OUIL501 End of Module Evaluation

This has been, once again, by far my least favourite module to complete of the year. Even so, it has pushed me to develop a number of skills further, putting me in better stead than I would have been for next year's research project and dissertation. I have learned the importance of primary research, through executing my own for the final practical brief, and how it can impact the quality of a final outcome; COP is not just about writing an essay, it's about developing knowledge by following your own interests and finding out about a subject that engages you yourself. The primary research gave me a wealth of material I could work with for my final book and gave me a better understanding of the subject I was trying to communicate; if I don't fully understand it, then how could anyone possibly else when looking at my book? It helped brilliantly with idea generation, what I usually struggle with the most under time pressure and what makes me dislike COP so much, as you have to be so engaged with your subject and ideas for it to become a successful module. 

The practical brief has strengthened my ability to be able to plan and successfully make a working concertina book; last time I attempted this there were tears and many late nights trying to work out where I had gone wrong and how to fix it. The key was basically to avoid Indesign (my nemesis), instead working out on paper the layouts, measurements and how it would all fit together. This probably isn't what most people would recommend but it is a method that definitely works for me; the ruler guides on Photoshop gave me everything I needed to know and I could create my own crop marks and everything that Indesign would normally do, except it was a lot easier. I would now consider making little books more than I previously would have for final pieces; they are lovely to have at the end when they are finished, such nice little objects! 

I have also learned how important it is to manage my time and workload (yet again); I have learned this the hard way, by letting the  module slip to the bottom of my pile as it slowly ran alongside other modules that I deemed as being more important to allocate my time to. As a result, I had to do most of my practical work in the space of about a week - luckily the outcome is pretty good and I am happy with it, but it could have easily swung the other way if there had been any problems, as I would have had no available time to deal with them. This is a mistake I absolutely have to address for next year; it is too heavily weighted in our grades to let it slip down to "less important" and will require too much time to simply pull it out of the bag in a week or so. I was also in a lucky position to conduct the further research towards the practical brief, as I was surrounded by my subject matter (people from all over the country who I could easily interview for their local slang). If the research had been harder to collect, for example if I had to go out of town or had been a slower and more thoughtful process, I would not have had as much to work with as I would not have had enough time. 

Using what I have learned from my experiences managing my time on this module, I am going to start my reading and research for COP3 as soon as possible; definitely over the summer and build up a bank of useful material that I can start working with when the time is ready. This is not something that needs to be left to simmer and I can't afford to make the same mistakes again, as I doubt I would be so lucky again for everything to go so smoothly so last minute. The research proposal has given me some good starting points and made me a little more excited about the prospect of having to undertake such a massive project completely based on my own interests and idea - before it just seemed terrifying. I would like to be able to enjoy COP3 as much as possible and get as much out of it as I can, definitely not having a third repeat of what COP has been for the past two years. 

COP3 Research Proposal

Essay final draft

Final Book: "Britannia Barbara"

Here are a selection of images to show my final book. I am really happy with the outcome; the heavyweight matte paper works really well with the reds and blues, as well as giving it a nice sturdy structure and clean folds. The concertina moves well and the little size gives it a nice touch; it's sort of like a pocket guide for northern slang! It could also look good hung up down a wall as well as a book. The safety pin was an accidental addition when the belly band was a little too small and wouldn't reach around the back but it looks pretty cool; sort of punk, which in itself is very British. The only downside is that my hand slipped when sticking the hinges and pages together (even though I did it very slowly and carefully) so some of them very slightly don't line up; you could look at it like it adds a nice hand made quality though!

It goes to show that when the effort to do proper research it put in, it makes a massive difference to the final outcome of a project; I had so much material to use and choose the best from. This has also made me enjoy making books slightly more, even though I still think they are a pain to make and probably won't choose them as my final pieces often!

Logistics...

As I am too lazy/have left it too late with too much to do to make a proper mock up, I have made a little visual map type of thing just so I know for sure how my concertina book will all fit together. 

It will be hinged with pieces behind with repeat pattern on them that are the exact same size as the illustrated internet pages; hopefully when it is all stuck together (double sided tape worked like a dream with my last concertina) it should look nice and seamless. Each number is a page and the yellow side is the printed side. It will be finished off with a belly band with the title "Britannia Barbara" written on it, so the concertina doesn't spring open all the time. 

This has been useful as I can easily see how it will all fit together and how many pages of continuous pattern I will need to hinge everything. I also want extra bits to neatly fold over like little half-end pages on either end. This makes perfect sense to me (even if it doesn't to outsiders!).

Photoshopped drawings and type

These are my final Photoshopped pages in order (left-right); I am really happy with them! I thought I would struggle a bit with the font choice and arrangement of the words but I really like the simplicity of it. I chose Futura as my font after a recommendation from a classmate and really like the effect. It does sort of remind me of children's book where you learn words upon a theme but with a darker, more humorous edge. It looks straight to the point and communicated what I wanted! The choice of red, white and blue is a good one for backing up the "Britannia" side of the story; I chose a more muted tones as I think it will be easier to view and read, plus it adds a bit of grime. The alteration will help separate the pages and hopefully make it look great as you read it from top to bottom.

Final slang words and drawings

I went through the lists of words and grouped together the ones that reoccured the most with different slang versions. I am happy with the groups; they do tell a sort of story, starting from being quite nice and almost amusing before moving towards a more 'uncivilised' theme (Britannia Barbara!)

I decided to draw using simple pencil, partly as I haven't done any pencil drawings in absolutely AGES and it would make a nice change, but also as I think the rough textures work quite well for the uncivilised theme. I just looked at the words and drew the first things that popped into my head - they are all pretty literal, but I think this works well for the 'illustrated guide' side of the idea. I want to put them into Photoshop and overlay different colours (two different colours for the book; maybe red and blue?) to make them a little more interesting.

Book ideas

I want to pursue the idea of making a concertina book that reads from 'north to south'; it's different to anything I have made before and links in nicely with the essay. I messed around with the idea of having it in the shape of England for a while, but after trying to sort it out into equal sized pages length-wise I've realised some will be way to small to have enough information of them, especially at the top and bottom. I am going to stick with a square format, 15 x 15cm to keep it nice and clean (plus when it's all folded into a square I think it will be a really nice little object to have). 

I have created a rough list of the pages I want to include - 10 different words and the slang for each of them. I realised that lots of the slang I gathered is for pretty uncivilised words or themes, like drunk/high, chav, beaten up, idiot etc; this works PERFECTLY with fitting in with "Britannia Barbara"! Theres also some other great British-y words, like alleyway (Englands full of lots of horrible alleyways) and bread roll, which for some reason always jumps into my head when people talk about Yorkshire (maybe it's because I now know there are about a million different words for it). 

This was a happy accident but it's the route I want to go down - start with the nicer/funnier words and then move towards the more brutal ones in a sort of story order.. the chav lurking down the alleyway gets drunk/high, beats someone up and then gets done by the policeman. 

UPDATE 18/04/16…
I am changing the format to 10 x 10cm… pretty much because I can easily fit two pages onto an A4 sheet and save on printing costs, whereas with 15 x 15cm I would have to size up to A3 sheets (which would cost double). I think the little size will be really nice though; a sort of pocket book of slang!

Primary research into dialects!

After thinking about what theme I could possibly venture down for a long time, I have decided to just go for the theme of dialects and slang; the fact that I couldn't think of anything to draw has changed now I have some more research behind it (this was the hope and I am glad it has paid off!)

I asked classmates and friends who I have previously heard saying words and phrases that I had never heard of before to give me some of their favourites and classics from where they were from; as it were, they were all northern towns and cities (probably as I would have heard of most things from down south or even midlands). I asked people from specific cities for words and phrases as well, specifically Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool. 

The result is a massive list of words from all over the north; Hull, Middlesborough, Sunderland, Manchester, Liverpool, smaller Yorkshire towns, Newcastle and Ulverston. Some of them are absolutely untranslatable to my southern ear and brain without being told exactly what it means, for example "Gan yem like" ("going home" in Geordie) but they are all absolutely fantastic to work with!

Personal favourites:

• "Cake oyl" "lug oyl" and "chip oyl": mouth, ears and chip shop, from Barnsley.
• "Divenna son": I don't know, from Newcastle/Sunderland
• "Gadgey": old man, from Newcastle
• "Doylum": idiot, from various places
• "Tenfoot": alleyway, from Hull
• "Maftin": very very hot, from various places
• "Pukka": great, from Manchester

I also asked my good friend from Manchester via message so I could get some written down and in better context, as it was written by a true Mancunian. Some of it is complete gold in terms of humour and for this project; he kept accidentally using Manc words while trying to explain what other Manc words meant.

I need to group together some of these words as there are quite a few different ones for the same meaning from different areas, for example "Chav". Once they are grouped I think it will be easier to see them all and work out how I could draw from them/design a book around it. I'm currently thinking I could do a sort of picture and type book featuring the words with the most different slang versions, or the funniest ones that southerners or people not from the United Kingdom would never be able to work out (like a sort of guide book?)

Expanding ideas for the book

In the recent session I tried to both expand yet break down the themes explored in my essay to find a topic or idea I can start to explore for my book. I found this hard; it is difficult to be able to shine a new light on the idea without steering completely away from it and not just making a book that will illustrate my essay.

I like the idea of using "Britannia Barbara" (Uncivilised Britain) as maybe a title or a theme; it could open up lots of doors but still links into the research I have done. I also like the idea of focusing on stereotypes and stigmas of a typical northerner or southerner; this could be too close to the essay though. It was suggested I look into slang and dialects which could be really interesting but at the moment I don't know how I would make an illustrated book out of that (it can't be too type heavy). I could work with charicature or reportage? I need to get some proper ideas!

Feedback from first draft...

It is a good start but definitely needs both refining in some parts, yet expanding on points in others to become a very good essay. It jumps around a little too much in places so I need to find a way to make it move more smoothly. 

Stuff to think about…

• Expand on the little paragraph about the industrial revolution: some say it enslaved northern cities such as Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle and its decline possibly improved the lives of those who lived there, as it curbed to uncontrollable growth of mines, mills, factories etc. The decline of the textile industries from the 1950's to 1980's and then the mining industries from the 1980's onwards had the most recent impact on the wellbeing of northern cities.
• Expand on the paragraph about the minors strikes and Thatcher; (make it not past tense as it reads weirdly) the strikes, closure and privatisation did drive a wedge through the country. Consider how the Northern Powerhouse represents the north today via this. 
• Martin Parr - find some critical writing about "The Last Resort" and put some context in about Parr himself, e.g. where is he from.
• Focus on comparing two cities a little more in detail (e.g. Manchester and London?) and talk more about the growing cultural side.
• Links between multiculturalism and cities; where are the most multicultural cities, how does it relate to class structure.
• In intro, briefly refer to the issues between the north and south.
• There is a VERY badly worded sentence in the second paragraph about the first legal boundaries between England and Scotland - sort this out, it makes it look like I've not done any research.
• Conclusion.

MORE STUFF TO ADD/REFERENCE:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3615454/Ordinary-lives-extraordinary-photographs.html

Martin Parr: "Most people assume I am cynical and sneering... I'm much more romantic and nostalgic than people give me credit for". 

 “I went up to the North of England from suburban Surrey and was very taken with the sense of community that there still was there. So part of my job with photography was to celebrate that". (Gayford, 2004)

Research for Essay

Bolton and Blackpool "Worktown Project": Humphrey Spender (1937)

http://boltonworktown.co.uk/

"The Last Resort": Martin Parr (1983-86)

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2S5RYDYDHEB9

The North South Divide - Helen M Jewell  (1995)

"The north south divide affects property and movement - northerners being unable to afford to move to London or the South East, southerners being afraid to move north in case they cannot afford to return".

"In the north versus the south, there were unfavourable contrasts in notifiable crime, education, drinking habits and housing stock".

"Manchester in the 19th century appeared to eclipse London, but the capitals pull had re-asserted itself by the end of the century."

An old northern saying: "Where there's muck, there's brass"; the relationship between industry and wealth, from the industrial revolution.

"Manchester is often the butt of southern jokes. Beau Brummell (1778-1940) learned his army regiment was being sent from Brighton to Manchester and famously said "I had not reckoned on foreign service when I joined up."

Margaret Thatcher: "The north south divide is a myth; there are areas of difficulty in all parts of the country".

The Sunday Times, 1987: "The main division is social rather than geographical."

Kenneth Clarke: "The divide is a ridiculous simplification; it reinforces the cloth cap and brass band image the south has of the north, which does the area no service at all."

David Sainsbury: "There is no fundamental difference, there are simply more depressed areas in the north."

The Yorkshire Post, July 1987: "The north south divide grows ever wider." (Front page headline after the release of the Central Statistical Office figures in Regional Trends).

Central Statistical Office figures in Regional Trends, 1987: "The north is suffering the highest unemployment and lowest wages on mainland Britain and mortality rates are second highest to Scotland."

Lord King, Chairman of British Airways, 1988: " The north south divide exists most dangerously in our minds and we have to get rid of that complex."

MORI poll of 201 executives in London, Leeds and Manchester, 1989: "The typical southern employee was found to be ambitious, entrepreneurial, under stress and wealthy. The typical northern employee was found to be friendly, careful with money, down to earth, loyal and with a good sense of humour." Margaret Thatcher responded by announcing the divide had gone.

Emma Duncan, The Economist, 1990: "The south is clinging to an outdated caricature of the north; this idea stems from a prejudice as old as the industrial revolution."

The North (And Almost Everything In It) - Paul Morley (2013)

"A north packed with intrepid people handing on the north, as they see it, all that history and nature and difference."

"... A form of unique exotica that suggested the north was out of this world."

"... Became a cliche of it's own sentimental self pity, making a way for non-northerners to keep it in it's place, condescend to it, even dismiss it." 

" David Hockney won a scholarship in 1948 to the Bradford Grammar School (one of the best schools in the country at the time.) He saw Puccini's "La Boheme" at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford's Morley Street; it was the first opera the future artist had ever seen."

David Hockney: "East Yorkshire, to the uninitiated, looks like a lot of little hills. But it does have these marvellous valleys that were caused by glaciers, not rivers. So it is unusual."

Morrissey: "You're southern - you wouldn't understand. When you're northern, you're northern forever and you're instilled with a certain feel for life that you can't get rid of".

Wilfred Pickles, 1949: "Our rich contrast of voices is a tapestry of great beauty and incalculable value."

John Robert Clynes: "Not to practise the class war but to end it; the abuse of power in the workplace, the inequalities of health and education, the waste of worklessness and the cruelty of crime."

Northern Powerhouse:

BBC News, 16th November 2015
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-34787669)

"Aiming to bridge the economic gap between the north and south by attracting investment and improving transport links between it's towns and cities".

"It is an attempt to turn the North's combined population of 15m into an economic force to rival that of London and the South East."

• 50% are confident the government will boost the North's economy, while 40% disagree.
• 65% of 18-24-year-olds are confident it will boost the economy
• 47% of over-55s agree with this statement
• 28% think it is fair London receives more for the arts, science and transport

BBC News, 14th May 2015

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32720462)

"...by focusing the Northern Powerhouse on the north's biggest urban area (Manchester), the government is simply propagating a smaller-scale version of the current imbalance between the north and London."

"I'm not sure what 'the North' is," admits Hilton Dawson, leader of the North East Party, which campaigned for a regional parliament in this year's general election. "The only time I've heard people in the South talk about the North is to tell us how grim it is up here."

The Guardian, 18th March 2015
(http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2015/mar/18/northern-powerhouse-is-north-really-winner-2015-budget)

"The Tories have taken most money away from the communities that can least afford it, cutting spending power for every household in the 10 most deprived areas in England by 16 times as much as the 10 least deprived. Seven out of the top 10 most deprived communities in England are in the north."

"Cumbria and the great city of Carlisle, ignored once again by the chancellor and left out of the budget altogether, along with Northumberland. The door of the northern powerhouse is not open to all, it seems."

Northern Soul
The Twisted Wheel - Manchester
The Wigan Casino - Wigan
The Goldmine - Canvey Island (Essex)
The Royalty - Southgate

Largely a working class subculture, it got a lot less coverage than that of the middle class (i.e. the new romantics). "Soul Boys" - there were differences between northern and southern soul subcultures. Northern was more focused on old soul and sourcing rare old records, swapping and comparing them. Southern was more focused on the new soul being made. The clothes worn were clothes that you could easily dance in; oversized and comfortable. Started in a club in Wigan, and spread down the country to Essex; these where the northern and southern soul capitals of England at the time, with the biggest infamous dances. 


Madchester (http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/21/madchester-manchester-interviews-hook-ryder)

Andy Barker (keyboardist 808 State): "There was an amazing creative energy in Manchester at the time; people just invented their own jobs – DJs, graphic designers, clothes labels. Everyone decided to have a go, and for once there was no one telling you that you couldn't."

Gary Aspden: "The 10 years prior to acid house in Manchester had seen various fashions that had been huge among working-class northern youth but had never been picked up on by the mainstream media. And much of that style was reflected in what people were wearing in Manchester in 88/89."

Terry Christian: "The Madchester badge made it too easy to be dismissed as a phase by the media with that patronising attitude they adopt when dealing with scallies from "oop north". 

Tina Street: "Everyone wanted to be a part of Manchester. Looking back, we took it all for granted and thought it would be like that for ever. There was a lot of hugging and barriers broken down, it really was the summer of love."

The opening of the Hacienda nightclub and the beginning of Factory Records was significant in the development of Manchester in popular culture. The Festival of the Tenth Summer in July 1986, organised by Factory Records, helped to consolidate Manchester's standing as a centre for alternative pop-culture. According to Dave Haslam, the festival demonstrated that "the city had become synonymous with ... larger-than-life characters playing cutting edge music ... Individuals were inspired and the city was energised; of it's own accord, uncontrolled". The mushrooming of Manchester's nightlife during the Madchester period has had a long-term impact, particularly with the subsequent development of the Gay Village and Northern Quarter. The attraction of the city was such that, at the height of Madchester in 1990, the University of Manchester was the most sought-after destination for university applicants in the UK. The scene also gave a boost to the city's media and creative industries. 

Other Relevant Stuff...

Government favours London over the north and other areas...
(http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/28/yorkshire-flooding-north-south-divide-york-leeds-london-south-east)

"The government has been accused of neglecting its duty to protect northern England from flooding, with one Yorkshire newspaper claiming it would be “unthinkable” that the floods that have affected Leeds, York and Manchester in recent days could ever be seen in London. The Yorkshire Evening Post: "It remains the case that such events, like those witnessed in this city, are unthinkable in London and much of the south-east, where state-of-the-art flood defences have long been in place.

It's a Myth (good for statistics)... (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/04/north-south-divide-myth-distraction)

"London, the great metropolitan capital of the sixth richest country on Earth, where one in four children live in overcrowded homes, over twice the English average. Of the 20 English local authorities with the highest levels of child poverty, seven are located in London."

George Orwell, 1937: "Go to the industrial north, and you are conscious of entering a strange country".

Geographical Stuff... (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-trends/region-and-country-profiles/key-statistics-and-profiles---august-2012/key-statistics---south-east--august-2012.html)

"In 2010, the population of the south east of England was 8.5 million people."