This green and pleasant land

As I have this week off work and I didn’t want it to be all consumed by chores and report writing etc, we decided to take a trip out yesterday.

Fortunately the weather was cooperative and we prebooked our car park slot, packed up a picnic lunch then headed out to Hatfield Forest, only about 20 miles from home. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hatfield-forest

Now owned by The National Trust, the forest used to be one of the foremost hunting parks of kings in medieval England. It boasts some 3,500 species of wildlife, ancient trees over 1,000 years old. It is maintained using a mixture of grazing, coppicing and pollarding.

We did manage to spot some deer 🦌 from a distance, there was plenty of evidence of cattle having grazed there. We saw the odd squirrel, butterflies, waterfowl and woodland birds.

We walked around for nearly five miles, barely talking to each other (not because we’d had a fall out) just taking in the surroundings and enjoying largely the peace and quiet. The only time the sound of children invaded was when we got near the lake where there were several small groups of small people running about. The only other invading sound was the occasional airplane ✈ taking off or landing at the nearby Stansted Airport.

I tried to image what it would have been like in medieval times, totally unadulterated and before Capability Brown started fiddling in 1757. Thankfully he didn’t alter too much. There are two or three little dwellings dotted about in the firest, totally cut off from everything. Presumably they are lived in by the forest manager. We imagined what it would be like to live there in the days when the Sovereign may want to stop for hunting and what it would be like to live there now, in a time where everyone and everything is so connected.

We are extremely fortunate to have such pleasant places to experience so nearby and it gives us the opportunity to get away from the grind, breathe the fresh air and just be.

Virtual Tower Outings

As we are currently not able to visit other towers to ring their bells many of us are using RingingRoom, a virtual space to ring and meet friends. I host a regular group on a Thursday night comprising of invited friends and family. On the August Bank Holiday my own real tower usually goes on a tower outing to visit other places to ring. We have a great day out ringing and a pub lunch. Obviously this year that wasn’t going to happen. On Thursday evening at the post practice chat we talked about missing out on this, so on the spur of the moment I suggested we hold a virtual outing. Here’s how it went.

Ringing Room Tower Outing
Bank Holiday Monday 31st August 2020
The usual Thursday night Patmore Towers Ringing Room group decided in lieu of an actual tower outing, which would have happened today, we’d hold a virtual one instead.
Three towers were on the itinerary, allotted time at each was half an hour with a ten minute break between each to allow for virtually travelling to the next tower and replenishment of refreshments.
Nine ringers came along with the first tower of the evening at Patmore Towers, a middle weight 8. The ringing was run by the assistant tower captain, Colin, who called for a course of Little Bob Major, Stedman Triples and Kent Treble Bob Major. Some hesitations which may or may not have been attributed to technical lags proved entertaining, especially when Hazel somehow managed to scroll down her screen so could only see the bottom bells!
En route to the next tower the Steeds found an ice cream shop and were too busy eating Magnums to join in the first touch, whilst Martin had difficulties finding the entrance to the tower.
The second tower was a flighty little 6 at Bennett’s Bunker, with Jenny in charge. Wanting to continue practicing her Cambridge Minor, Jenny acquitted herself well, but some of the rest of us thought we were ringing Ipswich! So that’s what she called for next, although that staggered through and didn’t quite manage to get through the course. A course of Stedman Doubles then a nice touch of Grandsire Doubles to finish.
By now the volume of liquid consumed by some members of the band required a convenience stop on the way to the next tower, whilst Andy snuck in an unauthorised pudding.
Our third tower was Steed le Steeple, a rough going eight. The Plain Bob Major didn’t want to go, some technical difficulties were blamed, I’m not so sure! Next a Bob Course of Grandsire Triples, and a plain course of Stedman Triples that almost came to a grinding halt in the very last change. Some more Little Bob Major and then some more Plain Bob Major to finish.
A quick stop off at the nearby Bring Your Own Beer pub for apres ringing chat was very welcome at the end of the day. I’d like to thank the towers (and RingingRoom) for letting us ring and the ringing masters for organising the ringing.

Great fun can be had virtually if you but try.

The meaning of dreaming

Dreams are weird. I don’t dream very often but when I do they are just so disjointed.

For me a dream never has a beginning or end, there just seems to be a middle bit of the story. And no one has a head but I do know who they are mostly.

The dream I had in the early hours of this morning was situated in a very white room with a very white shiny table. On my left was Mary and on her left was Alison. These are real people that I work with in the Central Council of Church Bellringers (www.cccbr.org.uk) We were at a National Trust property volunteering. I was new to it but Mary and Alison had been there a while. Opposite was the man in charge who wasn’t anyone I knew, as well as having no head he had no name. He was asking each of us, starting with me, why we wanted to volunteer and what we got out of it. It almost seemed like a job interview.

The trouble is I have no idea how any of us answered this question because I woke up. What’s that all about?

In our daily life we have hopes and dreams about our future, of what we want from life, and we have the power to manifest them into reality if we try. When we’re asleep our dreams are more abstract and are perhaps a jumble of reality and desire.

According to http://www.thedreamzone.com/ “Dreaming is a thinking process. In fact, it is a continuation of your thoughts from the day. That chatter in your head that goes on all day long continues as you drift off to sleep, and, once you enter REM sleep, when dreaming takes place, those thoughts continue in symbols and metaphors instead of in words.”

Well, I have no idea what my dream meant and what “chatter” it was trying to sift through. Perhaps someone could explain 🤔

What does all this mean?

I listen to a number of different podcasts when I go out for my lunchtime walk. Some are for fun like Older and Wider, Table Manners and others for educational value such as Somethin Rhymes with Purple. I have just started listening to one called The High Low, a weekly conversation between writers Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes, that covers highbrow and lowbrow culture.

It’s mildly entertaining and informative. The thing that’s annoying me though is these words that they keep using all the time which just sound odd and I don’t really understand. I literally had to Google one of them.

They frequently use the phrase “that’s woke” or “she/he is woke”. I do understand the meaning i.e. that someone or something is an awareness of some social injustice. It just sounds weird.

The one I had to look up was zeitgeist. Apparently its the defining mood or spirit of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/zeitgeist

They use those phrases several times an episode. To be honest its a bit annoying.

The use of language and words or jargon does demonstrate ones education and background but it can also make others uncomfortable or intimidated if they don’t understand.

I sit in many a meeting where acronyms are used all the time. Sometimes I sit quietly and eventually figure it out but other times I have had to ask what they mean. Sometimes the reply can be patronising as if to say “duh, its obvious”. Its only obvious if its familiar.

#bellringing has an awful lot of jargon and weird names for things like “lead end” or “treble bobbing”. For a beginner its like a foreign language trying to navigate some of the terms. As #bellringing teachers we really must ensure that we explain things in a way that the learner can understand, and that might mean different ways to different people. As teachers we must become multilingual.

Baking also has some strange phrases such as to “blind bake” is not to wear a mask so you can’t see what you’re doing, but to pre bake something like a pie crust before putting the filling in it.

In all I do, say and communicate in whatever way, I prefer to use the KISS acronym Keep It Simple, Stupid. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Not a good start to the day…. twice!

Oh dear. Yesterday morning I got to work, parked the car in my usual spot then walked the five minutes to the office. When I got to the office it suddenly occurred to me that I’d been able to unlock my office door without too much juggling of all the things that I carry in: handbag, laptop bag, lunch bag, coffee mug.

Oh my gosh, coffee mug, where is it? I usually put it on the roof of the car whilst I lock it and put the keys in my handbag. Did I put it on the roof and walk off? Did I put it on the roof at all? I know I brought it with me because I remember pushing the plunger down when I got to the roundabout. Oh dear lord.

So I trek back to the car glaring at everyone I pass in case they are carrying anything that looks like my coffee mug if I’d left it on the roof of the car. Get to the car, no visible coffee mug. Look through the window to see it still sitting snuggly in the mug holder. Thank goodness.

Fast forward to this morning. Usual routine is the alarm goes off just before 6am, I listen to the news and weather, then when they play the first song after that I get up.

Except this morning. I turn over and attempt to go back to sleep 💤. Then something registers and I’m wide awake thinking I’ve overslept and am going to be late for work.

I check the clock and clearly the song playing is still the first one after the news but I’m all of a dither now. Rushing through the shower, trying to get my lunch stuff ready and its bin day so I’ve got to put all the bins and recycling out. Then I’ll drink my first coffee.

Half way to work realise I haven’t taken my tablet so I’ll be wanting to rip my skin off later. I have urticaria and dermagraphism meaning I get itchy skin and take antihistamines every day to try to control it. Great, that’s going to annoy me know.

But I do have my coffee this morning. 🙂

I have several meetings at work today that I need to be on the ball for. Then this evening I will be running a virtual #bellringing session with friends and family.

I do hope for everyone’s sake that I get a grip soon. 🤪

Identity Thief

noun

1.the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

For me personal identity has always been a problem. As the youngest of four siblings I was always referred to as someone’s little sister. One of the maths teachers at secondary school actually said to me in my first lesson with him “oh, another one, I hope you’re going to be as good as your brother”. To which I replied “I’ll be as good as me and see where that gets us”. There were several occasions growing up where I had to make my own voice heard instead of being an extension of an older sibling.

When I got married I became C’s wife and was often introduced by others (not by him) as “this is his wife”. Apparently not having my own name.

Then our daughter came along and I became R’s mum. Again, no name of my own except in a very small group of other misfit mums.

My working life has been the only chance for me to forge my own way. Employers and colleagues have never met family members, other than maybe a brief introduction to my husband or daughter. This is where I get to be me, no one else.

As I have progressed through my career I’ve moved into management and have managed very large teams of staff, one team had 250 staff who worked around the clock. So then I became the XX department manager. You can even use the internal telephone system to ask for the XX manager without mentioning a name and you get put through to me.

My last three roles at work all started out because colleagues were looking for something and another colleague suggested my name. Yes I had to go through the proper recruitment process but I hope I got each role on merit, not because of who I know.

Within bellringing circles I have started to carve out my own name in that I work on behalf of the local Association and the Central Council. People have heard of my name even if they’ve not seen my face. I’m not in it for the glory, I do it because I can help. I’m not a particularly brilliant ringer although recently someone assumed I was just because they’d heard of me.

A couple of years ago I was heavily involved in an international bellringing project. I got asked to run it because someone had been told that I would be good. My reputation for getting things done had been noticed. This has led me on to the Public Relations Officer roles and I hope some good is starting to show.

Here I am not compared as a younger sibling, nor only invited because of who I happen to have married, nor as a chaperone to a now more than competent adult daughter.

I am here because I have earned it and although my Imposter Syndrome may get the better of me at times, people know MY name (even if they do continually miss spell it)!

Is that the IT department?

I love it when I answer the phone at work and hear that. The answer is no I’m not the IT department. Unless you are my former colleague Kathryn.

I worked very closely with Kathryn for a number of years as we were part of a project team that built, equipped and commissioned a large new hospital wing which opened in 2010.

We went in different directions after the new wing opened, she continued to work with the on site project team and I moved into managing a large group of staff, but both within the same hospital still.

I would get an occasional phone call from Kathryn asking for some support with working out spreadsheet formula or some other IT issue. This usually involved me trekking up to her office, having a good natter and putting the world to rights, then she would make me a coffee whilst I sorted out whatever her issue was.

Kathryn took early retirement just over a year ago and moved up to Cambridgeshire to be nearer where her husband works. She got a part time job just to keep some pocket money flowing whilst they did some major work on the house they’d bought. We keep in touch, she calls when she’s visiting her mum who still lives locally to the hospital and we meet up for a coffee in the hospital coffee shop.

She still calls me occasionally asking for the IT department but I have to resort to sorting out her problem long distance, and I don’t get the coffee by way of recompense.

She has called me this morning but didn’t ask for the IT department, just said “‘ello, its me”. I immediately smiled. “‘Ello you” was my reply. We had a brief chat but the best bit was we have arranged to meet up next week. I have the week off work so can take a trip up to Cambridgeshire to see her, taking care with all the current Covid-19 guidance. This time I’ll get more than coffee, we’ll find somewhere for a spot of lunch.

Can’t wait to have a proper catch up, put the world to rights and have a damn good laugh with probably my oldest and best work colleague. She’s more than that, she’s a lifelong friend, confidante and supporter.

Can’t wait 😁

The Imposter Phenomenon

This is something that I struggle with in all areas of my life. Always thinking that someone will catch me out as being a fraud, charleton or being somewhere or doing something I know nothing about.

At work I find myself in meetings regularly with people who are higher banding than me, have a higher level of authority and responsibility. However, I’m there because I’m the one person in the room that knows about how my service works. Or do I? My boss will sometimes call me to ask my opinion on something or for advice and often prefaces it with “I just want to run this by you to see what you think”. Sometimes it has nothing to do with me or my team.

In bellringing environments I hold a number of roles within my local Association and on the Central Council of Church Bellringers. I’m asked for my opinion, or to comment on something or even for advice.

As Public Relations Officer for both I am asked by the media for comment or opinion with a “can I quote you”? In which case I’d better make sure I don’t say anything stupid.

This week I was approached by a BBC journalist asking for comment about an incident that had happened earlier that day. It was the first I’d heard of it, so how could I possibly comment. I issued a holding statement to say that we were trying to gather further information and that it would not be appropriate to speculate at this time.

I knew that this would be picked up by bellringers on social media, so essentially circulated the same message via the Councils social media.

Then I get a call the next day from someone connected to the incident thanking me for the statement that I had issued and that it was a measured response. They were being asked by all sorts to comment about it and wanted my advice on how to handle it. What should they say to their own members? I gave some advice, based on what I would probably do in the same situation and based on my experiences with dealing with the press and media. I was thanked profusely for my advice with a “oh, I didn’t think about that” and a “could I come back to you if I need anything else”? Well, yes of course if you think I might be able to help.

I’m no expert in anything. I have learned things along the way and I have a modecom of common sense. I guess for some people that means I’m a suitable person to ask for advice.

I once went to a sugarcraft lesson with a great baking buddy. When I arrived she asked me why I was attending her class. “You know this and could probably teach it yourself “. But this is my therapy. Like bellringing you have to concentrate on what you are doing and I get to eat cake at the end of the day.

This is my chance to do something on my own, a bit of me time and you can always pick up a tip or two.

One of the other students showed everyone a photo of a cake she’d made recently where it had bulged at the edges and didn’t look neat. She asked what had caused this. The teacher and some of the others all offered responses which didn’t really seem to satisfy the questioner. I then suggested it was that she had overfilled the layers with butter cream. When you whip buttercream you are whipping air into it to make it light and soft. She had then put another heavy layer of cake on top and over the course of an hour or so, the weight of the top cake was squishing the air out of the buttercream and causing it to collapse. Everyone decided that this was the correct answer and the teacher announced that she hadn’t thought of that and she knew who to come to for advice now. Who? me? What do I know? Just applied some common sense.

There are times when my Imposter Phenomenon really does make me wonder why people ask me, why am I the one they call or want an opinion from. What alteria motive do they have? Are they trying to catch me out?

I can offer an opinion based on my knowledge and common sense what you choose to do with it is up to you.

It’s all about the preparation

Bellringing and baking have at least one thing in common. They both require a certain amount of preparation.

For an experienced bell ringer learning new methods requires homework to be done before you get to ring it. Printing the blue line off, writing it out lots of times, practising on a simulator, reciting the work of each bell until it sticks. Then, when you get to ring it, either on tower bells, handbells or virtual platform, doing it over and over again until you “see” the patterns and it starts to stick.

Baking requires a plan of what to bake, when to bake it, what ingredients are needed and equipment. Not to mention the “to share or not to share” debate.

Of the two, I’ve always found baking easier to prep for. I can spend a week or longer deciding if I’m going to bake something, what it might be, what day I’ll bake it and when and who gets it eat it. For example for a week now I’ve been thinking about what to do with some left over mascarpone and homemade raspberry jam. Sunday lunch dessert would be a perfect opportunity. Hmm, what to do though? KISS, keep it simple, stupid. Buy some meringue nests, slather the mascarpone and jam on top et voila. Dessert is served.

This coming week I need to learn two bellringing methods. Ipswich Surprise Minor, which I have rung in the dim and distant past, and Bourne Surprise Minor, something completely new.

Ipswich is needed for Thursday night and Bourne on Friday. When will I start preparing?

My trouble is, if I know I’m only going to ring it on the one occasion is it worth the investment of all that preparation? I have learned new methods for quarter peals before, just enough effort put in to get through the quarter, then instantly forgotten as soon as we’ve stopped ringing.

However, other people I will be ringing with will have put considerable effort into learning the methods. In order to support them I really should too. And it would help my own ability to ring other things more regularly if I made the effort to learn it thoroughly.

The quality of the output is commensurate with the quality of input. You get out what you put in.

Well Sunday lunch dessert looks OK, hope it tastes good too. Will my ringing next week be equally prepared?

Bells & Bakes Blog

The two things I enjoy most. Bells and baking.

Whilst pursuing the first of those activities I find myself as Public Relations Officer for the Central Council of Church Bellringers and the Essex Association of Change Ringers. Wanting to learn as much as possible I resorted to purchasing a copy of Public Relations for Dummies.

I’m on chapter 17 which talks about the benefits of blogs in growing brand recognition and customer/ user engagement. So, how would a blog help us?

I read a blog by another bellringer, The Accidental Ringer, who tells her story in an extremely entertaining way. I find myself the subject of her latest. I wonder how many people have read it?

So, I’m going to start an experiment and see where it takes me. Do leave a comment below to let me know you’re there.

Thank you. X