After nearly 10 years, the time has come for me to leave Friends Provident.
At the beginning of the week I was looking forward to leaving. You can be forgiven for thinking like this if you had to go through the eight month ordeal like I had to. Plus, I had something to look forward to (uni) and this just seemed to be delaying the inevitable.
However come to the final day, and the whole thing felt weird. Understandably. It was finally happening.
I had decided from outset that I wasn't going to send a goodbye email. I'm sure people are sick and tired of them already. Although this didn't stop the countless emails being received saying goodbye to me. Either people were just being kind or I was going to be missed.
I popped down for the final lunch with the usual crew, Morgan got Jo and I a leaving card each which was unexpected. There was a tear in the eye, but that's all they were getting. Lunchtimes would never be the same for any of us, that would be sure.
Then just as I was about to leave; Andy, who used to be the head of new business, grabbed me to say that he had come down to see me specifically as he wanted to say goodbye and wish me luck.
He said that I was well known throughout the company (in a good way) for the hard work that I had put in for our online services. I was shocked that someone would come to me and say this.
Just as I was about to head back to my desk, Jackie was there to say goodbye and then I nearly let my guard down and cried, but alas, no tear was dropped.
Come 12.30pm and it was time for me to leave with the last of the stuff from my desk (I had already taken the majority of the stuff home). I had joked throughout the day that I was going to leave the office like a character leaves a soap: Walking away from the office, pausing before turning back and giving a knowing smile and then walking off into the sunset'.
However, I just picked up my bag and left and became another statistic.
Friday, 31 July 2009
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Bad Taste Bears Summer Event - Warwick Castle
When Bad Taste Bears announced the summer event I had already made the decision that I would not be attending.
Of course some of my friends weren't happy about the decision and then preceded to spend the next couple of weeks trying to change my mind. However, I was adamant that I was not going. However, after meeting with Karen and David one evening while they then layered the guilt trip on me nice and thick, I changed my mind on the way home. Although, I did decide that I wasn't going to let anyone know that I did this.
Having never been to Warwick Castle before, I was kind of looking forward to this especially after watching an episode of some digital programme where a man was air lifted to hospital after having a heart attack at the top of Guys Tower.
After arriving at the venue, we followed the clearly labelled way to the BTB event. After coming through the gates, we noticed that the tents were at the opposite end of the field as far away as possible for their other customers. They clearly know about us as a group don't they?
As I got to the event tents, I was soon spotted by the group and before long the screams and hugs happening with Dawn repeating, 'I knew you would come'. I am glad she knew, because I had no idea until earlier that week. LOL
The Bears
After a quick hello, I went to collect the event piece, Jimmy Riddle. As I arrived a little later than the masses, this meant there was no queue. Result! I really like the bear, but especially love the monochrome version. Which was also the most limited with just 24 made. The chances of getting one was slim to none, but I could but try.First thing Gemma and I did was head to the shop to buy the 10th Anniversary bear among other things. The bear was getting an exclusive premier at the event. Rumours of what the bear would look like were flying around the forums. Mine as well as a few others believed it was be a female bear jumping out of a cake. We weren't that far off as it was a Borat bear instead of a bunny bear.
My impression of the anniversary bear overall is originally positive. Although upon investigating the bear it became apparent that there was one problem with it....the paint job. Not just one figurine, but it appeared the majority. Disappointing finish to a great bear.The Competitions
There was a number of competitions that people could enter in the vain hope of winning a prize:
BTB Coat of Arms - There was a lot of good entries on this competition. I even had an idea for one myself, which I got Karen to enter on my behalf. Let's get something straight (for once), I am not an artistic person. Never have been and never will be. But, I was proud with my entry.My heart did skip a beat, when I thought it was gonna win, but alas it wasn't meant to be. Aww well.
Bad Taste Piñata - Another competition that I decided to enter. I had the idea of a Johnny bear shaped piñata, which was filled with with condoms, lube, used tissues and 'Happy Birthday' glitter.
The whole idea of this competition was for the piñatas to be smashed at the event. However this didn't happen, which mean I put in a lot of effort for nothing.
And again I did win. In all honesty, I didn't think I would.
Birthday Card - I didn't enter the competition, because I couldn't think of anything to do. Although, I have to say, some of the entries were extremely good. I wouldn't have had a hope in hell chance of winning.
The winner and runner up were not announced on the day as they wanted to take them away and look through all the entries
There was also the usual Design a bear, Bear Painting and Bear Sculpting however I stayed away from these competitions. The reason being as I didn't see the point in entering them as it's normally the same people who win, but that's because they are good at it. There is no way I could compete. Although, this year it was nice to see a few different people winning as well.
I have to say that OddCo have disappointed me again in relation to these competitions. It's the same every year.
Here are a few suggestions for any future events:
- Make sure all the different competitions are different instead of just putting altogether on 2 tables.
- For Design a bear and competitions like the Birthday Card, provide some sort of cork notice board so entries could be attached.
- Have someone at the competitions tables (if there is a lot of competitions maybe two), who can take the competitions entries in and place them in the relevant sections.
- Don't leave the judging to the last minute. Give the entries the respect they deserve. I know you are all busy, but collectors have spent hours over their entries. They deserve something better than a quick 5 minute judging.
The Games
As well as the competitions, there was also two competitions where you could win some great prizes.
The first was a treasure hunt style game, which I didn't even bother either. And the other was the spin the wheel game, which I had a go on. The first time I had a go I didn't win anything that I would have liked (boo), but then had another two plays later where I won two birthday prints. I swapped one of the prints for another which was available that day aswell.
Previous games, we were always informed not to queue straight away as there is loads of prizes. However, the games for this event where running dry by midday. Quite disappointing.
The Venue
I have to say this has been the best venue (for one that I have been to) for a Bad Taste Bear event. Warwick was definitely a scenic and beautiful with plenty to do. Plus I found all the staff to be extremely friendly.
As well as the BTB related events, ,we were able to visit the castle which was something that I was looking forward to doing.
The castle is very commercialised (well it is ran by Merlin Entertainments), however it still is entertaining. It is definitely something for the families.
Chris and I ventured along the castle wall, which was great and had such a fantastic view. Although it was a little frustrating to have one old bid decide to push you out of the way several times. Oh how I was tempted to trip her up just as she was about to go down the stairs. Stupid bint!!!
Overall
Taken into account that this was meant to be the 10th anniversary of Bad Taste Bears, the Company did nothing to make it that extra special.
The event just seemed to missing something, which was a little disappointing.
However, this doesn't mean that I didn't have a good time. As I did. The event was made something to remember due to friends and the location. It would have been boring without them that is for sure.
Attending these events are not cheap and I personally am thinking it id no longer worth the money. Maybe the way forward for me is just to get the bears from eBay. I am sure it would be cheaper!!!
As well as the competitions, there was also two competitions where you could win some great prizes.
The first was a treasure hunt style game, which I didn't even bother either. And the other was the spin the wheel game, which I had a go on. The first time I had a go I didn't win anything that I would have liked (boo), but then had another two plays later where I won two birthday prints. I swapped one of the prints for another which was available that day aswell.
Previous games, we were always informed not to queue straight away as there is loads of prizes. However, the games for this event where running dry by midday. Quite disappointing.
The Venue
As well as the BTB related events, ,we were able to visit the castle which was something that I was looking forward to doing.
The castle is very commercialised (well it is ran by Merlin Entertainments), however it still is entertaining. It is definitely something for the families.
Chris and I ventured along the castle wall, which was great and had such a fantastic view. Although it was a little frustrating to have one old bid decide to push you out of the way several times. Oh how I was tempted to trip her up just as she was about to go down the stairs. Stupid bint!!!
Overall
Taken into account that this was meant to be the 10th anniversary of Bad Taste Bears, the Company did nothing to make it that extra special.
The event just seemed to missing something, which was a little disappointing.
However, this doesn't mean that I didn't have a good time. As I did. The event was made something to remember due to friends and the location. It would have been boring without them that is for sure.
Attending these events are not cheap and I personally am thinking it id no longer worth the money. Maybe the way forward for me is just to get the bears from eBay. I am sure it would be cheaper!!!
Sunday, 5 July 2009
City of Manchester 10k
Last year, I competed in the City of Manchester 10k. I have to say I really enjoyed doing it, even though I was suffering from an injury. You can read my previous blog here.
So, I was hoping to compete again this year although I thought this wasn't going to happen; because the running club that organised the race had to put a message up to state that the run was no longer happening. I was a little gutted to hear the news.
Then out of no where I received an email from Sports Tours International confirming that they were doing the race again in July. It appears that the organiser has left the running club and now works/owns Sports Tours.
At first I was gutted because I had already planned another race for the weekend, but because of the enjoyment from last year I thought I decided to change my mind and do this race.
The first thing I noticed that was different was the price. There had been a huge hike in the price. Although still a lot cheaper that Great Manchester Run, I found this very disappointing. My hope was, that it was going to be worth the increase. I can tell you now, I don't think it was.
I had been looking forward to this race since last year, and now I have done it I feel like it was such an anti-climax and like the Great Manchester Run, will probably never do it again.
One of the best bits about the race is the start and finish on the sports track, and that still hasn't changed. However, it's clear that if you have a large number of runners starting off at the same time in such a confined space wasn't going to work...and it didn't. I walked nearly the whole way round the track because it was that congested. Personally I thought the 1¾ run around the track didn't work at the start. Although, it's a great feeling.
There was also a change in the route from three laps to two. This was a good change to the race, however it would have been nice to have some sort of map up confirming the route.
Although they changed the route, they didn't change where the water station was, which meant that runners had to wait until the 6.5k mark before receiving any water. I also heard rumours that they were ran out of water aswell, and were picking up dregs to pass to runners. I noticed that when I passed the amount of water that was left was minimal. This is unacceptable and needs to be re-evaluated for next year.
As for the run itself, I found it a lot harder than I wanted to. Although then again, I hadn't ran since Edinburgh Marathon so I did expect my fitness levels to drop. I don't think it helped either that I lost a lot of time at the start, making me panic and probably running faster at the start which burnt me out a lot quicker than I should have.
And then there was the after finish experience. Shockingly, there was no water. There was a lad (a lot of kids were helping out at the race), who was just tall enough to perch over the fence handing out bottles of Gatorade (which also looks limited). I was fine with that, but surely water
Then there was the goody bags. They had to be the worst ever given out. I was informed by Graham over the tannoy that the goody bags were excellent, so imagine my dismay when I opened it up to find a t-shirt, pen and a penguin with loads of leaflets. Excuse me, but since when has that been an 'excellent' goody bag? And it appears that all the goody bags were not the same. I have heard reports that people were getting socks, lip balm, nothing
Taken into account that this run is now run by a larger company, you would expect the organisation to be far better than what it was. Instead it was absolutely shocking. It appears that larger companies increase the prices to fleece the money from the runners. Look at Great Run, it appears that Sports Tours are the same.
And what is even more annoying is that the organisers are pretending everything went smoothly. Well I have emailed Graham, the link to this blog so he can see my thoughts. It would be interesting to see what he thinks of my comments. I would also suggest he reads the thread on Runner's World which shows a mixed bag of responses.
So, I was hoping to compete again this year although I thought this wasn't going to happen; because the running club that organised the race had to put a message up to state that the run was no longer happening. I was a little gutted to hear the news.
Then out of no where I received an email from Sports Tours International confirming that they were doing the race again in July. It appears that the organiser has left the running club and now works/owns Sports Tours.
At first I was gutted because I had already planned another race for the weekend, but because of the enjoyment from last year I thought I decided to change my mind and do this race.
The first thing I noticed that was different was the price. There had been a huge hike in the price. Although still a lot cheaper that Great Manchester Run, I found this very disappointing. My hope was, that it was going to be worth the increase. I can tell you now, I don't think it was.
I had been looking forward to this race since last year, and now I have done it I feel like it was such an anti-climax and like the Great Manchester Run, will probably never do it again.
One of the best bits about the race is the start and finish on the sports track, and that still hasn't changed. However, it's clear that if you have a large number of runners starting off at the same time in such a confined space wasn't going to work...and it didn't. I walked nearly the whole way round the track because it was that congested. Personally I thought the 1¾ run around the track didn't work at the start. Although, it's a great feeling.
There was also a change in the route from three laps to two. This was a good change to the race, however it would have been nice to have some sort of map up confirming the route.
Although they changed the route, they didn't change where the water station was, which meant that runners had to wait until the 6.5k mark before receiving any water. I also heard rumours that they were ran out of water aswell, and were picking up dregs to pass to runners. I noticed that when I passed the amount of water that was left was minimal. This is unacceptable and needs to be re-evaluated for next year.
As for the run itself, I found it a lot harder than I wanted to. Although then again, I hadn't ran since Edinburgh Marathon so I did expect my fitness levels to drop. I don't think it helped either that I lost a lot of time at the start, making me panic and probably running faster at the start which burnt me out a lot quicker than I should have.
And then there was the after finish experience. Shockingly, there was no water. There was a lad (a lot of kids were helping out at the race), who was just tall enough to perch over the fence handing out bottles of Gatorade (which also looks limited). I was fine with that, but surely water
Then there was the goody bags. They had to be the worst ever given out. I was informed by Graham over the tannoy that the goody bags were excellent, so imagine my dismay when I opened it up to find a t-shirt, pen and a penguin with loads of leaflets. Excuse me, but since when has that been an 'excellent' goody bag? And it appears that all the goody bags were not the same. I have heard reports that people were getting socks, lip balm, nothing
Taken into account that this run is now run by a larger company, you would expect the organisation to be far better than what it was. Instead it was absolutely shocking. It appears that larger companies increase the prices to fleece the money from the runners. Look at Great Run, it appears that Sports Tours are the same.
And what is even more annoying is that the organisers are pretending everything went smoothly. Well I have emailed Graham, the link to this blog so he can see my thoughts. It would be interesting to see what he thinks of my comments. I would also suggest he reads the thread on Runner's World which shows a mixed bag of responses.
Time Completed: 48 minutes 49 Seconds
Position: 455 of 1621
Thursday, 2 July 2009
New baby has arrived....finally
Chris' car was coming to the end of it's life after 14 years on the road. The last MOT was close to costing a fortune and we knew that the next MOT would probably be it's last. *wipes away a tear*
Then the Government announced the car scrappage scheme and it was too good a deal to miss.
Originally, we were looking at a Peaguot 107 in yellow. The only downside to this car really is the boot. It would just about fit Chris' handbag in it. Not good, especially when we look at going away for the weekend.
When we started to enquire about the car, we were told that they had sold out and none would be available until September. I had a rough idea that this would be the case, so wasn't overly surprised.
However, what put us off was the salesman. He just came across like he couldn't be bothered and we were just interupting him while he played solataire on his computer. How rude of us!!!
We decided that we would go home and find another dealer who had Peagouts for sale and send the business their way. Instead, on leaving the cardealership we decided to go and have a look at the one across the road.
This place had the new Corsas and they were stunning. Looked like there was a good deal on aswell, because with the scrappage scheme they were selling them for under £5,000. Although, when we enquired about this they told us that this was on white cars and they have none left. And the impression that I got was they weren't getting any in again either. So surely they should have taken this false advertising down?
We ended up falling in love (Can you fall in love with cars?) with the car and decided that we would purchase a black one. At the end of the day, with the scrappage scheme it was too good a deal to miss.
And even better, we were told that it would be here on the Friday, or the end of the month at the latest. Good times!!!
Friday came and no car. Then, on Saturday Chris received a phone call saying that it wouldn't be available for the end of the month because he didn't know he had to order the car. I mean, hello? You work there, you should know this!!!
Nearly a week after we were promised the car, we were finally able to pick it up. At last!!! And to make it even better, I have a personalised number plate. Our number plate ends 'MKE'. Let's just say, Chris aint happy.
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