Chris Paul: Introduction

Hello all. I'm not about to post my total CV - it's where you're at, not where you're coming from after all - but it may help you dear reader to have some idea with whom you are dealing - who you are dealing with - whatever, to have some information.

Many years ago I got a starred First Class Honours degree from a "respectable" red university. While I was there I was top dog in the Athletic Union for several years taking part in ten different sports, captained a national universities team, and also was twice in "team Mancunion" when we won the Guardian-NUS paper-of-the-year thing.

Leaving college after some extra post grad twiddlings I was a co-founder of City Life Magazine which was a determined alternative to the Manchester Evening News. Having failed to bankrupt our workers' co-op with their shenanigans the MEN bought the title. But after 17 years running the thing very badly for most of the time they merged it into their daily paper and obviously I took part in the NUJ protests at the closure.

Work continued with a parallel life running all the recruitment advertising and helping set and police Equality and Diversity policy for an excellent local authority, and later helping with the Olympic Festival in 1990. Part of the long game for this.

The nineties were spent raising money and defining strategy for arts and media organisations in Manchester, the UK and Europe along with continuing to manage bands, promote shows and campaign for peace and justice.

In November 1997 IDEA, one of these projects became my main focus and I successfully invented a number of training concepts, created a good few jobs, and did some tasty property deals.

Right now I'm looking after IDEA, continuing with various *charidee* and regeneration activities while looking around for further projects to excite me.

Over the years my writing and/or my news tips have been published in all sorts of places: Cosmopolitan, Red Pepper, The Observer, Labour Left Briefing, Athletics Weekly, The Guardian, PC Weekly and so on and so forth.

If you can pay good money or present a good cause I'll be very happy to write something, almost anything for you. And I'm also interested in opportunities to analyse, synthesise and add value for your organisation. Please contact me with work or story tips.