Steve's Blog

Seems like only yesterday I was driving down the A46 and already I am contemplating the journey in reverse. This weekend is special because Carol is coming back with me. Decamping to Carol's parents house from Sunday so a change of scenery and an extra mile and a half on my journey ;-)

The house sale has gone a bit askew today. Our buyers buyers are playing silly beggars. Apparently they are divorcing and whichever one isn't in the chain is making life difficult for the one that is. Upshot is we are putting the house back on the market whilst still maintaining the existing chain. Estate agents assure us that it is perfectly normal and above board. Just hope that the house in Portskewett is not going back on the market too! I'm sure that their agents will be giving the same advice though :(

Work has been a refreshing change to what I have been used to. I have struck up a rapport with the others and we are laughing and joking much more.

The company is taking us all out to see the comedian Mark Thomas in Cardiff in December as a treat.

Walked up Whiteladies road again this lunchtime found the railway station again and browsed the shops and restaurants. http://www.sugarvine.com/Bristol/feature_stories/feature_stories.asp?story=464
Click on the link and check out who owns the Picture House restaurant!

Carol finished work today. Bitter sweet so it would seem. She is going to miss some of her colleagues but is really looking forward to joining me.

Discovered that there is a toaster in the kitchen in the office. Martin made himself two slices at 10 this morning. It was a very mouthwatering aroma accompanied by the freshly brewed coffee. Guess what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow? :)

Got caught in a 3 mile traffic jam on the M4 at the Brynglas tunnels in Newport on the way home so cut off the motorway and took a shortcut through Newport itself. Ended up driving past my old telephone exchange where I worked on the 3rd floor 23 years ago. Amazed that I could still remember my way around. There have been some substantial changes but the old landmarks still survive. The Harlequin pub where I used to nip out for a sly half at 3pm with Hughey God rest his soul has, like Hughey, bitten the dust. It is shuttered and for sale. I can remember vividly, sneaking down the back stairs of the Exchange and through the gate at the back of the engineering yard, before negotiating the traffic on Malpas road to get to the pub without being seen. The traffic is much heavier these days! Hughey would still think it worth the effort if he was still around.

Can't wait for that toast!

Got up early again today and set off for work by 6.50. Arrived at the office around 7.35! Had to open the door and unset the alarm. Why am I so obsessed with getting in early?

Had another very productive day and managed to get a good way through my current task. Still a few days work left on it though. Mira the new contractor asked if we had any 3rd party components because she needed to output some graphs and a datetime calendar control in her pages. I was able to give her my graphing class and some code from CodeProject that did exactly what she needed saving the company at least $249! Kudos or what?

Mira is from Dunedin in the South Island of NZ. God alone only knows why she is living and working in the UK. Maybe she was driven out by Hobbits?

I chose to walk in a different direction for my lunch today. I went up the Whiteladies road because I wanted to visit Richer Sounds. I bagged myself a very fine pair of Sennheiser headphones to listen to my ressurected USB radio. More Cafes and wine bars. Lots of restaurants too. Vietnamese, Mexican, Lebanese, Italian, French..... Quite few nice pubs too with chalkboards full of strangely named ales.

As I was walking back to the office I passsed a street of familiar looking houses and it put me in mind of the lodgings that I once stayed in during 1979 whilst on a course in Shirehampton. I believe we stayed in Westbury on Trym but it may well have been on the outer edges of Clifton. I certainly recall visiting some pubs in Clifton at the time. Anyway, that reminded me that I had shared those lodgings with a colleague and friend who went on to be my best man. I suddenly remembered that he worked in Bristol and by coincidence I had his mobile number in my phone. We had lost touch for over 18 years but had met up briefly when we still lived in Farndon and he was visiting Nottingham on a football tour! To cut the story short, I called him and we are meeting for lunch on Thursday.

I think I may suddenly have become the victim of a family IT support incident. I ended up ordering a copy of Microsoft Works 8.5 from eBuyer for my nephew who's dodgy copy of Word had given up the ghost. Word 2002 actually comes bundled with Works all for 39 quid. Anyway he has now asked me to do a website for his plastering business. Doh! I sense that this is just the start?

Been a while since the last update because I have been back to Bourne for the weekend. Left work a little early on Friday and hit the M5 for 5pm. Amazed that I navigated through Bristol in next to no time only to hit the delays on the M5 a few minutes earlier than I would have had I left the office later. Turns out that there had been a three car shunt south of Cheltenham. Made really good time after that and got home for 8.30pm. Carol was very pleased to see me after a whole week apart and she had several chilled beers waiting for me in the fridge bless her.

Felt good to be back in my own house too. The stretch of A46 between the M5 and Leicester is becoming very familiar and I no longer need the Sat Nav to feel comfortable that I'm on the right path. I leave it on for the traffic information but fat lot of good that was. It told me that there was a hold up at Cheltenham and asked me if I wanted an alternative route. Of course I responded in the affirmative as you would only to be told, a little too smugly I thought, there is no alternative route!

Had a brilliant weekend even though it was busy. We took down some fixtures and fittings in anticipation of the impending move and mowed the lawns, washed the cars and packed some things in boxes. We also drank a couple of bottles of wine and chilled in front of the TV. I think Carol has missed me as much as I have certainly missed her. Thankfully we only have this week before she joins me in Wales.

We had planned to hire a van this weekend to move the TVs and PCs etc. to storage in my parents spare bedroom, in fact we had booked a Luton and the services of my Brother-in-law. Got some unwelcome news on the chain today which meant that it is likely to be several more weeks before we exchange so seems a little premature to start shifting things just yet. Decided to postpone for a while and save on the storage costs until we get a firm date. We have pulled back on accepting a quote from the removal company too.

Drove into work today in record time, 45 minutes, and the journey was quite pleasant. Topped off with a delightful ten minutes watching a fox cub outwitting two cats in the office car park. At one point he was just 5 metres away from me and entirely unaware that he was being watched. Foxes are magnificent animals, just like miniature dogs, I can't understand why anyone would want to hunt such a noble creature. Cats excluded that is, obviously they have scores to settle.

Work was a delight again. I am really enjoying it and that is entirely genuine. I am left to get on with things with no distractions from PLs or emails, in fact I have still only got 5 emails in total after 1 full week. I'm about 3/4 of the way through my first development task and learning new stuff along the way. I'm quite pleased with what I have done so far but also amazed at how much stuff I had forgotten since my time at NatWest. I am now doing all the things I used to there and I am not restricted to a small aspect of UI, and not constrained by the frameworks.

The other developers are thawing and now laughing and joking with me a little more. I think they were sizing me up for the first few days but feel they can tease me a little now. Martin, the designer, is a petrol head (what is it with IT and cars?). He has three cars, one of them is a TVR, one an MG and the third a mini.

I have plugged in my old USB radio and I am catching up on the Archers.

Took a walk around Clifton again today. Getting a bit more adventurous and walked further down the hill toward the river Avon. Discovered a Subway sandwich shop and treated myself toa Vegi Delight. The whole village is now thronging with students. It makes for a very pleasant lunchtime stroll. Better than Tescos at Hampton at any rate :) I am toying with the idea of visiting the zoo one day. It's a ten minute walk from the office. In fact the Netherlands National circus has set up camp on the downs today. Loads of cars parked along the road as I made my way home. I can't believe that all the parking is free around Clifton. I guess that it is mainly residential but there are a lot of office workers out and about at lunchtime si there must be a lot of businesses like ours around.

Heard that Ian Mellor 'resigned' today. Haven't any details but chatted to Lionel on IM and he said he would fill me in on the details if I rang him. Foolishly I closed the IM session without taking his number down. Doh! He probably thinks I blanked him now? I even looked his number up on the BT directory site but it was not the right L Reynolds. The L Reynolds I called was a nice chap though, he was very understanding when I called him Lionel.

Had a quiet evening in with my parents. My mum had to brush away a tear because I bought her a little box of Cadbury's Roses. It was a last minute impulse buy too. They were on the till at Morrisons where I stopped off to buy a few veggie ready meals. Best 99p I have spent so far this week.

I learned two things this week, avoid the Brynglas tunnels on the M4 and ciw is the Welsh word for Queue. Three lanes into 2 doesn't really go. Thankfully our new house is 10 miles away from these minor inconveniences so I only have to put up with them until the sollicitors and estate agents conspire to allow us to move into our new home.

I timed the jourmey to Portskewett today and I estimate it at 25 minutes, 10 minutes less than Alwalton to Bourne. I can't wait to get into the new house and start to develop a routine. I'm quite enjoying the Welsh countryside and the mountains are sheer bliss after 20 years of horizon. I like having to crane my neck to see the sky. The picture accompanying this post is of where I am currently staying. My parents' house, or Ty (Welsh for house) as us natives know it, is just to the left :)

The Welsh accents seem so strange and mine is developing nicely. Soon I will have gone native. I was quite taken by the politeness of car drivers here. Twice I was let out into traffic in Morrisons car park and both times with a cheery smile from the acommodating drivers who were both well below pensionable age. Maybe Welsh people are less agggressive? I'm certainly a lot less angry than I was a week ago ;-). I admit that I have been an economic migrant since 1983 but now at last, for the meagre sum of £4.90 I can take the ill gotten gains home each evening to spend in my own country :-) Lithuanians eat your heart out, it's at least a tenner on EasyJet for you to get home!

I'm driving back to Bourne tomorrow. Can't wait to see Carol again. Don't even mind the 180 mile journey that awaits me. I am so missing her. I'm missing the dogs too although Carol assures me only Peter has shown any sign of missing me. Smartie is such a tart!

Work has started to settle into a routine and it seems to suit me. I am actually doing interesting things for a change. No pixels, Pls or whiteboards for me from now on. Everyone is very friendly and Martin who sits opposite me reminds me of Rich Kirby so much I have to stop myself from addressing him as Rich. He also is the only one in the office who drinks real coffee. I feel the coffee club being ressurected already.

Sam was not in until 10 this morning so the world has rediscovered it's equilibrium. Hoping to get away at 4 tomorrow myself. I am in at 8!

Actually enjoying work. Day seems to fly by. I'm busy but doing things I enjoy. Even the 50 minute journey isn't too onerous.

Feeling like a local in Clifton village now. Students have such an easy life! Spotted the corporates nestled amongst the cafes and bars, Wagamamas, Browns Restaurant, Subway and Starbucks. Made me chuckle. They stick out like chapel hat pegs amongst all the Georgian and Victorian architecture. Didn't stop me buying my lunch in Greggs though :)

Parked in the building car park today so must be feeling at home. I'm not the new boy any more. We have a contractor for 3 months and her name is Myra!

Keeping in touch with Carol is so easy with mobile phones and Skype. Skype is just soooo good. If it was in my gift I would award Skype the Nobel prize for .....well anything at all.

Set off for work a little later today and drove real slow. Still managed to arrive at 7.45! Ever since I had two paper rounds as a 14 year old I have never been able to sleep in. The journey in was very quiet today with very little traffic and no hold ups even on the Portway. I managed to approach the office from an entirely different direction again even though it is the exact same SatNav! Explain that in less than 500 words without reference to chaos theory.

The office is beginning to take on an air of routine. I get on with stuff and noone bothers me as long as when they ask I say "No I'm fine, honestly". I guess they will expect something deliverable at some point but there is no sense of urgency. I wrote a server control that outputs bar graphs today. I quite enjoyed it. Thank the lord for MSDN. I believe that I had a vague recollection of something Simon did for buttons when I approached it but I am assuming that his was much more elegant. Still, mine will do a trip.

Walked into Clifton at lunchtime. Very cosmopolitan, loads of wine bars, cafes and smart boutiques. Don't imagine that I could ever dream of living there. It looks very expensive. Went into Rymans the stationers to get a notebook. While I was there two student girls came up to the cashier and asked if the folder they were holding took punched paper. The assistant said no but they weren't convinced and wouldn't buy it until they were sure that it did. Eventually he directed them to the A4 pads and told them to get one and bring it back so that they could try it and he would be proven correct. Whilst they were off on their task he turned to his colleague and said sote voce " Bloody students they are as thick as shit!". Made me chuckle. I bet when they graduate they won't get jobs in Rymans.

Speaking of students there are loads of them in Clifton probably because of its proximity to Bristol University.

I drove home through Westbury on Trym, cutting out a good deal of the Portway, it took me through Shirehampton. I suddenly recalled that I had stayed in lodgings in both places when I was an apprentice at Post Office Telecommunications in the very early eighties. They have changed considerably or my memory isn't what it was. Westbury on Trym was hwre I encountered the Welsh lad from Bangor who couldn't think in English. If you have ever met me you probably know the tale!

Stopped at Morrisons in Rogerstone on the way home and bought a bottle of wine to share with my mam and dad. Settled down to a night in front of the TV and my sister, brother-in-law and my niece turned up. That bottle of wine didn't go far I can assure you!

Spoke with Carol over Skype (That is a brilliant piece of software). She has been chasing up the estate agents and our sollicitors again. No real news on the moving front. Got some more quotes from Bourne and Stamford removals companies. Considerably cheaper than the firm from Wales. The laptop is fixed. Now the fun and games commence. ParcelForce tried to deliver today but noone was in!

On that upbeat note I'll sign off.

# posted by Steve Rowland @ 3:06 PM 0 comments

• 
  Got up at 6.15 this morning which is a lie-in by my normal standards. Even though the drive to Clifton is at least 50 minutes I have been told not to get to the office before 9am. I decided to set off early anyway because I'm not sure of the traffic or even if I can find the building I am going to be working in again!
  
  Day started badly when I realised I had forgotten the sandwich I had prepared about half way through my journey. It improved massively when I reached the second Severn crossing to be met with a spectacular view of the sun shining strongly through the support structures of that magnificent bridge and playing gently on the rippling water beneath.
  
  The Clifton Suspension bridge is another great engineering wonder and after passing beneath it and negotiating the one small traffic hold-up on the entire 40 mile journey I started the climb up and through Clifton Downs. I arrived outside the office building at around 7.45, a whole hour early! I called Carol and she gave me her usual admonishment for being so anal about arriving on time. I tried to read my ASP.Net book, the one Rich Anderson forgot to autograph. Nothing really registered, I was too nervous.
  
  At 8.45 I decided to see if the office was open. I pressed the button on the intercom and I was greeted with a cheery voice that said "You must be Steve?". I was met at the door by Laura. She showed me up the three flights to the landing where I was met with a newspaper board, the kind with the metal mesh of triangles and the sheet of paper with a headline from today's edition scrawled upon it. This one said "Steve Rowland joins Auros Today!".
  
  Laura gave me a coffee, some paperwork and told me that I would be working on the Virgin Retail account. She gave me a specification and told me not to worry about it too much as we would talk about it tomorrow. Today would be spent setting up my PC with all the appropriate software and familiarising myself with the product. I was shown into the developers room which was empty but at 9am the first of my new colleagues arrived. Martin is the designer, he does the arty stuff but has a passion for CSS. Great! That means I don't need to worry about it anymore!
  Sam turns up next to be met with a gasp of astonishment from Martin. Apparently he rarely shows before 11am. Today he needs to get some extra hours in so that he can take a day in lieu. He still plans to finish at 6pm!! Mark turns up seconds later. He interviewed me 5 weeks ago. He is just as shocked as Martin to see Sam.
  
  The day really flew by. I got Visual Studio and SQL Server installed by lunch after all the service packs. I spent the afternoon going through the training manual for the product and creating some sample components. It is a little starnge after what I have been doing for the last few years. It's quite nice to be doing pure programming in C# and no CSS or JavaScript!! QA turned up at 9.30, his name is Bob!
  
  I set off for home at 5.30pm hoping I would have missed the rush hour traffic. UhOh! Broken down lorry on the Portway meant I was 30 minutes getting to the M49. After that it was a doddle. Motorway for the most part of 30 miles. I was at my parents for 6.30pm. Skyped Carol at 9pm. Missing her terribly already.

Packed my stuff for a whole week away from home this morning. Wasn't exactly sure what to take. Carol helped out by ensuring that I at least had enough underwear for 5 days! Settled for a few pairs of trousers and enough clean shirts to last until Friday.

Drove down after lunch. Carol managed to get home for an hour to see me off. Seemed very strange leaving Bourne for what is ostensibly for good. I will be back this Friday but only to help with the packing.

Mam and Dad were pleased to see me and despite my protestations insist that I take thir room for the 2 weeks until Carol joins me and we move to her parents.

Mam and Dad have gone out for the evening giving me a little time on my own. I am going to Skype Carol at 9pm. At least the webcam lets me see her. Makes me smile to remember when I used to jog 3 miles to use a phonebox in Cosford before we were married!

I am trying not to think about the new job or the drive into Bristol. I hope I can get some sleep tonight. I'm feeding my minidisc player with old episodes of Dads Army to listen to while I try to get to sleep.

Got a good luck email from Ro. That was quite nice.

Went out with a few colleagues, or perhaps more correctly ex-colleagues, last night to celebrate my last day at BMS. Met in the Brewery Tap opposite Queensgate. Only the second time I have ever been in that pub and the very first time in over six years that I have had a night out in Peterborough. Quite a strange evening, as these occassions often are. Felt a bit wierd thinking that I'm probably never going to see some of these people again.

I will try to keep in touch but then I have always made that promise to myself every time I have changed jobs and despite my good intentions life seems to get in the way. I still keep current with Gareth and I first met him 23 years ago at RAF Brawdy. Of course Robin I met even earlier when I worked alongside him at Post Office Telecommunications in the 70s. And there's Phil. He's not even on the internet so I have to recourse to using the phone! I guess I do make an effort when it matters?

I'm getting a little worried about the new job now. I'm sure it'll be OK but you do get a little complacent when you have been at one place for such a long time. It starts to fit like a well worn glove. Monday it's all new mittens and I hope that they don't pinch!

Contacted Dan Diggins last week. Leaving BMS was a kind of catalyst to rekindle old friendships. It was nice to chat with him, even if it was via e-mail.

The next big hurdle is managing the logistics surrounding the house move. I'm afraid that Carol will be lumbered with the greater burden of that over the next few weeks. Thank heavens that she is good at the organisational aspects of life. Still quite a few jigsaw pieces left to slot into their positions yet! Still, just like the second world war, it'll be all over by Xmas.

Driving down to Wales tomorrow, so effectively this is the last night that I will technically be living in Lincolnshire. Brings to a close a chapter lasting 20 years. I will miss aspects of the East Midlands and I still hanker after Newark. It will be nice to open the curtains and see mountains though.