Coming soon – new-look blog

I’ve been thinking that this blog has been looking a bit tired of late, and that it’s time for a change. The content will remain the same, I’ll be ranting on as normal, but I want it to be a bit easier on the eye.

So, I have employed the services of talented web designer and developer Richard Bateman (@west4street) to breathe new life into Robyn’s Nest. And it’s work in progress!

So, coming soon will be a new Robyn’s Nest – and pictured is a sneak preview. Watch this space! I am so excited about it I might just pee my pants. Oh… too late ;0)

Sorry this blog post is late…

Cripes, I haven’t written a blog post for a couple of weeks! I’ve just been reminded of this fact by my mother who is a regular reader; it means we don’t need to speak on the phone much  ‘cos she already knows what I’ve been up to. So, if there’s anyone else out there wanting to avoid their folks – start a blog is my advice.

Anyhoo, I’ve been swamped with work and writing and I’m still struggling with my sleeping pattern so want to snooze in the middle of the day and don’t feel an eency weeency bit tired at bedtime.  And that’s why I’ve been a bit lax on the blogging front. That said, I’ve penned 70,000 words now and with another weekend writing session pencilled in at the end of this week, my first draft should be ready by the end of the month, hoorah.

It’s now only 17 sleeps until my hollibops in Spain and I am very much in need of a break, some proper sunshine and a chance to re-establish some kind of normal sleeping pattern.

The main reason I want to finish the first draft of my book by July is so that my buddy AJ can read it while we’re away. That way I she can give me instant feedback and I’ll be able to hear her laugh – or not as the case may be – at the funny bits. A few select others have been chosen to cast their eye over it too, my mother not being one of them. She read one of my short stories recently and the only thing she could say about it was that it wasn’t double spaced. Give me strength. Him mum, by the way! (I know she’ll be reading this)

Anyhoo, back to the book. I’m at the stage where I really need to print the damn thing off and read it on paper. My eyes are glazing over with the amount of time I spend at the screen and I want to physically hold my book in my hands so it feels more real. This will in no way be the finished article, but I’ll be the best part of the way there, at least.

So, what else am I gonna do in Spain? Very little, to be honest. I plan on spending the days being horizontal, soaking up the sunshine and occasionally dipping my toe – maybe even my ankles – into the sea. (Obviously I won’t be horizontal for that bit). I am going to set a holiday reading record and try and plough my way through five books in seven days and I may partake in the odd logic problem too.

The evenings will be spent tucking into salted seabass, paella or steak tartare, washed down with white wine spritzers. There may be a few mojitos consumed at Nikki Beach and a spot of shopping in Puerto Banus and that’s just about it. Me and AJ have our little holiday routine and I’m looking forward to starting it. Relaxation is the name of the game and as tempted as I am to take my Macbook Pro with me, the mean machine will be staying at home. No internet? For a whole week? Nooooo.

Welcome Absolute Gem

I’d just like to welcome my friend Absolute Gem into the world of blogging. She’s making her debut in the blogosphere and, as she says herself: “My life’s like a sitcom after the watershed.” Should make for some interesting reading and this is where she’s at – Absolute Gem’s Blog.

Study is over… for now

A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders this week and life can return to normal, yay! Yesterday I sent off my final CIPR Diploma assignment – the research project - and, as long as Royal Mail delivers it today (deadline day), then I’m home dry. I have to pass the damn thing, obviously, but until I get my results in December I won’t have to think about studying, reading academic textbooks or writing challenging assignments.

Now the work is over, I can get on and enjoy myself. I can dip into crime novels at bedtime without feeling guilty that I should have my nose in Tench and Yeomans’ Exploring Public Relations; I can have dinner at a mate’s house without knowing I should be at home studying and I can have lie ins at the weekend instead of pulling myself out of bed at 8am to sit at my laptop for hours. And I can gt my head down and do a full day’s work knowing the only thing waiting for me at home is TV and dinner, not 6,000 words that need writing or 10 books that need reading.

The diploma has been tough, not just because I’m about as academic as a boiled egg, but because fitting in study around work commitments, sport commitments and a social life is seriously tricky. I didn’t do uni first time round, plumping for work experience over a degree, so this study business has been a tad on the foreign side for me. This pain has been shared with my fellow CIPR students though, and I hope we’ll be able to meet up and celebrate the end of this long year, without the threat of another looming assignment.

My research project – about PR, the blogosphere and reputation management was pretty interesting, all be it hard work, and I may well publish it, along with my survey results, if and when I pass. I’ll keep you posted. Obviously, my study journey may not be over yet; if I fail I’ll have to do some tweaking, but at least, for now, I can forget about it.

Public relations and the blogosphere – do my survey!

I’m mid-way through my final CIPR Diploma assignment – the research project – which is based around public relations, reputation management and how the blogosphere fits into all that.

I’ve produced a survey as part of this project and need as many PR bods as possible to fill it out, whether they have experience of the blogosphere or not. If this is you, please fill out THIS SURVEY and help me pass my project. And don’t forget to tell your PR friends!

Thanks.

Internet searches – some whacky stuff!

I love writing my blog and have become a bit of a blogging addict since creating Robyn’s Nest last October. But there’s one thing I love more than blogging (in an online sense, I mean) – and that’s checking what search terms people have used to find my blog. The random things people type into search engines amazes me. This is just a taster from the last couple of days:

Today

 

ankle	3
the moroccan police uniform	2
moroccan men	2
aching bones	1
moroccan single men	1
moroccan men french women	1
romantic christmas in morocco	1
wife swapping in puerto banus	1
swollen normal ankle	1
pee her cycling shorts	1

 Yesterday

aching bones	2
why don’t moroccan men like to have chil	1
robyn slingsby	1
cuckaberra sits in the old gum tree	1
sofa won’t fit through door	1
ankle ligament swollen	1
the injection was going in her butt	1
how do you get a sofa in the front door	1
what do you think of moroccan men?	1
still single at 28

Interesting stuff eh? Every day without fail someone, somwhere will search for info on Moroccan men and there’s a lot of ankle injuries out there too. But “peeing in her cycling shorts” – what’s that all about? Seriously random!

Colleague makes me cry

There’s a girl at work who keeps making me cry. It used to happen about once a week but now it’s happening daily.

Fear not, I’m not being abused by the work bully, it’s just that this particular colleague and friend makes me laugh so hard I cry. It’s costing me a fortune in eye make-up!

Yesterday she made me laugh because when I returned to my desk after a toilet break she wasn’t at hers. I would usually notice, she sits right next to me. After taking my seat she suddenly pops up from under the desk looking a tad red faced and muttering something about cables. Random, but hilarious.

Anyway, it’s mostly her blog entries that make me laugh, particularly the dog comment in this one and the £50 note one in this entry. Enjoy!

Will writing this blog kill me?

I have to confess that since launching Robyn’s Nest in October/November last year I have become a tad addicted to blogging. But will it kill me? I very much doubt it, but this article in the New York Times, followed by this article in The Telegraph and this blog entry from The Guardian make interesting reading.

Nothing nice to say

Did your mum ever say to you when you were younger, “if you haven’t got anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all.”?

Well, that’s why this blog post will end here.