About work and cycling

I recently changed my job - although I am still based in the same office and surrounded by the same people, I now work with a different manager with different responsibilities and a different role. I am really enjoying my new job - though I had quite a steep learning curve as my new boss went on holiday two weeks after I started (it had been arranged long ago so I didn't take it personally!).

I work in local government and everything is driven it seems by the ubiquitous "target". Some targets are good - to achieve more or to get better are good goals to strive for. However, we have been working towards a really unpleasant and negative target that makes me feel quite uncomfortable. We have been counting down to the end of the year the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on the roads of Essex. The aim was for the number to be lower than last year - and although we did manage to reduce the overall numbers from last year, unfortunately we didn't quite achieve the figure set for us by central government. It's been horrible to see the number posted on the office wall, gradually rising every day. Christmas and New Year are both very bad times for road casualties, and the most dreadful ones are those that involve young people or children. I have always loved that song by Chris Rea, "Driving Home for Christmas" but it is always tinged with a horrible thought that nowadays we make so many more car journeys at this time of the year, and at at the same time there will be lots of people on the roads who are on the way home from a drinks party or a night out. The floral tributes that you see on the roadsides are a dreadful reminder of the lives that have been wrecked and so often drink driving is responsible. I personally believe we should adopt a zero tolerance to drink driving in this country as they do in some other European countries.

I'm also very conscious of safety as a cyclist. I always wear a cycle helmet, reflective/fluorescent gear and have lights front and back (as well as assorted reflectors). You wouldn't believe the number of drivers who still don't see me (or perhaps choose not to!). I don't cycle on the pavement, and always stop at traffic lights, yet the number of times I get abuse, both from pedestrians and drivers, is unbelievable. My worst problem is with the dog walkers. Part of my route to work is along a shared cycle/footpath which is wide enough to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists but the problem is the dogs - I don't dislike dogs, but the dog owners who walk on one side of the footpath with their dog on the other side with the lead across the width of the footpath really take the biscuit. Oops this has turned into a rant - sorry! Pedestrians who step into the road just because they haven't heard a car coming are also a real hazard. I don't set out on my journey to mow anyone down, but pedestrians are always astonished that cyclists can't stop dead. In the Highway Code they give the stopping times for cars travelling at different speeds, and most people are aware that the faster you are going the longer it takes to stop but a cyclist travelling even at 3 or 4 miles an hour (which is slow) will need a few yards of stopping distance.



This is one of the government's Think campaign posters - it is aimed at drivers to make them more aware of motorcyclists, but cyclists are also very vulnerable. I have only been involved in one accident as a cyclist when a driver opened their car door as I drew alongside - I was very bruised and shaken but it was lucky that it was on a quiet road as I was thrown across the road - if anything had been travelling in the other direction it would have been much worse.

PS - the posting date for this is showing as 7 December - I started it then, but didn't get round to posting until today - 5 January 2008!

Where did July go?

What a horrible month July was. I'm not a huge fan of hot sunny weather, but July was so wet, cold and miserable that even I was longing for a change.

I had planted tomatoes, courgettes, broccoli, cabbages and pumpkins and a few assorted herbs in the garden, but the wet conditions have meant that I have very little to show for my efforts - the slugs and snails just love the wet, and mildew seems to be spreading everywhere.

Work has been horrible, which I won't elaborate on but things have been so bad I even applied for another job and although I got an interview, I wasn't successful. I'm keeping my eyes open for other opportunities, but I'm the wrong side of 50 and it isn't easy.

Among my few entertainments this month, I decided to read all the Harry Potter books - well the first 6 at least. The final instalment still awaits me. I know, they are children's books, but I've enjoyed reading them, and it's been a bit of escapism. I loved fantasy books as a child/teenager, all the C S Lewis books, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but I haven't really read much fantasy as an adult. I mainly read crime novels, psychological thrillers and modern and classic fiction. Maybe I'll dip into some adult fantasy fiction, and see it they are as much fun as HP!

Random End of Week Ramblings

It's been a very busy week work wise. One of the pleasant elements of my job involves writing a newsletter twice a year, which is great fun and a lovely change from the day to day routine. However, it's been tough to fit it in to the normal week and I've ended up staying late and even bringing work home in order to get it done. But my articles are all finished, and the draft has gone to the design and print company, who do a great job on the layout. I do feel a little bit of satisfaction when it is all finished.

We have had no hot water all week - amazing son discovered the problem on Sunday night - while in the shower - ouch! Cold water is far from ideal for washing hair that is almost elbow length (AS likes the goth look and hasn't had his hair cut for a couple of years!). However, we were able to get someone in to fix the immersion heater, and I had a lovely long shower this morning (as opposed to juggling with kettles and jugs of water every morning). Being a person who washes their hair every day, I read this with interest. I don't know if this is something I could try. I do try to cut down on blow drying my hair. When I was much younger I had waistlength hair, and I didn't even own a hairdryer, so it is possible to manage without. But the washing.... somehow I can't contemplate this at the moment.

AS is suffering with a very bad cold and sore throat and quite a few people at work have similar symptoms. Amazing daughter is in the middle of her university exams and has been struck down by a horrible bug too, though of the stomach variety. In addition this is the worst time of the year for hayfever, which another cross she has to bear. She has worked so hard, but is very worried that she will do badly this year (this is her second year).

Thanks to Willow for your comments on our rabbits' window box - the wendy house was bought from EBay, and had been built by a dad as a play house for his daughters, but they had outgrown it. It was originally painted blue, and the window box was already attached to one end and a trellis to the other. To me, it looks a bit like a prairie log cabin, you could just picture an old woman in a rocking chair on the porch shelling peas, or darning socks! It is just over 5ft high inside (I can just stand up in it as I am just under 5ft tall) but AS keeps banging his head! I liked the light colours - most wood preservatives and stains are quite dark, but having painted my fence the lovely light green, I thought the cream and more of the green as a contrast would look nice. I like the beach hut look too, so my poor old shed had better look out or it might get a lick of paint next!

I'm currently reading my way through the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin - 6 down, quite a few to go. I think I'll take a break when I finish the current one and try something a bit different. When I find a writer I like, I then try to read their entire output, but that doesn't always have good results. I'd read a couple of Joanne Harris's novels that I really enjoyed, but when I read a couple of later books I found them disappointing. I started reading the Ian Rankin books because I got a bargain paperback of his from a charity shop, but when I started reading found that I needed to know what had happened in the previous novels. I've gradually got through the earlier Rebus novels, and haven't been disappointed yet, but I do feel the need for a change of style for a while.