schoey.com: unboxed - friday 30th july 2010 - this time it's personal

july
30th

welcome to the positively not normal schoey.com: unboxed...

it's all about my life...


what's it all about, peter?

It's a very good question.

Greetings one and all, good of you to make it here. Welcome along to the all-new, new-improved, new schoey.com - now with added 'Spangly Bits™'.

So, what's changed? Very little to be honest. Just because I've spent the last 5 years redesigning the site, doesn't actually mean that I've spent any of that time working on new content!

Roy Walker - The host of Catchphrase. Naff 80s TV show, wrecked when Roy left to pursue fame and stardom on Challenge TV or something...In the words of Roy Walker (for it is he), this current site is 'good, but it's not right'. It's one of those moveable feast things, with lots of new stuff planned, together with a few changes to what you see right now. Be prepared for an immense amount of private jokes herein.

For your delight and delectation, and to keep all the regular visitors happy, I've posted up an edited version of my current Friends Reunited profile - complete with extra pictures in the relevant places, and the usual hotbed of steaming link action.

As for the rest, you know the deal, a glimpse into my esoteric, super-cheesy musical tastes, favourite websites, random flotsam and jetsam and err... more. Much more than you ever thought you needed to know!

All in all, it's a great big self-centred journey into the bizarre inner depths of my life. Which is exactly what you expected.

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so peter, who the devil are you?

So, here we all are then. I'm guessing that your arrival here is either directed by some bizarre interest in me (that frightens me, for some reason), or the desire to nick some of my lovely content for your own evil ends - the Roy Walker picture is doing pretty well on the hotlinking stats, isn't it?

Me? (Pictured right, of course... And, smiling for once!) I've just hit the thirty-something milestone - yuk! Unerringly single (nobody can put up with my pointless wittering for more than an hour! Fact.), lost in non-directional corporate workspace hell, and wondering what exactly to do next in my life - this was the most-recent recommendation. Hmm... Anyway, aiming to keep the good old trusty positive outlook on life charged to the max, and seeking out new ways to keep me smiling - not easy.

For the record, interweb stalkers and Census compilers, I'm tall, built like a lamppost, have uncontrollable blond/fair hair which really annoys me and have been described by random people as a cross between Chesney Hawkes, Rick Astley and Howard Jones in full 1980s-mullet spectaculardom. I'm suspecting that is probably something I shouldn't admit to, or be anything near proud to mention, but hey... I've done it now.

I have a bizarre tendency to talk about ridiculously odd trivia, particularly music, old telly programmes and err... trains. But for that, there is a reason (read below!). Also have an unhealthy passionate hatrid for the evil, tone-deaf 'diva' known as Céline Dion, in addition to a overwhelming desire to avoid any form of so-called 'dance' music, anything classified as 'urban' and the tragic 'beautiful game' of footballinnitguvmategeezer. If I never see a football match ever again in my whole life, I can guarantee it will be way, way too soon.

Ah yes, my wonderful call centre desk at the BBC Birmingham offices at the Mailbox in Birmingham...During the day, I work as the sole 'travel content producer' for a large public service broadcasting organisation. I'm sure it wouldn't take too much guessing, or deciphering to work out exactly which one that would be. Guessed yet? Yep, that's the one. Based in their new premises in the centre of Birmingham (my lovely health-hazard of a call centre desk is illustrated on the right!), I fiddle about with all manner of things travel news related - which explains the ridiculous interest in trains, motorway junctions, Ordnance Survey maps and the mysterious world of TPEG - click, go on, you know you want to! All in all, it's a particularly disturbing career-move - particularly given the subjects of my childhood peer-led ridicule.

Just a reminder that the opinions posted on this site are those of me, myself and I, and not my employer. So, err... there.

My former home for just over a year, BBC Birmingham's erstwhile home for many years, Pebble Mill...Oh, and we've just moved out the very famous building from your childhood (conveniently pictured right) to a expensive, over-designed, corporate call centre in the city centre of Birmingham, which looks like an pastel-coloured explosion in your local branch of IKEA. 'Resource oases'? I ask you... What was wrong with the good old fashioned description of 'kitchen'. Feel free to roll eyes in collective despair.

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goodbye pebble mill road, we'll miss you!

Road sign on the way into the village of Hell, near Trondheim in Norway. Pretty much sums up work I would think...But, it's not all work, work, work you know. Actually, I lied. It very nearly is, and I do get consistently beaten up by people who reckon I spend too much time at work, or worrying about work.

Sleep, commuting, sleeping whilst in the process of commuting and actually being at work take up an inordinate amount of the average hours in my day. Fortunately, I am occasionally released to terrorise the local community.

In that time I sit around listening to music, cataloguing my worryingly eccentric CD collection, obsessing about the forthcoming developments in the burgeoning UK community radio sector, and generally thinking too much about things that, probably, really don't interest anybody except me, and the strange machinations of my mind.

Current examples include radio formats and station management techniques, music policies, rotation clocks and format wheels, and trying to develop a unique, kick-ass community radio station concept for those lovely people of Runcorn, Widnes, bits of Hale and Frodsham, and the wider Halton area.

Aside from that, I watch a fair bit of motorsport and ice hockey around the UK (and Ireland), although the latter is somewhat precluded with the recent announcement that Manchester Phoenix aren't playing this season. In addition, one partakes in a little pub quiz activity from time to time, with varying levels of success.

I've not missed one round of the 2004 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship so far, which probably suggests I have far too much time on my hands, and haven't missed a single round of the BTCC in general since 2000, which is all rather concerning really.

Apart from that? Well, I specialise in non-specific daydreaming (woolgathering apparently?!), looking at random walls for inspiration and generally committing the mortal sin of spending too much time looking through windows thinking - some of it productive, some of it not-so-productive.

If I had to use one word to describe myself, that word would be 'Anorak' without a doubt, and I'm sure anybody who knows me would agree.

Anyway, I keep trying to convince myself that I'm actually really interesting, despite what all the above suggests, so drop me a note, and brighten up my inbox with some random abuse!

Have fun!

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"i've been to...
llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
...but i'd rather not talk about it."


it's a picture of me, in case you haven't guessed.hi, i'm peter schofield. this is my website, you're very welcome to spend some time here. but, you probably won't find too much to do yet.

the basic facts you need to know are... i'm 36, i live in runcorn, england - home of whatever random rubbish you've been watching on bbc three. i'm better known to all and sundry as 'schoey'. i'm one of those commuter-types, and do far too much travelling to and from work (ahem... about 2½ hours each way, each day!).

in a seriously-twisted ironic twist of fate, i work with traffic and travel-related web and digital media stuff for a living (well, it just about pays the bills). however, i do other stuff in my spare time on a need-to-know basis, and err... no doubt you'll read about it at some point. i just need to be sure who's reading this thing! (employers, stalkers called 'lisa' or 'katie', imaginary head-hunting agencies, etc.)

there's loads more to be added to this site over the next few months, but this is a useful, yet feeble first attempt.

central trains, class 170 turbostar - 170 503 at stockport, greater manchester.

lies, damned lies and politics:
and, as regards the rumours about a recommencement of the old trainspotting lark, it's lies, all lies i tell ye...

it's all about my favourites...

a weekly radio show presented by ron "boogiemonster" gerber, from the studios of kfai, fresh air community radio from the twin cities of minneapolis and st. paul. focuses on the weirdities and oddities of pop music from years gone by. a very, very good listen. crap from the past
a weekly radio show presented by ron "boogiemonster" gerber, from the studios of kfai, fresh air community radio from the twin cities of minneapolis and st. paul. focuses on the weirdities and oddities of pop music from years gone by - a very, very good listen.

it's all about my music...

headway - vital signs [cd single]i'm currently listening to 'without a word' from headway, taken from vital signs [cd single].

more music functions (including a peek into my weird, wonderful and somewhat eclectic collection) coming soon! but then, you knew i was going to say that, didn't you?!

it's all about my work...

bbc birmingham broadcasting centre, pebble mill, based on pebble mill road in edgbaston, birmingham. sign outside entrance to the car park.i moved on from my previous job as the "web production coach" for the uk 'nations and regions' based at the british broadcasting corporation's broadcasting centre in manchester in may 2003.

since then, i've been working as the "travel content producer" for the bbc travel news website and other digital services, at the bbc's broadcasting centre at pebble mill in birmingham.

although, i've recently moved out of the deluxe portakabin tacked onto the side of the world-famous building to auntie beeb's new city centre broadcasting abode/call centre at 'the mailbox'.

more details about my current, past and future work, together with details of my freelance activities will appear on this new-fangled website soon!

it's all about the big votes...

it's all about the big vote... there's got to be some fiddling done to the new voting and polling functions before this will go live. but hey, guess what, it's coming soon!

it's all about getting in touch...

picture of the k4 'street post office' telephone box, warrington. one of the last remaining examples of this rare type of red british telephone box. so, you want to get in touch?

can you guarantee that you're not a stalker? OK, that's good. What about a spam merchant? hmm... nope? ahh well, i'll let you off just this once.

you can e-mail me on webmaster@schoey.com.


it's all about the copyright...

version 3.0: designed, written and produced by peter a. schofield. but... only after being harangued for the past 5 years about the lack of updates from the world wide fans of this sort of trash! you know who you are ;)

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copyright © 1995 - 2010 peter a. schofield, all rights reserved.

"dewch y nhw ar"
as the welsh would say...
portions of this website are maintained using the moveable type content management system.