There will be some disruption for the next fortnight while the administrators of the site go in seek of sun, sea and... cerebral recharging for the next phase of the site!

... Leicestershire based Cathy Bass, freelance design consultant and talented seamstress (what a fantastic word that is!). Cathy's based in Leicestershire.
As usual, there's a brief Q&A feature with her at www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=317. Despite the glorious weather, there's a hint of Christmas about her entry...

Press Invitation: Ecademy Event at the Tower Hotel 19th June, 6pm - 10pm with Keynote Speech from Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com

If you would like to attend the event, please register at www.ecademy.com to get your free ticket and a glass of Pimm’s on arrival, or alternatively contact Jenna Gould.

If you would like Jenna to arrange some time for an interview with Penny Power, founder of Ecademy, or Brent Hoberman of Lastminute.com please let her know as soon as possible so that she can schedule some time in by telephoning 01603 283 503 or emailing Jenna at jenna@mediajems.co.uk.

The time allocated for press interviews will be limited and will be offered on a first come first served basis.

Kingston University is to carry out a research project aimed at defining and estimating the size of the freelance workforce in the UK.

The research has been commissioned by freelancer trade body, the Professional Contractors Group (PCG), which has long been calling for research in the UK and across Europe in an attempt to establish just how many people work as freelancers.

The project will be led by Dr John Kitching and Professor David Smallbone from the Small Business Research Centre at Kingston University in South West London. Its aims are to:


* provide a definition of freelance work;

* derive estimates of the size of the freelance workforce in the UK and in particular sectors;

* provide details of the nomenclature used to describe freelance work in different sectors and work contexts; and

* profile the personal, work and organisational characteristics of the freelance workforce.

Extract courtesy of our friends at Shout 99. To see the full article, www.shout99.com/contractors/showarticle.pl?id=51675

We're delighted to feature Alison Withers as our Freelancer in Focus for June 2008. Alison has been a member at the site since March 2005, just a few weeks after we launched Freelancers in The UK. See her feature at www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=317.

Orange National Business Awards 2008 Finalists

We're delighted to learn that ContractorUmbrella Ltd have been selected as 1 of 4 regional finalists in the Orange National Business Awards 2008.

The category they have entered is The Growth Strategy of the Year Award sponsored by 3i. The winner is the business that can best demonstrate an organic growth from providing outstanding levels of business excellence both at a customer service and business level.

ContractorUmbrella has been in business since 2002 and is still going from strength to strength. Their success has come from the honest approach they use and the refusal to use misleading claims to sign up new clients. To help new contractors avoid the pitfalls, ContractorUmbrella has written several guides which can be downloaded for free from their website

ContractorUmbrella also has a Customer Service Charter which helps ensure all clients receive the same high levels of service. This is a money-backed guarantee although this hasn’t been necessary to date!

In a nutshell, ContractorUmbrella know their stuff. You won't find better. - UmbrellaSupermarket


ContractorUmbrella has become the first and currently ONLY Umbrella Company to be confirmed by KPMG as fully compliant with all relevant HMRC regulations including the MSC legislation.

ContractorUmbrella is an approved supplier under the Professional Passport scheme and has passed their audit standards for a compliant business.

ContractorUmbrella featured 14th in the FastTrack 100 league table of Britain’s fastest growing companies in 2007.

ContractorUmbrella was awarded the prestigious Investors in People accreditation in 2006.

For more information, visit their website at www.contractorumbrella.com

This shared desk space in The Old Clinic in Mortlake SW14 is available weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You would be sharing what was the old gym with an Interior Design Journalist, three Graphic Designers and a Copy Writer/Ideas man. The fee is £150 per calendar month inclusive and for that you have wireless broadband, heat, light, use of meetings room etc. For more information, Mary Whitaker can be reached on +44 (0)7946 339 038 and mary@marywhitaker.co.uk.

The next London Travel Writing Workshop is on Saturday 14th June. Held in Bloomsbury – another place where the inspiration of great writers surrounds us – this small, intensive workshop produces disproportionately large results. Within a couple of weeks of the last workshop, three participants had their first commissions ever from our visiting guest editor, Frank Barrett of the Mail on Sunday.

We also have a Paris Travel Writing Workshop on Saturday 28th June ... More details to follow.

To find out more about any of these workshops just go to www.travelworkshops.co.uk

The workshops fill up fast, so if you’d like to join us please just go to our website – www.travelworkshops.co.uk – and download a form from the When and Where section. You’ll also find much more information about us there, including what past participants have achieved (which is inspirational in itself) and further details about tutors, guest editors and guest writers.

Are you bored of working at home? There are desks to rent in friendly, light office space on the Portobello Road. You would be sharing with other creatives. The desks are £300 pcm and include WiFi, a kitchen, cleaner and 24 hour access. If you are interested, contact Jane Taylor at +44 (0)7976 628 558 or email jane@positivenews.org.uk

The world's favourite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May, according to Edwin W Teale. Featured as our Freelancer in Focus for May is Wendy Telfer, a highly qualified writer, editor and proofreader. Check out the feature at www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk/content.php?categoryId=317. Have a great month!