State of the SB
Friday, February 12th, 2016 03:52 pmItem: I'm currently taking a tw'oliday from twitter - there's so much horrific news at the moment, and it's hurting and affecting people I know and love, and it hurts being bombarded by it several times a day, so I'm taking a break. It won't be forever, probably just a couple of weeks. Just to build up my resilience.
Item: I have been incredibly impressed by hp-for-business customer support the last couple of days. Not only did the lady sort out the recalcitrant printer that had proved resistant to both mine and Alisdair's best efforts, but she rang me back today to check that things were still OK and it was still working (it was).
Item: I've taken to instagram like a duck to water. I'm pretty active (user name is jennierigg) and I'm mostly posting pictures of my doggies. The accounts I am following fall into four categories: 1, People I actually know; 2, accounts which post pictures of cute doggies; 3, accounts which post pictures of hot guys with beards; and 4, artists I admire - mostly tattoo and comicbook, but not exclusively. Oh, and there's also the amazing collision of 2 and 3 that is Hot Dudes With Dogs.
If you want to be bombarded with pictures of my doggies, occasional gym updates and photos of food, and comments on your photos do feel free to follow me there.
Item: Mental health has been... Not bad but not great. I have been quite low through the end of January, and the nightmares have been about 3 times a week. However, touch wood, things seem to be picking up. I'm slightly anxious about getting a Case Of The Februaries, but also hoping that the Februaries just came early and I got them out of the way in January. I did write up the nightmare I had the other day, and writing it out helped. I then gave it a cheesy happy ending. If there's demand I might post it.
A thing that's helping mental health a LOT is that I'm getting in a reasonable amount of reading time recently. Current OMG WOW SHE'S AMAZING author is Tananarive Due. Thoroughly recced to all of you.
Item: Physical health is pretty good. I'm not doing much cycling because the canal path is still buggered after the floods in late December - although
matgb is on about taking me road cycling soon, despite my nerves - but I'm doing really well at the gym and in the pool, and getting some decent walks in every so often. I've got pretty impressive muscles at the mo.
Item: A week today I am going to go for the first appointment for my next tattoo. I has the excite! This has been ages in gestation; Matt has been sending me rough sketches by email, and it's going to be amazing. He's a genuinely awesome artist too. Really exciting. So that's probably going to go on Instagram; it'll also affect my swimming a little bit, because I'll have to not swim for a week after having it done. Boo. Shall have to do treadmill or something equally dreadful for cardio. :(
Hmm. Maybe rowing machine? Rowing machine is not that dreadful...
Item: Daughter continues fabulous. She's really settled in at the old Alma Mater, and has chosen her GCSE options this month
*pauses to pass smelling salts to those who remember her being born and are now feeling faint with age*
Doggies are also great, and very snuggly. And I'm coping OK with having all my boys under one roof, even if it is a bit crowded and a bit rubbish not having my own room any more.
Item: Job continues pretty good - I honestly think if I'd have still been in my old job I would have had a total breakdown two or three times in the last few months. So yeah, I'm really glad of Job. The work itself is fun, the pay is better than any job I have ever had before, and I'm not overburdened. It's pretty cool. I'm still getting used to not having to scrimp for every penny, and trying not to splurge every payday, which is harder than it looks. But I'm getting there...
Item: LibDemmery... I'm not even going there. Everything is hanging on York at the moment. We'll see.
So, yeah, that got longer than I expected. Um. Sorry. But you're all now updated on everything. I think...
Let me know if you'd like to see my nightmare.
Item: I have been incredibly impressed by hp-for-business customer support the last couple of days. Not only did the lady sort out the recalcitrant printer that had proved resistant to both mine and Alisdair's best efforts, but she rang me back today to check that things were still OK and it was still working (it was).
Item: I've taken to instagram like a duck to water. I'm pretty active (user name is jennierigg) and I'm mostly posting pictures of my doggies. The accounts I am following fall into four categories: 1, People I actually know; 2, accounts which post pictures of cute doggies; 3, accounts which post pictures of hot guys with beards; and 4, artists I admire - mostly tattoo and comicbook, but not exclusively. Oh, and there's also the amazing collision of 2 and 3 that is Hot Dudes With Dogs.
If you want to be bombarded with pictures of my doggies, occasional gym updates and photos of food, and comments on your photos do feel free to follow me there.
Item: Mental health has been... Not bad but not great. I have been quite low through the end of January, and the nightmares have been about 3 times a week. However, touch wood, things seem to be picking up. I'm slightly anxious about getting a Case Of The Februaries, but also hoping that the Februaries just came early and I got them out of the way in January. I did write up the nightmare I had the other day, and writing it out helped. I then gave it a cheesy happy ending. If there's demand I might post it.
A thing that's helping mental health a LOT is that I'm getting in a reasonable amount of reading time recently. Current OMG WOW SHE'S AMAZING author is Tananarive Due. Thoroughly recced to all of you.
Item: Physical health is pretty good. I'm not doing much cycling because the canal path is still buggered after the floods in late December - although
![[personal profile]](http://web.archive.org./web/20170323053936im_/http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Item: A week today I am going to go for the first appointment for my next tattoo. I has the excite! This has been ages in gestation; Matt has been sending me rough sketches by email, and it's going to be amazing. He's a genuinely awesome artist too. Really exciting. So that's probably going to go on Instagram; it'll also affect my swimming a little bit, because I'll have to not swim for a week after having it done. Boo. Shall have to do treadmill or something equally dreadful for cardio. :(
Hmm. Maybe rowing machine? Rowing machine is not that dreadful...
Item: Daughter continues fabulous. She's really settled in at the old Alma Mater, and has chosen her GCSE options this month
*pauses to pass smelling salts to those who remember her being born and are now feeling faint with age*
Doggies are also great, and very snuggly. And I'm coping OK with having all my boys under one roof, even if it is a bit crowded and a bit rubbish not having my own room any more.
Item: Job continues pretty good - I honestly think if I'd have still been in my old job I would have had a total breakdown two or three times in the last few months. So yeah, I'm really glad of Job. The work itself is fun, the pay is better than any job I have ever had before, and I'm not overburdened. It's pretty cool. I'm still getting used to not having to scrimp for every penny, and trying not to splurge every payday, which is harder than it looks. But I'm getting there...
Item: LibDemmery... I'm not even going there. Everything is hanging on York at the moment. We'll see.
So, yeah, that got longer than I expected. Um. Sorry. But you're all now updated on everything. I think...
Let me know if you'd like to see my nightmare.
To the girl on the 363 tonight: thank you
Friday, August 29th, 2014 08:51 pmSo I had a really not-good day at work today. Things bothered me that shouldn't have, and other things didn't go my way for odd reasons, and the phoning gods were agin me (RIDICULOUS amounts of wrong numbers today, like seriously ridiculous). And then I got on the bus home, and there was a girl talking to someone on her phone, trying to estimate how long before she got home. I asked where she was going, and told her how long it would take; and then we got chatting.
She was smart and switched on. She was interested in politics, and she had opinions. She was passionate about what she believed in and she wanted to enthuse other young people... she really cheered me up, frankly, after all the cynicism and world-weary no-point-doing-anything stuff I hear on a regular basis.
So thank you, girl on the bus, for giving this jaded old political hack some hope on a bleak evening. I really value that, and will continue to do so, even if we never meet again.
Thank you.
She was smart and switched on. She was interested in politics, and she had opinions. She was passionate about what she believed in and she wanted to enthuse other young people... she really cheered me up, frankly, after all the cynicism and world-weary no-point-doing-anything stuff I hear on a regular basis.
So thank you, girl on the bus, for giving this jaded old political hack some hope on a bleak evening. I really value that, and will continue to do so, even if we never meet again.
Thank you.
My turn to pick the music in the office this morning.
Saturday, November 9th, 2013 11:53 amSo I put my default spotify playlist on. For your edification, here is a list of tracks I have had to hurriedly press skip on:
Fuck Her Gently - Tenacious D
Last Resort - Papa Roach
Fuck You - Lily Allen
Big Dumb Sex - Soundgarden
Of course, I'm paying for it now. Douglas's choice this afternoon. Pick of the Pops on Radio 2...
* makes the sign of the evil eye at Tony Blackburn *
Fuck Her Gently - Tenacious D
Last Resort - Papa Roach
Fuck You - Lily Allen
Big Dumb Sex - Soundgarden
Of course, I'm paying for it now. Douglas's choice this afternoon. Pick of the Pops on Radio 2...
* makes the sign of the evil eye at Tony Blackburn *
The Blood is The Life 06-04-2012
Friday, April 6th, 2012 10:00 am- 32 die a week after failing test for new incapacity benefit - Investigations
Jesus Christ this is horrendous
- BBC News - Where are you on the global pay scale?
My wage is 24% of the United Kingdom average and 50% of the world average. And the average wage in KAzakstan is more than I earn.
- What I May Do With My Naked Body: A Reply to Azar Majedi About the #NudePhotoRevolutionaries Calendar | Greta Christina's Blog
"It pisses me off that I’ve spent decades being told by other feminists how to be a good girl. It pisses me off that, because I said, “Hey, here’s a photo of my naked body [...]”… other women are presuming to chide me for being a bad feminist. Yes, we live in a sexist culture, in which women have no good choices when it comes to our bodies. We live in a sexist culture in which women are valued primarily as sexual objects, and at the same time are shamed for our sexuality. It seems to me that we have two choices as to how to respond to this. We can try to navigate the narrow, essentially impossible shoals of these contradictory expectations, and try to find that perfect, socially acceptable line between slut and prude. Or we can say,“Fuck it. There is no way I can win — so I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want.[...]" And in saying, “I can’t win, so I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want to do,” we can create the beginnings of a victory." READ THE WHOLE POST
- MintChip: The evolution of currency | MintChip Developer Resources
oooooooooo
- pseudomonas | Another day, another stupid idea.
... Because apparently the government of which my party is a part has a death wish.
- How NOT to gain readers and influence bloggers
"I shouldn't have to get assertive. I shouldn't have to constantly build myself up to be able to guard my space and cause unpleasantness. I shouldn't have to be on the defensive. It should be people like this guy who should respect my space and leave me be. So don't tell me to be more assertive. Tell jackasses like him not to be so creepy and awkward."
- What if Doctor Who were a Super Nintendo roleplaying game?
- What Would “Insert YA Heroine Here” Do?
I love Hermione. Bella made me giggle too.
- Matt Smith: The Doctor will see you now - Features - TV & Radio - The Independent
- What's the difference between Doctor Who and Scooby Doo?
Click to find out
- Outrage over plan to withdraw housing benefit from under-25s | Society | The Guardian
"previous changes to housing benefit will force people with spare rooms to downsize and penalise those with adult children living at home, these policies appear completely contradictory"
On Minimum Alcohol Pricing
Friday, March 23rd, 2012 03:19 pmThis was posted as a comment on somebody else's blog, but I figured it deserved a broader airing, since it's me explaining (again) how the government's actions are not neutral on pubs even when they try to appear so:
Prices for everything will go up if there's a minimum price, not because of some nefarious plot by big business (or even the Tories), but because of simple economics. If a bottle of White Lightning costs #5, no self-respecting wine manufacturer is going to want their bottle of wine to cost less; all alcohol will rise in price because market position is more important than anything else, so the lowest priced product going up will have a knock on effect right up the chain.
Meanwhile, prices in our pub will go up because we get most of our spirits from Sainsburys - because they are cheaper than any of the industry suppliers who are used to supplying people who are tied to them - so when Sainsbury's put their prices up, ours will have to rise too. This is not pubs whining, this is a simple fact.
Prices for everything will go up if there's a minimum price, not because of some nefarious plot by big business (or even the Tories), but because of simple economics. If a bottle of White Lightning costs #5, no self-respecting wine manufacturer is going to want their bottle of wine to cost less; all alcohol will rise in price because market position is more important than anything else, so the lowest priced product going up will have a knock on effect right up the chain.
Meanwhile, prices in our pub will go up because we get most of our spirits from Sainsburys - because they are cheaper than any of the industry suppliers who are used to supplying people who are tied to them - so when Sainsbury's put their prices up, ours will have to rise too. This is not pubs whining, this is a simple fact.
The Blood is The Life 23-03-2012
Friday, March 23rd, 2012 09:00 am- Former Doctor Who companions Katy Manning & Anneke Wills welcome the new girl
This is really sweet - "welcome to the family"! 3
- Matthew on an interesting academic study
"The attentional system believed to have a causal role in anxiety disorders is therefore likely to be a general system that responds not to threat but to stimulus relevance; hence, nonevolutionary images, such as those from Doctor Who, captured attention as quickly as fear-relevant spider images. Where this leaves the Empress of Racnoss, we are unsure."
- Were the Liberal Democrats used to 'send a message'?
If this is even partially true, then the current FCC need to hang their heads in shame.
- A free clue to the record industry
I agree with this infographic
- Factcheck: Do British people pay over 40 per cent of all alcohol duties in Europe? | Full Fact
Pretty much, yeah. Another nail in the coffin of my job.
- Ordinary Batman Adventures
I'm not sure if I like cleaning out the cat litter or toenail clipping best but they're all awesome.
- Put Alan Turing on the next £10 note - e-petitions
My daughter is on the top table in the top set for maths in her year. It's called the Turing table. If my kid's school can do it, so can the Royal Mint. The tenner is the proper place for scientists. We've had Darwin, lets have Turing next time around.
- Met Police lose 2005 rape handling report « Complicity
Epic Fail, Met, Epic fail
- Dear Scum: An Open Letter To The Sun | The Daisy Cutter
The day after the Hillsborough disaster was the day my mum stopped getting the Yorkshire Post after they published photos of dead people crushed up against the fences. We'd never have got the Sun in our house anyway. It seems that after Hillsborough, after photoshopping black people out of photos, after everything that's coming out in Leveson... They still haven't bloody learned.
- Verey Bowring or Something - Budget Games and Alternative Smoking (E cigs).
Very tempted by one of these.
- BBC News - Electroconvulsive therapy: Aberdeen team says it 'turns down overactive connection'
this is fascinating.
- BBC News - Would you wear a t-shirt made from melted guns?
Make clothes, not war!
The Blood is The Life 17-03-2012
Saturday, March 17th, 2012 09:00 am- Why We Have to Go Back to a 40-Hour Work Week to Keep Our Sanity
Fantastically clear evidence-baded and well argued article on why long work weeks are bad for both businesses and workers.
- Fabulous website on the Equal Marriage Consultation
- In praise of geek TV mums
3 Sarah Jane 3
- George Clooney and Martin Luther King III Arrested for Sudan Protest
Somebody call Dion: we've found MArtin and Geroge. Just Abraham to go! Seriously, though, impressive stuff from Messers Clooney and King.
- Bully Rating Battle Heads to Washington DC | The Mary Sue
"a movie that is intended to inform kids and teens about bullying is being kept from kids and teens by an organization that exists to fight censorship." * headdesk *
- Pelgrane Press Ltd » Trail of Cthulhu
This looks like a really awesome combination of detective and hooro, two of my biggest geekeries. Anyone actually played it?
- » Lesbian families: the role of the donor UK Legal Feminist Group
Of course, if it were easier for lesbian couples to get donations from sperm donor clinics, this wouldn't be an issue.
- “Battlefield” and the Woman Warrior
I know I keep linking to Doctor Her, but they keep posting really good posts! I mean, how can you not lve a post about Brigadier Bambera and Morgaine?
An Ode to Sarah Montague
Monday, March 12th, 2012 12:05 pmMornings fill me with horror -
Cold, grey, wintry ones particularly so -
And when the cold grey tide of news
Issues forth from my radio
Filled with war, murder, hate, death,
Corruption, sleaze, and depressing reality
In the sardonic tones of Humphries;
Or the sorrowful lilt of Naughtie;
Or the overeager gloat of Davies;
Or the vainglorousness of Webb...
Things
Seem
Worse.
Yet there is one voice
Whose calm authority seems to soothe
And silently impart:
Of course, today I didn't even have to wait till teatime, because Wordaholics was on at 11.30am, which is fast becoming a favourite of mine. I really hope it doesn't just stop at 6 episodes.
In other news, this morning I woke up in a different bed to the one I went to sleep in, with Roxy in succubus position on my chest, and with a black eye. I have no explanation for any of these things, other than the very general one of
matgb insists I didn't have it when I went to bed, and you'd think I'd notice it occurring in the night...
Cold, grey, wintry ones particularly so -
And when the cold grey tide of news
Issues forth from my radio
Filled with war, murder, hate, death,
Corruption, sleaze, and depressing reality
In the sardonic tones of Humphries;
Or the sorrowful lilt of Naughtie;
Or the overeager gloat of Davies;
Or the vainglorousness of Webb...
Things
Seem
Worse.
Yet there is one voice
Whose calm authority seems to soothe
And silently impart:
Yes, things are bad,
But don't despair:
There's still radio 4,
There's still me,
And if you make it till teatime, you can have comedy.
Maybe even,
If you're lucky,
Sandi Toksvig
Or Sue Perkins.
Of course, today I didn't even have to wait till teatime, because Wordaholics was on at 11.30am, which is fast becoming a favourite of mine. I really hope it doesn't just stop at 6 episodes.
In other news, this morning I woke up in a different bed to the one I went to sleep in, with Roxy in succubus position on my chest, and with a black eye. I have no explanation for any of these things, other than the very general one of
Beer festival finished yesterday, and you might have had a bit much to drink, Jennie.The black eye is particularly puzzling;
![[personal profile]](http://web.archive.org./web/20170323053936im_/http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
The Blood is The Life 04-03-2012
Sunday, March 4th, 2012 09:00 am- 10 reasons to celebrate a decade of BBC4 - Den of Geek
- Raspberry Pi network plan for online free-speech role
- The revolution will be... privatised
- Stop the beer duty escalator - e-petitions
- The Health and Social Security Bill is an unholy mess. Drop it now.
- The Story of the Scully Box
Gillian Andersons is taller than me....
- Raspberry Pi « The Artesea
Ryan details trying to get hold of a Pi. Me, I'm waiting for the rush to die down.
- Is the Kindle Getting a Color Screen? | PCWorld
If they start making colour e-ink displays, getting an e-reader makes a lot more sense, especially for a comic junkie like me.
The Blood is The Life 25-02-2012
Saturday, February 25th, 2012 09:00 am- On feminism
- Doctor Who - New Series: New Details!
YAY Rupert Graves! ... No lady guest stars?
- UK Polling Report on accusations thrown at pollsters
- The Gendered Advertising Remixer | A Media Literacy Web Application
- Construction firm aims at space elevator in 2050 : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
Awesome
- Results of The Buttermind Experiment | Quantified Self
Butter makes you smarter; coconuts make you stupider. I want to see more data.
- We, the Web Kids - Pastebin.com
Fabulous, fabulous description of the difference between me and people who are the same age as me.
- FactCheck: Work experience or slave labour?
- DC Women Kicking Ass - First look: Womanthology
- Some days I feel like this
MOST days I feel like that, and I'm ALLERGIC to coffee ;)
- How to use google - v useful infographic
- Lucy Lawless—a.k.a. Xena the Warrior Princess—Occupies a Shell Oil Drilling Ship | Mother Jones
Man, Xena chaining herself to things for Greenpeace? That rocks. And brings back memories. Hurrah for activism!
- Jobseekers forced to clean private homes and offices for nothing | Politics | The Guardian
I just don't get why people on Workfare can't be paid the same as their non-workfare collegues. Isn't it illegal to pay two people different amounts for equal work of equal value?
- DWP Rewrite History – Mandatory Work Disappears from the Work Programme Provider’s Guidance | the void
Ooops
- The jobcentre only hinders my search for work | Joe Paxton | Comment is free | The Guardian
As usual, the comments are the terrifying thing on this article.
- Signal Boost: Scary US politician is VERY SCARY
- Star Trek 2 Set Photos Show Spock Giving Benedict Cumberbatch The Old Vulcan Nerve Pinch | Giant Freakin Robot
In the first photo Benedict Frumious Bandersnatch looks like Keanu Reeves to me. This is disturbing on many levels.
- Grayling, Workfare and Lies. Again.
The Blood is The Life 05-02-2012
Sunday, February 5th, 2012 09:00 am- The Potter Blogger: Tim Farron's reply to my questions on the #WRB
I am somewhat unimpressed with Our President's mealy-mouthed excuses, er, I mean, justifications for voting the way he did.
- Tory MP Anne Milton sparks fury by calling northerners hard-drinking smokers who 'jump into bed with each other at the drop of a hat' - WARNING! Contains Daily Fail
I'm afraid this lady has it wrong. I jump into bed with Southerners too... * lights a fag, cracks open the brandy, grins *
- People who suppress anger are more likely to become violent when drunk
Nice to see what I have observed at work in mmfhhm years of barmaiding backed up with Proper Skientific Data
- Why You Won't Quit Your Job
This is truly depressing
- Darkness (a 24 hour comic)
There was one moment in this that was squicky for me, and the spelling is awful, but I still think it's worth reading, has very funny moments, and is touching at the end.
- I Finally Understand Why The GOP Hate Gay Marriage
- Porn for Pregnant Ladies
This is fabulous
Employment law policy thoughts
Monday, May 9th, 2011 12:13 pmThere is a lot of employment legislation in this country. Employees have a lot of rights, and employers a lot of responsibilities. But what happens if employers shirk those rights?
Well, if you're in a union, your union will help. And if your workforce is mostly unionised, as an employer you are much less likely to try to shaft your employees. But what if you are one of the 74% of UK employees who doesn't belong to a union? What options are open to you if you employer breaks the law with regard to your rights?
You can, of course, take matters into your own hands. No, not with a baseball bat, I mean you can instigate legal proceedings yourself. Unfortunately, this is rife with problems. Even if you have some legal training employment law is a complex area, fraught with strict and soft deadlines and rules of evidence and such which can cock up an entire case for the unwary. You could hire a solicitor, but that either takes money, or for your case to be big and important enough for them to take you on no-win-no-fee.
Then there's the CAB. Now, the CAB do some marvellous work (I used to do voluntary work for them in my pre-motherhood days), but they are massively overworked and underfunded, their opening hours are tiny, and they just don't have the capacity to deal with the extent of this, and even if they did, all they can do is help you to do stuff yourself, they can't do it for you.
So, for your average Jane/Joe in a non-unionised minimum wage job, whose employer is (for random example) not giving them proper breaks, or paid holiday, or the paperwork they are due, it's exceedingly difficult to actually do anything about it. And given the parlous state of the job market at the moment, any attempt to assert one's rights which results in the sack might well leave one unable to find a job for many months. Sure, you can bring an unfair dismissal suit, but that will take months and in the meantime you are left with no income.
And even if a person does manage to get enforcement of their rights, that doesn't stop the (almost certainly now ex) employer from exploiting other workers.
I think what we need here is an enforcement agency to make sure employers are sticking to their legal obligations - some sort of Quango. Employment Law Enforcement People Helping All Nice Tradespeople? OK, perhaps a different acronym is a good thing. But I think the idea is a good one. If someone is breaking noise regs, you call the noise abatement team. If someone is creating a hazard to health with their polluting ways you call the environmental health. But if you're being exploited at work, and you're not in a union...?
Any Lib Dems fancy helping me to put together a motion on this?
Well, if you're in a union, your union will help. And if your workforce is mostly unionised, as an employer you are much less likely to try to shaft your employees. But what if you are one of the 74% of UK employees who doesn't belong to a union? What options are open to you if you employer breaks the law with regard to your rights?
You can, of course, take matters into your own hands. No, not with a baseball bat, I mean you can instigate legal proceedings yourself. Unfortunately, this is rife with problems. Even if you have some legal training employment law is a complex area, fraught with strict and soft deadlines and rules of evidence and such which can cock up an entire case for the unwary. You could hire a solicitor, but that either takes money, or for your case to be big and important enough for them to take you on no-win-no-fee.
Then there's the CAB. Now, the CAB do some marvellous work (I used to do voluntary work for them in my pre-motherhood days), but they are massively overworked and underfunded, their opening hours are tiny, and they just don't have the capacity to deal with the extent of this, and even if they did, all they can do is help you to do stuff yourself, they can't do it for you.
So, for your average Jane/Joe in a non-unionised minimum wage job, whose employer is (for random example) not giving them proper breaks, or paid holiday, or the paperwork they are due, it's exceedingly difficult to actually do anything about it. And given the parlous state of the job market at the moment, any attempt to assert one's rights which results in the sack might well leave one unable to find a job for many months. Sure, you can bring an unfair dismissal suit, but that will take months and in the meantime you are left with no income.
And even if a person does manage to get enforcement of their rights, that doesn't stop the (almost certainly now ex) employer from exploiting other workers.
I think what we need here is an enforcement agency to make sure employers are sticking to their legal obligations - some sort of Quango. Employment Law Enforcement People Helping All Nice Tradespeople? OK, perhaps a different acronym is a good thing. But I think the idea is a good one. If someone is breaking noise regs, you call the noise abatement team. If someone is creating a hazard to health with their polluting ways you call the environmental health. But if you're being exploited at work, and you're not in a union...?
Any Lib Dems fancy helping me to put together a motion on this?
State of the SB
Thursday, November 25th, 2010 10:50 pmHave been off work sick yesterday and today. This is not good.
Saw the consultant yesterday; Gideon is a fibroid. He needs to be taken out, and I've been booked in for February (three months away FFS!), with the proviso that I can go in earlier if the surgeon gets a cancellation. My GP has given me some super extra strength painkillers to keep me going. I feel very down about the whole boiling.
Podcast is all recorded, but there have been some hiccups with the editing. I may put up a rough cut, just to get episode one out there.
Holly is having The Hobbit for her bedtime story and I got so into it that I was reading to her for three quarters of an hour tonight. She's loving it. She managed to wangle herself onto a school trip that we had no idea was happening today too, the little so and so...
Blogging mojo is all out of kilter.
All the above, though? None of that is why I am not going to help out in Old and Sad. If we lose the by election, the party will be wounded. The media will whap us with it. But if we win, with that candidate? I can only see damage resulting from that too. So I'm hiding under the duvet as far as Old and Sad is concerned. For more information, Andrew Hickey has written a post which is full of the conflict I feel.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20170323053936im_/http://pics.livejournal.com/miss_s_b/pic/000wqecx)
Saw the consultant yesterday; Gideon is a fibroid. He needs to be taken out, and I've been booked in for February (three months away FFS!), with the proviso that I can go in earlier if the surgeon gets a cancellation. My GP has given me some super extra strength painkillers to keep me going. I feel very down about the whole boiling.
Podcast is all recorded, but there have been some hiccups with the editing. I may put up a rough cut, just to get episode one out there.
Holly is having The Hobbit for her bedtime story and I got so into it that I was reading to her for three quarters of an hour tonight. She's loving it. She managed to wangle herself onto a school trip that we had no idea was happening today too, the little so and so...
Blogging mojo is all out of kilter.
All the above, though? None of that is why I am not going to help out in Old and Sad. If we lose the by election, the party will be wounded. The media will whap us with it. But if we win, with that candidate? I can only see damage resulting from that too. So I'm hiding under the duvet as far as Old and Sad is concerned. For more information, Andrew Hickey has written a post which is full of the conflict I feel.
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Good News and Bad News
Saturday, August 7th, 2010 01:04 pmGood News - mum got out of hospital in time to go on her holiday to Cornwall with Holly
Bad News - I am Hollyless for AGES now :(
Yesterday was a bit of a weird day. We got news that one of the regulars at the pub had passed away, so the mood was a bit fragile. There were some tears and hugs when Bob came in to give us the news. Imogen and I both seemed to have the same reaction to this: clinging on to Things That Are Normal, becoming a tight double act behind the bar. This resulted in lots of amusement with various other groups of customers. I suspect that this is what Kenny, aka Mr Moustache, would have wanted. He was a very wry man, and I shall miss him.
Inevitably, after 8 hours of this, I needed a beer, and that beer led to another beer, and so on...
I am slightly hungover today.
Anyhoo, best code the next category of blog awards...
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Bad News - I am Hollyless for AGES now :(
Yesterday was a bit of a weird day. We got news that one of the regulars at the pub had passed away, so the mood was a bit fragile. There were some tears and hugs when Bob came in to give us the news. Imogen and I both seemed to have the same reaction to this: clinging on to Things That Are Normal, becoming a tight double act behind the bar. This resulted in lots of amusement with various other groups of customers. I suspect that this is what Kenny, aka Mr Moustache, would have wanted. He was a very wry man, and I shall miss him.
Inevitably, after 8 hours of this, I needed a beer, and that beer led to another beer, and so on...
I am slightly hungover today.
Anyhoo, best code the next category of blog awards...
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I Don't know Which is More Depressing...
Monday, August 2nd, 2010 08:59 amThe fact that one of the Milliblands has got headlines for jumping on the Save Our Pubs bandwagon that Greg Mullholland and other Lib Dems have been successfully piloting for years, or the fact that Mike Smithson, famed sage of politicalbetting.com thinks that my livelihood and the lifeblood of many communities (not just rural ones) is trivial and laughable.
OK, so Millibland's "bold" plans are nothing more than to appoint a minister for pubs, and not to do anything about the beer tie, or the stupid over-regularion of the market, or the ridiculously complicated duty regime (here's an idea: differential taxation on cask and bottle/can), or any of the other issues that plague my industry. But that does not mean that the issue is not a serious one, affecting not just the lives of barmaids, but the fabric of our communities.
To dismiss this as so much sausages is, I venture to suggest, slightly short-sighted of the seer.
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OK, so Millibland's "bold" plans are nothing more than to appoint a minister for pubs, and not to do anything about the beer tie, or the stupid over-regularion of the market, or the ridiculously complicated duty regime (here's an idea: differential taxation on cask and bottle/can), or any of the other issues that plague my industry. But that does not mean that the issue is not a serious one, affecting not just the lives of barmaids, but the fabric of our communities.
To dismiss this as so much sausages is, I venture to suggest, slightly short-sighted of the seer.
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Are you a Real Man? Do you want to drink a Real Man's Drink?
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 10:41 amMy boss leaves her copy of The Publican on the newspaper pile for the customers to leaf through once she's read it. Last night there was much hilarity over the adverts for this. If you'd like to count the misogyny fails in the advert, do feel free. Even the unreconstructed Yorkshiremen at work spotted and laughed at lots of them. Do it fast, though. I expect Iron Press to not last very long as a product.
Me, personally, I'd rather have a drink for Real Women, like Sarah Hughes.
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Me, personally, I'd rather have a drink for Real Women, like Sarah Hughes.
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State of the SB - a series of ill connected paragraphs.
Sunday, March 14th, 2010 03:20 pm- Am on my third day off sick from work, and it's getting old now. My abdominal pain is less than it was, but still definitely there. I can't walk very far without making it massively worse - indeed, I haven't left the house since getting back from the doctor's on Friday, aside from a brief trip to my mum's to pick up my mother's day card from
amazing_holly, who is at her dad's for the weekend.
- I really, really REALLY wish I could have gone to conference. There are so many people I would have loved to see. Ah well. It'll have to wait till Liverpool.
- I'm doing really well at sending conversation-killing text messages today.
- I wish someone would magically tidy my house and do all the DIY that needs doing. It's ironic that being off work gives me the time to do it, but I can't physically manage it. And when I'm better, I shall have to go back to work, and then I won't have the time...
- Biggest referrer to my blog this week outside of direct links and search traffic was Liberal Vision. I guess this means I ought to start reading them on a more regular basis (i.e. not just Sara's posts)... ;)
- Trying to avoiding reading about/hearing about The Egregious Tory Tosser is getting more difficult. I turned off the House of Comments podcast less than half way through because I was sick of hearing his name. You know, I know he's the biggest blogger, but he's ONLY the biggest blogger because so many people link to him and talk about him and quote his inane dribblings. If we ignore him, he'll go away. And then perhaps someone who has some talent other than self-promotion might get to be the big daddy. Just a thought.
My March sponsor is Mark Reckons, and I suspect he'll have something to say about that last bullet.
A Short Break
Friday, January 22nd, 2010 09:22 amI am working ridiculously long hours this weekend, so probably won't see you all until Monday, when I shall be unveiling my new sponsor. Thanks for the advice on the car, I shall have to beg for more money to get it MOTed. I hate being in debt... It's so frustrating that Mat actually HAS a job now, but we won't actually start seeing any money from it for at least another month.
Anyway, say goodbye to Ozzy...
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Anyway, say goodbye to Ozzy...
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Work was great tonight. Had fun working with Nicki, and yeah, there were a couple of tossers in, but that didn't really matter. Had a couple of bevvies with some of the regulars and Liz and Mark after knocking off and it was good, even though my back is still dicky.
For those of you who are wondering why I stay a barmaid when the pay isn't that marvellous and I have two degrees: this is it. I have never had a job before where I actively enjoy working. I love my job. It's that simple.
Have finished off the Weapons Grade Salsa upon arrival home, and it was even better having had a day to mature. Om nom nom. Now for a couple of episodes of BSG before sleep. We're into series 3 now, and I think the next one is the one with Helo and that guy who was the melty senator in X Men...
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For those of you who are wondering why I stay a barmaid when the pay isn't that marvellous and I have two degrees: this is it. I have never had a job before where I actively enjoy working. I love my job. It's that simple.
Have finished off the Weapons Grade Salsa upon arrival home, and it was even better having had a day to mature. Om nom nom. Now for a couple of episodes of BSG before sleep. We're into series 3 now, and I think the next one is the one with Helo and that guy who was the melty senator in X Men...
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Beer Festival at Work - Prizes Brainstorm
Saturday, October 17th, 2009 03:32 pmSo, we are having a Hallowe'en Beer festival at work, and several of the things we are doing (Costume Competition, pumpkin-carving, Quiz, etc.) require FABULOUS PRIZES TO BE WON! Now, while I would like to be able to offer (for example) free passes to next year's FFW (Aw, go on Tony, Peer, PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE??) and signed prints of
pmoodie's Werewolf and Cthulhu pics, I recognise that maybe people won't be willing to give away such valuable things in these hard economic times (whilst, obviously, still hoping that they will).
I have a couple of duplicate DVDs that I can throw in, and obviously there's always beer, cos it's a pub. Anyone else have any exciting ideas for stuff we can offer?
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I have a couple of duplicate DVDs that I can throw in, and obviously there's always beer, cos it's a pub. Anyone else have any exciting ideas for stuff we can offer?
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Work, work, glorious Work
Sunday, September 27th, 2009 09:17 pmWork has been fun this weekend. Vinyl night was a scream last night - someone brought in the It Ain't Half Hot Mum album and we played Whispering Grass and everything! - and people have been generally good-natured and happy. I am knackered, though. Conference takes it out of you, and then not even having a full day to myself between that and three long shifts at work, and my foot still not being 100%... Looking forward to day off tomorrow, that's fer damn sure.
However, I have achieved some stuff. Mostly in the planning of other stuff, but still...
djm4, I have booked a late start for work on that Saturday, so we can go to support opposing teams at the football. My brother is also coming up for that match, and he has a friend supporting Leyton (Wilf, apparently) so maybe some joint transporty thing might be a plan? I know you'll have small people with you, but still, greenery and all.
And... I just read that preceding paragraph back to myself and realised how much I am failing in the eloquence department this evening.
I am off to get rascally drunk. More blogging tomorrow, and exorcising of the plot bunnies that are bouncing about it my head thanks to your prompts :D
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However, I have achieved some stuff. Mostly in the planning of other stuff, but still...
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And... I just read that preceding paragraph back to myself and realised how much I am failing in the eloquence department this evening.
I am off to get rascally drunk. More blogging tomorrow, and exorcising of the plot bunnies that are bouncing about it my head thanks to your prompts :D
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A Soppy Post of Soppiness
Monday, September 7th, 2009 12:54 amThis weekend has been a bit weird. Aside from the major Up of the Cheeky Girls Birthday Bash last night (which was an absolute riot, and I haven't enjoyed myself at work so much for ages) there have been various struggles and crises and injuries and general downery things which have all conspired to make me want to curl up in a ball and cry. However, I am not giving in. There follows, therefore, a list of lovely things which have made me smile today:
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- Miss Holly, who does the bestest hugs
- Charlie Brooker, who really ought not to read Andrew Hickey's latest post in case his brain implodes.
- My daddy, who can do more with a couple of carefully placed words in an email than most people can with a tome
- Will Howells' lyrical genius
- The Twin Dilemma coming out on DVD tomorrow - props to Daddy Alex for the news - with a Special Feature called
Stripped for Action - The Sixth Doctor
fnarr fnarr - And, as always, my lovely
matgb, who is my rock, and who is making popcorn for us to watch Blake's 7 with. I'd be a lot crazier if it weren't for him ♥ Sometimes I look back to old blog posts before I knew him. Gods, I was miserable. And, no matter what my current financial tribulations... Well, I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable. Neither of us is any good with money, and I don't think either of us ever will be, but we have each other, and we have our friends, and that's worth more than any amount of money. Of course, given the choice, I'd have both... ;)
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Dreamwidth Geekery
Monday, July 27th, 2009 11:59 pmI like the new logged-in homepage. It's one of the things I am clinging to about today which hasn't been really awful and depressing.
The other thing was being out in the garden with
amazing_holly planting sweetpea seeds earlier. Yeah, I know, I'm a bit early for late planting and a bit late for regular planting. But she wanted to do it, and it was fun grubbing about in the compost with her.
I'm trying not to think about anything else that happened today. Work was particularly awful; this is made worse by the fact that I've had a good long stretch of really enjoying it, and today was a big jolt. Also Mat was really stressed (for mostly good reasons) so neither of us were in a fit state to be the support to each other we usually are.
Instead, I'm going to run myself a bath, and sink into it, and think about how cool it was to be planting stuff with Hol, and what a little angel she's been today, even though I have been grumpy as all hell.
I am a very lucky mummy.
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The other thing was being out in the garden with
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I'm trying not to think about anything else that happened today. Work was particularly awful; this is made worse by the fact that I've had a good long stretch of really enjoying it, and today was a big jolt. Also Mat was really stressed (for mostly good reasons) so neither of us were in a fit state to be the support to each other we usually are.
Instead, I'm going to run myself a bath, and sink into it, and think about how cool it was to be planting stuff with Hol, and what a little angel she's been today, even though I have been grumpy as all hell.
I am a very lucky mummy.
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Hello World!
Monday, July 20th, 2009 01:01 pmI am working a six day week at the moment, which impairs the blogging somewhat. Still, at midnight tonight, I shall be unveiling a new sponsor. And when
burlesque_bunny starts back at the pub on the second of August I shall be back to more reasonable hours...
Things I ought to be blogging about but haven't time:
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Things I ought to be blogging about but haven't time:
- The tories stealing our thunder on the economy and being rewarded with two days' worth of leading headlines.
- winning the cricket!
- Open For Dogs. Yes, yes, I know, The Kennel Club are evil. But if we can make a decent directory of doggy places to go, that will be fab. If you know of any good dog friendly businesses, go and nominate them?
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