If I had £333,333.34 for every nomination Access received at this year’s Chip Shop, I’d be a millionaire!

That’s right, we’re up for three awards.

Further to this statement on How Do

“Last week the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, also asked MOSI and Body Worlds 4 to donate money to an ad campaign countering any adverse effect the show might have on people who otherwise may have been tempted to become organ donors”

we decided to write our own ads promoting organ donation. Two executions of the resulting campaign are in the running for ‘Best Charity Ad’.

Staying with the Body Worlds theme, our third nomination is for an ambient idea we just weren’t allowed to run.

The award ceremony takes place on August 21st in Edinburgh.

Fingers crossed.

The BBC reported tonight that Mozilla are attempting to break a record for the most downloads over a 24 hour period when Firefox 3 goes on general release today (17th June). Intending to download FF3, I did the honourable thing and followed the link from the BBC News article to the spreadfirefox.com website only to be greeted by a Drupal developer’s nightmare. An ‘Unable to connect to database server’ error.

It looks like the Marketing ploy for drawing attention to the Firefox site has been a little bit too much for the poor web server to cope with causing a database crash. This proves even some of the big guys (who have probably planned this for months) suffer technical glitches sometimes.

I just hope that they get this back up and running soon because it’s not the best advert for Firefox or Drupal and I’m still quite eager to have a bash with FF3.

I spotted this ‘grass roots’ marketing effort whilst walking around Chester, the morning after a very enjoyable Visit Chester and Cheshire tourism awards. It made me smile but did little to entice me in. Nothing to do with the charm of the pub but everything to do with my still thumping head.

Is it just me or are we being plagued by pidgeons? I even tried eating one the blighters last night in an attempt to do my bit to cull their kind. They’re everywhere (or at least evidence of their being everywhere!). I went for a run this morning and nearly came a cropper under their low flying exploits. Does anyone else fear that we are being taken over? I might be looking over my shoulder, but it’s not the credit crunch I’m losing sleep over, it’s the cooing grey army!

Back to the food variety though - it was really nice. And I was surprised. It was a set menu (at abode in Manchester), so I had no choice - I would never have actively chosen pidgeon, but I’m glad I did. Not that I’ll be trying it again too soon, or abode for that matter. Abode is a new hotel/restaurant on Piccadilly opposite the Malmaison. It’s a stange area full of new, modern, expensive buildings alongside the old, run-down, decrepid buildings - not for me.

And as for the pidgeons, I hope they go back to trafalgar square, where they belong.

Armed with remote controls and nunchucks, it’s time to commence the battle of the Wii. Girls are rocking the bowling alley with 4 dazzling strikes in a row, with the smelly boys gaining a cheeky second wind (hee hee!) and (only just) taking the winners medal…

Training camp now begins for tomorrow’s boxing round (cue the Rocky training anthem).

Not decided where to go on your summer hols yet?? Well, at the moment I’m proud to say that Sweden is experiencing and forecasting some brilliant weather! With burning sunshine (nearly 30 degrees!) and lovely beaches I’m packing my bikini and will leave Manchester for a few days! Lets just hope the petrol strike tomorrow won’t prevent me from getting to the airport in time… that would just be my kind of luck!

We managed to ’surprise’ Simon Landi this afternoon with cake and cards to celebrate his 40-something birthday. Wisely Simon has decided to take a holiday this coming week and will be spending his actual birthday this Tuesday camping with his family.

We’re all now enjoying birthday cake (there was a choice of chocy or lemon drizzle). What a grand way to spend a Friday afternoon!

As an alumnus of Manchester University it’s heart warming to read that students’ fees are being spent on researching the secrets behind the perfect sandwich. This article from the M.E.N explains that professors at Manchester’s premier academic institution have discovered that the natural bubbles in white bread are crucial to the success of a sandwich.

Personally I’m fond of ham and cheese on a spongy roll but following this news I’ll be sure to never try making a butty with unleavened bread.

There were a few smiles and thumping heads in the office after Manchester United’s triumph in Moscow last night. Since we overlook the stadium we’ve been watching the roadside flag and scarf sellers make their way up the road, and the occasional beeping of horns can be heard (The Bishop’s seems to be emptying as well). We’ll let you know when the GREAT BIG MASSIVE UEFA trophy arrives at Old Trafford!

With a few weeks to go before mid-summers day, nothing can dampen the spirits of the hard core runners at Access. And the training intensified this week with several of us entering the Warrington Road Runners 10k around Woolton Park - a beautiful quiet part of North Cheshire. This is the best time of year to be running, from 5am to 10pm there’s no excuse to catch some daylight, watching the world go ’round and nature waking up or bedding down, albeit listening to a bit of Bruce Springsteen or The Fratelli’s at 100 decibels!

Anyway, we’re off and training, so watch this space for some intense talk of achilles tendons, shin splints, groin injuries (maybe?) and fastest times over the next four weeks - i bet you can’t wait