Right, been a while but here we go with a catch up. The little story thing pretty much went as I’d thought it would, thanks for the feedback though Rich! I’m sure I’ll have missed something that’s happened in the time since my last full post, but the main things since I passed my IAM (still woohoo about that!) are that I applied for a new job at work and did some walking.


Ok, maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that.

The new job wasn’t actually a new job but a 3 months secondment to a place called Rothera. To say that I was rather keen to go would be an understatement and pretty much all the indications were that I had a good shot at it. The position had been massively undersubscribed in previous years and I had Southern Hemisphere experience, winter experience and could put a tick in all the boxes on the application form.
But alas, it was not to be. Once the sift date had gone past and then a bit of extra time had lapsed I gave HR a call and was told that it wasn’t their department. Next day (hmmmmm, bit suspicious about the timing) I got the email saying that I had been unsuccessful in my application. I asked for some feedback but so far haven’t received any; there’s almost no point asking HR about it at the moment as we’re in the middle of a pay offer so they are all busy telling people that they’re not really getting a £5000 pay cut, it just looks that way.

So, one disappointment down, but now I may get the chance to spend Christmas with my girlfriend and some mates in Switzerland. So, not all bad.

Tash and Chris came up again for the Summer Ball, which had waltzers, a surfing simulator, laser clay pigeon shooting, FOOD, drink, more food and other posh entertainments (but not of the “masked ball” variety).

Chris and Tasha on the surf simulator. Yes, I did go on it, and did quite well, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that. Shame.
Week later we met up again, this time at a camping site in the Cairngorms, in preparation for the big walk – the Wolftrek 45 mile jaunt from Forres to Cairngorm. In the end I had to bin first, partly due to feet but mainly my knee was about to collapse; so I stacked at 17 miles, Tasha made 32 and Chris and Venora managed the whole 45 miles, swearing never to do anything as silly EVER AGAIN.
The time for their 45 miles was 19 hr 15 minutes, which was pretty damn good, but a bit longer than the fastest guy, who completed the route in 6 hr 52 min. ^-^
We had started out at a decent pace for the route, about 3 miles an hour, which we felt we could sustain, and which was about the right pace to get a time on par with the average from the last year’s pack. Problem was that everyone started off in a big bunch, mainly at the pace of the people who were only planning to do the first section. Pretty soon we were at the back, which isn’t a problem really, just a bit disheartening.
By the end some 40% had dropped out. Our team was the last to reach the first, second and third/last checkpoints but Chris and Venora finished in the middle of the pack, mainly as they didn’t get caught out by stopping in the comfy chairs at Glenmore Lodge.
Three days later I get a message from Chris asking if I was up for trying to beat the time next year. Ha! So much for never again!

Kate is up visiting, and we’re trying to successfully use the bread maker that Tasha and Chris got for me, but my first attempt was less than brilliant.

We also went to see Coraline over the weekend, a Neil Gaiman film that you can tell is one of his stories for children by the way it’s dark and quite disturbing. Good though, especially the cat.