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Working in history

Posted in around the UK, Historical, It's my life, Travel, tagged contemplating a sense of home, sleeping in the city of London, what is home, working in temple on November 14, 2020| 4 Comments »

I can’t tell you how many many times I’ve visited and walked through and around Temple, exploring all the nooks and crannies, visiting Temple Church again and again, awed by the history.

I never for one second thought I would find myself working and living in the complex. And yet here I am and its strange.

If I had stopped to think about it, if I’d even imagined people actually lived here, I certainly would have thought it would be amazing to live in such a historical area; an area of myths and legends, of Knights Templar and King John…..he of Magna Carta fame.

You know how sometimes you’ve visited a place and thought “oh how much I’d love to live there!” – usually a cute thatched cottage or a beautiful mansion. But we never really get to know what it is like, because we don’t explore the opportunity of it. Would it even be as magical as what we imagine?

Weirdly it doesn’t feel any different to living anywhere else. There’s nothing special about the flat, its dingy and old with no mystery at all….no feel of the history of the area.

We’re located very close to the archway made famous in The Da Vinci code and yet it holds no mysticism.

Have I been away too long, lost my awe for these places, or is it still there but buried over time? Have I been keeping my eye for too long on other horizons to explore? Been here, done that type of thing.

Or is it that its wet, and cold and grim out and the flat too lifeless and uninviting? I can find nothing to excite me, no feeling of lives past, no ghosts…..

I’ve lived in a 16th century cottage in Montgomery in Wales with more atmospheric feeling and loved it. I’ve worked and lived in a castle in Scotland and stayed a few weeks in a gypsy caravan on the banks of the River Thames on Eel Pie island. I felt the atmosphere, I felt the air of people gone before.

And yet here I am, about to spend my 1st night in one of the most historic areas of London, and its leaving me stone cold. I’d rather be back in the guest house…

I think I’ve lost my sense of home. It’s so long now that I had a place to call home, a place where I returned to after each job. My own bed, my clothes in a cupboard instead of a suitcase in a storage unit.

I seldom even use the word ‘home’ now and if I say it, it’s a slip of the tongue. A habit I’ve yet to lose. I don’t belong anywhere, although I go back to the same area after each job, just different guest houses, none of them are home.

They say that home is where the heart is. That’s not true. I know where my heart is, but it’s not my home.

And so I’ll be sleeping in another strange bed (not a very comfortable one either 😜😜) and I know by morning my hips will be aching and I’ll be stiff and sore from metal springs pressing….

And in the meantime, reading The Salt Path has evoked a longing in me. A longing to just shuck my arms through the straps of my backpack and go.

The reviews of the book make it sound amazing and wonderful and romantic. It’s anything but. It about hardship and pain and hunger, and love…and a strong enduring love that overcomes hardship and pain and hunger, to find freedom and joy in living free.

It’s making me melancholic and pulling me towards doing the same thing. Do you think that once the walking bug enters your soul, it leaves you wanting more, with an uneasy longing to just go? To walk and walk and walk…..to walk despite the pain, the blisters, the hardships and the rain.

Is there a sense of home in having no home?

Meanwhile, besides the loud TV tuned into Midsomer Murders, its quiet and still as if the air is holding its breath, the lights of the city twinkling in the dark, the silhouette of St Paul’s Cathedral dark and foreboding and if I crane my neck out one of the windows I can see the shimmering movement of the Thames as it rushes out to sea…

Have I moved on from London? Or has London left me behind?

I can find none of the enchantment I used to feel coming into the city, and that saddens me.

So tomorrow I’m going to go out during my break and see if I can find the thrill, the excitement and my love of the city….hope it’s not raining, I’ve got 477.7kms to catch up on before 31 December.

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Completing the Ring of Kerry

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Health, Inspiration, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged Cindy's travels, conqueror virtual challenges, long distance walking, walk1000miles on November 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Absolutely delighted to have completed the Ring of Kerry virtual challenge tonight.

After I’d updated my Conqueror app kms last night I found I only had 1.1km left to complete the challenge. So tonight after I got back from visiting the kids, I went for a short walk along the clifftop and 1.6km later, I’m done.

Challenge #5 in the bag. For someone who said she was only going to do one….😁😁😁🤭🤭

A cheap way to travel the world. 😉

Congratulations, you have completed Ireland’s well known scenic route the Ring of Kerry. Before you leave spend a little more time in Killarney by visiting the historical site of the 15th century Ross Castle.

Overlooking the third largest lake in Ireland, called Lough Leane, the castle was built by the local ruling clan, O’Donoghues Mór. Ross Castle was one of the last castles in Ireland to surrender to Cromwell’s forces. Up until the 17th century the castle was surrounded by a curtain wall with towers in each corner. A portion of the curtain wall was torn down to make way for expansion whilst in use as a barracks. Today the castle is open to visitors, retaining the tower house, part of the curtain wall and two towers.

From the castle take a boat ride on the lake to Innisfallen Island, the home to the ruins Innisfallen Abbey. Founded in 640 AD by St Finian, the patron saint of the area, it was occupied for nearly a thousand years. Nothing remains from that early settlement. The current ruins are a late 12th century Augustinian Priory. Over a few hundred years the resident monks wrote the famed Annals of Innisfallen, a chronicle of Ireland’s medieval history. In the late 16th century during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the monks were dispossessed of their abbey.

An excerpt from Thomas Moore’s poem entitled Sweet Innisfallen (c1870) describes it best:

Sweet Innisfallen, fare thee well,
May calm and sunshine long be thine!
How fair thou art let other tell,
To feel how fair shall long be mine.
Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell
In memory’s dream that sunny smile,
Which o’er thee on that evening fell,
When first I saw thy fairy isle…

It’s so easy to get discouraged these days what with lockdown and various crazy things happening in the world, so for me this has been a fun way to keep motivated, and even when I really don’t feel like getting out, the thought of adding kms to my challenge gets me out the house.

I love the milestone postcards we get and the information that comes with them. The plant a tree initiative is fantastic and its exciting to know that my walking challenges have planted 25 trees so far

If you’d like to join me on these virtual challenges, you can sign up here via my link.

https://www.theconqueror.events/r/CE1474

This is not an affiliate link and I don’t make any money from people signing up, but you get a 10% discount on any walks you sign up for and I think I get a 10% discount as well….which is a moot point really since I’ve already signed up for all the walks I want to do 😃😃😃, although that’s no guarantee and I’m pretty certain that if they bring out more challenges, I’ll sign up 🤣🤣🤣

What’s next you might ask….well I’ve 477.7km to walk to complete my personal challenge of 2020kms in 2020, and next on the horizon is the Great Ocean Road, Australia and Alps to Ocean, NZ. Next year I’ll be walking the Cabot Trail, Canada and the Ring Road, Iceland.

Hope they bring out a 2021 challenge too.

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After 13 years

Posted in around the UK, It's my life, tagged people in the service industry are disposable commodities, working as a carer in the uk on November 13, 2020| 3 Comments »

Finally after 13 years I’ve taken the unprecedented step of applying to register with another agency.

Loyalty no longer works both ways. After 13 years the agency I work for have let me down really badly and I can no longer trust that they have my best interests at heart.

I started writing a post a few days ago about being a ‘disposable commodity’ in the care industry, and it saddens me tremendously to be reaching the point of taking this action, but I can no longer trust them to looking after my best interests despite over a decade of loyalty and upholding their reputation.

When dishonest carers are able to get off scotfree after sneakily ‘stealing’ assignments from right under your nose, and the agency acknowledges her duplicity but does nothing about it, is when you have to question your own loyalty.

I have to now question their values if that is how they allow their carers to behave.

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The fleas are leaving the dog

Posted in around the UK, tagged politics, proverbs, the fleas are leaving the dog on November 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

There are a number of wonderful analogies, idioms and proverbs that we could use to describe the current situation in #10 as the skittles fall. But I’ll stick with this one since it best describes….

he that lieth with dogs riseth with fleas : proverb If one spends time with bad people, one will suffer in some way (often by becoming like them).

As they fight like ‘ferrets in a sack’ a delightful phrase I heard on tv this morning,

And now that they (the culprits) have brought this country to the brink of ruin with their Leave campaign, and we’re on the cusp of exiting the EU without a decent trade deal, and we enter deep water….the fleas are jumping….

The current ‘top dog’ is and has been weak. Bullies usually are weak. The only strength he has is his use of the English language and the way he pens his articles.

So goodbye to the fleas, may the dog follow soon…

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The Salt Path

Posted in around the UK, england coast path, family and relationships, gratitude, Health, reviews, tagged books to read, long distance walking, south west coast path, the salt path, walking the English coast on November 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Look what I bought for myself this afternoon. ☺☺ I felt I deserved a treat (besides the sunrise and sunsets) after all the stress this week. I’d been planning on buying it 2nd hand online, but suddenly felt impatient. Just a day ago I read the write up in The Guardian (February 2019) via @pilgrimtrust and felt so inspired by their journey; the bravery of facing down the odds and taking the challenge head on. It helped lift me out of my slump, and reminded me that I have much to be grateful for – even though I’m still very grumpy about the dishonesty of that carer (and that she’s just going to get away with her manipulative behaviour) 😡😡😡 that’s how grumpy I am 😁😁 Anyway, whatever, I had a lovely long walk to Broadstairs and back and now I’m reclining on my bed and just about to dive in…. p.s. if you Google ‘the salt path’ the article is a few entries down.

I’ll let you know what I think when I’ve finished it…although I’m pretty certain I’m going to love it. 📘

14.11.2020 Saturday 21:38

I’ve just finished reading The Salt Path. What an extraordinary story. Of pain, of loss and hunger and an enduring love that triumphed over the worst kind of adversity.

Its left me wanting to fetch my backpack and just go….

Fantastic read, definitely recommended.

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Sunrise, sunset

Posted in around the UK, gratitude, Inspiration, It's my life, photography, seaside towns of Britain, tagged autumn colours, being grateful, photographing the sunrise photographing sunset, photography, sunrise and sunset, sunrise at the English coast, the privilege of being alive on November 11, 2020| 3 Comments »

My favourite times of the year are autumn and winter. Although I do love spring…and there’s a lot to be said about summer 😉

I’m an autumn person – I love the rich golden patchwork of colours, the misty mornings, the chill in the air, the crunch of crispy leaves underfoot, the smell of bonfires, that extra hour in bed as the clocks go back, and the lateness of sunrise.

In fact autumn and winter are pretty much the only time I get to see the sunrise – for no other reason than that I love my first cup of tea in bed with a biscuit. I’m not an early riser.

Between assignments I’ve been staying at the new guest house I’ve found, a mere 3 minute walk from the cliff tops above the sea….and facing east.

I love sunrise and I love walking, so I’ve been getting up early to make the most of the free time available (except for the last few days when I’ve been poorly and just didn’t have the energy to get dressed, never mind drag myself out the door).

But last week, before the shock of losing my pending assignment (due to the absolute dishonesty and sneakyness of the current carer), jumped up and smacked me in the head and laid me low, I got up early for 3 days in a row and went out for a sunrise walk.

Here are some of the images….is there anything more privileged than being alive to watch the sun come up? Except perhaps still being alive to watch the sun go down

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Put the blame where it belongs Covid-19

Posted in around the UK, idiot category, tagged Coronavirus, Covid 19, lockdown, one rule for them and another for the great unwashed on November 3, 2020| 4 Comments »

This is a bit of a rant, so if you’re not in the mood for someone else’s rant….😉

One of the people I follow on Instagram shared these two images today and frankly it just made me mad 😠😠

DON’T ruin it for everyone else?? Seriously??

That’s a bit much!! That’s assuming that everyone who sees this is responsible for the spread of the virus, and let’s the government off the hook. I replied….

Wrong. Its entirely the fault of the government: slow to act, slow to make responsible decisions and they defy their own rules.

Lets consider for example: Boris Johnson back in March ” I shook hands with everyone” …..in a Covid-19 ward!!! No surprise, he got the virus AND passed it on. His top adviser, that sneak Dominic Cummings, defied the lockdown and the government rules to drive up country WHILE ILL with Covid-19 and then drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyes???

Seriously???. Then we have a top scientist who defied the rules and had his mistress over for tea (?)…at least he had the grace and decency to resign. Unlike Johnson and Cummings.

Then a couple of months and a lot of pain later, we have a Scottish MP also breaking the rules, travelling with full knowledge of her positive test results and when found out, refusing to resign.

The masks are ineffective for preventing the virus. At least the majority of masks worn are ineffective ….there’s been more than enough evidence, and they haven’t stopped the spread of the virus. Besides which, if the virus is that contagious then why don’t we have biohazard bins for disposal?

Yes, (some) of the public are feckless, yes, many don’t believe there is a virus, refuse to follow the rules and that its dangerous, but look at their leaders….stupid and criminally feckless. Brilliant leadership….

To post such inflammatory memes, and blame the general public (whoever reads it) for the spread of the virus is incorrect. The buck stops with the government with their lies, mixed messages, lack of action, destruction of the NHS with their drastic funding cuts…yet they can afford to pay their pals £9billion for a test and trace system that doesn’t even work.

No, the responsibility lies right in the hands of Johnson and his ministers. You can’t be the leader of a country and then wash your hands of any responsibility when things go wrong. The buck stops at the top. And like his twin in the USA, he loves to fling blame at any target he can rather than take responsibility for his own actions.

To blame the public is too easy and lets the government off the hook. The majority of the public obey the rules, do their very best in a very bad situation, self-isolate and in many many cases have little or no contact with another human being or watch helpless from the sidelines as their loved ones die, and our children and grandchildren are going to carry the cost of this for decades to come.

Even this latest lockdown – in the words of our ‘esteemed’ (?) PM “we must take immediate action, starting next week Thursday” – 5 days hence.

What part of ‘now’ did we misunderstand??

….ffs!!

I’m willing to bet, that as it was in March and April’s lockdown, there are planes and trains and foreign vehicles still entering the UK…..

Lockdown???? 🐂💩

Update: 21:12 I saw this news article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/coronavirus-news-covid-second-lockdown-rules-uk-cases-england/ have a look at 6.31pm…..what lockdown? Those businesses represent thousands of people, and while I understand that there are necessary businesses, there are a number that are not essential services.

And this evening I learned that I had lost my next job due to the new lockdown. Amongst thousands of others. I’m not in any category for financial relief from the government, amongst thousands of others.

Still, I’m not as badly off, I have savings, and there is still the possibility I ‘may’ get another job, being self-employed in an essential services industry, there is a possibility, but the reality is that the jobs are few and far between and I may end up having to draw down my savings; savings for my retirement which is right on the horizon.

So I’m unimpressed with the government, not that I had any respect or regard for them prior to the virus….when you have a clown in office….

Update 04.11.2020 15:00

Forgive me while I 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 hilariously. Latest government U-Turn 😝😝😝😝

Pubs, bars and restaurants will be permitted to sell takeaway alcohol during England’s second national lockdown if it is pre-ordered online, or via phone or post, according to proposed regulations.

Post??? Is

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Carving Pumpkins

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Holidays, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged British traditions, halloween, pumpkin carving on November 1, 2020| 2 Comments »

Sounds like the name of a band….😁

If I remember correctly, I think there is a band with a similar name….Smashing Pumpkins?? Which sounds just as much fun, albeit a lot messier than carving pumpkins 🎃

Its amazing how many British traditions we have been introduced to since living here for the last 19 years.

Although we came late to the tradition and have only carved a pumpkin once before, now that my grandson is older we’ve introduced him to the tradition and the fun of carving a pumpkin for Halloween.

Growing up in the UK, I’m pretty certain that this won’t be the last time we carve a pumpkin, and it will become a new family tradition.

My daughter bought the pumpkins a few days ago and yesterday we sat in the garden, thankfully it wasn’t raining, and carved our pumpkins.

Daddy of course honoured the boobee with his name and I went for the more traditional scary face, and for good measure and keeping it contemporary, I also carved out the word Covid…🤪🤪 Its current news, so I had to.

We left them outside to start drying out, a hopeless endeavour since the weather is so grim, but they were sufficiently dried by evening. Daddy sourced some candles and lights off, candles in and we had our ‘scary’ Halloween.

The boobee was more interested in retrieving the candles and ‘blowing’ them out than the actual pumpkin faces….🤔🤔

A lovely family day.

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Phishing and scam emails

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, lifestyle, messages, news from around the world, tagged DHL latest scam, education about phishing and scam emails, getting scammed via email, how to recognize a scam email, phishing emails, scam emails, spam emails, what is phishing on October 31, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Today I received what appeared to be a valid email from DHL. I opened it, especially as I’ve ordered quite a few items online recently, and am still expecting a few items and thought it may be delivery details.

1. First thing I noticed that alerted me was the request for £1.99 to deliver my item – I’ve paid for or have free delivery on all the items I’ve ordered.

2. I clicked on the attachment to see the order details and the screen was blank – it was untitled?! Naughty me.

3. The registered address on the email is clearly not a valid UK address.

4. I pressed reply and the address was clearly suspicious. info@dhl-freedom.com = the.com contradicts the UK address and the email address they list is .co.uk

I DIDN’T click the red button ‘track my parcel

Because I’m a naturally suspicious person and my scam alert had been alerted 🤪🤪

I did a Google search and this is what came up:

I then asked Google ‘what is DHL-freedom.com? and this is what I got : https://conversation.which.co.uk/money/dhl-scam-phishing-email-collect-parcel/

I am hyper aware of phishing emails and spam emails and am always suspicious of any emails that pop up that I’m not expecting/signed up for.

Usually I just delete anything I’m not sure about or send it to the spam box if it is obvious its spam. But because I’m expecting parcels I opened it to see if its delivery details. See point #2 🤔🤨🤨🤨

Same as phone calls, if the number is not listed in my phone I don’t answer the call. If its legitimate, they’ll leave a message and then I’ll phone back if I recognise the name.

If when occasionally I’m not thinking and answer the call and it’s a call-centre and they launch into their sales spiel I usually tell them to take ‘french leave’ and hang up. Can’t be bothered. If I’m in the mood I tell them the call is being traced and if they don’t remove my details from their list I’m going sue them. Works a charm…they always ring off pronto. Because sometimes the name that shows up is legitimate; they’re so damn sneaky.

I NEVER answer any overseas number eg +001 or 333 or similar and I NEVER say “Yes” if the person on the other end asks “is that Cindy *****” – I always reply with “who may I ask is calling?”.

Back to the email scams, its vitally important to be aware and before responding, just look through the email and if you’re really not sure then do a few Google searches…even ask is ‘such and such spam? You’ll quickly get a reply and do a search on the Which? website, they’re usually well ahead of any scams or phishing issues.

I hope this post helps you avoid being scammed and if you have an elderly relative who uses email, please do chat to them about this type of scam, even if, like DHL it appears to be a legitimate company/email.

What is phishing? Ref wikipedia

Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information or data, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.

Typically carried out by email spoofing, instant messaging, and text messaging, phishing often directs users to enter personal information at a fake website which matches the look and feel of the legitimate site.

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Bed merry-go-round

Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, lifestyle, Travel, tagged 100 beds, sleep in beds around the country, sleeping around, Travel, working as a carer on October 30, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Some years ago I thought it would be fun to keep photos of all the beds I sleep in. I called the blog 100 beds.

Little did I know it would eventually exceed 100 by a huge margin 🤔🤔🤔

My job as a Carer takes me all over the country, although not as far afield since 2019 as it used to…..a certain little boy put paid to my extended travels.

Of course Covid-19 has reared its ugly head and I was away for 7 weeks in March and April and from 9th November I’ll be away for another 6 weeks.

Every time I work away I get to sleep in a different bed….and the variety of beds is amazing. Some beds are lush with memory foam mattresses and luxurious linen and superb pillows. Others are single beds (my pet hate) with a mattress that was old during the time of Noah’s Ark 🤪🤪🤪

Inbetween jobs I stay in either a B&B or Guest House and occasionally I use Airbnb….these all offer a similar variety of beds and you just never know what you’re going to get.

Up until last month I was staying at a B&B that was a 5 minute walk from my daughter and her family, but they moved house and the host of the B&B went down the road of ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ and the last day I stayed there she gave me a stale hot cross bun and tepid tea and a cup that was less than clean at breakfast. Ergo time to part company.

So I looked around and found a Guest House in a good location and a 20 minute walk to the family.

So for the last 3 weeks I slept here

And for the next 7 nights, I’m sleeping here

For fun I created a short video of some of the beds I’ve slept in over the years

I have an amazing bed at the next job, tucked away at the back of the house, a room with a view, in a quiet courtyard and a lovely big comfy bed and that’s where I’ll be sleeping for 6 weeks.