What you learn when...

What happens when you google your name or someone you know?

My best friend Danielle, thanks to her distinctive name, appears pretty high up from her time at the wolf sanctuary. The Gap year website has chosen her quote to use online: "The people were amazing - both the permanent staff and fellow volunteers. I made loads of new friends and have kept in touch with a lot of people. The work was great, I enjoyed the building and maintenance projects and learned a lot! The wolves were also fantasic, I fell in love with all of them and developed real bonds with some. I miss the wolves and the people loads!" Ah, bless

I googled Martyn Richards and discovered a snippet of dad's writing on a strangely named website about the Umbrella Club called Musical English Lessons. Weirdly it's not available if you search pages by UK. I discovered that:
"Once a thousand strong, Coventry Umbrella Club had become a shadow of its former glories. It had slimmed down to fewer than fifty members. My wife and I are still members of the club. Its various activities now operate through the home of its Secretary.The Umbrella Club was opened in November 1955 by Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan. The trio were then presenting their "Goon Show" at the Coventry "Hippodrome" Theatre, now demolished.Early magazines of the club contained entries from Coventry poet Philip Larkin and city novellist Susan Hill. This early heritage, however, has only recently re-emerged due to the reminiscing leading to the celebration of the club's Golden Jubilee in November 2005."
Wow. I mean seriously wow. Philip Larkin? Harry Secombe. Spike Milligan. All giants. This split second research actually managed to catch my interest in te same way that tuning into radio 4/radio 2 does on my way back from drama rehearsal at night. I also discovered there is a Martyn Richards who is a Visiting Teaching Fellow at the Centre for Peace Studies, Coventry University. I wonder how many times he and dad have submitted articles to that toilet paper substitue of a local newspaper? I wonder how many local journalists have been confused?

Antonia Richards, Antonia Tomas and Antonia Tomas Mascaro are very numerous but nothing enlightening.

My cousin Laura's face pops up on image results when you google her name!

Despite what my nan thought of her parents choice for her first name there are, it seems, quite a few other Winifred Richards out there, including a peer. Not that that's an accolade. This particular Winifred can't be particularly well heeled however, being on page 40182 (Prince Charles is on page 1).

Rather wonderfully, my quiet, unassuming, hard working auntie Shelagh gets a mention and is at position number 1, 2, and 3 of the Google search for her name. Bless! Companies would kill for that kind of listing... Here's what's said online:
"Last but not least we have to say we are also very grateful to Shelagh Monks for being our ever hard working tea lady who looks after us all with a little help from Dave by making sure we all have our welcoming cups of tea at all our meetings, from the bottom of our hearts Leigh, Richard & Jean thank you all so much, we could not do it without you all. "
And
"We have almost reached another milestone in the history of the Coventry & District RP Branch as we will be celebrating 30 years of giving support information and above all friendship to so many who have walked through our doors suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa... It was great to take a trip down memory lane and there are so many we would love to mention, perhaps one or two more such as Betty Hall who always kept our refreshment trays in order just as Shelagh Monks does today," both from http://www.the-eyesite.org/
And
"Shelagh Monks went to the Locarno in 1967 with a friend (after having found the Lanchester College too noisy) and met her future husband (who was dressed as a page boy)" http://www.vornster.co.uk/AIW/pages/library/lib2.html

As for my other half, Al, there is apparently a singer, song writer and performer from Royston, Camridgeshire, a mountain climber, an American political photographer, and a recently deceased paralympian. In fact there are so many websites with names like alex.harris.com that I'm starting to think there must be some implicit arrongance that comes with having the name and start to forgive my very own Alexander for his occasional big-headed moments. God love him, he does it with charm!

Finally there is a Gemma Richards who is a research technician in Veterinary Science at Bristol Uni, a model and a hollywood actress. There are LOADS of Gemma Harris', we're dead common! On Linked In there are 16 at least including my own profile from when I was at Leukaemia CARE. There is also a web designer in Nottingham, a lawyer in Cambridge. and apparently a keen slalom skiier. Lots of my press releases and networking profiles from the last few years are online too.

Googlegangers. It's a fascinating business. Sometimes you learn things that someone has tried to tell you but you've been too busy to hear. Sometimes it's just a giggle.

The Play's progress

Well we're now on 2 rehearsals a week and it's stepping up from dull and repetitive to having some soul and spirit. I was getting a bit bored but now I'm really getting into it again.

I've got a new phone that's a bit swankier than before so I'm taking photos and filming snippets of films during rehearsal. Tracey's back in rehearsals as she's props mistress and she's a real hoot, makes everything fun and a real motivator. As a result we're all having the odd giggle which makes rehearsing a serious play a lot more fun and manageable. We're rehearsing 8-10.30pm twice a week so it needs to be fun or we'd go starck staring bonkers.

There are so few weeks left and so few rehearsals left and it's getting very real now. I still have to finally decide what I'm wearing and how to do my hair... But my lines are starting to feel like my own at last. My character, Millie, is making sense to me and we're getting into a flow, me and Graham. Graham's great. One of the nicest chaps around. He's also got one of the most expressive faces I've ever known so I used to get so drawn into his lines that I'd forget to say my own! I've never known anything like it... listen to me going on!

If you want to see an excerpt of one of our rehearsals a few weeks ago then watch the clips below. I think we all breathed in giggle gas just prior to this rehearsal...

Clip #1 and Clip #2

Finally a photo of Ed who normally doesn't look anything like this... and it wasn't even Halloween!

Super-temp at Work

Super-temp at Work


I'm temping at Future Home Care which is a charitable agency caring for learning disabled adults, it helps them to gain a certain amount of independence and it's a bit of an insight into another industry I'd never worked in. Even though it has charitable roots the work is totally different to Leukaemia CARE; much more hands on, and it's a much bigger organisation.
From my perspective I sit at reception and do the switchboard, paperwork, write up incidence reports, meet and greet visitors, order stationary and generally try to keep the place shipshape. It's my 2nd day - yesterday was pretty busy but I'm into the swing of it now.
I wanted to show you my dead cool Janet Jackson headset which allows me to answer the phone without actually picking up the handset! I can even go and make a cup of tea in the kitchen and still answer the phone - not that I've dared do that much. Everyone is really nice here... I'm glad to be a receptionist for a week and a half and looking forward to starting at Ernst and Young in November. I may yet fit in another short term contract somewhere so who knows what I'll do next!!!
I don't miss Marketing at all and have really been having fun the last few weeks. Even the diy has picked up. I disassembled the wardrobe that was delivered at the weekend because it was too big to go through the door and reassembled it. What a palarva. I've just got to finish sanding and painting the staircase before the carpet is delivered and finish painting the dadorail (is that how you spell it?) in the living room. That plus job hunting and the rehearsals for the play have kept me very busy.

News

Well... After many interviews and perseverance I have been given a job offer at Ernst & Young. I'm going to be an administrator and I start on November the 9th. Yey! Smiley face, clap hands ra ra ra!

Ahem, I have composed myself. It's a departure from Marketing, a new challenge and I'm really looking forward to it. Yey!

Three weeks in

I have just finished a three week contract at BIAD; Birmingham Institute of Art and Design at Birmingham City University. I left with a box of chocolates, a thank you card, a warm glow and a boost of confidence. In that time I've had 2 interviews and I'm waiting for the result of the last one. It's weird how much you can love being a happy little administrator with no money and no responsibility. It was a lovely crowd in the faculty office and I'll miss them lots. We had a busy enrolment period and an open day and I met loads of people, made friends and generally felt at home but all good things must come to an end.

The interview was for a marketing role for a company that is actually part of the Home Office, and I'm due to hear the result of that this wee. Tomorrow I find myself going to an Assessment Centre for a potential job in a huge financial services company and Thursday I have an interview for a PA job at a large Union. I've also been long-listed for a marketing job in a university and have to put together a project for submission by Tuesday. Meanwhile I'm being put forward for about 6 other jobs, to be honest I'm just keeping an open mind and trying not to lose track! The list I made two weeks ago is now hopelessly out of date! They weren't kidding when they said looking for a job is a full time job in itself. In between taking calls today I have finally painted our bedroom meaning at last at the weekend we're hoping to choose some carpet and put the blasted rewiring we had done behind us; it's nearly a year ago so it's about time. I have also painted the fireplace, cleaned the windows, cooked loads and made homemade rice pudding, yum. I've not wanted to keep still really, and not having to be at work has been ace in terms of allowing me to crack on with a few chores. Still it's only been 2 working days since I finished work and I'm a-hankering for a new challenge (not to mention some money) so hopefully the next one isn't far away.

Yesterday was fun... I went to the butchers 2 Saturdays ago and was waiting to order some meat when I overheard the butcher chatting to a girl of about my age. I heard her saying she'd studied Hispanic Studies. Well it had been forever since I'd heard someone say that, so I introduced myself. We met yesterday and it was so cool. I've not had anyone to practice with and we met for coffee in Kings Heath, at this really cool little cafe, the Kitchen Garden Cafe. It's such a gorgeous spot, you feel like you're in the countryside, not in the middle of Kings Heath and there's a really funky feel to it, kind of hippy, bohemian but cute at the same time. Food's nice too. Elena's half Spanish like me and half Greek too, and doing a Phd and learning japanese. We had tea, I scoffed a bagel, and talked for 2 hours until I realised that if I didn't hurry I'd get a parking fine. As I ran back to the car the fluorescent parking demons were hovering around my car but I think I got there in the nick of time. Phew. Then I can home (painted the fireplace), and headed off to Jean and Mike's. They live down the road from me and I see them in church most weeks. They have two little boys Samuel and Daniel (good old testament names). Samuel is 2ish and Daniel is about 6 months. They are both cute as buttons. Samuel reminds me of Jack from 2 years ago. Jean fed me tea and cake and then Samuel climbed all over me and measured me, giggled and generally messed around in that adorable, trusting, boyish way of his.

I walked home feeling very spoilt!