In this instance my mailing focused on my Roma photo project, which is the focus of most of my energy right now, but in future it may also be about other kinds of work I’m doing. I plan to only send two or at most three a year. Copies were sent to all the Gypsy and/or Roma people I am photographing/have photographed in the past or who have supported or advised me along the way… I’m trying to make sure I am as open as possible in this sense.

I’ve had to create my first mailing list by cribbing addresses from my contact lists, address books, inboxes etc – not ideal but you have to start somewhere. You can read it here and if you would like to be added to the list for next time, please follow the instructions at the same link.

Profile interview with Julia Unwin, head of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in this week’s Big Issue in the North, about poverty and social exclusion.

And a story for the Guardian about the problems faced by carers.

Early days….but I’m starting to get myself together….

If only we could plot the emotional highs and lows of the average documentary project…I’ve had some serious ups and downs over recent months with the Roma work – the highs of producing a body of work that has been appreciated, winning a couple of grants, and seeing Ramona win recognition for her continued achievements (this month she did herself proud by getting onto the NHS list of approved interpreters); followed by the frustrations of trying to make new contacts in towns I don’t know, doubts about foisting an existing project onto a new place and new people, and the collapse due to staff changes of what I thought was my one sure-fire mini project. I wish I was more patient – I blame my time spent working on daily newspapers – because I know deep down that things do get better if you ride these periods out. So just as I started feeling that hopeful high that comes when you feel your luck is beginning to turn, this blog post by my friend Gemma resonated with me very much. It’s reassuring to know it’s not just me who often feels mildly unbalanced about the whole process. Her Youzi project, in which she is partnering with an academic to photograph and collaborate with Chinese students in Sheffield, is shaping up to be fascinating.

Tomorrow I’ll be talking about the genesis of Elvira and Me to a group of anthropology students at Manchester Uni. Preparing for this got me thinking about how ridiculously control-freaky I have a tendency to be, but how no matter how much you plan this kind of project, it always turns out differently to how you envisage at the start: in this particular case, despite all my incessant list-writing and plotting and attempts to cover all bases in one project, the project evolved organically and ended up having far greater depth than I could have foreseen at the start. This is of course the magic of journalism and of photography, and is what I love about it, but that doesn’t stop me trying to over-plan and squeeze every last drop of spontaneity out things, time after time, when I really should know better. I feel the need to remind myself of this as I move into the next chapters of this project. I am visiting a really lovely family in Middlesbrough this weekend, and will also be working with a group of Slovakian kids in Newcastle for the next few months. I have an ambitious young man to work with in Peterborough. I have no idea how the work is going to end up looking – maybe this time I should just go with the flow and not try to control everything as I did last time. Maybe I’ll just write a few initial lists though just to be sure…ha.

Centrepoint Collective just kindly highlighted my work with an interview about Elvira and Me on their blog. Feels weird answering the questions instead of posing them…kind of vulnerable.

My Newcastle archive photos story, which ran last Friday in the Guardian, was ripped off by the Daily Mail website the following day – posted almost word for word under another writer’s byline. Ironic for a paper which rails so much against thieves and scroungers, but somehow not that surprising. ho hum.

Last time I was in Newcastle I happened to call in for a brew with Aaron Guy, an archivist and twitter contact, just as he was showing a wonderful haul of recently-discovered old photos to somebody. Today the story went into the Guardian. The gallery can be seen here. A rare time when my two interests collide and I get to write about photography.

It’s been a slightly odd week so far. A post I wrote on Monday for the Guardian’s Northerner section about Ramona’s invitation to dine with the Queen generated quite a lot of attention in Romania. A steady stream of reporters has contacted me, asking to be put in touch with her, and then yesterday a TV crew doorstepped her family – ie they turned up without warning. That caused some serious panic for Ramona, thousands of miles away in Manchester – and by extension me – but ultimately it was all fine. (See the clip below)

It was quite odd to see their report online today – doubly so since it was largely made up of my content, used without permission….images and video footage I made of Ramona on our trip to Romania, which they have nicked from my multimedia pieces, and photos lifted from my Elvira and Me book pdf. Her family then showed prints I sent them from Friday’s town hall trip, a copy of the book and a copy of the Big Issue in the North with Ramona on the cover.

All quite bizarre but unlike on previous occasions when I’ve had a dealings with broadcasters, i don’t actually mind because they had the manners to at least credit my name and website. And at least this time it’s a positive story about Roma – I don’t think there are many of those in Romanian media. The photo from my Guardian piece has been reproduced all over the shop, but unlike my darker recent experiences, at least this time it is being used in the correct context. So I guess I don’t really have much to complain about. It’s just the latest chapter in the amazing journey of Elvira.

She said: “This is the first time my mum has said she’s proud of me since I’ve moved to England. She has been telling everyone about it. Everyone has heard  of the Queen of England, so that I’ve been invited has really impressed them – it shows them that what I’m doing here is good and worthwhile. She told me that if I speak to the Queen, I should shake hands and say ‘I’m Ramona and I’m Roma’.”

She didn’t get to shake Brenda’s hand but that didn’t take the gloss off being there. Interestingly too, for me, she chose to shed the long skirts of a traditional Roma woman for one afternoon only, safe in the knowledge none of her community would be there to judge (covering is a mark of respectability).

She said: “For me it’s an adventure. I want to feel special, I didn’t want to be different to the others who were there. I want to socialise with people, I don’t want to have a long skirt and people to be asking about it. I want to be dressed properly to meet the Queen. I want to be Roma, but I also want to be English Roma.”

After a few months of success in some ways but simultaneously almost no actual photography, it was nice today to work on a relatively uncomplicated assignment, photographing people and urban scenes for a forthcoming report on homelessness in Stoke on Trent. Everyone was lovely and obliging. The gloss was only taken off my day when someone really interesting who I really hoped to spend time with for my Roma project decided they didn’t want to get involved. For me the ups and downs of photography are immense – I get so much satisfaction when an interaction goes well with someone and then I can spent days brimming with hope and excitement, only to be deflated within seconds when something like this happens. Back to the drawing board there…positive mental attitude…

I should be getting marginally less rubbish at public speaking by now, but it still freaks me out. Next Saturday, at the above event, will be the third time I’ve spoken in front of a group of actual people about my project Elvira and Me. Good preparation for a forthcoming conference when Ramona and I will be talking about it in front of people who work with Roma migrants. Please come along if you are in Manchester and interested in photography, as there are plenty of other speakers too. Booking is essential though.