Obviously the first two articles were on the bands Close to Nothing and The Masterplans. This was fun as it was at the Vic which I knew well and I already knew the bands which meant all I needed was their answers to my questions! It was a long night but I was pleased with the band photos and the interviews they gave so the articles ended up nice and complete the next day. I like those articles and its kind of part of an ongoing process in getting the bands recognition from people who normally wouldn't hear of them, so I definitely want to fit in some more band articles during the rest of my time here. The day after publishing my first two articles was Saturday and I was off to Derby Metro Cinema for the first time in my life for the launch of the Film City youth forum. The idea basically is that the young filmmaking community will get the chance to coordinate with each other online with tonnes more active content envisioned. I hope it goes well for all involved, as it sounds very interesting and my article was featured on the Blast Local page, so I imagine someone else understands what the idea is on about! No rest for the wicked meant that on Thursday I was out and about again - this time to the Market Place in Derby which is basically a big square used for seasonal activities and right next to the Assembly Rooms; there was another launch, this time for Peter Pan the pantomime. Though not starting until December 8th, the majority of the cast turned up in full costume to greet the crowd, pose for pictures (during which I got to play the part of 'the press' who steps over the crowd barrier) and sign autographs. The best bit was to come though as the press junket continued inside where I was booked on the itinerary for 10-minute one-to-one interviews with director Keith Simmons, 'Captain Hook' Gary Wilmot and 'Minnie and Mermaid' Mina Anwar.
Apart from slight issues with the legibility of my own handwriting the next day, I loved the event from the press perspective and its definitely been the most enjoyable thing to cover so far! The weekend meant the annual Ponce in the Park free music festival was occurring. Though I'd never been before, I was determined to cover it this year. I don't know what I was expecting, but it did seem a tad of a let down, caused mostly by the weather. I went on the Saturday and the Sunday, which by then resembled a post-apocalypse world, with few survivors. Of course never to look down on opportunity, I managed to steal some time from My Psychoanalyst, another band who are on the cusp of a break on a national scale. They were friendly chaps and though noise from stage 1's metal band meant I had to get them to repeat themselves probably an annoying amount, it was another good interview. With all that out the way, the Derby arts world is looking relatively quiet this week, but with the A Level results out Thursday no doubt I'll have something to mention in the next diary. | 
