Roy Hodgson announced his preliminary England squad on Wednesday with the omission of Manchester United duo Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick. This was much to the surprise of everyonem with the media focusing on Ferdinand’s absence. Ferdinand, a recognised celeb footballer who plays at the highest level, a regular for the national side, who has had a relatively injury free season would not be going! Hodgson revealed in this week’s press conference that this was purely down to footballing reasons, and nothing to do with the negative feeling between John Terry and Ferdinand. Terry’s court appearance is impending and you could be forgiven for thinking that Hodgson would want to avoid anything coming to a head in the England camp that could potentially ruin what little chance England have of success at the Euros. I just want to point out, however, that a recent FourFourTwo poll revealed Micah Richards as more of a sore loss compared to Ferdinand or Carrick. The squad features only one recognised right back, and Richards has been prominent in the Man City team this season – helping them to their first title in 44 years! He has great strength and possession skills which are vital for the team. Surely, he stakes a bigger claim for a place than anyone else.

Expectations are at an all time low for England, a first in my lifetime before a major tournament. A month ago, we had no manager, no captain and no Rooney (for the first two matches). However, I remain optimistic. This is could actually work in England’s favour. We seem to have been written off before a ball has been kicked! Fresh blood, a new manager and managed expectations could contribute to a successful campaign for England and let them play the beautiful game!

Kev’s favourite things…

1. Leyton Orient
2. Malta
3. Techno
4. Real ale
5. John Sitton

Identifying some of these trends and making sense of what’s trending globally, particularly state-side has been fascinating work and lots of fun. We’ve watched, listened and read so many submissions. We’ve also checked in with our Radar Youth Panel to hear their views and what’s affecting them right now.

The over-arching theme is STILL the economic climate. Of course it is. With over one million young people still without a job, last year’s trend, where we see young people making pragmatic changes to the lives to adapt, is still relevant….but this year its different.

Anti-establishment behaviour that fuelled a sense of rebellion across Europe in 2011 in all its different forms has moderated. A new resignation has set in and the “new millenials” as they have been labelled in the US, are actually ok with their new lifestyle. At home. Supported by Bank of Parents. Lifes not that bad.

But lets not get too cosy here. There is a no nostalgic connection with former generations and today’s youth are doing things differently in a defiant quest to distance themselves from the “world that has let them down”.

In pure fantasy terms (Hunger Games) or real world realities, young people are putting clear blue water between their aspirations and those of their elders.

See how this work in a new form of entrepreneurship. Although Generation X-ers fired up “self starting” the trend is still gaining momentum and according to youth experts at MTV, today’s  generation is defined by its innovation. But this isn’t the hard-edged profit driven dreamscape as presented by business gurus such as Alan Sugar or Mark Zuckerberg. This is socially driven. We are seeing new business ideas that are designed to benefit and support peer groups and fellow communities. Buymyface.co.uk is a great example of this.

There’s lots more to share and loads more to debate. So if you need more info, contact gaby@radiatorpr.com. Now on to 2013!

Eastpak, WeSC, Starter Black Label, Rocawear, Admiral Gold, Nobis, Barts, Dare 2 B, Aussiebum, Pele Sports and Madison all unleashed their new collections to the press with some very positive reactions.

We had the likes of Men’s Health, Notion, More, Marie Claire, Clash, Vice, Individualism, Loaded, Men’s Fitness, Zoo, Wonderland, Zest, Super Super, Ask Men and many many more.

Men’s Health- Eric Down

Some great brands and as always a fun day. WeSC have some strong pieces and the new KVA Eastpak collaboration looks very exciting. Was interesting to see Admiral Gold brand launch, will see how it develops. We look forward to continuing to work with Danny and Radiator this year.

Seb Law-Notion

“Another great showing from Radiator’s brands with some really strong pieces for AW12! We work closely with Radiator, as loads of their brands fit perfectly with our audience and they’re a lovely team to work with.”

Bella Rox-Loaded

“I am a big fan of both Starter Black Label and Eastpak and always try and include them on my shoots. I was really impressed with Rocawears new style direction and footwear range and liked the new brands including Madison, Dare 2 B and Giro helmets.”

Ella Shippey-Zoo

Big fan of Radiator and you guys had some great brands on show, Barts, Saltrock and Pele Sports are all perfect for Zoo and I like the Starter headwear and was pleased to see the new apparel footwear and luggage range for AW.

Francesca Moser-Zest

Lots of choice for Skiwear which is important for our many winter fashion stories. Barts Nobis and Dare 2 B all had an impressive range. Lots of great brands.

Thanks to everyone who popped down and helped make the day such a success. See you all next season.

Danny Higgins

Perfectly executed by San Diego’s AV Concepts by digitally recreating the hip-hop icon in an incomprehensibly lifelike manner, the hologram was initially Dr. Dre’s idea. But, hologram performances aren’t a new thing. Punch in November 3^rd 2005, accelerate to 88 and skip back to the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon – here, Gorillaz performed live in 3D for the first time with a little help from Musion Systems and De La Soul:

Elsewhere (in Japan, natch), holographic pop megastar Hatsune Miku has been playing sold out concerts since 2010, backed by a live band:

What sets the Tupac hologram apart from its digital peers is its lifelike nature. The future is here, and with technology advancing at its current rate the thought of seeing Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse or Biggie selling out Wembley – as opposed to digitally animated characters – in the near future doesn’t seem so absurd. Question is, do we really want to? Either way, the second Coachella weekend kicks off tomorrow, giving revellers a chance to see (and scrutinise) the Tupac hologram again. Now, where’s that teleporter?

Ian Hsieh (Account Manager and Radiator PR’s newest team member!)

On the very first night the man himself, Judge Jules, was banging out the tunes in Banditos till the wee hours in the morning, kicking the week off to a flying start.  What a lovely man Jules is, and of course a brilliant DJ!

And those lucky ladies at the festival were very much so spoiled this year with a pampering session at the Company Magazine Spa Day.  After a couple of long and hard days of skiing/snowboarding and not to mention of course a lot of partying, Company magazine hosted a girlie afternoon of relaxation to soothe those tired muscles and banging hangovers.  With a little glass of prosecco to finish the afternoon off we were all ready to hit the tiles again!

The rest of the week was of course crammed full with exhilarating shenanigans such as the fancy dress sports day – the amount of ‘Where’s Wally’ outfits on the slops was brilliant.  I even noticed a group of girls dressed up in little bunny costumes – my goodness must they have been cold (even with the sunshine).

Why don’t you take little peak for yourself at all the fun, entertainment and excitement over the weeks festival and check out the photo gallery and blogs by Company magazine – http://www.company.co.uk/city-guide/company-the-big-snow-festival-2012

Fiona McPherson reporting from The Big Snow Festival – over and out!

Homeless individuals in Austin were given the opportunity to sell a digital service instead of a material commodity at the music event. SxSW Interactive attendees paid what they liked to access 4G networks carried by these homeless collaborators. All the proceeds paid for access went directly to the person selling the access and created a form of income for them.

This ‘Homeless Hotspots’ initiative was instigated by BBH’s New York arm. The creative agency spotted an opportunity that may revolutionise the ‘street newspaper model employed to support homeless populations’.

After the trial though, there was uproar. The service was deemed ‘patronising’, ‘vulgar’ and ‘dehumanising’ by some media heads. But is it? We are torn… While we do not support any type of exploitation, isn’t this an opportunity to generate another source of income for those willing? If students were these hotspots would there be as much distaste, or would there be outrage that the homeless community was overlooked?

Interestingly, we have not seen any comment from or opinion asked of the actual homeless people who took part in this… Surely people that deem this project ‘inhuman’ have decided these workers are not worthy of their own opinion… (who is inhuman now?)

At the current time of writing, this service has no plans of rolling out the Homeless Hotspots to any other events, but what do you think? Is this a road for the homeless community to generate income or an exercise in bad taste for those less fortunate?

Alex Holbrook, Account Manager, Celebrity Liaison

Now if you are like me and love everything dance, MOVE IT is definitely for you.  Now please do remember I do still have two left feet and I don’t think I will be auditioning for the next series of Got to Dance. But that is the great thing about MOVE IT, it doesn’t matter your level – whether you are a pro, amateur or just love watching dance.

It has something for everyone and has everything you could imagine to do with dance – performances, taster classes, master classes, shopping, performing arts universities and colleagues.  Not to mention every kind of dance clothing, accessories and footwear – I have never seem so many leg warmers and eye lashes in the one place.

It amazed me, every morning about an hour before the event opened (bear in mind this is 10am – Friday, Saturday and Sunday) there was a massive que of excited young girls, women, families, all chomping  at the bit to get into the event for a taster of life as a dancer.

One of the key highlights for me was the jaw dropping performances from Got to Dance judges Kimberly Wyatt & Adam Garcia.  Sad to say they were not performing together and were at the event on two separate days.  However the funny thing is in each of their interviews neither of them would talk about their love life – could they be together?  I’m going to watch this space….

I have to admit I did also love the collaborative performance by The English National Ballet and Flawless.  Not a likely pair, but that is exactly why it worked!   The choreography was amazing and how they managed to create this performance was pure genius.

Now as MOVE IT is at the forefront of the dance movement in the UK and entrenched in the dance community what better place to find out what new dance trends we will start to see emerging in the UK over this year.   So You Think You Can Dance Star, Matt Flint was showing everyone why Gentleman’s Tap is fast causing  something of a stir, you only have to look at Adam Garcia’s performances on Got to Dance to see further evidence of this.  Then you look over to one of the other influencing communities in dance, fitness – which has been looking for a new and vibrant style to help tone those arms and tummy, and the answer is Belly Bolly – a fusion of Belly Dancing with Bollywood.  The moves are fast paced and feature Bollywood’s trademark expressive hands and undulating hips. Whilst the Indian twist gives the style a fresh edge.  The last but now means least trend I saw poke its head out from MOVE IT was Gothic Hip Hop, which has been inspired and influenced by recent epic gothic movies like the Underworld series.  Gothic hip hop takes cutting edge Hip Hop and streetdance moves and gives them a touch of drama, inspired by contemporary horror movies and performers like Michael Jackson.

Whether you are into dance or not, Move It is a pretty good day out for everyone, no matter your age. there lot going on that will keep you entertained and definitely wanting more, even if you have two left Feet.

Fiona McPherson

If I described it in one sentence it would be ‘Nordic fisherman meets English Country Gent’.

Mostly I have to say it was a modern twist on heritage style with tweeds, quilting, and warm autumnal colours including deep reds, burgundy and mustard leading the way.

The slim fit autumn chino made its mark and seemed to be a focus for most brands.

At Stitch Menswear there was a big focus on British brands, from new emerging labels through to the more established British heritage brands. A bit of British eccentricity is back.

Oh and it was great to see tartan making its way back, I always knew Scotland was a global style leading market!

So ladies expect big bearded chunky knit wearing men in the pubs come September this year…at least you don’t need to worry about stubble rash…and guys you don’t have to shave…result!

Lorna Milliken

5 favourite things:

• Football
• Glasgow
• Autobiographies
• Trash TV
• Moaning (according to Gaby)