Foreign correspondent

Still alive...

So, this came in the post a couple of days ago:

Which is rare enough these days, but rarer still is that it came to me at work.  From a customer I have been in correspondence with a couple of times in recent months about a bus stop.  Now I don't know about anyone else, but when I go on holiday the last thing I would think to do would be to carry on a conversation with someone at the council or a business I was complaining to.  Still, nice to receive it all the same.

We've been away twice this year (another post to come on that) but didn't send any cards.  I wonder if it is time to try and revive the idea.

Harumph

32/365 Rainy day observations, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

I'm sure somebody out there can dig up statistics to show it doesn't rain more at lunchtimes than during the rest of the working day, but it sure seems that way to me right now. Not that I had any pressing need for a lunchtime wander today, I just like to get away from the office for a bit if possible. And yes, I could wrap up and go out anyway, but the thought of spending the afternoon with slowly drying trousers doesn't appeal somehow.

Hopefully the weekend will have some bright spots.

Last weekend was lovely. The combination of a few days off, sunshine and my Birthday seems more than a week in the past though. Time, it would seem, flies just as fast when at work as when you are having fun, no matter how much individual minutes seem to drag on.

Bite that tongue

Ever had a real struggle to keep yourself quiet in public? Seeing Ian Lavender on Holly City tonight has reminded me of the time I met him.  I may have written about this before but never mind.

We were holding a bus user meeting in Bury St Edmunds and he came along to ask about a bus stop near his house. He ended up talking to a colleague about it, who promised to look into it and get back to him. A colleague who had no idea who he was talking to. So when said colleague asked for his name, the temptation to shout "don't tell him, Pike" was almost too much to bear.

Ten years or so on and that still makes me giggle and cringe at the same time.

Another year nearly done

356/365 fairly lights, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

OK, so it seems I have been a bad blogger once again this year. I did have every intention of writing more, but life always seems to get in the way of these things and the time to waffle on just evaporates. So, a few things that I wanted to write about at the time of the occurrence, but just never got round to…

Canada
We had another great holiday there this year courtesy of MrsB’s sister. They have moved house from Burlington, Ontario to Paris, Ontario since we last visited which opened up loads of new places to explore. Paris itself is a lovely little town and the locals we met all seemed positively charming. Admittedly many of them were trying to sell us things or serve us food, but still they seemed genuine about it. OK, yes we did go down to Niagara Falls again (and took a five hour jaunt into the US while we were there) but I am not sure I will ever tire of seeing all that water doing the falling thing. My favourite pictures from the trip can of course all be found on Flickr, and if each one of them is worth a thousand words then feel free to go look and save me a lot of typing. However, particular highlights were Port Dover which has a smashing seaside vibe, even if the “sea” in question is actually Lake Erie; the beautiful old town of Elora (a bit of an artist’s hotspot) and, just because, the cars. Yes, I'm a sucker for an old American hot rod or muscle car, and there’s loads of them north of the border too. Plus of course it is always good to be with the family.

Work
I can honestly say I am quite proud of some of the things we have achieved this year. The two bus stations in Ipswich have been refurbished and despite the inevitable negativity in the local press I am more than happy with the end results, given the constraints we have to work under. Yes, it would have been nice if we could have done something a little bit more dramatic with them (headlines criticised them for looking a lot like the old versions – well yes, they are still bus stations and we didn't get any more land to play with) and it would have been lovely to have every facility people want but reality has to kick in somewhere. We are also nearly there with getting a decent real time passenger information system up and running in town (and then hopefully across the whole county). Just a little bit more data wrangling to do and then screens can go up early next year, which will hopefully be popular with the public.

50 years of Dr Who
Loved the anniversary special, and while I think Matt Smith has been an excellent Doctor I am really looking forward to the Christmas regeneration to see what Peter Capaldi brings to the part next year.

Other stuff
Looking back over the year it has been a generally steady one with no major catastrophes or major excitements to disrupt the splendid joy of a normal existence. Which is all anyone can ask for really. I’ve listened to a lot of music and read a lot of books, but they will get their own posts over the next couple of weeks complete with the big list of books (and maybe one of music too) as in previous years.

We have had some nice days out – some to London (including the Jack the Ripper and Secret London walking tour I was given as a birthday present) and also closer to home, just enjoying bits of Suffolk. And most of those have also included nice meals in assorted pubs and restaurants. Mind you, one of those also lead to us both spending the week in bed with food poisoning back in the summer, so it wasn’t all good. Although I think the positive days outweighed that one negative experience.

And, without realising it until recently, I think we have both finally stopped being paranoid about money. A maturing investment allowed us to pay off a chunk of the mortgage as well as having the good holiday and leaving us with a reserve for emergencies (hello, new dishwasher and back door frame) and we have reigned in spending on a few things, so no longer do I spend the last week of every month checking the bank accounts to make sure we can hang on until pay day. Which is a wonderful feeling at last.

So, all things considered, a good year. Here’s to 2014!

Done my civic duty.

122/365 Done my civic duty., a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

So it is election day once again. As an employee of the County Council I am probably more concerned about the outcome than many. After all, barring edicts from central government, it is the people being elected today who are ultimately responsible for whether I have a job or not. Having been a Labour Administration when I first started here, we have now been Tory lead for the last two sessions and some of the choices they have made have just been heartbreaking.

So I hope everyone has got off their backsides and made the effort. I always say you have no right to complain if you didn't take part. And whether you support their policies or not, most of our local councillors are hard working and try to do their best for their constituents when it comes to individual issues.

Now, if whoever gets in would like to raise the bus stops budget I'll be a happy chap.

Phone call of the day.

"Hello, Passenger Transport, can I help you?"

"Yes, can you check if a Renault Megane reg ******* is in one of your Park & Ride car parks?  Only my husband drove in to Ipswich yesterday, did some shopping then came home on the bus.  And he can't remember where he's left the car."

"OK, can you give me your details so I can get int ouch with the sites then call you back?"

"I've been through his pockets twice, but can't find any clues and he can't remember if he got a bus in or drove all the way.  And he forgot to get me any shampoo."

"Your name and phone number please...?"

Needless to say we didn't have their car.  I wonder where it was.

Dear Santa

I have tried my best to be really good this year so do you think, possibly, Santa old bean, that I could have a faster database for Christmas?  I've got a house full of consumer goods and don't need any more clothes or gizmos, so just something that will make my working life better and stop me swearing so much would be fab.

Thanks awfully,

Simon

Caution: Contents may be cold

Mapmug2, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

In what an only be described as a Water Cooler Conversation (because it actually took place while I was getting some cold water) one of my Managers revealed yesterday that she is unable to drink cold liquids from a mug. For her mugs can only be for hot drinks, and anything cold must be from a glass. Although she is fine with a Latte or posh hot chocolate in a glass "with a handle". This was not something I have ever considered might be a problem before. If I am thirsty, I'll happily drink from whatever container is to hand. As it happens, I tend to use mugs for cold drinks at work because (a) I normally bring my own mug in with me, use it throughout the day and take it home again for washing up I trust. I will admit to a slight issue with the communal cups and glasses here even though I know they are properly dealt with in a dishwasher rather than just being indifferently rinsed and put away as I have seen elsewhere. And (b) I don't consume tea or coffee anyway but we have a stack of mugs at home that would never otherwise get used if I didn;t cart them back and forth to the office.

Since then I have been trying to think of any other utensil "phobias" I might have, and just can't identify any. I'll slurp soup from a desert spoon if that's all there is, drink straight from a can/bottle or use a straw, happily use a wooden or plastic disposable chip fork or use my fingers when sitting on the sea front with a portion and don't insist on pre-packed sandwiches being decanted onto a plate before consumption. Anybody out there got any food consumption problems they'd like to share?

Pointless Post

When I was a wee nipper, I could never get my head around the adult addiction to things like The Magic Roundabout.  Not for the seemingly obvious reason that it was a "children's show" but because of the time it was shown.  I remember hearing about it being a success because it was on before the news, meaning all the adults got to watch it.  But the news was on at 5.45 (only later moving to 6) and surely no grown-up was home from work by then?  Certainly my Dad never was, and what other standard did I have to judge by?

After I left college and found myself in the world of work, the same pattern repeated.  Having ended up in retail I was rarely out of the shop before 6 and always then had a significant journey home to face.  In fact I'm not sure now how I managed the two years I spent working in Newmarket - a 110 mile round trip every day from Felixstowe, having to be there for 8 and not getting home until at least 7 most nights.  Even when I moved to the Council and got into flexi-time I was still rarely home before 6 - often due to picking MrsB up from work (she is still in the business of selling things) but more likely just because of getting the required number of hours in per day after starting at around 9.

Since our recent office move, however, things have changed.  Because parking up here is a bit limited, I have to get in fairly early to make sure I get a space.  That naturally means I have reached my hours total earlier too so can head home.  And even though the new site is further from our house, I now drive straight here rather than messing about with Park & Ride buses so each trip is 15-20 minutes shorter too.  Plus MrsB has had her hours changed and now finishes at 4 so we are both early birds.

All of which is a long-winded excuse for the fact that we seem to have become hooked on Pointless.  The BBC1 quiz shown before the news with Alexander Armstrong.  Admittedly half the fun is wondering where on earth they get some of the contestants from, but still...  I always have been a sucker for a good quiz show, loving to shout the answers at the telly before the teams manage it but this one is a bit of a barrel scraper.

Is there a cure other than working more?

Empty Rooms

Our office is a bit like the Marie Celeste these days.  Half of those who used to work here have been shipped out to new locations, and about a quarter of the others took the money and ran so those of us who remain are rattling round somewhat.  At the time of writing, there are only three of us making use of the 20 desks I can see from my perch.  Still, we are being shipped out to a different office ourselves soon where it will all be noise and crowds again.  In fact so crowded that the 30 in our team are only being allocated 23 desks, so we will have to rely on holidays, sickness, study and site visits to ensure that we never all need to be in at once.  Worse still, it is out on the edge of town rather than in the centre, so my lunchtime wanderings are not going to be as interesting - although presumably not so expensive either.  Although we will be right next door to ASDA.

As such we are going through another orgy of archiving or chucking stuff out.  It always amazes me how much junk manages to accumulate over a short space of time.  Partly through the previous unreliability of our networks driving people to print and file every email they receive.  Folders and folders of them litter the desks, shelves and cupboards and never actually get referred to again.  Maybe one day the paperless office will become a reality, but I can't see it for a few years yet.


Anyway, that's all I've really got to say today.  Just want to add that if you've ever (a) read a book or (b) bought a book you'll probably enjoy Jen Campbell's blog, and if you do then she's doing a great poetry project to raise some money for a worthwhile charity here.

What we did on our holidays

Canary Wharf Complex, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

OK, so it is nearly two weeks back at work now, but it was very nice to have a couple of weeks off at the start of the month.

As may be reasonably obvious from this picture, we did have a day in London amongst the excursions. This time we did two thirds of the National Maritime Museum (i.e. the museum itself and the Queen's House). Both of those were excellent and I can highly recommend the 16" West bistro at the museum too. We ran out of energy at that point though so the Observatory is left on the list for another visit. Hopefully one with better weather as, to be frank, it chucked it down for a lot of the day. Which made the river bus back to Westminster a rather damp experience. Great views though and a surprisingly fast cruise.

Other days out included plane and tram museums, assorted buildings in the heritage open days scheme, local delights of Aldeburgh and Bury St Edmunds and a couple of walks on the beach.

We also used a few days clearing and rebuilding our bedroom, with a new carpet thrown in during the process. All fun and games.

Pictures of all of that can be found in the usual place (click on Canary Wharf then have a rummage around!).

What surprised me most though was how much I have struggled to get back into things on returning to work. After a couple of days catching up on emails it was theoretically into the new job, but in actual fact things are much as before. We hardly see our new boss, have been given no clues as to whether we should still be doing the same stuff and are generally floundering around looking for jobs to tide us over. Assuming there will be a big change coming of course.

There are increasing rumours that we will be moving office, and went up to see the new place the other day. Not that impressed with the building (small and already crowded, with no room for more people I could see and no space for more cars to park either) or it being out of town, so no decent lunchtime wandering to be had.

All of which leaves me feeling just as unsettled as I was before knowing I still had a job and what it was.

And lo September arrived and a new era dawned. Or, yesterday I couldn't even spell Engynear and now I are one!

After 5 months or so of consultation, discussion, uncertainty, drip-feed of information, interviews and worry we find ourselves in a new working structure today. All intended to make us a leaner and meaner organisation realising large savings and get us into shape for another restructuring, joint working company or straightforward sell-off to the private sector in 2013. In theory I now have new managers at the two levels above my direct supervisor (who hasn't changed) and a whole bunch of new colleagues shuffled around from different teams in the old way of thinking.

In practice I am sat on my own at my usual desk with emptiness all around due to most of the rest of the new team being on holiday and a large chunk of the old having moved out to new locations. And I have a new job title to put in my email signature or on letters should I get any that need answering today. Yesterday I was a Senior Passenger Transport Infrastructure Officer while now I am a Project Development Engineer. But I'm still doing the same work as far as I can tell.

I'm sure it will all work out soon enough, but right now I feel at a bit of a loose end with nothing concrete to be getting on with and a feeling that I ought to be getting some Engineering skills training. Not that I might ever use it, but now I've got the job title I feel I ought to get the knowledge.

Still, only got today and tomorrow to fumble through then I'm off for two weeks much needed break myself. No doubt everything will become clearer when I get back. And MrsB is in town today so I'll be meeting her for lunch.

A false sense of security

We have just spent a slightly dull 20 minutes in the park at the end of the road following a security evacuation drill.

It was announced that a "specific security threat to the building" had been received and we were told to collect our belongings then given a three minute countdown to evacuation. That was the first clue that this might only be a drill as normally the policy is to leave anything behind and get out as quickly and safely as possible.

The second clue was that nobody was trying to stop traffic passing the place and the third that nobody was moving all the children on the Ipswich Town practice pitch which is right next door. If there was a chance of a bomb going off in a building with this much glass then I would have expected the innocents to be cleared away from the potential shrapnel zone. Still, it made a change from a fire drill I suppose.

We did have a genuine security evacuation about five years ago (having to leave for three hours while the Police searched every floor) but I don't think anything was found then. Given the current fuss over our leader and councillors (e.g. see post below) I wouldn't have been surprised if there had been an actual threat from a disgruntled council tax-payer.

Now, what was I doing before we were so rudely interrupted?

Protest!

Protest!, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

Someone is a bit upset about recent cuts to bus services and has plastered our bus station and other town centre stops with a range of stickers like this one. So now I am going to have to pay our cleaners extra to remove them all, further biting into the revenue budget that could have been used for services... I must say the perpetrator has put a lot of time and effort into producing the different stickers, but they are in many ways aimed at the wrong person. The role of the chief exec is to implement the policies set by the elected councillors after all...

Another Mr Angry on the phone

Westleton relic a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

OK, I know I'm ever so slightly biased as it is part of my job to decide locations for them, but I do fail to understand quite how worked up people can get over the presence of a bus stop somewhere in the vicinity of their house. And let us be clear about this, I am not talking about a bus shelter, or a raised kerb for wheelchair access or even something as sinister as a timetable display case. Just a simple sign on a pole (and often on a lamp column that was there already, rather than a purpose built post). And in at least 9 out of 10 of complaints we are talking about locations that have been bus stops (not necessarily marked with a flag, but registered with us, with the bus companies and showing up on Google Maps) for as long as anyone can remember.

Over the years I have been accused of:
Endangering lives - if people are waiting at the bus stop when I want to pull in or out of my drive I won't be able to see and may hit them/oncoming traffic. Well, try looking with your eyes, and anyway it is rare indeed for most stops to actually have someone waiting for most services.

Ruining sleep - how can I get any rest with a bus stop outside my house? This is a pretty rural county and we only have two bus services that run past 11pm, and one of those sticks to the A12, and only a handful that start before 7am. Apologies to the night shift people, but the road would be there anyway and, indeed, so would the buses be passing by.

Devaluing property - I want at least £10,000 in compensation as that's what my house has lost in value. Er, no it hasn't. In fact, in this day and age I can see people choosing a house because there is a stop handy and they don't need to buy that car.

Destroying property - my 16th century cottage is being shaken to pieces by bus-induced vibrations or people waiting are leaning on my wall and knocking it down/leaving marks on it. You can prove that can you? We survey our stops regularly so I've got photos of your house going back at least ten years I can look for cracks on...

And so much more. My pet favourite is when children can no longer play in the garden because somebody might look in from the upper deck. Which, again, they could have been doing all along as the bus route has been passing your hosue for years.

MrsB and I lived with a bus stop outside our flat before we bought the house and it never bothered us one little bit. And that had a shelter and everything. OK, so some stops get kids hanging around them with nothing better to do, but then so do 100 other street corners without a bus stop and I'm not taking responsibility for that one.

There are more pressing things in this world to worry about.

Park And Reflect

Park And Reflect
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Since I restarted this blogging malarky I've tried not to write about work too much. Not through any fear of people finding out, reprisals or whatever but simply because I think I did too much of that first time around and no-ne else is interested. You can read the archives if you really like.

But today I have to get stuff off my chest because I am not a happy bunny.

I've moved around within my team/department over the last 12 years and every time have had to bite my tongue about what the people who come after me have done to and with the legacy I left behind.

So, for example, highly praised timetable books have been dropped, maps are no longer geographically accurate, connecting routes don't meet up any more, newlsetters have been dropped, awards have not been re-won. It is hard to see things I put time and effort into disappear, especially when they have been well received in the real world and people still contact me rather than my successors in the hope of getting a straight answer.

Now we have a new Government slashing our budgets, and a major casualty is one of the three Park & Ride sites I did my best to build, run and develop. For a county committed to going green I can only see this as a short-sighted blow. Where other departments get "invest to save" money we just seem to lose out. I am sure a bit of decent marketing and genuine customer focus could do wonders, bring in more punters and cut the costs in the medium term, but it seems that is not an option.

But what annoys me most is reading about it in the local paper before being told internally. That really is not on.

If our bosses want us to stick with them through these troubled times then communications have to be sorted out and staff have to know before Joe public.

Too late for them to change their minds now, but I hope that future cuts and changes will be reflected on a bit more and those of us who actually care about getting things done can be kept a bit more in the loop.

Thunder God

Thunder God
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

As a result of staff sickness and holidays I got called up at short notice to help run our stall at the Lowestoft air festival last Friday. What a real blow that was to go back to my old publicity routes and deal with the public face to face!

Actually, we only had quite straightforward questions to deal with - nobody shouting about poor service or wasting public money (which I was expecting) or things not working etc. But to counter that it did chuck it down most of the afternoon (luckily we have an awning on our publicity van) with three other attendees getting struck by lightning.

So, I got to see quite a bit of the show as well as an incredible cross-section of the general public who came to see it. (Some of them can be seen on flickr by clicking on the Vulcan and wandering around the airshow set) . And jolly good it was too. This seems to be becoming my year of sky-watching as this now makes three events already attended with the prospect of one or two more to come. But that wasn't what I was going to waffle about. Yes this is the intro to another list...

The Vulcan up there is possibly the loudest thing I have ever heard. Even half a mile out to sea those four Olympus engines were still enough to make the ground shake and rattle the fillings. I've been trying to think of anything I've experienced that has come close, and come up with:

Other planes - obviously enough. I have been at the business end of the runway at RAF Lakenheath, been overflown by Concorde and other jets but don't recall the racket being quite that awesome.

Iron Maiden in concert.

Standing next to the actual bell known as Big Ben (not just from the street below) at the striking of the hour. Which was strangely muted - I think it needs to surrounding buildings and air to amplify and echo the famous bongs into what you hear from outside.

The cat, snoring.

Various roadworks.

Next door doing DIY (or indeed going up and down the stairs).

Downstairs neighbours at our old flat in the throes of passion...

But nothing like that gorgeous piece of flying technology, so recently brought back to life.

Pungency of cleanliness

Why do bag-using vaccuum cleaners have such a distinctive smell? The cleaner has just come and sucked up rubbish from my desk area and the whiff of the cleaner takes me straight back to my Mum's old Hoover. Which was actually a hoover and not just a case of us using the generic name for floor sucking devices. That was a venerable old upright with a green cloth bag that the paper dust bags went into and had the same distinctive odour when in use that has just filled the office. We had one in a shared-house at college that also emanated the same noxious essences. Not something I particularly miss from our Dyson.

All very quiet here at the moment with loads of projects sitting in limbo while public sector finances get sorted out so nothing else thrilling to write just now. Although I am also waiting for the phone to ring and a chap to tell me when I can pick my new car up as we finally took the plunge last night and signed on the dotted line to replace the rusting Escort. More on that another day.

Haunted by the past

Despite it now being over 12 years since I stopped working there (and indeed at least four now since they chucked Joan out as well), I am still having recurring dreams about going back to work at Argos. These nearly always feature the Felixstowe or Newmarket branches, which are the two where I had the happier moments of that part of my career, rather than say Ipswich or Stowmarket where things were not so rosy. I guess that must be significant one way or another but I'm not sure I want to delve too deply to find out more.

Of course, dreams being what they are, the representations of the stock rooms I used to manage tend to have unexpected extensions, increased floor space or indeed whole other floors attached which would have been very useful when I was trying to squeeze new product lines in each catalogue changeover. And in every case the dream narrative always makes it clear that I am going back to do them a favour/sort out a mess that people after me have made and that whatever crap I suffered in the past won't happen again.

Now I know I left there because my final manager ground me into a quivering wreck, and I guess this is an element of my subconcious trying to make it up to me, but really. Who wants to dream about work at all? Surely I should be flying, or slaying dragons, or living it up or soemthing exciting at night. Not stacking boxes, emptying pallets and counting stock.

Much as I enjoy the chance to get away from the office with all the interruptions, phones ringing and so forth and much as i enjoy learning new stuff I can categorically state that today was a pain in the backside and an almost total waste of time. We were out (at the Novotel again! Slightly better lunch than last week but still nothing startling) for the second phase of training on the mPLAN software that is supposed to revolutionise our lives if we ever get a working version. But of course the data still isn't ready to go in to it (and won't be until September or Christmas depending upon who's estimate you believe) and even the chap from the firm who wrote it didn't seem to know what parts he was trying to demonstrate were intended to do. Really fills you with confidence that does. Plus with the first session a couple of months ago now the morning was further wasted in going back over what we covered then, with the afternoon deviating from plan when we started picking holes in things and wanting more detailled explanations than were probably expected. I think we were all pretty fed up by the end of the day (especially when the expected 1615 finish turned in to a 1730 one).

Must think positively about what it will do if we ever get to use it.

Add to that the late finish meaning I wasn't able to get back to Felixstowe in time to pick Joan up from work (and the message I left her got garbled so she stood around for 20 minutes waiting for me in vain) and I was not a happy bunny. Especially as she is now out at a hen party for someone who works with Helen (the wedding is on Friday and we should be at the reception later in the evening - depending upon what time they get finished at Argos as it is Catalogue launch time again). Would have been nice to unwind with her company tonight but I shall just have to do the best I can alone.

So, what else has been going on? Well, as mentioned Joan was working all weekend so I didn't really stray very far from the ironing and shopping and stuff. And then more sorting of timetables and so forth at work. Chris and I had our first operator negotiations meeting for all the new timetables on Monday, but I'm not sure if we have any feedback from it yet. I think they were pretty receptive but we shall have to wait and see. Of course there could be stuff in the in-box that arrived while we were out getting frustrated today... We are out again on Friday so hopefully some good results from those. Thrills galore with the ususal mix of emails and stuff otherwise.

Saturday also saw the last page being turned on Harry Potter 5. I definitely enjoyed it, and less of a cliff-hanger than the end of the last one, but I still want JK to get the rest of the series written please. Wasn't all that impressed with the much vaunted tragic death either - both in the way it was engineered and how the aftermath was handled. Or indeed the actual event. OK, I know the series is intended for children but I think a bit more drama could have been put into that scene. Last night saw the close of another book read since Saturday - a collection of questions and answers from the Last Word column in New Scientist magazine. Things like Why is the sky blue? (Because of the way light is scattered by the atmosphere) and Why doesn't superglue stick to the inside of the tube? (It needs damp to set). Interesting stuff in the main and looking forward to the second volume I also got at the same time.

Have now started on Sprout Mask Replica by highly recomended teller of tall tales Robert Rankin. It has been a good few years since I last read any of his stuff and I've kind of missed him. Very strange stories mixing the mundane with the ridiculous - every day meeting elements of the fantastic and science fiction but not really categorisable with anything else I've ever read. Good stuff though and I really must get round to picking up all the books he's written since I last bought one...