I’ve just come across this handy wordpress gadget which means I can now easily blog from my iPhone. The main wordpress edit function allows you to do this already, but this interface is a lot easier to use. So this is my first mobile blog, the first of many I hope… Great for LEJOG!
Its WordPress for iPhone, and you can have a look at it here.
Categories: LEJOG · Personal
Tagged: iPhone, wordpress for iphone
As part of my new role with Birmingham Future’s Membership Committee, I had the pleasure of attending the most recent new members lunch today. The event is designed for all of the new members to Birmingham Future in the previous few months, basically a chance to meet some new faces over some sandwiches. Matt Taylor, the Birmingham Future chair took five minutes to welcome everyone to the event and tell us about some of the things that the organisation are involved with under his reign. It was a very well attended event, with about 40 people there, and was very kindly hosted by KPMG.
I met some great people who have just joined Future, and hopefully after hearing about the rather hectic but fantastic year that I have had, they will be keen to become a little more involved with what Future do. My time as the Apprentice is almost at an end, but I will be continuing on the GIE committee and now as deputy chair of the membership committee, Birmingham Future is very much part of my involvement within the city.
There are some key reasons for that, but perhaps the most prominent is the people that I get to meet and work with. I have expanded my contact book beyond all belief this year, not only people that may be useful as a source of business in years to come, but people that I know I can call upon for their advice should the time come. I’m going to be taking part in the Birmingham Half Marathon as part of the Future team just one example of the range of activities you can get involved with. I have high aspirations, which are driven by being part of the city. It if was not for Future, then I would actually be without a job… but the fact that eight or so people sat around a table 18 months ago, gave up their free time and effort and continued to run what is a fantastic opportunity for any Graduate, means that I now have a future to look forward to… excuse the pun.
So if you are reading this and you are not involved in Birmingham Future, but you think that it could be the right way to get ahead in your career and be part of this fantastic city, then I am here to tell you that assumption is correct! Find out a little more about what they do at their website… or drop me an email.
Categories: Birmingham Future · Birmingham UK · Graduate Apprentice · Graduates Into Employment · Membership Team
Tagged: 29th July, Birmingham Future, birminghamuk, GIE Committee, Graduate Apprentice, KPMG, new members lunch
When I used to live in Devon, part of you dreads the summer when the roads get packed with people carriers and caravans, when you can go to the shops because you know your going to queue for a week and when parking anywhere thats not your driveway becomes a nightmare. But at the weekend, Laura and I returned home to what turned out to be a very tourist like weekend, and it was fantastic.
Saturday was spent at Paignton Zoo, which has changed a lot in the last ten years or so. I used to do some work experience at the Zoo, part of my ambition to be a vet, but that didn’t work out. It was also famous for the BBC’s Zoo Keepers programme, which made the little field behind my house very famous one summer. I do mean behind my house as well, at feeding time, you can hear the lions roar… its amazing. You used to be able to creep into the back of the Zoo without paying, sliding right past the back of the lion enclosure, but thankfully, security is a little better these days! Below is my favorite photo from the trip, mainly because Elephants are fantastic, and secondly because my new camera definitely paid for itself with some of the shots I was able to get.
The second part of our weekend was spent in glorious sunshine taking a trip up the River Dart. We hired a little cabin boat, and having my RYA licence, I was Skipper for the day. The sunshine was fantastic, and thankfully this time I remembered the sun tan lotion, and we were able to wind our way all the way from Dartmouth up to Totnes. We dropped anchor on the way back and had some lunch, which was a brilliant afternoon. It only worked out at about £20 a person, which is actually a reasonable day out. Below is the photo of Dartmouth Castle, the point at which the river reaches the sea, and at which you turn round or get swept out to France!
It was again a great weekend back in a fantastic part of the country. I was truly lucky to have grown up in Devon, and it hold memories for me which will last for ever. For young professionals, its fair to say that the opportunities are limited, but that takes nothing away from the area. I love heading home, catching up with family, and spending some time in the country, quite simply a great weekend.
Categories: Lifestyle · Personal
Tagged: Dartmouth, Devon, Paignton Zoo, River Dart, Totnes
Sitting on the balcony on a summer’s evening is a great way to contemplate how far things have progressed this year. I began my role as the Graduate Apprentice 2007 back on the 17th September of last year, and almost 11 months later, its time to begin thinking about handing on the role. With that, I have been thinking a lot about the time that I have had, the things I’ve learnt this year, and importantly, the fantastic people that have helped me to embed myself within this fantastic city. There will be a further blog post later on, once I’ve had time to evaluate everything that has happened, and to thank each individual concerned.
But right now, its time to introduce the next Apprentice, Mayur Murali. Mayur was selected back in June, after an extremely tough interview process. He instantly accepted the role, and I have every confidence that he is going to take this fantastic opportunity to even greater heights. I wish him the very best of luck in what I know will be a truly amazing year.
So below please meet the team for the Graduate Apprentice 2008. Mayur will be undertaking placements with Deloitte, in the same team that I will be re-joining as a full time Graduate. He will then move on to work with Giles and the team at LMM, where there are some more challenging projects lined up for him. Finally, Mayur will work with the new placement, VC Consulting, who we are thrilled to have as part of the set up. Much like me, there are three very seperate challenges, where I know he will be given a fantastic insight into the professional services world. Pictured below (left to right) are: Shihab Hossain, VC Consulting Director, Rachel Hewson of Deloitte, Giles Horwitch-Smith, CEO of LMM and Mayur himself.
Mayur will be continuing the trend of blogging his experience as the Graduate Apprentice, but right now, you can read a little more about how he reacted to being offered the role.
For me, with about five weeks left, its time to begin thinking about what next… who am I, what is my next challenge…
Categories: Birmingham Future · Graduate Apprentice · Graduates Into Employment
Tagged: Apprentice, Deloitte, Giles Horwitch-Smith, Graduate Apprentice 2008, LMM, Mayur Muralli, Rachel Hewson, Shihab Hossain, VC Consulting
As is probably quite clear to everyone reading the blog, the Apprentice programme is something that I am passionate about. The opportunity it has given me is unrivaled and has put me in an incredible position to go on and achieve a lot within this great city.
As my time as the Apprentice draws to an end, its time to start reflecting on the fantastic year that I’ve had, and to start talking about the programme. I had one such opportunity with Biz TV recently, part of the Aston University set-up. They were kind enough to interview about how I got the role, my three placements and my plans going forward. Please take a look at the link below to hear me talk about my time.
Categories: Graduate Apprentice · Graduates Into Employment
Tagged: 3Form, Apprentice, birminghamuk, biz tv, Deloitte, Graduate Apprentice, jason Norris, LMM
Playing with Andrew and Stef’s latest ’site in a day’, 5alist, I decided to make a list of the five people I would most like to meet. Its one of those questions which people look at and attempt to define what sort of person you are… so what does that make me. My five are as follows:
1. Al Gore
2. Sir Steve Redgrave
3. Nelson Mandela
4. Lance Armstrong
5. The Missing link between Ape & Man
My reasons are as follows:
1. I know that there are people that don’t like him, but I’m not one of them. I think that political motives aside, he is actually trying to raise awareness about some big issues, and he is known enough to get people to sit up and take notice.
2. My first sporting entry… rowing is at heart my sport of choice, and there is no greater rower than Sir Steve. In terms of shear tenacity and determination, no-one else gets close. Five olympic Gold Medals speak for themselves… and as a diabetic. Proof that if you want something badly enough, everything is possible.
3. A second political figure, but I would love to have dinner with him and hear his story first hand. He will no doubt go down as one of the key figures of the 21st century and I would to know what drives him.
4. Again a sporting theme, but again this guy has battled against the odds and won, again and again. He has become a bit more of a celebrity these days, but I admire him for using his profile to raise awareness about a disease which almost killed him, that takes courage.
5. The random one… I’m kind of interested in science, the kind of interest that extends to reading science articles on a Sunday afternoon and there is general acceptance that we still don’t know the full story of where we came from. If there is a missing link, I would love to meet him/her/it/them… knowing where we came from gives us a great impression of where we can go.
This list was created using 5alist, Stef and Andrew’s latest idea… why not make a list of your own here.
Categories: Personal
Tagged: 5ALIST, Al Gore, Andrew Dubber, Lance Armstrong, Missing Link, Nelson Mandela, New Site, Stef, Stefan Lewandowski, Steve Redgrave
Last night I attended another event linked to my role as the Apprentice. This one was however, a little more social. A Birmingham Future friend of mine, David Neale, is soon to be climbing the Matterhorn, one of the toughest challenges that any human has ever undertaken. David is doing this in aid of SENSE, the national deaf blind charity, who do fantastic work all over the country but are not that well known.
Scary stats are that 1 in 10 people over the age of 60 are deaf-blind, with many of them not knowing it, so chances are that it affects someone in your family. So last night David held a charity auction and raffle to raise some money for this fantastic cause, and it was a great evening to be part of. Laura and I even won a spa day at Hotel-Du-Vin as part of the business card raffle! To provide entertainment for the evening, David gave us a demonstration of his skills by abseiling through the open roof at Hotel-Du-Vin… photo below!
So take a look at David’s Blog, at the work that SENSE do, and maybe even donate a few pounds to help him raise as much as possible. David starts his challenge in nine days time, and I wish him the very best of luck.
Categories: Birmingham Future · Graduate Apprentice
Tagged: Birmingham Future, birminghamuk, david neale, matterhorn, charity, fundraising, hotel du vin, SENSE, deafblind, climb
There are some points during my year as the Graduate Apprentice where I have had the opportunity to begin giving something back to the fantastic Birmingham Community that has welcomed me with such open arms. This morning, I was invited to speak about my role as the Apprentice as part of a breakfast with Graduates and employers. Its organised by Clarke Associates and Graduate Advantage, with breakfast provided this morning by the fantastic Hogarths Hotel. It was a very rare occasion in-fact, the two groups mixing when neither of them were trying to recruit… a very refreshing alternative.
I had to follow Anthony McCourt, one of my mentors, and the current Birmingham Young Professional of the Year, and boy is he a tough act to follow. Firstly, he is only a year older than me, but he has achieved an incredible amount, but secondly and importantly, he is a fantastic advocate of the city, and much like me, having moved to Birmingham from outside, is now a fully fledged ‘adopted Brummie’.
But this morning was all about the Graduates at the event, all of them who were keen to find out how they can begin to build their personal brand, and about how they can find a job within the city that they really enjoy. Just by being there, they were already taking one step on this journey, and I was truly humbled to be there and talk about my journey so far. I was delighted that they listened, and I hope that some of them found what I said useful.
So my year as the Apprentice is almost coming to an end… but there is a lot more I plan to do yet. Its event’s like this morning make it all worthwhile, where I really feel proud to be part of this fantastic city.
Categories: Birmingham Future · Graduate Apprentice
Tagged: Activ8 graduates, Anthony McCourt, Apprentice, Birmingham Future, birminghamuk, BYPY, clarke associates, graduate advantage, Graduate Apprentice, hogarths, jason Norris
Its been quite a journey with Stef, and only today we were talking about how much I have learnt in such a short space of time! I am still no-where near the level of technological knowledge of Web 2.0 that individuals such as Stef, but I do now have my own website. I even set it up myself, made sure that my blog was pointing in the right direction, made sure that my URL is going to be found by search engines, and ensured that the servers were all in the right place (well, that took a little help from Stef). But I have learnt a lot, and while jasonnorris.co.uk is actually only my blog, its a start. I do plan to keep my record of my time as the Apprentice going after I complete my year and Mayur takes over the role, where it will become a more personal record of my time within Birmingham… and now I have the perfect place to do it.
The below appear no-where on my site, but it makes this post look a little easier on the eye, and means that I can play with Skitch, which I discovered last week!
Categories: Graduate Apprentice · Personal
Tagged: Apprentice, jasonnorris.co.uk, my website, Personal, skitch, Stef, Web 2.0
Stef and Andrew are getting pretty good at the ‘start-up in a day‘ concept, so much so that the second appeared on the web on Friday. After I So Wish, which took around a day from idea generation to actualy working site, 5ALIST took about 5 hours on Friday… which is pretty awesome in anyone’s book!
The reason for the everything happening so quick is that the idea, and the site, are really simple. The functionality of the site is really straight forward, meaning that all a user can do is sign up and make a top 5 list. The choice of top 5 is completely up to them, and so far we have seen the top five dinosaurs, top five guitar solos and even the top five ways to cook a potato.
Its another experience to add to my year as the Apprentice, seeing an idea turn into an actual site. I played some small part, helping to discuss domain names and giving my thoughts on the logo. In all, its another fantastic creation by the Stef & Dubber team, a really simple idea with a really simple site, but a great way for you to interact with the internet.
Go and make your own top five list now… anything you like.
Categories: Graduate Apprentice
Tagged: 5ALIST, Andrew Dubber, Dubber, I So Wish, New Site, Stef, Stefan Lewandowski, Top 5
