Filofax 1994
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15.10.94 / 01 / macworld at olympia
In the 90s the Macworld show was big enough to fill Olympia. I always enjoyed it. There were big stands from all the peripheral and software companies, and of course the Apple stand showing the full range and upcoming items. This was the age of the licensed Mac clone and Apple's own range was extensive and incoherent. PowerPC had arrived, but I delayed purchase until it had bedded in a bit.
17.08.94 / 01 / new job at last
New job after two years of unemployment. Initially covering for maternity leave but soon permanent. Working on the refitting of five major Midland Bank branches, using a kit of parts designed by Fitch. HSBC rebranded Midland while we were doing this, which changed the signage and colours. We were sorry to see the Midland griffin go - it was a well-established and characterful identity. There was a plastic griffin to stand outside a branch, we wondered about taking it as a souvenir. I can't think of another bank whose identity generated affection.
15.03.94 / 01 / wisdom teeth out
I needed some dentistry but could only afford NHS treatment. I had upper wisdom teeth but no lower ones. There was nothing wrong with them. The dentist wanted to take them out, and gave them to his students to practice on.
17.01.94 / 01 / autocad training
Autocad training at NESCOT (North East Surrey College of Technology) in Epsom, 3 or 4 hours every weekday in term 17th January until 7th July. Free to unemployed people. Autocad 10 in MS-DOS, all about the command line, no buttons, icons or pallettes. It was very useful in later years to have learned all the keyboard shortcuts and variables. Less useful knowing how to code custom menus. The course saved me - I got a job in August.
The recession of the early 90s was devastating to architects in Britain. 40% of the profession were unemployed at one time. Many had to get other kinds of jobs and never returned. The firms that survived the recession were those that had shifted to CAD. Architects and technicians who didn't want to learn CAD or who couldn't cope with computers mostly left the profession. Since these were generally older and more experienced people there was a skills shortage in the boom of the late 90s and 00s.
