We Won!

I was fortunate enough to have been invited to the Guildhall to hear the result of the 2013 City of Culture bid last night. And what a night it was! We won! The link will take you to a video of us hearing the announcement - not sure how to upload it to the blog sorry!


Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard - a well deserved win for us in the North West. And a massive thank you to everyone who supported the bid.

For those of you who haven't yet seen our bid video, here it is. If you have a spare few minutes please take a look - it's beautifully put together and makes you proud to live in this lovely city!



The atmosphere in the city over the past few weeks and months has been electric. I'm off this afternoon to join in the celebration in the guildhall square. For anyone around there will be live music and dancing in the city centre today until 5pm I think. Happy Days!

Derry's bid for UK City of Culture 2013

Yes yes it's Friday, but there will be no Folksy Friday post this week. No sir! Why, I hear you ask?? Hasn't there been a Folksy Friday post every Friday for months and months?? Well yes there has, but we're taking a week off over at Jemima HQ to tell you about something very special indeed! So stick the kettle on, dig out the custard creams and relax for a couple of mins.


As some of you may well know I was raised in beautiful rural Wales, but for nearly 3 years now I have lived in a lovely Northern Irish city. Derry, Londonderry, The Walled City, The Maiden City - call it what you will. I love this city. It's the place where I made my first proper home, aside from living with the rents or student digs; it's where I broke my first (and only to date) world record;

it's the city where I first learned to sew and crochet; It's the place where I saw my first canon firing;


It's where I first celebrated Halloween, and boy does Derry celebrate Halloween!


It's a city where the craic is in full swing, where music plays and Guinness flows, where history is painted on walls and culture is painted on faces. Where commemoration, celebration and tradition are demonstrated in various marches, parades and festivals throughout the year.


The point, I hear you ask? Well Derry has been shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2013 and the bid is being hand delivered today. And I have been asked to ask you very nicely to make some noise about it!

How you can help:
Register your support here;
You can tweet about the bid using the tag #derry2013;
You can follow @derry2013;
You can download twitter / Facebook avatars / blog badges etc. here;
You can get the City of Culture Twibbon here;
Follow City of Culture 2013 on Facebook.

Not only would it be wonderful to win the prestigious title of UK City of Culture, but Derry really needs everything that comes with it. I know first hand how hard the recession has hit the city, and how hard it is to get a job around here. Winning the bid will bring with it up to 2000 new jobs, £300 million into Northern Ireland, and a massive increase in tourism revenue.

We already have an impressive list of backers, including Ciaran McMenamin, Brendan Gleeson, James Nesbitt, Anne Robinson, Snow Patrol, Bronagh Gallager, Gabriel Byrne... the list is ever-growing. Oh and Crafty Jemima of course!

So if you have a spare minute then please give Derry your support. Thanking you muchly!