Tired of the hamster wheel.

What is it with companies these days expecting people to cope with more and more responsibilities and an ever increasing workload with no thought given to recognition or reward for their efforts? Any prospect of promotion is all too often like the carrot dangled in front of the donkey: always just out of reach.

What is wrong with a person wanting a job where they can go to work, they know what is expected of them, they get on and do their job and at the end of the day they go home? No working late to try and meet unrealistic deadlines. No pressure to climb the proverbial ‘corporate ladder’. Just happy to get on with it and forget about the stress of ‘career development’.

Every now and then I think I should pack it up and maybe open a coffee shop... hmm...

Life flies when you're having fun...

It's a cold and grey day today, just north of London, but fortunately the predicted snow has not reached this far south.

A lot has happened since I last wrote, so here goes...

Sandra (my aunt) has moved to a very nice house share in Bush Hill Park (near Enfield Town) and has a job temping for the council in Enfield Town. She seems to have settled in really well.

My Dad flew over to join us for a couple of weeks over Christmas. It was really great to have him stay with us and our little house was quite full on Christmas and New Years Day with Lisa and Sandra joining us.

James' 45^th birthday (21^st Dec)

James finally finished his diving course in November and we put it to good use in January while we were over in South Africa for a 'fly-by' visit/holiday.

We spent a couple of nights in New Germany at Lyn & Clive's (my aunt & uncle). We did some shopping for cool summer clothes (as we don't really have those, living here in the UK!), had breakfast with some friends and met up with my Dad on his return from the UK before heading up to the 'Metropolis' of Richards Bay.

We spent some time visiting old friends and went to Denise's 40^th birthday celebrations (We're glad you decided to go ahead with the party, my friend!).

Lunch with friends in Richards Bay.

The following morning after church we headed off to Sodwana Bay.

Sodwana Bay was great. Overcast, but warm and we enjoyed the diving... although James 'fed the fish' a couple of times and we didn't get to see any sharks. We did see a couple of Moray eels ('Honeycomb' and 'Salt and Pepper'), a Loggerhead turtle, a large potatoe bass, a Lionfish and some exciting smaller creatures like a paper fish and a nudibranch (sea slug). It was a good oportunity to try out my new birthday pressie... an underwater camera. You can check out some of our photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesandjules

We still need to do a bit of work on the photo's and upload the rest, so please bear with us.

Some of the fishies at 2mile - Sodwana

After a few days up at Sodwana Bay, we drove through to Brett and Chantal's in New Germany for one night, where we had a braai by candlelight.... well sort of... thanks Eskom!! And then it was up to my Dad's place in Pietermaritzburg for one night before heading back to the UK.

Well, we're back into the swing of things here after recovering from a week or two of a combination of bad airline food and 'post holiday blues'. One of the things that's very noticeable on coming back to the UK is just how much faster the pace of life is here, especially in the greater London area. I could quite easily get used to a slower pace of life.

Holidays are coming...

Well, it's been a very busy few months since I last updated my blog.

James has started a new job, closer to home and nicer hours, which means no more having to wake up at 5:30am. He seems to be enjoying it. I certainly am (sleeping in later, that is).

The diving course is finally over which means we have our Sunday afternoons back. James had to go and do his 4 qualifying dives on 2 separate days up at Stoney Cove in rather cold weather. We're now looking forward to doing some diving at Sodwana while we're on holiday in South Africa in January.

My aunt, Sandra was staying with us for a few weeks. She has moved out to the UK from South Africa and we have been helping her out until she finds her feet, so to speak. She moved into a nice place, sharing with 2 other ladies, last weekend. It's quite near where she's working in Enfield which is convenient. Hopefully she'll be happy there.

My Dad arrives in a couple of weeks time. He's coming over to join us for Christmas. It'll be great to have him here.

Well I guess it's time I started some Christmas shopping!

Scuba diving course

James and I started a scuba diving course last Sunday… James is doing his PADI Open Water One and I’m doing a refresher because it’s been over 2 years since I last went diving.
The course is down at our local Leisure Centre (gym) every Sunday afternoon for approximately 5 weeks. The guy who runs it is South African and was apparently one of the founders of Coral Divers in Sodwana Bay (where I did my course). It’s a small world…

Career changes

It seems quite a few people I know are changing careers, or looking into it. Lisa (my sister) is starting a new job on 10th September as a trainee Veterinery Nurse.

James is looking into doing a Web Design course (part time) at the moment, with the aim of changing career down the line. He’s tired of the service industry and wants to do something that he enjoys and will allow him to be creative.

A friend is on maternity leave at the moment and is thinking of starting her own business from home instead of going back to work...

... it's all got me thinking...

The bank holiday weekend...

Last weekend was a bank holiday weekend, so James and I (along with half of the UK) headed for the beach. Well sort of… We went down to Newton Abbot (in Devon) to visit James’ younger brother, Matt, and family and to just chill out.

We left home on Saturday morning just after 4:30am (madness!) to avoid the traffic on the way down. We met up with Matt & family at their place and they took us into Torquay for lunch. After wandering around the ‘English Riviera’ for a few hours, James and I went and ‘crashed’ at the B&B where we were staying. Later in the evening we met up with Matt and family and headed back into Torquay for fish & chips.

On Sunday James and I headed off armed with maps and brochures and did some site-seeing.

We stopped off at Canonteign Falls , Britain’s highest waterfall.

After climbing to the top of the falls, we headed back down to the café at the bottom for some cream tea to the tunes of ‘hogwash’, a local ‘folk’ band (for want of a better description).


We spent most of the afternoon driving around and ended up back in Torquay where we stopped off and walked
down to Babbacombe beach.


Monday morning we headed for home, stopping off at Stonehenge on the way back. Maybe I’m just stingy, but I refused to pay nearly £7 each to go a few meters closer (it’s all been fenced off, so no-one can get really close) and look at a bunch of rocks, so we took photos from outside.

Eleanor Ann Milford-Jones (8 November 1950 to 18 April 2007)

It's been 3 months since my mom passed away. In the midst of dealing with the emotional upheaval and coming to terms with our loss, there is also a sense of needing to do or say something significant in remembrance of her.

Here is a short speech my sister, Lisa, gave on behalf of herself, my brother and I at my mother's memorial service.

I think it sums up our feeling very well...


Mom...

One of the hardest things for us 3 children, Julia, Brett and I has been to find the words that will do justice to our mom and what she has meant to us. Even now, words don't seem to be enough.

A while ago I saw a sign outside a restaurant that said, "God placed angels on earth to walk amongst us, and he called them mothers", I thought of mom and felt how true this was of her. Mom always put others before herself; she was kind, compassionate, caring and never sought the limelight or attention for all the good she did. Mom spoke of how proud she was of her family, and how proud she was to be a part of it. She was the peacemaker, the strong bond that held us all together and she continuously put so much time and unconditional love into those close to her.

As a mother, she has led by example as a truly good person, and given us the strength, wisdom, understanding and maturity to live our lives to the best of our ability being the best we can be. Mom never hesitated to help those in need, she always thought about what was right, and lived by that. In a world where so many marriages seem to fail, we have been so blessed to see our mom and dad stay together through the good times and bad times, showing us true commitment, love and partnership.

Mom hasn't just been a mother, a wife, a sister; she was a friend, a confidant, counsellor, companion and so much more. She had a way of lifting us up, encouraging us, finding the positive in all things and spurring us on towards a future that would make us happy. We are so proud to be able to call her our mom.

In this time of great sorrow, it has been the words and thoughts that mom has shared with us before, her special way of comforting and reassuring us, that has come to our minds. Knowing that mom would want us to find the joy and happiness from the time we had with her, has given us some strength. And it's our love for mom that allows us to find some peace in the knowledge that she is in a better place, being rewarded for everything she has so selflessly given for us.

We will dearly miss mom, and cherish every special moment and memory we have of her. She is in our hearts, a part of her will forever be in us and we are thankful for this gift she has blessed us with.