A course, of course

I’ve been thinking for a while now about whether or not to do a formal course in public relations to support the work I do for the Central Council and at local level. All that I have learned so far has been on the job, immersive and quite often responsive., and because I have a full time day job, I’m not always picking up signals that require a response, or that could be utilised to our advantage.

I’ve been having a look around to see what’s on offer, and probably prefer an online course that allows me to work at my own pace around everything else I’m doing.  But of course, these courses come at a cost; some in the region of £1,500 – £2,500, depending on what level you want to study at.

I would be prepared to cough that up myself if I was absolutely confident that the course would give me the tools I need, in the sector I’m in and support what I have time to do.  I wouldn’t dream of asking anyone or organisation to fund it if there wasn’t that guarantee.  But how do you really know? 

I’ve read through the “Who this Course is For” and learning outcome pages, but they all seem to be very business orientated.  I’m looking at the charitable, local organisation sector, which is possibly different in parts.  And as I’m not likely to move into PR as a career, can I justify the expense, or should I just stick with winging it?

One of the main things I want to work on is my writing skills.  Seems odd for someone who brain dumps into a blog every day, but there we are.  I want to be able to write more engaging news stories so that the media will take up our stories and we gain more public awareness, and therefore greater recruitment prospects and also greater acceptance, acknowledgement and appreciation of what we do.

There is one course that I’ve seen that has reference to writing skills in it and it seems a bit cheaper than all the others. It seems to be from a reputable organisation https://collegeofmediaandpublishing.co.uk/product/public-relations-course/ and for £500 covers:

  • An intro to PR
  • Newswriting techniques
  • Writing effective news releases
  • Communicating with the media
  • Online PR
  • Handling a crisis
  • Using TV and radio
  • Organising a news conference
  • Law and reputation management
  • Using other PR tools
  • Running  a PR campaign

Each lesson includes a practical assignment and is marked and graded by tutor, and at the end you get a Level 4 Diploma (equivalent to the first year of a Bachelors degree) in Public Relations. 

I’m quite tempted.

And then there was chocolate cake

As well as everything that has been going on since Friday, I did manage to bake a chocolate cake as well.  The smell of the cake batter baking was incredible.  There’s something about it that seems magical.  The recipe I used produced a soft, light sponge, deep chocolate colour and flavour.  Its been said that we eat with our eyes and that food should be aesthetically pleasing to look at to entice out appetite, but I figure smell plays just as important a role.

Our sense of smell comes from the stimulation of special cells in our nasal cavities which transmit a multitude of senses to our olfactory bulb in the brain which identifies a smell https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-human-nose-can-sense-10-basic-smells-1355489504 Apparently there are 10 dimensions to what humans can smell:

  1. Fragrant – florals and perfumes;
  2. Fruity – all non citrus fruits;
  3. Citrus – lemon, lime, orange etc
  4. Woody and resinous – pine or freshly cut grass;
  5. Chemical – bleach or ammonia;
  6. Sweet – chocolate, vanilla, caramel
  7. Minty and peppermint – eucalyptus and camphor;
  8. Toasted and nutty – popcorn, almonds, peanut butter;
  9. Pungent – blue cheese, cigar smoke
  10. Decayed – rotting meat, sour milk

Smells like baked bread and brewing coffee are an amalgamation of dimensions.

Dark chocolate has a particularly strong smell and German scientists claim to have found the fragrance that we love so much by testing 2 different sorts of distinctive whiffing dark chocolate and analysed the chemical compounds.  These chemicals are released when the chocolate is at room temperature. In a previous study, it claims that the aroma of cocoa beans, the main ingredient in chocolate, individually smell similar to crisps, human sweat, earth, cooked meat, peaches, raw beef fat, cooked cabbage, cucumber and honey.

Those aromas on their own are enough to put you right off, but apparently, when some alchemy is done, the smell of chocolate is irresistible to many.

Thankfully, my cake did not smell of any of those pungent pongs, but of chocolate cake, with chocolate ganache frosting, with chocolate curls on top.  And tasted bloody lovely!

What a busy day

Following on from the events of Friday, Saturday was just as manic.

I was due to be helping C with his #bellringing students learning Stedman Doubles but no sooner had we got settled my phone rang. This was the first of 5 conversations with different media throughout the day. I wasn’t much help to C at all.

I ended up giving one interview over Zoom, 2 others over the phone at home, and one whilst I was actually walking into the city to toll our bell for Prince Philip, which was going out live. I sounded really out of breath. The wind was making my eyes water which in turn made my nose run. I desperately wanted to sniff but didn’t think that would sound pleasant over the radio.

Then I tolled our 10th bell, half muffled 99 times, once for each year of HRH’s extraordinary life. There were a few more people in the cathedral when I came down than when I went up so I hope the ringing brought them there.

Back home to some more emails and another phone call from the press, who wanted to quote a unique headline but I told her that tolling a bell when someone dies is not unique. She laughed and said that I’d just ruined her headline but she was glad she checked.

I had a couple of hours rest before gearing up for Bellringers Question Time. This is where we have a panel who answer questions they’ve never seen before, some serious, some silly. I had organised the event and invited some ringing friends to be on the panel. I was so pleased with how it went. They were interesting and entertaining, as I knew they would be. I thank them wholeheartedly for saying yes when I asked them.

The session was recorded, so after it ended I needed to edit it slightly, then upload it to our Youtube channel. This took about an hour or so.

I slept well last time!

HRH Duke of Edinburgh

The day started off with some pleasant virtual #bellringing with family and friends.  Just as we’d finished I saw the announcement of the death of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.  I realised that my day was about to get busy as the #bellringing community was turned into frantic turmoil, with some wanting guidance on what to do and others wanting to do their own thing anyway.  We had guidance on the death of HM the Queen but there had been little instruction from either Buckingham Palace or Lambeth Palace about what to do when the Duke died.

I spent several frantic hours dealing with social media, press and general enquiries, and attending an urgent meeting with bellringing and Church of England authorities to agree a statement to issue regarding what ringing should be done when.  It was rather a tense period of activity, trying to get the tone just right.

C took a call from the cathedral office, who were instigating their protocol, but from what I could hear it sounded like they were going full London Bridge.  We decided that we would go and put some muffles on some of the bells ready for ringing at 12 noon the following day, as per the request for ringing. 

Then there’s several other ringing activities taking place over the weekend.  Was it appropriate to still do them?  We’ve opted for yes, although recognising that some people may no longer see it as appropriate and others may need to leave early to toll a bell at 12 noon.

It’s quite difficult to balance what should be done against what ringers would naturally do, i.e. ring bells.  And of course, we have to keep within the current covid restriction guidelines, which is curtailing our activities.  Some bells were rung today following the announcement, and many will ring tomorrow. 

I have been watching some of the coverage on the TV and reflecting on the work and legacy of the Duke of Edinburgh.  One member of the public commented that “yes he was 99, yes he’d been in hospital recently, but we expected him to go on”.  Well, he’s certainly put in the effort and the hours for Queen and country and his legacy of charitable work and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme will live on. 

He served us well, may he rest in peace.

Arena Tour

I was reading an article about 7 Arenas for Success by Chris Widener (2017), https://www.success.com/the-7-arenas-of-success/ In it he described the degree of our success is proportionately related to the degree that we balance certain areas of our life.  He offers 7 Arenas in which every person, business or organisation could and should operate:

  1. I Am: Arena of Values – what do you think is important?  What do you believe in? What do you want to accomplish? Are you clear that you are functioning within your core values? 
  2. I Should: Arena of Responsibility – what are your responsibilities?  Are you honourable and have high integrity?   Honest, hardworking and forthright? Do you make family a priority?  Do you give to charity, be it financially, time or possessions free of all expectation?
  3. I Could: Arena of Possibility – what are the possibilities of doing what you dream of, or doing something great?  Stop the treadmill and ask the question.
  4. I Would: Arena of Negotiation – possibilities come at a cost so you have to decide whether its worth it.  What are the ramifications? What changes or sacrifices will have to be made?  How long will it take?  Measure the cost of possibility and weed out those that are not good for you.
  5. I Want To: Arena of Vision – turning your passion into things that you can actually visualise. To dream drives you to attempt things you wouldn’t think of.
  6. I Will: Arena of Dedication – persevere.  Be determined.  It will be hard work, but it will be worth it. What are the obstacles that are stopping you?  How will you overcome them? What are the rewards that await you?
  7. I Do: Arena of Accomplishment – satisfaction of completion.  Time to take a rest, have a little celebration, a sense of fulfilment and set a new high bar.  What’s next?

I probably fluctuate throughout these 7 arenas from time to time.   There are activities and periods of time when I’m fully operating within my core beliefs and values and fully responsible and accountable.  I have dreams about what I might want out of life and a take small steps towards making that happen, like working a condensed week to allow me more time to dedicate to other areas of my life that I enjoy doing.

I’m not quite brave enough to go full pelt into what I dream of for many reasons.  Partly because it’s scary, and partly because doing so would actually impact other people in my life and that’s not what they’ve signed up for, although I’m 100% confident that they would support me in whatever I do.  Maybe that’s where I’ve negotiated a modified version of my possibilities, a halfway house.

I do persevere.  There are things that I’ve stuck with despite having doubts, issues, worries or being criticised by others.  And I do allow myself a moment of satisfaction or celebration every now and then when a job is done.  Just a small break, before tackling the next thing.

Having considered these arenas I wonder if instead of an arena tour whether I operate on a social club kind of level.  We’re about to update our Wills, maybe that’s an opportunity to reshape my arena tour.

Coming Unstuck

Sometimes, I just don’t have any ideas.  I feel uninspired, unfocussed and generally “meh” about things.  Fortunately, this doesn’t happen frequently, but every now and then I feel like there’s nothing there.  I can talk with others, inspirational people, and still have nothing to contribute or feel that is worth sharing.

Clinical psychologist Dr Terry Singh suggests that to get unstuck we need to understand that getting unstuck is not the same as feeling better about something, or successfully changing, rather that is it the first step towards change. He suggests starting with focussing on the experience of being stuck, this could be something physiological, a tensing or chest tightening, that could lead on to feelings of anxiety. Knowing what you know about yourself, your feelings and experiences and so on is what helps you get unstuck. We need to delve deeply into those experiences; usually we only scratch the surface when we consider our experience of the moment. Think about what you are thinking, one or many thoughts, physical feelings, level of comfort/discomfort, emotions – present or absent and intensity.  Dr Singh says it’s important not to take shortcuts when we consider our experience.  Taking a closer look at the blind spots in our experience is the key to unlocking change. 

We need to look at our physical state and how that impacts our internal state and impacting our thoughts and emotions.  It could be something simple like drinking too much coffee first thing in the morning is not likely to help you if you have high anxiety levels. 

Getting unstuck is more nuanced.  Singh says “Paying attention to your experience is a skill just like riding a bike.  The more we practice paying attention to our experience in our daily lives, the better we get at it.  The better we get at it, the less likely we are to get stuck when faced with a problem”.

When I have moments of creative block I usually remove myself from the scene.  Take time out to do something else and forget about whatever it was I was stuck with and go back to it another time.  Some suggest that you should ignore your most creative time of day and do whatever it is you’re stuck on at your least creative time of day.  This might be because you could be more insightful at non-optimal times of the day.  The focused energy can sometimes crowd out the eureka moments.

For some, according to a study by researchers in Germany, turning lights down low helps with a sense of freedom and reduces inhibition, which in turn can increase creative and help us come up with new solutions.

One that I have done myself, so can testify to it actually working, is to share the idea with someone that you don’t always agree with.  They will be your harshest critic and argue and debate it with you.  Having to defend your ideas helps expose its weaknesses and offers different viewpoints. 

The best suggestion of all, not that I’m advocating we should all do it, is to get slightly tipsy.  Alcohol decreases focus, which would not be good if you had to do something highly analytical, but it’s great for brainstorming.  How many times have we heard that the “best ideas happen in the pub”.

Next time I get stuck for an idea, I crack open a beer!  Cheers.

Looks can be deceiving

Back to work today after a week or so off.  I was sat in my office minding my own business.  The sun was streaming through the windows so I had to shut the blinds.  It looked, for all intent and purpose, like a lovely summer day. 

At about 2pm I decided to go for my usual lunchtime walk around the hospital site.  Firstly, I was slightly annoyed that my wireless headphones had run out of power so I wouldn’t be able to listen to a podcast whilst I was out walking.  Never mind, this would give me a better chance of taking in the surroundings and the sounds of nature around me.

There’s a certain bird call that seems to resonate memories for me.  The call of the collard dove reminds me of the #bellringing course.  Every year, I’d spend time around the main gathering location, and the sound of this particular bird would make itself known as I either hung around, or walked between the base and the local church for a practical ringing session.  Whenever I hear this call it reminds me of that.  Especially when the sun is shining.

Anyway, committed to walking without catching up on the 100s of outstanding queued podcasts I have waiting, I ventured outside.

Blimey. What a shocker.  It was bitingly chilly outside.  The sun was shining and the birds were singing, but my cheeks were stinging and my eyes watering within moments. How cruel and deceptive mother nature was being.

Some sciencey nerds (and I use that as a term of affection), who won a Nobel Prize for it, discovered that our brain analyses what the eye sees in steps.  Each neuron is responsible for a different part of the retinal image, colour, form, motion, texture etc. and then tries to piece it all together to make it make sense. Our brain is always trying to make predictions of what will happen next, presumably so that we can use our flight or fight responses for survival, but can sometimes be fooled by illusion. https://science.howstuffworks.com/optical-illusions.htm#:~:text=One%20theory%20that%20researchers%20have,our%20ability%20to%20perceive%20it.

If our brain is telling us its nice and sunny outside, therefore it is likely to be warm, we decide that we won’t need that jumper or coat because we’ll get too hot and have to carry it around, and that’s just a pain.  Luckily, my brain was switched on enough this morning to register that its still early April, and that we had a snow flurry yesterday, and therefore it is still likely to be on the chilly side, so long sleeved top and thick jacket required.  And I’m glad that I was paying that much attention.

I got round my 1.15 mile route in almost record time.  By the time I returned to the office, my cheeks were rosy and stingy.  My eyes water at the slightest thing anyway, so I was well on the way to looking like I’d been crying for ages.  Then of course, when my eyes water a lot, it makes my nose run.  Sometimes, it can seem like I’ve got a stinking cold or am really upset about something but it’s just my eyes being pathetic.

My office thermometer is telling me its 24 degrees Celsius indoors, but I suspect its nearer 5 or 6 outside in the wind.

Done nothing all day, so why do I feel so tired?

I have literally done nothing today.  I feel so lazy.

Its Bank Holiday, so I’m not at work.  We had a bit of a lay in, I didn’t get up until 8am.  After showering and getting dressed, I plonked myself down on the sofa and played a game on my tablet.  C was helping on a Stedman #bellringing theory session, using my Zoom account I might add, but I wasn’t needed for that.  I took half an hour to make my breakfasts and lunches for the rest of the working week ahead. Then sat down again and played some more game.

After he’d finished his theory session, we decided to go into town to get some lunch. The sun was shining but it was very chilly.  We walked up to the High Street and back which took us about 20 minutes.  I ate my sandwich, then sat on the sofa playing more of my game again. He then went to do some work in the study, and I had a sneaky 10 minute nap, before C made our afternoon cup of tea.  He had his whilst working in the study, I had mine whilst playing games on my tablet.

C went down to make dinner.  I sat on the sofa watching TV now that its early evening, but essentially doing nothing.  And I feel exhausted.  I napped before bedtime, went straight to sleep until the alarm the next day.

According to https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-you-are-tired#10.-High-Stress-Levels  there are multiple reasons why that might be:

  1. Consuming too many refined carbs.  Whilst giving a quick boost of energy, these baddies tend to rise and fall quickly, quick energy boost, followed by another slump;
  2. Being sedentary.  Inactivity is as bad as too active.  Exercise can reduce fatigue so walking, gentle exercise is better than none;
  3. Not getting enough of the right sort of sleep.  I’m not sure this one is me.  I sleep for Britain.  After a good quality night’s sleep your supposed to wake up feeling energised and ready to go.  Can’t say that’s ever happened to me though;
  4. Food sensitivities.  If you have intolerances like rashes or digestive problems it might be a sign that something you’ve eaten doesn’t agree with you.
  5. Not eating enough calories.  I definitely don’t think this one applies to me.  They might not be the right sort of calories, but I definitely get my quota in;
  6. Sleeping at the wrong time.  Now, I can sleep whenever, wherever.  If I’m not doing anything I fall asleep, if I’m bored I fall asleep.  Maybe I sleep too much!
  7. Not enough protein. Protein boosts your metabolic rate and can aid weight loss and prevent tiredness;
  8. Not drinking enough water.  I drink about 1.5 litres per day easily.  That’s in addition to coffee or anything else.
  9. Relying on energy drinks.  This is not me.  Don’t like them, they taste too sweet.
  10. High stress levels.  I don’t think I’m particularly stressed.  Sometimes more than others, sure, but generally I’m quite good at dealing with it.  Mostly I sleep it off, if I’m asleep it can’t worry me!

I’m exhausted just thinkng about it!

Virtual Quarter Peals

C and I were invited to ring in a virtual quarter peal with some friends to welcome a new grandchild for one of the ringers that we ring with every other week.  The method of choice was Durham Surprise Minor.

I have never rung this method on tower bells and have only learned it as a result of virtual #bellringing sessions and working our way through the standard surprise minor methods.  I did do my usual trick of volunteering for the treble to start with, but then thought that I had learned the method and should really try ringing it on an inside bell.  I opted for my next favourite starting position of the second.

I was rather pleased with my performance, as I knew where I was throughout the quarter peal and even knew when other bells should be dodging or elsewhere in the change.  At one point it got a bit hesitant, but I knew that I was dodging at the back and therefore two other bells needed to ring before me.  C was conducting it, and sitting next to me, heard me say that I was at the back (all other mics were on mute).  He was then able to sort the jumble out.  I feel that I acquitted myself well and was rather pleased to have achieved a quarter peal in a new method. This is now the 6th virtual quarter peal I’ve rung.

Being able to use Ringing Room for practicing old and new methods has been an absolute godsend during lockdown and I’ve been really chuffed that I’ve been able to learn methods that I wouldn’t get to ring in a tower usually.  This is generally because we don’t ring 6 very often and when we do, the people we ring with don’t tend to know many minor methods.  However, with a core of us now ringing these regularly in Ringing Room, maybe we can translate that into the tower when the time comes to returning to ringing properly.

For now, we have to be content with ringing a couple of real bells in our tower on a Sunday morning and ringing all sorts of interesting things in the virtual world.

Planning Ahead

Spent today planning lots of things that aren’t happening yet.

Been asked to make a wedding cake for July and because of the rest it’s all been a bit of a rush and things still aren’t really confirmed, as it all depends on how restrictions are lifted, they have no idea what kind of cake they want.  I need to get some idea soon.  Fruit or sponge?  How many for?  Buttercream or fondant?  How many tiers?  What colour scheme?  What sort of decorations?  Any many more questions spring to mind. The trouble is, they can’t really answer them yet as so much still hangs in the balance.  But I need to get my thinking head on and design it, order whatever I need to order, maybe practice some elements of it, and give myself plenty of time not to panic over it.

After that, I started thinking about a meeting that I had later that evening.  Who was due to attend?  What do we need to think about?  There are several things that are coming up in the #bellringing world that will require some PR work, and it would be good to have a team working on it, rather than just one person.  It helps spread the coverage wider, and also helps different parts of the country and world chip in on how it affects (or not in some cases) them.

I’ve written several lists of things that we need to and could ring for, but it all depends on what restrictions are still in place at the time.  Some have a much longer lead in time, and others are in the next few months, but need to have a co-ordinated plan. 

Then, kicking off next week is the elongated Essex Ringing Course. I have arranged 2 talks and a Bellringers Question Time and opened them out to anyone to register to attend, not just Essex ringers.  I need to contact the speakers again and check everything is ok.  I need to make sure that everything is set up and ready.  I am also helping in one of the groups and the practices are spread out over the coming 2 weeks, so I’ve got to get my brain in gear for ringing lots of Stedman and possibly some Cloisters. 

Then at some point in the next day or so I need to make my breakfasts and lunches for work.  Albeit only a 3 day working week, as Monday is Bank Holiday and being an office role at the hospital, I don’t need to work Bank Holidays, and of course, I don’t work Fridays as I cram it all in to a 4 day week normally.

And I need to get some housework done. Ah well, that can wait.