Year: 2020

A little window into other worlds

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Hi, Friday night already. That’s just how we roll at YATGB. Well, except for the occasional midweek meanderings. 🙂 Given the shift to online working, most of my day involves taking with other folk over various software packages. In most of them, people have their work photo as a mini avatar. It’s that I see as the call starts and then their real picture appears. I’m finding both interest and polite enjoyment at the difference in people’s work photos with how they look now. The shift to less corporate clothes, those who bother with the warpaint, those that don’t, those who’ve grown amazing beards, those who’ve coloured their hair funky colours, and those who’ve hardly changed at all. It’s a […]

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Good things each day

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Hi, Longtime readers may remember me starting a Memory Jar and a subsequent switch to a gratitude journal. I think the jar idea came from Pandora – oh, the former blogger, not the jewellery shop 😉 The idea behind either is you take time to write down the good things that have happened and pop the note in. I loved the idea of the Memory Jar and the Ever Lovely Mrs J and I spent a happy hour reflecting on those one Christmas long ago. Wise as she is beautiful, Mrs J asked why wait a year? Hmm, why indeed, I reflected… and then I switched to a journal app to see A) if this might work, B) if I’d […]

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A look back – May

Looking Back

Hi, Nearly half-way through the year already, huh? Although the last… umm… month or two, seems to have been some strangely timeless period. Perhaps it is the routine of being mostly indoors. I say mostly, as although the Jones Crew are not travelling, the Ever Lovely Mrs J and I still need to walk our two dogs, and Muggins here goes out for groceries. Luckily, the village is both very small and therefore fairly quiet, so keeping a distance is pretty easy. I had a long chat with Midnight (thanks Mrs!) via the usual Thursday Night on-line call. We’ve switched from Skype to an open-source system (Jitsi), which is free, fully encrypted, easy to use, and anonymous. I think we […]

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Strange peace

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Hi folks, Hope you are all keeping well and sane given the lockdown situation. The last handful of weeks have been rather pleasant, if I’m honest. No commute, the shift of all meetings to online, more time with my family, dog walks at lunchtime in the countryside, and frankly, a lot less stress. Yes, I am working longer hours, but given the location and balance of home/work, I don’t mind. Perhaps due to the above, and as I was saying to the Ever Lovely Mrs J, I am okay with not going out on Thursdays. That feels really strange to write that! Yes, I’m missing friends there, and the Skype/mobile calls help keep in touch. But, the actual dressing, it’s […]

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Flags

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Hi, The other day, T-Central featured a post about Being Bi-gender from Michelle Deere. IMO, it’s a great read and well worth visiting to see what Michelle has to say. A few months ago, I was talking with a work mate and H was talking about company values. We have all the white knuckle, rock and roll, lunchtime chats. 🙂 Stay with me, this is relevant. 😉 H covered how some companies define their goals or culture with a few key words. Usually some hot air such as Brave, Passionate, Gregarious, etc. The thing is, without the context of a story, what some folk will do is swap the words out for what’s in their head. What is brave? Is […]

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Ghosts

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Hi, I’ve heard it said that as you get older, you spend more time looking back than looking forward. Perhaps that adage needs a slight update for our current times: the less you can do, the more you look back at what you have done, and what you might do. So this last week or so, old memories of the dressing I’d done at home in yesteryear, and, moreover, that things have moved on. I was sat enjoying the sun last week in the conservatory and my gaze drifted over to a place by the shed. I think I spent an early evening setting the timer, dashing back to a plastic chair, and hoping to have some success in not […]

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