1 February 2018 (Thursday) - Back To Work

I slept well, however rather vivid dreams had me waking up more tired than when I went to bed. I came downstairs shortly before six o’clock to see the smart meter said we’d used fifty-eight pence worth of power. Usually we’ve used nearly a pound’s worth by the same time in the morning. I *really* should talk to the nice people at the power company.

Over brekkie I watched an episode of “Plebs” then sparked up my lap-top. I had a notification about a vacancy at Hartswood hospital for which I might apply. “Hartswood hospital”? Google says it is in Brentwood in Essex. You’d think a job advert would tell you where the job is, wouldn’t you?

Barrie Neaves had sent me an email asking if he could join my LinkedIn network. Wondering who Barrie Neaves was, I called up his profile (as one so often does). Apparently he is a catchment co-ordinator at the Environment Agency with whom I seem to have absolutely sod all in common. If I were to do the LinkedIn thing I would accept his request, and then we would both perjure ourselves pretending the other has all sorts of skills when actually we have no idea whatsoever.

Not much had happened on Facebook overnight, which was probably for the best.  I sent out some birthday wishes, chased up some messages for which I’d not had a reply, got myself organised, fussed my dog and set off to work.

As I drove to work the pundits on the radio were discussing how the BT Openreach network is to be massively expanded over the UK. It all sounded really good until they wheeled on one of the organisation's executives who grudgingly had to admit that the UK's broadband capacity isn't a patch on the rest of the world's, and what we in the UK call "Super-fast" and "Ultra-fast" would be called "piss-poor" in any other country.

I'm not sure what else the pundits said... at 7.25am they have the sports bit, and I really did hear them repeating the phrase "blah blah sport, blah blah sport" ad nauseum, and I rather stopped paying attention.

I took a different route to work today. I didn't take the short cut through Pot Kiln Lane. I followed the A-roads and although I might have gone one mile further in distance it took no longer than usual (I timed it) and I felt much happier during the nine minutes it took.

I did my bit, and came home again. I got home earlier than "er indoors ^TM" as she was delayed getting her car. Yesterday she took her car for fixing and was quoted a small fortune for repairs. She then got a quote four hundred quid cheaper and the first garage price-matched. Probably just as well as the cheap quote came from a garage with a less than perfect reputation.

However now that the job is all done and the money is all spent, the world and his wife tell us they could have got the job done cheaper still. Isn't that always the way. Once you've spent out, everyone has a better deal.

Bearing that in mind, my car will need a new cam-belt (whatever that is) within the next few months. Do any of my loyal readers know where I can get that done for less than seven hundred quid?