tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54668019134793542002024-03-13T00:55:37.021+00:00ChrisKempt.comPersonal thoughts, previous games and other history.Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-3650096375749281672024-01-12T13:42:00.005+00:002024-01-12T13:42:44.051+00:00Home Made Stuffing (With an AirFryer)<p>Like many people I got on to the Airfryer bandwagon a few years ago (they're amazing - get one!), I've developed a bit of a repertoire with it and so I've decided to start writing-up some of the things I cook in it.</p><p>Tonight is 'roast' night (which I will use it for) but this morning I realised that I didn't have any stuffing mix... so I made my own! Here are the steps:</p><p style="text-align: center;">1) Take 5-6 slices of bread (whatever you have around) and dry them out in the air fryer on a low heat, around 120 degrees, for about 25 mins.<br style="text-align: left;" /><br style="text-align: left;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMXMgzFwgzcfMBOGwjedsNo-qMYIZLpTrkhGngCTeyprM6tabyohCulf-FUEfUpVHQeF8Te2qbC4iufpHDaTAiv-S08DbQWXlw5mbQB3F7dXH_7-YooB89cz_CWKgRK3BB5TGyGJSCVbwWPRqDZZnLzhFpV46qfMxs2kKm0OKRcjbtvgYwLRsIMJFU_Y/s3024/IMG_1648.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMXMgzFwgzcfMBOGwjedsNo-qMYIZLpTrkhGngCTeyprM6tabyohCulf-FUEfUpVHQeF8Te2qbC4iufpHDaTAiv-S08DbQWXlw5mbQB3F7dXH_7-YooB89cz_CWKgRK3BB5TGyGJSCVbwWPRqDZZnLzhFpV46qfMxs2kKm0OKRcjbtvgYwLRsIMJFU_Y/s320/IMG_1648.HEIC" width="320" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;">2) Once they're dry put them in a bowl and crunch/rub them between your hands to create breadcrumbs. You can put some of the larger chunks to one side to top the finished mixture if you want to.<br style="text-align: left;" /></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJI1mHeKgCrS9QajEnZ1JEgDa_GMPHQ-syr2fyErcgcqoo7hx9QER76dZl2mHVTgWqumZ6fO_KUCQTdE2KlYvb3oGOj0k0ogDFsfnMLoCZsUMAwurQ2pDthtxnYb_1fFf8DcB9xQVMEpCQVXOV8dpoC8kNp-d5cXRX7_pqzNBgnfnkpVQmWpAAG4laiTQ/s2854/IMG_1649.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2854" data-original-width="2854" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJI1mHeKgCrS9QajEnZ1JEgDa_GMPHQ-syr2fyErcgcqoo7hx9QER76dZl2mHVTgWqumZ6fO_KUCQTdE2KlYvb3oGOj0k0ogDFsfnMLoCZsUMAwurQ2pDthtxnYb_1fFf8DcB9xQVMEpCQVXOV8dpoC8kNp-d5cXRX7_pqzNBgnfnkpVQmWpAAG4laiTQ/w200-h200/IMG_1649.HEIC" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqntQDuX3nYjIZCptpFj3Ka9D3jN-xIbcgr02vXyY59Ap64TmexZzJIDuWDHYAbhesav5qOnsjk10WiqSybdWKxkly80JldvKIdYWc5vSIml0qITVTOBZF-S8NTs6FAQ-kJzyEpxcTJBq4qbBit6vEnU1w__MLh2PrBgLEDEU9LU9ZaHII8rvVyYRT6rU/s2634/IMG_1651.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2634" data-original-width="2634" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqntQDuX3nYjIZCptpFj3Ka9D3jN-xIbcgr02vXyY59Ap64TmexZzJIDuWDHYAbhesav5qOnsjk10WiqSybdWKxkly80JldvKIdYWc5vSIml0qITVTOBZF-S8NTs6FAQ-kJzyEpxcTJBq4qbBit6vEnU1w__MLh2PrBgLEDEU9LU9ZaHII8rvVyYRT6rU/w200-h200/IMG_1651.HEIC" width="200" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3) Add some butter, sage, pepper, salt and a small finely chopped onion (you might want to fry-off the onions first).</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnWeOReNTxNyONtD1QmcRAzrOifbv6ccphhsWiuBJLFU_voSfBxz58cjoCpfKzBo_xpqQeGv4qnXK9Alfvq5Xe1woxbpnOmqHHtS9QteEDlwxKOHsCb0zHYDboAetHLzNPQ1D3rD6ApcJsko4FkdfsGwwk9tBnhMGXH_oRWn0FnbSThSwbFB7nAHvboQ/s3024/IMG_1652.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqnWeOReNTxNyONtD1QmcRAzrOifbv6ccphhsWiuBJLFU_voSfBxz58cjoCpfKzBo_xpqQeGv4qnXK9Alfvq5Xe1woxbpnOmqHHtS9QteEDlwxKOHsCb0zHYDboAetHLzNPQ1D3rD6ApcJsko4FkdfsGwwk9tBnhMGXH_oRWn0FnbSThSwbFB7nAHvboQ/s320/IMG_1652.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;">4) Slowly add hot/boiled water (probably about 500ml) and stir until the mixture is a light, doughy texture. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxE23KtKFO-iWUUVEA30KoFWKdlrcpqA3SIbwqR6wx6S7fWBryu_TEEKJEpZaHECtbwvx6kTlpRJExG49EKG1BHE8fDi_xD9maqQlgGeBFScmiCO87IRZBugGZxXP_fSHfunikFcUcrDRtAvTDjBQT9zGWEifgXYF4vFbwRb9mluKVQDdmvjNgL9Lb2g/s3024/IMG_1653.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxE23KtKFO-iWUUVEA30KoFWKdlrcpqA3SIbwqR6wx6S7fWBryu_TEEKJEpZaHECtbwvx6kTlpRJExG49EKG1BHE8fDi_xD9maqQlgGeBFScmiCO87IRZBugGZxXP_fSHfunikFcUcrDRtAvTDjBQT9zGWEifgXYF4vFbwRb9mluKVQDdmvjNgL9Lb2g/w200-h200/IMG_1653.HEIC" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvZq7a4N_J9Ib2TQquo651O8fizb865B18Z0_p4xIgEcsWpAokadqk0hwURPa-HLS2P8sTxVC9fhYQk0YwQphi3nCpjDRWdKgGDMjW22Mpo6Ty2sF36cMzsvDnDKGH-Gud9iWE1lv7uU7j3sXOjviOVzfST1gct5MYiu4WldQDr7Yq0_6nSrIBwhKpx0/s3022/IMG_1654.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3022" data-original-width="3022" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvZq7a4N_J9Ib2TQquo651O8fizb865B18Z0_p4xIgEcsWpAokadqk0hwURPa-HLS2P8sTxVC9fhYQk0YwQphi3nCpjDRWdKgGDMjW22Mpo6Ty2sF36cMzsvDnDKGH-Gud9iWE1lv7uU7j3sXOjviOVzfST1gct5MYiu4WldQDr7Yq0_6nSrIBwhKpx0/w200-h200/IMG_1654.HEIC" width="200" /></a></div></div><div></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">5) stir in a small carrot finely grated.</div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZieqdKeFsW6zfq8jeQVm2Ha0r8jYgi07Z-Kqjf64PglMZU8xGtSiQP1Pc5bz382RA022GQNSoTYHBZOT-JrPk2JfautcDc6o3KL6_19YkU5H-q3Iu76Hri5S7GijLcVqijU_KkIYB7C9skRKuKYOIASHnMX0juBAHcGFKl1uJZQkLp9Nn51Z3uxG9gk/s3024/IMG_1655.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZieqdKeFsW6zfq8jeQVm2Ha0r8jYgi07Z-Kqjf64PglMZU8xGtSiQP1Pc5bz382RA022GQNSoTYHBZOT-JrPk2JfautcDc6o3KL6_19YkU5H-q3Iu76Hri5S7GijLcVqijU_KkIYB7C9skRKuKYOIASHnMX0juBAHcGFKl1uJZQkLp9Nn51Z3uxG9gk/s320/IMG_1655.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">6) Put the mixture into a greased oven-proof container, top with the chunks if you saved them and spray with a little oil to make the top go crisp.</div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DBdtfm9XeqhxBmK-EmfeUo4d3nEb2qBMjHzM6X12xZNPwdaCY85LHg0yYytq_Oq7gGbZxeenEXN1fMpPMskGP2bEYV0G5ToqEb1Kb9HKCiECnNuHPmf13IicN7AOvH9mmVIDntW_ztDMAplPK9KBl1qg9Q93IldpzC7BRG-XyZDW4ayyZEPoomq28p8/s3024/IMG_1656.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DBdtfm9XeqhxBmK-EmfeUo4d3nEb2qBMjHzM6X12xZNPwdaCY85LHg0yYytq_Oq7gGbZxeenEXN1fMpPMskGP2bEYV0G5ToqEb1Kb9HKCiECnNuHPmf13IicN7AOvH9mmVIDntW_ztDMAplPK9KBl1qg9Q93IldpzC7BRG-XyZDW4ayyZEPoomq28p8/s320/IMG_1656.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div></div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">7) When you're ready to cook it, put it in the oven for about 40 mins at 180 degrees, you could also cook it in the air fryer if you have space in which case reduce the time to 25-30 mins.</div></div><p><br /></p><div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: left;">I'll be cooking it later so I'll try to find time to update this with the finished result!</div></div>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-39587085508080966142023-12-24T16:31:00.007+00:002024-01-12T09:08:22.232+00:00Check Out Kempt & Co!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/5466801913479354200/3958708550808096614#" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Kempt & Co Banner" border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="960" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmGcE4XliPL4ziWAF3UmDhPUplFdc6WOdPFMvl9Y4VNhFnfnWznYN2A6Uerpa_60j1P1T3MVkv5xeEEFfA2Pc5DRQ89CMO5udtolDfRsz6iqabrA2aOy5lh9gfGc1F6qiz7h1QiUQYk4xkAfkL9Rq9oTYzdW21LtEckhg090m5eJSSl65HB3eYE0PtSE/w640-h127/kemptandco%20-%20banner%20-%20with%20background%20v2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">For the last couple of years I've been consulting to an array of digital/mobile and games businesses. You can read more about that at </span><a href="https://www.kemptand.co/" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">kemptand.co</a><span style="text-align: left;"> be sure to check out some of the </span><a href="https://www.kemptand.co/content" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">content I've published</a><span style="text-align: left;"> there.</span></div></div>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-25459921288631096992022-11-01T15:25:00.025+00:002022-11-02T14:28:01.336+00:00Finding Your First Job<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68hU5eUwR_WX7tQic6MxVCbQVjbkXdV89zJ2gj9Nc8wW9EmaK_awxr-UXEFEjmOUp9uCwk4_k0KK47BwoICfsN0nLeqkUnOAbjEn0ABPQxO7ILD8Dz7i2AC6Vtoe06-u5Zwa59mTQCanC4wnc7SQhn1naHyz17tw-t8RD6T6MKpQ3fR7sSu34C1er/s3405/48611411266_b2b027a676_o.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2783" data-original-width="3405" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68hU5eUwR_WX7tQic6MxVCbQVjbkXdV89zJ2gj9Nc8wW9EmaK_awxr-UXEFEjmOUp9uCwk4_k0KK47BwoICfsN0nLeqkUnOAbjEn0ABPQxO7ILD8Dz7i2AC6Vtoe06-u5Zwa59mTQCanC4wnc7SQhn1naHyz17tw-t8RD6T6MKpQ3fR7sSu34C1er/w320-h262/48611411266_b2b027a676_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/26344495@N05/48611411266/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Ivan Radic</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Students or recent grads that I meet often ask me how to start-out in the games industry (or creative industries more generally). Typically I give the same advice so I thought it might be useful to share it here.<p></p><p><b>1 - </b>Show that you can be flexible. People hiring for junior roles don't expect you to be an expert (even if they hope you'll become one later) but they do like you to be adaptable, willing to pitch-in anywhere you're useful and be able to understand the disciplines of the people you're working alongside.</p><div><b>2 - </b>Understand that qualifications show what you know (hopefully!) but not what you can do. You need to find a way to demonstrate your skills and passions effectively, as it's those that will land you the career of your dreams.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, whatever you want to do find a way to show it, for example:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Want to be a coder? Then make a game (or more!) and show it to as many people as you can for feedback. It doesn't matter much what you build it in - Unity, Scratch, GameMaker? I believe a recent <a href="https://www.pocketgamer.biz/news/78203/tap-tricks-unique-one-touch-skateboarding-action-wins-as-the-live-very-big-indie-pitch-returns/" target="_blank">Big Indie Pitch winner </a>was built in <a href="https://www.construct.net/" target="_blank">Construct 3</a>. Partner-up with an artist and a sound designer to show you can work in a team, or just do it all yourself to show your breadth of knowledge - no-one's going to expect it to be great art, just try and create something that's fun.</li><li>Want to write? Then write a basic setup and then use one of <a href="https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-tools-to-create-your-own-text-adventure-games/" target="_blank">the many freely available text adventure engines</a> to build a game based on it. That way you get to show your creativity at the same time as an understanding of what's involved in making a game.</li><li>Want to make music or sound? Put a collection of work together in a variety of styles and then use that to put a 45-60-second sound-reel together which you can quickly and easily share with anyone you meet.</li></ul></div><div>But - importantly - make sure you get whatever you work on to a point where it could be considered "finished" or "playable" in some way. The most common mistake I've seen inexperienced (and experienced) people make is simply being too ambitious with what they want to achieve and not being able to finish it off. So start small, you can always add more later if you have time!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>3 - </b>Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. This could be on Linked-in, at events, via companies' contact forms or you could even go and knock on some doors.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>In the latter case, one of the best bits of advice I ever had was from a lecturer at Art College. He told me:</div><div><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>"Don't knock on doors asking for a job Chris. What you do is say 'Hi, I've recently graduated and I was wondering if someone could spare me 10 minutes to tell me about what you do here?'. Creative people love to talk about themselves so you'll probably find is that they'll wheel you in, make you a cup of tea and talk about themselves for half an hour or so. After that they'll realise they have no clue who you are and ask out of politeness. That's your chance - you come back with something like 'oh well I've just graduated in [discipline] and I'm trying to work out how to get my first job. I have [my portfolio/showreel/prototype] with me if you'd like to take a look?' They'll take a look and, if you're lucky they'll give you a chance!"</i></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>I used that advice myself at the start of my career, I knocked on three doors:</div></div><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The first apologised, said they were busy with a deadline and asked if I could come back another time.</li><li>The second brought me in, spent about three hours talking me through what they did and exactly how they worked before wishing me good luck and saying they'd bear me in mind if anything came up.</li><li>The third made me a cup of tea, told me all about their business and - after I'd shown them my portfolio - offered me a paid internship starting on the following Monday.</li></ul><div>That internship led to a proper salaried role a month later, a decent pay-rise a six months following that and a job for a West End Creative Agency at the end of the following year. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll always be grateful for that advice and I hope it helps you as much as it did me!</div><p></p>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-20764659175579276792021-11-23T13:02:00.009+00:002022-11-03T12:54:30.128+00:00What Happened to Dead Five?<div class="separator"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GlhjwzyX2cU/YZzl-8RwACI/AAAAAAAANRw/fcAX-gH_uXMLkDbw1jLOafONarzKIzSqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1114/DeadFiveSkulls%2B-%2BProfile%2BPic.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Dead Five" border="0" data-original-height="1114" data-original-width="1114" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GlhjwzyX2cU/YZzl-8RwACI/AAAAAAAANRw/fcAX-gH_uXMLkDbw1jLOafONarzKIzSqQCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/DeadFiveSkulls%2B-%2BProfile%2BPic.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>Two years ago, with the help of some very good friends I setup Dead Five as I saw an opportunity in HyperCasual games.<p></p><p></p>It was (and still is) clear to me that these kinds of games were set to mature in production and design terms and leaving a lot of money on the table for the want of a few, fairly basic, monetisation features.<p></p><p>Dead Five was therefore intended to be a 12-month "get rich quick" scheme where: we'd build a bunch of hypercasual games, give them slightly more sophisticated treatments and meta-design than was normal for the genre, get a hit and make millions!</p><p>But things never quite work-out like you expect huh?</p><p>Initially the studio was quite successful. We got a ridiculous number of prototypes out of the door in the first couple of months (so many in fact that I struggled to service them all properly), several felt like they had potential, our initial tests were really promising and we started to build-up great relationships with the hypercasual publishers. I felt like we were on to a winner.</p><p>But then came the challenges.</p><p>It would be easy to blame the pandemic and it's true that shifting a team that's very used to working intensely together with a lot of collaboration and oversight to remote-working practices isn't easy but: we did it, handled it better than most, got some cool games built and one even won an award :).</p><p>So what were the real problems? I think we made a couple of key mistakes when we were planning Dead Five:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>We <b><i>totally</i></b> underestimated how chaotic, fragile and trend-driven the hypercasual scene is. These games make a relatively small amount of money on average per player and getting CPIs (marketing costs) down to a level where you can turn a game to profit is dependent on a huge amount of luck. People *think* that they can tell you what works but they're wrong. It's simply a case of building and testing enough stuff until you get that all-important hit.<br /><br />On top of that, market tests can be unreliable, for example:<br /><br />When we initially tested "Light the Fires" we did a CTR test which suggested that our CPIs would be around $0.6 and we expected the LTV (average total revenue per player) to be around $0.75-1. The project looked like a winner so we decided to build it out to beta without testing any further for fear of the game being "emulated".<br /><br />Beta complete, we tested again - this time a CPI test. With the same creative the CPI came out at over $2.5! We ran multiple tests through multiple accounts and the results were all-over the place. The best we achieved was $1.25 but other tests came back at nearly $4 and there was no clear correlation between creative and results.<br /><br />I *think* the key learnings here are that:<br /><br /></li><ul><li>CTR tests are an unreliable predictor of CPIs. IMO they're only really useful for comparing creative treatments.</li><li>CPI tests are also unreliable <b><i>unless</i></b> you have something which really works and gets you close to the magic target of sub $0.50. Typical testing budgets and processes don't generate enough impressions to get a reliable read on anything that's materially over that.</li><li>When you're working on a game (or any product for that matter) you basically have two key variables to work with: How much money you make from the customer and how much is costs you to reach them. In the current market it's <b><i>much</i></b> easier to influence the former than the latter, at least <b>if</b> you have the technical and design skills to do it.<br /><br /></li></ul><li>I under-estimated the amount of contingency we needed to build-in to the process. Our original plan allowed for around 20% wastage of production time, a figure that I've used effectively for years in previous studios and on over a hundred different games.<br /><br />But, in hindsight, most of the previous games I'd worked-on involved significantly less unknowns. The Flash Games scene of the early 2000s made it easy to reach an audience, having the Red Bull brand on a game helped with featuring and overall credibility and creating sequels to existing game IPs meant that we could focus on optimising the monetisation to make the game profitable.<br /><br />I think that when you're trying to break new ground you need to allow for a lot more wastage (upwards of 50%?) and if I'd anticipated this we might have made different production decisions, managed expectations better and - perhaps - gone out to raise some more money after our initial SEIS raise.</li></ol><div>So, here lies Dead Five. It was fun, lasted for twice as long as it was supposed to and I learned a lot in the process. I'm looking forward to applying those learnings to what I do next!</div><p></p>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-9481162484659126422020-01-02T00:40:00.000+00:002020-02-25T09:29:47.766+00:00What passes for wisdom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, it’s time to for me to start blogging again and (inspired by a recent conversation with a friend on Facebook) what better to start with a list of some of the things that I really should have done differently over the years:<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Don't rush in to having children</b> - Let’s start with this as, in some ways it’s the toughest one to explain. You see, I love my kids dearly and, obviously, I would never wish them away however I can honestly say that having them only a couple of years after starting a very ambitious business venture and not feeling emotionally ready for it at the same time was one of the toughest challenges I’ve ever faced as a human being. I’d like to think that they’d say I’m not a terrible father but I feel like I could have been a better dad to them if I hadn’t been under so much pressure and felt more prepared for it.</li>
<li><b>Guard your bandwidth </b>- Although tactics and strategy are important it's a reality that most battles are simply won by overwhelming the opposition. The only exception to this I can think of is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae" target="_blank">Battle of Thermopylae</a> in which a few thousand Greeks held 20-30x that at bay by controlling their (and therefore the enemy's) bandwidth. By choosing to fight within a pass the enemy were simply unable to overwhelm them. Anyway, setting appropriate boundaries and ensuring you're not overwhelmed is one of the keys to staying sane and in control of yourself - it's *particularly* important as a leader - you can't lead other people effectively if you're struggling with your own load so:</li>
<ul>
<li>Ensure that you get a good system</li>
<li>Delegate as much as possible</li>
<li>Leave contingency time</li>
<li>Let "under-promise/over-deliver" become your daily mantra.</li>
</ul>
<li><b>Don't be afraid to burn a few bridges here and there</b> - Obviously it's a good idea to do your best to be liked both in a business and personal context but one thing that I've learned in recent years is that it's also not such a bad idea to let a few things go along the way. Trying to make a bad situation work or maintain an opportunity that's not a good match for you takes a huge amount of work mentally and is often also not a good experience for the other people involved. So - try not to be an arsehole but avoid flogging a dead horse.</li>
<li><b>Overcome/avoid Target Fixation</b> - There's an interesting phenomena which I first came across by doing track days which is known as Target Fixation - a driver can become so fixated on a hazard that they want to avoid that the inadvertently end up driving towards or even crashing into the obstacle concerned. With experience behind the wheel you progressively learn to look at the space around the object instead and and thereby avoid the danger. Obviously this doesn’t only apply to driving (I remember crashing into a wall on my bike as a kid for similar reasons, sorry Dad!) but I believe it also applies to your wider undertakings. It's very easy in life to become so focussed on the one thing that you fear or don't want to happen that you kinda end-up making it happen - once you get into the grip of that fear it's really hard to let it go so my fundamental advice would be to try and always go with your gut in the first place - if it doesn't feel right to you it probably won't be if only due to target fixation.</li>
<li><b>Don't be a clown if you want people to take you seriously</b> - I’m still figuring out what this one means exactly and it might be an issue that’s quite specific to me as I have always had a tendency to act like the class clown. You can kinda get away with it in your thirties (particularly if you work in games) but as you progress and the stakes get higher people expect a certain level of seriousness and awareness of the right time and place for frivolity. Unfortunately if you’re the boss you kinda have to act like it.</li>
<li><b>Have regular medical checkups and go to the doctors if you’re sick </b>- Sounds super-obvious but I can tell you from experience that it’s easy to let slip. In my case I suffered from untreated acid reflux from about 1999, let my health seriously deteriorate due to the pressure I under while running Kempt/Burke & Best, suffered from high blood pressure in the latter years, took Asprin to help with that and then - after rashly buying a skateboard at the age of 40 - had to ply myself with lashings of ibuprofen in order to cope with the resulting beating I took. Undoubtably some or all of these factors resulted in my cancer diagnosis in 2017 which - needless to say - I would strongly recommend avoiding if you can.</li>
<li><b>Get critical illness insurance</b> - Hopefully you’ve already got life insurance but do check that it also covers critical illness. Mine didn’t, if it had I would have been sitting on a tidy sum right now and it would have made the process of going through treatment and recovery A LOT easier.</li>
<li><b>No, the housing market will not inevitably crash</b> - As a child of the 80s I witnessed the effect on my parents and other people of the huge fluctuation in house prices we saw at that time. Unfortunately this made me very risk averse with regard to investing in property which has meant that, over the last couple of decades I kinda missed-out. In hindsight, it’s better to be investing in your home than paying a landlord but, that said, I would still advise against mortgaging yourself to the hilt - life is for living and you never know what’s around the corner.</li>
<li><b>There's a difference between brave and foolhardy </b>- One of my favourite sayings is "fortune favours the brave" but its important to remember that you also need to not be reckless. Before you undertake anything ambitious consider the cost of it going wrong and weigh it up against that. What's the absolute worst that could happen? Is it worth the risk?</li>
<li><b>Cash out occasionally</b> - When you’re young and you don’t have any real commitments it’s easy to take a few risks but as you get older it gets progressively more difficult. On top of this there can be a temptation in business to keep doubling down on your investment and, when things get tough, this can end-up with you being backed into a corner financially and having to act out of necessity (instead of your best interests) in order to solve the problem. To help with this make sure you cash-out occasionally during the good times, make sure that you have a decent financial buffer against the inevitable tough times - particularly if you’re planning a significant change in the business.</li>
</ol>
Well, there you go! I’m sure there are more things that I could share but that feels like a decent starter for now, hope it’s of some use to someone.Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-89309467230428112342019-12-11T00:38:00.000+00:002020-02-24T15:43:37.583+00:00Recent NHS Experiences<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Following a (obviously fake) post I saw yesterday on Facebook which was trying to debunk the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-jack-williment-nhs-boy-hospital-conservatives-election-austerity-a9239216.html?fbclid=IwAR0mgLB4mz28d4oQ1UJssRJcEoJew7C1GhSRF3ytgw7CTR5d0V5XPhzkShc&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1575906935">‘a kid with pneumonia lying on coats on the floor in hospital’</a> incident I thought I might share a selection of my first-hand, and worrying, experiences with the NHS - all of these occurred within the last 3-4 years:<br />
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1 - I spent a lot of time in a Chemo unit which was so understaffed that the 3 nurses who were running it (should have been 6-8) were having to run from machine to machine to keep up.<br />
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2 - I spent 11 weeks in specialist gastrointestinal ward in London. During my stay staff shortages were extreme and most of our nurses would arrive at least an hour early and leave a couple of hours late just so they could get the job done.<br />
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These issues were compounded by the fact that about half the other people in my ward were *actually* there because of mental health issues that there wasn’t proper support for e.g.:<br />
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One chap kept pulling his stitches open in order to avoid having to go home.<br />
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Another had an Oesophageal tear (very dangerous) and was only supposed to be on liquids but would sneak-out to get McCoys crisps and eat them whole in order to try and reopen the tear. He was a very intelligent chap but homeless (due to having been kicked-out by his wife) and had nowhere to go if he was discharged.<br />
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And yet another didn’t even have a gastrointestinal condition. He had a stab-wound to his hand, was violently schizophrenic and would regularly threaten the staff/patients. I woke up with him standing over my bed one night which was fun.<br />
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3) - I spent another pleasant week in QEQM (Margate) in the ‘clinical decisions unit’ - basically a bed in a corridor next to the toilet - because there wasn’t space for me in London and the non specialist staff in Margate couldn’t work out what to do with the 15-20cm abscess that had appeared next to my scar. It finally burst at about 3am at the end of that week and a poor nurse was left to mop-up/squeeze-out about a litre of puss from my back.<br />
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4 - Unrelated to my own medical issues - I once attended A&E on a Tuesday evening in Margate as a friend had fallen and dislocated/smashed his shoulder to pieces. We arrived at about 7pm, he had to wait in reception for about 4-5 hours with only a few paracetamol for pain relief and when we finally got in to the clinical area he was put on a trolly next to the printers in the corridor. He wasn’t actually seen by a physician until about 3-4am and was finally given a proper bed at about 9am - 14 hours later.<br />
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During that time we witnessed doctors having to literally sprint from patient to patient, a homeless couple repetitively overdosing on tranquillisers just to avoid being kicked-out into the cold, a poor old guy with dementia roaming the ward - abusing other patients and on one occasion tampering with another patient’s IV pump.<br />
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The issue was clear - due to the closure of Canterbury hospital most of the beds in A&E were taken-up with elderly patients who they didn’t have space for in the wards.<br />
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Conclusion:<br />
Within all of the above, I can fault very, very few of the people who looked after me/us and - quite simply - without them I wouldn’t be alive today. But, it’s clear to me that the NHS is now at breaking point and that something needs to be done.Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-60109560440143980662017-03-26T13:59:00.004+00:002020-02-24T18:21:42.019+00:00Take Your Opportunities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Running a business - even a relatively small one like mine gives you a remarkable vantage point from which to observe certain parts of life and one of the things that I enjoy most about my specific job is the opportunity it gives me to spot/develop talent. It’s thrilling to see someone join the team and grow into a valuable, formidable professional who’s at the very top of their game - in fact no other part of my job is more rewarding.</div>
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However, on the flip-side, a source of constant disappointment to me is how few people take the opportunities that we give them.</div>
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Being the only game studio in 50 miles we get a very large number of both applications for jobs we advertise and speculative enquiries from students and grads. I personally review every single one we get and pride myself in looking for the potential in everything even when the overall portfolio we’ve been sent is a bit poor. If there’s something that I like, I’ll often respond by suggesting that the person concerned do a bit more work and come back to us in a few weeks time or perhaps get them in for a coffee and a chat, give them some tips and send them on their way in the hope that they’ll come back with something really impressive.<br />
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<b>But here’s the thing… Almost no-one does!!!</b><br />
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I know that sometimes there are reasons for this - some people might decide that we’re not the right company for them, others have personal issues to deal with, and others still just don’t have what it takes but no-one? Seriously? What’s with that?</div>
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So, for what it’s worth, here are some tips in case you get yourself into a similar position sometime:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>You need to be resilient to work in the creative industries, this means taking-on feedback, acting-on it where relevant and (without being a total pain) being persistent - make sure you get that meeting you want and, when you do, be prepared.</li>
<li>I know that getting a cool job in a creative company can seem like an insurmountable challenge at times and it can be tough but bear in mind that:</li>
<ol>
<li>90% of the people who approach us are, sadly, not suitable for one reason or another. You only have to be as-good or better than the remaining 10%.</li>
<li>The people who are interviewing you will have almost certainly been through the same thing - they want you to succeed - but they also need you to make it happen.</li>
</ol>
</ol>
</div>
<div>
So, in summary, if you want to be successful (which I would define as getting close to fulfilling your potential - not a arbitrary financial measure) then please, please, please, take your opportunities! They’re all around you all the time, you just have to be listening out for them and put a bit of work in. I assure you, those that do NEVER regret it.</div>
Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-19875459632096044672014-10-16T18:23:00.002+00:002014-10-16T18:29:23.375+00:00How the iPad Changed Everything...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm currently sitting watching the stream from today's Apple event in Cupertino, they've just announced the iPad Air 2 (much to the chagrin of one of my iPad Air - owning team) and it reminded me how much things have changed in the last 3-4 years thanks to Apple.</div>
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Just this morning I witnessed a scene which distilled this change more clearly than I would have ever thought possible. On the way to work i stopped off at our local Tesco filling station, it was about 9:30 - hardly peak time, and it's a big station so you wouldn't expect it to be too busy - but what greeted me was an end-of-the-world-style scene reminiscent of a George A. Romero movie - cars queueing 5 deep, people shouting at each other in frustration and trying to barge each other out of the way in order to get to the pumps.</div>
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Did some kind of flash fuel crisis which cause panic buying? Was there some kind of crazy special offer they were all racing to get? No... it was an upgrade of the pumps.</div>
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Last night, the station had upgraded to the new system pictured above which allows you to pay at the pump. The problem was that, faced with this new pretty colour screen, the customers couldn't work out that they had to use the buttons below to control it - they all assumed that it was a touch-screen and therefore couldn't get it to work, they didn't even notice the fisher-price-style buttons beneath it!</div>
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4-5 years ago this would have been inconceivable - most people rarely encountered touch screens in their daily lives - but now the technology is so ubiquitous people find it difficult to understand when it's not used. So, did iPad change everything? I have to say, I think so.</div>
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Good work Apple - looking forward to getting my hands on the iPad Air 2!</div>
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(Where's my <a href="http://www.chriskempt.com/2012/10/apple-tv-2013-beyond.html" target="">Apple TV update</a>?! Please!!!)</div>
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Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-18875470432689506232014-07-08T22:09:00.000+00:002014-07-08T22:09:27.835+00:00Non-Standard Careers AdviceToday I visited a local school to do a careers talk - one of many that I've done in the area since we moved here. As ever it was loads of fun to do - it's great to chat to kids about the industry and, lets face it, Me is one of my favourite subjects :)<br />
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Anyway - since the talk is fresh in my head I thought it might be useful to jut down some of my key tips in case someone out there can benefit. So here we go:<br />
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<b>If you want to have a great career in the creative industries I suggest you:</b><br />
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<b>1) Be Interested</b><br />
As well as interesting. Whilst you should be proud of your ideas and skills, remember that experienced people probably won't be so impressed initially. They're probably wrong, you're definitely going to be the next big thing, but there's still a huge amount you can learn from them. Remember that creative people love to talk about themselves so, be interested, ask as many questions as possible and wait for them to be interested in you.<br />
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<b>2) Be Confident</b><br />
Following on from the above though, be confident in your abilities and - if you're young - remember that things change quickly and it's only a matter of time before they are out of date and you are the new breed. You can do it, go for it! But do avoid telling people that you're gunning for their job.<br />
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<b>3) Be Brave (but not stupid)</b><br />
Don't be afraid to take a risk here and there if it feels like the right thing to do - particularly while you are young. Bear in mind that the consequences of procrastination are often worse than the consequences of acting and that it's easier to make mistakes when you don't have any commitments. Generally, the further you can get in your 20s the more successful you'll be in your 30s onwards.<br />
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<b>4) Be Kind</b><br />
Remember that your relationships are the the lifeblood of any creative business, nurture and maintain them at all costs and try not to abuse them. It's okay to ask for help now and again but it's important that you try to balance it by returning the favour if at all possible. Sometimes it's just as simple as telling people how much you appreciate their assistance.<br />
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<b>5) Be Open</b><br />
Don't approach every relationship as if you're looking for something out of it - be open to new people from different sectors, you never know where the next opportunity will come from.<br />
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<b>6) Be Lucky</b><br />
Remember that if you get on with stuff you can craft your own luck out of the "luckticles" that surround you all the time - often referred to as opportunities - so pick an activity and get stuck in!<br />
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<b>7) Be Strong</b><br />
If you're aiming to be successful in the creative industries it's only a matter of time before someone tries to knock you down a peg or two. Remember that: it's almost never personal, the person doing the knocking may also have their own challenges which might, in turn, be influencing their actions and - most importantly - never discount the possibility that they might be in the right. If you're going to aim high it's inevitable that you're going to make a few mistakes along the way.<br />
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Well, there you go! Hope someone finds that helpful and - if you do - please do let me know!Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-43880096693265419212014-03-05T17:21:00.002+00:002014-03-05T18:44:58.538+00:00Turbo-Mega-Awesome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bELY5jdF9zQ/UxdH6808GrI/AAAAAAAABfQ/pfkmEqJflWQ/s1600/3357971324_f9b0199b9c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bELY5jdF9zQ/UxdH6808GrI/AAAAAAAABfQ/pfkmEqJflWQ/s320/3357971324_f9b0199b9c_o.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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When I was younger I knew 3 things for certain:<br />
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<ol>
<li>The more exhaust pipes a car had the faster it was,</li>
<li>Sarah Greene was very interesting for some reason,</li>
<li>Anything "turbo" was automatically awesome.</li>
</ol>
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Now that I'm older I'm enlightened - I understand that car-manufacturers play with your head by adding additional, technically unnecessary, exhaust pipes to their cars but I'm kinda okay with that. My understanding of Turbo however is different matter, I now realise that there are only two acceptable uses of the term:<br />
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<ol>
<li>In a post-modern/retro/ironic fashion i.e. "he's a turbo bell-end" or "Turbo Super Ultra Mega Snail Racing will be out on iOS this fall"</li>
<li>If something actually has a turbocharger on it - in which case it is way too cool for its own damn good.</li>
</ol>
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What's the significance of this? Well, one of my obsessions in life is efficiency, specifically how to get maximum effect for minimum effort. This obsession seem to permeate and flavour my entire life - for example: At Kempt despite our our relatively modest resources we regularly produce content that is more successful and popular than the output of much bigger studios. We have our entire house and the office rigged up with efficient and beautiful LED lighting and, of course, there's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.118642495076.204345.730925076&type=1&l=b8949c6680" target="_blank">my Smart Roadster </a>which I love dearly.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_AwJfHzc5K4/Uxdbx6irVeI/AAAAAAAABfg/eAf8a6AgHxw/s1600/2061_121274570076_2855_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_AwJfHzc5K4/Uxdbx6irVeI/AAAAAAAABfg/eAf8a6AgHxw/s1600/2061_121274570076_2855_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Smart Roadster was about a decade ahead of its time. It's eco-credentials are impressive even by modern standards - much of it is made out of recycled plastic and it's tiny 700c engine delivers up to 60mpg but it also looks awesome, handles like it's on rails and gets to 60mph in a respectable 9-10 seconds depending on tuning. How does it manage this? Simple - it weighs around 800kg and it's turbocharged. Sadly the Roadster was too early, expensive and... admittedly, leaky to be the massive success it should have been but there's no question about it in my mind - turbocharging is awesome.<br />
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However, recently thing have started to change - over the last few years there've been a few other cars which have cropped up with similar credentials. First was the <a href="http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/fiat/500/17912/fiat-500-twinair" target="_blank">Fiat 500 Twin-Air</a> with it's turbocharged 875cc 2-cylinder engine. Then the ecoboost, a 3-cylinder, 1000cc engine from ford which they put in the Fiesta and then, tantalisingly, <a href="http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/ford/66113/formula-ford-10-ecoboost-review" target="_blank">dropped into a Formula Ford</a> resulting in a track car that could do 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and yet get 57mpg - again, it's turbocharged.<br />
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Most interestingly of all though, Caterham have now waded in to the arena with the <a href="http://uk.caterhamcars.com/cars/seven-160" target="_blank">Seven 160</a> which uses a great little 3-cylinder 700cc engine from Suzuki with, yes you guessed it, a turbocharger bolted onto it! It'll do 0-60 in under 7 seconds which is quick by anyone's standards and yet get you 50+mpg. Anyway... this is cool because:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Caterhams are British - yay!</li>
<li>This is the first car with this kind of formula to come on the market since the Smart Roadster was discontinued.</li>
<li>I called Caterham about 6 or 7 years ago to ask them about the feasibility of building a Caterham using an engine/running gear from a Smart Roadster!</li>
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To be honest - at the time - I got a fairly frosty response, I don't think they liked the idea of other people messing around with their formula. But I'd like to think that I might have sown the seeds of an idea with them, it's just a shame it took them seven years to get around to :)</div>
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Photo Credit: Turbo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/crestway75/3357971324/sizes/o/" target="_blank">Perry French</a>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-72816495800914529592014-01-17T14:38:00.003+00:002022-01-17T22:23:54.958+00:00Alice Cooper Was Wrong<div>One of my favourite songs is Alice Cooper’s “Lost in America” which I’ve loved ever since I caught it late one night on an episode of Beavis and Butthead, it's a hilarious example of 80s rock cheese - the lyrics for the first verse are:</div><div><br /></div><i>I can't get a girl, 'cause I ain't got a car</i><br /><i>I can't get a car, 'cause I ain't got a job</i><br /><i>I can't get a job, 'cause I ain't got a car</i><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i>So I'm looking for a girl with a job and a car</i></div><p>Which, in the video B&B riff-off to great comic effect.</p><div><br /></div><div>For me though, this song works on two levels: On the one hand it gives me a wonderful sense of nostalgia for the naivety of my early teens - a time when life appeared to be much simpler, full of such bright colours and contrast and not the complex (but still beautiful) shades that it is now. On the other it seems to rather beautifully sum up the frustration that anyone who finds themselves at a disadvantage can feel, a sense of powerlessness that will also often be accompanied with a simple but totally unrealistic solution. “It’s okay though - I’ll sort it out when I win the lottery” kinda thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps therefore, Alice’s lyrics should have been something along the lines of:</div><div><br /></div><i>I can't get a girl, 'cause I ain't got a car<br />I can't get a car, 'cause I ain't got a job<br />I can't get a job, 'cause I ain't got a car<br /></i><div style="text-align: left;"><i>So I decided to go and stay with a friend and sleep their floor for a while which will allow me to do some work experience at the company just down the road. if i work hard and put the hours in for them they might give me a job or at the very least a good reference - I reckon that within 6-12 weeks I can be in a good job with prospects and within six months I’ll have a half-decent car. Then I just need to work on finding a nice girlfriend.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Admittedly that doesn’t scan quite as well.</div>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-76467735250479525182013-07-09T20:58:00.001+00:002013-07-09T20:58:52.737+00:00Super heroes are so last decadeTen years ago, when I started the company, super-heroes were cool.<br />
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Today they're still cool... but just a bit too cool for their own good. Over the last decade I've watched as gradually more and more people started wearing super-hero tee shirts and company after company decided that it'd be a really original idea to have super-heroes as their mascots.</div>
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Late last year it started to hit me that:</div>
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<ol>
<li>We desperately needed a re-brand.</li>
<li>We're not the heroes of digital marketing any more - we are a game studio who are really fucking good at working with brands.</li>
<li>Our brand just didn't do justice to the amazing talents of the people that I am privileged to work with every day.</li>
<li>I desperately didn't want to do what many of our competitors have done over the years - relaunch with a dull, corporate image - disowning their own, anarchic past.</li>
</ol>
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As a result I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to introduce our new brand - Kempt - Home for the Terminally Creative!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vpv3xMB0YUw/Udx0ppwibRI/AAAAAAAABVk/ZPmXmMasaGU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-09+at+21.35.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vpv3xMB0YUw/Udx0ppwibRI/AAAAAAAABVk/ZPmXmMasaGU/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-07-09+at+21.35.27.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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TBH the rebrand only consists of an under construction page and a business card (quite possibly the world's coolest) but you can check out the <a href="http://blog.kempt.co.uk/2013/07/kempt-is-10-time-to-look-old.html"><span id="goog_2094810536"></span>Kempt blog<span id="goog_2094810537"></span></a> for a bit more info.</div>
Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-24522775839305070112013-07-09T20:57:00.000+00:002020-02-24T10:03:46.941+00:00Kempt is 10... time to look old.Ladies and Gentlemen - a new era has arrived... and it's the 19th century!<br /><br />Today we launch part one of what might well be the world's slowest rebrand. We've been working on it for nearly a year already and, frankly (unless we can find a good front-end developer) we might well still be working on it in another 12 months! But... part one is done... Phew.<br /><br />Thus far our rebrand consists of:<br /><ul><li>A logo</li><li>An image</li><li>And an under construction page.</li></ul><div>All are fricking amazing though and huge props to Kit, Al, Fryer and Ben for their sterling work on it.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LttOMa4ao0/Udx0PoFnZ-I/AAAAAAAABVc/qJUuITJ9OtY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-09+at+21.35.27.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LttOMa4ao0/Udx0PoFnZ-I/AAAAAAAABVc/qJUuITJ9OtY/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-07-09+at+21.35.27.png" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>However we also have a secret weapon... courtesy of <a href="http://richardoram.wordpress.com/">Mr Richard Oram</a> who finished off the identity work and prep'd it for print and the wonderful people at <a href="http://www.solways.co.uk/">Solways</a>, one of England's finest printers. We have what is purported to be the world's most awesome business card.<br /><br />After the print work was finished Tim was so excited that he sent me a lovely email<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh – stunning results - Great design, print and paper working together.... The best ever."</blockquote>Together with a lovely pic:<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NkC93jW6Bow/Udx3psI_7vI/AAAAAAAABV8/Ar8_A5RfFoI/s1600/IMG_3395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NkC93jW6Bow/Udx3psI_7vI/AAAAAAAABV8/Ar8_A5RfFoI/s400/IMG_3395.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can see more info about the project <a href="http://www.solways.co.uk/the-best-business-card-ever-quality-printing-london/">over on the Solways blog</a> where you can even order a sample! What are you waiting for? These things cost me a fortune so you're not getting one from me!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Joke Tim... sorry :o) Actually they were very reasonable for what they were and the service we received was impeccable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So... hope you like it! <a href="http://www.chriskempt.com/2013/07/super-heroes-are-so-last-decade.html">Check out Chris's blog</a> for a little bit more info.</div></div>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-50590688041352389112012-12-12T08:30:00.000+00:002012-12-12T08:30:02.963+00:00Hot Steve - Once in a lifetime... Today is a very special day my friends. Today we pay tribute to the nameless heroes of Rock and Roll. The dudes that tune the guitars, lift the amps, score for the band, and provide 'backup support' in... handling groupies.<br/><br/>Yes, my friends... Today is International Roadie Day. 12th December 2012 or rather 1-2, 1-2, 1-2.<br/><br/>On such a solemn day, a day which will not be repeated for another 100 years, I would like to pay tribute to all those fine men and women who - through a combination of hard work, diligence and supernaturally resilient livers - managed to get the job that I always dreamed of.<br/><br/>Sadly it would be impractical, nay impossible, to list the thousands of remarkable individuals that we respect to today but I don't want to let such a magical day pass without giving at least some kind of individual recognition and therefore my efforts today shall be dedicated to my own personal roadie hero - the ace guitar tech for the Wildhearts/Ginger - all hail 'Hot Steve':<br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P6q9FniZy2s/UMe0AKQiF6I/AAAAAAAABI8/MipUWu2rPD4/s389/Photo%2525209%252520Jun%2525202007%25252009%25253A06.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P6q9FniZy2s/UMe0AKQiF6I/AAAAAAAABI8/MipUWu2rPD4/s389/Photo%2525209%252520Jun%2525202007%25252009%25253A06.jpg" id="blogsy-1355265146750.7854" class="alignnone" alt="Hot Steve" width="389" height="345"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Like all the best things, Hot Steve is actually a bit of an enigma. <a href="http://www.gingerwildheart.net/tag/hot-steve/" target="_blank" title="Hot Steve">Googling him reveals</a> glimpses of his true importance but no real information as such. And yet there he is at every gig, the genius behind the scenes but at the same time somehow integral to the show - like the one stable element in a the otherwise ridiculously dangerous chemistry experiment that is the Wildhearts.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Steve, I salute you, enjoy your day.</div>
<br/><br/>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-7414192815280829072012-10-17T13:59:00.005+00:002012-10-17T13:59:56.611+00:00Lessons to learn from Red Bull StratosPeople that know me may well agree that sometimes I have a tiny bit too much to say for myself, it's something I'm trying really hard to address :o) Something I do have an awful lot to say about though is Red Bull Stratos which - in my opinion - is one of the most brilliant bits of activity we've seen from a brand in decades, it was beautifully executed from start to finish.<br />
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Luckily for me, eConsultancy have already done a really good job of covering a lot of the key points <a href="http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/10897-five-content-marketing-lessons-from-the-red-bull-stratos-jump" target="_blank">on their blog</a>.<br />
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You should read it.<br />
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For the time being I'll keep my comments on the subject fairly simple and say that it's this kind of activity that makes me proud to work for Red Bull and... frankly... that's something that a lot of brands could learn from. In the same way that people buy from people they like, people tend to work harder for people they like...<br />
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It's just a good job we love all our clients huh?!Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-75702700774789774242011-02-12T18:15:00.000+00:002020-02-24T10:03:49.389+00:00Tim Smit (Eden Project) On Radio 4This morning I was very lucky to catch Tim Smit from the Eden Project on Saturday Live - Radio 4, I'd urge you to listen to the show <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00yd8n1/Saturday_Live_12_02_2011">on the iPlayer</a> if you catch this in time, but in case you don't I'd like to share a couple of quotes with you:<br /><br /><em>"part of the reason that we're a risk averse country is that most of the politicians that we have in charge of us have never had a day job and most of the people in charge of distributing money have only ever made their money on the backs of speculation, betting against their own currencies and so on, and have given up the tradition of investing in people who make things with their hands. This countries wealth was actually built on the back of men and women who made things that matched the imagination of our people..."</em><br /><br />I think Tim hit the nail on the head here and his further thoughts on challenges we face for the future are as inspirational as they are frightening (since we currently seem to be doing the exact opposite!) however there was one point of Tim's that I found particularly interesting:<br /><br /><em>"the trouble is, if you're ruled by an accountancy fear of knowing the cost of things without knowing the cost of not doing things you can bring yourself to your knees - anyone who's ever run a company knows that very often you can kill a company in your desire to constrict access to money because you think that's prudent - the 'mumsy' way to success."</em><br /><br />As someone that started a business from the point of view of making things, as opposed to making money, I can totally relate to his points. I have to say, I find the highly conservative attitude to business in the UK infuriating to say the least.<br /><br />For example, over the last seven or eight years I've occasionally received criticism from (in my opinion) stupid people for stupid reasons: "you don't have a business plan? Tsk tsk", "You can't quote your profit margin on a per project basis? Tut tut" "you don't have a clear exit strategy? Huff huff huff" "call yourself an entrepreneur?..."<br /><br />For a long time I took these criticisms seriously and quite personally and it's only relatively recently, with the right support and having done a lot of thinking/research, that I've been able to see things more clearly. The reality is that Kempt, much like our produce, is a work in progress. It's true that there are some areas that need to (and will) develop but the bits that are finished work quite exceptionally well. I started this company on my own with nothing but a laptop on buy now pay next year and the trust of a couple friends who gave us business. Seven/eight years later we have a company that's always been profitable, has an exceptionally low staff turnover, owns significant IP and somehow found the time to create some of the most successful interactive marketing material ever produced...<br /><br />I have no doubt that over the next few years our business practices will continue to tighten up, but in the meantime I am proud to say that our priorities will always be our company and the remarkable things we produce. Kempt will never accused of the "mumsy" way to success!<br /><br />You and find out more about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/profile/tim_smit.shtml">the genius Tim Smit</a> on the BBC 4 site and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Smit">on Wikipedia</a>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-62499697570074079132009-02-16T22:37:00.000+00:002020-02-24T10:03:50.742+00:00Office Scalextric Gets a Bit Serious...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SZnrPmoAkiI/AAAAAAAAADg/BTOBQ3KQBms/s1600-h/IMAG0072.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SZnrPmoAkiI/AAAAAAAAADg/BTOBQ3KQBms/s200/IMAG0072.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303528689504391714" /></a>If you know me then you'll also know of my dream of having a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Scalextric</span> track running around the entire office, streamed live online, web-cams on each of the cars and opponents controlling cars via a web-based control system on our site... well, we're not quite there yet but today our layout took a step towards that goal. <div><br /></div><div>Today I added the radius 1 hairpin bend that you can see in the top left in this picture and a 10 degree radius 3 banked curve that you can see sweeping around the top. Practically, allowing for room to walk around, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kempt</span> track now takes up about a quarter of our office! Having briefly tested the track it's very definitely going to provide thrills and spills, I can't wait to down tools and have a proper race!</div>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466801913479354200.post-63574384580868472822008-12-18T11:55:00.000+00:002020-02-24T10:03:50.952+00:00Belated Britball 08 Write-up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRgV3E3UPI/AAAAAAAAABk/PV8XczOrN2M/s1600-h/PICT0049.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRgV3E3UPI/AAAAAAAAABk/PV8XczOrN2M/s200/PICT0049.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292961390745047282" border="0" /></a>For those that don’t know, the BritBallRun (BBR) is a 1000-mile car-tour come treasure hunt come fancy dress party that’s run every August bank holiday around the UK, the event is a top laugh and draws in a really wide range of entrants in cars that vary from car-porn through to a post office van and my personal fave this year, a VW Corrado dressed up as Starsky and Hutch’s car – wicked! More info on the event can be found at <a href="http://www.britballrun.com/">http://www.britballrun.com/</a>.<div><div><br />So... a little over six months ago now Paul Fryer and I stepped up to defend our title as 2007 BritBallRun Champions . The rest as they say is history!<br /><div><div><div><br />One point worth mentioning is that instead of asking for donations, this year I pledged to donate £20 for every person that helped us out en-route, the donations were to go to the <a href="http://www.bstrust.org/">Bishop Simeon Trust</a> who we supported last year. Did I regret this rash decision? Well... a bit but it’s a good cause!</div><br /><div>So... enough of the back story, let’s get on with the write-up!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Day 1 – 23rd August 2008</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRgrg3EeRI/AAAAAAAAABs/PiqzRNk95xE/s1600-h/PICT0016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRgrg3EeRI/AAAAAAAAABs/PiqzRNk95xE/s200/PICT0016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292961762738731282" border="0" /></a>Paul and I woke up horrifically early in a very nice little B&B in a village about 5 miles from Gaydon Heritage Motor Museum where the event was due to start. The very nice lady that ran the B&B kindly got up at this stupid hour to cook us a full breakfast (Damn £20 and we haven’t even got there yet!) We ate up – my egg had a triple yoke in it! – and then we shimmied upstairs to don our costumes for the event. This year we’d been planning for a while and we’d decided that since we had almost the slowest car there we’d go as the KillerViral racing team which involved race-suits, shoes, helmets and aviator shades - I even had a full-on Amos Riley-style beard. I think it’s safe to say we looked like a right pair of twats!<br /><br /><div>So, off we go to Gaydon, but first we need petrol. So we head to the nearest station to Gaydon to fill-up. Unfortunately the place was absolutely full of rozzers! 3 cars outside and 4 in the shop Fryer fills up the car and I wander as nonchalantly into the shop as I can manage. Luckily the bobbies in the shop seem more interested in the selection of cakes on offer and I escape without challenge, wheyhey!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRg_3EIk8I/AAAAAAAAAB0/1YyzLDgSrsE/s1600-h/PICT0019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRg_3EIk8I/AAAAAAAAAB0/1YyzLDgSrsE/s200/PICT0019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292962112296489922" border="0" /></a>So off we go the start, not wanting to let the BBR boys down and feeling like we had to at least try to match up to the amazing airmen from the year before we had a big entrance planned which involved circling the car-park with me on the roof waving a massive Union Jack with “Princes of the Universe” playing as loud as my poor old stereo could muster, unfortunately in all the excitement I nearly fell off the roof of the car. Not something I’ll do again!</div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRhMbYX1SI/AAAAAAAAAB8/BW8rxTg5fbY/s1600-h/PICT0022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRhMbYX1SI/AAAAAAAAAB8/BW8rxTg5fbY/s200/PICT0022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292962328203482402" border="0" /></a>So we pull up and wander around a bit chatting to people while looking at the various entrants (sizing up the opposition) fully expecting to have plenty of time to work out what’s going on after the briefing... but... arrggh! No briefing! We’re suddenly told to get into our cars, head for the start and pick up the first envelope there... bugger! No time for tactics... Fryer rips open the envelope and off we go up the motorway heading for a service station. This is when things start going wrong... we arrive at the service station only to find that it’s the wrong one! So back we go onto the motorway, unfortunately we’re not used to the new Sat-nav so we completely miss the exit! Arrgh! So we have to do a 12-mile detour to get to where we’re supposed to be. Arses.</div><div><br />The next few hours was a blur of motorways, service stations, the car not starting punctuated by about 2hours sitting outside a small village post office going through every bag of pennies they have looking for 1998 pennies (we had to collect a maximum of 20) they helped us a lot so I’m calling that £40.</div><div><br />Then to our surprise, we’re off to St Albans! We arrange to meet our families there and Mr Fryer arranges to retrieve a Scottish pound note from his flat-mate (another £20). En-route we find ourselves in front of the MGF crew, we decide to jokingly try to send them the wrong way at a roundabout, misread the satnav and.... arses... we go the wrong way ourselves! Again... not doing that again in a hurry, another 6-mile detour.<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div>So, we arrive at St Albans, Oscar (my 3 year old) is very excited to see the Car and us in our overalls, sun’s shining, we retrieve the pound note, much to the annoyance of Andy from team Smarties... sorry mate, can’t help it! So... where next? Into London... the millennium wheel! Oh crikey.</div><div><br />By this time we’re running very late and unfortunately the A5 which is the shortest route into London from St Albans is a complete nightmare to drive into town on, but we can’t afford the extra miles so we plough on as we reach the centre of town traffic slows to a crawl, by now we’re quite frustrated, I drive that road for work and this isn’t my idea of fun, a mile takes us half an hour, things are bad. But hurrah! We spot our friends, team Smarties up ahead, we have a chat with them and compare notes on the snails that are overtaking us in their thousands.</div><div><br />The next bit I’m still not entirely clear on, somehow there’s a misunderstanding and we end up skipping the next checkpoint, we follow TS, heading for Rochester through the streets of London, the traffic eventually eases as we get to the city and we have a very fun blast through the deserted streets, the sound of two twin Brabus tailpipes reverberating off the glass buildings, heaven!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRhiaf9HcI/AAAAAAAAACE/VkSHsXLgCFg/s1600-h/PICT0031.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRhiaf9HcI/AAAAAAAAACE/VkSHsXLgCFg/s200/PICT0031.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292962705923972546" border="0" /></a>But... something’s bothering me... as we get past Greenwich and into suburbia an irritating voice gets louder and louder... “you missed the checkpoint... that’s not taking part” damn... blasted conscience. So... we pull up, have a chat about it, call the organisers and decide that despite the fact that it’s another 22 mile detour to go back it doesn’t feel right to miss it out so off we go, back to the London Eye!<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div>On the way back we’re desperately trying to make up points where we can, Fryer spends about 45mins running round a fairground looking for seaside Rock to no avail, we pick up the remaining bonus items and find a huge carrot (there were points for the longest one) in a supermarket. Then we re-read the items list...</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRhuJqdHyI/AAAAAAAAACM/KF2eBrbr0qQ/s1600-h/PICT0032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRhuJqdHyI/AAAAAAAAACM/KF2eBrbr0qQ/s200/PICT0032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292962907563040546" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">“The longest carrot you can find – points for each centimetre of length, must be real carrot”</span></div><div><br />So... cutting and shutting two carrots is probably out... but what about peeling them? How long a bit of peel could we get? We buy a peeler and head back to Rochester.</div><div><br />At about 10:15 (been in the car non-stop now since 8am) we arrive at the hotel, before we go in we arrange our Aphabetti Spaghetti and set to peeling our carrot, the first couple of attempts are abortions but then I realise... softer carrots are less brittle... we hunt round for one that’s a bit manky and dive in.... 15 minutes later... it’s a whopper! Yay!</div><div><br />BBR Andy comes out to tick off our stuff, we’re feeling rather smug... we unveil the “carrot” Andy measures it.... a whopping 1 meter 5cm! We all have a good laugh about it however if they had accepted it then we would have been a stupid amount of points in the lead. We decide that’s not really on so we all sleep on it after a nice meal in the hotel bar.</div><div><br />Total for BST so far... £80.00 not bad but we resolve to try harder tomorrow.<br /></div><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Day 2 – 24th August 2008</span><br />Morning breaks, I open the curtains it’s a miserable grey day but we head down for our second cooked breakfast running so all is right with the world! We chat to Dan about the carrot, surprisingly even with the 40-odd extra miles we put on the day before we’re still it the top four or five so we decide to just go with our longest full carrot instead. </div><div> </div><div>After a short briefing we head out to the cars, by this point we’ve ditched the helmets in no small part due to the fact that we couldn’t close the roof of the car with them on but otherwise we were suited and booted as before! And so we were off on the road again we read the instructions, we’re off to a sleepy village in the West Country, we start plotting a course… but wait! We re-read the instructions; we have to go to Stonehenge first!!! We realise just in time and take the motorway instead. </div><div><br />Having avoided making the mistake at the start we motor on down in good spirits surrounded by lots of the other competitors, we film lots of fly-bys of the other cars with the limpet-mount camera and then put some good tunes on and get down to business it’s pedal to the metal and off to Stonehenge! We employ our corner cutting strategy on the motorway, overtaking in the outside lane on right hand bends and staying in the inside on left-handers. As we arrive at Stonehenge we realise that we’re one of the first to get there, that’s good, I leave fryer with the car and head over to the shop to gather our first items, a postcard and a receipt for as little as possible. Getting here early has proved useful, the assistant is happy enough to help us and gives us a receipt for a refund, excellent! Another £20 in the pot for BST.</div><div><br />We get back on the road and start thinking about the other items, it’s Sunday and by now it’s about 11:30, we don’t have long before even supermarkets will be closed so we need to be thinking about them now. We quickly identify the items that are likely to be a pain, some wool in red blue and white and some blonde human hair. About half way to the next checkpoint we spot an Asda so we dive in. I run into the shop while Fryer waits in the car. Thanks to the help of one of the lovely shop assistants (another £20) I quickly gather a large proportion of my shopping list including a white woollen sweater, a pair of scissors and a packet of markers… <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRiEtz-vCI/AAAAAAAAACU/VSAsEZe35gY/s1600-h/IMAGE_143.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRiEtz-vCI/AAAAAAAAACU/VSAsEZe35gY/s200/IMAGE_143.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292963295223790626" border="0" /></a>we were getting creative again!But where were we going to get the hair? I asked the sales assistant whether they had any of those hair extensions that girls sometimes clip into their hair, unfortunately not, but then she says that one of he friends who works on one of the counters might help so we head over there. The second very cool lady agrees to have a lock of hair removed for us, I take a photo and fold the lock of hair up in a bit of paper, make a note of another £20 and Having bagged the majority of our items we head off to the next checkpoint.</div><div><br />The next few checkpoints take us through, beautiful villages, empty sweeping roads carving through the hills, This is what it’s all about, it’s sheer bliss, these are roadster roads, where the car comes into its own (although not the fastest car in the world, my little Smart Roadster handles like it’s on rails). After a while we get close to the next checkpoint, Cheddar Gorge, the instructions suggest that we might want to take the high road down through the gorge as it’s quite spectacular. We check out the mileage both ways, the high road is a mile longer… we decide that given yesterday’s mileage we can afford a mile (two points – remember that) in return for the luxury so we head up to the high road.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRib-G0MkI/AAAAAAAAACc/CfH27hy1iew/s1600-h/IMAGE_145.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRib-G0MkI/AAAAAAAAACc/CfH27hy1iew/s200/IMAGE_145.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292963694734750274" border="0" /></a>On the way we pull into a caravan club camp-site who very kindly allow us to use their toilets but made us promise not to do a poo… Fryer did a poo so I’m calling that another £20! Then they helped us to print off a calendar of 2007 (another shopping list item and another £20 for BST) and then we head down into the gorge. The drive down is staggeringly beautiful, it’s quite incredible how the landscape changes so suddenly from rolling hills into the craggy gorge, something I’ll never forget.</div><div><br />When we reach the gorge we stop to get some cheese (another shopping list item and yet another £20!) and loads of people gather round the car and ask about what we’re up to. This is another thing that’s nice about the BBR, people are genuinely interested in what you’re up to and are generally more than happy to help, people aren’t half as bad as you sometimes think.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRiyPL62yI/AAAAAAAAACk/GxS8A5Emve0/s1600-h/PICT0039.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRiyPL62yI/AAAAAAAAACk/GxS8A5Emve0/s200/PICT0039.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292964077276683042" border="0" /></a>Finally we arrive at the hotel for the evening, Fryer puts on some stockings which he says was for points but he doesn’t show anyone which makes me suspicious… we’re nowhere near as late as we were the night before so we have some time to chat and have a few drinks with the other competitors. It’s a lovely hotel so we settle in!<br /><br /></div><div>BST total today £120, a bit better!</div><br /><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Day 3 – 25th August 2008</span><br />The day begins with everyone queuing up in the hotel for boiled eggs, one of the items for the day we were running in 2nd or 3rd at that point so it was all to play for today.</div><div><br />Day three had lots of point to point navigation which I find quite stressful, at one point we lost count of the number of roundabouts we’d been past and the traffic was so bad that we had to park up and go back on foot to check our position. Other than that though the driving was quite nice, more of the same, beautiful rolling roads that we’d enjoyed so much the day before, at <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRjGoDm3hI/AAAAAAAAACs/fM4_CXRqNKU/s1600-h/PICT0045.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRjGoDm3hI/AAAAAAAAACs/fM4_CXRqNKU/s200/PICT0045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292964427550088722" border="0" /></a>various points we encounter other competitors and I remember a wonderful section driving down some empty country roads with Starsky and Hutch on our tail, that was lots of fun.</div><div><br />At one point the shortest route on the Sat-Nav took us down some very rarely used and in fact, gated, lanes only to then find our route blocked by cows! Progress was slow until we were saved by a bright yellow fiat coming down the other way which the cows seemed to find more intimidating than the roadster.</div><div><br />Many of the days items were tricky, at some point we ended up in a village shop looking for a euro coin but the family that ran it went b<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRjZyOXGbI/AAAAAAAAAC0/IqQZn8f4Z8A/s1600-h/IMAGE_146.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRjZyOXGbI/AAAAAAAAAC0/IqQZn8f4Z8A/s200/IMAGE_146.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292964756697061810" border="0" /></a>ack into their house (which was behind the shop) and got a pair of their own chopsticks for us, and therefore another £20 for BST. Then we had a real stroke of luck, one of our items was a cream tea and since we’d missed the café en-route that sold them we were keeping our eyes peeled for any opportunities. All of a sudden we came around a corner and spotted a sign for an open garden with tea… got to be worth a punt I thought! I knocked on the door tomeet a vicar and his wife, they couldn’t help with the cream tea but they did have several of the other high-scoring items including a Christmas pudding! I’m awarding £40 for their help!</div><br /><div>The final stage that day took us to Stratford upon Avon which was a traffic disaster, Fryer got out of the car and did most of the important stuff on foot while I plodded on through the town, including sourcing the world’s most expensive cream tea, £16 for two scones a small pot of jam, clotted cream and a teabag! Unfortunately I can’t justify a donation for that!</div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRjkmW9YZI/AAAAAAAAAC8/dtPPjDc8buw/s1600-h/PICT0047.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vYbxNLsj1IY/SXRjkmW9YZI/AAAAAAAAAC8/dtPPjDc8buw/s200/PICT0047.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292964942490460562" border="0" /></a>Finally with all of our items in hand we hoon back to gaydon, worried again that we’re gonna be late just like last year, oh the humanity of it, held up by cakes! Thankfully we arrived back just in time, had our items totted up and headed back in for sandwiches.</div><br /><div>So… all that’s left to do is the results and presentation, have we done enough to get the win? Unfortunately not quite… we end up in 2nd place over all but only by two points! Gutting, if only we hadn’t taken the scenic route or those massive detours on day one… oh well, there’s always next year eh! See you there:<a href="http://www.britballrun.com/">http://www.britballrun.com/</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Charity Money Run Down</span><br /></div><div>Day One:</div><ul><li>Lady in B&B who got up to cook us breakfast £20</li><li>Post office pennies £40</li><li>Merlin "magicking" the scottish pound note £20<br /></li></ul><div>Day Two:</div><ul><li>Shop assistant at Stonehenge £20</li><li>Asda shop assistant £20</li><li>Asda meat counter lady £20</li><li>Caravan Club Toilets £20</li><li>Caravan Club Calendar £20</li><li>Cheddar Gorge Cheese £20</li></ul><br /><div>Day Three:</div><ul><li>Shop with chopsticks £20</li><li>Vicar and his Wife £40</li></ul><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Total £260</span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Chris Kempthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05202467152250822886noreply@blogger.com