From the early days as an IT Technician to my first web developer role, going self-employed for the first time, managing a team of developers and going back and forth to office work before ultimately realising I'm "unemployable" and returning to running my own business as a WordPress freelancer. The entire history of my work roles and all the pros and cons of working for myself can be found in here.
I recently made a decision which will almost certainly change the course of my life forever. I quit my job. It wasn’t in my long term plan — with 2 kids I’d previously dismissed working for myself as impractical and risky — but thanks to the government arsing about with tax credits I realised that… read more →
Cherie Blair, the wife of ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, has pissed a lot of mums off this week by criticising stay at home mums (SAHMs); apparently they’re all “yummy mummies” who’ve married rich men so they don’t have to go to work. It’s making women “too dependent”, wasting their education, etc etc. I wanted to… read more →
I am now officially off work until err… roughly this time next year. Thank you, UK government, for giving us generous paid maternity leave.… read more →
Had only been in work 5 minutes when Karl calls to say that Isabel has been sick and nursery want us to pick her up. Spend 20 minutes trying to get hold of a) my boss, b) a client I was supposed to meeting at 10:30, c) Karl to arrange for me to go home… read more →
In February, I made the decision to move back to WordPress after over two years of using my own blog system / Habari. It was a combination of lack of time to keep things secure (compared to WordPress which has single-click upgrade) and the need to have somewhere I could quickly “just write” without juggling… read more →
I have the privilege of living in the most beautiful county in the UK: Shropshire. (Not that I’m biased or anything.) This is highlighted in the towns surrounding my own; Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and the like. Steeped in history, full of landmarks like The Iron Bridge… on their own, they are fairly interesting, but a recent… read more →
A cheap and cheerful classic that’s really quick to make. Today’s leftovers from last night contain pre-cooked cold pasta, tinned tuna, tinned sweetcorn (Green Giant Niblets are awesome straight from the tin), and some chopped steamed asparagus and courgette that needed using up. Eaten with a yoghurt and an apple, I’m satisfying various daily requirements… read more →
I’ve been getting about a bit lately — no sarcastic comments please — so thought I’d share the results of my hard work. More WordPress stuff: Developing bespoke WordPress plugins for a work client — this one was a bit odd to write as I’m not used to such a strict editorial process. Apparently you’re… read more →
A few years ago I blogged asking you guys for lunch ideas and you duly supplied. I’ve decided to return the favour by doing a new blog series: “what’s for lunch Wednesdays”. Each Wednesday (or, when I remember) I’ll tell you what I’ve got for lunch. If you want to do the same thing, link… read more →
Six things I do to make developing gutenberg-based WordPress websites easier to develop and maintain.… read more →
Sumptious double chocolate brownies with fresh raspberries and a fruity raspberry swirl.… read more →
A very biscuity Biscoff ‘Cheesecakecake’. Layers of sponge and cheesecake filling on a buttery biscuit base topped with a Biscoff drizzle.… read more →
pipdig, WordPress theme and plugin provider, caught distributing malicious code to customers and DDoSing competitors… read more →
A review of nuud natural deodorant by a self-proclaimed ‘sweaty betty’ and follow-ups after suspicious lumps appeared in my armpits. Includes a statement from the nuud deodorant team.… read more →
The benefits of the Filofax organiser, and tips on organising your Filofax to suit your needs.… read more →
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