A website all about me and my life in England http://www.ianmeadows.me.uk Feel free to use this but please ensure you credit me and add a return link to www.ianmeadows.me.uk it was quite funny when the train driver stopped at Harpenden but forgot to open the doors before leaving!! I stopped laughing when a pillock pulled the emergency cord to get off and we waited for 30 minutes while the driver reset lots of alarms. http://www.ianmeadows.me.uk/blog/blog.php?blog=92 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Well it’s been a month almost of working in London and so far so good.  It is an odd place, and some of the people are even odder but it’s fun. I’m slap bang in the middle of Covent Garden so walking around I can’t help but find theatres and venue’s. Avenue Q looks good and this afternoon I even found the Mousetrap which is another I want to see at some point.   I’ve also found Stringfellows and by all account The Pineapple Dance Studio is nearby but the less said about them the better!I have also tracked down a record and book shop – which is not going to be good!  Note to self, leave credit cards at home.I do have a couple of observations from the first month: Why the fu*k do people feel the need to walk and text/surf their smart phones – GET OUT OF MY WAY I’M WALKING!!! Why do people “of a large size” insist on sitting next to me – F**k off, I know I’m only little but I’ve paid £3.5k for my ticket and therefore I'm not giving up half a seat so you can have more space!  The same applies to blokes who feel their gentleman's area are so massive they need spread their legs across the full width of the carriage - it's not that big, grow up! PSSecretly quite glad Ingerland are out of the World Cup as every bloody game trains were cancelled due to “staff sickness” – Sickness my ar*e, down the pub more like. http://www.ianmeadows.me.uk/blog/blog.php?blog=91 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Monday 7 June 2010 will mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life when I begin a new job.  Cranfield has, on the whole, been good to me but they made me redundant by scrapping the central marketing team, so it was time for a change. It's been a mad few months watching friends and colleagues go through a range of emotions as they started to leave some with a new role, some with life-changing plans others into the dark unknown of unemployment.   I can honestly say it's been tough but we've all survived and will continue to survive but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  I've made some great friends at Cranfield and whether they left like me or moved to other roles I know we'll stay in touch.  Although I doubt Helen will come out for a curry with us again!!! (Sorry Helen!!!) More details on the new role next week. http://www.ianmeadows.me.uk/blog/blog.php?blog=90 Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0100 Under normal circumstances this website and my work life are two very different worlds that never collide.   The first reason for this is common sense.  There have been so many blogs and Facebook pages that have resulted in people loosing their jobs it’s not worth the risk.  The second is just as obvious I guess – it’s my personal site so why fill it with work?  This blog can be dull enough without me writing about a day of meetings or trying to work out why a HTML email looks great in Gmail but looks rubbish in Outlook 2007!However, needs must.Cranfield has decided that marketing Cranfield University is no longer a requirement and announced this week that the Business Development office is to close.   Some jobs like the Enquiries Office are safe but marketing and web aren’t.   Therefore I need a job, and fast!If you, or you know someone who, has a vacancy for an online marketing / website marketing or web content manager please get in contact. My key skills include: Website Development and Content Management Systems Information architecture, accessibility, usability, image management, CMS procurement, search engine optimisation, social networking and web analytics. Web technical skills HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, SQL, Percussion CMS development and video editing. Marketing Direct email campaigns, copywriting, event support, print media creation, online advertising. Team leadership and management Direct line management of full and part-time staff (three people), leading/managing project teams, external agency liaison. CV and contact details A cut down version of my CV is available online, for a full version or to speak to me please get in touch. http://www.ianmeadows.me.uk/blog/blog.php?blog=89 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000 Finally got round to writing about Christmas.  It was an odd one, it was like Christmas 1989 and I was 15 all over again.  Why?  It was all James May's fault, he does a show about Airfix, I talk about building them as a kid and hey presto - Airfix for Christmas!!! The first to be built was a Harrier GR3, see the top image on the right.  The second was a Typhoon 1b, which has gone together a little better I think.  WWII models are always a little easier as there are less bits to put together. I have to say though, I'm not happy with the colour, needed more research, oh god - it's happening again. It was kind of cool being a kid again and building them.  More to come, probably!  I do have my eye on the HMS Warspite model, I do have a kind a reason for this as Granddad was on her during the war. http://www.ianmeadows.me.uk/blog/blog.php?blog=88 Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000