The Vanity of Men

It has long been a contention of mine that men of all ages and persuasions are becoming worryingly absorbed with self-image, and the line between male and female vanity is now just a blur.

Alter-ego’s a-kimbo…

It’s always interesting when I find out that people I work with or see around, in places such as the gym, have hobbies that I don’t know about. For example, our Creative Director Simon Warren is a keen extreme sports junkie, and Liz, our Planning Manager likes nothing more than speeding off around the countryside on the back of a motorbike!

With this in mind, it’s rather strange when people are so surprised by one of my hobbies – being on stage! To me, it’s second nature; it’s nothing special, it’s just what I do and what I have always done.

I haven’t always been an Office Manager, in fact, for most of my adult life I’ve been working in anything but an office in Southampton.  So, lets give you some background…

After school I trained in Performing Arts and Intensive Musical Theatre at Chichester College of Arts, Science & Technology. I had big dreams and aspirations; my name was going to be in lights in the West End. Unfortunately, this was the dream of every other performing arts student in the country so getting there was going to be a rocky road.

When I graduated from college (with Distinctions may I add), my next step would have been to go on to Drama School – something I was advised not to do as it wouldn’t get me any further than I could already go on my own. It was advice I was glad I took.

It was then that I went to an audition for Holiday Park Entertainments Staff. I got the job and was packed off to Lower Hyde Holiday Park in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, where I spent the summer singing, dancing, doing kids club and loving life. Straight from my time on the Holiday Park, I was flown out to Tenerife where I joined the cast of a brand new Cabaret dining show called Raffles.

After Tenerife I came back to the UK. It was time to take a bit of a break from the stage so I went into retail, but it wasn’t long before the bug bit me and doors began to open again. It was time to go back to the Holiday Parks, but this time as Entertainments Manager. I had two years on the parks – one great, one not so great,(but we won’t dwell on that!) – before heading to the cruises as Lead Male Vocalist for Thomson. I did that for two years and then came home to audition for other stuff. However, as is with the case with all best laid plans, I found myself off-course once again, this time thanks to my heart, and decided to stay home.

You’re probably wondering why this is of any interest, and maybe I have digressed slightly…
so lets get back to hobbies!

So, last year, I found myself auditioning for Southampton Musical Society, an Amateur Dramatics Group who perform various musicals throughout the year at the Theatre Royal, Winchester. I got into the society and within two weeks had been cast in the lead role of their next production: Barry Manilow’s Copacabana.
It’s a show I’ve always wanted to do and a part I’ve always wanted to play so, naturally, I’m ecstatic!

We go up with the show in just 4 weeks. It’s been 6 months hard work but I’ve enjoyed every single minute of it. If you’d like to come and see the show you can get tickets here and why not check out our promo video too.

And next time you speak to one of us on the phone, just remember, we’ve all got an alter-ego ;)

What's in a name...?

Mention ‘The Oscars’ to anyone and immediately you conjure up images of glamour, sophistication, dramatic speeches and, of course, the iconic golden statue – all of that just from a name!

The whole world is talking about Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony - the 86th in its illustrious career - whether it be because of the winners (and losers), Ellen DeGeneres, the selfies or the pizza delivery guy.

But there is something else that is on everyone’s lips; that cringeworthy moment when John Travolta announced the incredibly talented, Tony Award winning star of Musical theatre, Idina Menzel as she performed the Oscar winning song ‘Let it Go’ from Disney’s Frozen. Or, as he called her Adele Dazeem!

The internet has already jumped on this, seeing an opportunity to allow everyday people to Travoltify their name. This got us thinking; what would we all sound like Travoltified? Well, wonder no more:


Simon Dover         Szyman Dorniels
Charlotte Blake     Charlie Blork
Dan Ferrett            Dean Farster
Shelley Crouch      Sorley Cloirk
Dave Birch             Dean Blork
Darryl Akerman      Daryl Andreson
Paul Skinner          Paige Shunter
Richard Sprinks      Ruaraidh Speerce
Simon Warren        Szymon Wailson
James Surridge     Joss Sgardner
Liz Hellyer              Lois Heenry
Steve Barnes         Shae Borfes
Anna Ecuyer          Anya Bailerey
Paul Wright            Paige Wrizght

Idealogy LTD          Isabella Loing

If you’d like to find out what you name is ‘Travoltified’, click here to find out and why not let us know…


All images found on Google. No offense or copyright infringement intended. Images can be removed if requested by originator.

A reputation is hard earned

HMRC plan to rebrand National Insurance to become "Earnings Tax"

In an attempt to make our unfathomable taxation system a little more intelligible, National Insurance looks set to be renamed “Earnings Tax” as new legislation is introduced to parliament this week.

A little knowledge makes us all Curling experts

'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and 'a little learning is a dangerous thing' have been used synonymously since the 18th century. 

The version 'a little learning' is widely attributed to Alexander Pope (1688-1744). It is found in An Essay on Criticism, 1709: -

A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.

Our 25 year love affair with Adobe...

Having used Adobe's software for the best part of 25 years, the technical bods at Idealogy are always interested in any releases they make - be it design or development software. And Adobe certainly haven't disappointed with the comprehensive range of new tools released over the last 12 months.

Here's a brief rundown of our favourite offerings of the last year:

·     Edge Reflow is a 'Responsive web design tool', which simplifies designing for multiple screen sizes and devices. It can be used to gauge how layouts will adapt and to create quick User Experience prototypes and mock-ups

·     Edge Animate is a timeline based animation tool that basically does what Flash used to do, but uses HTML5, CSS and Javascript. It also has the added benefit of working on iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone (unlike Flash)…

·     Edge Code is a new generation code editor, which includes features such as code hinting and coloring for HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. You can quickly edit multiple files without switching between windows and the resulting web page can be previewed instantly

·     Edge Inspect is a neat piece of software that lets multiple devices connected to it display any web page that you are browsing when using Google Chrome on your desktop. The devices are updated immediately so the developer can see how any code change made to a page is reflected in a certain device…in real time.

And last, but by no means least,

·     PhoneGap Build is a tool that lets developers build native apps for multiple devices using HTML5, CSS and Javascript.
      
This cuts down on development time by re-using existing web development skills, frameworks and tools and provides all the benefits of cross-platform development while building apps that target iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry 5/6/7 and webOS all with a single code base.

You then upload to the Adobe PhoneGap Build cloud service where the app is compiled for you

With technology changing and evolving faster than ever at the moment, it’s important for us to keep our finger on the digital pulse to ensure we can offer you the latest products for what you need. But worry not, we’ve got our ears to the ground just to make sure we’re ahead of the game…

All images found on Google. No offense or copyright infringement intended. Images can be removed if requested by originator.

Do you love someone enough to think of them as a Pantone colour?

Valentines Day is nearly upon us and if you are still looking for the perfect present for the designer in your life, then look no further.

Every designer has their favourite Pantone colour so check out our great gift selection - the answer may be right here...we know which ones are on our lists!