- Details
Today is my last day in Aberystwyth. After just over 5½ years working for Aberystwyth University Guild of Students, I'm relocating to Pembrokeshire where I've just bought a house with my partner.
It's definitely been a period of mixed emotions for me recently. Due to my partner's job I always knew it would have to be me to make the move in our relationship that, until now, had 70 miles between us. Now the time has come I'm excited about the future, sad to leave the great people at AberGuild yet also a little uneasy being as I'm yet to find a new job!
I've had my ups and downs whilst in Aber, but on the whole this town has given me some of the best experiences of my life. If anyone's reading this and thinking about coming to Aberystwyth University, I say do it! It's a brilliant place with brilliant people and Aber will always be in my heart.
- Details
Today is Census Day - the day where, once every ten years, the government takes an official count of its citizens. This year I've been getting annoyed with how people are whining over how many questions there are and how intrusive it is.
- Details
Ok, by now you are all probably aware of my feelings about Wokingham Borough Council's ludicrous and extremely short-sighted decision to close Ryeish Green Secondary School, my former school, just south of Reading. Ryeish closed its doors for the last time yesterday.
- Details
Earlier today I read an article in The Grocer that highlighted the findings of an online survey saying that 73% of supermarket customers are shunning self-service checkouts.
Really? That many people really don't like them? Why?!
Admittedly, a few years ago when the technology was relatively young, self-service checkouts were temperamental to say the least. Items not recognised by the scanners, scales not registering items in the bagging area, or interfaces that were just too difficult for customers to use.
Read more: Supermarket Self-Service - is it really that bad?
- Details
One hundred years ago, in April 1910, the Shinfield Three Mile Cross Council School opened in the hamlet of Ryeish Green just outside Reading. Over the years this school developed, changed roles, and eventually became Ryeish Green School, a comprehensive secondary school.
I consider myself lucky enough to have gone to Ryeish and enjoyed practically every day there and come rain or shine I'd be trudging my way up the Hyde End Lane hill to school.
I gained some good friends and have many great memories of my seven years there. It was through working in the school's library that I went on to study in the field of librarianship at Aberystwyth University. It was also because of those happy memories that I was excited about going to an open day there last Sunday to celebrate the school's centenary - the first time I'd been back in almost 10 years.
However it wasn't a complete day for celebrating as the local authority, Wokingham Borough Council, has made the decision to close the school.
- Details
"But Aberystwyth needs a development. What's the point of having all these new houses (in the town), along with a new assembly government building, if the town has no heart?"
This is what Meirion Jones, the developer behind Aberystwyth's highly controversial shopping centre plans, says about Aberystwyth.
- Details
At work I'm responsible for two online systems - the Shop's website and Koha, the library software we use to manage our DVD rentals service.
Over the past week I've been tweaking bits here and there, hacking away (rather crudely in some cases, but hey - it works!), and adding some functions to the systems that have until now been lacking.
The main developments were based in Koha and getting it publicly accessible to allow our customers to find out which DVDs we had available.
- Details
Yesterday I wrote about the discovery of an innocent-looking household project book. Taking another look, it turns out it's not so innocent as it first seemed.
The very first project in the book is to build a greenhouse. Nothing as easy as the boot scraper or bird house (that feature later on in the book) to get you started. No, it's the 10ft x 6ft (x 7ft 6in high) span-roof greenhouse.
- Details
Earlier today my parents were given a box of old books to have a look through. You probably know the score - keep the ones that interest you and pass on, sell or dispose of what's left.
There were some good books amongst the pile - some kids books, a couple of Bill Bryson's and a load of very random stuff that probably would interest Joe Bloggs in a million years.
Hi, I'm Chris. I run the online shop for one of the UK's largest charities.