Day 26 – 7 February 2014 Today was all about Building Schools for the Future or BSF to use its initials. The brain child of Tony Blair’s government, BSF was designed as an investment programme to improve the lot of secondary schools across the country. Apparently politicians from all English political parties were supportive of … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 26
A year of work in progress – day 23
Day 23 – 4 February 2014 An email that came in late in the afternoon yesterday has unsettled me. We let a customer down badly. I set out this year to enjoy every day at work which doesn’t mean that I can’t get angry or upset from time to time. I just need to work … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 23
A year of work in progress – day 19
Day 19 – 29 January 2014 It is easier to get from where I live to Seaham through the Tyne Tunnel and I pretend to myself that this makes a welcome change from my normal daily commute. I just get stuck in different places. An accident at Moor Farm roundabout didn’t help. Our offices there … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 19
A year of work in progress – day 6
Day 6 – 9 January 2014 It is not often that we get a chance to make a direct impact upon the good people of the county. ICT is usually in the background (or in the basement in most cases) but it is different with the Digital Durham programme. Our aim is to provide, or … Continue reading A year of work in progress – day 6
Today we start a new job
It feels like the end of a journey, one that has lasted nigh on three years. It feels like we’ve been working to get meaningful broadband across the County forever. For the people who need it, the 170,000 on the wrong side of this digital divide, I’m sure it feels the same. And in many … Continue reading Today we start a new job
The broadband on the bus
If I had a bucket list it would have got a big tick today as I got to drive our new bus. Well it wasn’t quite a bus, more of a second hand mobile library but I have been excited about getting behind the wheel ever since we’d managed to stop her from going to … Continue reading The broadband on the bus
The contract signed
It should have been a great day and it was. Yes, it was a great day, the culmination of at least two year’s work that will bring a twenty five million pound investment into the region and maybe more. The contract was signed to help bring superfast broadband to our corner of the North East … Continue reading The contract signed
Having a job title can stop people from hearing
Sometimes having a job title can be very restricting. Somehow it can define you, categorise you and even place you in a pigeon hole from which you find it difficult to emerge. I work in information and communications technology, ICT. In fact I don’t, I work in management and just happen to ply my trade … Continue reading Having a job title can stop people from hearing
A casualty of the digital age
Access to digital services must be a force for good and we must work hard to improve broadband accessibility and service take up across the country to ensure economic competitiveness. After all ninety per cent of jobs require some degree of ICT skill, over fifty per cent of jobs are only advertised online and those … Continue reading A casualty of the digital age
Byers Green
How do you solve a problem like Byers Green? How do you access the cloud and pin it down? (Sorry for the Sound of Music reference, in case it doesn’t make any sense.) Byers Green is a village just outside of Spennymoor in County Durham. Until a few days ago, it was caught in a … Continue reading Byers Green
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 