Cider, sweatshirts and cold tea.

I drove away from the Jobcentre the other day, after telling them that I was about to start work. The sun was shining, I was feeling relieved that I wouldn't have to go back to the job centre again for a while and pleased to have found work, even if it isn't exactly my dream job. So I opened the windows in the car, donned my sunglasses and switched the radio on, turning up the volume nice and loud. I swear the first lyrics that came on were,

🎵I was looking for a job.
Then I found a job,
and heaven knows I'm miserable now🎵

I really hoped that The Smiths, weren't prophetic!

I've now completed 2 days of my new job and am shattered so this will be a short post as I'm too tired to even type. My previous job was a desk job and although I often felt tired, as it could be stressful, this job brings with it a whole new level of fatigue. I am working in a local tourist attraction where they make and sell cider amongst other things. It is crazy busy and I am on my feet and dashing around the whole time.

So the highs and lows of my first couple of days

• The first day I started work at 10 and didn't have my lunch break until 4 (that was one of the lows).
• They have a petting zoo with the cutest baby pygmy goats which snore when they sleep.
•  They provide a sweatshirt and T-shirt as a uniform but the first day there were no t-shirts available so I had to wear a sweatshirt all day (I now know how this item of clothing gets its name).
• I sold a bottle of extra special spirit for a jaw dropping £135, only to find out it was a bottle of cold tea used for display purposes, the real spirit being kept securely out the back. Luckily I was able to catch the couple who bought it before they left the shop.
• I now know more about cider and apple based drinks than I thought it was possible to know.
• Surely this must help me to lose weight!

So reading back through this I realise that there are rather more lows than highs, however they are a lovely crowd of people that work there, all of the customers have been really pleasent, Billy dog has given me an ecstatic welcome back each evening and the job is close to home. 

All and all, not the most enjoyable two days of my life, but thankfully The Smiths were wrong and heaven knows I'm not miserable now, in fact I think I'm probably too tired to be miserable. Right I've got to go and wash my T-shirt so its ready for tomorrow and then this scrumpy maid is going to go to bed early. Night night all.

Good news/bad news, strawberries and soggy pants.

So nearly as exciting as "Who shot JR", is the question of whether I got the job that I was waiting to hear from last week. Some of you may have already heard but for those that haven't and who are waiting to hear with baited breath, the answer is.....

Pause to create dramatic tension........

As a matter of intetest I wonder where the term baited breath comes from? Well that's interesting, according to Wiktionary it should actually be bated breath and the first known usage was in Shakespeare. Bated is a shortened version of abated, which means to reduce or suppress. So to wait with bated breath is to breath shallowly due to tension or nerves.

I do think the origin of language is interesting, there are so many words and phrases that we use that if you think about it make no sense at all. For instance I wonder how many people know why we use the word " fortnight " to mean 2 weeks? Well apparently it dates back to Roman times and Hadrian's Wall (I know, I keep going on about Hadrian's Wall, but it's interesting). Roman soldiers used to patrol the wall and once every 2 weeks they were allowed to take it in turns to sleep in one of the forts along the walls length. Hence they had a night in the fort, or a fortnight. Maybe I should have been an Etymologist.

Which brings me back to jobs and whether I was offered the position I was hoping for last week. I do find that I am easily distracted, unlike Billy, my dog who is very focussed.

The other day Billy and I went for a lovely walk along a stream. I spied some wild strawberries and was crouching down to pick them, this meant that my pocket, which contained dog treats was at Billys nose height. Billy was so focussed on trying to get the treats out of my pocket that he didnt notice the young fox drinking from the rill near us. The vixen looked up and stood staring at me and I like to think we shared a little moment. We were only yards apart in a wooded glade, all that could be heard was the tinkling brook and bird song. The glade was lit by dapled sunlight and I had the taste of starwberries and summer in my mouth. Perfect. Billy was so focussed on food he didnt notice her and thats when things went wrong. In his frustration at not being fed, Billy jumped up at me and I lost my balance and sat back into a puddle. Perfect moment over, the fox had disappeared and I had to complete the walk with a wet bottom.

Anyway back to job news. There is good news and bad news. The bad news is that I didn't get the job that I would really have liked, boo hoo. But the good news is that I was offered a job yesterday, hurray! It's only a part time seasonal job, but its work and it might be fun. I start on monday and the job should last until the end of September when the search will start again.

I had thought that I would call time on this blog when I found work, but I have enjoyed writing it so will continue for a while. After all, although I am no longer workless, it is a part time job so I am still working less than before.

Another eventful week then that contained a job rejection, a job offer, a perfect moment with a fox and a very awkward moment a few seconds later when I met another dog walker and felt the need to explain my wet bum. I could see from the woman's eyes that she didn't believe, or even understand, my waffling tale of foxes, strawberries, dog treats or puddles, but I still couldn't shut up. Recognising when to stop, talking/writing a hard thing to get right.

Shrimps, tenterhooks and cider.

Hi there and what a week! I am back in Cornwall and have had a busy old time. This week I have signed on with the job centre, been for a work trial, attended an interview, been a lady who lunches (twice), have had a haircut and a birthday.

I am writing this on tenterhooks as I am waiting to hear about the interview I attended. They said they'd call me this afternoon and its gone 1 o'clock already. I wonder what tenterhooks are and if I am really on them. Well that's interesting, thank you Mr Google (other search engines are available). Apparently tenterhooks were used to stretch wet fabric out so that it it could be fitted onto a frame called a tenter, in order to dry. Hence the phrase, being on tenterhooks, is used to mean that one feels in a state of uneasy suspense or anxiety. So yes, I am definitely on tenterhooks.

I had the interview first thing this morning and overall I think it went OK, although looking back there is at least one question that I could have answered better. However they did tell me that part of the job role had, for the last year, been done by an intern and I'm assuming that he/she applied for the job and I kind of hope that they get it, it's only fair after all.

But now the waiting begins. They said that they'd call this asfternoon however that could mean any time. It's now 1:30 and they might not call till 5:00. I'm already too nervous to move away from the phone to go the loo, in case I miss the call. I could take the phone with me into the bathroom of course but then what if they call mid flow? No better to wait it out, staring accusingly at my silent phone and dealing with the urine soaked sofa should the need arise.

The reason that I am so anxious about this interview, compared to some of the others I've attended, is that I really want this job. The other jobs I've applied to have mostly been either temporary/seasonal ones or part time and paying minimum wage. The interview I attended this morning though is for a more challenging and interesting role and I WANT IT! Yes I know " I want doesn't get" but I do want it, a lot.

I've also had a work trial at a local tourist attraction and had an enjoyable couple of hours handing out samples of cider to coach parties as they arrive. I thought at the end of the session that I had been offered a job but am waiting to hear for sure about this as well.

I had my birthday this week and had lots of nice presents and cards. My favourite gift was a shrimping net, I haven't had a chance to use it yet but can't wait to give it a go. I watched a cookery show the other day where they went shrimping, then cooked their catch up on the beach on a camping stove. It looked so lovely, I would like to replicate it. Of course I may not catch anything, but I hope to. I may even catch so many that I can sell them and eventually have a seafood business to rival Princes.

So another busy week (I don't know how I ever found time to work). I've tried out being a barmaid, cooked up the tastiest prawns (in my imagination), have discovered that I am no good at waiting and learnt that a watched phone, like a watched pot, never rings/boils.

Dolls houses, riots and elderflower cordial.

Well this post is coming to you from Dorset so the tone may sound slightly different to normal.  Less Cornish and rather more Dorset -shire. I did consider not writing a post this week but a few kind readers have said that the blog is becoming the highlight of their midweek. One reader said that it was their second favourite thing to happen on Wednesdays, number one being their school dinner. I feel almost sure that this was intended as a compliment but from my experience of school meals I'm not 100% convinced how flattering this is. So not wanting to disappoint anyone here is the weekly update. Also following feedback from last weeks brief and succinct post it seems that people missed the rambling, so in this post please be prepared for rambling galore. Lovers of succinct and to the point should stop reading now.

I've had a few days away from home this week, a weekend in a caravan in Devon and now a couple of days with family in Dorset. The caravan weekend was an early birthday present and I was looking forward to it. I love a caravan, in fact  as an infant it was my first home after leaving the maternity ward. It's a miniature world; iddy biddy beds, the tiniest bathrooms, shrunken kitchens, like staying in a dolls house.

First impressions of the caravan were good,  it was was light and airy, had curtains in the windows, no flies or funny smells and a dry bathroom floor, unlike a couple of places we have stayed in the past.

That first evening we had a walk along the coast and then a nice meal.  It was only when we came to wash up after dinner in our petite sink that we realised there was no hot water,we decided not to let this dampen our spirits and resolved to report it in the morning. We went to bed in our teeny, tiny bedrooms and soon fell to sleep.

Our alarm call however came a little earlier than expected  as we were woken in the early hours by a fight right outside our caravan. The noise from the argument was bad enough but was soon accompanied by blue flashing lights which hailed the arrival of the 4 police vehicles including one riot van. This incident signalled a bit of a down turn in our weekend.


So to cut a long story short

• Still no hot water in the morning so after a bracing wash we reported the fault to reception
• We went out for a 5 mile walk. As we were feeling good after completing 5 miles we decided to lengthen the walk to 10 miles, at about mile 7 we realised that this was probably a mistake.
• Whilst on the walk we were stalked by a ferocious feral feline who persisted in trying to bully the dog which really dented Billys pride.
• Eventually we got back to the caravan, hot, tired and very sweaty only to find that we still had no hot water.
• Pleasant evening of food and drink for 2 weary walkers was repeatedly interrupted by 3 different maintenance staff trying to fix the boiler
• Eventually our smellyness encouraged the staff to give us the keys to a new caravan on the other side of the park so that we could use the shower there.
• Next morning we were woken up at 5am by seagulls on the roof of the caravan seemingly playing football.
• Daily walks from then on across the site in our PJs in order to shower, then trailing back again with wet hair.

But despite all this we had a good weekend then travelled on up to Dorset for an early birthday celebration with family, including being treated to a lovely cream tea overlooking the sea.

I haven't done any foraging myself this week but did enjoy the elderflower cordial that my sister and brother-in-law made. In fact my new second favourite drink is now gin and tonic with a splash of elderflower. My number one favourite drink is still my morning cup of tea, in a china cup of course.

Prior to my time away I have had another job interview but am still waiting to hear the outcome. I have had a few emails and one phone call from another employer and should be going for a work trial there next week. My family over the last couple of days have been really helpful and supportive with coming up with suggestions for ways that I can make a living. Highlights of their ideas include: learning a musical instrument so that I can busk (the violin obviously), becoming a fortune teller, learning to decorate cakes, winning Britains Got Talent by teaching Billy dog some tricks, a chimney sweep (although my niece did think that I would have to loose weight for this as she thought I'd need to climb up inside the chimney, not realising that they use brushes) and if none of these ideas work then apparently I should become a drug mule. None of my family are really cut out to be careers advisers.

Despite a few hitches though this has been an enjoyable week where I discovered a new drink, had a lovely cream tea and it may well result in me playing a starring role on Panorama, when it tries to uncover the truth behind the Dawlish riots of 2015.