Three separate things have led me to today’s post: Firstly, a discussion a couple of weeks ago with friends about things in our past that we regretted. Not the little “Oh I wished hadn’t eaten that extra slice of cake” type regrets, but the big ones such as “I wished I’d never had that relationship”. Secondly, the post I did the other week about heading off down a wrong turn in life. And thirdly a Church service where the preacher spoke about looking back with hindsight at the decisions we had made in life.

Now I’ll start be telling the story which Rev Trevor Gerhardt told us at the beginning of his sermon. There was a man walking through the desert and he was beginning to suffer from dehydration and really need water. Eventually he found a tent with a Bedouin standing outside. He asked the man for some water. “Sorry,” came the reply, “I don’t have any water. But I can sell you a tie”. “I don’t need a tie, I need water!”. “Sorry I can’t help then, but there is another tent about three hours away in that direction” replied the tie-seller. So reluctantly the man continued on his way through the desert. Eventually he came to the second tent, and again there was a Bedouin standing outside. “Water, water, I need water” said the weary traveller. “Oh I have plenty of water, but you can’t come in” he was told. “Why?” “Because you’re not wearing a tie!”

So all through life we are presented with choices, but it is only with hindsight that we can see if we have taken the correct path or not. However, whichever path we take, it affects us for the rest of lives. It’s not possible to go back in time and alter our decision. Once made, the path is set, and even if we decide that we are going down the wrong route, it’s not possible to go back and start again. We just take a different route from where we are now.

So when my friends were saying that they regretted taking certain jobs, or having relationships which didn’t work out, I can honestly say that I don’t. I may not like the way some of my decisions have played out, but if I could alter them, I probably wouldn’t because I wouldn’t end up where I am now. If I had never met/married my ex-wife, I probably wouldn’t have the daughter I have. If I had taken that other job (the one I would have enjoyed more than filling shelves, paid better and had better prospects), I probably wouldn’t have some of the best friends I now have. And if I had not gone to Church on that particular Sunday (and just carried as any other Sunday), I wouldn’t have my other best friends. Yes I admit I have made some really bad/stupid decisions in my life but on the whole, I am happy with where I am now. I have a good set of friends and a daughter that I wouldn’t change for anything.

So I challenge you, next time you’re thinking that you’ve made a really bad choice, and are regretting it, just think about what’s good in you life and imagine if it wasn’t there. If you had taken a different route, you life would be entirely different, and not necessarily for the better.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Last year I posted the full poem, please go and read.

I’m in the middle of a show put on by an amateur theatre group. And it’s got me wondering whether the word amateur is the right one to use.

My dictionary list various meanings for the amateur, including:

1 a person who engages in an activity, esp a sport, as a past time rather than professionally or for gain

3 a person unskilled in or having only a superficial knowledge of a subject or activity

And for professional it says:

2. engaging in an activity for gain or as a means of livelihood

3 extremely competent in a job

Now I can see a conflict here. Just because someone does an activity as a past time doesn’t mean they are extremely competent at it. Likewise, just because someone is paid to do something doesn’t make them competent at it.

We’ve just done our opening night of this run and mistakes were made by almost (if not all) of the teams involved: cast, band, stage, sound and lights. But we all carried on as if nothing had happened. The audience probably didn’t notice the mistakes because they were corrected quickly without a fuss. In fact at one point the lights were faded out just before a song had finished but I managed to recover the situation in time and none of the cast that I spoke to even noticed!To me, that means being competent at what we are doing, ie professional. But as we’re not paid, by definition,  we can’t be professional!

So should there be a different word for groups of people who partake in an activity for fun but are still competent at at? Profamateur perhaps?

Today is poet’s day: Pop Of Early Tomorrow’s Saturday!

So here’s one of my favourite Robert Burns poems:

My love is like a red red rose

That’s newly sprung in June:

My love is like a melodie

That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

 

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in love am I:

And I will love thee still, my dear,

Till a’ the seas gang dry.

 

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:

And I will love the still, my dear,

While the sands o’ life shall run

 

And fare thee weel, my only love.

And fare thee weel awhile!

And I will come again, my love,

Tho’ it were ten thousand mile

The good news of today is that the strikes which have hit Royal Mail over the past few weeks have been suspended! Yay!

The reasons behind the strikes are multifarious but in essence come down to the management trying to force through changes to the organisation which the Union and the staff in general disagree with.

The news sources kept reporting it that pay was involved. It wasn’t. Well no exactly, it’s only mention was that in future pay and benefits should in principle be linked to any efficiency savings made. So we wanted management to just consider us getting something out of all the changes, just consider it, but they’re weren’t willing to even do that.

We accept changes are needed. We accept that job numbers will be cut. What don’t accept is the way the changes were being brought in. After the previous strikes there was an agreement that all changes would be agreed at a local level. However at best all that has happened is “discussions” have  taken place, but the result of these discussions had been decided before they took place. And at worst, changes have been brought in by executive action: this is what is going to happen, like or lump it.

From the public’s point of view, Royal Mail is a public service. From the management’s, the government’s point of views it’s a business trying to make a profit. From the regulator’s point of view is an obstacle in the way of the competitors. These three views cannot be easily aligned. Something has to give, and it’s usually the public service element.

Today I worked 2.5hrs overtime just to clear all my workload. I could have said that I couldn’t do the overtime. But then the work wouldn’t have been delivered and it would still be there tomorrow. If we cannot do the work now,m how can we be expected to do it with less staff? And for the record, we are one of the offices that have access to the new all-singing-all-dancing sorting machines. Which don’t save us anywhere near as much time as we were told they would.

But at least for the moment, the strikes have been called to allow more detailed and meaningful talks to take place. It was interesting to hear on the news that Union would this time to negotiate with the management, whilst the management said they would push ahead with their plan of change. So they can’t even agree on what’s going to happen now. Doesn’t look to good does it? Let’s all cross our fingers and hope shall we?

[This post was delayed due to the fact that after getting home from work and eating, I fell asleep before having a chance to publish it!]

Ok so this may be a bit lame, but it’s late and I’m tired and I’ve got no inspiration for today’s post. So I’ve borrowed a meme that’s on a friends facebook page. Have fun reading it.

Ok, you gotta set your IPod to shuffle and write whatever song comes up underneath the heading…even if it sounds stupid!!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY
The British Grenadiers
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBES YOUR PERSONALITY?
4th of July, Ashbury Park (Sandy)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Grand March Aida
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Learning To Fly
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Going Down Town Tonight
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
The Girls? The Leather? The Machismo?
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Good Girls Go To Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)
WHAT IS 2+2?
Exit
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
All non-starters really
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Original Sin
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
One Tree Hill
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Wolf At Your Door
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Night Is Falling
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Crown Imperial
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
It’s A Long Way To Tipperary
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Amnesty Is Granted
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
On The Run
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
You And Your Friend
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Night is Falling
WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Sunday Morning Coming Down
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Ever Glorious
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
I’m Your Man
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Freeway Flyer
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Standard of St George
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Please Forgive Me
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
45 Seconds of Ecstasy
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Calling Elvis
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
The Rocks And The Water
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Everything Is Permitted

What does that say about my taste in music then? The strange thing is, some of this could be true!

Oh, and thanks Heather!

About a year ago I wrote a post about reading books where I listed all the books which I had started but not finished. Well I just want to update you happy reader on how I’m doing.

I’ve actually finished two of them: “The Transit of Venus” and “The Colour of Money”. I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t even picked any of the others up since last year.

However I have read several books in the past few months:

• Failure is not an Option by Gene Kranz.
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
• Lima 3 by Harry Ferguson
• A Beginner’s Guide to Stage Lighting by Peter Coleman

And I’m now making the effort to read and finish one book at a time. Eventually I’ll work my way through the list of part-read books, but not straight away.

My current book, which I have just started is The Castle by Franz Kafka. I think this is the third time I’ve started it, and this time I’m determined to finish it!

[I know this post is going to be dated for November 4 and not November 4, but as I’m still up, I reckon it counts!]

This is a cheat!

It’s almost midnight, and as yet I have completely failed to get any inspiration for today’s blog post. So as a last ditch attempt not to fall at the first hurdle, I’m writing this little filler. Trouble is, I’m not going to be able to do it again am I?

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have better luck. I’ll definitely have more time (really?) so who knows.

I think I’ll read over some of my old posts and see if there’s anything I can follow up on or update you (there is someone reading this isn’t there?).

But for now, I think I’ve written all I can. So I’ll see you all tomorrow

It’s November again. Where has the year gone? Last November I managed to post a blog entry everyday. And failed miserably to continue the trend afterwards. So let’s see how we do this year. Again, I’ want to post an entry every day for the month and I want to see if I can continue in to December.

Like last year, I have no specific theme or plan to what what I’m going to blog about. I’ll not to make it too boring, but if I do then I’m sorry, come back the next day and see if it’s any better.

October was a really bad month for me personally, and I suspect that the beginning of November is going to be tough as well. Without wanting to get to depressing to start with, several people I knew passed away during the last few weeks, and I have the prospect of three funerals coming up in the next couple of weeks. I’ll do my best from get you all depressed though.

This week however sees the performance of Patcham Barnstormers’ latest production: A Night At The Movies. It’s a series of sketches and songs from various movies from the days of silent movies right through the fairly modern times. As usual I’ll be hiding away in the little room in the loft playing with the lights. I’ve had the normal run of problems that I seem to have at every show – not enough lamps, not enough power, not enough gels, not enough…. blah blah blah! But I’ll do my best. Eventually I’d like us to move out of the “it’ll do” situation and get us in to “wow!”  But I suspect it’ll be a long hard slog.

Well that will do for now. See you all tomorrow (hopefully!)

Today, for the first time in ages, I woke up feeling really depressed. And it was all my own fault (isn’t it always?)

Over the past few weeks/months I had come to believe that the was a path open to me which would take me in a new direction. To make my life better and happier. But instead, when I woke up today I realised that I was actually deluding myself. The option wasn’t there at all. It was like being hit in the face by a frying pan.

Sometimes we are presented with a fork in the road, and we have a real opportunity to change the course of our lives. Other times, we think we can see a fork, but in reality, it’s just a animal-run through the undergrowth and leads us no-where.

This morning I realised that I had left the path and was heading in to the undergrowth and was facing the prospect of getting hurt or injured. And so I had to stop and back track.

I talked the situation through with a close friend who basically said that God would make the fork in the road appear when the time was right. And so I have spent a fair bit of today in prayer and conversation with God. And I know that one day, that new path will open up for me.

In the meantime, I will remember that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t necessarily the exit, it could be a train coming the other way!