Cultivate: The Video

Hello again everyone!

Just a teeny post to share with you all the CTPTV video - quicker than, I'll be honest, even I expected!

Credit to Fergus for directing/editing, and of course the volunteers for their fabulous acting skills. Enjoy!

Weeks 10 & 11 - The Finale

Hello and welcome to the final blog for this round of the Cultivate Training Programme! For the sake of brevity we're going to do a whirl-wind tour of the final 2 weeks of the course - so grab yourself a cuppa and a mince pie (since it's Christmas!) and settle yourself down for some sewing, some pretending we're on the TV, and plenty more exciting stuff. 

**Please read right to the bottom of this post for details of how you can get involved in this training course if you're in the Aberdeen area!**

In week 10, the team designed the set for CTPTV (Cultivate Training Programme TeleVision, clever, huh? ;) ), and then took to the small screen to film an analysis of their experiences on the course so far. 

I'm genuinely always impressed at the level of creativity these guys display. Every time they're asked to do something they do it with such enthusiasm and skill, and the finished items are fantastic. I make fun of them for spending so long perfecting their creations but secretly I think all their work throughout the course has been inspiring - each one of them should be really proud. 

I didn't get to do the exciting TV stuff, I was busy typing assessment notes!

After much faffing - ahem, I mean planning -the team finally got themselves in front of the camera to talk about their Cultivate experiences.

 

They did really, really well, and hopefully I'll get a copy of the finished video for y'all so you can see the final product!

Week 11 was the final week on the course, and as such it was a week of finishing off. Everyone had their noses in their books as we tried to make sure all the outcomes had been completed and written up properly so everyone could get their Award without any hassle.

I also pretty much forgot to take photos because I was busy typing, but here's a few snaps of the guys hard at work!

And that's it! I have a plan to get each of the course candidates to send me a photo of them with their certificates when they receive them, so keep an eye out for that.

All that's left now then is for me to say a big "Well Done!" to the Cultivate team members, you've all been fantastic and got stuck straight in, best of luck with whatever comes next! I'd also personally like to congratulate Fergus and Linsay for delivering the course so well, they've been great at making sure the activities are varied and relevant, and ensuring everyone feels welcome and supported. And finally thank you to Kelly and Mandy who have made it possible for me to be involved and have opened up yet another window of opportunity for me - it is, as always, hugely appreciated!

***There will also be another Cultivate course starting in early January, so if anyone wants to get involved or find out more, contact Mandy Clarke from the Creative Learning team here! ***

So, for the last time for this session - goodbye from all the Cultivate team, and a Merry Christmas too!

Week 9 - Bandits

The four troopers who will be handing in their coursework in a few weeks. Well done Team Cultivate!

Due to a previous commitment, I, TC's expert blogger, wasn't there for week 9 of the Cultivate course. Resident photographer, Fergus, was on hand though to take some photos, and we reckoned it would be easy enough to piece together what the team got up to while I was away so I could blog about it. I'm a little late in catching up, but I've written below all about what happened during week 9, as far as I can make out.

 Locked in a cupboard at TCHQ, armed bandits had hidden four old projectors stuffed with dollar bills, safe and unassuming, in a place no-one would think to look.

Meanwhile, completely unaware that such treasure was hidden mere metres away, Hatti and Laura arrived at HQ and began to have a cuppa, and a chat with Linsay about what they'd be getting up to that day.

 After a while, they began to think it was strange that time was getting on and the rest of the team hadn't turned up, so Hatti went to look outside to see if she could see anyone.

Fergus had just arrived, with a van full of mysterious apparatus.

 With still no sign of Liz or Barney, Fergus set Hatti, Laura and Linsay a task...

Laura and Hatti search for Fergus's notes from last week in the spare paper box.

And while they were distracted, Fergus began to sneak the mysterious apparatus into the building.

By the time the girls had finished their task, Fergus had managed to hide all the stuff from his van inside the building. He settled down to begin the session as normal, and thought the girls hadn't noticed anything.

Things went smoothly for a while, as the volunteers who had turned up began to evaluate their volunteer experience in true Cultivate style - with coloured paper and a wooden strong man.

But all this hard work was a rouse. In reality, the cash hidden in the projectors was stolen and stored by Fergus, along with his two accomplices, Liz and Barney. While the 'good' volunteers were hard at work, this trio of bandits were making plans to recover the projector treasure, and use it to run away and buy an exotic island, or even one for each of them.

Liz, moving silently about the less-used rooms of HQ, had begun to gather up the supplies they would need for their master plan.

While Barney used his technical genius to burrow his way into the projector room.

 

The bandits had been planning this job for a long time. Since the beginning of the course they had been working out how to pull it off, drawing up detailed plans and making the supplies they would need.

 

 They had thought of everything. From how they would escape with the money...

...to what they would do with the 'good' volunteers to make sure they didn't talk...

...the bandit team had left nothing to chance. They even sought advice from an industry professional, to make sure their plan was watertight.

 And their hard work had paid off. The plan went well, and Barney even began to daydream of making his escape with all the money.

But they were not to pull of their heist so easily! The one thing they had done wrong was to underestimate the power of the 'good' volunteers. So, while Barney and Liz had been putting their plan into action...

...Hatti and Laura had been undoing all their hard work behind their backs. 

And although Liz was gathering materials as quietly as she could, Laura had in fact spotted her.

And so, by the time the bandits had gotten into the projector room, the goodies had beaten them to it!

Nae gonnae lie, the goodies look a bit psycho too...

See? Psycho.

And so the bandits went home empty handed, while the 'good' volunteers went on a wee holiday to Mexico. So, if there's no post for weeks 10 and 11 - you'll know why!