Were you at WordCampUK?

Last weekend Louis from ID attended WordCampUK, an "informal annual gathering of WordPress publishers, designers and developers based in the United Kingdom, held at a different location around the country each year". The event was a fantastic mixture of geeks, lead developers, plugin authors, theme designers and complete beginners to the WordPress platform. Louis has been using WordPress as a blogging platform for over 5 years, but in recent years WP has turned into something that Louis and ID use for full websites, not just blogs.

The event was held at the Metropolitan Business School in Manchester over the weekend 17th-18th July.

Saturday started off with a talk by Michael Kimb Jones 'How WordPress Themes Changed the World' (slides) which was a great insight into the very profitable arena of theme development for WordPress. Some of his own sites were featured which highlighted the very versatile nature of the latest WordPress platform.

Also on Saturday 'Wonderflux' was revealed. This is a framework which "bridges the gap between developer and designer enabling the creation of powerful WordPress themes & functionality" A great session by Jonnya gave us the basics of framework possibilities. Louis came out of this session feeling excited, particularly how versatile this framework could make his and our existing WordPress sites.

The quality of the content from all the speakers on both Saturday & Sunday was fantastic and catered for all WordPress users from beginners to hardcore fanatics. It wasn't just all talk though, there were several 'tracks' and activities to choose from as well as some superb Q/A sessions and some 'Site Doctor' arenas.

If you wanted to go but couldn't, there is good news! A lot of the slides from the speakers presentations are now available online, and the whole weekend was captured on video by the lovely folks at Orange Coconut this footage will soon be available on wordpress.tv.

Overall Louis got a tremendous amount out of WordCampUK 2010. He met some great approachable people who we're sure we'll be working with in the future on upcoming Wordpress projects. WordPress has now evolved! If you think WordPress is just for blogs, think again! ID think you will be surprised which sites you visit everyday are actually running on WordPress!

Many thanks to all who helped organise WordCampUK 2010 it was a truly great weekend!

Maz joins ID for a few weeks!

Marianne is spending a couple of weeks with us. She's studying photography and has been shortlisted in the War On Want Photography Award. You can see her entry here - http://www.waronwant.org/news/events/events/latest-events/16755-document-photography-award-2010.

Here's one of Maz's shots:



Some more info on the award can be seen here - http://www.documentphotoaward.org/

Marianne will find out on Thursday how she did... fingers crossed.

While Marianne is with us she's looking at effective website design and usability, finding more out about the digital channels and what steps are involved in building great websites.

Cooking with Craig....

...and Happy Birthday Rob!

Last month we celebrated Hannah Oddy's 24th birthday with a 'lovely' Hannah Montana cake...to follow on from the (very new) tradition of extra special birthday cakes we sent Craig back into the kitchen to work his magic.

This time he really surpassed himself (and has a lot to live up to on the next birthday!).

His very special strawberry cheesecake (complete with a very fetching pink birthday candle) went down an absolute treat, and he has now set a precedent for birthday cakes from now on!

Biscuit base

100g unsalted butter, plus a little to grease the tin

200g digestive biscuits

50g caster sugar

Filling

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

2 tbsp cornflour

300g sour cream

1 tsp vanilla essence

How to make...

1 Lightly grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin.

2 Melt the butter gently in a small pan on a low heat. Roughly break up the biscuits and place them in a food processor. Process the biscuits for 2-3 minutes until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the sugar, then pour in the melted butter and process for 30 seconds to combine.

3 Put the biscuit mixture into the base of the tin, using the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface evenly. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4 Rinse out the processor bowl. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl and process for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cornflour, cream and vanilla essence, and process for 30 seconds to combine.

5 Pour the filling into the tin and bake in a low oven at 150C/Gas 2 for 1 hour. When cooked, the cheesecake should be well risen, with a golden-brown top. It should feel slightly firm to touch - if the mixture still appears wet, continue to bake a little longer. When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door open. When completely cool, place in the fridge.

Credit for the above to Gordon Ramsay!

For the additional topping that’s all my own:

1 Pack of Raspberries
2 (heaped) tablespoons of raspberry jam
100ml cold water
70g sugar

This ones an easy part, simply throw all the ingredients in a pan and simmer until the ingredients have fully dissolved, continue until the mixture has no loose water left and has started to thicken.

Cool quickly by placing the pan into a sink filled with cold water for several minutes (whilst stirring) once this is fairly cool to the touch spread generously over the top of the cheesecake and return to the fridge to set.

Cooking with Craig...

We had an unexpected treat the other day when our Support Manager, Craig brought in some goodies that he had rustled up the night before.

The chocolate and vanilla cream pastry parcels were absolutely delicious, and the only complaint we heard was that he hadn't made more!

If you fancy trying them for yourself his receipe is below...

Required:
300ml whipping cream
Cocoa Powder
Cooking chocolate (milk rather than plain)
Filo Pastry Sheets
1 Shallow Muffin Tray
1 Vanilla Pod (fresh)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Approximately 2 tablespoons golden syrup

· Take a regular sized muffin tin suitable for fairy cakes etc, remove 2 sheets of filo pasty and cut into 9 equal shaped squares
· Lightly grease the muffin tray & press the squares into the holes, pinching the corners
· Place a small piece of chocolate into the bottom of each one & then place a small square (just big enough to cover the chocolate) of filo pastry over the top
· Place these in the oven at gas mark 6 for approximately 8 minutes (or until just turning brown and crispy)
· Using a spoon squash the chocolate blocks in the parcels so the entire base is covered.
· Allow these to cool
· Split the vanilla pod and scrape out all the seeds into a small bowl, add the caster sugar and cream
· Whip the mixture until very thick
· Place the cream into a piping bag with a star shaped nozzle
· Once the parcels are cool put a large drop of golden syrup into the bottom of each & begin piping the cream in...don’t be shy, fill them all up!
· Once done place a spoonful of cocoa into a sieve and dust the finished articles
· Enjoy!

Congratulations Hannah and Adam!

When Project Co-ordinator Hannah Oddy headed off to Walt Disney World on holiday she didn't realise she'd be coming back an (almost) married woman!

After months of saving, planning and endlessly watching the American dollar rise and fall against the pound Hannah and Adam headed out to Florida for the trip of a lifetime. What Hannah didn't know was that tucked into Adam's football socks (something she would NEVER go near) was a sparkly engagement ring!

Dolphins, fireworks and the big question
After spending their first week swimming with dolphins, touring Universal studios and fighting off comic book heroes, Hannah and Adam finally got to the culmination of their trip, 5 days at Walt Disney World.

After watching the firework display over Cinderella's Castle Adam went down on one knee (not literally, it had been raining!) and proposed.

Much to his relief Hannah immediately said yes and is now happily planning their wedding. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Dell'Armi to be!

New faces...

With new business coming in all the time, as well as continuing work with current clients, the time is right to start expanding the ID team...

As we're a small team, personality is just as crucial as the qualifications you hold. We have a dynamic that works well, so our goal is to find new staff who contribute to that set-up and really add something to the team.

Introducing...
Rob Carlow has joined us a web developer. A recent graduate, Rob has spent a couple of years working as a software developer before joining us. Under the guidance of James, our Web Development Manager, Rob will become an integral part of the team responsible for maintaining and supporting our current web portfolio.

Hannah Dornford-May is our new Marketing Executive. Working with the project management team on internal and external projects, she is also responsible for the management of the ID website.

Project Manager, Rebecca, is pleased with the new additions, "Both Rob and Hannah have settled in really quickly. They've each had a steep learning curve, but have taken it in their stride and made real contributions to our work. It already feels like they're part of the furniture!"

Want to know more?
Head on over to our meet the team page where you can get the lowdown on all the ID people - old and new!

It's twin girls!

Hannah Oddy, our Project Co-ordinator, has become a Mum (to two beautiful kittens)...

Once upon a time...
Izzy and Bella (then called Jill and Purdy) didn't have the best start in life. Born as part of a small semi-feral colony living in the garden of a Lytham hotel, it looked likely that they wouldn't have had the chance to become the fun-loving cats they are today.

Luckily, the hotel's owner took pity on Izzy and Bella, their mother and two other littermates, by feeding them and gave them a place to stay. When the kittens were two weeks old, the hotel owner grew concerned about their future and took them to Easterleigh Animal Sanctuary in St Annes.

Once at Easterleigh the kittens were well looked after. It wasn't long before Hannah and her partner, Adam, came for a visit and fell in love with two pairs of beautiful blue eyes! As the kittens were only 4 weeks old, Hannah and Adam had to wait an agonising 3 weeks before they could come home.

"It was like waiting for Christmas to arrive!! I've always wanted cats of my own, but because my Dad was allergic I wasn't allowed any. Since buying my own house in January I've been planning for them, we only planned in adopt one kitten, but on seeing these two we fell in love and couldn't choose!!"

When brought home, the newly named Izzy and Bella were incredibly shy, but it didn't take long before they were exploring every hidey hole in the house... and trying to climb the curtains when nobody was looking!!

...and they lived happily ever after
Izzy and Bella are now 5 months old and have come a long way since they first arrived. Both are now no longer shy kittens, and love nothing better than to roll around on your lap for some belly tickles. They are also particularly fond of tucking into a plate of tuna and taking the odd nibble of unsuspecting toes!!!

Can you help?
Easterleigh Animal Sanctuary is run by a small group of volunteers relying on donations and support from the public. If you're looking to adopt a pet, or think you could help out in some other way, please visit their website for further details.

Craig's big day

Some couples prefer the traditional church, some like to keep it simple with a registry office, whilst others go a little crazy and leap off a bridge tied to a bungee rope.

Not so for Craig, our IT Support Manager. Whilst the rest of us were busy working on March 10th 2008, Craig and Amy were half way around the world in the Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Hosted by the Iberostar Costa Dorada hotel, the wedding was signed and sealed by one of the town judges. Craig and Amy exchanged vows yards away from the sea and sand, in the company of friends and family. Craig summed it up well... 'It was the best day of our lives. We wanted to have a wedding that was out of this world and had been planning this for months. When the day finally came, everything fell into place and it'll stay with us forever'.

The day was captured by the hotel film crew, which meant Craig and Amy could share the day with the ID crew on their return... with wedding cake! For friends and family that couldn't make it to the Domincan Republic, the couple held a reception party in the UK on March 22nd 2008. And best of all, Amy got to wear her wedding dress a second time!