Pretty dull

What would your life be like without music?

Pretty dull I’d imagine. Yes I love my silence, but I do have a soundtrack to my life like many people do. I love all genres of music, and to be honest, i listen to some pretty random stuff across the entire music spectrum.

But.

I do have a number of playlists that reflect my moods.

And I love playing them.

Music comforts, calms and allows things to be put in to perspective. It revives both good and bad times as well as having a motivational aspect that we all need from time to time.

It would be pretty miserable without music.

Good day all.

In silence

How do you celebrate holidays?

Not sure what’s exactly meant by celebrating holidays but I’ll have a crack at it. Working the hours I do pretty much every day I get off is celebrated just like a holiday because those days are few and far between. They are very much days that are treasured and always spent with my wife and family.

If you mean public holidays such as “Bank Holidays” they are nothing special and to be honest I pretty much work every single one of them so no celebration there.

If you mean annual holidays then I still don’t quite get what is meant by celebrating them? Do you imagine that everyone is a crackpot dancing a jig and running around like a banshee just because they are on holiday.

I imagine just like me, most people celebrate in silence, just happy that they’ve made it to a holiday and to be in the company of those they love. And no more work for that period of time.

Have a super day.

Trust

Share a lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life.

I think I’ve stated in an earlier post that i believe myself to be a pretty good judge of character. This happens in my case fairly quickly, and though sometimes people say it’s wrong to judge someone that quickly it has saved me from some pain and discomfort in the past. That all comes down to one word.

Trust.

And in many cases lack of it. People go on about being disrespected, it’s thrown about today as if it’s a badge out of a jamboree bag, a god given gift to be demanded, whereas as a child I was told respect needed to be earned before it was given and I’ve always stuck to that what I have been taught. Trust ties in perfectly with this and again needs to be earned before it is handed out.

I’ve been stung a number of times when I’ve dropped my standards occasionally in the past regarding these words, it won’t happen again.

Yes it might make me appear a miserable old git, but at least I’m a protective miserable old git that’s no longer going to be taken for a ride.

Have a good day all.

A nice Stifado

What are your favorite types of foods?

Probably one of my biggest downfalls is in the calories I eat. I’m known throughout the family as “Swill bin” due to when we are a restaurant I always end up with stuff the family don’t like, being piled on my plate. It’s not that I ask for it it’s because they don’t like to waste food so I guess it gives them comfort to shove it in my direction, and if I try to refuse I get asked if I’m unwell? I can’t really win so I don’t normally complain.

There’s not much food I don’t like, and I am a staunch believer that if you visit a foreign country that you show them respect by indulging in the local cuisine. I love this about foreign travel and it’s one of the things I enjoy most about being on holiday.

When we visit Cyprus we go to all the really out of the way eateries in the local communities and I have to say my favourite is the beef stew meal called “Stifado”. It’s amazing how the taste changes as you go through different towns, all eateries use different recipes passed down through the ages and all have different additions and spices. I love it.

I also love a lamb dish called “Kleftiko” that is cooked for many hours in an oven, absolutely gorgeous.

And the Mediterranean fruit and veg is on a different level. Tomatoes and cucumbers have a devine taste and are not the tasteless water parcels we get here in the Uk. They are gorgeous.

At home I like spicy foods, living in the East Midlands means I have a penchant for curries, and again I’m lucky to have neighbours who will knock to give me something to try that they have just prepared and would like an opinion of. I’m lucky here.

Yes I like a whole multitude of food but for me the eastern Mediterranean gets my vote every time.

Have a good day.

Walk don’t run

How often do you walk or run?

It’s late in the day, only a couple of hours of it left now so I thought I’d answer this one before I hunker down to try and get some kip.

I do a lot of walking, my job involves a lot of it depending on what incidents are cracking off at the time so walking is a big part of my day… running however? Read on.

I used to love my running, my last real run of any noticeable distance was in April 2002, the Flora London Marathon.

London Marathon 2002

That race ended my running career if it could be called that. I did most of my training runs on roads, hard surfaces, and my right knee got the right hump about that and I developed tendon and knee cap issues that culminated in an operation. That was it. Game over.

I have looked at reviving a light run at times and even explored the route of Couch to 5K and park runs, however other medical conditions have played their part to ensure that it becomes a non starter.

I miss running, the training was right boring but to run in a mass participation event was always exhilarating and exciting.

Don’t be like me, try the softer ground options to preserve your joints later in life.

So Walking plays a major role in what’s left of my fitness, I walk miles, I enjoy it and I’m grateful that I can still do it.

Have a great day (What’s left of it)

Leader or worker ant?

Do you see yourself as a leader?

No. I’ve done it and put my spin on it in the distant past, but I didn’t enjoy it. I believe I was good at it as I do care about others and their welfare, but I think you can concentrate on that aspect at the detriment of getting a task done.

In general the Definition of a good leader is someone to coach, guide and inspire others.

Someone needs to tell the company I work for about that as to be honest, if you’ve spent your entire working history doing university degrees and have had very little social contact in the workplace then you’re the one. It’s not just the graduates, it’s those who seem to get the jobs who just don’t know how to work with people. They seem to think because they are a leader they have somehow increased their status in society despite not having a Scooby doo about what they are doing.

I can honestly say I have not met what I would class as a good leader in my entire working life.

The last good leader I met was a fantastic man who was my year four teacher in primary school back in the late 70s. God he was good, and has inspired me to this day.

Considering this, I believe I was below average as a leader as were all the others I have met along the way.

A true leader is a special person. If you are very lucky you might meet one genuine one in your life. The rest are probably just bullied and harassed worker ants who selfishly believe they are good.

Have a good day.

Quiet everyone

What’s your favorite word?

It probably sounds corny, and to be honest it is quite difficult to sideline a single word that is a favourite of all those that are used on a daily basis.

But for me it would be the word “Quiet”

It’s the one thing I like the most, it’s the one thing I seek the most and at the same time it’s the one thing that seems to be most difficult for me to find. It’s a strange all encompassing word.

My wife is a polar opposite, she loves hustle and bustle and finds “Quiet” difficult to handle but we do find a happy medium.

Yes, I’m the guy that would love that house in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours or main roads for miles.

Silence is golden they say, for me it’s an achievement to find it, keep it and treasure it.

It’s a lovely word “Quiet”

Peace to you all and please try to have a happy stress free day.

Sleep? Maybe, maybe not

What are you doing this evening?

To be honest I’m not really sure. I suspect as I have work tomorrow it will be shower, and to bed. I’m currently reading some Charles Dickens book that I should have read years ago, so I suppose I will do that until I feel tired and then drift into a lovely deep sleep.

Now that’s not going to happen is it? My brain will wake up when I go horizontal and throw silly questions into the night such as, “Why do penguins live in the cold?” And “Why are there so many stars in the sky?” And lots of other irrelevant observations. So I’m probably planning an interrupted nights sleep and I’m going to wake in the morning miserable as sin and like Alf Garnet on acid (he’s a miserable sod from the 70s who was a tv character)

So that’s my evening sorted.

Not jealous are you 😂

Have a super day.

Over familiarity

What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you?

There are a few traits in people that get me thinking and questioning them but I guess the one that really does it for me is over familiarity.

People work hard to develop relationships, and I like to think I’m one of those people that is quite a good judge of character when it comes to meeting people. I personally have a trait that I know others will not like and that is that I am quick to judge people. I think it’s a defensive mechanism that has stood me in good stead, in my personal opinion. To be honest I think it ties in perfectly with what I have stated as being the trait that raises the red flag with me.

I find it a lot at work, new managers and fellow staff who seem to want to hop that period of building work relationships and go straight to the “I know more than you” category. Especially those who know very little and have been sitting in a classroom for the last four years sucking money out of the bank of mum and dad.

These actions normally activate my “judgement“ trait pretty quickly and all interest drains from me from that moment on.

In life, building bridges and foundations is a major part of moving around work society. You wouldn’t build a premises without foundations so why would you attempt to do the same with relationships?

You are setting yourself up to fail.

Have a great day.

Not going to happen…is it?

Describe your ideal week.

No work

Plenty of sleep

Eat well

Drink plenty of water

No stress

No worries

No aggro

Find a money tree

Discover the meaning of life

Find the book that explains how to keep women happy 😊

It’s not going to happen is it? Oh well a healthy dose of the normal then.

Peace to you all.