“The only way to do great work is to love what you do” – Steve Jobs 

Hello! My name is Andy Kelk. I am an accomplished semi retired television production manager with recently gained Prince2 practitioner project manager qualifications looking for my next project.

I have considerable experience running and delivering many prime time broadcast television productions resulting in increased audience share, re - commissions and a team BAFTA award for best daytime series. Result!

I believe that respecting, challenging and addressing colleagues and stakeholders  views and concerns will achieve the best results. All members of the team need to feel valued as the project progresses, whether that's through team training, self development, work social or additional responsibility.

Please visit www.andykelk.com to view my profile, CV, full credit listing or contact details if you would like to discuss a particular project over a coffee or Zoom. Thank you

Midnight thoughts:

What am I missing here?
Raise the personal allowance threshold in the UK to 20k per year and raise the basic Income tax to 22% thereafter and stop tinkering around the edges.

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NAME CHECK: Caretakers not Politicians

Job description:
Looking for a community minded individual who will give the impression, via what - ever media outlet source is currently trending, that “change” can be achieved, and lives can be improved if a significant number of the public climb onboard your wide-reaching platform. Resulting in public backing and position of substantial “power”.
REPORTING to internal line managers, while assuring the greater establishment is not challenged in any way; you will be required to defend policy that you may not necessarily agree with on occasions, but which will delay any positive and appropriate policies being processed and so consequently pushing it further into the “long grass”.
BENEFITS for the right candidate will include ALL the trappings associated with being a member of this fine assembly with the knowledge that you are simply serving society as a “holding” caretaker with no real power at all and which only serves to benefit the elite few before passing the baton on to the next custodian.

oh! position seems to be already filled...…..

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Question! would you resign to benefit mankind?
Ever thought what sacrifice you would actually make if it meant society progressing? Most of us have beliefs that seem set in stone either through self-education, experience, brainwashing from an early age or career progression stubbiness. However, what would it take to turn these beliefs on their head to achieve humanity progressing?
Survival and self-interest blend to hide and block the bigger picture from us all. The ability and honesty to step away from the status quo to bring about progressive evolution is sadly missing from many in power.
Obviously, Self-interest is selfish and not for the advantage of the many.
Andy Kelk
www.andykelk.com

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And there it is: Communication…….
At last! we start to hear a small part of what the Government are thinking and the direction they want to travel, but we shouldn’t have to wait for the annual party conference season to discover what direction our very own elected administration are intending to take this country.
Surely the ability to communicate to the very people that you are meant to represent is key to bringing the community along with you, please stop hiding in the Cabinet or out of the country and let us "in" going forward.

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Here’s a thought!
Would the human race come together as one if the earth was attacked by an alien force from another world ?
It might just be the wake up call that is needed for us Homo Sapiens to realise we are all the same and need to work together if we are to survive.
We have so much more in common than divides us and it is crazy and frightening that with words, bullets and politics we are watching the devastation of the very world we call home.

To watch the conflicts around the world killing and destroying communities, fellow humans and ending life's must be at our very heart to survive or face extinction.
We need to regain our perspective and bring us humans together before it’s too late.

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Mandelson

Original thought
Had to be sacked - but why the delay and when does his sacking actually take effect? One week before Trumps state visit or after - just saying!

Current thought

What a slimy snake Mandelson is - self self self

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Reshuffling for Reshuffling sake!
So AR has resigned from all three posts which I think is sad but right given the facts. However, while the reshuffle continues today, to now simply swap the personnel in the top jobs around in the hope that all will be resolved is missing the point. Labour were voted in because the country had had enough of the Tories not generally because of their policies and they need to communicate their direction of travel with the public before they waste this opportunity to turn the country round.

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Post office scandal
Really simple "Starmer" - after today’s report sort out the compensation Now, not tomorrow but Now, and then sort out the legal' s with Fujitsu further down the line! It’s not the post masters fault , come on!!!!!

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New Government
Overhaul
Review
U-turn
Review
Standstill
Review
U- turn
Election
Repeat

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It it time to consider a 2nd Prime Minister!

It strikes me that staying on top of both the International and domestic political scene is proofing too much for just one key member of the Government to communicate appropriately, especially without a decent communication strategy in place. The public are being left behind! Is it time to consider splitting the job in two which would allow for both International and domestic matters to be considered, targeted and debated in their own right allowing for the public to be served correctly and at least know where the current Government is heading!
The lack of appropriate communication channels is concerning and is a key factor to a coherent and collaborative society that wants to move forward rather than try and decipher the latest press conference. Just exhausting!

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Speaking in Code
Why do Governments of every colour persuasion continue to speak in code, is it so they can hide behind the truth or allow them to change their points of view further down the line? Event dependant
As soon as I hear a politician sprout “I’ve, we’ve been crystal clear” then I know the wool is about to be pulled over our eyes. Obviously, the British public understand the strains and hardships that the current standard of living crisis has caused them including the pressures the Government is under to balance the books. However, by not giving us the facts and their real direction of travel then the Government risk losing the very people that voted them in.
The lack of transparency, communication and perceptions is very concerning, and I really worried that this great opportunity to correct the direction of travel will be lost.  Take us along with you rather than keeping us guessing.

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Just tell us straight and stop hiding the truth!

Many of us watched the excellent ITV drama “Mr Bates vs. The Post Office” in January 2024 and the subsequent outpouring of emotion from all corners of society including the Government who had little choice but to also react to the public outcry. Many articles have been written regarding the broadcast, ongoing Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and Government response to this miscarriage of justice. The Government of the day had already announced an optional £600,000 initial payment for every Postmaster who was wrongfully convicted following this scandal in September 2023 however, although the Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 29th Nov 2023, which ensures the trailblazers who exposed the scandal do not miss out on compensation because of an arbitrary deadline, Post Masters who challenge this offer are STILL waiting for compensation WHY?
Surely the allocated compensation “pot” is not accruing so much “interest” that a decision to hold onto the funds for as long as possible has not been made and surely having the funds available for alternative projects has not even been considered either. Of course, the simple fact that the longer the delay the fewer claimants will survive, while nature takes its course sadly, may be at play here but I would really like to believe this is not the case.
So! Bite the bullet and pay the compensation due and stop hiding in the long grass-please!

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Time is Running out!
Although I believe Labour won the last election because the country had had enough of the Conservatives rather than what Labour actually offered themselves, I did have hope that this new direction for the country, which took account of “people” rather than a “spreadsheet”, would bring back the much depleted “community” to society.
However, although its early days,  I have to say I’m sadden and disappointed that the initial signs of this new Government simply don’t seem to understand the “people” and their priorities. I strongly believe we all recognise the effect the financial crises is having on us all but the wrong choices are currently being made to motivate the country back to its community base where the very best of the British can be found.

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Watching the Pride of Britain last night got me thinking …..
It can’t be right that so many great and wonderful organisations, people and charities are only appreciated, valued and rewarded when it makes “good” television surrounded by celebrities who often, but not always, have their own agendas.
I’m certainly not saying the Pride of Britain production doesn’t fulfil a massive requirement to share these wonderful stories and home truths which it does extremely well but restricting these acknowledgements to a annual television production shouldn’t become the norm.
We need to explore better ways to amplify, support and give voice to these wonderful people so that the community, government and private organisations can recognise their achievements, often through suffering struggles and heartache themselves, so that relevant support can be forth coming throughout the whole year.
I’m talking about a way to break through the “don’t rock the boat", "keep quiet and it will go away” culture of the British hierarchy which only seems to lifts the lid and promotes action if “people power” backs them into a corner.
The reality of society deserves better where the community will always respond positively.

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Planet CV is slowly taking control.
While the television Industry continues to struggle and many many good talented professionals are having no choice but to find alternative careers to survive, easier said than done, I find it extraordinary how much fine tuning and micro editing is now required for the CV, a personal document created over sweat and tears in the distance hope that a job   interview may be achieved.

While I totally understand a system is required to narrow down the huge numbers of applicants to those most relevant to the vacancy, for time sake if nothing else, the ATS (Automatic Tracking System) for example, removes all personal traits of the individual who could possibly be a positive influence and good fit for the position, this I believe is to the detriment of the hiring company.
Planet CV is gently removing alternative options to those being filtered by the current systems while the great & good are being left on the scrap heap.
Tweak this, Tweak that, change the font, remove chunks of past experience, add bullet points, don’t include a photo, do include a photo, don’t include hobbies and interests, do include hobbies and interests, stand on one leg, come on!, how about excepting that we are all different and can contribute to the success of a project in alternative ways to those being set by Planet CV and a ATS.
Wishing all job hunters the best of luck.

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Surely someone in the Labour Party’s top brass understands
Perception! Perception! Perception! - it can’t be that difficult to understand that the majority of those who voted for Labour in the last election get the state of the economy and are not expecting a magical switch to make everything better overnight but accepting gifts while in a privileged position will so obviously cause issues. It’s not even a case of jealousy but the complete lack of how these events are viewed and somehow justified that gets peeps so angry and mystified - very disappointing and a complete lack of basic common sense.

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Television is not working! (currently)
This week marks my 12th month without a TV production contract, which not surprisingly has concentrated the search for alternative income over the past few weeks and has resulted in successfully obtaining the Prince2 practitioner project manager qualification via People Cert.

This new string to my bow, although very much related, opens the world of event project management to my already established skills and abilities gained from working within the television industry for the past 35 years.
The security, warmth, camaraderie and purpose that working on a production provides is slowly being reduced to fond memories and frustration for many in the industry which I believe is a huge loss, not only to my talented colleagues but also to the industry itself which has to be careful not to lose touch with the essential “nuts and bolts” for when the bounce back does come .
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Please visit website: http://www.andykelk.com to view my profile, credits listing, current CV or contact details if you would like to discuss a particular project or meet up over Zoom and I thank you for reading my thoughts.