Project grants/Hotels and cinema/Report

Completion

Is your project completed?

Answer YES or NO or OPEN ENDED for long term projects.

NO

Have you submitted all receipts for any expenses paid?

Answer YES, NO or N/A.

N/A

Activities and lessons learned

This section describes what the grantee did, and what the grantee learned from implementing the project. This section should be useful to others implementing similar projects and is an opportunity for the grantee to reflect on the project's performance.

Activities

Provide a brief list of activities performed to complete this project, and descriptions of these activities. This section should also include links to pictures, blog posts, or videos from the project or event if appropriate.

• Althorp article. Althorp: The Story of an English House Complete. Brought from this to current GA status and planning perhaps on taking to FA in new year.
• Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick: The Complete Films by Paul Duncan complete. Making headway now on A:Biography by Baxter. Began working on early life and career using the Duncan book which you can see in the article but I ran into difficulties with an editor named Light show who carried over a vendetta from the Peter Sellers article and began a detailed criticism of my work here. I began working on a draft here but it is only in recent times that this problematic editor has been curbed from commenting on Kubrick related content and topic banned so I'm now free to continue. As it stands I've begun on the second Kubrick book Baxter in the draft and within a few weeks should be able to update the main article and resume working on it there. I've used the books I've got through to date to improve various films of Kubrick The Killing [1], Spartacus: [2], Dr. Strangelove: [3], 2001 Space: [4], Clockwork Orange: [5] [6], and Fulll Metal Jacket [7] [8] I've also used the books I've got through to date to add various bits to some related people, Jack Nicholson for one. I have used a quote or two from the Clockwork Orange book and Meryl Steep book on earlier life only to date I think.

• Waldorf Hotel - I did begin the cleanup here and began working on developing it but got sidetracked. An editor has since restored a lot of the text which will have to be sorted out again. The book itself though is more a celebrity anecdote than a detailed history though so might not have great use, not as much as the Ritz books anyway in which the info in them is overwhelming to the point I haven't started on it yet! I should be able to add something interesting from the Waldorf book though!

• Meryl Streep I was pretty sure I began on this book adding some material on early life, it might have been to one of her early film articles, I can't seem to find a diff though. The book is on my bed in the computer room so I must have done something with it!

Lessons learned

What lessons were learned that may help others succeed in similar projects? Consider the following questions and respond with 1 - 2 sentences.

I underestimated the time needed to complete all goals and the extent of the work and research needed on all topics. They definitely require full focus and attention which at times in an environment on wikipedia which is largely negative it can be very difficult.

What went well?

The Althorp article ran completely smoothly and reached a great level fairly quickly.

What did not go well?

Unfortunately the Stanley Kubrick related material has been stalled. largely due to Light show which can be seen on the talk page. It's not a nice thing for an editor to have to deal with, especially when it's a big project which really needs the motivation factor. I hit an all-time low I'd say in summer-autumn of this year due to various issues, the main one being related problems with Eric Corbett and Jimbo Wales which zapped my motivation for the project and two months ago or so I was having second thoughts about continuing as an editor. It reached a point actually when the only thing keeping me was my feeling obligated to get this fully done and repay you guys for helping me out with books. I've picked up in recent weeks though and hope to get through the next Kubrick book this Christmas and begin on the Waldorf or Ritz early in the new year.

What would you do differently in future?

If I made a further request in the future after completing this for books then I think it would be better to focus on one topic only until complete and then send the books back and so on. The extent of the work needed on the overall topics combined is overwhelming, but I've at least made some good head way with Kubrick despite the difficulties. When I made the request though I was under the illusion that it was a one-off grant request, so I asked for multiple topic books in one request.

Expected outcomes

This section should reference the expected outcomes and measures of success described in the approved grant submission.

Provide the expected outcomes here.

I expect to make good headway in coming months but the overall project will take a lot longer than originally projected to complete effectively. I tend to like working on hotels over the winter period, so hopefully the next GA will be on Waldorf or Ritz in coming weeks.

Did you achieve the expected outcomes? How do you know the outcome was achieved?

I achieved two of the objectives, one to get an article to GA (ALthorp) and two in improving content on Stanley Kubrick and films which has at least contributed to an overall improvement in content, but there's still a fair way to go.

Impact

This section ties this project to Wikimedia UK's broader goals, and shows what the project accomplished.

What impact did this project have on WMUK's mission and the strategic goals?

To date this project has directly improved perhaps 10 wikipedia articles.

Reporting and documentation of expenditures

Did you send documentation of all expenses paid with grant funds to the office? Answer "Yes" or "No".

Yes, WMUK dealt with the finances

Final comments

Include any final comments you may have.

Apologies that I've been delayed this summer and autumn and that work has been stalled, I didn't take into account the motivation factor on wikipedia and that these projects really require my full attention and focus. I've at least achieved a few things though.