'Moving' on

So, the days of the white van are over, there are one or two more tales from that nasty but occasionally amusing era I will likely regale you with in the near future but for the time being they can wait, it's the weekend and I have other fish to fry (no Lisa not carp! ;o))

Ok, let's be a little more specific here.

Yesterday was quite a significant day in my little life, for more reasons than the demise of the white van.

The job having been dispensed with in relative silence, because once my notice had been given my delightful employer decided to relegate me to the status of persona non grata,(not surprisingly there was a very definite lack of 'goodbye and good luck' speeches) the true purpose of the day got underway.....that of moving house, which might go some way to explaining my sudden state of voluntary unemployment. Really, though it might surprise you I am not quite mad enough to ditch one job without another to go to with no good reason, the reasons just couldn't be blogged until all interested parties were personally informed.

So, 'post employment' I loaded my little car with all my worldly possessions, there are not many, I have moved so often over the years I have learned to 'travel light' and much was left in Scotland never to be seen again, bid au revoir to my parents and hit the motorway en route for a new home and a new life near Cambridge.

Those of you who read this regularly or know me well may draw your own conclusions from the geographical location and will very likely draw the correct conclusion, but I will say no more other than on Monday, the full time occupation of finding a full time occupation begins in seriousness and today a new phase in my life is beginning.

:o)))

The end!

Finally, having endured it for almost fifteen months, today is the last time I will ever have to haul this confounded van (yes I'm hiding in a country lane right now blogging from my phone) and it's contents around the area. Six hours from now I get to hand the keys to the white van from hell back to the employer from hell and consign the whole unhappy episode to the list of memories I'd rather forget! :-) Six hours.... and counting!

In miniature

It seems the usual internet bugs that apparently follow me around various parts of the country over the years have found me again and rendered my internet connection D.O.A. Joy! So... For the next day or two I am reduced to opera mini and my phone. Don't be expecting anything in much depth! .... And don't cheer at the back! ;-)

Can I see what?

Anyone who has ever had the doubtful pleasure of paying a small fortune for new varifocal glasses will understand when I say, that far from feeling the money was worth it because suddenly everything has become clear, instead I am stumbling around like a fool with a serious case of nodding dog syndrome looking for all the world like I should be making haste back to the opticians!

Ack!

Yeah, I know, it takes time and all that but still....ack!

So much for professionalism!

Well, I handed in my notice and my boss was about as crappy with me as is possible...this was not quite how I would have liked it to be but I suppose after all that has gone before it was to be expected.

I have a distinct feeling that the 'this is business' philosophy is only supposed to function her way, not both ways in her opinion.

The conversation began to rapidly degenerate into unpleasentness, I tried my best to be professional and polite but in the end was forced to remind her that as she failed ever to give me a contract of employment, despite a number of requests on my part, I could leave and give notice of that intention when and how I liked.

Hey...in the time I have been there, eleven members of staff have left, 100% of them just shot through, no warning, no phone call, no nothing and whilst that may not be the best way to go about it in my opinion I can perhaps see their point now!

The remainder of this week I suspect is not going to be too much fun, more than a fair share of toilet cleaning duties, among other very lovely tasks, I fear will be coming gemmak's way!

Oh joy.

The end of the road

It's a Monday, and unusually a good Monday, because this morning didn't involve the regular 4am, 100 mile drive to work from Cambridge and because I have the day off....for a purpose.

The white van from hell is about to become history, decisions have been made and the decision is that I have had enough....today I am resigning!

It may not be the ideal situation to resign from one position without another to go to but it is necessary in this case. I have saved a little money to 'keep me going' and this morning I am off to an agency to begin finding a new employer, one that doesn't run a shonky fleet of white vans and hopefully adheres to a greater degree of current employment legislation than I have had to endure these last fourteen months!

It's all rather unusual and a little of my glee at being able to tell them I am abandoning my van at the end of the week has been tempered by the fact that they have only last week suffered a family trauma, so my timing might not be too excellent from their point of view but hey, when they treat me like crap their 'excuse' is that 'this is business'....so the new (trying to be) braver and more assertive me is merely returning the favour! ;o)

The Ukuele orchestra of Great Britain

Ok, so I am cheating today, my state of 'bloggers block' still reigns so I stole this off Fletch (with permission of course!).

These guys (and gals) are excellent, worth a watch, if you like this one there are lots more here....all good :o)

Don't wanna do it....won't do it!

Ugh...I so wish the Blogger gods would cease with their constant barracking in attempts to get me to change to the insanely aggravating 'all new and wonderful' template version!

I don't want to!!!

It's a fiddle, my coding skills?? struggle badly with it and I don't want to bloody well 'drop and drag', nor do I want to have to wade through all the infernal code that the damn drop and drag creates....I just want to be left alone with my own little template and not forced to sign in umpteen times just to circumnavigate the persistent attempts at forcing my hand to change.

I'm not gonna do it Mr Blogger...are you listening?, I just don't want to and I don't see the point of making life so complicated when I have pottered along like I am for years.

Much more of it and I'll be off to Wordpress! :op

Oh....and has the spellcheck facility died on anyone else the last week or two or are Blogger really trying to wind just me up?

I said this last week....

.....and I'm gonna say it again now....'it's been an odd old week' for various reasons and mostly I haven't really known which way is up for the most part! I could regale you with the details but I'm not going to, or not yet at any rate and I seem to have a temporary case of 'bloggers block' into the bargain, so any attempt at formulating more than a few coherrent sentences would doubtless be a bad mistake anyway!

Thankfully the working week is almost over now though and maybe I even learned a little along the way (learn? me? change the habit of a lifetime!?). Whatever, it's Friday, I can breath a sigh of relief and look forward to the weekend.

Have a good one :o)

Gizza cuddle

A suitably fluffy post on a day when my intellect can cope with little of a more challenging nature!

Sound on. :o)



*Thanks JW.

The ultimate Brazilian!

The male alternative to waxing!


Hmmmm...what did he think was going to happen?!!

Ewe'd love it!

The stuff of sheep or to be more specific, Cypriot sheep, of what am I rambling I hear you mutter, ok, Halloumi, a Cypriot sheep or goat cheese, is what this is about.

Belive me, if you have never tried it it's worth a trip to absolutely anywhere that stocks it, this is the food of the God's, heaven on earth. Ok, yeah, I liked it!


I thought there wern't many cheeses I hadn't partaken of over the years, I 'do' cheese in a big way, for half my life I have had cheese after dinner most days and never let it be said that there are many repeats...my mother is expert at persuading the verynicelady on the local Waitrose deli counter to find new and interesting fare to try.

But Halloumi had evaded my taste buds until yesterday. One of Fletch's stronger points is his ability with all things culinary (this is good, I don't 'do' cooking and he can really cook, like for real) so for my delictation at breakfast time, along with some damn good coffee, there was Halloumi, fried gently with garlic and in fresh muffins.

I have rarely tasted anything so utterly, simply, good!

Misty morning sunrise

St Ives, this morning, there are a few benefits to not being able to sleep!






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