I was supposed to be in London today at InfoSec but the rail strike has put a stop to that. In a way I am upset as I would like to have gone to the conference and feel that CyberNorth ought to have been there. On the other hand I am quite glad that I … Continue reading That strike
Green housing
Wandering round the dust bowl that is Great Park with my grandchildren, one in a pushchair and the other free running, got me thinking about recycling. It’s strange how your mind wanders yet the building site is huge and seems to have been going on forever. It must be nearly twenty years now since the … Continue reading Green housing
Online abuse
Social media is a murky place at times. Even though I spend a fair amount of time on it both for pleasure (?) and work, I don’t often get trolled. Occasionally I do, admittedly in a very mild form. Even so it can be upsetting and I cannot begin to imagine how horrific it must … Continue reading Online abuse
Protocol
The signing of the Withdrawal Agreement is a fantastic moment, which finally delivers the result of the 2016 referendum and brings to an end far too many years of argument and division. Boris Johnson 24 January 2020. Here we are, two and half years later, some six years after the referendum and it still feels … Continue reading Protocol
Snagging list
My eldest daughter has just moved into a new house. It’s lovely and well worth the inevitable stress that moving causes. Apparently it is one of the three most stressful things you can do. The house will stand her and her daily in good stead for years to come. It is a new-build and is … Continue reading Snagging list
Another ITT
When I heard that the government was putting out a tender that should really be up our (CyberNorth) street I had to take notice. I couldn’t attend the briefing and ended up paying someone to attend on my behalf, that’s how important it felt. In this way we were registered as interested and therefore eligible … Continue reading Another ITT
Time for change
Perhaps it's the circles I move in but most of my colleagues are against having a monarchy and have avoided any ‘celebrations’ over last weekend. Even those who did join in did so less from a sense of support for royalty but to enjoy the spectacle. There is a growing republican movement in this country … Continue reading Time for change
Enforced holidays
I have never been one for so called bank holidays. Who goes to the bank these days anyway? I don’t like the idea of being told when I should or should not take time off work. Usually they are dull days spent lying around the house or doing DIY while it pours down outside. At … Continue reading Enforced holidays
50 pints
I’ve finally reached a landmark in blood donations. I’ve just donated my 50th pint. That’s nearly 24 litres in the current parlance. This time giving blood was a good experience, I had picked a good slot, the queue was short and I was through in about half an hour. Nearly all of the COVID precautions … Continue reading 50 pints
Long live the…
I'm a republican, a citizen not a subject. I believe that the concept of monarchy, where power is passed on by an accident of birth, is an anachronism and an insult to democracy. You can imagine then, that this is an interesting, difficult, and conflicting time for me. The country seems to be swept up … Continue reading Long live the…
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 