Datchi akounto

I like:

Cups of tea
Chocolate truffles
Music
My sofa
My home
My friends
My family
Watching TV
Reading books
Theatre
Walking
Sun
Wine
Playing on the internet
Liquorice
My job
(and lots and lots of other things, not necessarily in this order!)

I don't like:

Work
Household chores
(probably also not an exhaustive list but much harder to think of things here...)

Overall, not too bad, methinks!

The issue of overcrowding in Britain is still all over the media. This morning, whilst sipping my cup of tea, I was watching an interview on BBC Breakfast with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. It appears the government has made a mistake on the number of foreign nationals working in the UK.

Of course it is important for the government to be able to track these things properly, but people's circumstances change all the time, and therefore it can be difficult for the government to always have an accurate number at hand. That's one of the reasons why we have a census every 10 years.

The thing that really got to me in this interview however, wasn't the fact that they'd got the number wrong. It was Dermot Murnaghan going on about British jobs for British workers. Being a foreign national in employment in the UK, this one always angers me a bit.

I always feel that statement is just so ignorant, and to see the BBC come up with this is nearly unbelievable! The job market, as any other market is affected by supply and demand. There are many jobs available in many different sectors and industries. I don't believe there is a real problem with a lack of jobs for people in the UK, or specifically for British nationals.

Perhaps there is a gap between skills available and required, but I firmly believe that if someone wants to work they can find work. It's important for everyone to develop skills and keep them up to date if required. Things are generally not handed to people on a plate. We all have to learn and work to gain employement and to get ahead in life. I don't believe it matters or should matter what nationality you are, it should be about the best person for the job.

One news story caught my eye last week, and it unfolded differently to what I had initially expected... Helen Mirren said in an interview that she was childless because the thought of childbirth disgusts her. Apparently she'd seen a video of childbirth as a child, and that put her off for life.

Creating new life, having children is often seen as something very important. Some feel we have a duty to procreate. Plenty of women would love to have children but can't. Therefore, I thought the media might pounce on this story and make Helen Mirren out to be a terrible person. Luckily, Helen is a nation's favourite, and instead of vilifying her, the media was very understanding, and some articles on the subject appeared to pity her.

Reading some of these articles, I learned a lot about what different women think about pregnancy, childbirth, babies and parenthood. There is even a name for it all; tokophobia - the fear of childbirth.

I found all this very interesting indeed. It was good to read what all these different women felt and thought. I'm not sure the 'fear of childbirth' adequately described what these women were talking about, but I guess it's pretty close.

The reason I found all this very interesting, is because I'm not a very maternal person. I don't want to have children. I'm not sure how honest I can be about this because often people believe that if you can have children, you should be grateful, and make sure you do have children.
Still, I'll be honest and I hope not to be judged too harshly as some of this may sound pretty awful.

There are several reason why I don't want children. For one, I'm not sure I want to bring a child into this world, as it is now. This is a weak excuse because I actually love life so why not grant that gift to someone else. Secondly, also weak, I'm not sure I'd make a very good parent. I believe this is a general worry for lots of people... The more important reasons are to do with pregnancy and childbirth.

Those two things send shivers down my spine. I always thought there was something wrong with me and felt guilty, until last week when I realised there are plenty of women with similar issues.
When I see a pregnant lady, I actually have a physical reaction, it seems so wrong to me, my stomach makes a somersault. I feel bad about this but even as I write this I'm shivering. It'd been a bit better in the last year or so, but seeing my brother's girlfriend belly move of it's own accord just made it all worse again.
I can't help but thinking of that scene from the film Alien...

Then childbirth itself. I believe it's a major design flaw in a woman's physique. It really puts me off.

I will not rule anything out, never say never... I know that stranger things have happened and I may change my mind, but it seems very unlikely. I might one day love someone so much, that if they want a child I might do it for them. Likely I suggest adoption first though. Even more likely a childless future for me.

I don't really understand it fully, and it seems wrong and I can't quite explain it. I feel guilty and ungrateful (assuming I can have children, I haven't tried...). But I found the stories in the media very interesting, and was pleasantly surprised at the understanding reaction.

I'm glad I'll be an auntie soon. My parents want to be grandparents, and they know I'm unlikely to have any children so at least my brother is now having a baby. I think I can cope with being an auntie...

Recently, a blog friend of mine took over an island (see http://eagle-eye.blog.co.uk/ it's a very good read). I thought this was a very admirable feat! I have ambitions to be a world leader also, but I would not stop at an island. My ambition would be to rule the whole world!

I came up with this idea when at university (where else?), with a friend of mine. Our ideas were mostly based on the cartoon Pinky and the Brain, two lab-rats who try to take over the world every night. We'd picked our headquarters and a strategy. My friend would play the playstation, and I would take control of the whole world!

The world we'd envisaged would be peaceful; there would be no war, no conflict! The plan was to go to the middle east, and give them all a good telling off (this was the biggest area of conflict at the time). That would ensure peace.

The second, and main part of the plan which aims to prevent conflict from happening, was to abolish money and create a worldwide society based on 'need' rather than 'want'. I was going to launch a satelite which would be used to brainwash the entire population on earth.

People would only use what they need, and greed would no longer be part of human nature. The earth's resources could be sustained for longer and climate change would also be reduced. A flawless plan, I'm sure you'll agree.

When people only use what they need, that's all they could want, so there would be no conflict anymore...

Maybe one day, I'll buy my friend a playstation, take out the lease on our chosen headquarters and get started... Might have to work on our plans some more as the world may be in a worse place now than it was then, perhaps there is much more that needs to be done. But I'm confident the brain-washing satelite will conquer all!

This is the fourth day I've had a cold, and it doesn't seem to get better or worse. I really thought I would've beaten it by now, but hey!
At least it's the weekend so I got to have a nice lie in this morning and I can just relax.

Went out for a walk earlier and did some shopping. I'm going to be an auntie any day now, so I got some baby booties... The mum and dad to be already know if it's going to be a boy or a girl, and they have the name ready and everything, but they won't tell us...

I don't mind. I think it's going to be a boy. They visited me this summer, and I think they slipped up a few times when looking at kiddies stuff. So I got boy booties. A girl can wear them too of course. They're very cool!

This baby will be so spoiled! Not just by me, but I think the parents will be bad as well. All the things they've got so far are just lovely, and this child will certainly never want for anything!

I think the parents will be great parents tho! They both love children, and I think they will do a good job.

Can't wait! Not long now!!

Being relatively new at this, I still wonder about blogging sometimes. I'm amazed I have a blog now, and I wonder if I'll blog for a long time, or if I'll forget I've got a blog, or if I won't find the time anymore...

So far though, I think it's brilliant! It's pretty much what I thought it would be. I really enjoy reading what other people write, and often it's very inspirational or good food for thought.

For myself, I find I use it for all sorts. Sometimes I use it to express opinions, or to remember events from the past. Sometimes I vent frustrations, or I want to tell the world how happy I am. Sometimes I explore my own motives and reasonings, and try to find different perspectives and points of view.

I think it's a useful tool, where people can learn lots of things and I hope I'll be writing for a long time to come.

This is the final update on previous posts for today, promise!

As you may have read, I'd won tickets to a Kaiser Chiefs gig, where there were no Kaiser Chiefs... I'd complained, and today I received a little something in the post to make up for it. I was really hoping for a Kaiser Chief CD or something, seeing as it had been a Kaiser Chief competition... It was a Pacha CD and a Sugababes CD. It's almost the same type of music... Anyway, will give it a listen, might be quite good. The Pacha one might be useful on the MP3 player during sports?

And to end today, the books I'd ordered last week arrived!!!!!!! I'm so excited, I'm really looking forward to starting to read them! Must finish the one I'm reading first tho, it's really quite good, better than I thought it would be. I'm happy!

Today I have a bit of an update on recent events at work. I had my scheduled bi-weekly meeting with my manager and it was certainly interesting.

I'd been asked to provide some feedback on some of the companies policies and make some suggestions for improvement. In light of recent events, I was a bit worried about speaking out freely, but I did anyway and it turned out ok. In fact, it was a good way to lead into the more serious events from the past week.

My manager had already spoken with my colleague, and for a moment it sounded like between them they had made up their mind... I then asked my manager to substantiate any critisism and to give examples. Well... That had him stumped! He couldn't come up with even one example! I do believe he was rather embarrased at that, and rightly so!!!

I explained how I felt about recent events, and my view of the situation and I got the feeling he did listen properly and perhaps something will get done to rectify the situation. At the same time I think that's all terribly naive and I should know better by now. After all, I've seen wrong things happen often enough in that place!

In the end, I was honest about everything, so at least I know my integrity will stay intact, but that doesn't pay the bills. I'm not made of the sort of stuff that just sits back and let things happen. I've worked too hard to achieve my goals, and one unprofessional person will not stop me!

Tonight, I have a few things to share, so I'll just start with the one that impacts me the most...
I fear I may be in danger of getting man-flu... I've definitely got a cold, but I'm worried the evil virus has mutated and can now cross species...
We'll see what happens when the drugs kick in. In the mean time I'm relying on chocolate chip cookies and mandarins. Chocolate to release endorphins to increase feelings of well-being, and mandarins for vitamin C to help my immune system.
I don't know why it's taken the medical world so long to find a cure for the common cold!

As I started writing about trips, I feel like writing about some of the trips I've made before...

I've obviously been to Italy. So far, it's my favourite country in the world! The people are very friendly, the food is lovely, and I like the lifestyle. My dream is to retire in Italy, to live in a villa on the slope of a hill with a vinyard and olive trees.

When I was little, we used to go to Italy every summer; camping for two weeks. We used to drive over a day and a half, with a stopover in Tirol. Then we'd camp somewhere in North Italy near a lake. My parents used to go out on all sorts of day-trips and my brother and me would stay on the campsite and play with the other kids. That wasn't a problem back then, it seems it was a safer world?

A few times we went on holiday in France instead, which was fun but never as good as Italy. We always used to drive, and my brother and I would have cassette tapes and we'd play them over and over on the way. Must've driven my parents insane! But they were happy when we were happy (still are I'm sure!), anything to keep kids happy on long journeys!

Often, on these holidays, they would make us come with them on their day trips, and I think that's why I now like to take in culture and history when on holiday. I remember we sometimes made fun of my mum as she would get excited over every little flower by the roadside. We had great times on our family holidays!

One interesting story in the news today, which must be indicative of nothing much else happening in the world, is that the population in the UK may rise to 70 million in the next two decades (source: BBC news, online and on TV). The figures are based on estimates and on what might happen. The word overcrowded is used quite a bit...

For a news item, there are a lot of uncertainties here, as well as a fair amount of scare-mongering, I think. It's a prime example of the media trying to create a public outcry by how it reports certain stories. What worries me as well is the link with immigration in this story.

When I travel around the UK, I still marvel at the wide open spaces that you have here! Perhaps that is something that must be treasured, I haven't made up my mind yet.
Holland is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, and ranking rather high in the world as well.
Evan Davis mentioned that the UK's population would have to grow to 90 million people to be as densely populated as Holland is now.

I'm never really convinced by the overcrowding issue in the UK, that's one thing that bothers me about this news item.
Also, I think the media should try to report more objectively and inform viewers/readers etc about all aspects of a story, rather than what they want to portray. I think freedom of speech and press priviliges are based on that, rather than any campaigns or propaganda.

One of the things I like to do, besides reading books or going to gigs which I already discussed here, is travelling. I like learning about new cultures, habits, traditions etc. It always gives an interesting new perspective on what you already know! And I love learning about the history of the places I visit.

This year, I haven't been to many places. I've been to Holland but that doesn't really count, although I'm pretty anglified (is that a word or did I just make that up?) so it's good to get a reminder of the original home sometimes.

I went on a proper beach holiday to Alykes, Zakynthos this summer. Normally I go on city trips or similar rather than beach holidays. And this holiday reminded me why that is. I had a great time, and it was very relaxing. The weather was brilliant and the scenery was beautiful! But I didn't need to learn even one word of greek to get by, Sky sports was everywhere, and we had to look really hard to find a restaurant that served real greek cuisine.

I've got some good trips coming up though, and I'm really looking forward to it. The first one is to Cork, Ireland and I can't wait! I think it will be a beautiful place with lots of culture and history! I'm looking forward to long walks and mingling with the locals!

After that I'm off to Milan, Italy! I've got a feeling I'm going to need a large suitcase for that trip! It will be a wonderful mix of old and new culture, lovely food and a bit of shopping! So far, of all the countries I've been to, Italy is my favourite so I'm really looking forward to going there again!

In between I will of course also travel to Holland again, but I'm not too sure when as it will be when my niece or nephew is born!!

I'll write about some of the other places I've been to some other time, as well as explaining why, so far, Italy is firmly place in the number one spot! It's more than just bolognaise, I promise!

Since things started to go a bit wrong at work about a week ago, it's like work has completely taken over my life! I worry about it a lot of the time, it's affecting my sleep, I'm getting irritable and every little thing suddenly becomes huge and can cause hours of aggravation... I think it's called stress, and I'm not loving it!

Last saturday was the Rugby World Cup Final, and I'd really been looking forward to it as it was going to be a brilliant night out no matter what the result! On top of that, the weather was beautiful all weekend!
But come Saturday, I could barely drag myself out of bed, let alone out of my home. This just made things worse as I felt guilty about not making the most of a beautiful day!

In the end I got up around half past three to get ready to go to the pub to make sure we'd have a good spot to watch the game. I felt awful at having wasted a day like that, but I guess it was needed to relax. I read my book and drank cups of tea... not bad really!

We did have a good night out, but it still felt marred to me. On Sunday I managed to get up earlier, and I felt better anyway. I just played online for a bit, then one of my friends convinced me to come out for the Grand Prix, and to catch up. That was really nice. (I think I've mentioned before I've got really good friends!)

Still, the thought of going back to work probably didn't appeal as I didn't sleep well at all... It was a very long night. I got to work, and it was fine really. A pretty good day all over. My colleague is out of the office for most of the week, which helps, but I did some good work, and showed some commitment to the cause.

Like most people, I much prefer to be happy. I know life can get hard, and bad things happen, and things just can't be perfect all the time, but you have to deal with it and get on with things even when it seems utterly impossible. And really, in the grand scheme of things, work mustn't have this much influence on my life! It's not what's really important.

So now I'm looking for a different perspective. I believe work should be secondary to my personal life. What bothers me is that I've worked hard to achieve certain goals, and all that hard work is now being threatened by factors outside my control in an unjust manner.
The other thing that bothers me is security. I've got commitments I have to fulfill, therefore I can't just leave my job. And I don't even want to because I like what I do, and I'm good at it.

To gain my different perspective, I think I have to start at home, or in my personal life at least, shift the focus... First thing is to stock the fridge with fresh fruit and veg; healthy eating makes for a healthy mind. Secondly, I will make sure my home is neat and tidy, that will help calm me if necessary. Thirdly, I will increase my exercise regime, again; healthy living - healthy mind.

Things at work are out of my control, and I will have to make the best of the situation. I can try to change things for the better, and if that doesn't work, I can look elsewhere. I can consider all my options, and maybe even make some big changes in my life. They say things happen for a reason and perhaps this is the little push I need to do something different...

It may take a little while, but I will get my different perspective, and I will fix things because I've not given up before and I don't plan to give up now either! As I said before, this really doesn't matter that much in the grand scheme of things! This year has been really good so far with nothing going really wrong, so it seems bigger than it is, but really I am so lucky with everything I've got; my family, my friends, my home and even my work! Must never forget how lucky I am!

The filming of the Channel 4 music show Transmission took place in the Southampton docks last friday night! I'd won tickets in a radio competition see the Kaiser Chiefs play at this gig! I was very excited! Especially when the tickets came through, and they said they were Priority tickets! Wow!

I was instructed to be at the train station for 5.15 pm, where a bus would collect us and take us to the gig.
I went with a friend from work, and we were there by 5 pm. A group of people were already waiting, so we joined the queue. Pretty soon it became clear that we'd all have to wait until 6 pm before the bus would come, and we were only instructed to get there early so we'd be at the front of the queue so we'd definitely get in. They'd given out too many tickets for this event, so a lot of people would go home disappointed.

After a long wait, one bus finally turned up! Only one though, so the wait continued... By now we were getting really cold as well.
Around 6.50 pm we finally got to the docks, where we had to wait a while longer for everyone else to turn up. By now, at least there were two buses going...

Finally things got started. There were 5 stage areas set up where bands would play, and we were told how to clap, scream and dance at the right time for the camera to capture it all. Quite bizarre really!

They then announced the bands that would be playing... No Kaiser Chiefs!!
Very disappointing! I didn't really know any of the bands that played.

It was a fun experience to be in a tv show audience, it certainly takes a lot of the glamour off what you actually see on tv, and it made me realise that it's actually really hard work for these bands to perform or to give interviews. If something isn't quite right, they have to do it over and over agin... Must get so dull!
Some of the audience had had too much to drink, and they were a bit too loud during interviews or when they were filming Steve Jones presenting.

Overall, the music was ok, but the atmosphere was fake. It was an interesting experience, but I'm not sure I would've gone if I'd know the Kaiser Chiefs wouldn't be there. It should be on tv on 2 November. I think it will look a bit strange as the audience is all wearing wintercoats and scarves, as it was so cold...

Tee Hee!!!!!!!! I know I said no more gigs until November, but I’ve been one very very very lucky girl! It appears I’ve won tickets to go see the Kaiser Chiefs at the filming of Transmission (a music show on Channel 4).
I entered a competition on the radio, and they phoned me back and said I’d won! We did a little interview and everything! I couldn’t believe it! I always hear people say that on radio competitions, but I always thought it’s because they’re excited. Now I know it's really true, because I couldn’t believe it either! Was speechless and shaking!
I’ve been waiting (rather impatiently) for them to ring me back with the details! It’s been an hour already! Until they ring back, I don’t think I’ll believe it properly!
Also, I’m gonna sound like a dipstick on the radio tomorrow morning! Stammering and unsure quite what's going on! Hahahaha!

We all (or most of us hopefully) grow up with stories; bedtime stories and fairytales. As we grow older, the stories change, and they might be in the media; film, radio, internet or tv. But there are also always books!

I absolutely love books!!!!!!! Ordered a big stack of them again this week and I'm really looking forward to receiving them! And then reading them! I know I won't be bored on the cosy dark winternights!

Reading is one of my favourite pastimes! I love reading about a scene, a setting, people, and create an image in my mind, and let myself go there! It's escapism I guess, but it also offers you lots of new ideas and perspectives!

I love reading books about history, or cultures, or the history of cultures! Or about modern life, about how people in the stories go about their daily lives and deal with trials and tribulations. I like to read about modern life in different countries. I like to read about how events and experiences affect the people in the stories and compare their reactions to what I think I might do, or have done.

I look forward to an early night with a book! My current one is about using psycho-analysis to solve murder, set in America in the early 20th century, using Sigmund Freud as a character in the story! Great combination; history, culture, theories and a murder mystery!
I'll let you know if it really turns out to be a good book, but so far I'm enjoying it and I look forward to hiding away with it in just a moment!

A quiet evening at home, with a documentary on tv which may turn out to be interesting. I'm watching a show on Ian Rankin, Rebus and Edinburgh.

I've read some of his books, and they're not bad. I like them as they're an easy read and entertaining. I like murder mysteries, trying to solve a case, trying to guess who, how and why.

So far I enjoy watching it (all 5 minutes of it) because Ian Rankin is narrating himself, and he's got a way with words. I like the way he is able to express himself, and his very creative way with words.
It reminds me also of a lot of the posts I read here. I enjoy reading well written, creative posts! It's an inspiration!

Today, my friend and I were chatting about things we would like to do, but which seem unlikely. Perhaps because it's too risky, to expensive, we have too many commitments. Practical reasons, what your parents would call sensible...

My shoes are worn out (proper holes in the soles) so I had to get some new ones. I liked two pairs, and again I went for the practical, sensible option...

I guess I will probably always go for the practical and sensible option... Is that what they call being responsible? Either way, it's not always the most cheerful...

So I will allow myself to dream more! I will imagine I won't do the practical or the sensible! I will imagine I will do things without any regard for any commitments, money, risk... All those things that stop people from doing what they really want to do.

Ian Rankin is telling about how he struggled to become a writer but he found some inspiration in his world around him, and look at him now!

Perhaps, if I imagine how things could be, I might find some inspiration and a way to do something that would be so different.

Perhaps I would own a cafe? Something in a European Style, licensed but not until late. With lovely food inspired by several European countries, including some british ones to ensure custom. I could write a business plan and go to the bank for business start-up loan...

Perhaps I would teach sports somewhere? I once taught sports, as a summer job. To this day, it was the best job I've ever had. We had a great time, and working with people who wanted to be there was lovely!

Mmmmm... I think I will sleep well tonight. I will dream of what could be, and perhaps I will find a way. In the mean time, I will continue to let myself be inspired by what other people have to say, what they achieve, and how they achieve it!

After a bit of a rocky week or so, things are finally looking a bit better again! The dreaded birthday is over and done with and I am officially another year older… Oh well! I can now look forward to celebrations on the weekend (and Royal Mail still owes me a stack of cards, but enough about that!).

Things at work are also picking up; I have found some motivation to do the more tedious tasks and fighting spirit to deal with the office politics and trying to make my voice heard in meetings. I’m standing my ground, and whilst I don’t always find it easy, I’m a bit pleased with myself for not backing down.

This is probably tricky ground to cover, and I don’t want to discuss in-depth right now, but I think it is quite hard for a young foreign female to work in an engineering environment dominated by a group of men who are all from the same background and with similar mindsets.
I think it may be easier if I was an engineer of any kind, but I work in project management and I have to make sure I don’t get ignored by the boys club… And it really does look like a boys club most of the time. The promotions and career progressions that occur are hardly ever based on skill or merit. And more often than not, within a year the decisions have to be rectified by creating a new job title for the person involved to mask the fact that they’re incompetent in the jobs they’ve been promoted into…

I’ll probably write some more on this subject in the future, but this is not the time or the place…

Further to my previous post on the Royal Mail strike, I've got some more thoughts. Actually, I can probably write a book on this one, but I'll try to keep it concise...

Since my last post, I read some more articles in the media on the reasons for this strike, which I wanted to add for completeness.

Firstly, Royal Mail employees have been offered a 6.9% pay rise over two years to compensate for the cut in their pension scheme. Again, pension cuts are common-place these days, and I'm sure very few people get any counter offer to compensate for any loss in pension!

Secondly, Royal Mail staff are contracted to work 37 hours and 20 minutes per week. In the past, employees have been able to leave work early and still get paid for a full week's work. Surely, if you get paid X amount for Y number of hours, you should work all those hours, or get paid less. I'm pretty sure job descriptions and contracts generally contain a clause along the lines of 'including any other tasks that may be required'. Again, I don't see a real cause for complaint, let alone a strike action of this size.

Finally, there was a comment about Postcomm keeping the Royal Mail prices down in comparison to postal services on mainland Europe. I don't believe that's true either. I don't know about all European countries, obviously, but the cost of sending any item here is not that low at all in comparison to the countries I do know about, and rising each year!

Apparently we'll be receiving post again tomorrow! I wonder if they've lost any of my mail, like they so often do...

Recently, I’ve seen a lot of posts about the Royal Mail strike, and I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and share my thoughts on the matter.

I understand the problems are caused by two main issues; modernisation of Royal Mail and pay increases for the workers. The Royal Mail has offered a pay increase of 2.5% whilst the Communication Workers Union (CWU) wants 27% over 5 years. Furthermore, Royal Mail wants to end their Final Salary pension scheme for all employees. Finally, workers are worried that a modernisation programme would mean loss of jobs for them.

Any business needs to move along with the times, and modernisation is vital for a company’s survival. Royal Mail is a bit of a British institution, and it will be bailed out many times before it would go under, but if it is not competitive, efficient and profitable there is nothing to say it will stay safe. If the business suffers, job loss is most likely. Therefore, it seems to me, jobs are on the line whether the Royal Mail modernises its business or not. And in that situation, surely it must be preferable to modernise and perhaps incur some job loss along the way, as it’s likely to offer different growth opportunities in other areas of the business, and that way create different jobs again.

If Royal Mail gets into serious financial trouble, it would be harder to turn things around. Royal Mail staff should want their employer to do well in the current and future markets as that is most likely to secure their jobs. During any modernisation programme, a business can offer re-training for its employees so they don’t become unemployed, but they change their careers. This would be beneficial for employees and it may safe the company in redundancy and recruitment cost, offset against training costs.

The pension issue is an issue for many businesses today (see my post ‘Economic Decline?’ 27 Sept ‘07). Pension funds have to be sustained, and with an ageing population changes are inevitable.

Finally, the issue of pay increase. 27% over 5 years is a considerable increase, and I’m not sure it’s entirely realistic… But if it was up to me, I’d say Royal Mail salaries should be performance related. I think a lot of post goes missing and the service is very poor. I think that if you were to relate pay to the company’s performance, there might even be a reduction in pay. Post services deal with many different items, but people have to be able to trust their items will be looked after properly, and delivered in a timely manner.
Currently, Royal Mail takes very little responsibility for lost items, and the onus is on the customer to investigate and prove that an item was sent etc. I understand that details are required to try to locate any missing items, but Royal Mail could adopt a more pro-active approach in solving service-related problems.

This strike has a negative effect on many businesses and the economy as a whole. I don’t believe the general public has a great deal of sympathy for the worker’s cause as many of us have their pensions cut, very few can expect a 27% pay rise over 5 years, and change and modernisation in the work-place is part of every-day life for most of us!

Last night, I went to another concert at the Guildhall. It was the last one for a few weeks, so I won’t be posting any more gig stories for a little while!

Maximo Park performed last night, and they were brilliant! I had a great time! I hadn’t been to the Guildhall for a gig before, but it is a very good venue. We had seated tickets for the side circle, and we were told they weren’t very good seats. I don’t know who decided that, but I disagree! They were very good seats! We were close to the band and no-one in front of us, obscuring our view!
It was great being able to watch the crowd downstairs as well. They were really enthusiastic! Lots of crowd-surfing going on!

The band was really good! I have to admit I’d never heard of them before my friend mentioned they were playing locally. I listened to their album a lot before the gig, and I really like it! They performed great on stage, and the atmosphere was fantastic!

If you ever have the chance to see them, you should!

No more gigs now until The Fray visit Portsmouth in November! Really looking forward to that one!

This week was a very busy week for me! Not so much work-wise, more the important side of life; out of work!

I had tickets to three concerts, held locally. On Monday, I went to see the Reverend & the Makers, on Wednesday it was Amy McDonald's turn, and the week ended with Jack Penate last night! Three very good nights!

Reverend & the Makers played at the Pyramids Centre. A fairly big venue for a relatively new band. Someone told me it was their first gig on their first tour, so anything could happen really! For me, this concert was lacking somewhat... We had a really good time, and my friends thought the band was really good!
I liked a few of their songs, but the atmosphere wasn't great. It seems to me, when the public don't really know a band, they tend to just stand and watch, rather than getting into the music. In a venue the size of the Pyramids that really affects the atmosphere. On top of that, the Reverend himself appeared to be trying to be like one of the Gallagher brothers; very moody! That attitude nonsense is wasted on me. It was ok, but I wasn't bowled over by the whole experience. I'm unlikely to queue for their album or to see them live again.

Amy McDonald played in the Wedgewood Rooms. That's probably my favourite local venue for a concert as it's small. The crowd was great! Amy gave a great performance! I didn't really know her music before the concert, but I really like it, and she's got an amazing voice! She has impressive stage-presence, and it was easy for her to build up a good rapport with the audience. The whole night was very impressive! Towards the end, she did a rendition of Mr Brightside, originally by The Killers. Very very good!

Finally, Jack Penate played in the Pyramids Centre last night. I only knew one of his songs before the gig, and his album is not due out until Monday. Still, the night was a sell out, and there was no atmosphere lacking this time! The crowd were very enthusiastic and Jack is a very energetic performer! It was a very good gig, and I will listen to his album when it comes out!

My favourite concert this week was Amy McDonald! Brilliant night out! Next week, I'm going to see Maximo Park at the Guildhall. I'm looking forward to that one, I really like their second album (don't really know the first one).
Then next month it's The Fray, and in December Scouting for Girls hopefully!

It’s Friday afternoon, the sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day! In fact, in theory, all this week has been really good with no real cause for complaint! What’s more, the weekend is looking like a good one as well!

So why? Why, why, why… am I not feeling my usual chirpy self? And the realisation that I don’t feel my usual chirpy self just makes things worse!

It may have all started to go wrong when I watched that documentary on Sunday. But I had a good week ahead of me, with lots of fun plans for things to do. I went to three different concerts (more on that some other time), all very exciting stuff!

Yet somehow, by Tuesday, my general mood had deteriorated significantly, and it still hasn’t quite recovered yet by now, if anything it’s getting worse. And as I said, that just annoys me even more! I much prefer to be happy and bouncy, and see beautiful things everywhere! (strange that!)

So, to try to fix the situation, I set about trying to figure out what it is exactly that’s getting me down. Now, I can never be sure with me quite what’s going on (imagine what it must be like for anyone else to figure out…pfff!) But I think I may have found the cause of the problem!

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like it’s a problem easily fixed… (albeit a luxury problem and therefore hardly that important!)

It’s that time of year when I mature (?) a little bit more… A fairly unavoidable event…

I used to look forward to birthdays a lot more, but the prospect of another one is becoming less exciting every year! I still love the day itself, it always makes me feel a bit like a princess, and everyone is extra-special nice!

This year, however, besides the fact that I will be another year older, I will be celebrating on my own, mostly. How depressing is that?
Because my family are too far away, they won’t be here. I went to see them a few weeks ago and got my present then. That was great, don’t get me wrong.
A lot of my friends are away on holiday this weekend. If I had decided to celebrate this weekend, around 12 of my friends would’ve been unable to celebrate with me.

On top of all that, Royal Mail is on strike, so I won’t get any birthday cards (the ones they don’t lose that is…) until much later in the week.

Now, whilst writing this, I’ve realised what a spoilt girly whinge this is, but it has made me feel a little bit better to write it down and gain some perspective.

I will be celebrating the weekend after, and there will be plenty of people coming along to join the celebrations. Also, out of my friends, I’m pretty much the youngest, and really I shouldn’t worry about my age anyway.

Still, the idea of a weekend on my own, especially this weekend, does not fill me with joy… My most exciting plan involves scrubbing the bathroom and hovering the lounge. But you never know! Things might pick up!

My last post, and this documentary have left me a little bit down, and I don't like that much, so I've decided to write something that I thought was good news this week!

An article on the BBC news website yesterday on minimum wage and holiday entitlement in Britain! Minimum wage will go up, which is a good thing for many people!

On top of that, holiday entitlement will go up to 24 days, and in 2009, it will go up to 28(!) days!

I didn't get the impression this bit of news got a lot of attention in the news, but it should've done. A little ray of light for many people!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/7021247.stm

On TV tonight, I'm watching a documentary with Stephen Fry about HIV/Aids in our society today. This topic has been in the media quite a bit recently in a bid to raise awareness again, as apparently, we've collectively forgotten about this disease, and cases of infection are on the rise...

So far, I think this documentary is very well done! I like Stephen Fry, and I think he's doing a good job at this documentary, which is certainly a difficult subject. I hope many youngsters are watching tonight, and learn something from it.

Some shocking things are discussed, about people going to some sort of 'sex party', wanting, trying to get infected. People interviewed are very open and honest.
One of the problems (apart from unsafe sex appearing to be the norm), is that people are unaware they're infected. People assume this will not happen to them. Like most bad things, we like to pretend it only happens to others, far removed from our own lives...

We shouldn't forget this disease, how serious and fatal the consequences are!

Anyway, I'll get off my box now, as writing this is winding me up a bit.

One last thing, I'm glad Freddie Mercury got a mention! I think he was a musical genius, and even though his life was far too short, he left a great legacy to the world with Queen!

Right, rant over!

http://www.gijonny.co.uk/