Seeing things through new eyes

On the bus going down to the city centre I noticed the two girls in front of me who were obviously foreign students new to the city.  They were looking at what I considered to be rather ordinary houses with interest, appreciation and delight.  A church that I have passed hundreds of times and have never really given a second glance was pointed at excitedly and necessitated a smart phone photo.  I thought about my visits to cities overseas and how much I enjoy just looking around.   So I decided to treat my usual trip to town as a visit.  It's amazing to see new things and notice details which I have previously overlooked in the rush to do my business.  I was seeing things as if through new eyes and it was quite uplifting.

Gite holidays

I have just returned from two weeks in France at two very different Gites but in the same area (La Manche, Normandy). The first was very beautiful, six bedrooms, three shower rooms, one bathroom and four toilets. It was well equipped, had free wi-fi and UK TV channels available via satellite on a big flat screen. Great for watching Wimbledon but perhaps not good for getting away from it all. It had a big, safe garden for a two (but almost three) year old, two patios and a lovely barbecue. However, it was set over three floors. The third reached via some really steep, narrow tread stairs which could be tricky to negotiate if you had big feet. It was quite remote but with a small town within 30 minutes walking distance; albeit along single track, windy lanes. The second place was much, much more basic and quite a shock in comparison to the first. No wi-fi, small portable TV with a few French channels but situated in a very small village. Lots of farm animals and a sense of country life going on around us. It was close to a fair sized seaside town and other facilities such as a wonderful indoor swimming pool which the two (but almost three) year old loved. We sat to eat at one of two enormous tables which easily accommodated nine of us and the simplicity of the place grew on some of us. However it did have problems. One of the rooms was mouldy and you had to walk through one of the bedrooms to get to another. The two shower rooms had enormous towel rails which encroached on the space. There was no towel rail at all in the downstairs toilet. Curiously, when we pointed this out to the Mayor who came to check things were okay (this Gite belonged to the village) she looked at us incredulously and said, "You take your own towel in with you.". Vive la differance. So the question is, if we went back, which Gite would we choose? The fancier but physically more isolated one but with outside contact abailable. Or the basic, getting away from it all with the possibility of immersing ourselves in French country life.

It's official - I'm a class warrior..

Pretty tired tonight as I've had a heavy week. Lots of Union activity (UCU.org.uk) as I was at the Annual Congress / Conference in Manchester all last weekend which was both hard work and fun. My University was well represented. Three of us went and we had three motions on the agenda. We lost one on the governance of our pension scheme but won the other two. The one that was really close to my heart and which I actually wrote was passed with a unanimous vote. Mainly due to the most fantastic speech given by one of my fellow delegates. It commits the union nationally to work towards having employee voice on remuneration committees (which decide on the pay of the big boys in an institution) in all Higher and Further Education establishments. The speech was well tweeted, picked up by the Times Higher Education and we even made The Morning Star; http://tinyurl.com/ccyejmu I was also elected as the representative of non-academic staff on the University's council. This is one of the main decision making bodies of the University so it's a pretty important committee. The encumbent has done a fantastic job of making sure that the interests of all staff were protected and furthered. A big job in the rarefied environs of a University. So a good couple of weeks in respect of collective issues but also rewarding in terms of individual casework. I've got a few cases on the go at the moment but I think a couple of them are drawing to a close and I've managed to get some compensation for the affected members. In reality it's not enough to adequately cover their pain and suffering but I guess it's better than nothing which they would probably have got without union support. On top of all the union work I've had my usual job to do which is why I'm pretty whacked but I guess even the the most tough and fit combatant feels it some days.

Sacktastic

Don't you think it's just sick that the Tories are using the current economic climate as an excuse to decimate hard won workers' rights? A return to Hire and fire at will will not improve our economy in any way.

Mia Culpa and the perils of Facebook

I'm a relative newcomer to Facebook having resisted it for so long.  However I dipped my toe in a few months ago and boy, knowing that I'm mixing my metaphors, I've been burnt.

What I thought was a jokey comment about a cute baby pig photo unleashed a torrent of posts from upset vegetarians.  Quite right too.  It was a silly, unthinking thing to do.  However it is a lesson learnt.

Another comment I made was about feminism and the need for sisterhood and not doing other women down.  Again, this released a number of posts suggesting that by saying this I was somehow advocating that we do men down.  I certainly said no such thing but realised that comment to an audience of (mostly) strangers who do not know me, my life, my politics and so on means that I either have to shut up or develop a thick skin.  I'm still thinking about that choice.  I also briefly considered closing my account down but decided that being in contact with friends and seeing what they're up to is great.  I just need to be more aware that the friends of my friends are not my friends too.

Emcubed's blog: Job opportunity

Emcubed's blog: Job opportunity: I'm advertising a vacancy for a Acoustic Design Tool Developer.  It's a great job with a small company in Bristol who measure and advise on ...

Job opportunity

I'm advertising a vacancy for a Acoustic Design Tool Developer.  It's a great job with a small company in Bristol who measure and advise on the acoustics of low carbon buildings.  Further details can be found at;
http://tinyurl.com/c6w9m3z

Second blog but I don't really know what to do with it.  I feel all this social media stuff is way past me.

First one

First blog. Lord help us all