With our car packed all the way to the roof; tent, camping stove and cool box safely stowed, we set off for our luxurious externally located steppe (a grassy field in the wilds of South Devon) some three plus hours away.
It was going well until, half way through our journey, we realised that we might not have packed one vital piece of equipment - the rubber bung for our inflatable bed!
This was now an emergency. We parked up on the side of the road, and frantically searched our packing for this one item on which the success of our holiday and ability to sleep (semi-comfortably), now rested.
It wasn’t there.
It was however in the car, but we only found this out after following through with the decision to return home to find it.
I’m sure that we won’t make the same mistake this time round when we head off to Wales with the girls this coming week (Monday 23rd September to Friday the 27th).
I won’t be taking my work phone, so if you need to get in contact, please send me an email and when I’m back to work on the 30th, I’ll be on it faster than your Mac’s startup progress bar!
Become a Mac Buddy
Stingray, My Sister and Blue Peter
I never seem to win anything
I’ve entered many competitions in my life. The easy, ‘just submit your details’ kind, the ‘answer the ridiculously simple question’ kind and the ‘put some really hard work in’ kind. So far it’s been rather unfruitful.
Stingray, Stingray Da Da Da Duh Da
As a child I did enter a competition that was found within the pages of a ‘one off’ purchase of Stingray magazine. Stingray was a popular kids TV show that was made by Gerry Anderson of Thunderbirds fame. The show had the cool factor and the competition was an easy entry.
What a surprise
I distinctly remember coming back from school to a parcel waiting for me. This was most unusual. As a child the amount of post I received was minimal. Inside the package was the winning prize for that Stingray competition - an action play set featuring the titular submersible complete with firing torpedoes. Wow. You can imagine my excitement . . . however it was easily eclipsed.
My sister seems to win everything
My sister has a singular talent. She wins stuff. It doesn’t matter where or what, if she enters a competition the odds are she’s going to walk away with something. It may not be the top prize, or something she wants, but just as the likelihood of swallowing a bug on flying ant day, she’ll bag something.
My sister's competition winning stamp
Blue Peter stamp
In 1992 she outdid herself. Despite the whole family entering, she alone won the Blue Peter ‘Green Issue’ competition (much to my chagrin, considering I spent hours over my entry whilst she knocked hers out in 20 minutes). Her winning design of the globe inside a greenhouse was to be part of a set of limited edition Royal Mail stamps highlighting environmental issues, and is now a prized collector’s item.
On top of everything that comes with winning a BP comp, she also received a JVC camcorder, which at the time was a very expensive luxury. We loved that camcorder. My later interest in animation and film could well be attributed to our using it to make rudimentary stop motion movies with our Sylvanian Families and Lego sets. Our grand opus was an ultra low budget Star Trek fan film recorded in our summer holiday one year. You can be sure that I won’t be allowing it to surface as the master files are kept locked away more tightly than a yoga instructor’s core.
SME News: Southern Enterprise Awards
But maybe I need to start looking at competitions in a new light? SME News conducts an annual awards program that recognises the hard work, dedication and excellence of small businesses and Airiam has been announced as a winner! I want to say thank you for supporting Airiam through referrals, testimonials and your continued custom.
Prestige Awards: South West
Since writing this article, I have actually gone on to be awarded by another Awards body; Prestige Awards have also recognised the work that Airiam has done in the area, and awarded me Technology Repair Service of the Year. I have also gone onto win with SME for a second year.
What does that mean for you?
Well, of course you can be happy that you are using an award winning service to look after your Macs, iPhones and iPads as well as a place to find sound advice on a whole range of tech related subjects. In the near future I will be expanding into courses and training so keep your notifications primed for further information by joining Mac Buddies.
Airiam specialises in repairs and upgrades to Apple products. Being Apple Certified I have the knowledge and accreditation to give your product the best service possible, without the restrictions of an Apple Store or the unknown of a third party repair shop. I have over fifteen years experience and a reputation for being thorough, considerate and approachable, aiding me in completing work expediently and to a high standard. We are based near the beautiful heritage city of Bath and service the surrounding area.
"Airiam has been very helpful diagnosing a problem with my iPhone and providing clear and straight forward advice for a solution. No unpleasant surprises over the cost of the work involved as every step was advised in advance. Thank you for such a great service - professional and swift."
Explore the Airiam difference
There are many benefits to using Airiam for your Apple repair needs. Take a look below to find out more.
APPLE CERTIFIED
We have been certified by Apple to carry out work on both Mac and iOS products, so you can be confident that your iMac, MacBook Pro or iPhone is in safe hands.
MANY YEARS EXPERIENCE
With over thirteen years experience and a wealth of knowledge, we can offer solutions that are tailored to your unique requirements.
FAST TRACK DIAGNOSTICS
Jumping you to the head of the queue with 'Fast Track Diagnostics' helps get you to a solution faster.
PAPERLESS
Looking after our planet is important to us, so all of our paperwork is electronic keeping our impact on the environment to a minimum.
HONEST RECOMENDATIONS
We only quote for what's needed and make recommendations that will benefit you, even if that means refering you to a third party.
COLLECTION SERVICE
We offer a collection service to pick up and drop off your machine to your chosen location for your convenience (service charge applies).
SERVICE NETWORK
As part of the service structure provided by the Farpoint collective, we have good links with both business support and training partners, offering you a wide range of services.
QUICK TURNAROUND
Airiam has a reputation for getting work completed as quickly as possible and aims to promptly return your device.
A wide range of services that fit your needs
Whatever the issue Airiam has the answer, find out more about some of the services we offer.
UPGRADES
Tuning your mac so that you can get the best performance or to bring it up to date.
BATTERY REPLACEMENT
Battery not lasting as long? We can take care of that for you to give you back the performance you need.
DATA RECOVERY
Lost data is never fun, we offer a first line data recovery service and will recommend the steps required to provide a backup solution for the future.
LIQUID DAMAGE
Getting your machine back to working order once it's gotten wet, making sure you move forward with as much information as possible.
MALWARE REMOVAL
Getting rid of that pesky Malware which can sometimes plague your machine. We will also give you tips so that you can remain free of it in the future.
SYSTEM CHECK
Have you been subject to a fraudulent attack or are concerned about the integrity of your system? Let us check the machine for you and recommend any steps you can take to better protect yourself.
SERVICE
Sometimes you just want to make sure that your machine is running as optimally as possible. This service is for you.
DISPOSAL
We can securely erase and dispose of older machines or computers that no longer function. Giving you peace of mind that it's been disposed of in a sensitive manner.
DATA MIGRATION
Moving to a new machine from Mac or PC. Let us take care of the data transfer to ensure you are up and running as quickly as possible.
"Excellent and prompt service with clear and precise instructions for covid-19 protocol. Highly recommended."
A simple and streamlined process
We want to make it as painless as possible to book your machine in for it's appropriate service and as such work on an appointment basis with a clear flow for the life cycle of the repair or upgrade work.
Repair Lifecycle
1. Submit repair details
2. Book an appointment to drop off your machine
3. Diagnostic stage
4. Quote for recommended work
5. Completion of approved strategy
6. Book an appointment for collection of your machine
Upgrade your hard drive based Mac to the newer Solid State Drive (SSD) technology and give your machine a new lease of life. The performance is leagues faster then you dreamed possible.
Making sure that your data is handled in such a way that your privacy is not compromised is of paramount importance to me. I only interact with your data in such a way as is necessary to perform the required work, and only process data in accordance with the GDPR.
Diagnostics or Inspections are carried out on every machine for a modest fee saving you the worry of an expensive outlay without all the information beforehand. A Fast Track Diagnostics option gives you the opportunity to jump the queue and get your machine seen to in an expedient manner.
DIAGNOSTICS
£35
To find out what is wrong with the machine and help us to recommend a course of action.
FAST TRACK
£70
To jump your machine to the head of the Diagnostics queue so that it gets looked at as quickly as possible.
INSPECTION
£35
To check that the machine is suitable for the requested upgrade and allows us to mitigate any problems that may occur.
Want to have a chat with us first?
If you would rather talk to us first about your issue then please call, text or email and we will get back to you with our recomendations.
