Mother Language Day 21 February

By Mike Raggett19th February 202319th February 2023 News 21 February, Bangladesh, BBC Media Action, Milton Rahman, Mother Language Day, UNICEF Leave a comment

I was asked by one of my Bangladeshi friends to write a piece about the importance of mother language to appear in a Bangla newspaper the weekend before the celebration of Mother Language Day. This was originally a Bangladeshi initiative that was adopted globally by UNICEF in 1999. The theme for 2023 is education and…

Working with Watford FC

By Mike Raggett8th February 20238th February 2023 News 100 Years at Vicarage Road, Watford FC' Leave a comment

Many know that I’m a Watford season ticket holder and had the privilege of writing a book marking 25 years of it charity arm the Community Sports & Education Trust back in 2017. Well 2022 saw the 100th anniversary of the club’s move to its new home at Vicarage Road and again I’ve been lucky…

VR Training – writing for avatars

By Mike Raggett20th May 202220th May 2022 News Amsterdam, Learning and Development, Lepaya, Power Skills, Training, Virtual Reality Leave a comment

Verbalists has been selected by international training provider Lepaya to develop interactive scripts for training modules delivered through Virtual Reality devices. We have written plenty of scripts over the years for actors and narrators to deliver, but this is a new departure. The project all kicked off with a number of online video calls with…

Music restoration continues

By Mike Raggett10th September 202127th September 2021 News Giovanni Battista Draghi, Henry Purcell, John Blow, KIng Charles II, King's Place, Louis Grabu, Oliver Cromwell, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Restaurant Yoshino, Steven Devine Leave a comment

The second blog in the series was posted on Thursday 23 September and has a footballing theme among other divertissements. If you’ve read this post before click here for Blog 2, if not read on and it’ll be at the end as well. I was asked by the Director of Communications at my favourite classical…

Music with a difference

By Mike Raggett15th August 202115th August 2021 News, Reviews Alan Skidmore, Hundred Years Gallery, Mark Wastell Leave a comment

So after my new efforts at music reviewing featuring classical concerts and opera, a further opportunity presented itself in August when my friends Alan Skidmore and Mark Wastell invited me to an experimental gig they were playing at the Hundred Years Gallery in London’s Hoxton.

Rugby World Cup Japan Guide for CNN

By Mike Raggett4th April 2019 News 101 Great Things about Japan, CNN, Mike Raggett, Olympics Tokyo 2020, Paralympics Tokyo 2020, Rugby World Cup 2019 Leave a comment

This article went live on the CNN website on April 1 but it was no joke. After reading Mike Raggett’s book 101 Great Things about Japan, CNN’s London Bureau asked Mike to contribute a guide to Japan for visitors to the Rugby World Cup. 1500 words and a dozen or so photographs later this appeared. We hope…

New book published

By Mike Raggett26th January 2019 News Amazon, Japan, Kindle Direct Publishing, Olympics Tokyo 2020, Paralympics Tokyo 2020, Rugby World Cup, travel Leave a comment

Publication Day! by mikeraggett In a new venture for Verbalists, 25 January 2019 saw the arrival on Amazon of a book I’ve written with thoughts about Japanese life and culture: It consists of short essays about things that have amused or interested me about Japan, ranging from Anime to Zen all illustrated with, largely, my own…

Second Jazz website launched

By Mike Raggett14th June 2018 News Alan Skidmore, Anthony Kerr, BBC Big Band, Billy Strayhorn, Charlie Watts, George Gershwin, Georgie Fame and the New Blue Flames, Isfahan, jazz, Royal College of Music, Summertime, vibraphone Leave a comment

Following on the success of our website for tenor saxophonist Alan Skidmore, we have just designed a website for the vibraphone ace Anthony Kerr. We have included two video clips of Anthony playing Billy Strayhorn’s Isfahan and George Gershwin’s Summertime which we filmed specially for the website and his YouTube channel. Anthony is a renowned soloist who…

Book delivered

By Mike Raggett2nd May 2018 News Derrick Williams OBE, Harry Potter Experience, Luther Blissett, Watford Community Sports & Education Trust, Watford FC' 2 Comments

The commemorative book for the Watford FC Community Sports & Education Trust was formally launched at a gala fundraising dinner held at the Harry Potter Experience at Leavesden last Thursday 26 April. It was great to see the best part of a year’s work in final glossy form being appreciated by the large gathering. I…

Writing for the Screen

By Mike Raggett2nd May 2018 News editors, online courses; workshops; writing video scripts;, Senate House, Training; University of London; Leave a comment

Verbalists developed and presented over two days at the end of April a tailor made course to help publications editors at the University of London International Unit develop the skills they need to prepare video scripts alongside the work they already do for printed materials. As online course provision becomes an ever-more important part of…