To Blog Again

"I'm Back!"

I've been away unexpectedly from the blogosphere for a few days. We went down to Kent for a short holiday. We stayed in Clark's (Daisy's cousin) place in Welling. This week's half term so Cean's not in school. We earlier planned to just go visit local attractions in and near Peterborough but we also thought of going to Welling.

We have been putting off going to Welling for quite some time now because the boys are still young. Last Monday, we decided to just go for it. It was a 2-3 hours journey of several train rides to Welling. It wasn't exactly the smoothest journey that one wishes for especially when you have young children. But it was better than we expected.

I brought along my Dell netbook as I was planning to blog during my rest hours while there. However, Clark (Daisy's cousin) forgot the password to their broadband connection. This also explains why I was not able to blog. This turned to be a good idea after all. The four days that we stayed in Welling were both fun and hard. Fun because we toured the boys in London and in Welling, and hard because our youngest son had some allergic attacks during our stay.

I'll be blogging about this recent holiday in the coming days, together with some pictures. I still have to upload it to my computer, though. The boys really had a great time especially the time they spent playing and bonding with their cousins (Clark has two boys as well).

Bad (Transport) Day

Yesterday started out well for me. Cean and I arrived at his school with plenty of time for me to catch up the Stagecoach bus to city centre. I got to the bus stop thinking the bus will arrive shortly. It did arrive...half an hour later, much to my annoyance!

Stagecoach assures its passengers of a bus ride to town every ten minutes. The half hour delay means they missed two schedules. The result was that halfway to its journey's end, the bus I was in was already full. I have to say many of my fellow passengers were not happy bunnies like me!

This is the first time this delay happened to me in a long while now. I didn't know the reason for the delay; even so, this is still unacceptable. Stagecoach failed to deliver their promise to its customers. We actually have no choice because they are the only bus plying the route in most of Peterborough centre and suburbs.

That bad start of the day was to continue in the afternoon. After work, I catch a different bus because it goes to my neighbourhood. If I took Stagecoach, it is a longer walk home for me. Obviously, I opt for a less tiresome way to go home after a hard day's work sitting in the office!

The Local Link bus, which is funded by the city council, missed a scheduled trip. Only a one missed trip, that does not matter, wouldn't it? You might ask. Well...it does matter actually. Unlike Stagecoach which have a 10-minute interval in their schedule the Local Link bus that goes to my home has a 30-minute interval. Again I lost another half hour of my time waiting for a bus trip home.

A situation like this sometimes make me miss home. I chose third world transport anytime over the first world one when these things happen. At least in Cebu you can get a jeepney anytime you want it!

Types Of Bloggers

I read this article that describes four different types of blogger. The author intended this categorisation for advertising agencies and marketers who wants to tap bloggers. I think this can be used to describe all bloggers, in general.

According to the blog article, the four types of bloggers are:

1. Hobby Bloggers. They generate content from the things or activities that interest them the most. Some examples of these would be those who blog about food, anime, movie reviews and photography.

2. Journal Bloggers. They usually post about life experiences. Their topics can be really random and can be anything under the sun. Favourite topics can include current events especially those being discussed by media outfits and online communities.

3. Google Bloggers. They focus on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) with no or little regard to relevant content, personal branding and influence. They are in it for advertising and money. These bloggers prioritise building keywords so that search engines like Google and Yahoo will point towards them, thus giving them substantial amount of traffic.

4. Value Bloggers. They are writers who put content, personal branding and service as top priorities. They focus on delivering posts that add value to their readers by giving them insights, tips, tactic and advice on how to improve one's craft, hobby or whatever. In other words, people go to them because what they write is relevant, sensible and useful (something readers can actually learn from.)

For me, there is a fifth type - the overlapping type. This type is a combination of any of the four types mentioned above.

I am certainly a Journal Blogger but I would like to be a Journal-Value Blogger. I am thankful for readers who give me part of their valuable time to read about me and my family's life experiences. I feel that I should make it even more worthwhile by giving value and learning to what they read. Certainly, there is more work to be done if I want to be a Journal-Value Blogger.

So, fellow bloggers, which type are you?

Peterborough: Area and Population

Peterborough is part of Cambridgeshire and is located 78 miles north of London. It is only less than 50 minutes by train from London Kings Cross rail station. The city covers a land area of 343.44 square kilometres. As at 2007, it has a population of 163, 300. Population density, therefore, is 475.48 persons per square kilometre.

Now let's compare these figures with that of two of my former home cities in the Philippines, Tagbilaran City in Bohol and Cebu City in Cebu. Both cities are found in the Visayas region.

Tagbilaran City was my childhood home for ten years. I have not cut off my ties with the city, of course. A lot of my childhood friends and my wife's family are living there. My family lives in nearby Baclayon town. Tagbilaran City covers an area of 32.70 square kilometres. The population in 2007 was 92, 297; thus, population density is 2,822 persons per square kilometre.

Cebu City was my home from my late teens when I went to university there, and up to the start of my working career. My older brother who now lives there with his own family, is still renting out the same apartment we have lived since 1990. Cebu City covers an area of 291.20 square kilometres and has a population of 798,809 (2007 census). Population density in the city is 2,743 persons per square kilometre.

In terms of area, Peterborough is larger than Cebu and Tagbilaran (individually and in combination). However, in terms of urban characteristics Peterborough and Tagbilaran are similar although Peterborough is more advanced. Cebu is a highly urbanised city. Its metropolitan area, which includes several neighbouring cities and towns, is considered the second major city in the Philippines. Cebu can be compared to Birmingham and Manchester; it has a metropolitan population of two million people.

Population-wise, Cebu has almost five times more people than Peterborough despite have a smaller land area. On the other hand, despite having the least population among these three cities, Tagbilaran has the most number of people per square kilometer of land area. It is six times more densely populated than Peterborough.

Photo and info source: Peterborough City Council and Wikipedia

Peterborough City: Overview

The city of Peterborough has been my family's home for the last eight years now. Here is an overview of the city as provided by Peterborough City Council:

Peterborough has the reputation of a modern, progressive city located within one of the UK’s fastest growing regions. However, Peterborough is a long established city, with a cathedral dating back to pre-Norman times. Throughout the city and its surrounding district, there are notable features that serve as a reminder of Peterborough’s historical identity.

From medieval times to the start of the industrial revolution, Peterborough was little more than a small market town on the edge of the Fens, though it was granted city status by Henry VIII in 1541. For many centuries the river was an important highway and the Customs House still stands today alongside the Town Bridge. Its real growth started in the mid-19th Century, with the arrival of the railways. Peterborough soon became a major railway junction and attracted a number of heavy industrial companies.

By the late 1960s, the 'New Towns' programme had begun. Peterborough was designated a 'New Town' in 1968, and the Peterborough Development Corporation was established to double the city's population in close partnership with the City Council. The Master Plan was to concentrate development in four new residential townships, each with a full range of social and economic facilities. The fourth township, Hampton, is now being built to the south of the city, and will continue the city's growth into the next century with the development of over 5,000 houses and industrial and commercial space for 12,000 jobs. In April 1998 the City Council achieved Unitary Status and is now responsible for all local government services in the district.

Our neighbourhood is one of earliest township of Peterborough that was developed under the 'New Towns' programme. In fact, the house we live in was built around 1973 by the Peterborough Development Corporation.