A big part of adult life is working to make ends meet, and we all struggle with the daily “drudge” of going to work, but having a job you like is always a huge help. I think Jamie has the ability to do anything and has a dream job with so much kudos in any conversation when she mentions ‘Harley Street’ but she’ll still find the relentlessness of earning money tough and the ease if which it is spent!

It has been well documented just how much being the Willows IT Manager was my dream job and that since 2011, I have given my all to make the Willows work and just help people. Since 2018  my job has been slowly eroded to the point, a few months ago, where it was making me feel mentally ill, and I felt there wasn’t much point to anything that was worrying me. It showed me how much my work life is important to my whole well-being and that I needed to let whatever it was that I was holding onto because it was not worth making myself ill. I was even summoned to a meeting by my boss that was definitely not “disciplinary” (?) during this time where they told me I was negative and needed to re-evaluate…

I told them I had never been negative and always tried to do the very best for the Willows, but my ‘worth’ has been undermined, and I am no longer heard? It wasn’t easy to change my mindset without letting my work ethic slip or moral belief that you should try to do your best every day, go.

In October, it was announced that five people, at Langdale House, the office where I work, were going to be made redundant, and they could all apply for three jobs. I represented Susan, one of the accounts staff that had to apply for their own job, and if unsuccessful, she would be made redundant, and I witnessed how poorly VP treated her and the other four colleagues.

Now that I have let my dream job go I am able to just do the job and not stress over not being able to manage it is OK, I just do my job. It is still interesting to see the mixed messages from my line manager and VP to the point where it just seems like a joke how they are treating me.

Today, I spent the day installing all new hardware at Lymm, and it was even more interesting quizzing the two IT guys from corporate headquarters, because it became very apparent that all the idiots who had made me feel so worthless were also viewed in the same light by these guys too!

Imagine how this makes me feel when coupled with the fact that since my line manager went off work with stress my job has become so much more important because people have to ask me for assistance, help and basically to do the job I am paid for

…but has my head already been turned?

Spent Sunday morning attaching my new shelving unit into position and I felt so pleased how it turned out. It also allowed me to stow all my fasteners screws and nails etc

The stuff next to it in the picture is part of my next project to find a way to stow those but I need to make my bench first because that will get a lot of stuff off the floor too

My whole day was geared to getting home in time to go with the kids to ice skating which was really doable if the surgery closed at 14:30 went as planned I could get home from Biddulph easily, but as is the way right now the job was planned by someone out of their depth.

I arrived on the yard as Mommy was driving off so my work home life was AFFECTED when there was absolutely no need.

Tonight we played second placed Eight Farmers a team vying for top spot and full of good players but we believe we should not be bottom of the league and we are improving each week especially since Christmas.

Tonight we won the first frame but narrowly lost the next three and were staring down the barrel but we all still believed a frame would get us back in the match. All was not lost. I played the fifth frame followed by PJ DL & LF and just like that we were 5 3 up with just the doubles to play.

We would have settled for a 5 all draw before the match started but now we had two chances to win both points. I bottled the first frame letting my partner PJ down, and was so annoyed with myself but we still had the last frame to win it all.

DH talked JEB brilliantly through the whole frame and put huge pressure their pair and forced a mistake that left JEB a tough double which he cooly made to take the spoils.

It’s always good to win, and that is our 3 win from 4 in 2024…!

I went to Howarths timber merchants on Saturday morning to purchase wood, my favourite thing to do apart from get it home and play with it in my shed of coarse but while I was there I thought i wold order some plywood. I had avoided this until now because as Jamie and i had sat over christmas chatting I had priced up 18mm ply and it was around £50 per sheet and we needed 3 for some shelves 1 for my bench maybe 2 but we soon realised with delivery that we could not afford to get it until February and we had been paid again.

Anyway I bought th wood I had gone for and stood talking to the guy there and he asked me if I had an account or am I paying cash to which I replied you always ask me that what is the difference and he explained that trade prices and loyalty bring the cost down so I said I would like an account and signed up. The prices I had been getting were trade prices anyway becauase they had notied me coming in quite often but now they can make sure I always recieve those prices no matter who serves me or which branch I go into so thats a benefit.

I ordered 3 sheets of plywood and was surprised how cheap they were when the bill for 2 x 18mm and 1 x 12 mm came to less than £90 and they said they would deliver it Tuesday which was fine I was in no rush. It arrived at dinnertime today it was raining and I was working so had to ask Jamie to help get it down to my shed where I stood it up next to it and covered it in black plastic sheeting and that is where it still is unfortunately because it was dark and still raining by the time I finished work so I can’t even start to rip it down worse still I am in the office tomorrow so Thursday at the ealiest biut most likely weekend before I can play with my wood.

I think getting sheets of wood home has been one of those things that holds me back, perhaps now I can free up that issue and get stuff made?