Links and Resources

Contents of this page
Disability organisations	Volunteering	Entertainment	Music
The Indescribable	Animation	Getting Around	Miscellaneous

I thought you might like to know about some of these websites. (I've been selective about what to put on this page - my bookmark file is huge (feeble boast, I know) - I've chosen those that I find useful or well produced or just stoopid). This page is getting a bit big and will be broken into smaller pages soon.

Disability and charitable organisations

Royal National Institute of the Blind

Well, you know by now that I'm a fan of this lot. If my page hasn't told you all you need to know, visit their website - heck, give 'em a visit anyway. RNIB helps anyone with a sight problem - not just with braille, Talking Books and computer training, but with imaginative and practical solutions to everyday challenges

British Red Cross

The British Red Cross cares for people in crisis, both nationally and internationally. The Red Cross - for thousands of vulnerable people, it is the certain sign of hope in crisis.

Whizz Kidz

Whizz-Kidz is a national children's charity with a very simple goal - to give disabled children and young people independent mobility, by providing customised wheelchairs, tricycles and other specialised mobility equipment.

Volunteering
General info + country specific

National Centre for Volunteering

An excellent resource if you want to find out about volunteering, in the UK or abroad.

"I want to volunteer"

Got some questions about volunteering? This page on the National Centre for Volunteering's web site would be a good place to look. It includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

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Volunteers Week

Volunteers Week is held annually (usually in June) and is promoted by the National Centre for Volunteering. This website will tell you what's coming up, or if the date's just past, what's happened, in this year's Volunteers Week.

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The International Year of Volunteers 2001 (IYV)

Did you know that 2001 was designated by the UN as "The International Year of Volunteers" ? Find out more about what happened, at this site (while its still there).

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do-it.org

"Welcome to do-it, the home of volunteering on the web. Thousands of opportunities and all you need to know to volunteer." For volunteering opportunities in your local area you can simply enter your postcode and hit the "Go" button. Be aware, however, that there's gonna be a lot more local and national opportunities than are displayed by this utility. It also has "Volunteer Q & A" and a page on how volunteering can help your career, current or future.

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England

Volunteering Development England

"Volunteer Development England, formerly known as the National Association of Volunteer Bureaux (NAVB)". "NAVB is the membership organisation for a national network of over 400 Volunteer Bureaux throughout England. Volunteer Bureaux assist people to become volunteers, work with organisations seeking volunteers and act as local volunteering development agencies." If you are interested in volunteering then take a look at their "Becoming a Volunteer" page. It also has some useful info on those overseas wishing to volunteer in the UK.

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Scotland

Volunteer Development Scotland

"Volunteer Development Scotland is the representative voice for Volunteering in Scotland. "We promote equality of opportunity and high standards of achievement and generate new initiatives to expand the range and effectiveness of volunteer action and active citizenship."

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Wales

Wales Council for Voluntary Action
Cyngor Gweithredu Gwirfordoll Cymru

"Wales Council for Voluntary Action is the voice of the voluntary sector in Wales. It represents and campaigns for voluntary organisations, volunteers and communities in Wales."

Volunteering-Wales.net

This site can help you find a volunteer bureau in your area. Choose and area and then choose the type of volunteering that you're interested and click a button. Bingo - the details of what you're interested in.

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Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Volunteer Development Agency

"Volunteer Development Agency has produced a Northern Ireland Agenda for Volunteering which recognises volunteering as the heart of community activity and development."

Entertainment

TV and Films

The Lord of the Rings: Official Movie Site

When a great book is given the movie treatment, all its fans cringe. Well, we were wrong with this movie, weren't we? Some compromises were made but they all seemed justifiable and by the middle of 2004 we should all have the trilogy of movies in our DVD collections. No money spared on the website production.

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Time Gentlemen Please - The Pub Landlord

The arbiter of (alcoholic) common sense, Al Murray's character "The Pub Landlord" has his own TV show on Sky. Called "Time Gentlemen Please", it's a hoot. In [his] pub, soup in a basket is the dish of the day, the word 'alcoholic' is banned (he prefers 'publican's friend') and the resounding rule is "pint for the fella, white wine or fruit-based drink for the lady".

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DigiGuide UK and Ireland TV Guide
obtainable from http://www.digiguide.com/

This is an excellent utility that sits on your PC and downloads UK TV and Radio (+ other) listings. It'll download listings for programmes up to 14 days in advance and the level of detail in the programme descriptions is brilliant - even for programmes shown late at night or in the early hours of the morning (something newspapers never bother with). It has reminder, search and favourite features, among others. It is subscription based but it comes in at something like 10 pence a week - bargain! Click here to try it There's also on-line listings at http://www.mydigiguide.com/.

	For USA residents: DigiGuide are launching a service for you in the fall of 2002, which will include around 5,000+ USA channels covering pretty much the entire country. Visit http://www.digiguide.com/dg/us-enquiry.shtml for details.

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The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) - UK site

Well, what DigiGuide doesn't tell you about a film or TV programme, IMDb probably will. The best film and TV resource I've seen - it's so up to date, it'll even tell you about films not made yet.

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Performance

Cirque du Soleil

The best of their kind in the world. That's all anyone could ever hope to achieve, and they've made it. Circus, cirque, zirkus - no matter how you spell it, for some it means fun and others it suggests boredom. Well, you WON'T be bored. Go - you'll love 'em.

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Multi-media stuff

Real Systems

Real Systems make 2 great products, which you can download for free (advanced versions coming at a price): RealOne Player A really nice tool for playing CDs on your PC. But not just that, it'll record them onto your hard drive, manage other music and sound files, play silly pictures in time to the music, download and store CD tracknames from the web, etc., etc. And if that wasn't enough, it also plays movie files (MPEG, RAM, AVI, etc). n.b. this product incorporates the earlier tools: RealPlayer and RealJukebox RealDownload Something like this tool is a must if you download stuff from the web. Especially useful for going back to partially downloaded files. Keeps a full history of what you've brought down, as well.

Music Artist sites in alphabetical order... Bjork She may be nuttier than a squirrel's nut collecting bag, crammed full of the finest nut-flavoured nut-style nutty things (though I doubt it) - I suspect she's really quite canny. Her first album ("Debut" - 1993) was very fresh and had lots of catchy stuff. As the albums have progressed, she's gathered more talent around her and the works have become more sophisticated and complex. Try before you buy, perhaps? Give her a chance and you may be rewarded. The Bloodhound Gang Their last album ("Hooray For Boobies" - 2000) was humour-filled, fast-paced, foul-mouthed and brilliant. Live...they're fouler-mouthed and much funnier. Check out their website - if you dare. Cake Cake - "all-purpose eclectic rock". Originating from Sacremento, California, their influences are apparently old country music, 70s and modern soul. There's definitely something different about them; perhaps the only band of their kind to cover a Doris Day track (and really rather well). Four great albums since 1994 (try "Fashion Nugget" - 1996) and very funny live. Garbage Three great albums and still superb live, even with Shirley's recent "androgynous" look. This is a rather good site for fans of the band. Lots of photos - some, very self funny. Boo Hewerdine As tall as The Honey Monster, but with a subtle, mellow and sometimes pained voice, he's a singer/songwriter to sit down and listen to. He's written some superb songs, like Patience Of Angels, quite a lot finding their way into the hands of Ms Reader - who better to do them justice after Boo himself? Formerly of the group The Bible ("one of the all-time great melodic English pop bands" - Time Out"), he's now usually seen out on his own. If you're lucky you might catch him with, or backing, Eddi Reader (and that's something you want to catch). "Boo is one of Britain's pop classicists, as a singer of real depth and emotion and a songwriter who never fails to hit the mark." - London's South Bank Centre Hooverphonic A neat band from Belgium, known in the past in Europe as Hoover. Hooverphonic produce some superbly crafted sounds: rich in sweeping symphonic moods and chill-out tones, but it is Geike Arnaert's vocals that put the icing on the cake. She's been likened to Liz Fraser in the Cocteau Twins or Tracey Thorn with Massive Attack. I particulary like "Mad About You" which comes in two very different video forms. They manage to reproduce their recorded magic at gigs - catch them. Kelis With a fantastic first album (Kaleidoscope - released 2000) and a not-bad-at-all second (Wanderland - 2001), this singer should go a long way, especially if she stays with the Neptunes (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo), the writers/producers who crafted a debut that just demands to be played again and again. Her website is well crafted too, if not a little slow to load. Don't just judge her by her first, shouty single "I hate you so much right now", the rest of the [Kaleidoscope] work is "gloriously fierce soul pop to the core" (not my words ... or hers). Did I mention her first album was fantastic?

Aimee Mann Not willing to compromise her art, and doll herself up just to please the eyes of the press (she's more concerned with pleasing ears) Aimee took a while to get going again, since her early success with the group Til Tuesday. Her work on the soundtrack of P.T.Anderson's film Magnolia gave her the exposure she deserve - it's high craft, and stands on it's own (though works so well with the movie). P.T.Anderson said of her: "Aimee is a brilliant writer. She writes lines that are so simple and direct, you are convinced that you have either a) heard it before, b) said it before, or even c) thought of it before (and just never wrote it down) ...she is the great articulator of the biggest things we think about..." Also check out It's A. Mann's World: The Best Music You Might Be Missing Eddi Reader Eddi Reader - I still feel annoyed for not finding out about her earlier. Much earlier. She is to singing what precision bombing is to warfare. Never a bum-note but not so perfect that she'd be dull. Her "Angels And Electricity" album (1999) is sheer bliss and she sets herself a difficult target to match again, though she's giving it her best shot. Get a copy while you can. Hey, get 2 and pass one out to friends. Soulwax Soulwax - along with Hooverphonic, the best thing to come out of Belgium since, er, Belgian Chocolates. Recording since 1995, their 1999 album "Much Against Everyone's Advice" was a sterling effort (and do try to catch the video for the title track - a great laugh). Catch 'em live - they've been known to eclipse the acts they're supporting. Sparks The Sparks Official Website. Finally Russell and Ron Mael get a home on the web, on a superbly produced site. Sparks: quirky, clever and sounding a little bit different - therefore they've been criminally overlooked for years. The boys keep swinging undaunted. Sparks' 1994 concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, was selected by Q magazine as "One of the 100 Greatest Gigs...Ever". "The essence of being a Sparks fan is that we know we are right and that everyone else is wrong." - Nicholas Royle, 30 Aug 2000 (Time Out, London). "If the advancement of pop music was a human rights issue, they'd be swamped with honorary doctorates and Amnesty International accolades" - LA Weekly New to the group? - try to grab a copy of "Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins" (1994); an ideal primer. The more familiar should complete their record collections with "Plagiarism" (1997) - great stuff. Sweet Laredo Sweet Laredo are Sarah Scott and Dan Coggins. They've not been together for all that long but have really been making a name for themselves. Catch them as a duet in places such as London's Jazz Cafe and 100 Club and maybe with a full backing band at larger venues such as London's Borderline. "stunning, beautiful, music from the heart" - Evening Standard. "minimalist and moody, funky blues with a lot of soul" - Time Out "an awe-inspiring blend of mesmerizing vocals and enchanting melody" - Sunday Times Their website's just started up but worth a check. Also have a look at Virtually Accoustic where you can find 3 full length MP3 tracks - though it doesn't look up to date on upcoming gigs. The Wannadies The Wannadies hail from Skellefteå, in Sweden. They were formed in the late '80s but it was in the mid 90's that they made it big. It was really when producer Nellee Hooper picked "You & Me Song" (from "Be A Girl" - 1994) for the soundtrack of the movie Romeo & Juliet in 1997 that the world took notice. Record company problems seemed to have halted them for a bit, but they're coming back now. Their recent problems mean you might be able to catch them in more intimate venues, at least for a while. The REAL Frank Zappa Home Page FZ - OTT?   never! If you're gonna get info on Frank, get it from the true home of the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, Barking Pumpkin and Barfko Swill merchandise, or nowhere else. A sad loss to the world: RIP FZ. Check out his kids too: Moon (born Moon Unit, 1967) - actress, artist, singer and authoress: Moon's written at least one book ("America the Beautiful" was a good debut). Dweezil (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, 1969) - actor and musician: Dweezil still puts out an album now and then, but never enough. To be congratulated for his vocal characterisation of "Ajax", in the much overlooked animated series "Duckman". Ahmet (born Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa, 1974) - actor, tv presenter and musician: Ahmet and Dweezil's band 'Z' sadly seems to have stopped turning out albums - best check out the album "Shampoohorn" while you can still get it, dude. Diva Zappa (born Diva Muffin Zappa, 1979) - actress, singer and photographer: Being the youngest, Diva's got some ground to catch up on her siblings, but I'm sure she'll go far. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Music reference sites The Ultimate Band List A "comprehensive music portal and search engine with a database of more than 100,000 artists and millions of links". Part of 'The ARTISTdirect Network'. AMG - All Music Guide Sometimes calls itself the 'All Media Guide'. An "encyclopædic database of music. Includes artist biographies, album reviews, and fully cross-referenced discographies". bandlink.net It's "your favourite music links on one page!" - a claim that I think they're working on very hard. Perhaps a bit more exhaustive in its listings than the other two websites I've given above.

The Indescribable Ken Campbell He's a bit of a secret, though possibly for a devious reason. Fans don't want you to know about him because the more people who know about him, the harder it will be to get in to see his performances. No, really, it's difficult to persuade folks to come along to see him because they ask questions like "what does he do" or "who's he like", not realising how impossible those questions are. "Ken Campbell is a grade 1 listed nutter. He should be cherished and visited often" - The Evening Standard If you've been lucky enough to experience a performance by Ken Campbell you'll know how hard he is to sum up in words alone. If you haven't, poor old you. "I don't think there is a more hilariously anarchic talent loose in British Theatre" - The Times For all those "seekers" out there, there's now some good sites:- fused.com's site The Farmbrough Pages "The Man is a Genius" - The Daily Telegraph - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Eddie Izzard Mrs Badcrumble. Tea and cake, or death Cats behind sofas, drilling for oil. Sean Connery as Noah, building a speedboat. Say no more. Check out his own site at:- Eddie Izzard's official site and buy Eddie gear at:- Eddie Izzard Official Merchandise

Animation Aardman A good place to find info and goodies on Wallace & Gromit, Rex The Runt, et al. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Don't Eat The Neighbours I like this show. I'm not really sure why but I think it's the level of the vocal talent and the fact that some big names in British and Canadian acting are stuffed into a sound studio to record the voices of rabbits, foxes and bears. A fun website too. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Duckman Still doing the rounds on TV even though (I think) the series has been axed, Duckman makes me chuckle. It's the tale of a disfunctional detective duck. Put into awkward slots in the British TV schedules, it never got the chance it deserved. The offical website has folded but try a visit to Joe Ducharme's fan site, for info, pics and sound files. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Gotham Girls A regularly-updated animated comic, featuring the good and bad girls of the Gotham environs. See Batgirl fight the evil forces of Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - The Muppets A nice bit of silliness, especially for those who remember them from the TV show from the 70's. Make sure you follow the links to Muppet World and pay Dr. Honeydew (and Beaker) a visit in the labs. You could also do worse than take a trip to the The Jim Henson Company site. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Toonhound "TOONHOUND, your starting point for British cartoon, animation, comic strip and puppet creations on the worldwide web".

Getting around UK Street Map A very good reference - a sort of on-line road atlas. Also, if you live in a built-up area, you may be able to click on a button and see an aerial photo of your house (though you'll need your magnifying glass to pick it out from the others in the picture).

Miscellaneous CD-WOW! I like these people. Really cheap CDs and DVDs shipped out with free delivery. A really helpful customer services team, should you need them. Not the greatest selection in the world but new releases and chart CDs at £8.99, and post free, can't be bad, can it? - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Delta Aviation Fancy experiencing what it must have been like for early aviators, by taking a flight in a biplane? No, I guess I hadn't really, until friends bought me a 20 minute taster flight in a Tiger Moth, as a birthday present. Loved it. You even get a chance to take the controls and have a bash at flying the plane. I did mine with Delta Aviation (who have other types of veteran aircraft as well), but other companies also do it - try LastMinute.com, or similar. If buying a flight as a present, I think the vouchers usually last for a year. And, when booking a flight, you'd be well advised to book as soon as possible, to get a day you want. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Friends Reunited I hardly need to plug one of the most popular websites ever, but as I used to work in the same office as the guys who created this new empire (what a small claim to fame) I feel I ought to give them my endorsement and best wishes. And to anyone that's written to me via Friends Reunited and to who I owe a reply; oops - sorry, working on it right now. Promise. - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Internet Anagram Server or "I, Rearrangement Servant" : "anagrams, wordplay, solve, crossword, transmogrify, pangram, shuffle, fun." Very good if you want a quick (and very long) list of anagrams for, say, a name. My name came up with some beauts, most too rude to quote here (though I think I can get away with quoting "Grind Leisure", which I quite liked). - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Neopets Apparently "the greatest Virtual Pet Site on the Internet. With your help, we have built a community of over 30 million virtual pet owners across the world! Neopets has many things to offer including over 90 games, trading, auctions, greetings, messaging, and much, much more. Best of all, it's completely FREE!" Ok, so it's downright childish but, hey, it's a bit of fun. I've got my pet - Derrrekkk the Nimmo (a Nimmo is one of the many types of creature that you can choose to adopt. Nimmo's are a bit frog-like. He's named in memory of the British actor Derek Nimmo). Mine is so sophisticated that he has his own webpage - - - - -  ¤  - - - - - Information on Sooty Sooty does a lot for the RNIB. For example, collection boxes in his shape raise approx £1million a year. The boxes are very popular with shop-owners and there's currently two designs, the newest being very appealing. So, I thought you might like to be able to find out some more about him... The Sooty page on Toonhound This looks like a very useful page for Sooty fans - no information but loads of links. Sooty World "The largest collection of Sooty related pics on the web" - unofficial site. I've not explored this site yet but the front page looks promising. A man called Sooty There's a chap at the University of Michigan who's acquired Sooty as a nick-name - he's had to set up a website to tell his American colleagues who his namesake is. It's got some good background on the star bear.

:-) Neil		Surridge

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