So that was Christmas

Christmas has been and gone. A very enjoyable time with the family. Too much food as usual but plenty of fun and games.

Something different

Walking out of my Business Analyst role at UoD was made all that much easier by walking straight into a casual driving job right there, ferrying lecturers, students and important people about between the various campus locations, other universities and doing airport runs (so far just collections from Heathrow and Birmingham).

And I am enjoying it. There is no routine, jobs are offered by email for me to accept or decline. There is no stress, all I have to do is turn up at the pre-booked time, check over and sign out the vehicle and drive. I love the longer runs because I get to just hang around waiting for the return run which is frequently when the match/game has been played or the plane has landed, and then drive back. Simples. I am free to fill my time in between outbound and return runs as I please, and I get days without work, so more "me time". OK, so I'm not earning at anywhere near the same level but importantly, I am happier and have time to work out what I want to do longer term.

That didn't last long

Got so fed up with the hostile working environment that I quit on 30th October, so...

Started.: 30th September
Finished: 30th October

Yes, I just quit, with immediate effect and walked out. Never done it before and no desire to do it again but it had to be done.

C'est la vie!

Re-employed - 3 weeks in...

Well that was a hectic few weeks. My stats this time around:
Jobs applied for . . . : 54
1st round interviews: 12
2nd round interviews: 02

One job offer: Senior Business Analyst quickly revised to Principal Business Analyst

Made redundant 11th August
Commenced employment 30th September

So that's 7 weeks unemployed drawing job seekers allowance of £73.10 per week. Now my commute is just under 6 miles each way and flexible hours on a 37hr week. But big expectations and short timescales to deliver in, and a need to bring about a real culture change.

No preasure there then!

Nearly there...

So the guys from Bestcrete have been and done their thing, poured, stamped, coloured and sealed the 3 phase creation of drive, patio and garden path is now complete and all that remains is the bit that I will term 'landscaping'. Basically a flower garden to the right of the path and building up the level of the soil on the left and then either seeding it with grass seed or the laying of turf. So this last weekend we got started on it and this is the current state of play...

Path poured, pattern imprinted, coloured and sealed...

The new path blends almost seamlessly into the patio just as we wished....

View from patio to back door and the start of the path...

Flowerbed on the right planted out with an initial selection of flora.

Environmental maste management system in place, away from the back door.


View from the side access.

Next stage in the process

The guys from Bestcrete were back again this morning to do the final preparations before the concrete pour, and this is how it looks now....

Shuttering in place for the final lay, colouring and pattern imprinting...

The hard stuff goes down on Saturday, weather permitting.

Shed - the final phase commences

The old shed base has gone along with all evidence it ever existed. The power supply to the new shed is now in place and laid, protected, in the hardcore to be peranently covered by the concrete top coat while in the shed it goes into a proper distribution box with RCD protection.

Anyway, here is a picture of the current view from our guests bedroom...

Hardcore down awaiting the final lay, colouring and pattern imprinting...

Unemployed - 3 weeks in...

Time for an update on my search for a new job, so what have I been up to in my first 3 weeks unemployed?

Well so far I have applied for 33 advertised job vacancies. This has resulted in 2 duplicate applications, 6 rejections after first interview, 2 jobs where I was advised there would be no interview as I didn't have the skills they were looking for (but were not in the job advert), 1 vacancy already filled, 1 no contact and 2 put on hold (no budget approved for post).

So I am now waiting to hear if I will be getting a 2nd interview on 2 roles where I have done a 1st interview, one of which is doubtful and the other is hopeful. The remaining 17 roles are WIP (work in progress) whichbasically means I have applied and I am waiting to hear. Why don't I chase them up? Simply because there are no contact details supplied during the application process so no way for me to follow-up.

Yesterday was my 3rd JSA sign-on. Last Thursday I had to additionally attend a National Careers Service "course" - really a group session aimed at advising job seekers how to write a CV and covering letter. Sothat was 2 hours of my time wasted attending and another hour in travel time but, if I don't jump through these loops they stop the JSA payments of £73.10 a week and they put you straight onto daily sign-on. No, the Gestapo didn't disband after the end of WW2.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, my ex-employer managed to screw up my final payment so I am over £2k down on what was agreed. I've been promised that the adjustment to correct this will be in my account before the weekend, but as they had 20 days to get it right the first time around I don't hold out much hope of them getting it right in 3 days.

Here we go again...

Tuesday 11th August was my last day at Capita, yes, I have been made redundant again. That's the 5th time in my career/job history. This time I saw it coming so I actually got my CV together and out there some weeks before the day. That pulled in a few interviews which at least gave me some interview practice (if nothing else). One did lead to a 2nd interview but that's now scheduled for 26th August so plenty of time to get some more lined up just in case that one doesn't deliver. In the meantime I also have to do a series of on-line tests for this job too. I'll do that tomorrow so wish me luck.

Yesterday was my first appointment with Job Seekers to get my JSA claim verified, then bugger me, today was my first "signing on" day. That's the way it happens sometimes.

Shed electrics

Nearly completed. Distribution /comsumer box with RCD breaker installed. Security light mounted and security system wired and dialled in. Twin power points/sockets above the bench and lighting in the form of two energy saving (low power draw) 11W (75W equivalent to regular bulbs) mounted in the high ceiling and a four foot 5H tube mouted in the eaves above the bench.

All the above is still running off a temporary power extension from the house but that will soon be addressed with a buried permanent power supply.

Another task that has progressed is the sorting and boxing into cartons of those little things like screws, nuts, bolts, washers, nails and other miscellenia. Last on the list will be the acquisition of a meaty vice and (possibly also) a bench drill.

Shed update - old & new

With a temporary power supply rigged up to the new shed and power sockets installed along with the initial security measures (more to follow) it was time to take down the old shed, yes, demolition time had arrived.

The weekend starts...

... and from another angle.

The easy bit was always going to be removing door and windows, the simple tongue and grove panels and the liner floor panels laid over the original (rotten) wood floor. The hard bit was going to be the roof with it’s multiple layers of roofing felt. Well that is what we thought so we removed the easy bits first....

Window glass removed....
Followed by the door.


Then as we tackled the structure the roof developed a distinct V shape so the plan changed to remove all the wood in the sides, weakening the structure and then just push it over...

Well that plan worked a treat.

So with a power saw to cut it all up, a broom to clear it up, and a skip to take it all away, here is the end result...

Then there was one.

This was the shed (and some of its contents).


The next stage of the overall plan is to install lighting in the one shed, complete the security measures and then get Bestcrete back in during the first week in September to replace the slabs with patterned, pressed concrete to match the patio done last year.

Shed - it's coming along 2

The decision taken was to build my own bech, greatly assisted by finding a suitable 'kitchen' worktop to use as the worktop for the bench, and for the princely sum of £5. So with the additional purchase of £10 worth of M10 bolts and some carefull design and planning I now have a work bench with back splash custom built to fill the available gap between some purpose built shelving that I made and the racking that I purchased for the back of the shed (I worked out that I couldn't build it for what it cost to buy).

So next step is to put in some lightling, power points and PIR based security system (the latter because lately there has been a spate of burglaries from garden sheds locally) and run the power up to the shed from the old one, before that is demolished and the path laid to the new one. That should keep me busy for a few days but as I have just been advised that I am to be made redundant I should have the time on my hands to do it.

Impressions of Canada

It has been a week since we returned from our vacation in Canada so time to reflect. Unlike China 2 years ago which was an adventure, Canada was much more of a holiday. Yes, we travelled 2,000kms but the plan worked and we got to see all the attractions we planned to see and more. Wildlife wasn't as abundant as we had been lead to believe, but we still saw an impressive list of creatures; ground squirrels (chip monks), marmots, brown/black dears and grizzly bears, bold headed eagles, sea otters, seal and sea lions, whales (including a mother and her youngster), and numerous birds I couldn’t identify.

The Rockies are spectacular and despite warnings that we would overdose on mountains and forests to the point of boredom we just kept on enjoying the ever changing views – that is the beauty of touring. Due to the high temperatures and low spring rainfall (the wet season ended 2 weeks early) there was a distinct lack of waterfalls and water levels in the rivers were low.

Main Street, Banff - just so pretty.

But it is the people and places we will always remember. Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Clearwater, Harrison Hot Springs, Tofino, Victoria and Vancouver were the main places on our tour. Banff deserved more time and Lake Louise is vastly over-rated and should have been omitted (it was an expensive diversion) as there are so many lakes more deserving of the tourists’ attention such as The Emerald Lake, Moraine Lake, Lake Medicine, Maligny Lake to name just a few.

How can you tire of vistas like this one of Moraine Lake?

Banff and Victoria were the two surprises of the trip. Happily we spent a couple of days in Victoria but Banff only got a few hours of exploration and deserves much more. Jasper would be a good base from which to explore if you had a week to spare although Jasper town is not up to the standards of Banff or Victoria, and Victoria… what can I say? Given the chance I’d move there tomorrow. The people in Canada are friendly and welcoming but Victoria winds it up to a whole new level.

Another Bank Holiday trip - French Alps

May is bookended by Bank / public holidays in the UK so with some pre-planning and booking of accommodation my youngest son Mark and I got on out motorbikes and headed off to do some of the Routes des grandes Alpes south of Annecy, France. The plan was:
Day 1, Thursday: ride to Folkestone and get through the Channel Tunnel then ride the peage to Troyes for an overnight
Day 2, Friday: stay off the peage and use country roads to ride as direct a route as possible to Annecy
Day 3, Saturday: into the Alps, Col de Roselend, through Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Val D'Isére to hotel in Termignon
Day 4, Sunday: Termignon to Barcelonette via Col du Galibier and Col d'Izoard
Day 5, Monday: Barcelonette to Dijon via Pérouges staying off the peage toll roads
Day 6, Tuesday: Hit the peage, high speed cruising back to Calais, through the tunnel and back home via Staines for Mark and then on to Derby for me.

Things sort of went to plan, except I forgot to put the lid back on my automatic chain oiler after filling it up so had to fabricate a temporary cover using gaffer tape, and, my bike wouldn't start to get off the train in Calais - eventually traced to the kill switch (which I never use).

Somewhere in France at a service station, our bikes and Mark stood by his.

The peage toll roads are boring but the countryside is vast, rolling and rural so taking the time to have a good look around while riding can be rewarding but the trip is still boring. We stuck to the 130kmph speed limit as it gave us a good blend of fuel economy / speed / distance. Planned stops at intervals of around 220kms/130 miles meant we stayed sane and not too sore in the sitting down area.

Troyes has some interesting street 'furniture' demonstrated by Mark.

Troyes is quaint and the hotel quirky. The choice of where to eat was good, especially if you can understand french and french quisine. Main course in one cafe, crepes for desert in another and a good walk round the town between courses.

Lake Annecy.

Day 2 saw the sat nav pass up on it's duties and refuse to show us the route I had loaded so we just stuck in our destination and let it do it's own thing. The result wasn't far different from the planned route and we did cross a reservoir on a high bridge which was awesome. Annecy is beautiful even if parking at the Ibis is only by public car park or unsecured in a courtyard outside the front door of the hotel, otherwise fabulous. Pleanty to see, views of and across the lake and more.

Just to prove I was there on the trip.

Heading in the right direction despite a recalcitrant sat nav.

Day 3 started with The Cormet de Roselend as a gentle start to proceedings and a baguette lunch in Bourg-Saint-Maurice was pleasant. All went fine as far as Val D'Isére where "Route Barrée" stopped further progress. So we back tracked looking for an alternative route, whiuch is when the sat nav decided to freeze. Eventually (after 2 more "Route Barrée" signs) we decided to try Col de Madeline but after 45 kms that too was "Route Barrée" just 9km short of the Col itself. By now we were at risk of running out of day light so decided to go up to Albertville and jump on the peage, which we did, but missed our turn-off so had to go down to the next exit, get off and back on again - what a faff! But with sat nav still frozen we made it to Termignon, found the hotel, got a quick bite to eat and hit the sack. What should have been a gentle day had become our longest day with highest mileage and a big disappointment not being able to do the Col de l'Iseran.

What a view...

At the top of the Cormet de Roselend.

At the top of the Col du Galibier.

Sunday started dull grey but heading south the sat nav came back to life (sort of) as we picked up the D902 and proceeded over the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier, doing the tunnel 200 metres from the summit where the pass was still closed by snow. Down into Briancon where we had a McDonalds 'lunch' before moving out to ride the Col d'Izoard where our stop was enhanced by some crazy French historic car owners (a group of about 20 cars) and their antics. We also got buzzed by a police helicopter (twice) before we commenced our descent to the D900 at St Paul. These are fabulous biking roads and arriving at Jausiers we had to decide on whether we rode the Col de la Bonette - deciding not to after our long day the previous day and knowing we had a long day ahead the next day. Sensible yes, but still a disappointment. Barcelonnette was sort of cute, not very big but friendly. We had to wait for places to open up to get an evening meal but enjoyed ourselves at The 7 Portes where we ate well.

Yes, there is snow up here.

At the top of the Col d'Izoard.

First stop on the way home.

Starting our journey home on Monday, heading for Pérouges near Lyon we stayed off the peage and skirted round Grenoble where we hit our first brief shower. Pérouges is a very commercialised Medieval walled village, worth an hour wandering round but not much more. Fortunately bikes park for free so the visit cost us only a snack we bought there. Resorting to sat nav and peage we blasted up to Dijon for our last pre-booked hotel stop. On the way we hit a heavy shower that tested our riding gear but after 20 kms we rode back into sunshine and dried out before arriving at our destination the difficult to find Kyriad Hotel Dijon Gare on the Rue Docteur Albert Remy. Happily we were to park in their underground car park (also pre-booked) and get everythin goff the bikes and into our room before the heavens opened for the night. We elected for a short walk to La Scala where we ate well before retiring for the night.

Mark points out a feature of the medieval architecture.

Tuesday started with glorious sunshine to lift our spirits. Sat nav had some trouble with satelite reception so leaving Dijon proved tiresome but we made it out to the peage and commenced our return to Calais. I had planned regular breaks and calculated that we should arrive with 20-30 minutes to spare, and so it proved. Back on British soil and the M20/M25 run to Staines saw the worst traffic we'd seen since doing that stretch on the outbound trip. A quick cuppa at Mark's place and then I hit the road for the final leg back to Derby. Mark had done over 1700 miles and my final tally was just shy of 2050 miles.

Now looking forward to Canada... but that will be driving, not riding, through the Rockies.

Bank Holiday Monday day out

Ahead of our trip to Canada we thought it would be a good idea to have a day out in an MPV as we will be spending 2 weeks touring in one in Canada. So when better than a Bank Holiday weekend. Nero (the dog) isn't coming to Canada but he loves trips out. Having rained hard during the night we got up to a gloriously sunny day, so this is a summary of what we got up to...

Starting out everyone comes to us to load up

It's a short drive of about 20 miles to Bradgate Park in Leicestershire which was to be our first stop-off.

Up on the walk in the park, view left

Up on the walk in the park, view right

Stepping out

Some of the local park inhabitants

Looking down

Our way up

Getting closer

Still on our way up

Having made it to the top, there is only one way, and that's down...

Looking down

Walk completed we headed off to the Bradgate Arms, Cropston, Leicestershire for a lunch in their beer garden, sitting and supping in the sunshine, after which we stopped by at the Great Central Railway steam preservation society rail station at Rothley.

Proof we were here

Magnificence in steam

Magnificence in steam (again)

Some scallywags spotted having a good time

Period posters

And having seen the upline depart, coming in on the down line

Close up

The Rothley signal box

A family at rest

Some bored ladies - happy but there's only so much interest they can fein

Restored carriages

This BSA A7 turned up while we were at Rothley

One of two Ariel's at Rothley

The other Ariel

Proof that there were two Ariels at Rothley

A modern Triumph turned up just before we left

Riding with the Triumph was this Yamaha 750 Virago

Parked up together

From Rothley we drove the short distance to the Mount Saint Bernard Abbey which is situated in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire.

View left

and view right - The Abbey

Nero lets his master rest (again)

The Abbey from above taken as we walked in the grounds

After the abbey visit we headed for home after a very enjoyable day blessed with sunshine, good company and lots of points of interest. The day was unplanned, we'd just set off with an idea to walk in Bradgate Park but how fortunate were we? If Canada is as successful as this day out we are in for a treat at the end of June.

Postscript: A few hours after getting home it rained it continued through the night and today is dark, grey and overcast with wind speeds rising. We had a window of good weather which we took full advantage of. A brilliant day out!