This is the second in what will be a regular feature rounding up some of the news stories that caught our eye this week.
(Don’t worry, no Brexit news.)
The kind of stories we’re talking about are anything that throws a spotlight on what people are doing differently or brilliantly in the worlds or arts, culture and heritage – or that covers something going on in Herefordshire that might affect people interested in those industries.
Some of those stories will be local, some will be national, and some might be international. Occasionally it might just be a really cool profile we liked.
But for the most part we’ll pick out three-to-five things that are going to have some kind of impact on creative people in the county. If you’ve got any suggestions, send us the links to hello@the-shire.co.uk , or tag us on Insta (@theshire_hfds).
1. London population: Why so many people leave the UK’s capital
BBC/Centre for Cities
This BBC partnership with Centre for Cities goes deep on the movement of people in and out of the UK’s big cities – especially the capital.
It looks at why (jobs) and when (before/after uni, after having kids) people move from bigger urban centres to less-big urban centres. Herefordshire isn’t mentioned, but interestingly Shropshire is – as a place Birmingham residents move to in their mid-30s – as is Cardiff, as one of the UK’s youngest cities.
Interesting longread, especially if you know any creatives have done the whole Herefordshire > London > Bristol > Hereford triangle, or are thinking about it. Get a coffee and click here.
2. £50k refurbishment for Leominster Library
Herefordshire Council
Remember libraries? They were like co-working spaces that you didn’t have to pay for. And they were full of books. Wait, remember books?
Well this is a great bit of news for North Herefordshire with Leominster library getting a nice chunk of change for its first facelift since 1993. The revamp includes more space for public PCs, a gallery and an improved kids area.
Find out more here – including info on public closures etc for the work.
3. Facebook wants to share more local news, but it’s having trouble finding it
Recode
Last year the social media giant built a local news section for its app in 400 US cities, and trialled ii internationally in Australia in November. But it’s run in to one pretty big problem. In much of the country – and especially rural, sparsely-populated states like Herefordshire – they couldn’t find enough news.
Why? Well in part (a large part) it’s because Google and Facebook have spent ten years cannibalising local papers’ online business model and the newsrooms that *have* survived look like a scene out of The Walking Dead. Why this matters though – and why Facebook knows it matters – is that people will always care what happens around them, and we’re all starting to wake up to the fact that getting that information in our feeds from a legitimate source is more valuable than getting a 500-word status from your racist uncle that starts with The Bypass and ends with ‘… I like there food but to be honst were better of without them’.
Read more on the very good tech site Recode here.
4. Creative community service call to tradesmen for help
The Hereford Times
Share this one around your mates. Chapel Creatives put on activities and workshops in Ross for all ages and abilities, aimed at helping people’s mental health and wellbeing. Which we can all agree is pretty great.
Up until now they’ve been relatively nomadic, but they’re looking at taking on The Barrel on Brookend St as an HQ. But to transform it, they’re going to need some help.
Which is why Chapel is asking for charitable local tradespeople to pledge any time they can spare to help out in turning it in to a home for their Community Interest Company.