Talisman

I finished no. 30 last night.

You and me both! Things are gradually getting better at work now that we (finally) have 3 cleaners and of course a new gardener. The new cleaning rotas that I worked out will be starting next week, which should hopefully help as people need to do what they are doing and of course the different departments need to know who will be responsible for their area as well. Cleaning that tank actually sounds like quite good fun - I hope the terrapin appreciates it. Coran and I had a quiet weekend. The weather was a bit changeable so we didn't really do a lot. I spent most of it sitting in various places around the house reading - shame!

I think I have heard this somewhere as well. Of course whether you work up a sweat or not depends on how fast you walk and I guess to some extent the weather. I am faster than a lot of people covering on average around 3 miles per hour. Of course hoovering and cleaning in general burns a fair amount of calories as well, and I certainly work up a sweat doing that. As for whether I follow set routes or see where I end up, that depends on what sort of holiday I am on. Walking around the footpaths in the southwest for example is of course a set route, but getting lost in a strange city as I did when I went to Malta recently definitely isn't! It is though a great way to explore.

We had a nice veggie curry with brown rice - very tasty it was too with just the right amount of spice.

I have had a really good week at work- for a change, but am still glad to have a three day weekend ahead of me. It is always a bit of challenge breaking in new staff and showing them the ropes. The new girl has settled in well though and already feels part of the team - she evidently does too for she was cracking rude jokes with the boys at lunchtime and giving as good as she got. All three of us had to work together yesterday to deep clean one of the clients rooms, and it was great to finally have a team that get on so well together and have the same objectives - to do a really good job and have a laugh together. I knew it would come together in the end if I was patient. I am now looking forward to a well earned rest and a long lie in.

I stopped going to the gym after the membership fees became too high, so most of my exercise is now confined to walking. I have an active job as cleaning supervisor for a disability charity and walk an average of 3 1/2 to 4 miles a day just at work, plus very often more at the weekends. When I travel of course I do more than twice that.

Sorry about William Gaia - at least it was quick, which is always a blessing. I share the sentiment about Bank Holidays too Madeleine - I don't need an excuse for another day off from work. It has been tough for me lately, but hopefully we have not turned the corner. Our new cleaner, Karen started today and she is brilliant. It is s nice to have another woman to talk to as the only female member of a team of 9 men. Her husband who also works there brought her over to where I was working at 8am this morning, and she walked straight up to me and gave me a big hug. If she carries on like she did today I will be very happy.

It did give me a bit of a scare. I was getting some stuff from our housekeeping storage shed, which is near the smoking shelter when I saw him. He appeared to banging his head against the side of the shelter while slumped backwards in the chair, so it was obvious something wasn't right. When I went over there the left side of his face was all droopy and his eyes rolled back and he couldn't speak, so straight away I thought "stroke". Luckily we carry radios so that we can keep in touch with each other and be contacted, so I radioed reception immediately asking for help. The first aiders all came running and one of them called an ambulance, which then took him to hospital. He is such a lovely man though - a bit rough and ready around the edges after years in the building trade, but still a lovely man. I will be really upset if it turns out to be serious. I think a lot of people will be, as she is such a character. Coran is out for the day again today, so I intend to have a nice quiet day of reading - not sure if it will be warm enough to sit out, but I intend to try. I might treat myself to some Sushi from the new Sushi bar in our local Sainsbury's for lunch.

I have completed a few more countries over the last few weeks: The Golden Shower: Or What Men Want by Luka Novak for Slovenia Earth Weeps, Saturn Laughs by Abdulaziz Al Farsi for Oman The Earth Hums in B Flat Major by Mari Strachan for Wales Beloved Land: Stories, Struggles and Secrets by Gordon Peake for Timor Leste At the moment I am reading a beautiful book from St Pierre et Miquelon, a country that is really hard to find books from - The Sea Around Them by Gordon G Gautreau

I am pretty much the same - I can have the odd bit of wheat now and then, but if I overdo it (like a whole pizza or something) then I know about it. Being vegetarian complicates things a bit more for me, as a lot of restaurants think all we eat is pizza and pasta, which of course is wheat, hence the fact that I try and self cater too as much as I can. Of course travelling solo means you have no one to share the cost of an apartment with, which can get expensive. This is why I tend to use hostels instead, as it's cheaper and I still get access to a kitchen. It's okay until one of your room mates starts snoring, which can be a nightmare. I spent 6 sleepless nights in Wales last summer because of that - not good. It's the only way though I can afford to travel as much as I do. When I go to Croatia I am staying in both Split, where I have a room in a shared house, and Dubrovnik where I am staying in a hostel near the port, both of which have shared kitchens. As far as books are concerned, I haven't really looked as yet. Normally I find the Insight guides are good, so I will probably look at one of those - or possibly Marco Polo. I am glad though to be home. At lunchtime today I found one of our clients in the smoking shelter having had what appears to have been a stroke and had to raise the alarm. They took him into hospital to do tests and everything, and I just hope he is okay, as he has a lot of other health problems, including diabetes.

How exciting - everyone seems to be going to Croatia this year. I am going too at the end of September and can't wait. I agree it can be tricky finding the right accommodation - I always use booking.com as they have a lot of lower cost properties like hostels and so on that other sites don't list. I prefer hostels as that way I get to meet other travellers, and I also have access to a kitchen which is important when you have a gluten free diet as I do. I have had a brilliant day at work today where everything seemed to fall into place. After months of having hardly any staff, I had a new gardener start on Tuesday and will have another full time cleaner starting next week. We also have new cleaning machines being delivered as well to help make the job a lot quicker. I had to talk to our existing cleaner today about the impact that the new starters will have on his rotas and what he does and he has I am pleased to say, agreed to all of my proposals, which now mean that pretty much everything I wanted to happen will happen, keeping all the other department managers happy at the same time.

Yes, I saw that and bought a copy. This is just the sort of book I love.

Coran and I had a great time in Glastonbury over the weekend. We only had 2 nights there which was not really enough, but even a week wouldn't have been long enough for me. It was lovely to sit and chill in the gardens and the White Spring, and of course to climb the Tor - I swear it gets steeper each time I visit. We had a lovely Sunday lunch as well in one of the many veggie restaurants in the town. It was back to work today though. Our new gardener started work, and has been busy weeding all day. He is definitely a hard worker as the place is starting to look tidier already.

I have finished work now for the next 4 days. It was a busy one today as our other cleaner has gone back to Poland for a week to spend some time with his children. The good news is that our new gardener is starting work next week and the new full time cleaner the week after that. I will then finally (after almost 8 months off and on) be fully staffed again. Coran and I are off to Glastonbury for 2 nights on Saturday, staying at the Chalice Well Retreat Lodge where we had our honeymoon. I think Coran at least will need it, as it has been a difficult week for her. Her best friend was rushed to hospital a few days ago with a suspected blockage in her bowel - she has a genetic disorder that affects the collagen in the body and so does have a lot of health problems and it is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. Thankfully she is home now though. It will be nice to have a good rest though over the weekend, as it will be very busy next week with the new gardener and our Polish cleaner not back until Thursday. At least I know though that our staff problems are finally coming to an end.

It has been beautiful here too - I spent most of the afternoon sitting in the garden reading. The temperature must have been in the mid 20's at least.

It certainly is. Coran has a business meeting tomorrow for one of the websites she has been working on, which means I have the afternoon to myself which is even better, especially given the fantastic weather forecast (23 degrees). I plan to take myself off to Polesden Lacey for the afternoon for a spot of lunch and some reading on the lawn.

Thanks Athena. Yes, it is nice to get some good feedback. I am just so relieved though that the staff issues (fingers crossed) are finally being sorted out and hopefully soon after Easter we will once again be fully staffed. I have been busy then this week trying to work out who will do what and when, talking to the different departments as to what they need. I have hopefully come up with a solution that will keep everyone happy, although I have to discuss it of course with the man who will doing most if it as well to make sure he is happy with it too. I have also got the go ahead to order some new cleaning equipment so have been busy trying to source that and get some prices. I have arranged for a possible supplier to come and visit next week to demonstrate the machines I am interested in buying and see if it fits within our budget. We have around £1600 with which to buy a scrubber dryer machine, a carpet cleaner and an upright hoover, which this supplier says they can help us with, but we shall to see of course what they come up with. For now though, it's the weekend so I have to forget about work for the next 2 days.

Ha! I take that as a definite compliment. Apart from Coran of course (and reading) travel is my biggest passion. It is something I have always wanted to do and always enjoyed, and now of course I have a few more funds with which to indulge that passion, which is definitely a good thing. Even so most of my travel does tend to be done on the cheap using low cost airlines and very often hostels. I have managed to book a lovely studio apartment for Split but Dubrovnik will be a hostel. It's a nice one though that doesn't have bunk beds - I hate bunk beds as I am only 5 feet tall and really can't abide the thought of climbing down from a top bunk to visit the bathroom in the middle of the night! That just doesn't work for me. I was then very pleased to find one that actually has proper single beds. Congratulations on passing your exam - I know what a lot of work went into it. Good luck too with finding a new property - 3000 books is a LOT of books. I am not sure how many I have, but nowhere near that amount. Most of mine these days are on Kindle anyway. Here in the UK your employment (or in my case promotion) is never definite until you have completed a three month probationary period of settling in. My review was today, and I passed with flying colours, so I can now breathe a sigh of relief and say that I kind of passed my own exam too. My boss said some very nice things about me as it happens. I must admit it has been one hell of a learning curve but actually I am really proud of myself for doing it. If someone had told me three years ago when I first started here that I would be doing any of this I would probably have laughed in their face.

Coran and I are going away for Easter as well this year - although only for 2 nights. We are going to Glastonbury to stay at the Chalice Well Reteat Lodge where we spent our honeymoon. It will the first time we have been back since then, which is pretty incredible really, as it will be 3 years in August. I booked another holiday as well over the weekend (this time just for myself, as Coran is yet to get her passport). I will be going to Croatia towards the end of September, which I am really excited about. I couldn't decide whether to stay in Split or Dubrovnik, so I decided to visit both as there are great bus connections between these two areas, which makes it really easy. Both were used as film sets for Game of Thrones, which is definitely a reason to visit in my book.

GOT is filmed in a lot of places - Northern Ireland, Gozo, Croatia, Spain and of course Iceland. I have seen some of the places they used in Gozo and Iceland. I like the idea of Croatia anyway, but of course knowing it was used for GOT does increase the interest. It seems to be an 'in' place at the moment, and Dubrovnik can be expensive anyway, so it makes sense to go now before it gets even more so. I am torn between Split and Dubrovnik as both were used for various GOT scenes (the Kings Landing scenes were filmed in Dubrovnik while the Slavers Bay cities were in or near Split), so I am looking into the possibility of maybe seeing both as there are good bus connections between the two cities and it only takes a few hours.

I love Portsmouth - we often drive down there for a day out during the summer, as for us it's only just over an hour down the A3. You proabably passed quite close to us on the journey down. If I had known you could have stopped by to say hello! Coran and I are having a quiet weekend after all the exitement of the previous one. We have some leaflets to deliver at some point and if it doesn't rain we may even get around to cutting the grass. We have to pay the balance for our accomodation in Guernsey by 10th April, but I have been thinking about a trip to Croatia for maybe the end of September, as quite a few people I work with have been there recently and keep sayng how nice it is. Half of Game of Thrones was filmed there which a reason enough for me to want to go.

Beautiful - it was warm already when I got to work at 7.30am and got better and better as the day wore on.

Indeed. We were going to hang around for Nick's speech, but things were running a bit late due to the huge turnout, which meant that things didn't get moving until an hour later than they should have. I saw both Nick's and Tim's speeches on the Lib Dem Facebook page after I got home, and was very impressed by both. Obviously Nick has a vested interest, as he is half Dutch and is of course married to a Spaniard, meaning that his children are also half Spanish (and of course a quarter Dutch). I think for me wanting to show solidarity with the EU citizens affected by this was one of the main reasons why I felt it was important that I go. Working in both social care and the charity sector as I do, my employer stands to lose a lot of its staff if the rights of EU nationals are not guaranteed. I can't of course speak for others, but the Eastern Europeans in particular whom I work with are among the friendliest and hardest working people I have ever known. I know a lot of industries are already struggling to fill vacancies because of the mass exodus of EU nationals uncertain about their future here, and I understand that there has been a 92 percent drop in nurses from the EU applying to work here, which is somewhat worrying. I think you are right though, that those from less well off countries or with so-called low skills will get little sympathy from our Government. To me it is all completely ludicrous. I am sure that many will disagree, and that's fine. as there is room for everyone and all different views.

Started out a bit cloudy and chilly, but it turned into another beautiful day with temperatures around 16 degrees.

Coran and I had a great time at the march yesterday and met some brilliant people. It was a long day but definitely worth it. The media are reporting about 25,000 people as having turned out, but I reckon it was more like twice that. This morning when we checked our lottery tickets we found we had won £25 so we treated ourselves to a pizza in Pizza Express. Afterwards we went to an exhibition of some of the clients artwork for the charity that I work for. We are at home now relaxing and catching up with various bits and pieces.