more about what happened at Cargo then please do divulge…I heard that it was good : )

On Sunday there were a few hangovers, but nothing serious to get in the way of 2 HOURS OF TEAM ROLEPLAY yeah! In this we were planning how the Regional managers are going to work with their teams to put on launch events in their teams. We covered planning, budgeting and roles and responsibilities. And that was pretty much it before we dished out the Oxjam goodies and took this beautiful team photo. Ahhh memories.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2867575829/” title=”the team! by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3218/2867575829_39dfc27bc9_b.jpg” width=”1024″ height=”768″ alt=”the team!” /></a>

Oxjam Regional Managers training in Manchester

Ahh…happy beginnings to the Oxjam project this year. We finally met the first of our super duper uber Oxjam Regional Managers last weekend. We invited them to Manchester for a two day training session at the YHA.

They all managed to suprise us with:

1) Their amazing enthusiasm and excitement for Oxjam

2) Their great ideas and the level of skills and experience within the group

3) Their dance moves….like duracell bunnies they just kept on going! Definately the best bunch  of dancers we’ve had involved in Oxjam to date!

Everyone arrived on Friday betweeen 4 and 8pm. We then went of to eat at tepenyaki – a Japanese restraunt where our food was cooked up and flambe’d on our table! We learnt during dinner that David was actually a Kung fu master (as pictured below)

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2781009608/” title=”Davey San! by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2781009608_a77a933465_b.jpg” width=”683″ height=”1024″ alt=”Davey San!” /></a>

The team were craving some real ale (I love this group!), so we went to a pub for a few quiet ones.

Saturday – To kick the day off we had an Oxjam pub quiz to share some basic facts about what Oxfam does. After that Benny (oxjam project manager) talked to us about the history of Oxjam and the plans for this year.

We were really lucky to have Chris (a campaigner from the Manchester office) come in and talk to us about his experience with Oxfam in Yemen – where gender inequality is a massive issue that Oxfam is combatting.

After that Claire from our team ran a workshop on how to recruit Oxjam volunteers.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2781010368/” title=”group brainstorming by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/2781010368_c531163e13_b.jpg” width=”1024″ height=”683″ alt=”group brainstorming” /></a>

In the evening we went to an amazing Indian restaraunt, followed by a couple of bars and then clubbing. (Someone please upload some of the photos from this!)

Most of us got to bed at a reasonable hour (no names named ; ) and then got up for an early start on Sunday. We covered how to plan a launch event and then had some time for Q and A and reflection on what we’d learnt over the weekend.

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27485296@N08/2780153349/” title=”talking by m_ed_ic, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2780153349_66761cfeee_b.jpg” width=”1024″ height=”683″ alt=”talking” /></a>

We left at 1.30 with a tear in our eyes as we waved goodbye to our lovely Oxjammers.It’s certainly been worth all the hard work recruiting them and we can’t wait to see them again

Get cape, wear cape, dry

GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. DRY

It’s festival season people! And we all know what that means…it’s going to rain.

Oxjam favourites Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly will be appearing at a number of festivals this summer including…

Glastonbury (Pyramid Stage – Friday)
Reading and Leeds
T in the Park
Truck
Wireless
Electric Picnic
Bestival
Pukklepop
So if you’re heading to any of the above then why not head to the official webstore and pick up your one-size-fits-all, multi-festival Get Cape waterproof mac!

All proceeds from the selling of the mac will go to Oxfam for the Burma cyclone appeal.

 
CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOURS TODAY!: http://getcapewearcapefly.trinitystreetdirect.com/store/page4.asp?suptype=&t=1&sub_type=2&prod_id=80&col=30

Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly Burma Fundraiser gig

 

06/05/2008

 

I signed myself up to go down and help campaign at the gig organised by Sam from GCWCF (Get cape, wear cape, fly) at the Scala in London. It was an amazing gesture from Sam, who has always been one of our most supportive celebrities. Apparently the venue had given him a good rate in the light of it being a fundraising gig.

 

We turned up at about 7 to set up the “Burma booth” stacked full of campaigning materials. We were also lucky enough to get in on the soundcheck to stick a few posters up.

 

Sahra and Raakhi ventured backstage where they encountered the boys from Enter Shakari sitting in an ice bucket (I didn’t ask any more questions)

 

Tom from the Editors was second to take the stage with his piano accompanist. I always forget how many great tunes the Editors have made, but their anthemic catchy hooks always come back to you when you hear them played. He also kindly posed for us in the Burma booth afterwards.

 

All the acts were great but for me the definite highlight was Enter Shakari. I was blown away by their energy. They had flown over from Spain that morning specially to play the gig, and it seems they had brought a posse of their most hardcore fans with them. About 20 neon-clad teenagers were going mental, doing all kinds of crazy moshpit manoeuvres I hadn’t seen the likes of since I stopped going to Pantera gigs.

GCWCF did a stunning final set, and managed to convince the venue manager to let them stay an extra 10 mins over closing time.

 

A massive THANK YOU to Sam and to all the artists who took part.

Ed’s top pick of upcoming events

Edmund McGregor/Trading/Oxfam
08/04/2008 16:02
Size :23 Kb
 
 To
 Oxjam team
 cc
 
 Subject
 some great new events on website
 
 
 
 

I was just authorising the Oxjam events and found these new beauties up there that you might like to see.

Bagsy I go to all of these : )

Lisa Lashes
Dance, Techno
www.djlisalashes.com
Badlands
Dance, Techno
www.myspace.com/badlandsspace
Canine Sounds
Dance, Techno
www.caninesounds.co.uk
Beat Repeaters
Dance, Techno
www.myspace.com/beatrepeaters
Type of event:
Club night
Music event description:
A host of supreme house and breaks DJs coming together from all across the country to do what they do best, all for charity! Expect an exciting electro/breaks set from the internationally renowned Lisa Lashes, house beats from Canine Sounds, dirty basslines from Badlands (both very kindly on loan from London’s top Chew the Fat! clubnight) and top quality breaks from Nottingham’s very own Beat Repeaters. Tickets are only £4 advance, £5 on the door. On sale next week from: Oxfam shops in the city, Dogma and http://lolpug.express.ts.com/

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The I Fight Bears Charity Gigathon
2.00pm, 26th April 2008
Gig – Acoustic
Scotland DD1 5EG
>link to Google Maps
I Fight Bears
Acoustic
www.myspace.com/rockcasualty

Type of event:
Gig
Music event description:
How many gigs can we do in one day? 5? 10? 20? Let’s find out! I Fight Bears will be taking part in a 1 day tour of Dundee venues. Oxfam merchandise will be available at all locations, and needless to say all profit goes to the lovely people at Oxjam!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Event name:
Jam Overboard

  
Performers
James Yuill
Folk, Electronica
www.myspace.com/jamesyuill
Kat Flint
Acoustic, Folk
www.myspace.com/katflint

Type of event:
Gig
Music event description:
Ahoy there! Jam, boats, great music and silliness… That’s right it’s JAM OVERBOARD time!!! It’s £6 to get in – turn up early to make sure you get your free scone with jam and cream! Stop the needless sacrifice of strawberries and come and have it large on the charity boogie barge. Splash out and keep the cash flowing, rock the boat and keep the cup of kindness afloat! There’ll be some great live acts and DJs, dancing, games, pinatas, drinks and good times – and all taking place on a big old BARGE! Provisional acts: Live music from electro/folk genius James Yuill, acoustic folk from melodic, beautiful and quirky Kat Flint, then DJs spinning out electro, dance, pop and hip hop – anything to get you dancing! See you there my jammy lovelies! Xxx
Picture:

Venue:
Battersea Barge
Venue URL:
www.batterseabarge.com
Town/City:
London
_____________________________________________________________________

oh, and I also came accross this amazing event that happened last year.

Great night of wiggling and Arabic music. Currently working on arranging some more events for April. There was a representative from Swindon Web on hand with a camcorder and posted photos and footage at: http://www.swindonweb.co.uk/event/?m=611&s=622&ss=0&c=2475&t=Belly%20dancing

Oxjam regional co-ordinators review We invited all of our Oxjam regional Co-ordinators down to Oxford to report back on what had happened this year and how they would like Oxjam to take shape in 2008.These sessions always play a pivotal part in shaping the festival, as the Regional Co-ordinators are the people who actually make Oxjam happen.17 Regional co-ordinators made it down for the weekend, but the rest of the team was with us in spirit! Friday nightWe met in the porter’s lodge of St Anne’s College (where the residential review weekend was being held).We huddled in here out of the cold until it was time to make the walk up to Summertown to the Spice Lunge for a celebratory curry (complete with Christmas crackers!). Amid the bad joke telling and paper Christmas hat wearing we managed to have a good catch up on how everyone had found Oxjam this year. Then on into town via Broadstreet’s remarkable (??) White Night  light display and to the Kings arms for a few drinks before bedtime..there was a long day of talking ahead of us! SaturdayImpressively there were not too many hangovers as everyone was up at breakfast before 9.30. We began the day at 10.00 by asking a few of the Regional Co-ordinators to do short presentations on their Oxjam experiences. This sparked off a group discussion where we tried to draw up a list of Do’s and Don’ts for Regional Co-ordinators next year.At 12.00 Benny, Oxfam’s project manager, gave a short presentation on what had happened nationally with highlight figures on numbers of events, money raised etc.Unfortunately it was too cold to go outside to bask in the sun at lunchtime as we have done on previous training weekends, but we had a good big lounge area to relax in for lunch (unfortunately there was no log fire or mulled wine though – note for next year)Onto the big bit of the day. We asked the 17 people in attendance to split into two separate groups to discuss how they want Oxjam to change for 2008 – prompted by a series of headline topics (marketing, working with shops, working with volunteers, etc). This was an incredibly productive session as the groups came together to feedback on their findings while we took frantically scribed notes on all their pearls of wisdom.Gareth Simpson (Head of Events and Community Fundraising) then came in to talk to us about Oxfam’s work and gave an inspiring thank you to the group – demonstrating where the money raised from Oxjam could be spent.Finally we gave the co-ordinators a massive thank you from the team and gave everyone an exclusive limited edition Oxjam mug filled to the brim with sweets…a tiny token of our appreciation.Onto a final celebratory Lebanese Dinner in Jericho. Lots of food, lots of drink and lots of memories shared. The evening moved onto a series of pubs and clubs. The less of which is documented here the better. Sunday

A pivotal day for us. Energy was running low in the group after a late night. We were asking everyone to focus in and really make a plan for Oxjam in 2008. We did this by concentrating on the three main areas of work that we think are going to make Oxjam raise more money and include more events and asked the group to develop some thoughts and action points around these. I was gobsmacked at the quality of material that we got back from this session despite the hangovers. Now that we have the feedback from the people who actually made Oxjam happen in 2007, we have a fantastic starting point for making plans for next year. Everyone left after lunch and hugs from the team. It’s been amazing working with such an inspiring group of people this year. I’m looking forward to organising the re-union already!

If you are interested in how to get involved with Oxjam please visit www.oxfam.org.uk/oxjam  or call 01865472369

Drum ‘n’ bass for Oxjam

DnB4Oxjam

(by Gerry Dallas: Oxjam Regional Co-ordinator for Newcastle)

The hype surrounding drum and bass for Oxjam was well established within Newcastle, especially in the student community. Indeed, on the eve of the event, when handing out flyers, some were met with the response ‘oh yeah, everyone’s talking about this.’ This proposed a slight problem, as the chosen venue was one more fit for Hobbits, overlooking the Tyne in the upstairs of an early 19^th-century pub, housing original beams and low doorways.

 

150 tickets were sold before the day of the event, making it a success before it had even begun. This event was tightly planned, with DJs being brought up from the Nottingham d ‘n’ b scene to play. The best of Newcastle’s DJs were also playing, who brought with them MC Vendetta. NIS kicked off the night, warming up the crowd with some heavier than expected tunes. Next up, JedRed, a showman as well as DJ, bouncing off the crowd’s lively mood. Plus8 and Stevie Bones brought the MC to the stage, with just a step and a barrier bearing the Oxjam logo separating the crowd and himself. At this point the room was packed with bodies, many of whom were in fancy dress,  and all of whom were only too willing to respond with a united cheer of ‘Oxjam’ when prompted by the MC. Last to take to the decks was Hydrophonics, a DJ who is more used to supporting the likes of Andy C than playing a pub in the Northeast. JedRed made a second appearance at this point, debuting as an MC.

 

A large network of support meant that this night was a storming success, from friends helping on the door to a huge PA system being lent for the night. The atmosphere was friendly, rammed and inclusive, with those who perhaps thought they would never like drum ‘n’ bass dancing the night away. More than 300 people came and experienced this Oxjam event, all happy in the knowledge that they were helping a great cause whilst enjoying expert DJs and dancing amongst friends.

Ox-Rave! (Newcastle)

Standing on the quiet street outside The World Head Quarters, it would never be apparent that just a few steps away were more than 200 people raving as one. After donating to Oxfam on the door, guests were welcomed into the club by an array of free glow paint and glowsticks, with friendly volunteers on hand to design any body art desired. Once sufficiently crusty with paint, the crowds moved through some double doors and on into the rave.

 

 

 

 

The room was so dark that all that could be seen were the fluorescent glows emanating from various areas of dancing bodies. Raised on a level above the crowd stood the DJ booth, housing one of three DJs, all of whom could easily be spotted by their luminous yellow tabards. The atmosphere was one of a crowd of friends, almost like being at a house party. Not one person sat on the sofas, every single guest was dancing to the electronica and drum ‘n’ bass resonating around the room.

The night proved so popular with the guests that the DJ was asked to continue for a further thirty minutes from the finish time, and even when the turntables stopped, the crowd were calling over and over for one more tune. Leaving slightly deafened, the mood was as high as ever, with further donations being left upon exit and the name of Oxjam firmly imprinted on people’s brains.

Gerry Dallas (Oxjam Newcastle event organiser)

Oxjam regional co-ordinators training

Last weekend we invited all 50 of the Oxjam regional co-ordinators down to Oxford for their third and final training weekend before Oxjam kicks off in October. Unfortunately only about 20 of them could make it down, but this meant we had a chance to “get intimate” with the guys who could make it!

We were staying in St Stpehens College in Oxford, which proved to be a really cool chilled out venue with a huge lounge for relaxing complete with a bar with an honesty box (which I can gladly say remained very honestly topped up during our stay!).

During the Saturday we ran through topics that were essential to the co-ordinators’ role, with experts coming in to run interactive workshops on media, project management and campaigning.

By 5.30, everyone was knackered so everyone retired to the lounge to play board games and wait for dinner. Much hilarity ensued when the kitchen decided to bring us a pudding of “cream in a wine glass”! The brave remaining of us moved into Oxford town to a few local pubs, and onto stories best left undocumented.

Sunday morning was a chance for us to break into smaller groups, sit in the garden and chat about what had been going on with Oxjam in their areas. I personally find these reflection sessions the most useful bit of the training workshops, as many truths come through that we otherwise wouldn’t hear about. The recurring theme was the co-ordinators problems with getting in touch with people actually organsing events.

We had a farewell toast in the blazing sunshine to wish them good luck for October, followed by football and summer games. Everyone made their way back to their repective parts of the country. Thanks to all the co-ordinators who made the long journeys to get to Oxford (especially Katey from Glasgow!).

Photos from the training weekend can be found on the Oxjam Flickr group.

Looking forward to seeing them all again in December!