Newsletter 2003

Now that I seem, finally, to be getting on top of Life again, it seemed to be a very good time to get on top of a Christmas newsletter. Some time ago I started one - I think for Christmas 2000, but it was never sent. Hopefully I'll manage better this time!

I started this year with a photograph of the village crossroads in North Curry, and a big question: What Next?

ARM Ltd, my previous employer, had just "let me go" as they say and I had more or less finished the long winded process of letting go, emotionally and practically. One good thing ARM did back then was to provide the services of a decent outplacement company to help us. I took good advantage of that, both to brush up general skills and on a more personal level to examine what I wanted next. The outcome was an unexpected one, for me, as it was basically: not programming. Not even software engineering, really. Something altogether more outgoing and involving. So January found me looking through general job adverts and wondering, and also just starting to enjoy not having to work every day. One decision was very easy: that return trip to Africa was calling me :-) I started planning a trip starting in mid-February to Cape Town and then points North, through Namibia, round to Botswana and finally into Zambia for the flight home.

Just before I left, on a trip to Glastonbury, I managed to take some lovely photos of the Abbey, and on the way back stopped for an some more of the flooded Somerset Levels, which are some of my best photos ever.

Africa was a fun trip, spent mostly with a group of 5 passengers and 2 crew on a tour bus. We explored the wilds of Namibia, which I knew very little about and am now itching to go back to, and also some of the more civilized parts, such as Quad biking through the sand dunes at Swakupmund. It was only spoiled a little by catching malaria, despite precautions, in the last days.

My return in March marked a turning point. With an energy I hadn't had for ages I threw myself into various tasks, including researching and writing a book, catching up with friends and family, and more traveling around the UK, especially into North Yorkshire. I revisited the North York Moors railway, caught up with friends in Bradford and Doncaster, and enjoyed a week in a small and very old farmhouse in Ribblesdale. Mostly, though, I enjoyed the freedom of setting my own goals. I don't think I was ever bored! There were occasional job adverts around, but the IT jobs market had pretty much dried up, and even those companies that were recruiting were facing large numbers of applications; in the main, therefore, I did very little in the way of job hunting other than to register with a number of agencies and keep an eye on the local press.

In late August, however, I started feeling that perhaps a job wouldn't be such a bad thing to have; the desire to work with others again had come upon me. Shortly afterwards, at a review with the lady from the outplacement company, we discussed ways forward. I had wondered about becoming an estate agent, and still had thoughts about more training, especially an IT course such as the MCSE or RHCE. However, nothing was finalized. Then I received a call from a church friend who asked whether I was interested in a job with the company he worked for. We all discussed things for a bit and I decided it was worth an interview.

Then I discovered the office was in Potters Bar, over 50 miles away. That might have been the end of it; several years back I had another job that required a long commute and I became so exhausted that vowed never to do that again. However, I had a feeling that God wanted me to do this; many friends and family also thought it a good thing, and so I accepted the company's offer.

Gran was at that time quite unwell, and I paid her what I suspected would be my last visit. She was frail and looking much older than I remembered a couple of months before. I could only stay a few days that time. A week or so later I went back, and that was the last time; she died just before I started my new job. I was sad-but-happy; I know she didn't want to go on, and am glad she has now found peace and, I hope, her old friends again.

In preparation for the job, I bought a new car - a Volvo S60, very nice - and started work at the beginning of December. It has been an interesting time, and I seem to have won a certain respect from my colleagues; I was complimented on a sales proposal I wrote - the Director said that if they don't go for that they weren't really interested. Which was nice. And to prove that God does answer prayers, a lot sooner than I ever suspected I have been allowed to work at home on the current project, which will last into mid January and possibly on into March. So no more 6.30am starts for a few weeks at least!

Well, we've reached the end of this year's story. I hope that you are all doing well, and wish you all a very happy and loving Christmas and a happy New Year.