A headache of Headhunting

I've been head-hunted! I've taken a call from an old friend working in another shop to let me know there’s a possible chance for promotion in another store. So yesterday I discussed this with my manager; which puts the team in an awkward position as we’re already losing a strong team member next week owing to his advancement. There are two other team members who are also advancing up in cascade; and the team needs me to help keep the meter running. So as we approach our busiest time and the boss plays away, I’m worried as to where’s my chance to step up into the limelight to advance my career. Where’s my chance to progress and develop and try out new things? I'm just a bit tired of being left behind in this company and to clean up other people’s mess, while they step up to shine and take all the credit. 

Sweat the Horse Stuff

Nick Grimshaw’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff recently featured a picture of a white horse with a long white mane grinning at the camera. Even though I've yet to watch an episode of his show; I can’t stand the guy. He’s an untalented lazy presenter with a gay face and a lazy attitude. Anyway, I can already picture the lame jokes that Grimshaw will make about this horse. Because he’s worth it. He has orgasms over the horse’s mane of hair. To be honest, it’ll probably be more exciting if the horse hosts the show; just like the traditional show of Mr. Ed. He could hang out in the stables of a racecourse; watching the world go by and take the mick out of all the mindless celebrities (just like Grimshaw!).  There would have to be a reason as to why the horse isn't racing, but that’ll come to me at some point or other. He could be retired; or it could just be the mystery of the show.

Waste is every little

Tesco's supermarket has been heavily criticised by the green brigade for throwing over two thirds of its fresh food away. Yesterday they announced that over 30,000 tonnes of food were thrown away. Surely by now you'd thought that by now their supply managers would be able to get the supply and demand balance right; selling just the right kind of quantity without risking the freshness of the product. Yesterday they announced that over 30,000 tonnes of food were thrown away. And yet this morning I'm treated to a documentary on how to manage your kitchen. Do they think we're that stupid? Good grief. What the supermarkets need to do is to buy less and offer reduced prices to the main stock when it goes past its prime; and let the public know when the freshest ingredients are available; giving them a choice. Just like a new car, everything depreciates on value over time; and this is something that these grocers desperately need to manage. Quality is value; use it to your advantage. 

Lost in the Labyrinth

I've just finished reading Kate Mosse’s Labyrinth. It was a strange tale to start with; but I made good progress and managed to read around three chapters a day. The constant flashbacks made the whole plot confusing; and I often had to backtrack to remind myself as to what each character were up to. This morning, I burned right the way through to finish the book; and amazingly I found myself heading back through it to pick out the good bits. I never thought I’d do this in a million years; I found so many bad similes and vague scene descriptions in the book; it never seemed to flow.  It’s quite hard to picture the characters; but I've been told that the TV series portrays it a lot better. And now that I've finished the whole book, I've got some time to think about the next book from the BBC’s Big Read.

An Education in Intoxication

Yesterday was my first trip to Oxford. I’d been before; but this was the first time in the actual city. And a very busy city it is too. There were pedestrians everywhere; and the high street was absolutely rammed. Even the buses had trouble getting through their lanes. We were there to visit the beer festival and sample a couple of hostelries afterwards. And so, it seemed, a lot of students were doing the same thing.  The Gownies were out in force visiting the pubs as part of their initiation week. The classic pubs that were in the heart of the college district were packed out with students. After the Turf’s Tavern we visited the White Horse; where a group of Morris men arrived to entertain us. I only stayed to watch the first dance; as the music was very familiar and wanted to get on with exploring. So onwards to the Eagle & Sun, where, as we neared, a whole crowd arrived and took over the whole pub just as we approached the doorstep.  To make things easier; we decided to venture out to the Lamb and Flag, where it was much less crowded; and gave us enough time to visit more pubs.

What are our Saturday shows teaching us?

I've been watching the Saturday morning cartoons this morning and it seems that the latest cartoons are lacking somewhat of a plot line. Each storyline seems to show that the main character never gets their way to become an epic hero to win the day. In Horrid Henry, for instance; the last comic is taken from his store by his arch enemy/next door neighbour; and there's no grown-ups to help him. The parents are concerned about  the mess; the helpline calls him stupid for trying; and the final scene shows Henry surrendering in a maids costume by teatime, with no resolution as to how to get his comic back. I  find this slightly alarming; are we teaching our children to give up do easily? That there is no cause worth perusing and we should just give up? Where's the inspiration? Where's the ambition? And, most importantly; what are we teaching these children?

 

Heat or Eat? Let's work together on this.

This morning’s news featured a ‘heat or eat’ campaign; focusing on the hardships that older people face thins winter. Now I'm no economics expert; but when you hear that something like this happens; you know that something’s gone terribly wrong with life choices. There’s not been any opportunity for provision; yet there’s the social aspect too. Older people should not be left socially alone for the state to care for. Friends and family should have a responsibility too. And friends aren't that difficult to make nowadays. Just offering someone a simple cup of tea or talking to someone on a regular basis can have a major difference; and this may lead to invites to social functions or something even more. But if you really are in a heat or eat situation; then please do eat and send for help to make yourself more mobile; at least you will find some warm spaces out there. 

Solid Blogging

I think I can safely say that I've gone a whole month of solid blogging. Every day I've found time to fill that white space with words without having to stare blankly at the walls. I've covered many topics such as my thoughts on current affairs; as well as day to day happenings in my life. And the amazing thing is that I've always managed to find time to write those 150 words. I admit that sometimes it has been a very close call to the midnight deadline; and at one time I literally had to park the car in a lay-by to make sure that I got the day's quota done. But now I'm writing regularly; and my reading list seems to be progressing well too. I just need to find a bit more time to slow down on the CAMRA stuff before I can carry on with my writing course. 

It's all me in Team

So my boss got back off his holidays and didn’t even ask what I’ve been up to. I quickly filled him in on what I’ve been up to; mainly checking the last two weeks of his stock check while also continuing to be a manager for the store. I explain it’s been tough as I haven’t had the help of the rest of the team; as they took a week to get the whole store ready for the Christmas promotion. They’ve spent the last seven days assembling bits of cardboard and taping posters to the walls. So what do you think his first action is? Straight to the cardboard brigade, leaving muggins here to crack on with all the other jobs. And then again today we discussed what needed to be done in order to impress our visiting manager, then he disappears without even achieving a thing on his to do list. I need out of this so called teamster hellhole. 

Give a parent a boot up the Arse

There's been a campaign on the radio to give a kid a breakfast. Not an Ethiopian child in some war-torn, middle African country but right here in old Blighty. What the heck is going on? Is a loaf of bread really that much to put a bit of toast together or some fruit in the morning? It really does makes it sound as if we're living in a third world country here; unless the cereal companies have decided that we are not buying enough of their breakfast cereal. Things like this really worry me; who is looking after these children if we taxpayers are seeking to donate resources to the schoolchildren next door? Get up and take some responsibility. Or I just might start a campaign to get people to volunteer to go for work for me. It'd be called the Welfare Scheme; where I sacrifice others to keep myself well. 

Green is the new Red

I've just been to the stationary store to get some more paper for the printer. Upon entry, there's a great big pile of reams on sale for £3.60. Great! However, as I wasn't in a rush; I had a wander round and found another pile towards the back of the store at only £2.40 a ream. Even better. But then right at the end along with all the specialist papers were the recycled reams. Four pounds. Four pounds! And the branded stuff was £6.50! What is the point of trying to recycle if this is all that's on offer? Sure, the pulp goes into other materials too like newspapers; but to me it should surely be the other way round; selling second-hand paper that's been used before? You'd have thought by now that they'd have had enough raw materials and the technology to make it more cost effective. So buying green is a bit mean on your wallet. 

In the drivel of the night

Last night's visit to catch up with some more pub folk went a bit wonky. I was really hoping to bump into some fellow beer enthusiasts that I hadn't seen in a long time; but the pub was virtually deserted. Quite a few diners but not many social drinkers. Apart from one determined chap who was sat at the bar supping his pint. The same chap who was there last Sunday and probably hasn't moved since. 'Did you know there's a field behind the pub where people abandon dogs?' he says. 'I go there to shoot 'em. Some you can take home and nurse back to health. But it's all right because they're old show dogs. ' And we went round in circles for at least three times. Eventually we decided to ignore him as it's the only thing he seemed to talk about. As we leave; we tell him it's our favourite new hobby to wander around fields in the pouring rain in the middle of the night to look for abandoned dogs. But does he budge? No. 

Oblivion is Oblique

It's as see-through as the copters and the house in the film. There's not much of a storyline and very little in the plot; and it all remains a mystery of how things actually occur.  It probably looks a lot better on the big screen with all the effects; and it was a film that I really was looking forward to seeing. But after watching the first hour I fell asleep and had an oblivious dream myself. This time round, I was the clone in a supermarket but was still armed to the teeth. Meanwhile, the real me was hiding behind a display pillar; avoiding the robotic me's gaze. So in part two we witness how Jack saves the earth by destroying the overlords. The film comes to a very short conclusion; with a fairly confused ending towards the end. So despite a huge build-up, the film is quite bland; leaving not much to offer at all. But if you think deeper; there's a lot to read between the lines for a fantastic idea. But as a whole; it's just a little too robotic with not much atmosphere at all. 

Relaxing on the box

I've just heard of Dog TV. It’s a TV channel designed just for dogs; for if you have to leave your dog at home. Although it sounds very strange and a waste of money; it shows that those who subscribe to it really do care about the well being of their pet. Plus, I've watched a whole minute of it through our website; and it just seems so relaxing and calming. And that’s something that we really need on our TVs; just beautiful images of nature and soothing music; so that we can just unwind and relax at the end of the day. Usually there’s some sitcom where people are screaming at each other in an over-reactive manner or a scandal; maybe someone’s even trying to sell us something. But there’s nothing to help us relax; apart from music channels which only cater for the pumped up hits of today or artists that have the money to make a music video. So come on media world. You've done it for dogs; it’s time for us too.

The pub chat

After a beer club meeting I was keen to get away from the politics and into some proper pub chat, so I popped into the Rising Sun for last orders. It’s a pub that’s typically open late; and there are a few late night faces that I'm getting to know a lot better lately. So after buying my last pint of the evening, I took a seat at the next vacant table to see where I could join in. We discussed the area of Dingleside, even though it’s not a district and is surrounded by another district entirely. We talked oddly about tyres and to make sure that you have the right tyres for when you’re going over 100 mph. And we also tried to discern what someone actually did for a living. And it’s very relaxing to actually just talk about rubbish for a change; and try to figure new things out.

Spur of the Moment

Badminton is always about reactions. Even though the shuttle is lighter, it has to travel further because the net is much higher. You've only got moments to decide if you're going to play the shot or leave it for the border line people to decide. Then you've got your partner on top of that; and at the same time you have to decide who is playing the shot. Finally; you need to be in a good position to return the rally or direct it to somewhere that your opponent is going to struggle to get to. But quite often, just the simple act of your own movement can tilt the game in your favour, because the movement of your body is powerful enough to direct air towards the shuttle; so if you're travelling the same direction as the shuttle and it hits the tape; you might just be lucky enough to knock that shuttle over. 

A Wet Dream

I had a very strange dream last night that made me very angry and I woke up angry too! I dreamt that I was in a pub near Ombersley; though the inside bar was a lot like the Weighbridge in Alvechurch. I ordered a pint of light pale ale and was given a very tall glass with a very long handle. I was then charged £13.75. I questioned as to why it was so expensive and was told it was for glass hire. I looked on the bar and there was a small notice saying beer 1p, with glass £13.75. I looked around the room to see that everyone was suddenly staring into their own glasses; which were obviously brought from home as they all seemed to be beer festival glasses of some sort. I remember paying the money, sit down fuming at the table; then in a moment of frustration threw the glass against the wall, which only produced a small crack in the side. I returned to the car with my friend who, once inside, said ‘should have had a half’.  

The dinner deal

I've just trekked over to Bromsgrove straight from work to speak against them knocking down a pub to build flats. This was half an hour in commuter traffic in what should have been a fifteen minute journey. Upon arrival I find that my agenda item has been cancelled and that the best option is to head back home. If I had checked my messages beforehand I would have saved myself a ten mile trip. But the worst point of all was; having formerly agreed that I would be eating late in the evening; I returned home to find no food. I even sent a message that my meeting had been cancelled and had no response. I did not agree to eat out and was very disappointed with what was left in the freezer. I seriously need to get out of this sit-in. Just on Friday I was complained about because I was moving furniture before the watershed. 

Apples and Pears

Yesterday was Apple Day, a day to celebrate the harvest of our orchards. I was at Headless Cross Green, running a stall to promote our beer club and to join in the day itself. It was great weather; and I got to invite a lot of people to come inside our gazebo and taste and talk about beer. There was food for sale including giant pumpkins; local honey; and of course, apples. There were apples to press; paintings to observe and a human fruit machine; which consisted of three blokes drawing fruit out of a bucket all day long. One guy even made a moustache out of a banana. It was a great atmosphere; and the only frowney face I saw was when a little lad’s balloon went pop. Then after packing everything away I went over to support the Rocklands Cider Festival. I had inly intended to stay for an hour but there was a great atmosphere there as some of the other stallholders were there too, so it made for a great after party.  

Foraging in Feckenham

The Foresters Arms in Feckenham is the newest pub in town. It certainly pulls people in as the car park was completely full last night; as well as the free local car park down the road. Despite being half past nine there were still people eating in the restaurant and the bar was quite popular too. The main entrance has been moved to the old fire escape, while the corridor to the restaurant has been blocked off and a wall at the other side of the bar has been knocked through. Fake books adjourn the walls to give a drawing room feeling and the furniture is a mixture of straw chairs for the ladies and bar stools and tables for the gents. The bar has been refurnished completely with glass shelving and there are three ales on handpump. The atmosphere is full of well-to-do diners having post-dinner drinks and the staff are eager to please. 

Those Autumn Days

It’s Autumn and the days are getting darker. I'm certainly feeling more tired in the evenings. Plus the mornings are getting a bit difficult too. I usually set my alarm for 6am to ensure that I'm up to write a morning piece; and just pick up my phone to start writing. Though usually I'm just either dozing back off or playing games; at which point it gets to ten past seven. By then I have to move quickly in order to get breakfast and through the bathroom too. By then it’s too late to make the planned walk to work and I end up driving. As we don’t get much light in the stockroom, it’s difficult to adjust and we constantly find ourselves dazed and confused; especially when we often have periods of quiet in the shop. But soon, the temperature will drop and our clocks will go back. Is this for the better?  

Colour me Apple

So last night I finally made the switch to the all new iOS7. The first change that I saw was the immediate increase in disk space; and that the feature to block timewasting contacts would be very useful too. However, the good things stopped around there. While the new system is indeed more colourful; the whole appearance seems slightly cheaper and less graphic. The first thing I had to do was to turn off the passcode feature which was quite annoying and troublesome to do so. If I have to put in a code every time I want to use my phone; it’s just keeping me away from my information for longer. After all, it’s only me that uses my phone; and I can block it and trace it completely if it’s stolen. Meanwhile, while the wifi button was more prominent on the homepage; it’s a shame that they haven’t done the same with the 3G button too. So hopefully Apple will realise their mistake quite quickly and get back to the proper designers that they are. Otherwise; it’s time to switch.

What a write-off

So today's expedition to the gym had to be abandoned. For starters; I couldn't find my membership card; having used it twice last week. Yesterday I managed to get away with using my Dad's for swimming, but needed my own for the gym. So after a big tidy up I still couldn't find it, so decided to just pay for another one. On arrival, I was late so the guy just waved me through. 'Never mind' I thought; I'll just sort it out next week. So I trotted upstairs to the gym only to discover that I've got no water either. After a quick season I decide to just buy a drink and head back to the locker; only to discover that I have no change. And I haven't shaved either. So I decide to write the morning off; abandon all hope and just head back to the ranch. And I don't even get a blink of the eye from the old man. 

Drone of the Drunks

I quite enjoy the late night visits to the Rising Sun. It's late; the party people have gone elsewhere; leaving only the diehard drinkers who are quite happy to chat to you at the bar; whatever state they're in. On Saturday I had an excellent chat with someone about old nightlife venues in Redditch. Then last night it was a case of 'Spot the Drunk'; and try to convince them what needs putting right in the world. It started off quietly as his greasy head of mod black and grey hair was slouched down facing a lonesome table. Then my friend decides to stir him up and wake him. We had a great discussion on what he does compares to everyone else; and how he should move forward to get a promotion. We then talked about his daughter and how she's been mistreated while she runs around and needs to be sorted out. All while we're slurring away into a glass of ale.