Jon Bounds spoke at the Festival this year. One his excellent talks was about his 11-11-11 project.

He's written about the project he's conducting this year for the blog.

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I there’s one thing I like in the Old Testament is it’s grasp of the symbolic power of encircling a town. When Joshua brings down Jericho it's not the brass arrangement, it's the ongoing circumnavigation. So if there was an easy way to surround one of Europe's largest cities you'd do it, wouldn't you?

Luckily there is — the eleven bus. The number eleven skirts the city of Birmingham, the 11C clockwise, the 11A anti, taking in all of its great suburbs as far from the blandly redeveloped city centre as you can get without ending up in the wider conurbation. At two hours 45 minutes long it's one of the longest bus routes in Europe, and if you stop on you can go round and round again.

And I did, and so did about 30 other people last year on the eleventh of November. I asked for people to spend eleven hours, from eleven o’clock, rounding the city and to record their thoughts, emotions and experiences (they’re collected online at elevenbus.co.uk).

As a feat it required endurance, a packed lunch, mobile internet technology or a pen and paper, and a daysaver. A daysaver entitles you to as many bus journeys within the West Midlands in one day as you like — ideal for getting off in Bournville, Perry Barr, Acock’s Green, or Erdington and exploring parts of Birmingham that you’ve not visited. Or if you already have, then your memories for the recording will be so much richer.

But eleven hours is a lot, a big commitment, so we’re relaxing the rules a little this year. Instead of having to do the full eleven hours, one circuit is enough — but make sure that it is completed within the eleven hour window. The rules are:

• Get on the 11C at some point after 11am on 11/11.
• Get off the 11C exactly one circuit later.
• You can get on and off the bus as many times as you like (don’t spend more than an hour off bus at one time).
• Document your journey; photos, film, writing, cross-stitch, knitting, amigurumi, poetry, blog, twitter, however you like.
• Meet up with others as mad as you, if you want.
• Record everything on elevenbus.co.uk — or on your own space and link us up.

Watch the blog for more information in the run-up to the great day. If it’s better to travel hopefully than arrive, Birmingham is the ideal place.

Jon's worked in publishing, music journalism, and in a venetian blind factory. Now, after several years at the BBC, Jon is a freelance social media consultant and producer, writer and blogger. His common theme – tech plus people equals great things. He's obsessed by place.  www.jonbounds.co.uk