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!