BETT 2014 - here we come!

Well, it is only 3 Days, 16 Hours and 43 Minutes to the start of the BETT Show 2014 Show (as the website is counting down the minutes!)

This will be the first time I will have been to a trade exhibition as an exhibitor (well assistant to exhibitors!) and it will be an interesting experience I'm sure! It is the first time for JIGSAW SCHOOL APPS too.

It's been quite a learning experience already. Trying to think of everything is quite a challenge :-)

This week we have picked up the matching branded polo shirts and hoodies - for us all to wear on the stand.

They have come out pretty well and I especially love the hoodie! Nathan and Darren are going down to London Tuesday lunchtime - so that they can get to ExCel in time to set up the stand before Wednesday when it is opened at 10am by Michael Gove.

They have lots to take with them including a podium, four pull-up banners and many other things. For example, today we went to the cash and carry to get boatloads of mint imperials and biscuits. We have a friend who is a teacher (Hi, Si!), so we know that the way to a teacher's heart is via free biscuits :-)

I shall be setting off after work on Tuesday and meeting them at the hotel later. I just need to learn what to say - before they disappear! I don't want to tell people the wrong thing! I think my main job will be to hand out leaflets and invite people to come and have a demo of the amazing apps that Jigsaw Apps produce - for all kinds of phones - iPhones, Android devices and the growing-in- popularity Windows phones - like the rather groovy Nokia Lumias that we have :-)

 I think it is going to be hard work - over four long days - but fun! It's nice to met new people.

Something surprising happened that did actually take me aback this week - which really shows how competitive this industry must be at events like this.

Nathan and I are signed up with a local extras agency. I haven't done much - but N has been in lots of things - like Coronation Street and The State on Channel 4. Well, this Thursday we both got an email from our agent. He was asking for extras who might be available to go to ExCel

He said "We did this last year and people had a good time. We have been employed by a local technology company to provide extras pretending to be teachers to sit and watch presentations for the day at the BETT show...They just need people to sit and listen so it makes their stand look busy. It would be for one day and will pay £100. Let us know which day you can do"  They are looking at getting a Megabus to provide transport.

Can you believe it??? It never occurred to me that companies did this kind of thing. If I'd had known I would have persuaded the whole family to come down and mill around our stand to make us look busy :-)

Who knew such subterfuge went on??
So, not everyone at BETT is actually a teacher - or anything to do with education. I'll have to look out for these imposters!

So - wish us luck - and I will report back after Sunday! When we've recovered!!

xx

Happy New Year!!

Boodle - completely unconcerned by the New Year.

Happy New Year!
I am a little late getting the blog off to a start in 2014.

I have  already had my first hospital visit of the year - last  Monday. I now go every three months, so it was the routine check-up. I saw a consultant I have never seen before - a Mr Smith. He was very smart and charming and seemed to know all about my case - although he did say "Oh, so it's a year since your Radical Neck Dissection" - when it is actually TWO YEARS since I had my op! I was a little disconcerted when he came at me with the nose camera - I told him Mr Hughes had said last time that there was no point in doing that anymore - due to the adenocarcinoma not likely to be in the mouth or throat. However, he looked so disappointed when he said "Well, you don't have to have it done if you don't want to..." I let him go ahead anyway. I guess it can't do any harm - except make my eyes water!

He also had a feel round my neck and declared that everything looked and felt fine. That is a relief as always! As Mr Hughes had said he'd arrange a CT scan this time - he said he'd put that into motion for me - then see me in three months - all being well with the scan. They are so efficient - within a couple of days I'd had the appointment for April and a form for a blood test to be performed before the scan. I just need to wait for the date for that - then pop down the road to Bradwell Hospital to let the vampires do their job.

With Mr Hughes not being there - I forgot to ask the questions that my brother had told me to ask. He is Head of Bioinformatics in the Department of Biology at the University of York.
Has immunohistochemistry been done on the secondary cancer?    Has gene expression profiling been performed? Maybe I'll save that for next time! He did give me an interesting article to read about progress being made in diagnosing the Cancers of Unknown Primary. It was Molecular Diagnosis of the Tissue of Origin in Cancer of Unknown Primary Site: Useful in Patient Management by F. Anthony Greco, MD

I am so happy to know that good research is being done into this.

Enough of medical matters. I hope that you all had a good Festive Season. We had a lovely time - it did go quickly being in the middle of the week I was soon back at work! Otherwise we've spent a lot of time lounging around in our Onesies keeping warm and eating too much!

 Let me show you a couple of my favourite presents:


This is S a strange book that looks like an old 1940s library book inside a slip case - the pages are foxed and stained and two people have written to each other in the margins all the way through. Also - the pages are packed with loose ephemera, like photos, newspaper cutting, postcards, notes and even a napkin with a map drawn on it.  It's a beautiful object and two stories in one book.


I haven't decided on the best way to tackle it yet! It was conceived by J J Abrams - the guy who wrote the TV series LOST. it's going to be fun deciphering it!



Then there is my Writer's Toolbox - which will give me inspiration for my writing! Hopefully it will get me writing something new this year!

There are some fun ways of getting new ideas inside it!





I like Nathan in the Breaking Bad t-shirt I got him. We are coming to the end of the whole series - we are almost half-way through Series 5. What on earth are we going to watch when that's done? :-)



I also had my birthday at the end of the year, which was lovely. I even enjoyed being at work on the day! The evening was spent at my parents' New Year's Party as usual. We had some fun new games to try too. I had some beautiful flowers from Cousin Anne in Chesterfield. Thanks-you!!

 Today was Nathan's dad's birthday! We had a nice lunch out at Taybarns. I think by now he might have sampled the Jim Beam Honey Liqueur we got him too!












 Happy Birthday Mr Beardmore Snr. :-)

So, I wonder what 2014 will bring? I think there are going to be some changes.  I will call them opportunities I think :-) The library service is definitely going to change and I feel it might happen quite quickly. We know that the management are looking at the service and how people use it and there will be more emphasis on online services like e-books. downloadable audio books and e-magazines, than on tradition services like books in buildings.

If you believe The Sentinel - all branches will close and only the towns like Newcastle and Leek will keep their physical libraries!

The County Council have promised to hold consultations with library users and communities to find out what they want from their library service. So who know what will happen? You can't be a luddite about this - you have to keep up with the times and the technology. Public Libraries are slower to embrace it than Academic Libraries - but we are getting there. I do feel like somewhere like Silverdale, which has a high proportion of older users, would be sorely missed in the community. I'm sure there is still room for both!

However, my job could change - so I have decided to equip myself with a few more skills. I'm going to learn about making phone apps - in Windows 8 initially. Then I may be of use in the Brave New Library Service - or failing that I can help Nathan in his business!

This could be an amazing year!!

Festive London and Hint Hunt

Hares made from Hair Dryers

Turkeys made from Towels

We were really looking forward to spending a day in London just before Christmas. Nathan had booked for us to have a go at Hint Hunt - the most popular attraction in London at the moment - according to Trip Advisor. The idea is that you get locked in a room and you have 60 minutes to get out. You can only get out though by solving clues leading you to finding a way out.


They understandably don't want us to reveal too much detail - as it would spoil the experience for everyone else. Basically, we were in the "John Munroe Room" - which belonged to a private detective, who had himself been murdered.  It is great fun  and quite pressured - and the 60 minutes absolutely fly by! We were told that only about 50% of the groups who try actually manage it - and the record time was 53 minutes. Our team consisted of Martin and Tama (whose wedding we attended last year in Slovenia) their friend Jodi and Nathan and myself.


The Baku Bandits :-)

Tama, Martin and Jodi all work together in Baku, Azerbaijan - but are back in the UK for Christmas.

We were so ecstatic when we actually got out - with 3.45 minutes to spare. It was a great feeling and the guy in charge said that we were very calm and collected - unlike some teams who rush around like crazy! The escapees get their photos taken - so here is ours!

It was so good we want to go back again some time and do the more difficult Zen Room. We would all recommend it to anyone - good fun for friends, family or work teams!



Oxford Street

Before we did that we had a lovely time walking around London, looking at the festive lights and the shop displays. John Lewis's windows were especially inventive! We also had a good time sampling spirits in Selfridges.:-) They had a bottle of rum - in it's own cupboard for £699! We didn't buy any - but we had a taste of another one a little cheaper.



John Lewis Window - Polar Bear made from Wii fits

We had lunch at The Phoenix - a pub we'd tried before. After the Hint Hunt we had time to have an evening meal with the other bandits before we had to get our train back to Stoke.



It's great now that Virgin have a later last train back - it used to be 9-something. But now there's one at 10.50pm. Much better - as we couldn't stay over as I had to be at work the next morning.

 It worked out perfectly and we were back in Stoke by 12.30am.



Owls made from Kitchen Utensils

Work has been pretty quiet in the run-up to Christmas - so me and Eeyore are managing okay so far. He doesn't chat as much as Tracy :-) - but at least \I don't have to talk to myself! He has been sitting under the \Christmas Tree with his present - a balloon in a jar. Not sure if he likes I - but he doesn't look too unhappy.





We only have half a day to work tomorrow - then it's Christmas!! Hope you all have a very \happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year. Here's to a Fantastic 2014!!

Eeyore with his balloon



Embrace the little blue bird!!

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I hadn’t been to a staff conference for a couple of years – I think the last one was when R J Ellory, the crime writer, attended – so I was looking forward to this one. Mainly because of the theme – Changing Opinions: Using new media to challenge old perceptions. 

 

 

I love social media! I couldn’t wait to find out how people are using it to make libraries in particular, more relevant to modern life. I have been dying to have a Silverdale Library twitter account - but we are not permitted to do that.

 

The conference was opened by our MC, Andrew Baker from Stafford. He introduced Janene Cox, our Commissioner for Tourism and Culture at Staffordshire County Council and also President of Society of Chief Librarians. She stressed the importance of our services contributing to the three main outcomes that SCC is committed to -which in a nutshell are health, wealth and happiness.

In these tough economic times, which are likely to get worse over the next few years, it is vital for us all to make sure our work contributes to these outcomes for our customers.

 

Our keynote speaker for the morning was Nick Booth, a former BBC political reporter and now owner of Podnosh an organisation that wants to change the way the public and the public sector talk to each other. They offer social media surgeries and encourage groups to get together and change things.

 

He talked about building a “stockpot of social capital” by building communities of bloggers, doing podcasts, creating groups of like minded citizens who want to change things and help each other. He gave a fascinating example of how one group, by using the website www.helpmeinvestigate.com which is a platform for crowdsourcing investigative journalism – managed to get Birmingham City Council to admit that their eagerly awaited new website had taken 4 years and cost £2.8m – and still wasn’t ready. They did say that when is was unveiled it would be worth it – but when it was revealed many people were not impressed. So, they arranged a “hackathon” where several of them met up for one day and made a website for BCC. The results can be seen here: http://www.birminghamdesign.co.uk/ It is a much clearer site and easier to navigate and only took one day and a few volunteers!

 

Nick was then joined by his colleague Steph Clarke, and the theme turned to the “hyper-local” This is the part I found the most interesting as I could see how it could be used by individual libraries to build on social media (and other) communities in their immediate vicinity.

 

He showed us a series of hyper-local websites, such as the very successful www.alittlebitofstone.com which Nick helped Jamie Summerfield to set up. Steph has helped set up a local website in her area – Wednesfield. www.wv11.co.uk She shared her favourite story with us, about how there was a house fire that destroyed the home and possessions of a family. After an appeal on their website they were inundated with people offering everything from accommodation to school uniforms for the children.

 

The basic rules for a successful hyper-local websites are:

v     Be useful – e.g. show school closures for snow or local road problems

v     Be open

v     Share

v     Collaborate

v     Relax and empower – people may use you site/group for other things – let them!

v     Nurture niches

 

 

After the coffee break we played the Social Media Game. Using various methods, Facebook, Twitter, Websites, Local Groups - we were encouraged to build a campaign to solve a problem. In my group’s case it was how to get more 13-21 year olds into libraries. Another group looked at getting more people into libraries. We decided on using Facebook, free WiFi, Blogs and Listening i.e. checking other groups/Fb pages/blogs and linking to them from our own sites. I tried to argue that Twitter is far more relevant to young people than Facebook, where their parents and grandparents can see what they are up to  - but was over-ruled!

 

The other library group identified the need for culture change within the organisation that would allow more library staff to have their own library Facebook pages and twitter accounts as, at the moment, there was no local feel to the social media we have. It is all done at a corporate level, individuals have to submit material to the designated person in their area – and the stuff may not appear for a week or more. It needs to be immediate and spontaneous!!

 

If we could make more local sites we could link in to other media in our area to create a community and take part in all that is happening locally. We could also put online some of the leaflets and posters we have displayed in our library as well as linking to other professionals and departments. We need to promote each other! Maybe a little relaxing and empowering may need to happen before we can use what we have all learnt today. As Nick said “It’s a conversation – you can’t control it!”

 

We had a lovely lunch followed by the first of our chosen workshops. My first one was E Services with Ease starring Tim Keeling of ACL. This was an enjoyable romp through downloading e-books, audio books and e-magazines through the library web page. We all need to be completely clued up about how this works in order to promote these free services to our library users. I had emailed Tim many times before – but had never met him in person. I never realised how funny he is – he really should have a side-line on the Comedy Club circuit. He had us all laughing as he showed us how easy these resources were to access. Click here if you fancy having a go! 

 

The final workshop of the day was from Lynda and Wendy from Devon Libraries with the intriguing title 50 Shades of Devon Libraries: the potential of social media. This was the one I had been really looking forward to!

 

They decided to try a Twitter campaign last February with the aim of:

Celebrating libraries

Encouraging people to join

Experimenting with social media.

 

They launched on National Libraries Day with the intention of trying to get 1,000 new people to join the library on the day and 3,000 over the month. They had very clear aims:

They wanted it to be a conversation (something Nick had also emphasised during the morning session) not just a series of press releases banged out one after another.

They wanted to evolve a tone of voice that was fun and quirky – not corporate.

They wanted to drive people to the website

They wanted to showcase their services

They wanted to get more staff to use social media

 

They did this by linking to influential tweeters both in the library realm and celebrities and by having fun hashtags such as #funnythingsusedasbookmarks

#strangebookrequests and #howmanyunclaimedumbrellas and encouraged people to join in! They used it to promote free WiFi, Ancestry websites, e-books and magazines.

 

 

The results were amazing! They got local media asking to be involved when they tweeted about the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey – the local BBC Radio station wanted to know which area of Devon borrowed it the most (Tiverton!) They had a one of their councillors on the radio to talk about it – and it was great publicity for libraries.

 

They had well over a million impressions on Twitter and they were trending nationally. Over 1000 joined in the first week. Over the month there was a 30% increase on last year. They are being asked by other councils to come and talk to staff at conferences like ours.

 

They stressed the importance of your campaign having clear aims and evaluation, having a national hook (e.g. World Book Day?) Having a clear call to action and the skills and confidence in your staff. There has to be commitment as many of these social media interactions happen after hours. They were wonderfully enthusiastic and gave us all a lot to think about. I would love to be involved in something similar!  

 

It was a really well organised conference and the theme was very timely and the speakers and workshops complimented each other perfectly. Congratulations to all the staff behind the scenes who organised it. I really enjoyed it and am buzzing with new ideas!

 

Lost Eeyore

Even cake doesn't cheer him up

Steph Clarke did say that if we are not yet allowed to officially do our own thing yet - there are other creative ways around it. I have been giving this some thought. maybe I could set up a Twitter Account for  the sad Eeyore, who got left behind in my library years ago.

 

Watch this space :-)

 

 

 

Don't feed the Trolls!!

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Wow all kinds of changes happening recently.

The biggest of which was that Tracy, my colleague and friend who I have worked with at the library for six whole years has gone on to pastures new. She has got her dream job - and from this week is driving M1 - that mighty purple beast, around the villages of Stafford and beyond. She loves it!

Our last day together was Saturday and I have to say there were quite a few tears! We have been through a lot together. The customers are going to miss her too. I know it won't be the same without her - I shall have to try to keep everyone's spirits up.



Listen to Snow Bunny!

 It's almost Christmas and I have some brilliant books on my festive displays. I just love new Christmas books. The one below comes with a QR code inside which downloads the book onto you phone and reads it to you! It is very cool! I love technology!!!







Librarian - the original search engine!

Tracy has promised to pop in every three weeks when she is on the run going to Keele, and have her lunch with me. I'll be able to keep her updated with all the latest library gossip news!

I was very happy that she liked the clock I bought her for M1. Maybe it will remind her of happy times :-)




This first week of being singled-staffed hasn't been too bad so far. They are easing me in gently! On Monday I had the lovely Jo for the whole afternoon. Then tomorrow I am going to the Staff Conference in Stafford. I love our conferences - a few years ago we had the crime writer R J Ellory, who was totally inspiring. This year the theme is social media - which is going to be fascinating. Not only is it useful for work - but also I'll be able to pass on their wisdom to Nathan for his businesses.
Can't wait!

Also, in this very same week, I handed all the Parish Council files over to the new clerk. Our home office is suddenly very empty. It's brilliant - we can get our own stuff on the shelves now. Nathan is very happy. More room for Interference and Jigsaw School Apps I had some very nice flowers from the council - and a card. I did the last meeting on the Thursday night. It was nice that they got me a card too - and some of them even signed it!

With my spare time, now that I don't do clerking - I can help out a bit more with being a Moderator for Interference. We've had a problem with trolls recently - not sure whether there were several or if it was the same person with multiple accounts. It was horrible though and they really upset some of our players. You may know - the game involves drawing things that you see a written description for. I am sure that you can imagine the sort of things a puerile troll was drawing instead!  They did take some tracking down and stopping. They were very persistent

Why do some people just spend so much time and considerable effort ruining things for others? They could be using all that talent for the power of good! He/she/they were a pretty talented artist!

I am quite excited also to have been invited by Nathan and his business partner Darren to come along to the Bett Show 2014 in January. They are going to showcase their newest school app with some revolutionary new features - don't want to give away any industrial secrets here. It is going to be great though! I shall be making myself useful by handing out leaflets and enticing people to their stand. Hopefully! I like doing new things :-)

Our other office :-)

Meanwhile,  today we walked into town and set our laptops up in our alternative office for the afternoon - the Lymestone Vaults. They had a roaring log fire and some very festive decorations. Nathan tried the newest beer from the team - the very hoppy Abdominal Stoneman. A little too bitter for me - but he liked it. It is pretty strong at 7% though.

I like Wednesdays!! :-)

Best place to be on a cold December afternoon.

A la recherche du temps perdu

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Just like Proust, I had an episode of "involuntary memory" last week. It wasn't the taste of a madeleine cake dipped in tea that brought memories flooding back - it was a song I heard while I was in Wilkos buying some finings to clear my plum wine.  I heard this song on the radio. It got into my head and I knew that I knew it from somewhere - but I couldn't think who it was. It took several days of it going round on my head before I googled it and tracked down exactly what it was.

It went "She comes in colours everywhere, she combs her hair, she's like a rainbow" The internet kept telling me that it was a Rolling Stones song - but I knew it from the 1990s as it was bringing back memories of working at the Leek Road Library of Staffordshire University around that time. Then, at last I tracked down the version I knew and loved back then - by World of Twist - via the Guardian who were reviewing the band's debut and only ever album Quality Street (from 1992) - which has now been extended and will be re-released on November 25th. How strange is that? I have it on pre-order now :-) How could I have forgotten how wonderful it was?

I remember sitting in the work room, just by the counter, at break times every Wednesday, avidly reading the NME and loving all the Madchester bands. I even got to see The Happy Mondays and The Fall. I was the Counter Supervisor and had around 13 staff to organise. it was a wonderful place to work and such a fun time :-)

Later, when I qualified as a Librarian I went to work at the Stafford Campus. It made me a little sad this week when I read that they may demolish the Nelson Library in 2015 and build a primary school in its place. I had such a lovely office in there, when I was Engineering Librarian - dual aspect, looking over the grounds. I loved going in early, in the summer - and seeing bunnies running around on the grass before the students got there. Seems they are going to move the library over to the Octagon. I guess it makes sense - seeing as so much information is now accessed via computers anyway. I liked the Nelson Library though - very roomy, lots of study spaces and a great place for a Christmas Party :-)

In more recent news - I've been to the Vue Cinema in Newcastle twice his week. The first time to see the new Thor film in 3D - which was pretty enjoyable. We have been watching all the Avengers films in order - so we are completely up-to-date now. The other occasion was the polar opposite. We went to the first ever live simulcast from the RSC in Stratford to cinemas round the world. It was Richard II starring David Tennant - which was a sold-out production so we had no chance of seeing it in the flesh. This was a pretty close second though - from the moment we got into the cinema we could see and hear the audience in Stratford. It made us feel like we were there. Of course we had the added advantage of close-ups during the action and interviews with the director and principal actors before it started and during the interval. It was fantastic!

Richard II

The three and a half hours flew by and at the interval we were even served with glasses of red wine with peel-off lids in the cinema :-)

I had LOVED Ben Wishaw's RII in BBC2's Hollow Crown series - but DT was equally as good, although very different (Cool hair extensions - he had longer hair than Thor!) . It is strange that I had never seen or even read Richard II before - and this year I've seen it twice. Love the poetry - it is becoming one of my favourite Shakespeare plays.

Magical Weekend!

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What a fun weekend it's been so far. On Friday night me and Laura and Nathan went into Newcastle for a Thai meal at the Art of Siam. That was very nice - they do coconut rice almost as well as the Blue Chilli. Then we went over to our favourite nightspot the Revolucion de Cuba - the rum bar, for teapots of rum cocktails! Half the place was cordoned off for a private party - and lots of people were in Halloween fancy dress. Wish we'd known - we'd have made the effort :-) There were some amazing outfits but the one I LOVED was this one:



Walt (aka Heisenberg) and Jesse from Breaking Bad

Nathan and I are currently watching the whole  series of Breaking Bad (I know - we are really up with the times - we start just as the whole thing finishes!) I couldn't believe how good these two looked - just like the two main characters Walt and Jesse.
I made N go over and ask if he could take a photo. They seemed very happy about that! I don't know who they were - but fantastic effort chaps!



N and his duck fans :-)

Saturday we were determined to go for a walk despite the wind and rain! We went over to Westport Lake and popped into the Visitors' Centre to purchase some duck food. We'd read on the website that bread isn't good for them so we wanted to keep them healthy! Armed with our two paper bags of pellets we walked all round -I kept my hood up all the way! Whenever we stopped at the edge we soon gained an army of duck fans eager to see what as in the rustling bags in our hands. Eventually they were swimming round the lake following us - to see where we stopped next.



Coots galore!

I have to say that Coots really are not nice to each other. There was so much fighting and pecking of eyes! Why can't they just share? One took so much time chasing all the other Coots away that he let the Mallards and Seagulls snaffle all the food. Silly Coot!

Nathan on stage

We were very excited about Saturday night - as we were going to see Morgan and West - those amazing time-travelling magicians we saw in August at the Edinburgh Festival. We were so happy they were calling in at Stafford on their Autumn Tour. I think it is their first tour  hopefully the first of many. I cannot stress enough how much you all need to see them!

They were fab in Edinburgh  and they did fool Penn and Teller on their Fool Us challenge. I wasn't sure if we'd see some of the same tricks - but no! It was all completely different stuff.

The place was pretty full with a good mixture of ages. Lots of children and some grandparents too. The announced that the show was interactive and if they liked the cut of our jib they may well ask us to come on stage to help out with the magic. Sounded intriguing!



N with Mr Morgan and Mr West after the show.

I have to say that Mr Morgan and Mr West are thoroughly nice chaps.
I was very impressed with their biscuit index - where they called people on stage and asked them to write down their favourite biscuits. They guessed them all right - even the ones not in the index. I have no idea how :)


 I won't spoil any of the show for you in case you get chance to see it for yourself sometime. Nathan was very pleased to be called on stage to help with one trick at the end of the show It was quite mind-boggling and he is STILL trying to puzzle out how they might have done it. No success so far though...

Check out their website to see where you can catch them yourself :-)

I'm back to work tomorrow - just one more treat before I go back. We are off to a new pub quiz tonight. It is at the Cricketers in May Bank - and thee are cash prizes. Wish us luck!!