THE BLOGGERS BASH AWARDS ARE BACK!
Now in its fourth year, the Annual Bloggers Bash returns bigger and better than ever. The venue is booked, and the committee is busy working behind the scenes to ensure the day is full of fun, learning opportunities, networking, and, of course, the blogtastic award ceremony.
The nominations will open soon but we wanted to share the award categories with you to give everyone plenty of time to think about who they feel deserves a nomination.
Get your thinking caps on and keep an eye out for future posts. Nominations will open on March 6th 2018.
Award Categories for the 2018 Bloggers Bash Awards
BEST OVERALL BLOGGER
Who is the blogger that excels in a variety of categories? Who provides excellent content, is sociable and engaging with readers, shares other posts, or has a writing style that keeps you coming back time and time again?
Whoever you choose needs to be an all-rounder. A blogger that is head and shoulders above the rest as that’s what makes the Best Overall Blogger.
FUNNIEST BLOGGER
Which blogger always makes you laugh the most? Whether that’s through humourous content, or their blogging manner. A blogger that has your sides aching from laughter and brightens up the blog-o-sphere is what makes the Funniest Blogger.
MOST INSPIRATIONAL BLOGGER
Who inspires you? Is there a blogger that’s thought provoking and inquisitive? Perhaps they’re a muse to you with the constant provision of inspirational content or imagery. Who’s the one blogger that touched your heart? This is what makes the Most Inspirational Blogger.
MOST INFORMATIVE (Original Content) BLOGGER
This award is for the blogger with the most informative and original content. Who creates fascinating content that you find yourself longing to read? Perhaps they’re a history blogger or they write about the craft of writing/blogging, or maybe they like archaeology or wine tasting. They could be an artist or musician. The topic is irrelevant, it’s the original content that counts. A blogger who shares a wealth of knowledge in an informative way is what makes the Most Informative & Original Blogger.
BEST BOOK REVIEW BLOG
There are so many wonderful book bloggers out there, but which one stands out for you? Whose book reviews do you enjoy reading and engaging with? It’s not the number of reviews that’s important, but more about the quality of them. Who has you clicking the ‘buy now’ button after reading a riveting summary, or
who has the most thoughtful reviews? A blogger who shares an abundance of book reviews in a memorable way deserves the Best Book Review Blog.
SERVICES TO BLOGGERS
Which blogger goes out of their way to help others? Maybe this is someone who helped you kick-start your blog with tutorials or how-to guides. Perhaps they continually reblog your posts. It could be a blogger who consistently provides useful posts on how to boost your blog. Or maybe you want to nominate someone who provides an engaging platform for others.
Someone who selflessly dedicates themselves to other bloggers is who deserves the Services to Bloggers award.
HIDDEN GEM
Have you stumbled upon a blog by change and discovered useful information, or thought provoking content? Is there a blog that doesn’t get the notoriety they deserve? Maybe they have such an original style you can’t help but read their posts. A blogger who you believe should get the limelight for a change is who deserves the Hidden Gem award.
NEWCOMER BLOGGER
A category for those bloggers who have been blogging less than a year (joined the blog-o-sphere after 1st June 2017). Did they join with a bang? Have they made an impression? Do they engage with readers? Are they funny, or well designed, or maybe share posts that make you smile time after time. A newbie blogger who deserves recognition makes the best Newcomer Blogger.
BEST PAL
Which blogger do you want to go to the pub with? Or maybe have dinner with? Who never fails to reply to comments, and has thoughtful things to say? Maybe they encourage the community through weekly challenges or blog parties. A blogger who makes the blog-o-sphere a better place is what makes the Best Pal.
THERE’S STILL TIME TO GRAB YOUR BASH TICKETS!:
Tickets (available until 3rd May) £25 pp
Late Entry Tickets (available between 4th – 18th May) £30 pp
Please take note of the small print:
- Tickets are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled
- Tickets are non-transferable
- Tickets are limited on a first come first served basis
- Cost of a ticket is for entry to the event only (not for food or anything else)
- Those buying a ticket agree to comply with any health & safety rules set by the venue and to behave in a way that will not impact upon the enjoyment of other people
- The Committee reserves the right to change the venue and/or agenda of the event
- Payment for tickets via PayPal only.
WHAT IS THE BASH?
If you’ve never attended a Blogger Bash event before then you’re in for a treat. Created by Sacha Black and aided by her intrepid committee of eight bloggers, the Bash is open to any blogger, regardless of age or niche. Previous events have included speakers, competitions, a panel, and attendees from all over the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada.
There will be an opportunity to network, eat cake, and meet some amazing online friends in person! The event takes place in a single day, and you’ll be guaranteed a fantastic time and a sore face from all of the smiling that you’ll do!
Timings and the exact breakdown of the day will be available closer to the event, but it will start mid-morning and end in the evening. We will also announce the winners of the Bloggers Bash Awards, which you, the blogging public, vote for. You can see last year’s winners here.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Join Sacha and the committee in the Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/991165987611263/
You can also join us for our weekly Twitter Hour every Sunday 7pm-8pm using the hashtag #BlogBashChat or join in the conversation on Twitter by using the #BloggersBash hashtag.
Blogger Bash Award Rules:
The Bloggers Bash Awards are given annually to the Blog with the highest number of votes in each selected category (here, a Category and Categories shall be construed accordingly). Categories are chosen by the Bloggers Bash Committee (here, the Committee) each year and may vary at the Committee’s discretion.
Nominations to each Category are accepted from anyone, blogger or non-blogger who complies with the rules laid down for that year’s Award. These rules may change between years and the person nominating (here, the Nominator) is solely responsible for compliance with the rules applicable in any one year. Once a nomination has been accepted the person Nominated (here, the Nominee) will be eligible to have their blog (here, the Nominated Blog) included on the list of Blogs to be voted on in the nominated Category (subject to the rules permitting only one Category nomination per Blog – see below). The applicable rules applying to both the Nominator and the Nominee are as follows:
No one can nominate their own blog. In the event of any doubt the Committee’s decision is binding.
The Nominator is solely responsible to complete any specified Mandatory Fields that are designated at the time of the announcement of the Categories. In the event no Mandatory Fields are mentioned at that time they will
be deemed to include the full Blog address of the Nominee (i.e. http://nominatedblog.com) and the email address of the Nominee. Failure to include both at the time of nomination will render the nomination null and void.
At any point the Committee may waive strict compliance with 2 above in their discretion. However no appeals will be admitted.
Once a Blog has been nominated the Nominee will be notified by email. If the Nominee does not wish to have their Blog included in the Category the Nominee must notify the Committee by email within the specified time frame (and if none is specified within five working days of the date on which the email notification is sent). If no such withdrawal is received the Committee will include the Nominated Blog in the Category list for voting.
In the event that a Blog is nominated for more than one Category the Nominee will be notified. The Nominee will be able to choose under which Category the nominated Blog is included. The Nominee must notify the Committee by email within the specified time frame (and if none is specified within five working days of the date on which the email notification is sent). If no such notification is received within the specified time frame (and this includes if the notification is for any reason lost or not delivered after being sent by the Nominee; the Committee accept no liability for any failures whatsoever to receive the notification) the Committee will include the Nominated Blog in such Category as the Committee determines in its discretion.
Throughout the Nomination and Voting process only the Blog title supplied by the Nominator will be used; if more than one nomination for a Blog is received with differing titles the Committee will use such as it sees fit and accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.
The Committee reserves the right to exclude any Blogs form the voting process as it sees fit, without cause or giving reasons. In particular any R rated blogs, or any containing any offensive material (in the judgment of the Committee) will be excluded.
Voting will be organized and collated by, or under the supervision of, the Committee. While every effort will be made to ensure the accuracy of the voting process no complaints or appeals will be countenanced.
The results of the voting in each Category will be announced at that year’s Bash or in such a manner and format as the Committee determine.
Any prizes awarded for a Category will be dispatched at no cost to the winner to an address within the United Kingdom. If the winner wishes the prize to be dispatched other than to the UK the cost will have to be deferred by the winner or otherwise (in the Committee’s discretion)
In all circumstances the Committee decision final.
Each Category winner will be able to include the winning Annual Bloggers Bash Award badge for that Category on their blog and in such promotional material as they wish. However all copyright in the Badge is retained by Nica Hawkins de Koenigswater on behalf of the Annual Bloggers Bash and such use is licensed until such time as it is revoked by the Committee in the event of misuse (as determined by the Committee in its discretion).
No Nominator or Nominee may use the Annual Bloggers Bash Facebook page (insert details) or the twitter handle (insert details) [anymore?] for promotion/inappropriate material/promotion for votes for their Category or any other unacceptable use (as determined by the Committee). In such an event the Committee reserves the right to remove the Nominee’s Blog for the relevant Category.
The Committee reserve the right to change the rules if they deem it appropriate or expedient at any time. No appeals will be considered.
I had an impromptu trip into London yesterday. I’m currently trying to sort out a new passport for a trip I’m taking in a few weeks time, which has necessitated two trips to the Canadian embassy in Trafalgar Square. Yesterday’s visit was to replace my passport photos with another, equally dire set of images, as the ones I’d originally provided were ‘too glare-y.’
This is Cleopatra’s Needle in Westminster, London. One of three similar obelisks in London, New York and Paris, it is actually a pair with the one in New York, and doesn’t really have anything to do with the legendary Egyptian queen (other than being from Egypt).
The Needle is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, and originally stood in the city of Heliopolis, where it was erected around 1450 BC by the Pharoah Thutmose III. Originally it had a single column of heiroglyphics on each face, but two more were added around 200 years later, to commemorate the military victories of Ramses II. Around 12BC, the obelisks were moved by the Romans to a temple in Alexandria, where they remained, buried under sand, until 1819, when the ruler of Egypt and Sudan presented one of them to the UK in commemoration of Lord Nelson’s victories in the Battle of the Nile.
The British government were pleased with their gift (one would imagine), but not pleased enough to pay to have the obelisk shipped to the UK. That didn’t happen until 1877, when Sir William James Erasmus Wilson, a noted anatomist, paid the enormous (at the time) sum of £10,000 out of his own pocket to have the obelisk brought to England. The trip almost ended in disaster when the ship was caught in a storm, but eventually the obelisk arrived, towed up the Thames to its eventual resting place .
When the obelisk was installed in its current position, in 1878, a time capsule was placed in the pedestal base. It contained a set of 12 photographs of the best-looking English women of the day (!), a box of hairpins, a box of cigars, several tobacco pipes, a set of imperial weights, a baby’s bottle, some children’s toys, a shilling razor, a hydraulic jack and some samples of the cable used in the erection, a 3′ bronze model of the monument, a complete set of contemporary British coins, a rupee, a portrait of Queen Victoria, a written history of the transport of the monument, plans on vellum, a translation of the inscriptions, copies of the Bible in several languages, a copy of John 3:16 in 215 languages,[6] a copy of Whitaker’s Almanack, a Bradshaw Railway Guide, a map of London and copies of 10 daily newspapers. Phew!
The obelisk pedestal has several Egyptian embellishments, and is flanked by two cast-bronze Sphinxes. Placed incorrectly, they are looking at the obelisk, rather than outwards, guarding it. Benches in the area were also designed to reflect the Egyptian theme, with more Sphinxes holding up the seats.
Nowadays the obelisk looks out at the London Eye and The Shard, the waters running past it the cold grey-brown of the Thames, rather than the glistening Nile. It is an oddity, out of place and time, almost lost among the trees and buildings, traffic roaring past. I wonder whether it dreams of palms and blue sky, of desert heat, and a time when it stood, whole and proud, with its twin.
Helen Glynn Jones 