SNOW!!!

Finally after a couple of snow free years their was a bit of sprinkling overnight last week. Not a lot, maybe half an inch up in the hills between Harrogate and Skipton that was all melted from the roads by the time I got there. But it had definitely snowed.

There is something about snow that makes me smile. Not sure what it is, but the slightest possibility of a hint of a flurry and I can get rather giddy. Put some actual snow on the ground and the world is clean and a better place.

It's all gone now, lasted less than 12 hours but it was a good start and with a bit of luck their might be a bit more before we are through.

Someone was in a cheerful mood

About 6 months ago the Tour de France came to Yorkshire and yellow bicycles turned up everywhere in anticipation. Many months later and the bicycles remain as a reminder. To some they look a bit odd, but for me, they make me smile. 

Some people put a bit more effort in and one that I always notice (partially because I now drive past it on every journey into the office) is a house in Knaresborough that decided it was the King of the Mountains. Red spots appeared all over its normally white exterior and a couple of yellow bicycles were hung above the door. Now we are in the run up to Christmas and they have decided to make the most of it and go for a more festive approach. Still makes me smile...

Illumination from Blackpool?

So, the new job began properly this week and the first job included two days away at the Urban Drainage Group conference in Blackpool. Some people may think that a conference devoted to Urban drainage might not be the most interesting thing in the world? Those people would be completely correct. It wasn't quite mind-numbingly dull, but it would come a close second to watching cream paint dry on top of some more cream paint.

 

One plus side would be that I got to stay in a fairly decent Hilton hotel and I got a view of the tower and the seafront. I like the sea, makes the world seem somewhat more fresh which considering the subject matter of the conference is much appreciated.

 

Also got to take pictures of another football ground, this time it was Bloomfield Road, the home of Blackpool FC. Bit of an odd stadium, half way through a redevelopment and difficult to get a decent picture off. Should be good if they can ever finish it off though.

Was a bit disappointed that the world famous Blackpool illuminations weren't on. I always thought they started in late October and carried on through till the New Year. Turns out they are only up for a few weeks and then there is nothing in November before the separate Christmas illuminations go up in December. Timed that one badly didn't I!!

New job, long journey

So, I have left one job and have started another. This one needs a lot more driving and day one started with a 300+ mile trip down to Exeter. Had the pleasure of one of the directors in the car with me most of the way down and most of the way back. I don't mind company in the car and on many occasion having someone to talk too can make a long journey seem much shorter but not really for this one. he didn't seem to want the radio or any music on and was more interested in talking to his customers on the phone or tapping away at emails and texts. I know he has work to do but it did make the journey so much longer sitting in silence. We got a bit of conversation going but not as much as would be preferred. Didn't help that I have a cold and a fluffy head, not nice being in the car for that long when you don't feel well!!

 

On the plus side, I do have a new car. Its a bright red Skoda Yeti and despite its peculiar van like shape and ridiculous ground clearance its actually a nice car to drive, full leather interior, air con, decent stereo and other toys. Only got it for a few months until I work out what I want and get it ordered but it will do. Only down side is the economy, 50mpg on a good run is not enough, will have to do better with the next one.

I suppose that's the end of that

I have been wondering for many months if the change in occupation was the right thing for me. The lack of peaceful driving was part of it, but different employers have different styles and after a lot of thinking (and stressing) I came to the conclusion that this style and this place of work was not to be. To that end, I handed my notice in last week and will be leaving this job at the end of the week. Its been interesting and I have learnt some new things and seen a lot more of the places local to me, but its time to move on and find something that suits me a bit better.

 

One of the final places I got to visit for this job was last weeks trip up to Middlesbrough for a meeting. Spotted the Riverside Stadium out of the car window on the way there so took a five minute detour on the way back to look up close. I like football stadiums, something about the sheer size of it and all the happy (and sometimes delirious) people inside them makes me smile. Not sure what the weird bit of art was that's just over the river. Looks like a mesh funnel but about 15 metres across. Rarely do I understand modern art, this one is just as confusing as the rest.

Do I miss the miles?

I don't have a definitive answer yet but its possible that I may actually miss doing the miles that I used to do. Back in the olden days, (roughly three and a half months ago) I used to class a two hour journey as an easy day and it had to be at least three hours each way before it was worth commenting on. Nowadays my normal journeys are less than an hour and though I do enjoy the additional home time and the increased chance of a before-work swim, it's possible that I may miss some parts of what went before.

 

Last week I drove up to Newcastle and back (1hr, 35 mins each way) and today I drove to Keighley and back (1hr, 20 mins each way). It was long enough to get comfy in the seat, to listen to a few podcasts and relax into the journey. In short, it was nice! Most likely it is novelty value that makes me think this way, but I have to admit I wouldn't mind too much if my journeys were a little longer. Suppose I could go with the simple option and just get more customers in Scarborough!

Another holiday

Looking back through the old posts I see that is not long since I was last on holiday but I suspect that might be because new job meant for less time writing a blog and less posts. Either way, a couple of weeks ago I spent ten days on holiday again and managed to bag another couple of countries as part of it.

 

Normally in the summer months we try and spend a week on a cruise ship somewhere nice and warm. This year we thought we would do something different and together with a couple of friends we hired the top two floors of a house in Obernberg am Brenner, Austria. buried in a quiet valley on the bottom edge of the Tirol, we were five miles from the Italian border and firmly ensconced in the Alps. Normally people go to the Alps for some skiing but I am of the mind-set that I like my legs whole, and feet unattached to planks of wood so we go in the summer months and see all the green, and boy does Austria do green. The forests are tall and wide and the valley bottoms are green and peaceful. The weather is (mostly) sunshine and when its clear you can climb a mountain and see for miles. Unfortunately on two out of the three days that we climbed a mountain the clouds climbed with us as well and all we could see for miles was a large quantity of white and not of the snow like fluffy kind. On the third day though we decided to take the car and drove in a giant loop up across the Alps and into Italy. I think I may have been higher up a hill then I have even been and views were spectacular. Go that high and you can even find some snow and though it felt a little off at the time, having a snowball fight in shorts and sandals is a very entertaining experience. Definitely worth doing.

On one of the other days we went to Liechtenstein. Never been to Liechtenstein before don't even think I know anyone who knows anyone who has been Liechtenstein before but not I can say I have been. Its an odd little place squashed in a valley between Switzerland and Austria but very quaint and very clean. possibly one of the prettiest capital cities I have known but that might be simply because its so small. Did have a castle on a hill though which is always a good start.

Talking of castles on a hill we also took a day trip into Bavaria. Some more big hills and at the top of one is a castle that as far as I understand was built by a very odd man. the story goes that daddy had a very nice castle on the side of a hill and everyone liked it. Allegedly son had some major issues and decided he could do better. Neuschwanstein Castle was built and despite the peculiar stories it is the perfect fairy tale castle.

So nine countries done so far this year. England, Wales, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany. Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy. Wonderful if I will manage double figures, never done that before.

A life less interesting?

Firmly ensconced in the new job now and I am very much appreciating the being at home every night and the distinct lessening in the stress levels. I doing miss some of the travelling as I expected I might and some of the pseudo-prestige of being the main man and covering the entire country but, work-life balance is balanced again, and that's worth a fortune.

 

So, I may not be doing the miles but I am getting inside some places that I hadn't seen before. Spent a day on a RAF base and found out that Ministry of Defence security guards have no sense of humour but that despite all the security you can still get your Tesco delivery van onto the base with your shopping. Went inside a 200 year old school made out of a load of terraced house that I have walked past hundreds of times only to find that it is massive and stretches back a quarter of a mile. Been inside the British Library building that I have wanted to go into for 20 years. Saw some books so old that I had no idea what they were about even though the titles were in English. And today went onto a part RAF, part USAF radar listening base and saw the listening array close up. Wonderful thing even if it does look like a demented Borg cube!

 

Life goes on. You win some and you loose some, but as long as the balance works in your favour, then its the right choice.

Four weeks done

I have now been in the new job for 4 weeks and I think I am slowly getting the hang of it. I think I am getting to like it more but I suspect I could do with a  long drive occasionally just for the switch off time. The problem with only doing short journeys is that you can do a lot more actual work in the day, not sure if that is a good or a bad thing? I am still having my schedule organised by someone else but hopefully this week I will at least get to decided on a couple of the visits myself even if I am still going their with one of my colleagues.

 

The best bit from the last few weeks was Fridays trip to Scarborough, nice and sunny all day and my boss decided that it was the perfect day for fish and chips. so we parked at the top of the hill (next to a car with a seagull on it) and walked down to the seafront, bought some food and stood watching the fishing boats in the harbour and stuffing our faces. Made a nice break after all the stress of being in a different role and definitely finished the week off nicely.

One Week Done

So, my job of 13 years ended in quiet fashion and after a week of not having a car and not going anywhere (more frustrating than I had anticipated), I started the new job. Managed to get a lift in on the first day and picked up my car from the new office. After a full week of the new job I actually have time to think and reflect on it all.

 

Firstly, I have a new car. Its a VW Passat. Not as high a spec as the old one, no leather seats, no integrated Sat-Nav, I think its actually bottom of the range? But its red, proper bright and shiny red and I love red cars. I am sure the lack of sat-nav, or leather or parking sensors will cause me some proper annoyance at some point but for the time being I have a bright red car and I even feel the urge to clean it!

 

Secondly, I am not driving so much, after 5 days out I have done around 400 miles, the longest day was 120 miles and I can get to the head office of my new employer in 35 minutes. Compared with what I am used too, that is stunning! I will admit their are a couple of times that I missed the old way with plenty of hours to myself in the car, but I will get used to it and at least I wont feel as tired!

 

The main aim was to gain more time at home and not be away so much. The latest I have been home all week is 6pm so I definitely should be gaining on that, but it doesn't quite feel like it yet, spent a couple of hours sorting out the car and a couple of others sorting out my laptop bag and various other bits. Give me a few weeks to settle and then I might feel the benefit but so far, not quite yet

 

As for the job, on that I honestly don't know. Its just too soon to tell. the people are nice and the work seems easy. Need to get involved more and find my niche and then I will be happy. At the moment my scheduled is controlled by someone else and I don't entirely know what I am talking about. I don't like that, but I'll get there :).

Travelling done?

That's it. yesterday was the last day at my current job. no longer will I travel the length and breadth of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland chasing Sales and helping the customers with whatever random pickle they have got themselves into this time. No longer will I travel 40,000+ miles a year and no longer will I do 7 hour drives in one stretch. I have one week of sitting with my feet up and then I start the new job.

 

Yesterday was a day of very mixed emotions, happy and sad, bemused and confused. I know that I am doing the right thing but I have been doing this job for 13 years and many of the colleagues I had then I have now (or at least had yesterday). I think, or maybe I know, I will miss them. I will miss some of the customers and I expect I will miss the driving and the freedom that comes with covering so many miles. the new job will still involve a decent amount of driving, but the next few months will be a lot of sitting in an office and listening to people tell me about things. I am going to get bored. I know I will get bored. but its a necessary evil and if it means I get home every night and spend more time with my family and finally get a sensible work/life balance it will be worth it. Wonder how many times I will argue with myself about that though ;-)

 

So, the one oddity of yesterday is that I had to hand my car back. It's a company supplied car which means I drove to the office yesterday morning and had to make my own way home. Caught a train on the way back, Chesterfield to York, 70 miles in about an hour and a half, stopping at Leeds, Sheffield and a couple of others on the way. Haven't been on a normal British train for a good few years. Not like the tidy efficient Swiss one from a few weeks ago but pretty decent all the same. needs more seats though, I don't know if it was just because it was Friday afternoon or not, but the train was crammed, all the seats full and the corridor sections full of people standing as well. Sure it could be better, bit more planning and a few more carriages maybe? Not mine to sort though so I'll not worry about it too much. No car now till week on Monday, might have to have a few cycles, but I think I'll be stuck in York for the next 9 days, not too many miles. 

Last night away

So, I now know that my last day with my current employer will be Friday May 2nd and unless something odd occurs next week then my last overnight trip will be the one last Wednesday in Birmingham. An early morning meeting in Walsall was the reason to be down there and I thought it might be the last one so I thought I would try something different. Still part of the Holiday Inn chain as I always like to collect the points from them but this time it was the Staybridge Suite in Birmingham for the night. Now, I have stayed in Staybridge Suites in the USA many times and they are perfect destination when on a road trip, big spacious suites with min kitchens and quite often the bedroom(s) as an actual separate room (ideal when you are touring with a little person in tow). never stayed in a Staybridge in this country though so I was curious to se what it would be like.

 

For some reason the UK Staybridges don't do 2 bedroom suites like their American counterparts but the room I ended up in was still very nice. Small kitchenette, comfortable double bed, nice armchair, little desk, breakfast bar and spacious bathroom. I have never actually lived in an apartment but if I did and if I was single then this would have everything I needed. Only down side was the hotel doesn't have its own car park and the local NCP one has to be used instead. If you know your way round Birmingham then this wouldn't have been a problem, but I don't and its was fairly dark by the time I arrived so I spent 20 minutes traipsing around towing a suitcase trying to fin the front door to the hotel. A little unnerving but all part of the experience.

A very nice holiday

It's taken me a few days to catch up after holiday but I have to say all in all it was a excellent trip. Some bits were not so good. Belgium roads are terrible in many ways and having to do an emergency doctor visit whilst in Luxembourg due to my daughter getting a bad bought of Bronchitis is something I could do without but she got healthy within 24 hours and the views and scenery whilst we travelled were truly awesome.

 

The final couple of days were spent travelling from Brussels to Calais and then from Calais to home. We left Brussels in the morning and headed north to Bruges. Bruges is a wonderful historic city full of brilliant things to see and explore. Unfortunately I saw none of them due to crazy traffic and insufficient parking. After an hour of trying to find somewhere to stop we headed back out of the city, parked up by the edge of a canal and had a picnic. Heading on up to Oostende we picked up the coast road and trundled along that to Dunkirk. Had to stop a couple of times, once to paddle in a very cold north sea and a second time to watch the kite surfers. Those kite surfers are amazing. don't know how they had such amazing control but the ability to leap 20ft into the air and come back down safely is impressive.

 

On the final day the brilliant weather finally gave way. It drizzled in Calais and by the time we came out of the tunnel in Dover we had achieved torrential downpour. Welcome back to Britain!

Belgians are a menace when it comes to roads

Brussels is an interesting place and no where near as dull as it has been made out to be, but having spent around 50 hours of this holiday in the country of Belgium, I have 3 main observations.

 

1. Belgium needs to invest in roads, specifically hard wearing tarmac and most particularly on motorways. Four inch deep potholes on a motorway are just ridiculous!

2. Belgium drivers need to learn about indicators. If they see one flashing they need to consider that the driver in question might be trying to tell them something and not just blindly carry on. Similarly if they try to use them themselves, it might help other drivers have a some sort of clue as to what they hell they are doing on the road.

3. Linked to point 2 above, Belgium pedestrians really do need to be more careful, their drivers are a menace so don't walk out in front of moving cars in Belgium, its plain stupid.

 

As you may have guessed I have not appreciated driving in Belgium, somewhat nerve racking at times and I was pleased to cross into France having neither damaged the car, damaged someone elses car or having run a deserving idiot over.

 

As for Brussels itself. Good museums, pretty parks, could do with being cleaned more often, nice waffles, an alarmingly large proportion of lingerie shops, completely mad car parks and please stop digging up the roads, their are enough holes already.

Luxembourg is an actual real place!!

Did you know their are more than three people living in Luxembourg and that Luxembourg is not a made up place? I spent a couple of years at university feigning complete ignorance of the country of Luxembourg in order to tease a Luxembourgish housemate but after finally giving in and visiting him and his family a couple of days ago I suppose I will have to concede. To be honest though quite small it turns out to be a perfectly formed little country thriving on some curious tax laws, squashed between France, Belgium and Germany and speaking a curious combination of German, French and Dutch called Luxembourgish. Luckily a lot of the residents speak English as well so my (admittedly awful) grasp of any language other than English was not tested. A pretty capital city spread over two hills and the gorge in-between makes for a pleasant amble round for a couple of hours and I would suggest anyone visit if they are in the area.

Zurich: City of... well... hills and churches really.

We spent a full day in Zürich and manage to not visit the car at all, Seemed a bit odd after doing at least 200 miles for echo of the 5 previous days but it made a nice change. Walked to the local station and after checking the timetable found two trains into the city. On at 26 minutes past and on at 38 minutes past. At precisely 24 minutes past a train arrived and precisely 2 minutes later it left. I checked the on-board timetable for every station we stopped at and that train was exactly on time everywhere. Bet it never sufferers from leaves on the line or the wrong kind of snow!! Swiss precision in train form!

 

Zürich was a nice city to amble around but seemed to specialise in two things, churches and hills. I think perhaps the churches were there so that you had something impressive to look at once you had got to the top of the hill but I know it meant my legs were tired by half way through the day. Found. A park for lunch and watched some elderly Swiss gentlemen have a very long and intense game of boules. Tried to explain the rules to my daughter but as I didn't know them myself it was slightly more complicated than anticipated.

 

A chance conversation earlier in the week had reminded ourselves that my wife had an ex workmate now living in Zürich so we met her and her family as well. Its strange to think how many people you can know in so many far flung places but its always nice to catch up when you can.

The beauty of Switzerland

I have travelled a fair bit in my life so far. Many many miles around the UK and more than the average around Europe and the USA but I think several of the views from yesterday will beat everything I have ever seen before.

 

We started off the day with a trip to the swimming pool attached to the Bern Westside hotel. Slightly disappointed to be honest that their wasn't a pool in the hotel grounds and that we had to put in the effort to go to the local aqua-park. Very tempted when I got up to not bother going but so very very glad I did. The pool was a marvel of Swiss engineering situated below a shopping cents and including a large pool, another large pool, a small pool for children, a super cool plunge pool, and outside pool and more slides and flumes than I could keep track off. Everything immaculately clean and designed in a stylish but elegant manner. I think I am safe in saying this was by far the best swimming pool complex I have ever seen and ever the better for being free to hotel guests. If they made something that good back home I would swim every day.

After the pool we set off for Zürich but as we had a shorter journey than usual, we took a diversion along the shores of Lake Thunerzee and through the town of Interlaken. That lake is truly gorgeous, a brilliant turquoise blue fed by the glacial snow melt of the surrounding mountains. At one stop it was 21 degrees Celsius outside as we stared across the lake but we could still see snow on the distant Alps. Awesome does not even come close to how beautiful it was and I already know I want to return to the area to swim at the pool again and to explore the surroundings more.

 

We ended the day crossing the Albis pass and arriving in our hotel for the next two nights, the Holiday Inn Express at Affolten Am Albis about 15 miles south of Zürich.

 

So many countries, so little time.

Days 3 and 4 of the holiday have passed by in a bit of a blur of amazing sights and curiosity at the differing European logics.

 

Day 3 began in Calais. Quick breakfast and then set off down the road. We drove passed the edge of Dunkirk with a promise to visit again and then round the side of Lille and across the border into Belgium. With the EU border logic in full force all you get when changing countries nowadays is a tiny blue sign but the most obvious difference about Belgium is the quality of the roads, they are terrible, pot holes I am fairly sure you could loose entire cars in. I am sure by driving deteriorated rapidly as I started to drive around the holes instead of just gong in a straight line. Later on in the day we crossed another border into Luxembourg and straight away the roads were good smooth tarmac! We did stop of in Rochefort in Belgium looking for where they make the cheese. Turns out that Rochefort is in France but the one we found was very scenic and enabled a very pleasant walk along the river. The hotel for that night was the Luxembourg Hilton Doubletree. Nice lobby but the room was not as nice as the cost would suggest and the Wi-Fi was only available in the lobby and very very slow. I did expect better.

 

Day 4 took us south from Luxembourg and back into France, south towards the hills of the Ballons des Vorges. Beautiful scenery especially in the Valley of Munster. I only wish I had a sports car and an empty road to do it justice but steady safe driving did enable me to see the scenery a little better. In the afternoon we crossed briefly into Germany and then across the border into Switzerland. I did expect passport checking or some interest on the border as it is not an EU country but I was happily waved on through. It does worry me what you could get away with if you wanted too. Around the edge of Basel and then along the extremely well signed Swiss motorways until we got to the Holiday Inn in Bern. Nice hotel, though a very peculiar glass door into the bathroom but everything else was simple, effective and fresh. I know I am terrible for swing stereotypes in different countries but parts of this holiday do reinforce it. The Swiss do seem so very very organised and efficient. Its impressive!

A car, on a train, under the sea!!

So we put the car on a train and we put the train under the sea. It seems very very wrong but I have to admit the channel tunnel is an impressively easy process, just follow the signs and the bilingual instructions and you will find yourself in Calais in next to no time. A slight concern is that as soon as you are off the train you are straight onto a motorway and haying to remember which side of the road to come off at but I m sure I will suss that one out over the next week or so.

Tonight we are in the Holiday Inn in Calais Coquelles. Nothing special but serves it's purpose in providing an easy destination (less that 5 miles from the exit of the tunnel) and a comfy bed for the night. Tomorrow will be more interesting as we know where we want to end up but have no real thoughts on which route to get their. I suppose that one might be made up as we go along. Need to thing about driving on the right as well, suspect that might be more tricky.

Hoory, hooray, it's a happy holiday

It's Easter holidays so it must be time for me and my family to go on holiday. For the last 7 years we have gone on holiday in the US at this time of yard but this time we decided to save some money and go to Europe instead. So we have zero car hire cost (by taking my car), cheaper fuel costs (by filling the car up in Dover using the company fuel card), no flights (we are taking the channel tunnel and even managed to pay for that using Tesco vouchers) and reduced hotel costs (staying with a friend for one night and using points to pay for 4 of the other nights). All in all it should be damned good value for money.

I will admin that setting off this lunchtime and not expecting to end up in my favourite country in the world (the good old US of A) was a bit disappointing but I am sure it will be fun, I have my family beside me and we get to explore somewhere different. Today we made it about 250 miles down the road and ended up at the 5 Lakes Crown Plaza hotel in Colchester, somewhere I have been many times for work reasons but never before with family. Its still a lovely hotel and I hope for a decent nights sleep before heading further south and putting the car on a train and putting that train under the sea!!

Last time on that road

So, notice has been handed in and my forthcoming change in occupation is now public knowledge. Couple of months to go until I actually change jobs, but I am in handover period which means just as much, if not more, traipsing around as normal and meeting up with all the customers just to say here is the new guy and good bye from me (or words to that effect). Some of the customers I will miss and I suspect some I will not. Similarly some of the journeys I will be happy to leave behind (A17 on Monday was as depressingly slow as ever but hopefully I should never need to do it for work purposes again) and some of the destinations such as Monday nights stay at the 5 Lakes Crown Plaza near Colchester are ones I would like to return too. The morning view out over the golf course being much more pleasant than the more usual trading estate or back end of a motorway. Who knows what will catch my memory in the years to come and send me thinking back to days gone by but at the moment I should try to look forward to the fact that soon I will be able to be home every night yet and see my family, yet still avoid the dreaded office based 9 till 5.

Turn left at Bath. Couple of miles down the road.

Monday was one of those days that I got completely and utterly wrong and I was very annoyed at myself. All I had to do was drive from York to Blandford Forum in Dorset. In my head it was a simple journey, not somewhere I had been before but not a complicated place to get to especially as I have a good sense of direction and rough idea how long it would take to get to anywhere in this country. I even checked it on Google Maps and it seemed so easy, a 4 hour drive down to Bath, turn left and a couple of miles down the road.

 

It took 5 hours to get to Bath. I think it was combination of that Monday morning chaos and the fact that a couple of cars had tipped themselves upside down. Cars don't look so good upside down, very ineffective way of driving and tend to get in the way. the big problem was the second stage of the journey, turn left and it's a couple of miles down the road turned out to be 80 miles cross country. Don't know what I was thinking but it made for another 2 hours driving and a very sleepy me. It became a bit more obvious when I zoomed out on the Sat-Nav (yes I had the Sat-Nav on all this and would not believe what it was telling me) and found that the English channel was only 15 miles away! I was actually closer to France than I was to my hotel for the night, Mad!!

 

By the time I got home on Tuesday I was shattered.

Half-term happy

So, this week has been half term, school holidays and as is always the case, a better week than average. Three things make this a better week. Firstly, I always take a day off in half term and spend time with my family, just doing something fun outside or going to the cinema but mainly trying to avoid the giant list of jobs that take up other bits of free time. Secondly, by virtue of taking a day off, I am much less likely to be able to fit in an overnight trip for work purposes meaning that I am home every night of the week. It's the first time that has happened this week and it was good. Third and final is that with so many people taking time off for the week the traffic is probably 20% lighter and so every journey becomes a joy instead of a chore. If only every week could be a holiday week and this world would be a cheerier place.

 

Also, I handed my notice in this week and so the end is more visible. Not sure when my last day will actually be but at least now I know it will happen.

The last big drive?

It's been a stressful few weeks and for a change the miles have not been the major part of it. Many months ago I applied for a new job and very helpfully came second. Second is not much use on the job front, doesn't even get you a silver medal but on this occasion it might just pay off. It seems I made an impression on one of the people who interviewed me and he contacted me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I would be interested in an informal natter. The natter was agreed and 5 days and a nice cup of tea later he offered me a job. Similar money to what I am currently on, similar job to what I currently do but a lot less traipsing around and much as I enjoy traveling, the amount I do for my current job is starting to get me down and seriously screw up the work-life balance.

The current job involves being a Technical Sales Engineer covering the entirety of the United Kingdom. That's a grand total of 243,610 km. The new Sales Engineer job involves covering the entirety of North Yorkshire, a grand total of 8,654 km or roughly 3.5% of the previous value. Sounds like a plan!

So after a thoughtful week and a trip to one of the nicest hotels I have ever been in (Hotel Indigo in Edinburgh in case your interested) I have decided to accept. For financial reasons I am holding off handing my notice in for another week but that still may mean that the night away tonight might be the last one I do for my current employer. I only wish it could be more impressive buts its a run of the mill Holiday Inn in Elstree, nothing special but it does have a pool and an OK restaurant so I guess it will just have to do.

So, what will happen with the reduced area, I guess I will do less motorway driving, less hotels and nights away but a few more chances to appreciate where I actually live and many more chances to do something other than travel. Then again, I have a three month notice period so could easily do a dozen more nights away before I am done!

Rain, rain and more rain

In the last couple of weeks I have been up and down to Wales twice covering well over a thousand miles and I think its rained all that time. I may be wrong and it may just be a matter or perception but I do know it has rained a lot, an awful lot!

 

I do wonder, considering quite how prone this country is to a patch of wet stuff falling from the sky, why our roads are not designed to be better suited to it. the roads have  camber to take the water to the edge but then, so often, there is no where for it to go once it reaches the kerb. Maybe it's not the roads maybe it's the drainage system that isn't up to spec, but I know when I am gong through puddles 100 yards long and 6 inches deep that it's not doing my car or my safety much good and if that's a concern then something is wrong somewhere?

I like the M25

Most people don't like the M25, the folk I work with are forever whinging about being stuck for hours whilst trying to get too London or from London or going round London. personally, I don't think it's to bad.

 

Monday saw me driving from York to Brighton and included half of the London orbital route. I didn't get stuck at all!. Tuesday saw me do the journey in reverse and still no problems. In all honesty it was a pretty good journey from start to finish. Pity it was such a long way in total (roughly 560 miles), but the meeting in Brighton was fairly hassle free and the Crown Plaza at Gatwick airport that I stayed for the night at, was lovely and modern inside (though very grubby on the outside). I have noticed with Crown Plaza hotels that they now all have a club lounge. Not sure if they have always had a club lounge or if this is a recent think. Either way it means I can feel very posh and important and go and sit in the privileged location and have free munchies and drinks before dinner. Kind of makes up for all those nights away, though if I stayed in Crown Plazas every time I am fairly sure I would end up rather fat!

 

Other highlights of the journey were the QE2 bridge (always makes me smile, I don't know why) and the Dartford tunnel. Other than that it was just a lot of roads past a lot of fields.

On the road again

Christmas and New Year were wonderful. I think I did less than 100 miles in the space of 8 days. Strangely enough I did miss the driving a bit though so despite being half asleep and really not in the mood to deal with the working world, I was fairly cheerful when I set off yesterday morning and the fact that a lot of people were still on holiday made the roads so much nicer to drive on and the journey 15 minutes quicker. Unfortunately it is still winter and as a result their are many more accidents (especially straight after a holiday) and so the journey home was half an hour slower whilst I waited in a queue.

I wonder what this year will bring? A couple of good holiday are planned both of which will involve travelling to countries I have never been before. Hopefully a new car in April/May as this one has a few too many miles on it and probably many more miles covered as I trundle round the country some more.