Maximum Break

Dear Reader, it's been too long, and I'm sorry.

Too long, 147 days too long. Or over 200k minutes.

Since my last post, not since I saw my mother, or did a good deed.  

It's not been uneventful, I've reached a mini milestone on the path towards teaching, having achieved an A* in my English GCSE (amidst a sand storm on the grading of said exams) which I resat in May.

I did drop the study after the examination, which quickly ran into the summer period, where working schedules had to be adjusted to suit the boys being home.  Typically Mrs J would finish work at 2pm then come home and we'd perform the age old square dance of parental hand over..... I would then venture into the abyss that was London during the XXX Olympiad.  Seriously, they threw the bathwater out with the baby, if you catch my drift.  Hands up if you were a good Olympic-goer and actually spent some of your time and money in the other part of town that existed beyond St Pancras, and the fabulous Javelin train.

I had a few lucky breaks over the summer, and was very grateful to Emma Mulqueeny for the opportunity to be involved with Young Rewired State "Festival of Code" in Birmingham, a really inspiring endeavour for the yoof of today.

We'd decided to stay put for most of the summer, but we did grab a long weekend with some tweet pals in Roose Point, near Cardiff.  An absolutely beautiful part of the world, really enjoyed NOT driving. We took the train, much more relaxing. 

On the subject of Olympics......we did get to the stadium to watch the Paralympic athletics on the Wednesday evening, we were very excited and it was lovely to meet up briefly before hand with Tanni Grey-Thompson, who I met through work and have become very friendly with.  She was mobbed once spotted, and after having obligatory photos taken, had a quick chat before she had to get back to the commentary box.

September rolled round and school resumed, our eldest is no longer the small fish in the pond, now in year 8.   No 2 has started in a new primary school, we thought long and hard before making the change, but we felt he needed to move on for reasons I'm sure you'll understand (if you're a parent, hey maybe if you're not).

Right, I'm in need of a shower (cast your eyes up and to the right) just been for a run, in the pursuit of my other small challenge over the next 6 months, a place in the 2013 Virgin London Marathon!

The writer..... A short story

The door opened into the dusty reception room.  The lady that emerged was equally dishevelled.  Mrs Sinha was a petit woman, standing only 5ft 1 inches from floor to the ends of her wispy greying hair.  It had been a full five minutes since I had first knocked on the door, waiting patiently for someone to respond.  I was waiting to discover what this, unimposing to the eye, yet formidable literary agent thought of my manuscript.

I had been labouring away at it for hours; many, many hours to be precise.  If you took these hours and strung them end to end, they’d reach the moon!  Oh hang on, that’s not the metaphor I was aiming for.  Hopefully you’ll catch my drift. (Slightly better that one).  So I was very anxious to know what Mrs Sinha, the renowned agent for bestsellers; “Find me the head of Balthazar Speranza”; “All the worlds an onion”; and “Meatballs - an opus,” would think of my work.  I had called it simply, “Labyrinthian tales.”

Fantastically epic in it’s title, I had written a tale of two medieval protagonists.  Each vying for the love of a dusty maiden.  Lucius Renoy and Horatio Formitude.  I painted a very detailed picture for the reader, giving plenty of illustrative descriptions of the castles and landscapes the story is played out against.  I had devoured all manner of historical tomes in order to make the story as authentic as possible in its’ fabric.

Mrs Sinha beckoned me through to her office.  “Sit down my dear, you look awful.”

“Well I am a little nervous,” I replied “your reputation does go before you.”

“That’s, er,” and then she paused, reinforcing my earlier comment.  I knew she was prone to being painfully truthful. “Very interesting, but really I’m a pussy cat.”

“Your story is marvellous.” Relief! “I really think we have something to work with.”  She then proceeded to heap praise on my work.  We agreed that we would meet again over the next few weeks to formulate some ideas.  Just to ‘polish’ some areas of the plot she felt needed a bit more shine.

The Challenge

“It’s 5 o’clock,” whispered Harry.  “Yes, I know.” Came the reply from the confused bus driver. Harry had fallen asleep on the N85 routemaster as it wended its way through town. He had been with friends for a party in The Ram, and had stumbled onto the night bus; Knowing there wasn’t much time left until the day.  The day when he would face his fears and abseil down the largest building in London. The Shard.  Couldn’t they have called it something a little less dramatic he thought? He had enough on his mind, without worrying that the hand stitched climbing rope might somehow be affected by the cutting name of the building.

It stood 900 ft on the south side of the river. Pointing skyward, with gleaming glass windows. Hardly the best surface for walking down.  Harry was to be among the first group of people to participate in this charitable exercise, scaring himself witless in order to raise £600 for Cancer Research.

 Today was the first time he had allowed himself to get worked up about what lay ahead.  Up until now his focus had been the great cause, how much it meant to him and the value of the work the charity does.  His mother had died of throat cancer 3 years ago, and he knew how vital research was in conquering this disease.

The training had been very thorough.  Starting in a classroom, where all the safety measures were explained, he was shown the equipment that would be used; and the techniques, from the experts, that would ensure safe descent.

When the day arrived, he looked out and was pleased the weather forecasters had got it so wrong.  Blue skies and a very light breeze were different to the rain and gale force winds expected. As the train pulled into the station, he could see it.  Towering so high that, as so often happens with tall buildings, he felt like he was falling backwards when he raised his eyes to the very pinnacle.

A final pep talk was given by the instructors and a handshake, wave and hugs from friends and family who had gathered to witness proceedings.

The journey up 80 floors was made via two separate lifts.  The first from ground to 44, then a second for the final 36.  The feeling was indescribable.  Harry exited the lift. It was time to secure his harness and prepare for lift off! Or more appropriately, let down.  The wind was much stronger at this height, Harry felt extremely cautious as he was lowered into the desired position for descent, roughly 90 degrees out from the glass façade.

The first few tentative steps seemed to last an eternity, but probably lasted only seconds. He kept listening to the instructors talking him through the ordeal and before he knew it was within feet of the pavement; “Come on fella,” came a cheer from the crowd, “nearly there.”

And then, touch down! He’d done it.  He hugged his dad and brothers, hoping that somewhere his mum was doing a jig in happy celebration of his achievement.

Next time, he thought, I’ll do a sponsored silence.

A tale of two decibels

Quiet 

Serene.  Look it up in the dictionary and it will tell you it means “clear and calm, placid and unperturbed.”  This is a broad description of my dining room.  It may seem simplistic, but when it’s not overrun with people; eating and drinking, doing homework or arguing, it is an extremely calm place.  I think it is here where I can sit and read, sometimes write and feel at ease.  This room signifies a lot of what I have achieved.  My wife and partner of 18 years, our children who have grown up so far and continue to do so.  They are all here when I sit and think, perhaps not physically, but it is only momentary.  They will return today from work and school respectively.  

This room is not much to look at, aesthetically unfinished.  But it is completely full of memories; Good and bad, happy and sad. Lyrical phrases like “Silence is golden” come to mind, but they’re right. My eyes do see.

Noisy

“Four-oh-Seven!”  The eastern European waitress shouts for the third time.  It is not unusual for this to be the case at the little known portacabin secreted at the back of a disused petrol station in Waterloo.  The number refers to a the raffle ticket we customers are issued when we make our order for food.  This cafe, approximately 30 metres by 15, is busy most days of the week. Filled with London cab drivers, who whilst earning a crust will stop to eat one.  The hustle and bustle starts in the kitchen with staff sharing jokes with the regulars.  They, the regulars, then take their seats alongside their pals.  Conversations are frenetic and often revolve around fares of interest, family tales and, inevitably, the ridicule of each other.  All done with a rye smile and knowing look.

The cacophony of noise is elevated further by when viewing the TV screens that show rolling sports coverage. Expletives pepper the air, but this is to be expected when the subjects of derision and triumph are teams that have been lifelong obsessions for the patrons.  The food is good, the sporting results not always so, but the sense of kinship is palpable, without fail.

New app...new toy

So, a little bit of back story to bring you up to date before this one starts.

My lovely family bought me an iPad for my recent fortieth (yeah, I kept that quiet didn't I.....!) and it has brought me much joy.  As much as any inanimate object can. All the regular things, email, tweeting, emailing, browsing.

I've long held a desire to do some painting, call it the creative being in me.  I've always fancied myself splurging out on a bit of canvas. Expressing the inner Picasso or Turner.

Well, be still my beating heart. Along comes Paper, a nifty drawing, painting, sketching tool, which is quite simply, the dogs doo dahs.

It puts the ability to sketch, rub out, and also to rewind, enabling even the most clumsy doodler to ape the styles of anyone from Lowry (as suggested by one tweet pal today), to Larrson, Matt Groening etc etc.

I've peppered this post with a couple of my efforts. I'm hooked!

New England

Before we got married, my wife and I visited a friend in the US. We planned the trip online, booking accommodation in two other areas (a small town in Vermont and also in Kennebunkport in Maine) wanting to see as much of New England as we could. Arriving at Heathrow for our flight, we were excited about the trip ahead.

With the twelve hour flight completed, we stepped off the plane and met Judd, our friend, in arrivals. Although we were a little tired, the fact that it was still mid afternoon in Boston and, the aroma of a fresh coffee, imbued us sufficiently with the energy to complete the final stage of our outbound travel.

We said our goodbyes to Judd and set off for our first stop: Kennebunkport, Maine. Although we had chosen to travel at the time of year just prior to the renowned "fall" season of mid September, we were still hopeful we would bear witness to the changing colours and tones in the scenery. We headed up the interstate, leaving the downtown area of Boston. Into the open country of rural Massachusetts; an overwhelming feeling of freedom came over us. We have traveled extensively in the UK by car and the experience wasn't always so enthralling. So it was quite amazing to feel so liberated in the knowledge that we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us.

It's so true, that old cliche - "everything in the states is so big".....it just is; wide open spaces, large portions, tall buildings. Everything is done on a much bigger scale. Despite this, we felt very cosy when we arrived in our bed and breakfast. We would be there for two nights, my recollection is a little hazy on details, but we seemed to get into a state of relaxation extremely quickly.

Maine is situated to the north of Massachusetts and it likewise has a coastline to the east. The wild Atlantic ocean stretching as far as the eye can see. The next landmass being that of home; dear old blighty. We hugged the ocean road for many miles, stopping to brace the wind that came back. Our next stop would be Westwards and to the neighbouring state of Vermont.

Our journey to Vermont was through mile after mile of forested landscape. Pine trees created a blanket of green that contracted with the almost clear blue skies above. Colours so vibrant they could almost have been made by felt tip pen. A Victorian B&B was our staging post here. Its owners had paid remarkable attention to details when furnishing the rooms. Our room had a bed that we almost needed a stepladder to ascend to; an authentic wrought iron roll top bath that stood freely in the middle of the bathroom. We were made to feel right at home by our hosts, receiving close attention as we were the only guests at the time.

Vermont is the birthplace of the now global brand of ice cream, Ben and Jerry’s, and we felt it incumbent of us to pay a visit to the factory where it all began. As children of the 70s, we did kind of feel like we were stepping into the pages of that great Roald Dahl book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"; the rooms were garishly painted; it was a hive of activity and there were lots of opportunities to taste the different flavoured ice creams being produced; Cherry Garcia (named after the grateful dead singer, Gerry) and Phish food (named after the band of the same name).

We returned to Boston, where we stayed in Judd's apartment for another few days, taking the opportunity to visit the JFK memorial library. This has a reconstructed oval office with the desk that was actually in the White House at the time of his presidency, and also a small cutter that the keen sailor had used in his early years before coming to power.

This holiday will always have great memories for us. It was such a different time in our lives - a time that we always look back on with such fondness.

We will return one day, hopefully with the children that now fill our lives so fully.

An open letter to Hailo

To Whom It May Concern

I have tweeted several times today, all without acknowledgement. The reason for my inquiry is to understand why myself and other drivers did not receive funds today, payment is normally made on a Friday. Tomorrow is however a bank holiday, and we have been told that payment will now not be made til Tuesday. The message so far communicated has been that payment is delayed;  "Due to the bank holiday weekend".  

Bank holidays are not inserted into the calendar on an ad hoc basis, Easter has been on the calendar since biblical times. So the question is, what more important item has been on Hailo's itinerary that pushes back the payment to drivers.  Much has been said this week of your recent successful round of additional funding, some $17 million. Venture capitalists are no doubt reassured that you have a bullish growth plan. Thanks in no small part to the excellent customer experience of your London venture; driven literally by drivers who now have not received monies earned in good faith.  The failure to authorise payments creates a situation where drivers are forced to further extend their cash flow on behalf of Hailo. This in the middle of one of several fallow periods in the year.

In addition, I should imagine these monies, accrued in a bank somewhere, will result in additional interest, even for one day. That Hailo benefits financially from this administrative failing is unthinkable. Certainly not when drivers, who may well have worked harder in the previous week, to offset the drop in business that Easter school holidays bring, are not in receipt of monies. 

Therefore I would urge Hailo to make a charitable donation of an amount equal to this interest.  If it helps, causes held dear by many are Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, or the Help For Heroes fund.

This would serve as a valuable gesture.  Your driver community would feel that, to stretch a metaphor,  Hailo has put it's money where it's mouth is.  

Hailo sees itself as the brave new world in the licensed taxi trade, the 'new circuit' in all but name. Trust and belief that this is to be a long term relationship, mutually beneficial to both driver and customers AND Hailo must be earned.

This is one such opportunity.