Where best to start a new chapter in the TechPixies story than The Story Cafe at The Story Museum! And what a marvellous venue for the launch of the new TechPixies platform, with four new self-paced online courses.
Located in a brick stable yard that feels rather like something from a Charles Dickens’ tale, two ‘olde worlde’ street lanterns at the entrance beckon you to “SPEAK FRIEND AND ENTER”. As Gandalf spoke at the doors of Durin “Oh, it’s quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password, and the doors will open.”
Having traditionally been a face-to-face only course, TechPixies is venturing into a new world of online learning. The doors to Social Media, Digital Marketing, SEO and WordPress are now open to those who want to explore them from anywhere in the UK – and beyond. And exploring them they are! Women from Oxford, London, York, Leeds, Kent – even Switzerland and Greece – have joined our growing tribe.
Welcomed with glasses of bubbly served by the glamorous, yet ever humble Joy Foster (founder of TechPixies), women came from far and wide to celebrate the launch of our new online courses. The evening was a huge success, full of fun, food and relaxed networking. We were even joined by a few of the PlatformPixies (TechPixies who are doing the online courses), proving they are in fact real!
Speeches marked the beginning of this new chapter in our quest to provide up-to-date and user-friendly online courses to all those wishing to understand the wonderful world of technology, as they return to work, change careers or start a new business. We toasted the launch, then each other, we merrily found a few more reasons to toast and shared our joint delight in the growing success of ourselves as TechPixie Alumni and the general success of the organisation.
The food was delicious. Freshly-picked asparagus from Rectory Farm with home-made Hollandaise for a starter, and a generous starter it was, with no less than six spears of asparagus per TechPixie! Next; smoked haddock and spinach risotto or butternut squash risotto for vegetarians. As we finished each course we mingled and swapped seats, allowing everyone to meet other TechPixies and enjoy new company. Amongst us; a psychologist, a journalist, a nurse, a curator, a medical illustrator, a seamstress, a web developer, a fine artist and an array of mothers and prospective entrepreneurs. Dining so close to Christchurch College, it was only natural that we had a lovely Eton Mess for pudding. Made with Rectory Farm Strawberries, what a delicious mess it was!
The exuberant Helen Moss-Black gave a wonderful speech thanking Joy for bringing us all together, not only for the evening but as a group, a group of intelligent, like-minded and supportive individuals, all striving and working towards similar goals.
Finally, our beds beckoned, we exchanged handles (if you don’t know what this is, you should join the TechPixies Social Media course!), wished each other well and waved goodbye, all thankful for such a warm and wonderful evening. Here’s hoping there’s another sooner rather than later.
Find out more about us on our homepage or browse our courses. If you want to join our mailing list, please register your interest.
This post was written by Kerri Jones and Juliet Addenbrooke (two of our cohort 8 TechPixies).
