Stop press: Arab moves out

Yesterday I had a visit from Mark and Alison at Blush Publishing who had brought their friend Royd, a van, a set of spanners and a lot of determination. They were here to take away Arab Crown Folio press 1240, which I have been using for the last three years or so. We dismantled it, documenting the way all the parts fit together as we went with many photographs. We stuck it in the van. And then off they went back home.

I hope the enthusiasm that they have for putting together their printing operation will help them get the press back together; it’s not that hard, but it’s not that easy either. It was only when I starting thinking about dismantling the press that I realised how much learning I have done since I first got a press. There were no manuals to tell me how things worked; for guidance I had the pieces in front of me and the notes that I made when looking over other working Arab presses. Notwithstanding that, I was able to hand over a press in decent working order that has been used to print quite a few items – a task it has carried with good results. I hope I can say the same for the replacement machine.

What attrition warfare is like

The Human Rights Watch report on an attack on an ambulance at Qana in Lebanon, 23 July 2006, provides a lucid review of the evidence and shows convincingly that the attack was not a hoax, as was claimed by several authorities shortly after. I found the reconstruction of events, supported by several documentary images, particularly affecting. The event itself was probably very similar to the multitude of strikes on the civilian population in this part of the world over the last few decades, but the dispassionate analysis reached me in a way that journalism often doesn't.

It made me cry.

Thanks to Tobs for the link.

BBC Backstage bash

Last night’s event is reviewed nicely here. Suffice to say I thought it was excellent, partly because I like cake but mostly as an opportunity to see my friends Toby Bryans, Matt Patterson, Dave Crossland and David Emery in the same room, interacting ;-). I also had a fruitful conversation with Suw Charman of Open Rights Group, which will hopefully lead to an interesting talk at the 2007 Friends of St Bride Library conference. In all, time very well spent; many many thanks to everyone who made it happen, in particular Ian Forrester at BBC Backstage.