Front seat, his seat.
Beside the one he adored.
Never had his head out the window,
Not that common.
On his bed, cold, quiet.
He’ll come back
Onyx wrapped, ashes.
Always with us,
In our hearts and memories.
RIP Chizel. Gawd I miss that little dog!
Monday, June 15, 2026
Last journey
Wednesday, June 03, 2026
Happy birthday Philip David Sheppard
Why a blog post to wish my brother happy birthday? Why not! I don't know where he lives, his email or his phone number, but I do want to wish him well on his 70th birthday.
Oddly he's appeared in a couple of my dreams recently, and I remember waking up thinking how nice it was to see him again.
Happy birthday Phil, I do hope life is treating you well. Sending love from the family, which includes nephew (in Australia), your niece (in Cambridgeshire), your great niece (Bella) and great nephew (River).
And of course from me, your sister, and your sister-in-law Sheena. It might make you smile to know that her son calls me 'dad'. I hope so.
Happy birthday bro.
#philipdavidsheppard #philipdwightsheppard
Wednesday, April 01, 2026
Back to skule
Bad blogger! - no posts since last year and it's 1st April already. However, this blog post is not an April fool - I really am studying again.
Having done a Diploma in Direct Marketing, and a Diploma in Fundraising, I am now launching yet another learning experience - this time in AI.
Why, at my 'time of life'? Ignoring all the 'Plan your perfect retirement' messages and connections on LinkedIn, I'm not ready to hang up my fundraising boots just yet. Why AI? Because it needs understanding and - in the third sector - we need to harness it for good.
There are many ethical considerations, not least of which is the amount of energy/water the systems that power AI use. As someone with a strong conservation background, this does concern me - but even more so it makes me want to use AI to produce good outcomes, not just a funny meme of me in cartoon format.
The course I am on is an Apprenticeship in Business Analysis, using AI. With Corndel and the Imperial College, I am going to (hopefully) get another diploma level qualification. But the qualification isn't the end goal - it's what I can do with it to make work easier (ergo better spend donor's money, ergo better serve our charitable aims). And that's what motivates me - why I want to keep working, and keep learning - even though my course takes me beyond my 'state retirement date' (assuming that the government doesn't change it again).
This course will take around 17 months, but at the end of it - whether I get a qualification or not, I will hopefully have another set of skills that I can use not just at work, but in other areas of my life too.
The picture may be AI, but the writing is 100% me.
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