Category: Cautionary tales

Wet, wet, wet and wondering…? – first published 18 February 2014

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Mid February 2014 and the weather was supposed to be taking a turn for the better so I was more than a little disappointed to wake to more rain. It might not have mattered quite as much if I didn’t have an appointment in town with some paperwork for a job interview and a terrible loathing of paying for buses to places I could easily walk. In the end the whole thing turned into a very frustrating and slightly worrying event that left me feeling as if I’d been scammed. Continue reading Wet, wet, wet and wondering…? – first published 18 February 2014

Floods and fungi – first published 3 February 2014

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When I pledged to walk one hundred miles every month in 2014 I forgot about February with its pesky twenty eight days. Of course this meant I was going to have to up my daily average if I wanted to hit my February target. WIth a few sums I worked out it was just over three and a half miles a day. Walking the Christmas weight off wasn’t going to happen before summer unless I made more effort.  Continue reading Floods and fungi – first published 3 February 2014

Aiming for Hamble and trying to beat the wind, rain and tide – first published 31 January 2014

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The last few of days of January 2014 were a whirl of activity, most of it centred around trying to find a job. There was a meeting at Office Angels which turned out to be far shorter than I’d expected. The person I was supposed to see hadn’t turned up, never a good start, and the one I did see wanted me to completely change my CV. Frantically working away to make the changes, I got so involved I almost made myself late for my afternoon dentist appointment and had to march it out for the three miles or so to get there. Thankfully the old choppers were fine. Pete, my dentist told me, “you really need to eat more toffees and brush your teeth less often to give me something to do.”  Continue reading Aiming for Hamble and trying to beat the wind, rain and tide – first published 31 January 2014

Thieves, Vandals and a definitive answer

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11 August 2016

The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe who are believed to have migrated from Southern Scandinavia during the second century BC. They moved around Europe establishing kingdoms and were, reputedly, barbarians who sacked and looted as they went. They gave their name to vandalism, or senseless destruction, particularly defacing artwork. Sadly, there are modern day vandals roaming around the city of Southampton. Some of them are also thieves. Not only have several of our lovely zebras been damaged, one has actually been stolen. This added a sense of urgency to our zebra hunting and today, while Commando went for his X-ray, we went to visit as many as we could while they were still there.  Continue reading Thieves, Vandals and a definitive answer

Spooked in Telegraph Woods and a third opinion

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9 August 2016

At the end of June Commando injured his ankle. Our GP, when I finally managed to persuade him to go, told him he was too old to be running and should give up at once because he probably had osteoarthritis. Obviously, we ignored this diagnosis. Three weeks later, with things not really improving, Commando visited a sports physio for a second opinion. The diagnosis this time was a possible stress fracture. He suggested a full assessment at the Perform Sports Medicine Centre at the Aegis Bowl and an X-ray. Continue reading Spooked in Telegraph Woods and a third opinion

Trying to create some kind of routine – first published 7 January 2014

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The beginning of 2014 seemed like a good time to try to get some semblance of order into my life again. Exercise was high on the agenda.  With a broken  DVD player in the gym Pump it Up had fallen by the wayside. Then I discovered some of the workouts were on YouTube. With a little fiddling and experimenting, I found out I could create a playlist on YouTube too. Who knew that? Ok, probably everyone knew that except me. Continue reading Trying to create some kind of routine – first published 7 January 2014

Twyford to Allbrook – first published 29 December 2013

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The last Sunday of 2013 and I was on the Itchen Navigation attempting an ambitious walk from Winchester to Eastleigh. I’d made it to the frozen path across the Twyford water meadows. The sun was shining which is always good but I was slightly worried it was going to melt the ice beneath my feet and make to path too muddy to walk on. It wasn’t long before I could see Compton Lock in the distance, my next landmark. So far so good. Continue reading Twyford to Allbrook – first published 29 December 2013

Final view from the top of the world – first published 20 December 2013

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The final day had arrived. The longest week in the history of the world was over, along with my job. The final views from the top of the world were disappointing, no blue sky, no sunsets, just cloud and a lot of howling wind gently rocking the building until we thought it might take off. Most of the work that got done involved Rose’s car and then there was champagne… Continue reading Final view from the top of the world – first published 20 December 2013

Another interview, more boxes and a traffic jam – first published 25 November 2013

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The end of November 2013 seemed to be all about job hunting, interviews, CV workshops and, of course, the marketing boxes that were causing quite a bit of consternation in our office. Along with all that there was also a curious traffic jam that lasted almost all day and brought the city of Southampton to a grinding halt. Continue reading Another interview, more boxes and a traffic jam – first published 25 November 2013

Hackers and other disasters

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11 June 2016

Late on Thursday night when I tried to proofread the blog post that was due to be published the next day I couldn’t get onto the blog. There was a just a weird message I didn’t understand. Straight away I checked the LCN site to make sure it wasn’t an issue with their servers or whatnot. It wasn’t. Then I tired to view the blog throug an old Facebook link. The same message came up. Going through Google brought the same results. A shard of ice stabbed at my heart and one word screamed in my head, HACKERS! Continue reading Hackers and other disasters