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Coventry Toy Museum

Story location: Home / Blog / coventry /
30/Apr/2005

Emma and I went into Coventry city centre this morning with some fixed ideas about what we wanted to do:

  • Take some films to be developed (from last summer and Christmas!)
  • Renew my travel card (which I use on the trains and buses to get to work)
  • Visit the Toy Museum

We've been meaning to do the latter for many months now (ever since I moved to Coventry last year and we were trying to find out what attractions there were in the city).

The museum is in an old gatehouse near the centre of the city, in Much Park Street. Inside, it looks more like a bric-a-brac shop than a museum. Old toys and games lie on shelves and in cabinets and in some cases hang from the ceiling. The toys range from early 20th century to fairly modern, so there's enough there to make anyone feel nostalgic. While the museum itself is quite small, an awful lot of items have been packed into the building. It would be possible to spend several hours there.

More details about the museum can be found on the BBC website.



There is no such place as Great Wankering

Story location: Home / Blog / work /
19/Apr/2005

While I was in work this afternoon, looking at a map of Essex, I noticed a place near Southend on Sea called Great Wakering. Unfortunately, I mis-read the name.



The emptiest square mile in britain

Story location: Home / links /
15/Apr/2005

In work, while I was checking traffic flow figures for Lincolnshire, I remembered that somewhere in the county is the emptiest square mile, according to the Ordnance survey. Here is the link to the BBCs reporting of it, and to the map itself.



Second Day in Work

Story location: Home / Blog / work /
08/Apr/2005

Well, yesterday was my first day in work. Most of the time was spent reading through various instruction manuals and help files. A gentle introduction to the job. Today, I was more or less left to myself to get the job done.
What the job consists of is examining data from traffic flow monitoring, and looking for any anomalies or irregularities. If I see any, I then have to try and find out the cause - possible instrument failure, a genuine traffic flow problem, or just 'one of those things'. The most interesting thing to happen today was when a crowd gathered around the laser printer to watch someone attempt to free a paper jam.



New Job!

Story location: Home / Blog / work /
04/Apr/2005

This morning, I went for a job interview in Birmingham - a position described as a 'Data Analyst Technician'. It involves examining traffic flow information and looking for anomalies and transferring everything to a database. While I was still in Birmingham, I receive a phone call telling me that I'd got the job. I start on Thursday.



Unusual Taste Beans

Story location: Home / Blog / birmingham /
04/Apr/2005

My girlfriend, Emma, joined me in Birmingham today when I went in for my job interview. While I was being interviewed, she went down New Street for the shops. I joined her afterwards, meeting her in Marks & Spencers.

It turned into quite a shopping trip. We had a look round some CD/DVD shops, went to Selfridges where we had our regular fix of their wonderful onion bhajis (and also this time bought some snacks from the Lebanese food counter which were expensive but tasty). Coming out of the Bullring, we found ourselves in the Chinatown area so we popped into one of the supermakarkets for me to stock up on tea. We also came away with a pack of 'Unusual Taste Bean'.

After finding out that I got the job (I received a phone call shortly after eating our Selfridges lunch), we went clothes shopping. The job requires smart attire, so I bought a few shirts and ties. Also, to celebrate, we bought a bottle of fizz (a New Zealand champagne style wine which tasted really good) and Emma and I also somehow ended up buying matching trainers (which she described as Celebration Shoes!).  

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Neigbourhood Cats

Story location: Home / Blog / coventry /
03/Apr/2005
cat
cat

In the street where I live (in Earlsdon, Coventry), there seems to be a rather large cat population. The cat pictured above is regularly spotted in the street and often wanders up to say hello/scrounge for food/see what's going on. It can be difficult to walk down the road some days without being greeted by a cat, some more friendly than others. There is also a small ginger cat which on several occasions has tried to climb into my car.

This afternoon, while walking home, I saw what I can only describe as an incredibly squishy manx cat. It was sitting in the alleyway which runs between the houses and as I approached, it disappeared through a doorway. Not through an open door, but under it. There was only about a 2 or 3 inch gap but the cat managed to limbo under it. I saw a kitten do something similar last year but this was much more impressive, being a full grown cat.