(Belated) End of 2009 By Cilla (Editor)

2009 Homepages Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,

It's late. This was supposed to be an end of year piece and I guess it's typical of my life recently - there's just never enough time to do everything I want to do - time just passes too quickly.

So, it's 2010. Another year bites the dust. The first decade of the 21st century is over with - gone in a flash and here we all are, shivering with cold and sliding off pavements, sitting in queues of smoke billowing traffic. When I was growing up, I took it for granted that in the 21st century we'd all be wearing special silver suits that kept you warm in winter with matching all weather boots, we would eat food in tablet form and all transport would be hovering above the road rather than still breaking down on it. So much for my fantasies about holidays in outer space, for the time being, Filey will have to do.

thisisUll.com is now into its 7th year of publication and I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. It was fantastic to win the Fringe Report award for Best Publication back in February, an acknowledgement of our work since 2003. Over the years the site content has moved in different directions. In 2009 we saw a massive surge in the Poetry section. thisisUll's involvement with and support of the Write to Speak poetry nights at Hull Truck has encouraged many more previously silent poets to get in touch and have their work published on line.

Congratulations to Joe Hakim and Mike Watts who have masterminded and produced some fabulous nights, bringing several of the nation's best spoken word performers to the city as well as showcasing their own original and entertaining work. I really hope that Write to Speak will continue with another season this year. Joe was also commissioned by Battersea Arts Centre to produce a multi-media based spoken word show, Guerrilla Poetry which he performed together with Mike Watts at the BAC Burst Festival in May. Later in the summer he appeared at the Latitude Festival for the second year in succession.

Congratulations also to Nick Quantrill, Hull crime writer extraordinaire, whose new book, Broken Dreams is published on 15th March by Caffeine Nights. He's been sending his fiction to thisisull for a long time now and I'm thrilled for him that his genuine talent has at last been spotted. Hopefully more of his writing dreams will come true in the future. The website has seen one or two developments over the last year. We're now including more video and audio clips with some of the written content, readers can now feedback to authors by leaving comments about their writing which makes the site more interactive.

Sometimes this can be a double edged sword, and I do wish people would use their real names ...

We've continued our support for the Hull music scene by enabling local promoters and venues to post their own events in an updated, user driven Classified section. Please use it - it's easy to create an ad and you can include images and Youtube Videos too. I'm not sure what's happening in the music scene recently; so many venues and regular nights seem to have disappeared - or disappeared and then re-appeared. We certainly don't get sent the number of music reviews to publish as we used to. I hear that Yo-Yo, after what seems to have been an unsettled couple of years, has decided to bow out of the Hull scene.

Maybe it's a sign that something new is on the horizon, I for one will wait with interest to see what this new decade brings for the city in the way of music and arts in general.

One more thing before I go - in case you hadn't heard yet, thisisUll.com's very own webmaster Mo has, with his mate Jan Tye, developed an app for the iPhone which features poetry from the site, with some video versions too. There are 2 versions of the app, both available to download from itunes app store. There's a free, 'trial' version, called iPoetryLite which has a taster selection of poetry and video and the 'full' version, called iPoetry which has all available poetry and video and is updated regularly as we add content to the app.

As with thisisUll.com, any poet, anywhere is welcome to submit their work to be included the iPoetry app. Because the iPhone is a global platform, people from all around the world are not only downloading it, but also starting to contribute their poetry. I would highly recommend, if you have access to an itouch or iphone, that you download the free version, iPoetryLite and see what you think. And then buy the full version, of course! And it would be great to get a review or two! And now for the roll of honour - as ever, a massive thanks to all of you who've contributed to thisisUll.com during the last 12 months.

I'm looking forward to another year hearing from you all. Whoever you are, and wherever you are, keep on writing! Ailsa Reid, Amy Owen, Amy Wiles, Andrea Beer, Andrea Longstaff, Andrew Grant, Andrew Wastling, Andy Hampel, Ann Dawber, Axford, Ayjay, The Adelphi Becky Garrod, Belinda Barchard, Bernard Franklin, Bronwyn Ellis, C A Turbulence, caffzz, Carly Brown, Carol Coiffait, Carolyn, Chris Dawber, Chris Wade, Christine, Christopher Skolik, Clare Tucker, Colin Freeman Danielle Rhodes, Danny Archer, Dave Watts, Dave Windass, David Pattison, David Sloan, Dayne Coyne, Dean Wilson, Deborah Miskell, Del Abe Jones, Dick Spring, Dino Eddy Bewsher, Emma Williamson, Frankie Lassut, Gary Clark, Gemma Pitham, Glenn Williams, Grant, Holly Roach, Humber Arts, Ian Ibbetson, Isabelle J W Robinson, James Marsters, James Wilson, Jamie McGarry, Jane Foster, Jarrett, Jayne Peach, Jenny Halliday, Jim Higo, Joe Hakim, Joe Malarky, John Codd, John Offord, Julia Flint, Julia Grant, Julian Woodford, Julie Corbett, Julie Hines Katie Ashworth, Kazia Gianni, Keith Fairburn, KerryGriffin, Laura Fry, Laura Kettle, Laurenceaux, Leah Scarpati, Lee Cassanell, Lee-Ann Williams, Lesley Hedges, Lin Whitehouse, Lisa Cooney, Lucy Jackson Manuro, Margaret J Shillingford, Mark Walmsley, Martin Clappison, Martin Deane, Martyn Bell Racing, Maurice Fairfield, Meena Budworth, Megan Browne, Mel Foster, Merle Stone, Michelle Dee, Mik Newton, Mik Newton, Mike Kemp, Mike Mitchell, Mike Watts, Mikey Reynolds Nick Parkinson, Nick Quantrill, Nigel Holmes, Pat, Patrick Henry, Paul England, Paul Northgraves, Peter Lowsley, Phil Prethero, Philip Sanderson, Philip Wincolmlee-Barnes Rich Blackstar, Richard Jevons, Richard Sutherland, Rivelino, Robert Jaques, Robert Jaques, Rowan, Ruth, Scott Rorrison, Shaun Heesom, Sloan, Stephen Regan, Steve Johnson, Steve Rudd, Steve Walker, Stu Finlayson, Stuart Tideswell, Suraya Begum, Suzy MacDougal Terry Hood, Terry Ireland, The Welly Club, Thomas Stratton, Tim Roux, Tom Rooks, Tony Waddington, Volcom, Wendy Adelphi, Yo-Yo Happy New Year! Please enjoy the galleries of photos we've featured on the home page over the last year. Cilla

Photographs Gallery 1.

2009 Homepages Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,

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	Monday 9th February 2009 was a landmark date for thisisUll.com and all its contributors. On your behalf, I had the honour of accepting the Fringe Report 2009 award for Best Publication. Fringe Report, under the guidance and leadership of its editor John Park is based in London. It reviews and supports fringe theatre, arts, independent and arthouse film, dance, performance, Read more...

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	So we're celebrating - it's been a great year for the site - we've had a wealth of stunning pieces to publish and a significant increase in the number of people from all over the globe who regularly visit the site; over 1.3 million in the last 12 months. This month shows a record number - 120,000 which is incredible because December is usually Read more...

Going Down - thisisUll.com 2005 in Pictures.
	thisisUll.com wants to thank all the contributors for their work in 2005. Without their participation this website could not be possible. Over 100,000 people a month from over 100 countries are seeing Ull at it's very best with over 4,000 pages of superb content. Check out this 7 page picture gallery of home page pictures for January to December 2005 for you to enjoy. Read more...

Going Down - thisisUll.com 2004 in Pictures.
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Articles - Christmas With The Big D By Andrea Longstaff

Well, it's that time of the year again; a time of incongruity that spills over into the blurry edges of surrealism. At no other time but December will you see elves strolling down the street. I fondly recall one past Yuletide playing a game of pool with an elf. Throughout the rest of the year we tell our children not to talk to strangers, then come December and they're all scared witless Read more...

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Articles - Don Wilson 1916 - 2009.

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Articles - Writing about a Hull singer-songwriter using the music of Joe Solo By Tim Roux.

I have just had a fantastic experience - writing a novel,(Just like) El Cid's Bloomers' about a fictional Hull singer/songwriter around the songs of a real one, Joe Solo. And it could be a global first - the first musical novel to be designed specifically for an e-book format. It doesn't really matter whether it is or isn't, but it is always fun to be the first to do something. For Joe, there were some serious potential downsides to the project. Read more...

Articles - Birth and Death in Ten Minutes: A Miracle in Room 11 By Ruth

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Articles - The Cosmic Mayfly By David Sloan

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Articles - You Scare Me By Alex

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Articles - Channel 4 Students and Friday Night Stars By Phil Prethero

	2007, The One Stop 24 Hour Shop, High Street, Lincoln It's Saturday, it's 7 in the morning, and I'm at work, hung over, stood here like a trampled on torn up tampon - of use to absolutely nobody. Why the fuck I agreed to these shifts is beyond me, normal people at the age of 21 and in their last year of uni are in bed at this time, they'll get up at about 11, Read more...

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