Baskers

  Hounding The Baskerville by Primeval Mudd

(The above poster is embedded from http://brokenbottleboy.tumblr.com/post/1571206536/an-image-for-baskers-and-lovers-of-twitter for the song lyrics go to http://soundcloud.com/primevalmudd/hounding-the-baskerville)

To put it mildly I am rather upset about the article written about Sarah Baskerville by Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail in which he attacks Ms Baskerville, a civil servant in the Department Of Transport, essentially on the basis that she makes comments about government policies in her personal blog (her blog and twitter are marked as expressing her own personal opinions), tweets about her job and is fond of a drink. My mood reached a new depth the next day when one of the grown up papers, The Independent,  reproduced a (barely) rewritten version of the same story.

If you have read my blog in the past then you will know that I had the good fortune to spend a couple of weekends in the company of Baskers earlier in the year and, as I chronicled at the time, we had a very pleasant time watching movies, sharing a a few drinks and chatting - mostly about computers. One thing which slightly surprised me at the time, however, was that on both occasions Sarah's travel bag contained quite a deal of work from her job and that she insisted on spending an appreciable part of her time working. Yes, that would be over her weekend, something which I eventually came to realise was not that uncommon for her. To see her criticised in this miserable way in the national press for occasionally pausing to take the twenty seconds or so it requires to send a tweet while in the office seems a frightful injustice.

I am not employed in the public sector myself - although I did work in adult education in former years - but when we first met I must admit that I was amazed to find out how 'into' her job Sarha was, how much she believed in and cared about what she was doing. So, abandoning the idea that I could get her to shut up about it for more than five minutes, I started paying attention to her blog and tweets and it painted a picture of the civil service for me which I had never really imagined; far from the portrayal of an inefficient bureaucracy which seems so popular in the media it was a world of generally deeply committed and hard-working people. Certainly not faceless or without their own opinions (nor adverse to going out for a drink) but very much people and ones that I rather found myself coming to admire in a quiet way; how far that was from my previous preconceptions.

After chatting for a few hours I soon had to admit to myself that Sarah was quite a bit smarter than me (arguably not hard) and was able to design and manage financial systems which I found it hard to grasp in even a conceptual way. So seeing her talent and hard work rubbished in this unconscionable manner by somebody who clearly does not even understand her role - and apparently finds her job title amusing - was something I found particularly distressing.

Since Mr Letts piece appeared yesterday there has been an outpouring of support for Sarah. the hash tag #welovebaskers stayed in the top five UK trends for most of Saturday morning and there have been numerous blogs rebutting his opinions. Also one song and a poster, embedded at the top of this page, have been produced in support of @baskers as she is known on twitter.

Soon after Quentin's article a post was made by Paul Clarke at Honestly Real. As @solobasssteve wrote on twitter:

"comparing Quentin Letts piece in the Mail w/ @paul_clarke's beautifully written rebuttal, you'd be forgiven for mixing up who's the 'journo'"

Further blog posts in support of Baskers soon sprang up soon and I list those I am aware of in no particular order other than to say that the first two struck me as particularly poignant.

http://ashinyworld.blogspot.com/2010/11/little-bird-tweeting.html

http://annkempster.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/for-my-friend-sarah/

http://eu.techcrunch.com/2010/11/14/who-breaks-a-twitterer-upon-a-wheel/

http://lattelabour.blogspot.com/2010/11/defenestrating-defenestrator.html

http://indiedisco.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/journalism-opportunism/

http://adrianshort.co.uk/2010/11/14/fisked-quentin-letts-on-sarah-baskerville/

Sarah completely changed my idea of what the Civil Service was like though her tweets, her blog and her infectious commitment to the public sector. By contrast Quentin Letts has done little or nothing to change my opinion of the Daily Mail.

The London Naked Bike Ride

Well it's been a busy week so I had better lay it all before you and try to explain, or possibly excuse, myself in some way.

It has been great fun to be back in the South West as I have mentioned before, seeing some old friends and, more importantly, being able to spend time with Rosa. All those familiar places, in some ways it has been quite nostalgic to revisit them. Here, by way of example, is a picture of Stonehenge, quite close to where I grew up, which I snapped as I was driving past.

Stonehenge

I've also had a chance to get back into the swing of driving and parking in Bath. Nope I did not get 'parked in' in this picture – it was one of the tighter parallel parks which I've had to carry out.

Parking In Bath

My weekend jaunt up to town to do the London Naked Bike Ride not only actually happened but really went very well. I might do well at this point to explain that the ride is an international yearly demonstration, carried out in many cities on the same weekend, to protest against over dependence on oil - but which also aims to raise awareness of cyclists as road users; a theme close to my own heart since I have had a few near misses while cycling myself!

Baskers very sweetly put me up for the weekend and showed me where to get the best food and drink despite feeling somewhat under the weather herself. Disembarking from my train in Paddington I jumped onto the bike and cycled off to meet her in Trafalgar square, where the first game of the world cup was being broadcast onto a huge screen at the foot of Nelson's Column, after which we went on to spend a quite evening eating Thai food.

Saturday was the big day of course and it would not be truthful to say that I wasn't rather nervous when we arrived in Hyde Park, from whence the ride was due to depart, to meet Sarah's friend Allison. One of the things which amazed me was exactly how many people were there. Quite apart from something along the lines of the 1500 people who were actually riding there were a great many more tourists, photographers, well-wishers and people who were probably simply curious about what we were all up to.

It felt a little like being at a festival and, with ten minutes go to go before the ride started, I finally got my nerves under control, stripped off and headed towards the start line; an action which was only slightly impeded by a group of friendly Japanese tourists who wanted to have their pictures taken with me.

The View From My Bike Saddle

After the initial shock it was, surprisingly, not that much of an embarrassment once we were riding; partially because there were so many other people doing it too and partially because one really needs to concentrate when riding in London traffic. However I'll admit that it was kind of surreal to go past all those famous landmarks like that...

Almost all the reactions towards the ride which I saw seemed to be positive and I soon became quite used to the seemingly unending flashing of cameras, shouts of encouragement, good natured cat calls and smiles of the people we passed by. Here is a video shot by one of the other riders which gives a pretty good idea of what it was like, especially the part at the beginning cycling between the wall of photographers; presumably celebrities are used to this but it was a novel experience for me.

The Bike Ride Via The Magic Of Youtube

After having reached the end of the ride I headed off to meet Sarah and Allison and share a few post ride celebratory drinks to recover myself before we eventually repaired to Wagamamma's for some food and I have to admit feeling rather sad when the time came to actually finish breakfast and head off on the bike to get my train – a journey which was made far easier than it might have been due to the GPS in my phone; however did I manage without it?

My job hunting has not been very fruitful thus far. I've seriously been considering returning to the study of Psychology, Perhaps via a Master's degree with a view to working in the healthcare system. Unfortunately this, to put it mildly, is not a great time to be seeking work in the public sector and, of course, there seems to be quite a deal of competition. No matter I am going to just keep on going until something turns up.

The worst that can happen would be that I am unable to find gainful employment in Bath by the time the contract on my flat comes to an end. If that proves to be the case... Well, it will have been expensive! I guess can always cut my losses and take off on a cycle tour while applying do do an MSc via UCAS for September 2011. In the mean time there is still stuff going on though, I've finally received the results of the MRI scan on my shoulder – yes it is damaged – and am now waiting for a consultation with a surgeon which should be in about a month or so; I certainly hope that I can the operation over and done with as soon as possible.

On a more definite note regarding my future the Summer Solstice rapidly approaches and I'm going to try and make it to Avebury once again with my brother – but this time, I hope, for the party as well rather than just to see the sun coming up ;)

Peace, Stuart.

Perspective

One of the better parts, possibly the best part, of keeping this blog is that it gives me a perspective of time passing which I might not otherwise have. Certainly it seemed that way last night while, over a beer, I looked back over my entries since I began posting on blogspot.

Two years ago I was here, in Bath, getting ready to get on the plane for the United States and one year ago I was finishing my Yachtmaster course. Goodness me... I had been feeling rather stuck over the last month, waiting to hear about job interviews, researching where I can take my career. In some ways it has felt as if nothing was happening in my life but, now that I look back, what a journey it has been to be sure.

It seems like a lot longer than twenty four months. In the first year I set myself up for challenges in a big way. There was both success, by way of getting my Yachtmaster certificate, and failure, in not managing to cycle the length of Great Divide in the United States. After which there were also nine months of stabilisation and reflection during while I lived in Lincolnshire and did not really take on any significant challenges.

During that first year I was often outside my comfort zone - sometimes quite miserable - but, at the same time, I think that I lived more because I was pushing and testing myself. Maybe being very insular during the next phase was equally important for me psychologically? As Chou En-lai reputedly said when asked if the French Revolution had been a good thing "It's too soon to say."

It certainly seems like now is a good time to look back, now when I'm actually at a crossroads and making choices which will determine what I'm going to be up to for the next chapter. If I was going to do either of those two years again which would I choose? The comfortable one or the uncomfortable one? There's no contest really; so I should not be shying away from pushing my limits and stepping out of the comfort zone.

There is one thing I am very pleased about having done though; writing this blog. What has it been for me? Introspection, a kind of public self analysis? A way to enjoy writing? A means of letting my friends keep up with what I'm up to, or has it been simply the process of chonicaling my neurosis so I can look back on them later? Sepia tinted anxieties pressed between the pages of a first edition from Mr Von Krafft-Ebing. Probably all of those but it also makes me ask the question 'What do I want to be writing here a year from now?' and I think that this can only be a good thing.

“Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Sailor...”

“Rich man, poor man, begger man, thief!” You will, I hope, forgive my vacillating about just what I'm going to actually be *doing* during the next phase in my life so that I might live near to my daughter and, with an eye to the more distant future, organise some sort of pension plan before it is completely too late. I seem to have examined so many possible career paths at this point I find it hard to keep up with what I want to do today myself!

Allow me to spread my current process before you and see if you, dear reader, simply get up, delete this page from your favourites (there is a supposition there I know but I'm forever the optimist) and depart never to raise my page count again. Admittedly you would have excellent grounds for this simply on the basis of my calling you 'dear reader' but, as is all too frequently the case, I digress.

Honestly you might never know that I was once employed to provide guidance to people in a not too dissimilar a situation than that which I now find myself in but, as they say in action films, “This time it's personal.” My job hunting continues apace. Since I let go of the idea of doing a second undergraduate degree, or at least let go of doing an honours degree in science, I have started looking for full time work but my aversion to a 'Mac Job' is, perhaps, understandable. What I would wish to avoid, if possible, is ending up doing something which won't lead anywhere; or at least which won't add to my CV in an interesting way. At the same time, well.... The bills do need to be paid one way or the other.

I would find it hard to get back into teaching now that I've actually left the college. I have to admit that it was a good time in my life. After all how many people are paid to teach what they really love? Alas it feels as if my days of teaching and training in martial arts are behind me what with this damaged shoulder and, having become involved with pedagogy from the administration side, I would need to finally get around to actually doing my PGCE to get my foot back in the door in the world of education. Not impossible of course but what would I teach? Basic to intermediate information technology and perhaps some internal verifying of NVQ's? It has occurred to me that I would really enjoy being able to make comprehensible to others the maths which eluded me while I was at school but there is the minor problem that I would have to actually have to nail my maths first and, I must confess, basic calculus is still eludes me.

I'm also loathe to return to the world of paperwork. Or at rather to something which is carried out for the sake of paperwork; perhaps it is a necessary evil but I am not sure that it would suit me as an end game really and I'm not quite trained in computers enough to make real tech stuff the focus of my future. I can use a network – and I could mostly likely hack one if I took me a mind to (of course I would not) – but I'm not sure I could set one of the things up and maintain it without a bit of study and support first.

Although it may sound mercenary I have to admit that I really would like some reasonable remuneration for my time and effort. Understandable considering that the costs of retraining are quite frightful when one gets right down to it. At the same time I have to have a practical way of getting to where I want to be...

Ah, stuff it. I'm going to go write out yet another job application form. After that it's beer o'clock ;) Presumably somebody will eventually look at one of these things and say "Yes." or at least, "You had better come have an interview." It's fingers crossed and keep doing one a day until then!

Being Back In Bath

Well a new post and after the activist ravings of my last entry the blog has returned to it's familiar and more usual conservative non purple colour scheme.

I've been back in Bath nigh on a month now and much of my focus has been geared towards rewriting my CV for job applications. Alas that the whole plan to return to the undergraduate days of my youth has proved too expensive but, seriously, it was going to cost way more than the yacht master training I did when all the costs were taken into account and doing that was a wild extravagance in itself. Never mind though. A foundation degree might still be on the cards in the future since it would only take two years (thus costing half what a science access followed by a full time hons degree would tot up to) and would lead more definitely into a specific career. I've left all of that too late for this academic year though so as so far as further training goes I'll be looking at September 2011.

In The Fine Cheese Company

In a similar vein now that I'm actually back I've been able to see some additional costs and, with a due sense of reluctance, I must accede to letting go of living in the nice flat as soon as possible. Woe and beshroomie but it is the sensible thing to do after all. Of course I'm here till the end of my contract in October whether or no so I may as well enjoy it until then; after that I'm likely to be heading off into the world of bedsits so if anybody wants to come visit then this summer is the time to do it!

The Flat During The Evening

By far the best part of being in Bath again, and the main reason for my relocation from Lincolnshire, has been that I'm seeing Rosa on a regular basis rather than as a special event. It is quite wonderful and I've dropped into a pattern of picking her up from school most afternoons which seems to suit everybody very nicely. Naturally I've also been going to visit Jason in Bristol but, while it is always wonderful to see him, it is invariably a bit of a tear jerker since his disabilities mean he doesn't have any idea who I am. Still he seems happy and that's the important thing.

Additional bonuses of returning to Somerset have included being back around Bath Aikido Society who seem to be training far more softly than they did in the sepia tinged cine memories of my youth and are more than happy to accommodate my injured shoulder by throwing me gently. Possibly one of the most potentially life changing things, however, is that I've got an appointment for a MIR scan of my shoulder at the beginning of next week. After that I'll likely be put on a waiting list to have the rotator cuff stitched back together.

Walking Along The Kennet And Avon Canal

You may have noticed that I've been tweeting, facebooking and even occasionally answering my phone slightly more frequently. This is because I took it upon myself to take out a phone contract rather than always being out of credit on my brick; as a result I have now become the anxious parent of an HTC smart phone. 'Anxious parent' seems like a fitting analogy here because although I have to admit it has pretty much transformed my life for the better I also have a slight sense of dread every time it is not actually right next to me in case it has got lost or something has happened to it. I'm always checking my pocket to see that it is still where I put it... Rather like Bilbo with the ring. I'm liable to turn into Golumn at this rate; although some might argue that that process began some years ago.

My trip to London at the beginning of June to participate in naked bike riding demonstrations, watch Japanese horror films and maybe even have a half of lager with Sarah is looming large; a prospect which fills me with senses of anxiety, anticipation and thirst respectively. Before that, however, I'm to jump in the jalopy tonight and head up to Lincolnshire for a few days to retrieve a bookcase, my folding bicycle, the best suit for interviews and hang out with Jo and Ray. So, although things are not going quite the way I had planned, on the whole it's all rather positive.

Peace, Stuart.

Politics & Governance

“The hustings are over, the bunting is down, the mad hysteria is at an end. After the chaos of a general election, we can return to normal.” E. Blackadder III

My what an eventful week it has been to be sure; in the United Kingdom where we have just chosen (sort of) a new government I mean - I recognise that some of my readers from the far flung corners of the world/galaxy might not be aware of this. Even a staunch political apathetic like myself sat up and took notice by the end of it all and when I searched a paraphrase of my leading quote to get the correct text Google immediately returned a plethora of links to other bloggers writing about pretty much the same thing.

Playing on the laptop while watching the election results as they came in via the BBC I was surprised to find myself directed to youtube footage by several twitters of people being denied their chance to vote nearly an hour before it became a notable story on the television. Perhaps this media hoo-ha about the internet revolutionising the political process has been less hype than I had hitherto imagined? Probably so actually since, almost to my own surprise, you can see that I've turned my blog page purple in support of http://www.takebackparliament.com/

Continuing in similar vein, as I mentioned in my last post, I am to take part in my first political demonstration in London next month when I do the London Naked Bike Ride in order to protest our seemingly endless dependency on oil. In large part this has been motivated by my exasperation with public transport in the UK being only slightly less expensive than my carbon inefficient car and ten times less convenient. A fact which is likely to be well known to those odd souls who are repeat visitors to this blog. I feel like a veritable political activist...

Since I have taken it into my head to write about current affairs in this post I may as well continue by sharing this news snippit. Stories like this one get my back up enough to actually get up and do something - or, rather, to sit down and type something. In this case a few words of polite disapprobation sent to Crown Prosecution Service via their web site feedback form. If any of my U.K readers feel similarly moved then the link is here.

Peace, Stuart.

P.S I simply can't leave it without an embedded youtube to reward you for getting though all those unusually opinionated words (especially since I didn't put in any pictures) and, since I opened with Blackadder III, I may was well finish with it as well.

Moving, Reflecting And Immanent Naked Cycling

It's been a pretty helter skelter few weeks. Physically, emotionally, organisationally... I feel somewhat shot by the whole thing to be honest but hey-ho it's surely part of a rich tapestry of life and one only gets one go at it.

Despite getting thoroughly fed up with my shoulder hurting I've decided to go the NHS route with the surgery. I had a bit of a flare up from moving sofa's and such around and decided to just get it done privately as soon as possible no matter what but it is less painful now and, perhaps, waiting is not such a big deal. Right now I'm hoping for an MIR scan in the not too distant future. The shoulder thing has been ongoing for so many years now that perhaps I can take a long term view of the situation.

Moving house has been surprisingly stressful. Perhaps I should have expected it, past Psychology Major after all, but still I was amazed to find myself sitting in a really nice place with no real worries - at least none which I am not equipped to overcome - feeling rather down. Perhaps part of that can be explained by the fact that no matter how many spreadsheets I designed to budget for returning to university the costs simply seem to keep spiralling up out of control; which is annoying because it has been keeping me awake at nights.

What if I invest a fortune in doing a second degree and it doesn't lead straight into a career? As much as it will shock those of you who have followed my dilettante/wasteral whitterings since I stopped being a teacher I am, now that my midlife crisis seems to be coming to an end, seriously getting my game on as so far as being career orientated. If that doesn't happen then, it has to be said, I'll have missed the boat and will be a little bit stuffed. Lets face it 36 is kind of old to be saying "Hey lets retrain and have a new career." Also how old will I be when I finish the degree and start applying for jobs? 40, 41? It's the sort of question over which I have been mulling.

Quite apart from being in my early forties In order to be in a better job position than I am now I would have to finish any course with a 2:1 or better. Can I really be certain of getting that? I am pretty sure that I can actually but certain enough to base my future on? Of course I do have all sorts of transferable skills from my past life to look good on the CV as well but, even so, I need to get a move on. So what to do?

Well a second degree is very much still on the cards, after all it would be smashing to go back to uni - but I have also started applying for jobs, working on my CV and practising all those funky employee aptitude tests which one is sometimes faced with while wearing the best suit (as opposed to being poured a glass of Chablis in a nice restaurant which is a much better use for the best suit IMNSHO). Realistically if I can get a job offer which looks as if it might go somewhere, i.e which offers the possibility of being paid while I train/progress rather than having to shell out for tuition and living expenses I would be foolish to turn it down at this stage of the game.

Having started off writing on what may have turned into somewhat of a downer I will finish on a happy note. The London Naked Bike Ride is rapidly approaching and this is going to be the first time I've taken part - although in previous years I've often thought that I would like to do so. Baskers is going to put me up for the weekend - and laugh and point probably - as I join a couple of other thousand people cycling naked across central London on the 12th of June to protest our society's seemingly endless and rather depressing dependency on motor cars and gasoline.

Last Year's Ride Via Youtube

At The Drop Of A Hat

No, not Flanders and Swan, I thought that I might provide you with an update re: my last post. After a talk with somebody in finance at Bath Uni it seems that they are not currently charging ELQ students overseas fees but that this policy might be changed or overruled by government at the drop of a hat. As a result I'm probably good to go but no definitive answer. Ahhh... All this vagueness and uncertainty dependent on whether the Education Minister of the hour's hat falls off brings back memories of when I used to work in delivering adult education myself.

I have little else to report other than that I'm currently writing a job application for an evening job cleaning an office. I used to have a cleaning job just after I finished my last degree (the drop outs had taken all the good jobs) so how strange it will be to go back to it as I begin another. Anyway a few hours in the evening should be something I can keep up though term time. Once I have actually moved into the new place I need to start taking my CV around places for something until September.

Well with all this hat dropping perhaps we might revisit just one Flanders and Swan song via the magic of embedding youtube.

Peace, Stuart.

A Solution Waiting to Happen

Drat and Bother, or words very much to that effect but with rather less gentility thrown in.

As those of you who have been regularly following my blog will have by now apprehended I've currently taken myself an antique disposition in having decided to return to university with a view to pursue a new career in the wonderful world of science.

Why? Well science is quite marvellous to my way of thinking. To paraphrase Terry Pratchett science is being able to give something an extra head (Biology), send in back in time (Physics) and then blow it up (Chemistry). Indeed I've lost count of the number of times I've wished that I could do one or all of the above to something or someone during this past week alone – and it was a good week. Above and beyond this you will simply have to blame my plans on Bill Bryson for writing a Short History Of Nearly Everything which was what started the rot when I read it a some years ago.

Wait a moment, I'm getting ahead of myself here... Lets go back to the solution which is waiting to happen till after we go back and see if that sorts things out (Hate mail from the campaign for clear English to be sent on the back of a twenty pound note please).

The problem (sorry, naturally I mean 'challenge' not 'problem') is that our beloved leader Mr G. Brown of Downing St. No.10 fame has made it come to pass that anybody who decides to return to Higher Education at a level equivalent or lower than that which they have already attained will not only not only be unable to take out a student loan (I knew that bit..) but will be liable to pay the same fees charged to those international students from outside the EU; Arab princes, the children of Russian Oligarchs etc because I'm quite sure these are the only people who could afford them. These fees are so enormous that one really requires scientific notation to write them because of all the zeros; '1.4 pounds raised to the power of...' etc.

Which is a bit of a coincidence when you come to think about it because a big zero is to where this sort of bill will surely bring my best laid mousy and, or, manly plans.

Now I had realised in advance of course that trying for a second degree would mean that, rather than wafting in with the shiny faced 20 year olds clutching their LEA grants, I would be dragging my decaying pre middle aged husk across the 'start' line almost certainly unable to get a student loan to cover any costs but I have to confess that this new intimation is rather a blow.

There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel; of course it might be a train, a mirage, or possibly a mirage of a train. As yet it's too early to say. Perhaps I should try being more specific.

Although most equivalent or lower qualification (EQL) students get the chop those who are studying in 'Strategically Important and Vulnerable Subject' areas might be exempt (dependent on the university as far as I can tell). I found a list of those subjects vulnerable and strategic enough to be saved by Bristol University on their web page. Essentially if you want to wear a big white shirt and write poetry you have to pay extra but if you want to wear a lab coat and sleep with your calculator then things are not necessarily a lost cause.

“Problems are merely the pregnant mothers of solutions; there that's given you all something to think about.” Guss Hedges.

Back From Scotland

What an interesting couple of weeks it has been to be sure. Since arriving back in Bath I've been sorting out my flat and now have a tentative date to actually take up residence on the 26th of April. Of course there is a deal to do in preparation, not least of all a trip back up to Lincolnshire to pick up some more of my stuff and getting a few bits of furniture but that's all going to be fun and frolics, or at least I keep telling myself so; I must know every inch of that journey backwards by now – all five hours of it.

Scotland – as usual - was beyond beautiful; at least once outside the urban sprawl. Glasgow was made European City Of Culture some years ago and, by all accounts, the centre has some really quite lovely buildings. If you just get lost and keep driving around the outside for a few hours it's less of a tourist destination though. Despite having left England amidst dire weather warnings of snow and trapped motorists being forced to eat each other in order to survive in their snow bound vehicles the journey was made in perfectly clement weather and once finally in the western isles we were lucky enough to have a good deal more sun than rain while being early enough to miss the midges.

The Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum may be a chip shop but it is a damn fine one and I'm going to give it one of my recommendations. The coffee was great, no burnt milk or over extracted robusta beans to test one's patience after a long drive and I think the batter on the fish was pretty much the best I've ever had, very light and crispy – almost like a tempura. As a result I've been stopping there every time I head up to Fort William for years now; including the time I cycled there from England with Dad. Indeed I've never driven or cycled along a road which has given me more pleasure than the A82 between Tyndrum and Fort William; the scenery is incredible.

While actually in Knoydart I managed to get out of the house and go running and walking a fair old bit and I am hoping that this marks the end of the malaise towards physical exercise which seems to have gripped me for the last few months – yes cycling is exercise but it is hardly as effective as it might be when you take it as easy as I have been doing!

From Knoydart Looking Towards Skye

I finally sent off my completed university application for 2010/11 today. I am feeling quietly hopeful that I'll be accepted, after all I'm pretty much applying for a science access course and I already have a degree but then, on the other hand, having only got C for GCSE maths, chemistry and physics way back at the dawn of time (or the dawn of the 1990's which is almost the same thing) is somewhat of a mark against me. No matter, only time will tell after all. Many thanks to those of you kind enough to offer advice once I posted the first draught of my application letter, recommendations were received with grateful thanks and put to good use.

Of course now that I'm back down here and renting a flat while planning to be a full time student for a few years into the bargain I'm going to have to see what prospects the labour market holds for a former teacher looking for flexible and or temporary work while studying. Buying a job lot of something and selling it on ebay? Possibly... More likely a Mc'Job though. Shelf stacking in the evenings here I come.

Peace, Stuart.