Tag: Change

The rise and fall of Southampton castle

image

1 March 2015

Interesting as my exploration of Clausentum may have been, there really wasn’t all that much walking involved. On such a bright day it seemed a shame to go home so soon so I carried on walking with no real plan. My feet led me over the Big Bridge. On the other side the desolate park was looking anything but desolate as I passed,  brightened by a large cornelian cherry beside the railings, vibrant with an overload of tiny blooms that I’d taken for leaf buds from a distance. Either way it is a sign that spring is in the air. It felt like a day for history so, on a whim, I decided I’d go from a Manor House I couldn’t really see to a castle that isn’t really there. It seemed like a plan.

Continue reading The rise and fall of Southampton castle

The devil is in the detail

image

18 – 21 February 2015

Wednesday morning was beautifully crisp and clear. Perfect walking weather, except the only walking I’d be doing was to work. It was especially galling because the only walk I’d had on my three day weekend was my Sunday jaunt to Crosshouse. On Monday it poured with rain all day and I had to stay in on Tuesday to wait for workmen to come and fix our leaky water meter, so I had decidedly itchy feet. Continue reading The devil is in the detail

Rest days and more cake – first published 14 November 2012

image

The Moonwalk training plan I downloaded to help me prepare for walking the twenty six point two miles I’d somehow talked myself into included rest days. Strangely, I was finding these more of a problem than the walking days.  With such a busy life fitting in two rest days a week seemed impossible. In mid November 2012 I was wrestling with this tricky problem and looking forward to my trip to London with the WLR girls. Continue reading Rest days and more cake – first published 14 November 2012

sea, ruins and melting snow

Weston Shore
Weston Shore

3 Fenruary 2015

Pretty soon I was crunching through the snow around the corner, where the Seaweed pub used to stand, to the shore. Beside me snow was caught in the seed heads of the swaying grasses and I could see a ragged line of white where the shingle beach should be. Despite the dark clouds everything looked sparkling and bright. The brooding snow cloud on the horizon almost hid the towers and spires of Fawley on the other side of the water but the sun was doing battle with them, trying hard to burn through.  Across the road the little beach shelters looked lonely on the empty foreshore, it seemed as if I was the only person in the world, with the whole beach to myself. Continue reading sea, ruins and melting snow

Moonwalk training plans – first published 12 November 2012

image

After impulsively signing up for the 2013 Moonwalk and optimisticly putting myself down for a six hour finish it was obvious I was going to have to follow a proper training plan this time. With such an odd job, working random days, following my chosen plan wasn’t quite as simple as I’d first thought though. Throw rest days, cross training and slow walking into the mix and it all started to seem tougher than I’d expected. Then there was a trip to London to fit into my busy schedule.

Continue reading Moonwalk training plans – first published 12 November 2012

All things must pass

image

7 – 10 January 2015

When I wrote about my Tuesday walk I mentioned that I’d paid a visit to the doctor and promised to tell you more later. Well, it’s like this. Since my stomach bug in late November, just before we went off to Paris, I’ve been suffering on and off with an intermittent stomach problem. It seems to ebb and flow like the tide with a few days of pain, burning and feeling nauseous followed by a few days of slowly feeling better before it all starts over again. Thinking it might be something I was eating I looked closely at my diet but, to be honest, half the time I didn’t really feel like eating anyway. Continue reading All things must pass

organisation is the key as long as you can tell the time – first published 13 September 2012

image

Slowly but surely I was getting the hang of my new dream job. Two weeks in and it felt as if I was getting somewhere, creating order from the chaos the last assistant left when she walked out six months before. My new boss wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d thought but it was turning out to be a full time job keeping her organised. Continue reading organisation is the key as long as you can tell the time – first published 13 September 2012

Being the new girl again – First published August 28, 2012

image

At the end of August 2012 I had my first day in my dream job. After three years in a job I hated it was wonderful to be getting ready for something I actually looked forward to. Even so, I had lots of worries and doubts. The job description had been vague to say the least. In the interview Arabella seemed very nice but she was also very, very well spoken and I had visions of being slightly outclassed if everyone else in the office was the same. After all I’m a working class girl. Then there were all the worries about being about to do the job. What if I was completely out of my depth? You could write what I knew about cruises on the back of a postage stamp. All this led to a very fraught first morning. Continue reading Being the new girl again – First published August 28, 2012

The end of an era – first published August 18, 2012

Brewed in Percolator

The Mad House experience was well and truly over. The last call had been taken the last sale had been made, the last person had gone through the turnstile and swiped their card for the very last time. The Mad House building was officially closed for good. No more stats, no wrap time or call length, no more side by sides or QA forms. We’d all said goodbye to morning ‘cuddle’ and Tuesday afternoon team talk at the pub, briefings, system crashes, team nights out and Thursday afternoon fire alarm checks. There was just one more thing to do… Continue reading The end of an era – first published August 18, 2012

A day of last ever’s – first published 3 August 2012

image

From the get go Mad House had been my job nightmare. Incessant phone calls, a total lack of control over every little thing, people shouting in my ear, targets I had no hope of hitting and having to sell things I didn’t believe in to people who didn’t want them. Not a lot to like really. Because of the holiday I booked before the redundancy announcement I was leaving a week before everyone else. You’d have thought my last day would be a joyous occasion, filled with laughter. It didn’t quite turn out like that… Continue reading A day of last ever’s – first published 3 August 2012