Well I did warn you all that I'm not good at keepig diaries...but I can't believe that it is almost a week since I last posted.....time flies!!!
Saturday was the last day of the SkillsCymru careers fair and it was a very different day than the Thursday and Friday. The audience were young people and their families rather than teachers/lecturers and groups of school children, but they were all enthusiastic about the resources that they saw.
The napkin folding using the NLN materials was really popular and I am sure that there will be a lot of tables sporting the Rose, Bishops Mitre and similar during the coming festive season.
We had a nice night out on Saturday at La Tasca in the Brewery quarter in Cardiff, the food and ambience in there is always really comfortable. There was an added bonus of live music outside in the square provided by 4th Street Traffic, they were excellent. We were told by the doorman/waiter that they were the support act for the Stereophonics earlier this year.
Sunday was a day of looking round the shops of Cardiff, it's not often I get the chance to go round the John Lewis store. Then it was back to the hotel, Dave went home and I settled myself in the bar for a chip buttie and the Sunday paper...very relaxing!
Monday saw me in the office for a meeting about Principal Learning and mapping of resources, and then back home on the train. I then had a nice relaxing walk back apart from the stretch over the aqueduct, I'm not good with heights...look straight ahead and don't get in my way!
Chirk Aqueduct is an amazing structure...when I can find my pics I will add one here for you to see.
Tuesday this week was a quieter day working from home giving me a valuable chance to catch up with emails and admin stuff. I spent some time on mapping resources for the Landbased Principal Learning qualification, only another 8 or so to go...
Yesterday I went to Deeside College for a meeting with the beauty tutor to discuss two resource development projects we are working on. They are looking very good and will be of great value to Beauty therapist trainees when they are complete. I will post the links on here when they are live on the website. I also discussed some points for a resource that we are developing that covers photography and hairdressing focussing on a hairdressing exhibition, very exciting the photos are fantastic...keep watching http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/ for when they go live.
Last night we went for a walk up to the pub along the canal, the Poachers Pocket and had a lovely steak with stilton and port sauce, it was fabulous. They have recently started a new menu and the food is just as good as ever and great value for money. Dave had the pork and black pudding stack with cider sauce, he said it was also really good. The staff in there are really friendly and we have a great laugh with them, they have got to know us now and we really enjoy the banter.
Today was another day working at home and writing up all the notes from yesterdays meeting with Deeside into the storyboards.
I had to double check all the images and the instructions to the developers, the resources are now in the final stage of development.
Time was also spent preparing for my meeting tomorrow with Yale College about the Business Admin resource we are working on. There are some really nice resources that we have developed with the ladies from the Business Admin department.
During this week I also agreed to purchase another share in the narrow boat Sandpiper, we already own one share and this will be a great addition to our holiday availability. Our first outing on Sandpiper is on the 29th October and I am really looking forward to it, the canals are just so relaxing. I also own a share in narrowboat Oasis Too and have had some fantastic time spent aboard this year. We did the Four Counties Ring in August, a fabulous trip! http://flic.kr/p/8yU1ap
Thats it for now....
Thursday 23 September 2010
Friday 17 September 2010
Well...I'm back...
So far so good...2nd day of blogging, doing well so far!
Today was the 2nd day of the SkillsCymru careers fair in Cardiff. I didn't think there was as many people there as yesterday but we still had a good presence at the stand and the napkin folding seemed be the most popular activity today, we ran out of paper napkins!
Again, it was nice to see people I don't see very often and to chat about all that is happening in education in Wales. I even saw Esther Rantzen giving a talk, but couldn't stop to listen as I was on my way back from lunch, she is a lot smaller than I imagined.
After the event ended I went for a walk into the centre and had a look for linen feel napkins...no joy...so Sian was stopping at the supermarket on her way home to pick some up. I don't think I have said just how good Sian is, she is an absolute godsend and is the gel that keeps us all together at NGfL-Cymru!
Dave is on his way down to Cardiff and it sounds like he's having a bit of a nightmare journey with holdups from tractors, accidents and stopping for fuel. He is in Newport as I type this so he shouldnt' be too long now. We are hoping to go out for a meal and a drink later, not sure where yet but there is certainly no shortage of places to go in Cardiff. Tomorrow night is reserved for La Tasca, one of my favourite places.
I had a snack in O'Neills before I came back to the hotel, I love the ambience in there and we always use O'Neills in Covent Garden when we go to London. The food is excellent value for money and it is one of the few places where you can buy Guiness Red on draught.
Signing off for now, not much to report for today....
Today was the 2nd day of the SkillsCymru careers fair in Cardiff. I didn't think there was as many people there as yesterday but we still had a good presence at the stand and the napkin folding seemed be the most popular activity today, we ran out of paper napkins!
Again, it was nice to see people I don't see very often and to chat about all that is happening in education in Wales. I even saw Esther Rantzen giving a talk, but couldn't stop to listen as I was on my way back from lunch, she is a lot smaller than I imagined.
After the event ended I went for a walk into the centre and had a look for linen feel napkins...no joy...so Sian was stopping at the supermarket on her way home to pick some up. I don't think I have said just how good Sian is, she is an absolute godsend and is the gel that keeps us all together at NGfL-Cymru!
Dave is on his way down to Cardiff and it sounds like he's having a bit of a nightmare journey with holdups from tractors, accidents and stopping for fuel. He is in Newport as I type this so he shouldnt' be too long now. We are hoping to go out for a meal and a drink later, not sure where yet but there is certainly no shortage of places to go in Cardiff. Tomorrow night is reserved for La Tasca, one of my favourite places.
I had a snack in O'Neills before I came back to the hotel, I love the ambience in there and we always use O'Neills in Covent Garden when we go to London. The food is excellent value for money and it is one of the few places where you can buy Guiness Red on draught.
Signing off for now, not much to report for today....
Thursday 16 September 2010
Cardiff....again
So here I go....blogging!
I have resisted the temptation to start this process as I have never been any good at keeping a diary. However, sitting on my own at dinner tonight, the thought came to me that I might not remember, in the future, what I have been doing with my time. That my family may like to know in the future what I did with my time, what I did during a working day. So here I go....never say never!
I work for NGfL-Cymru as a Field Development Officer responsible for the FE/Post16 sector in Wales, http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/
The main part of my job is raising awareness of the free (yes free!) teaching and learning resources available. I am also one of two lead officers responsible for a team of three other FDOs. A lot of my time is spent attending network meetings and advising on the availability and future development of resources, this is vital to my role to avoid duplication of effort. I am also invited to attend strategic discussions for resource development and spend a lot of time talking to some principals (not enough of them!), ILT Champions and Heads of Department.
Today sees me in Cardiff (again) for the SkillsCymru exhibition at the Millennium Stadium. Cardiff is one of my favourite cities and I never get tired of visiting. It is also good to be working in the stadium and I must say that the transformation into a spacious exhibition centre is fantastic. The pitch area has been covered over and rivals any of the other large more usual exhibition centres that I have spent time in.
Lunch was an interesting experience...a walk up the players tunnel to the WREX bar to the exhibitors lounge. The WREX bar is full of great photographs of the great rugby players that Wales has produced, really interesting.
My boss was very excited that he drove through the entrance and down the ramp that the rally cars come through during the Rally of Wales (whatever happened to the old RAC Rally??) He was gutted that he could only drive at 5mph with his hazards on, but being allowed to drive round the perimeter of the pitch went some way to pacifying him!
The stand was busy this morning with lots of student visitors trying out the napkin folding, the brick bonds and making a speaker from a paper cup and some copper wire (Alessio was a great hit!).
It was also nice to catch up with folks who I don't get to see very often. I had some interesting and promising conversations about the sharing of teaching and learning resources and there is a good chance that there will some staff development sessions to do in the near future.
There is a good mix of exhibitors, a good turn out from the colleges, some training providers, the armed forces, Sector Skills Councils and Careers Wales. The majority of the exhibitors have some interactivity on their stands and there was a really good buzz around the stadium. People were trying their hands at building walls, plumbing, carpentry and it was really nice to see lots of current students demonstrating their skills. The stand opposite ours has hairdressing....I might give them a challenge with my mop if they get a quiet moment or 10 (those of you who know me will understand what a challenge my hair may be to them!).
It was nice to get back to my hotel to soak in a nice warm bath, standing all day really makes these bones ache! I did intend to go for a walk past the castle to the shopping centre, but fell asleep instead on the bed (well...I was on the train at 6:50 this morning!).
Dinner at the hotel was ok, I think I have tried almost everything on the menu now, that's the trouble of going to the same hotel all the time. But...I musn't grumble as I feel so comfortable when I visit the Holiday Inn in the centre of Cardiff, the staff are wonderful and treat me as part of the family. The restaurant staff are so attentive and polite. The music was particularly good tonight, Paul Weller, a good choice while I was starting on the next book I have chosen to read. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is the story of Thomas Cromwell and so far so good,, I am struggling to put it down, always a good sign.
Well...this has proved to be less arduous than I thought so bodes well for my future blogging. I hope it is of interest to someone out there!
I have resisted the temptation to start this process as I have never been any good at keeping a diary. However, sitting on my own at dinner tonight, the thought came to me that I might not remember, in the future, what I have been doing with my time. That my family may like to know in the future what I did with my time, what I did during a working day. So here I go....never say never!
I work for NGfL-Cymru as a Field Development Officer responsible for the FE/Post16 sector in Wales, http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/
The main part of my job is raising awareness of the free (yes free!) teaching and learning resources available. I am also one of two lead officers responsible for a team of three other FDOs. A lot of my time is spent attending network meetings and advising on the availability and future development of resources, this is vital to my role to avoid duplication of effort. I am also invited to attend strategic discussions for resource development and spend a lot of time talking to some principals (not enough of them!), ILT Champions and Heads of Department.
Today sees me in Cardiff (again) for the SkillsCymru exhibition at the Millennium Stadium. Cardiff is one of my favourite cities and I never get tired of visiting. It is also good to be working in the stadium and I must say that the transformation into a spacious exhibition centre is fantastic. The pitch area has been covered over and rivals any of the other large more usual exhibition centres that I have spent time in.
Lunch was an interesting experience...a walk up the players tunnel to the WREX bar to the exhibitors lounge. The WREX bar is full of great photographs of the great rugby players that Wales has produced, really interesting.
My boss was very excited that he drove through the entrance and down the ramp that the rally cars come through during the Rally of Wales (whatever happened to the old RAC Rally??) He was gutted that he could only drive at 5mph with his hazards on, but being allowed to drive round the perimeter of the pitch went some way to pacifying him!
The stand was busy this morning with lots of student visitors trying out the napkin folding, the brick bonds and making a speaker from a paper cup and some copper wire (Alessio was a great hit!).
It was also nice to catch up with folks who I don't get to see very often. I had some interesting and promising conversations about the sharing of teaching and learning resources and there is a good chance that there will some staff development sessions to do in the near future.
There is a good mix of exhibitors, a good turn out from the colleges, some training providers, the armed forces, Sector Skills Councils and Careers Wales. The majority of the exhibitors have some interactivity on their stands and there was a really good buzz around the stadium. People were trying their hands at building walls, plumbing, carpentry and it was really nice to see lots of current students demonstrating their skills. The stand opposite ours has hairdressing....I might give them a challenge with my mop if they get a quiet moment or 10 (those of you who know me will understand what a challenge my hair may be to them!).
It was nice to get back to my hotel to soak in a nice warm bath, standing all day really makes these bones ache! I did intend to go for a walk past the castle to the shopping centre, but fell asleep instead on the bed (well...I was on the train at 6:50 this morning!).
Dinner at the hotel was ok, I think I have tried almost everything on the menu now, that's the trouble of going to the same hotel all the time. But...I musn't grumble as I feel so comfortable when I visit the Holiday Inn in the centre of Cardiff, the staff are wonderful and treat me as part of the family. The restaurant staff are so attentive and polite. The music was particularly good tonight, Paul Weller, a good choice while I was starting on the next book I have chosen to read. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel is the story of Thomas Cromwell and so far so good,, I am struggling to put it down, always a good sign.
Well...this has proved to be less arduous than I thought so bodes well for my future blogging. I hope it is of interest to someone out there!
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