Image thanks to Manchester Evening News. Those of you who have been paying attention will have noticed that this time around, the mayoral elections were held under the corrosive first past the post system (FPTP). The government slipped the change into another piece of legislation, moving away from proportional representation, in the vain hope that … Continue reading Those Mayoral elections
A New Mayor
Image thanks to Newcastleworld The North East is getting a new mayor. Following the creation of the North of Tyne Combined Authority (NoTCA) some years ago, the new combined authority will see it expanded to cover all seven local authority areas from Northumberland, Tyneside, Wearside and Durham. The NoTCA will be subsumed into the North … Continue reading A New Mayor
Finally we’re underway
At last, after seven years of trying, the CyberNorth Cyber Security Innovation Centre is underway. OK, it doesn’t quite look like it was originally envisaged, it is a lot smaller, a lot cheaper yet much more portable and flexible. A lot has changed in the last seven years. It is also much more doable and … Continue reading Finally we’re underway
Never go back
They say that you should never go back, at least when it comes to work. It won’t be long before you remember why you left in the first place. Yet I have, in a way, gone back. Six months after I stepped down as a director of UKC3 I have agreed to go back, not … Continue reading Never go back
Choppy waters
Projects run in waves. One minute everything is fine and you feel like you are at the crest of the wave only to find a few minutes later your hurtling into a trough. Sometimes it's the big things that catch you out while at other times it’s the little things, those you perhaps could have … Continue reading Choppy waters
The Prodigal Son
It was really good to be back with the UK Cyber Cluster Collaboration, not that I’d ever really been away. The pan-cluster meeting at Leicester was the first time I had met with everyone since stepping down as a director. Despite the long drive it was well worth attending. As an aside, I don’t know … Continue reading The Prodigal Son
Old maps
I’m always on the lookout for something interesting for us to do. My wife has an interest in local history, especially that of Newcastle, while cartography holds a fascination for me, so when I saw an event called Historical Maps of Newcastle upon Tyne and Tyneside, organised by Northumberland & Newcastle Society, I put our … Continue reading Old maps
Campaigning Mindset
There has been a spate of books about modern politics doing the rounds since before Christmas. I have bought some of them including Rory Stewart’s, Bernie Sanders’ and Alistair Campbell’s and it has taken me a while to get through them. I am reading Campbell’s now. I’m only half way through and so will reserve … Continue reading Campaigning Mindset
School revisited
Back in December I blogged about how I had been invited back to my old school to give a talk to some of the students about my time there, my career and what I was up to now. Time marches on and my visit has now been and gone. I wouldn't say that I was … Continue reading School revisited
Unrepresented
Image thanks to FreePik Here's a challenge. How do you get your message across to a group that is outside of your sphere of influence? This is the problem I am facing with the new Cyber Security Innovation Centres. The people it is aiming to attract are probably students or working already in a business. … Continue reading Unrepresented
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 