Tag Archives: sketch

Scooting

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My new job is spread across the city of Cardiff.  I have two desks ‘conveniently’ located in separate buildings nearly 2 miles apart.   As you can imagine, travelling on foot wastes an awful lot of time and using a bicycle has its downsides: finding a space on a busy train; carrying extra kit (helmets, chain locks, fluorescent jackets); and finding somewhere to lock it up at work. So my solution?

A SCOOTER!!  The bees knees of travel! You may laugh, but I have thighs of steel and can manage my two mile trip in just under 15 minutes! It’s an unusual sight seeing adults scooting (or scootering?) down the road, but just a couple of days ago, I crossed paths with a very elegant looking lady gliding along on a scooter. We were both taken aback and did an air high-five as I shot past her with hot red cheeks, my rucksack hanging off my shoulder and the lactic acid burning.

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Guitar blues

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So I’ve decided to take my guitar out of its case for the first time in many years…It’s my New Year’s resolution to learn several songs from start to finish before the year’s up.   To help me, I’ve employed a guitar teacher and so far, things are looking positive!  Though if you’ve ever played a guitar, you’ll know that until your fingers are used to it, it can be somewhat painful!

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Guilt

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Sometimes my daily routine floods me with guilt.  Guilt for the impact I’m having on the environment.  I spent seven years working in the sector, bossing (yes ‘bossing’ – I know, hard to believe eh?) people around because I wanted everyone to sit up and listen. I’d tell them to recycle because in the UK we produce enough waste to fill the Albert Hall every two hours. I’d run around switching lights off after everyone and chastising people if they didn’t turn their computer off after a day’s work.   For those seven years, I was told that the tipping point was coming – the point when the detrimental impact of human society on the planet would reach the point of no return.   I would get upset because people couldn’t see beyond today.   I left that job.  I left it because I felt helpless.

These days I still boss people around and harp on about the penguins, polar bears and climate change – people think I’m odd.  I also carry a lot of guilt around because my daily routine still leaves a massive footprint!

Guilt

 

Fringe superheroes!

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This is one of those ‘you had to be there’ moments, but I’ll tell you anyway.  A colleague of mine managed to get a fishbone stuck under his fingernail, causing it to go septic.  This sparked a rather raucous conversation about the fish equivalent of Spiderman.    It started out as Sardine Man, with the ability to fit into tight spaces but I thought Mackerel Man had a better ring to it (and theme tune).

mackerel man

Clearing

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Today I had a taste of what it’s like working in a call centre as I manned the phones for University clearing.   Hopeful young students nervously gave me their grades and waited with baited breath while I calculated their credits before putting them through to a tutor for the final decision, or told them they hadn’t met the minimum criteria.

It’s heartbreaking when you tell a young person their grades aren’t good enough, especially when they beg you to consider the fact that they really, really want to do business studies and if they could ‘just talk to the tutor’ they could possibly negotiate their way in…   I can sympathise – I know what it’s like when you don’t get the grades you hoped for!

What’s worse though, are the ranty parents who don’t understand why little Billy wasn’t accepted on the course and “What are YOU basing YOUR criteria on?!!!”.   Not surprisingly I came away with a rather large headache and an overwhelming desire to lie down.   Despite this, it was an enjoyable experience and great to be directly interacting with young people!

Clearing

Monsieur Squirrel

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Squirrels have been a regular sight this holiday! Our campsite was besieged by them and our holiday cottage is frequented by a family of fat, quarrelsome squizzels searching for a tid bit or two! We even spotted one making off with an entire baguette (not ours I might add), he could hardly run straight under the weight! 

I wasn’t aware baguettes were part of a squirrel’s diet…perhaps he was French?