Today I return from London again. It’s been a brilliant weekend. Apart from a slight concussion – I misjudged a low ceiling and have a bruised and painful head to prove it! 
The weekend has reinforced my thoughts about considering moving back to London eventually. Seeing so many friends has made me realise just how much I miss them. I also survived a weekend of more socialising than I’ve done in a long time without feeling shattered this morning. Though a weekend away from the gym has left me craving exercise …

I have just been watching Panorama‘s report on Royal Mail. It’s now over a year since I left the company, but it seems it will take a lot longer for me to leave it completely behind. People still stop me to tell me about their bad experiences. I also get asked questions on postal services (and am very aware that soon any advice I may give will be completely outdated!). And I continue to be interested in what’s going on.
Though I know some of the many problems and how frustrating it …

I’m feeling festive. I’m still very tired after the flu, but at least I’m out of the flat and able to appreciate the wonders of December. I’m still gutted I missed our Christmas party and the Durham Christmas weekend, but I’m making the most of enjoying all the everyday little bits of Christmas.
It seems like I have so much more time to take in the season this year. Of course when I was in Royal Mail it was the busiest time of year and until the final delivery on Christmas …

There are going to be a few changes to my blog over the next couple of months. To add to the blogs you enjoy I’ll be stretching my journalistic wings with a variety of monthly blogs in addition to my day to day ramblings.
Starting at the end of January 2010 I will be doing a monthly feature and I’d like to hear from you. If you (or anyone you know) would like to share your story the details and deadlines are below.
If you have a story to share send your …

After thinking that last week would be the challenge as I was away on a conference I underestimated the things life would throw at me this week. I am rapidly falling behind with NaNoWriMo (over 8000 words behind target as I type) and I’m writing this blog over two days in 5 minute snatches between everything else.
On Monday evening I made a dent into the word count shortfall after being away at the end of last week, but as this week has gone on that is a small mercy as …

Yesterday I returned from the PPRG conference buzzing with ideas for work. Serious ideas, which is why I was awake at 7.30am on a Sunday morning (my only possibility of a lie in this week) jotting them all down before I get into work in Monday morning and get caught up in the day to day. I am not going to forget all the valuable information from the past three days.
The conference was great but it’s put me a day behind on NaNoWriMo even with my writing on both journeys …

Today as I sat enjoying my cup of tea at morning break I felt lucky. My ex-colleagues and friends will be sorting letters and packets, and tomorrow delivering mail. During the national strikes in 2007 I was doing the same. Two years on I had hoped both sides would be closer to a resolution, but I’m not surprised they aren’t. Whilst everyone is on strike a managers days are long, but when strikes are over is when the real work begins.
In 2007 as the strikes came to the close I …

I’m having a panic that I’ve forgotten how to blog. The past three weeks have been a blur and all the structure I’d created for myself with exercising and writing has flown out of the window. I’m writing, then deleting, then writing, then deleting…
This week has been quite something though! I met my tutees at Trevs. I can’t believe how nervous I was, more so than my last job interview. And we had a quiz on Tuesday, we didn’t win but I thought we’d done rather well (especially as some …

Fresher’s week is finally kicking off in Durham. Nearly everything in the library is ready for the return of the students and now my attention is turned to meeting my first year tutees this afternoon.
The college tutor system at Trevelyan is all about pastoral care, so as a tutor you are a mix of friend and mentor throughout their undergraduate study. I have fifteen students this year, but only eight first years… that’s enough names to remember for today!
I have kicked off Fresher’s week in style by going out on …

Since the beginning of September things have got busier week on week to a climax of the past fortnight where I have done work of some description every day since the Monday before last, sometimes finishing late at night, and I am exhausted. Today I have gone from babbling to full speed ahead. From laughing hysterically to crying as I walked between meetings.
In London this pace was the norm, not just for a month. I survived (by a thread) six months in a row of working 50-70 hours a week. …

Hi everyone. How are you all doing?
I just wanted to let my regular blog readers know that I hadn’t suddenly disappeared of the face of the earth. Nor have I given up writing. I am currently running around like a blue-arsed fly trying to get everything ready in time for Freshers’ arriving at Durham University and therefore dedicating most of my waking hours to work since the weekend.
This is a minor blip and I will be shortly back to my usual blogging self, so please don’t forget me!!!
And if you’re …

When I left my previous job and London behind I swore I would never cancel something important again because of work. There were a number of times in the three London years that I let people down because I was too busy, too tired or both.
Unfortunately it seems I underestimated what summer means in the life of a university support department. Back in May I was happily agreeing to all sorts of projects and bits of work thinking that June through to September would be months of chilled out yet …

Firstly the cold that was starting seems to have made a hasty retreat so I am very happy about this. I am in fact giving myself a pat on the back for doing things to stop it in it’s tracks. Such as getting to bed at a reasonable hour on a Friday night. And actually relaxing, stopping myself from thinking about the exciting things that are happening right now so I can sleep.
In the past it has been full steam ahead, no time for sleep. Exciting things being much more …

I wrote this blog to post yesterday, however by yesterday evening “winter” had set in. With the start of a cold, my stubbornness to not put the central heating on yet and tiredness from all the excitement of this week (it’s been a fantastic week personally and in work but VERY busy!) I ended up snuggling under a blanket and vowing to post in in my lunch hour today… so here it is!

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If I was excited about writing yesterday, I’m even more excited today. In fact my head is full …

A couple of weeks ago I ‘came out’ about my depression in my blog The Real Me. The response was positive and, as I somewhat expected, some people opened up to tell me I wasn’t the only one.
It isn’t the first time I have opened up about this. At the beginning of 2003 I had to do the same. In university it is hard to hide these things. The people you live with tend to notice the endless crying, low moods and all the other things that characterise a serious …