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Anyway, it looks like we will still be able to stick to our original Christmas plan – unless it all changes again over the next few days. This mean that we are dividing into two family groups – Paul and I will join Alison, Ian and their three kids at their house in deepest darkest Worcestershire, whilst Mum, other two nieces, and their Dad will be together in Tewkesbury.
My Dad and his wife were originally coming to Alison's house but have now decided to stay at home – they are in Tier 3. |t is a shame but understandable. Normally we would also visit Paul’s mum in Hampshire, but this has been postponed because of travel imitations. One bit of good news; Paul worked at the theatre last Friday!! Yippee! He went into the Everyman Theatre (Cheltenham) for two dress rehearsals for a Studio show (but being held in the Main House because of social distancing). This was so he could learn the show and be the ‘back-up’ for the studio technical manager, just in case he is ill or has to go into isolation over the Christmas run. As you know there has not been any theatre work since March (obviously) so this was a welcome boost. However, it WILL improve; we must believe this and try to be positive. Winchcombe Medical Centre (which is always brilliant in my opinion) has just announced that the vaccination programme will commence on the 30th December 2020. Older and more vulnerable members of the community will receive their appointments first but hopefully the rest of us will get injections over the next couple of months. Onward and upward!
...especially as I had to bite the bullet and buy a new laptop this week – GULP - another £500 or thereabouts. However, as I will be doing the majority of my work from home then it makes sense, and also if registered as self-employed then I can probably claim some of it on expenses or tax relief or whatever. The other laptop was pretty old in the grand scheme of things – we bought it in Sydney – and my brother-in-law (our resident IT Tech Expert and Support person!) checked it out and declared it was is just limping along with no hope of recovery. Oh well. Let’s face facts, in a month when we also had to get a new combi-boiler installed (VERY expensive, eye wateringly-so) because we had no hot water or heating, and the new outside-door was fitted (kind of; see below), what’s another few quid of debt?*! Ha! Ha! (hysterical laughter to mask the boo-hoo and wailing) Why is it that all unavoidable larger expenditure happens at the same time? Having said that, the other day, we did get notification from the ANZ (where we have our Australian bank account) informing us that we may be due some kind of compensation for the mis-selling of particulars linked to a loan. I think this is pretty much like the PPI pay-outs which have happened in the UK over the past couple of years. So, fingers crossed that we get a few dollars paid back into the Aussie coffers! So, staying at home and carrying out the DIY jobs and things that always get put on a list and never usually ticked off, are actually being addressed. Paul took a day off work on Friday in order to meet with the engineer from the company which is supplying the new door. We only have one entrance into the house, and it goes straight into the kitchen from the back yard. Anyway, the original door-fitter became very frustrated because – basically – the cottage is quirky, no walls or doors or windows are straight or a standard fit and subsequently, as he informed us, it was the most difficult job he had undertaken in his fifteen years history with the company. In the end, he admitted defeat and requested an engineer to visit and take action, as required. So, the engineer visited and did his thing (personally, I have no idea what he did) but left behind a nicely fitted door within its new frame, but with gaps in the stonework and whistling drafts of December chill. Those holes have now been stuffed full of bubble-wrap (very effective) and we await the next team of workers – well, a plasterer – to make adjustments and make it pretty! This should be happening some time this week – and certainly before Christmas. Whilst waiting for the engineer Paul had a very successful day replacing the handrail and fencing for the yard steps which had rotted and looked very sorry for itself. It was a hive of activity and, naturally, I kept away from it as much as possible! The old back door (basically just a plank of wood compared to the high tech, multi-bolted composite beauty of the new addition) has been turned into a work-bench in the shed (recycle, recycle). A few more hours were spent sorting out shed and greenhouse detritus, before up-turning the fire-bowl and burning the off-cuts, old confidential paperwork and the odd blighted potato plant! As you know from previous blogs, Paul enjoys a good bonfire (of any size) and happily finished off a positive couple of days with a bottle of beer, and the warmth and glow of the embers during an increasingly chilly and twilight afternoon.
So, basically, four is the limit to our perception... and therefore, that's incredibly fortunate as my portfolio career now consists of FOUR job roles!?
Yep! Earlier in the week I had another Zoom interview for the role of Administrator / Secretary for Winchcombe Sports Hall Association (see: Winchcombe Sports Hall). It is a self-employed, part-time position; I will have to register myself as such with the HMRC and invoice the Association monthly, and then organise my own tax and NI. It will be akin to being back in Australia where doing your own tax return was no great shakes, and something Paul and I did annually for the UK as landlords and all that gubbins. Anyway, the role is very flexible and, its seems, responds to demand - so the hours are estimated as approximately 10-15 hours/month in summer, and 20-25 hours/month in winter (when there are more bookings), and therefore very flexible too. The work can be done remotely apart from attending the quarterly Board meetings (although those will probably be on-line for the foreseeable future). This is absolutely perfect for me! The Bredon School job is the only one that has fixed hours - currently mornings - but there is some flexibility too, and I may be able to work four days a week as long as I cover my contractual hours (20 per week). Of course, it is term-time only too - which is fabulous. The other two [Clerk] jobs are also wfh (working from home) and, again, flexible - fitting around the organisation and attending of Board meetings. Although, as is the case for the majority nowadays, these meetings are now being conducted via Zoom. In actual fact my first Full Governing Board meeting for Temple Guiting was held this week on Tuesday 8th December (5.30pm - 7.10pm) and I finished off the minutes and pinged those off this morning. Basically, everyone, I am optimistic that all four roles will segue together and - most importantly - will enable me to spend my afternoons in the garden or doing the things I enjoy! As I am frequently up early it will be no great issue to get a number of tasks done and dusted first thing, and I am not averse to working evenings and weekends either. You know me - I'll fit around the weather?*!  I hope you are all suitably impressed that:
a) the sun was shining yesterday (despite the official forecasts for sleet and rain) b) my veg patch is looking exceedingly healthy! I know I probably bore everyone to tears, but I am excited to see that many of my experimental sowings are doing well and following the mantra 'live long and prosper'. Well, so far! It is good to see verdant growth in the garden when everything else is turning brown or curling up into hibernation mode. However, that is not to say that there haven't been a few disasters - for example, the potatoes which were planted (as instructed) at the beginning of September had to be hastily dug-up and burnt because of the dreaded blight. All the experts emphasise that as the blight {Phytophthora infestans] spores can live in the soil for a long time and can spread dramatically and leave devastation in its wake, then burning the offending tubers and foliage is the only way to combat it. The same strain can affect tomatoes too....so we struck a light in the fire-bowl!
The habanero is a hot variety of chili - rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale. This is scale is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component. The levels of pungency (or heat), in terms of Scoville units are:  Pungency: SHU: Very highly pungent: Above 80,000 Highly pungent: 25,000 to 70,000 Moderately pungent: 3,000 to 25,000 Mildly pungent: 700 to 3,000 Non pungent: 0 to 700 Habaneros thrive in hot weather and grow well in an area with good morning sun and in slightly acidic soil. The habanero is a perennial flowering plant, so with care and growing conditions, it can produce flowers (and thus fruit) for many years. I have only just found this out so have decided to try to keep them alive and not add to the increasingly large compost heap. Today’s job, then, is to encase them in bubble-wrap as well as frost-and-cold-proof GH2 as much as possible.
BUT, good grief, these small innocent-looking nuggets of orange fruit certainly pack a punch!! You’d think the heat radiating from them would be enough …. phew-eee!
As for being bored – well, I have been feeling rather busy and harassed instead. I think it is because I am actually a bit fed up of all the paperwork and emails and bureaucracy around job applications and interviews and new job offers. It just gets to be a bit boring and tedious. But that just could be my general state of mind.
However, in light of the above, the latest news is that I now have three part-time jobs! The latest one (Clerk to the Governing Board for St George’s Centre) will probably be "interesting" insofar as it is going through some upheaval at the moment. It is referred to as CTAPS which is the acronym for Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Alternative Provision School. Again, it is very limited contractual hours but these may be increased because of the aforementioned ‘political’ situation. What was very encouraging though, was that I had a twenty-minute remote interview with the Headmaster and Vice-Chair, and within ten minutes of finishing received a phone message offering me the role. They said that they would have offered it there and then, but obviously have to follow the appropriate processes and procedures. So, that was rather flattering. So – my Portfolio Career is jig-sawing together nicely isn’t it? Amazing to think that those cute little piglets that were on the run grow into this hulking mass!  |
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