About Me

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I'm 57 years old, working full time, wife, mother and grand mother, wishing that I wasn't working full time! I love and enjoy our children and grandchildren, our dogs and cat, our garden and allotment. I love crafts - knitting, sewing, crocheting, patchwork and restoring old furniture. I love to go to country auctions and love thinking that I've got my self a bargain!

Monday 30 September 2013

Cornwall, Jamaica Inn and Ghosts

Evening All

Well, Fleetwood Mac were amazing and awesome - my seat was worth every penny that I had spent on it and I achieved something that I have said many times that I'd love to do - see them 'live'. They were on stage from 8.10pm through till 11.00pm

Lyndsey Buckingham  was amazing he spent practically all night on the stage and played on every song bar Mick Fleetwood drum piece and then he  sat on the floor of the stage and just listened to Mick beating out those drums

The whole night was just very special - I'll put some photos on when we get back home

We've travelled down to Cornwall today - it's a 'Sun' holiday and the accommodation is ok basic, clean but not over special - it'll do us for a few days. Rain is forecast so we'll probably stock the car up with a flask of coffee, sandwiches and the kindles to read and then go  and find some where to park up, with a view and a walk for the dogs and just chill each day.

It's tradional that we always stop on the way down here at Jamaica Inn and as the weather was grey with cloud, we were trying to imagine what it must be like to be stuck  on the moors in winter.

When my hubby said 'what if you were stuck in bad windy weather at Jamaica Inn'  would you stay there? my answer was a definite No! - I'd never sleep and would be listening for the ghost of a pirate from long ago to rattle the windows or slam a door or hear the rumble of a cask of rum that's been taken from a boat that's been wrecked on the rocks - I think it's an atmospheric place and I'm sure that if you listen carefully you can hear the rustle of Mary Yellens petticoats in the hall way as she bustles away after listening at a closed door to what the pirates will do next

So if you've read the book - would you stay the night at Jamaica Inn and sleep soundly or do I just have an overactive imagination

Have a good day all - speak soon

Bye xxx

Saturday 28 September 2013

And breathe.....






Evening All

I went missing there for a little while didn't I? Life took over I'm afraid and the daily grind has been a little manic to say the least!

I did say that work was busy - well its been past busy - closer to frantic really.

When I went back to the team 3 years ago, they weren't known as the most positive of teams but slowly we turned the negatives to positives and we've had some good inspections and reports - so good, that all of a sudden other teams are looking to my lads for recruitment and I've lost 3 good people to other teams. Plus I've had 4 colleagues on long term sick leave with different ailments.

Only problem - management are unwilling to allow me to recruit despite having found 2 brilliant agency guys who would make perfect permanent colleagues. When you add in annual leave, we've been keeping the service to customers going with 50% of a team at times.

It's no wonder that I've been doing 50 hour weeks and feeling very frustrated - I've come to the belief now that we're going to have to fail customers before management will listen to me and let us recruit

But talking to other people in other industries, it seems that everyone is in the same boat - everyone seems to be working flat out with not enough people to do the job properly - is it the recession or is it just the way 'working life' is now - I honestly don't know - all I do know is that I'm so glad that I'm coming to the end of my career - I feel for the youngsters, they've not only got to work till they drop -  with retirement being an impossible dream - but it seems that  they've got to work longer hours and flat out too.

Plus I swear someone has shaved half a day off the weekend - I fail miserably most weekends to get everything done that needs to be done, before I start at work again on a Monday morning - I know I'm tired from work, whether that's making me slower on a weekend..........I just don't know

But on the plus side, I've finished for a week -  I'm going to see Fleetwood Mac tomorrow night and then we're off down to Cornwall with our girls (dogs) Tilley and Daisy on Monday morning for a short break - we don't care what the weather does this next week - a walk on the beach, a few nice shops to mooch round and a pub with a view and we'll be just fine.

Time to stop and stare and just breathe in fresh Cornish  air.........

See you in a weeks time

Bye xxx