(arrived in the post today)Thursday, February 22, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
A changin' climate
One argument against pulling one's lazy ass finger out and taking some personal responsibility for doing something about climate change is China. It is argued that whatever we do in 'Little Britain' to tackle our 3% share of global carbon emissions, it is - quite frankly - as productive as weeing into a rather strong chinese wind. Yes, China's economy is growing at a fantastical rate, however their emissions per head are still significantly lower than ours. In fact the average Chinese produces only a quarter of the carbon of a typical Brit.
But hang on, there's a lot more Chinese? This argument may appear to provide a counterweight point of view but it's surely built on foundations as firm as rice paper when you consider what is driving their astronomical growth - Western consumption. Much of their emissions growth stems from industrial production of products we are continuing to demand and consume. It is common knowledge that to a significant extent, the West has effectively exported our manufacturing industries, and therefore the subsequent emissions, to China. you know this, so what are you going to do about it? *
Closer to home, there has been another considerable 'change in climate'. Much closer to home; in fact inside my head. Last night, I got home to find confirmation from my university of my final degree mark ... drum roll ..... I got a 1st! Or for the non-UK folk, that's the highest grade possible. Wahey! It's been 8 month's since I had an inkling that I might; it's been over 2 months since I took my last exam - they sure know how to keep you hanging on tenterhooks at the University of East London. In a stroke, months of doubt and uncertainty drained out of mind and body. Aaaah! Oh, and the fact that I am a qualified physio, wherever that might lead.
This has been an unpleasantly obsessive facet of my life for the last 8 months, for which I apologise. All I would say is that perhaps, looking back now, I must have fixated on the possible 1st (obvious benchmark of success) as a way of dealing with/ and off-setting the failure of the protracted re-sit that led to me finishing a full 8 months after my peers. So now I can get on with the rest of my life (of course, I was doing that anyway) but it's been a real education in how much an impact underlying and unresolved stressors - in this instance uncertainty and low confidence - can have on the way one thinks, feels, sees the world .. lives. An education I hope translates into other areas of unresolved conflict/ tension - we must all have them, probably several of them. No more posts about my godammed degree. I know how refreshing that must be for you, Tom/ Nina!
I wake up this morning with a piece of paper that gives me the confidence to believe I can stake a claim in this brave new care/era. Who would have thought that on such apparently trivial detail, life promises to flourish? And on that note, why not go turn off a light, your heating down by 1 degree, shove a hippo in your toilet cistern, support organic (and sustainable farming), stop looking to China or anywhere else for excuses not to act and help change all our lives for the better.
* facts and info forming the basis of the above comments re: China were provided by Ed Gillespie, Co-founder of Futerra according to our latest customer newsletter from Good Energy. Thanks Ed, for stimulating some debate.
One argument against pulling one's lazy ass finger out and taking some personal responsibility for doing something about climate change is China. It is argued that whatever we do in 'Little Britain' to tackle our 3% share of global carbon emissions, it is - quite frankly - as productive as weeing into a rather strong chinese wind. Yes, China's economy is growing at a fantastical rate, however their emissions per head are still significantly lower than ours. In fact the average Chinese produces only a quarter of the carbon of a typical Brit.
But hang on, there's a lot more Chinese? This argument may appear to provide a counterweight point of view but it's surely built on foundations as firm as rice paper when you consider what is driving their astronomical growth - Western consumption. Much of their emissions growth stems from industrial production of products we are continuing to demand and consume. It is common knowledge that to a significant extent, the West has effectively exported our manufacturing industries, and therefore the subsequent emissions, to China. you know this, so what are you going to do about it? *
Closer to home, there has been another considerable 'change in climate'. Much closer to home; in fact inside my head. Last night, I got home to find confirmation from my university of my final degree mark ... drum roll ..... I got a 1st! Or for the non-UK folk, that's the highest grade possible. Wahey! It's been 8 month's since I had an inkling that I might; it's been over 2 months since I took my last exam - they sure know how to keep you hanging on tenterhooks at the University of East London. In a stroke, months of doubt and uncertainty drained out of mind and body. Aaaah! Oh, and the fact that I am a qualified physio, wherever that might lead.
This has been an unpleasantly obsessive facet of my life for the last 8 months, for which I apologise. All I would say is that perhaps, looking back now, I must have fixated on the possible 1st (obvious benchmark of success) as a way of dealing with/ and off-setting the failure of the protracted re-sit that led to me finishing a full 8 months after my peers. So now I can get on with the rest of my life (of course, I was doing that anyway) but it's been a real education in how much an impact underlying and unresolved stressors - in this instance uncertainty and low confidence - can have on the way one thinks, feels, sees the world .. lives. An education I hope translates into other areas of unresolved conflict/ tension - we must all have them, probably several of them. No more posts about my godammed degree. I know how refreshing that must be for you, Tom/ Nina!
I wake up this morning with a piece of paper that gives me the confidence to believe I can stake a claim in this brave new care/era. Who would have thought that on such apparently trivial detail, life promises to flourish? And on that note, why not go turn off a light, your heating down by 1 degree, shove a hippo in your toilet cistern, support organic (and sustainable farming), stop looking to China or anywhere else for excuses not to act and help change all our lives for the better.
* facts and info forming the basis of the above comments re: China were provided by Ed Gillespie, Co-founder of Futerra according to our latest customer newsletter from Good Energy. Thanks Ed, for stimulating some debate.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Assimilation policy launched
War of the Worlds? Well, in a manner of speaking I s'pose. I am temping at the moment at a governmental commission which is being disbanded .. well, in a manner of speaking - In practical terms (and by all accounts to the casual observer) it would appear the organisation is 'simply' being replaced by another version of itself. Same boss. And one acronym merely being replaced by another, 'upshifting' from 3 letters to 4. Progress!
I marvel at some of the language being used: equality impact assessments will be undertaken, taking into account the combined diversity profile of all transferring bodies. There will also be an Expression of Interest Exercise. Having left the office world, it's all long-since beyond me. Or is it? I just had my first interview, for my first NHS junior physio post last week.
It took about the first 15 minutes of a 45 minute interview to realise that the two interviewers and I were speaking in completely different languages. At 35, I have had a bit of experience with job interviews. You listen to the questions, then sell yourself remembering that you have something they are interested in, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting in front of them, right? Easy. At the same time throughout this exercise, you are guaging how well/ likely you are going to be able to get on, and work together.
Straightforward? Not so. It took a while before I began to realise that 'me' didn't appear to matter. The answers I was supposed to give, and that they were expecting to hear, were to be in a form I had hiterto not encountered: nhs-first-post-physio-speak. Everytime I was asked to provide criteria, I was stopped and asked to be more specific. OK Nick, start again, but with more detail. No, no could you provide a specific example from a specific student placement where you demonstrated interpersonal skills, professionalisms, an ability to be autonomous? Ah .. buzz words! I am no stranger to chipping in at interviews with the odd-buzzword, but every line of every response?!
Suddenly, the interview took off. Criteria were being ticked; boxes checked off; heads nodding furiously in agreement/ approval. I left the room slightly euphoric - having grasped how the 'game' was played and feeling, from the visual feedback of their gestured approval, as if I had provided a pretty good account of myself. It was only on the train back to London, that I began to feel slightly uneasy.
What the hell just happened there? If I am to be offered the job; on what basis exactly will the decision have been made? I don't know them and they have certainly not been able to gather a 'holistic' view of me - What makes you tick Nick? What motivates you Nick? How do you feel your previous career and life experience adds weight to your application Nick? Nope siree bob. None of this even come up. My life did not appear to exist i) before I began my student placements and ii) outside of the nhs-first-post-physio-interview. That makes sense, to a degree, given the context but it's supposed to be one of my big selling features (or perhaps this is only in my mind?). And when you spend 3 years having the concept of the importance of an holistic perspective drummed into you by your lecturers and clinical educators on the physio degree course - the above experience, that was anything but holistic, left an uncomfortable taste in the mouth.
Gosh here's an after thought that just popped into my mind - A junior physio is needed; we are all certified to be able to do the job - perhaps they don't even need to know or care about you as a person? or whether they can get on with you? You're a certified professional, paid to do job 'x' within this level of remit, so let's churn you all through the mincer and see which one of you our tick box criteria ystem rates most able to do the job. "Enter date ... processing (this may take a few moments) ... the result matrix is as follows. And it's Candidate 'Y'".
Wow, sterile isn't it!?
Anyway, I was not Candidate 'Y' and didn't get the job. I will find out specifics when I have arranged a call into that hospital for feedback this coming Wednesday. However, I am now much better prepared for the next battle, whenever that may occur. 7 out of 10 Physio graduates from the class of 2006 - that's 7 months since graduation for most - are still without work due to the NHS financial crisis/ mismanagement of funds/ workforce planning, so it may be a while. If you're reading this site then you will of course be kept informed.
I understand the importance of being well prepared in terms of physiotherapy knowledge, NHS governance and having done homework on the NHS Trust in question. And there is always room for improvement for anyone preparing for an interview, but in this instance - and unusually for a guy like me who spent 6 years in business sales - it feels like it was the bullshit bingo wot done me!
Next!
War of the Worlds? Well, in a manner of speaking I s'pose. I am temping at the moment at a governmental commission which is being disbanded .. well, in a manner of speaking - In practical terms (and by all accounts to the casual observer) it would appear the organisation is 'simply' being replaced by another version of itself. Same boss. And one acronym merely being replaced by another, 'upshifting' from 3 letters to 4. Progress!
I marvel at some of the language being used: equality impact assessments will be undertaken, taking into account the combined diversity profile of all transferring bodies. There will also be an Expression of Interest Exercise. Having left the office world, it's all long-since beyond me. Or is it? I just had my first interview, for my first NHS junior physio post last week.
It took about the first 15 minutes of a 45 minute interview to realise that the two interviewers and I were speaking in completely different languages. At 35, I have had a bit of experience with job interviews. You listen to the questions, then sell yourself remembering that you have something they are interested in, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting in front of them, right? Easy. At the same time throughout this exercise, you are guaging how well/ likely you are going to be able to get on, and work together.
Straightforward? Not so. It took a while before I began to realise that 'me' didn't appear to matter. The answers I was supposed to give, and that they were expecting to hear, were to be in a form I had hiterto not encountered: nhs-first-post-physio-speak. Everytime I was asked to provide criteria, I was stopped and asked to be more specific. OK Nick, start again, but with more detail. No, no could you provide a specific example from a specific student placement where you demonstrated interpersonal skills, professionalisms, an ability to be autonomous? Ah .. buzz words! I am no stranger to chipping in at interviews with the odd-buzzword, but every line of every response?!
Suddenly, the interview took off. Criteria were being ticked; boxes checked off; heads nodding furiously in agreement/ approval. I left the room slightly euphoric - having grasped how the 'game' was played and feeling, from the visual feedback of their gestured approval, as if I had provided a pretty good account of myself. It was only on the train back to London, that I began to feel slightly uneasy.
What the hell just happened there? If I am to be offered the job; on what basis exactly will the decision have been made? I don't know them and they have certainly not been able to gather a 'holistic' view of me - What makes you tick Nick? What motivates you Nick? How do you feel your previous career and life experience adds weight to your application Nick? Nope siree bob. None of this even come up. My life did not appear to exist i) before I began my student placements and ii) outside of the nhs-first-post-physio-interview. That makes sense, to a degree, given the context but it's supposed to be one of my big selling features (or perhaps this is only in my mind?). And when you spend 3 years having the concept of the importance of an holistic perspective drummed into you by your lecturers and clinical educators on the physio degree course - the above experience, that was anything but holistic, left an uncomfortable taste in the mouth.
Gosh here's an after thought that just popped into my mind - A junior physio is needed; we are all certified to be able to do the job - perhaps they don't even need to know or care about you as a person? or whether they can get on with you? You're a certified professional, paid to do job 'x' within this level of remit, so let's churn you all through the mincer and see which one of you our tick box criteria ystem rates most able to do the job. "Enter date ... processing (this may take a few moments) ... the result matrix is as follows. And it's Candidate 'Y'".
Wow, sterile isn't it!?
Anyway, I was not Candidate 'Y' and didn't get the job. I will find out specifics when I have arranged a call into that hospital for feedback this coming Wednesday. However, I am now much better prepared for the next battle, whenever that may occur. 7 out of 10 Physio graduates from the class of 2006 - that's 7 months since graduation for most - are still without work due to the NHS financial crisis/ mismanagement of funds/ workforce planning, so it may be a while. If you're reading this site then you will of course be kept informed.
I understand the importance of being well prepared in terms of physiotherapy knowledge, NHS governance and having done homework on the NHS Trust in question. And there is always room for improvement for anyone preparing for an interview, but in this instance - and unusually for a guy like me who spent 6 years in business sales - it feels like it was the bullshit bingo wot done me!
Next!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Extra inches in the bedroom department!
So, I've decided to have a penis extension. Was that too honest? Ever since starting blogging 3 years ago, I have stewed over the idea of honesty, privacy etc. If you choose to use this as a way of recording your thoughts (as opposed to simply sharing them), then how 'open' should you be. After all, if I was to admit to having thoughts about killing people, slowly and painfully with a rusty coat-hanger then its probably not a good idea to share these thoughts on a blog under my real name, and which is read by the odd family member and friend. On the other hand, wouldn't it be the perfect place to issue a cry to help, to those nearest and dearest? Because after all, aren't all criminals just disturbed children seeking attention!? If I were to have foul thoughts (your honour), I suppose I could create a site under a pseudonym and 'fictionalise' said ideas ... On that note, I had a great idea about - i thought - for a story about a large scale act of terror committed on London's tube by a disenfranchised white racist, who uses the tactics and media focus on islamic terrorists to conceal his crime, while at the same time 'getting one back at the ethnics'. Have thought about starting to write this on a blog, if I ever have time.
Anyhow, I digress - back to the penis extension! Jo has been complaining for years about the lack of inches available in the bedroom department. Thankfully, this has nothing to do with my penis at all, but our 10 year old Ikea mattress (boring!), on which you can feel every spring and sometimes wonder whether you wouldn't just be better off on the floor. So yesterday we took delivery of a huge, thick mattress very kindly donated by our friends Emma and Paddy, whose own house refurbishing has made this mattress surplus to their requirements. This is a god-send for Jo (aka the Princess and the pea) who has been complaining persistently for years about her discomfort in bed. The mattress issue never really bothered me that much I have to say - after all, if you're asleep, then you surely you don't notice the problem?! As I write on this early Sunday morning, Jo drifts in and out of sleep just long enough to say she is never getting out of bed again, and that she has been waking up all night "in raptures" just to remind herself how comfortable she is (go figure ...)! I guess there is a full night's sleep on the way at some point in the near future then .. but not yet! So a huge thanks to Emma and Paddy who didn't even charge us, you generous souls. Especially as it gives me more time to geotag my photos on Flickr - an extremely time-consuming, but exciting use of the latest web technology to both express oneself and share one's experiences online .. and not a penis extension or cruelly sadistic and murderous thought in site ... altogether now .. a collective sigh of relief ...
Aaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
: - )
So, I've decided to have a penis extension. Was that too honest? Ever since starting blogging 3 years ago, I have stewed over the idea of honesty, privacy etc. If you choose to use this as a way of recording your thoughts (as opposed to simply sharing them), then how 'open' should you be. After all, if I was to admit to having thoughts about killing people, slowly and painfully with a rusty coat-hanger then its probably not a good idea to share these thoughts on a blog under my real name, and which is read by the odd family member and friend. On the other hand, wouldn't it be the perfect place to issue a cry to help, to those nearest and dearest? Because after all, aren't all criminals just disturbed children seeking attention!? If I were to have foul thoughts (your honour), I suppose I could create a site under a pseudonym and 'fictionalise' said ideas ... On that note, I had a great idea about - i thought - for a story about a large scale act of terror committed on London's tube by a disenfranchised white racist, who uses the tactics and media focus on islamic terrorists to conceal his crime, while at the same time 'getting one back at the ethnics'. Have thought about starting to write this on a blog, if I ever have time.
Anyhow, I digress - back to the penis extension! Jo has been complaining for years about the lack of inches available in the bedroom department. Thankfully, this has nothing to do with my penis at all, but our 10 year old Ikea mattress (boring!), on which you can feel every spring and sometimes wonder whether you wouldn't just be better off on the floor. So yesterday we took delivery of a huge, thick mattress very kindly donated by our friends Emma and Paddy, whose own house refurbishing has made this mattress surplus to their requirements. This is a god-send for Jo (aka the Princess and the pea) who has been complaining persistently for years about her discomfort in bed. The mattress issue never really bothered me that much I have to say - after all, if you're asleep, then you surely you don't notice the problem?! As I write on this early Sunday morning, Jo drifts in and out of sleep just long enough to say she is never getting out of bed again, and that she has been waking up all night "in raptures" just to remind herself how comfortable she is (go figure ...)! I guess there is a full night's sleep on the way at some point in the near future then .. but not yet! So a huge thanks to Emma and Paddy who didn't even charge us, you generous souls. Especially as it gives me more time to geotag my photos on Flickr - an extremely time-consuming, but exciting use of the latest web technology to both express oneself and share one's experiences online .. and not a penis extension or cruelly sadistic and murderous thought in site ... altogether now .. a collective sigh of relief ...
Aaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
: - )
Friday, February 09, 2007
Do you have a relationship like this with your supermarket?
From the weekly newsletter that comes with our organic fruit & veg box delivery, supplied by the Riverford Organic Vegetables co-operative. Something just feels right, about being educated about where our food has come from, and what was involved in the growing and harvesting of the contents of our box week in, week out. They even offer tours of the farm, for kids and adults alike.
We've been doing the veg box thing now, since Nov 2002, and the more time passes, the more I find myself feeling like part of a futuristic Matrix-like slave-nation whenever I have the misfortune to find myself in a major supermarket. All that packaging, all those gawdy colours, all those unnecessary products, chemicals and E numbers.
The horror ... the horror ..
"This week we start the final big job of the year; harvesting the celeriac. We have tried mechanising this Herculean task using a potato harvester but find that the knobbly, fibrous roots hang on to so much earth that we get a barn full of soil. So back to hand harvesting. A sharp, machete-style knife is run around the root so it can be pulled up, then trimmed to remove most of the soil and root. It will take a month to get all nine acres into the barn."
From the weekly newsletter that comes with our organic fruit & veg box delivery, supplied by the Riverford Organic Vegetables co-operative. Something just feels right, about being educated about where our food has come from, and what was involved in the growing and harvesting of the contents of our box week in, week out. They even offer tours of the farm, for kids and adults alike.
We've been doing the veg box thing now, since Nov 2002, and the more time passes, the more I find myself feeling like part of a futuristic Matrix-like slave-nation whenever I have the misfortune to find myself in a major supermarket. All that packaging, all those gawdy colours, all those unnecessary products, chemicals and E numbers.
The horror ... the horror ..
Thursday, February 08, 2007
CRAP (or, 'surely hubris is too strong a word ... humble pie perhaps')
Here's a lesson in humility (or better yet, knowing when to keep yer big mouth shut!):
Egg on my face?? Errrrr ... I think it could be a 2:1 after all. Just had another look at the student handbook ...
"6.1.2.1: In calculating the mark for a module on the basis of the component marks, the final mark is calculated as a percentage with all decimals points rounded up to the nearest whole number."
i.e. i focussed on "rounded up", assuming up to be literal, while not noticing (choosing not to see?!) the "nearest whole number". With 69.4% ...the nearest whole number is 69 ... cr*p.
A bit gutting having let myself believe I'd done just enough to nab the top spot, as it were! But there you go.
Also the 'award board' has not sat yet and won't until next week now. I give up. way too much emotional energy invested in this over last 12 months. The administrator i just spoke to said the board would have to sit and discuss my "case". Needless to say, a little nerve-wracking. Am strung out, tense like a violin string (violin string? couldn't i have come up with something more 'street'?!) wondering if my academic history/ transcript will stand up to close scrutiny:
16 Marks:
5 - 70+
7 - 65+
------------
2 - >65
2 - >60
If you have an opinion, or just like to speculate - let me know what you think at: nick@nickseecharan.info
oooooooooooooooooooooooh. Could be so close yet so very very far .. N x
Here's a lesson in humility (or better yet, knowing when to keep yer big mouth shut!):
Egg on my face?? Errrrr ... I think it could be a 2:1 after all. Just had another look at the student handbook ...
"6.1.2.1: In calculating the mark for a module on the basis of the component marks, the final mark is calculated as a percentage with all decimals points rounded up to the nearest whole number."
i.e. i focussed on "rounded up", assuming up to be literal, while not noticing (choosing not to see?!) the "nearest whole number". With 69.4% ...the nearest whole number is 69 ... cr*p.
A bit gutting having let myself believe I'd done just enough to nab the top spot, as it were! But there you go.
Also the 'award board' has not sat yet and won't until next week now. I give up. way too much emotional energy invested in this over last 12 months. The administrator i just spoke to said the board would have to sit and discuss my "case". Needless to say, a little nerve-wracking. Am strung out, tense like a violin string (violin string? couldn't i have come up with something more 'street'?!) wondering if my academic history/ transcript will stand up to close scrutiny:
16 Marks:
5 - 70+
7 - 65+
------------
2 - >65
2 - >60
If you have an opinion, or just like to speculate - let me know what you think at: nick@nickseecharan.info
oooooooooooooooooooooooh. Could be so close yet so very very far .. N x
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
No Limbo No Longer! (say that quickly, after 6 pints)
B jeez louise! What do I have to do to please these people? 33 people did better than me, 12 did worse. An indication of the overwhelmingly underwhelming (!) final exam mark I just found out about last night. They already failed me twice on this particular aspect of this particular module ... and for my sins, my nemeses have only given me a paltry 50% this time, when the general consensus was that I had aced it (the practical exam).
But as usual there is always an upside .. in this instance, the fact that I have .. finally .. finished my degree! Bar the shouting (and the paperwork), I am a now a chartered physiotherapist (but you can call me Physio ... ok Mr. Physio).
"I thought I'd something more to saaaaay"
B jeez louise! What do I have to do to please these people? 33 people did better than me, 12 did worse. An indication of the overwhelmingly underwhelming (!) final exam mark I just found out about last night. They already failed me twice on this particular aspect of this particular module ... and for my sins, my nemeses have only given me a paltry 50% this time, when the general consensus was that I had aced it (the practical exam).
But as usual there is always an upside .. in this instance, the fact that I have .. finally .. finished my degree! Bar the shouting (and the paperwork), I am a now a chartered physiotherapist (but you can call me Physio ... ok Mr. Physio).
"I thought I'd something more to saaaaay"
Monday, February 05, 2007
Work-life balance?
how about life-life balance ...? Ickburgh Rd (pictured) runs parallel to my street and is located 'behind us', so the end of our back garden meets the gardens of houses on Ickburgh Rd .. it's approximately 100m away. Well, I suppose a miss is as good as a mile - Like saying I was involved in the Manchester bombing of 1996. True I was there, saw the plume/ leftovers of the Arndale glittering high in the summer sky seconds after the explosion .. and felt the entire Princess Hotel lobby shake just as we were headed out on to Princess St.
Close ... but no cigar (or should that be 'close, but no shards of body length glass' off the facades a few hundred short metres away on Piccadilly Gardens). I suppose the above incident is similar. No cause for panic, unless some random magic bullet a la JFK ricocheted off/ through the victim onto a wall and through the gap between our properties and into our lives. Unlikely, but not physically impossible. Factor in also, that there have been many shootings (one just as close and at our end of Evering Rd - another drive-by) and most appear to be gang-related rather than indiscriminate. Still, no joy derived from seeing these kind of notices spring up outside your home. And people wonder why on earth I have just accepted a job interview in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, right on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Yes a brighter note in this short tale today .. My first NHS job interview!! I'm pretty amazed to have been offered anything to be honest, since I neither have confirmation of my degree yet, nor the registration papers to start practicing. Well, let's see where it goes, but I won't get excited yet since there are several hundred physios, unemployed just like me, likely hunting rare interviews for the few available jobs out there.
Still, its good to be alive, standing on my own two feet and in a position to even be rejected - unlike the poor bastard who got blown away in the street behind me. If he's still around, I hope he uses the experience in a positive way and not as an excuse to perpetuate the gang violence here in Hackney, London.
Ickburgh Rd has sent shivers down Jo's and my spine for a few years now, being the scene of a crime much closer to home for us back in 2004. Here, however, is a happier association with my back garden, pictured just over a week ago in the first and possibly last 12 hours of snow we've seen in this corner of London this winter. That's Ickburgh Rd just behind my shed in the centre of the shot - Welcome to Crackney!
I'll let you know how the job interview went.
how about life-life balance ...? Ickburgh Rd (pictured) runs parallel to my street and is located 'behind us', so the end of our back garden meets the gardens of houses on Ickburgh Rd .. it's approximately 100m away. Well, I suppose a miss is as good as a mile - Like saying I was involved in the Manchester bombing of 1996. True I was there, saw the plume/ leftovers of the Arndale glittering high in the summer sky seconds after the explosion .. and felt the entire Princess Hotel lobby shake just as we were headed out on to Princess St.
Close ... but no cigar (or should that be 'close, but no shards of body length glass' off the facades a few hundred short metres away on Piccadilly Gardens). I suppose the above incident is similar. No cause for panic, unless some random magic bullet a la JFK ricocheted off/ through the victim onto a wall and through the gap between our properties and into our lives. Unlikely, but not physically impossible. Factor in also, that there have been many shootings (one just as close and at our end of Evering Rd - another drive-by) and most appear to be gang-related rather than indiscriminate. Still, no joy derived from seeing these kind of notices spring up outside your home. And people wonder why on earth I have just accepted a job interview in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, right on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Yes a brighter note in this short tale today .. My first NHS job interview!! I'm pretty amazed to have been offered anything to be honest, since I neither have confirmation of my degree yet, nor the registration papers to start practicing. Well, let's see where it goes, but I won't get excited yet since there are several hundred physios, unemployed just like me, likely hunting rare interviews for the few available jobs out there.
Still, its good to be alive, standing on my own two feet and in a position to even be rejected - unlike the poor bastard who got blown away in the street behind me. If he's still around, I hope he uses the experience in a positive way and not as an excuse to perpetuate the gang violence here in Hackney, London.
Ickburgh Rd has sent shivers down Jo's and my spine for a few years now, being the scene of a crime much closer to home for us back in 2004. Here, however, is a happier association with my back garden, pictured just over a week ago in the first and possibly last 12 hours of snow we've seen in this corner of London this winter. That's Ickburgh Rd just behind my shed in the centre of the shot - Welcome to Crackney!
I'll let you know how the job interview went.
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