A series of unfortunate people

For all those who have been checking this blog to find out where I am and what I am doing - well, I made it to Edinburgh! I will write more on that later, but first I wanted to share with you a description of several people I met on my way to London - they all seemed to be rather miserable people, but hopefully you will find the tales amusing!

Right, so imagine me having an incredibly hectic morning just trying to finish packing. My suitcases were pretty much packed the night before, I just had to finish packing boxes which I was going to ship to Edinburgh. I was stressed, sweaty, and struggling to even close one of my suitcases. Thankfully, my friend Tom provided an extremely calm and helpful presence. Eventually I realized I was going to miss my train that I had booked to London for only £7 (Unfortunate event #1), but I didn't let it bother me too much. After all, it was my own fault for not having finished packing the night before (instead I went out for dinner with friends) and now here I was. So the new plan was that Tom and I were going to take a taxi into Weymouth, first stopping at a post office and then stopping at a cash machine to get money to pay for a taxi and then going to a restaurant for lunch.

Unfortunate person #1: The Taxi Booker Lady

So, in line with our plan, I called a taxi company to get someone to pick us up. I asked the taxi booker lady very nicely if the taxi driver could call me on my mobile once he got to our centre, so that I could meet him at the gate to let him in. That way, he could park right outside my chalet and I wouldn't have to carry those 5 heavy boxes up the hill. Ingenious plan, I thought.

"What do you mean "call""? she asked incredulously.

"Um, well if he could just phone me on my mobile to -"

"We don't call." (spoken as if I was a crazy person asking for gold nuggets in my coffee).

...later in the conversation....

"Are you paying by cash?"

"Um, yeah." In my head I wondered if it would be possible to pay by card, but was so stunned by their non-ability to call, I just decided to let that pass.

After the phone call ended I talked to Tom and we decided if I could possibly pay by card that would be better because then we wouldn't have to make that extra stop. So, I called the taxi booker lady back.

"Hi, I just called about a taxi?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if I could possibly pay by card?"

"We don't accept card." (again spoken as if I was asking for gold nuggets in my coffee)

"Well, why the #$£% did you ask if I would be paying by cash then? What other form of payment would I be using - pebbles?!?! Arghhhhhhhhh!" and then I slammed the phone down.

... actually, in reality, my response was:

"Oh."


~More to follow~

Walking 'Round Portland

Portland is an island that is connected to mainland England by the beautiful and extensive Chesil Beach (a stretch of pebble beach that goes for miles!). To walk the entire way around Portland following the South West Coast Path covers a distance of about 13 miles. The walk itself is beautiful and relatively flat, especially on the west coast. Portland is famous for Portland Limestone and there are many quarries (both used and disused) dotted around the island to testify to the importance of stone to the island's economy.

Tout Quarry, a disused quarry that currently is the home to many different sculptures, seemed like a promising place to visit, however, I was actually disappointed, as the map I was given of the quarry to show the location of the sculptures was highly confusing and poorly organized. Some of the sculptures were pretty cool though, but I would probably suggest just wandering around the quarry on your own without the "aid" of the map.

It was a beautiful sunny day when I decided to partake on this journey. It was so great to be off centre, away from the hecticness of work for a little while and to just enjoy my own thoughts and the scenery that surrounded me. Portland Bill is a lovely lighthouse on the southern tip of the Island, however, unfortunately it was closed to visitors on the day I went. It still looked fantastically pretty from the outside though!

Last Chance for England

Tonight, my fate was sealed. There was a brief moment in time where there was a chance that I would be staying in England because I was offered an interview for the position of Assistant Chief Instructor. I decided to go for it because it would give me the opportunity to expand a lot of the skills I have now. Unfortunately (or perhaps thankfully?) I didn’t get the job. Therefore, I am definitely returning to Scotland. In fact, by this time next week I will be in "home".

I am not entirely sure how I feel about not getting the job. In some ways it is good, because, in the long-term I do not doubt that I would want to return to Scotland anyway, but in other ways, it would have been so much easier to have a new job a place to live down here, because, at the moment I am homeless, jobless, and penniless. Life will certainly be an adventure the next few months! I really hope that everything works out over the next few months.

My last day of work is Friday and I cannot wait! From there I will spending a few days in London before taking the train up to Edinburgh. Wish me luck with everything!

Rambling Through Radipole

On my day off last week I decided to visit the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve called Radipole Lake. It's situated in the middle of Weymouth and is filled with reed beds - perfect for some pretty rare birds. I got to see some mute swans, coots, moorhens (all three with chicks), a rather chatty reed warbler and a cetti's warbler. I also saw a mallard, a great tit, a grey heron,a house sparrow, and my favourite overall: a great crested grebe (see picture at left)! It's such a pretty bird and I was so happy to capture it on my camera . . . even though the picture isn't that great by wildlife standards. I also, narrowly missed seeing a bearded tit, an incredibly photogenic bird that is practically the emblem of radipole lake. Hopefully, I will be able to see it before I leave here as I really want to!

In other wildlife news . . . I saw my first wild badger two nights ago! A few of us from work went to Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve with the intention of staking out a badger sett to try and see if we could spot one. After sitting on the ground for about an hour, I was starting to get a little cold and a little tired, when suddenly I could hear something running around behind me. I turned, and not even 3 ft away was a baby badger! It scared me half to death, as I was not expecting anything to be that close . . . and then it just turned and ran away. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my "close encounter" with a real live badger. Oh, and we also saw a roe deer . . . well, at least we think it was a roe deer (it was pretty far away!).

Yes, I am turning into a wildlife geek!