Work stuff

Thinking Digital, the Dynamo Conference, The Northumbrian Water Group Innovation Festival and then #CyberFest. Four great events to look forward to that are going to keep me busy over the summer. I’m not directly involved in Thinking Digital (though I would like to be) but the others are coming thick and fast. Each one requires … Continue reading Dynamo 22 is coming

How many mailboxes do you really need? Come on, be honest. You would think that one would suffice yet somehow I had ended up with seven. The imminent launch of the new CyberNorth website has added yet another. I have collected them over the years as I have become involved in new ventures. Despite trying … Continue reading How many mailboxes?

Image thanks to Postive Adventures Yesterday was a great day. I’ve finally got some operational support to help me with CyberNorth. I’ve always had volunteers working with me but this is paid support. It’s only temporary at the moment but will hopefully become permanent shortly. Already it is a relief and Oliwia is an enormous … Continue reading Help at last

Image thanks to Teams. A few months back I decided to review the way I held meetings for CyberNorth. There were three key groups, all meeting on different days, when diaries permitted and the number of attendees had been falling. It was taking so much time and effort to pull it all together that I … Continue reading All the meetings together

There is an old joke that goes along the lines that if you are offered a development role it means more work and no more money. I guess it's like offering a freelancer exposure in exchange for their labours. I was somewhat dubious therefore, when I was told that the ORCANE project had been earmarked … Continue reading A development project

I want to live in a fairer world and being fair is one of my core values.  I don’t mean absolute equality, these things aren’t possible but a greater degree of fairness. I’ve certainly got a lot to think about these days. I’m not going to try and boil the ocean, at least not on … Continue reading Being fair

The days are getting longer and at times the sun is even shining. North East England is slowly slipping into what we know as summer, the days when we can go out without a coat. Despite official lines that the pandemic has been beaten, there are still plenty of people coming down with COVID. Both … Continue reading Meeting out 

‘Tis the season of form filling. It must be something to do with the change from one financial year to another. New plans need to be made and new funding to be sought. Whether it is claiming a relatively small amount of money from the Community Renewal Fund, a much larger amount to support the … Continue reading Just fill in the form

One of the things I have found most difficult about working for myself is how to stop. I’m not quite there yet but I’ve been able to buy a Senior Persom’s Railcard and so the warning signs are starting to show. I’m also not ready to give up entirely but would like to be able … Continue reading Starting to stop