This me I be

Do. Not. Work. That was the action plan. My thinking was logical. It’s the weekend. I’ve worked all week and it’s been really hectic. Birmingham, Reading, I’ve met my first learners. I worked last weekend (a little). Have a kick-up and chill weekend!!! I deserve it! Nah… I spent it rewriting my CV. “WHAT?! You’ve […]

In all reality, this weekend had one task = write a competency statement. Unfortunately, I can’t say the word ‘competency’ without trouble (I can spell it though), and there were so many pressing issues to solve that I only managed 400 words out of 5 pages. Being a home based worker requires an office – […]

Before I gained an hour, Saturday was a lads’ day. It started at lunch with hardcore trains and transformer action, and it ended watching movies, drinking ovaltine. After I gained an hour, Sunday turned into a reading ‘The principles and practices of assessment’ day. I was meant to be doing the autumn clean (bit like […]

Having only clocked up 340 miles this week, I thought I’d double it to pop to my mothers. ‘Pop’ lol, it took 2 hours to get passed Southampton.

It started mildly with a mild migraine, that sensation that I’m about 30 minutes away all day. Very meh feeling, exaserbating other things that make me feel meh. Gloomy gus. I’m starting a new job soon YAY! Very different. More me. Finding the thought daunting. I’ve never assessed someone in a funeral home before. Arranged […]

I drove to Wales on Friday and enjoyed a lovely detour over the heads of the valleys. Before the freedom of the countryside, I felt the bustle of humanity as we crawled along the M4 behind an abnormally wide load convoy being moved at rush hour. Great fun. I’ve told my mother that I’m never […]

Onions, picked Carrots, plucked. Potatoes, dug up. Rhubarb, tamed. The only things left on the allotment are courgettes, pumpkins, and nettles. For the latter, we’re at war. As of Friday evening, Shaun and I have reclaimed (most of) our paths, lined with carpet, and spent what felt like a decade laying wood chips. Wheelbarrow after […]

August bank holiday means Victorious Festival, which means I can’t park the car if I move it. So Thursday night, I found a parking space and left the car there until this morning. I figured I could walk everywhere, it would be novel. On Friday afternoon I met up with Shaun, Myles, and the rest […]

I’ve got a lot of shit done. Not my course work, but doorknobs changed, laptop trays fixed, I’ve even cleaned in crannies I hadn’t noticed before I’d donned my marigolds. I kept telling myself that I’ve got to do this so I’ve got no excuse. Well, it was just excuse after excuse, really.

I like Autumn. I like good old fashioned Welsh Autumns, wall-to-wall rain. Not these fancy new windy Autumns in Summer. I’m not a fan of wind (musses my hair). We had a lot of wind. Not much rain. Can’t see the point. On Saturday, I was going to head into town but got blown halfway […]

My mother has been waiting for her heart valve replacement operation like an inmate on death row. The fact she’s a nurse and knows this sort of business has added a few death sentences I’m sure. She kept telling me that she was going to die on the operating table, and I kept telling her […]

Okay, ‘horticulturist’ might be a bit strong, I finally got ’round to repotting my spider plant after 6 years and I gave it some fancy stones. Its new home is about 4 times the size of the original, and I want to see if its roots have noticed. I’m thinking that I probably should’ve teased […]

Thanks to all the rain I’ve been able to neglect my allotment duties, but after a fortnight of not seeing the place, I thought I should pay a visit. So I did, Saturday. In a word: Jungle. The potato plots, sheer madness. The courgettes have exploded. The onions are like towering stalks, sunflower high (not […]

Saturday began with a rush on chores — PANIC STATIONS! GET IT DONE! BUSY! BUSY! BUSY! I hate chores. After waiting for the washing machine to final finish, I was out the door, picking up MEAT, and heading to Shaun’s. As his father-in-law sanded-down and re-painted the front door (it was nice to see him […]

Jackie was first, jetting in from the Mediterranean. Shaun and Myles came next, cruising home from the West Country. Then came Kayte, limping in after a 29-mile charity walk. And then finally me, I rocked up with my bat hand (still) having had some self-induced nausea that turned into a migraine. I’m getting the low-down […]

Other than a few drinks and the allotment to celebrate Shaun’s birthday, and popping to the shop, I’ve been at home doing homework all weekend. I’ve got to give a presentation on the culture of death in Mexico on Wesdnesday. I’ve been doing my best work last minute again.

I don’t like a late Easter. I like Easter in late March / early April, when it should be, when I start thinking that I need a 4-day weekend for a bunny. As an apology for being late, I’m glad to see the weekend was warm. Friday cracked out the shorts, ate a Toby Carvery […]

Coincidentally, it’s the same weekend, 7 years ago, that I vowed to never arrange another stag do ever again. I remember the weeks and months leading up to Newquay started with me being a very gracious best man and ended with me giving stern words and ultimatums. (There’s always one who agrees to everything but […]

Visiting the parents… It’s like the twilight zone – need a sedative.