Billy Young's Blog, page 4
August 8, 2015
7th August 2015
Just been out doing the garden. With all the rain through the past month there hasn't been much of a chance to do the garden. While out cutting the hedges and grass I took the opportunity to mix some food for the potatoes and tomatoes. The tomatoes have been a surprise to me as I didn't think they would do well with the cold wet weather we got this year. But they are about to flower so I thought I should give them a good feed and now hope they produce some nice fruit for Magz. I also sprayed my apple tree with anti fungal stuff. As you will know from past years it has fungal problems which is really bad in the wetter years as it has been. Still I have sprayed a few times already this year for that reason and it has had an effect so we should get some eating apples from it. I have also been planning how much pruning the cooking apple tree will need after the fruiting season. It has need some more tying back even though I thought I had pruned it hard last year. Of course I didn't want to over do it but now it looks like maybe I should have been tougher on it. While tying it back though I found two more cherries that were hiding. Magz enjoyed them as they were extra juicy. as well as having a bit longer to ripen. I also got one strawberry, the only one this year. Sadly neither Magz or Tammy wanted it as it looked like something had a little nibble at it. And talking of nibbling my gooseberry bush under attack from sawfly so I also sprayed that. Magz was the one that spotted the green caterpillars. I was around the front when she came round in a panic over what she had seen. I just got out the trusty spray and hope that will deal with them. Though I suspect it will take a few more sprays to be sure followed with more spraying from now on.
August 1, 2015
1st August 2015
Absolute Write is running another poetry competition which I have entered. The theme is space. Any kind of space. For instance space between my ears, between people in the same room or lack of space. Basically a vary wide subject matter as it can cover so many different things. I don't really thing I made the most of the subject but once the competitions is over I will post it in my blog here, That will be in September and you will then judge for yourselves.
Finally July is over and another month has come. Though it isn't the worst July I remember, that would be '88, it has been wet. The garden has suffered for it. Only yesterday Magz and me had to tie up the cooking apple tree again. The weight from rain and fruit was too much for it In the winter I will have to be very hard on it when I come to prune it. It is the only way to try and stop it from being so top heavy. I also need t rethink the strawberries patch. This year they haven't produced any real fruit. Part of that will be the bad weather but some of it is due to the shading that the fruit trees are now providing to that section of the garden. I will use the grow bag I was trying to grow corn in for them next year. Of course I will need to move them before they begin sending out runners so that will mean the next week. That is if the weather allows me the time.
Finally July is over and another month has come. Though it isn't the worst July I remember, that would be '88, it has been wet. The garden has suffered for it. Only yesterday Magz and me had to tie up the cooking apple tree again. The weight from rain and fruit was too much for it In the winter I will have to be very hard on it when I come to prune it. It is the only way to try and stop it from being so top heavy. I also need t rethink the strawberries patch. This year they haven't produced any real fruit. Part of that will be the bad weather but some of it is due to the shading that the fruit trees are now providing to that section of the garden. I will use the grow bag I was trying to grow corn in for them next year. Of course I will need to move them before they begin sending out runners so that will mean the next week. That is if the weather allows me the time.
July 25, 2015
25th July 2015
The job hunt continues. I did get a couple of automated replies today in my emails. You know the sort of thing telling you that you have applied for this position with this firm or that. As if you had somehow missed that fact when you were going through the, sometimes painful experience, process of uploading your CV to the company acting as middleman. I suppose it is better than nothing which is what you normally get from employers.
It also is proof that you are actively seeking a job if the Jobcentre asks for it. After all where are all the cuts that the Tories going to fall? As usual on those of us struggling as is. As I remember correctly it was the bankers that cause the recession but it is the poor that are paying for it. Totally backwards isn't it? Of course what do you expect from Thatcher's children. More of hammering of the working class down while they feather their own nests. All the while they seem to ignore the growth of food banks as well as the growing numbers of people using them. So far my family have avoided using them. Sadly though that might not continue to be the case if I don't get a job soon. Bills just keep mounting and though we are managing somehow to cover them I do worry.
My failure in the garden this year has almost been a symptom of the struggle too. An echo of how troublesome life has been this year. Though I have to admit there are one or two successes. The cooking apples are doing really well but most of what I planted came to nothing. Even my coriander which I thought was doing well has over the past few weeks died off because of the dreary summer we are experiencing. The weather seems to mimic my mood.
I will really need to pull my socks up. Until then I will carry on looking for that job.
It also is proof that you are actively seeking a job if the Jobcentre asks for it. After all where are all the cuts that the Tories going to fall? As usual on those of us struggling as is. As I remember correctly it was the bankers that cause the recession but it is the poor that are paying for it. Totally backwards isn't it? Of course what do you expect from Thatcher's children. More of hammering of the working class down while they feather their own nests. All the while they seem to ignore the growth of food banks as well as the growing numbers of people using them. So far my family have avoided using them. Sadly though that might not continue to be the case if I don't get a job soon. Bills just keep mounting and though we are managing somehow to cover them I do worry.
My failure in the garden this year has almost been a symptom of the struggle too. An echo of how troublesome life has been this year. Though I have to admit there are one or two successes. The cooking apples are doing really well but most of what I planted came to nothing. Even my coriander which I thought was doing well has over the past few weeks died off because of the dreary summer we are experiencing. The weather seems to mimic my mood.
I will really need to pull my socks up. Until then I will carry on looking for that job.
July 18, 2015
18th July 2015
Got my SIA badge Thursday. I had checked on the SIA website earlier in the week and was happy when I saw that they had finally cleared me for it. Since I got it I have updated my CV. I've also started sending out the newest version of this to employers via email. Hopefully now I have the card it will lead to me earning a living again. Unemployment is driving me mad. I mean days merge into one. My energy levels seem to be dwindling. It takes more effort just to do anything. Take this week, I had the chains I'm doing for Calum. All that has to be done as I said last week is the catches. Somehow the week has past me by and I still haven't even started those catches. How long would it take me? Maybe a couple of hours a day for possibly three days at most. That would be me taking it easy. So not much time yet I have done nothing on the chains. Not even looked at them. I have continued the important part of looking for work. Though that has been me forcing myself to keep up on that. I did manage to do the garden this week which is a something. Yeah keeping your spirits up after months of joblessness is not a simple thing. I really will need to push myself now.
July 11, 2015
11th July 2015
Still waiting on the SIA to decide if they are giving me the security badge as CCTV operator. I know it hasn't been that long so far and it can take up to five weeks for them to do all their checks before making a decision. I just seem to have little patients for the long wait. One good thing was that I did get my disclosure Scotland document this week. That means that the SIA must have gotten it as well which means they must be closer to completing their process. At least I would think they were though when checking their site I found that things don't seem to have changed. That I think is why I feel as if I am in limbo which as you can tell is a bit of a weight.
I the meantime I have been working on the chain I spoke of last week. To go with the necklace I have also made a bracelet to go with it in the same style. Well it would be wouldn't it, hehehe. I still have the catches to make for it. Calum, who is away at T in the Park, wants me to do some bar catches for them. Me being me, I want to make them different from the normal by soldering three silver wires together from the same gauge as I used to make the links. Why? I hear you ask. Well I just think it would look good and also more unique as well as interesting. So it might make them stand out more to anyone wishing to buy them. Well that is what Calum plans for them once I have completed them.
Magz enjoyed our first cherry from our garden this week. I was watching closely so the local bird life wouldn't get them before me. That does mean that the trees have saved themselves from my saw. I had been planning to get rid of them if they didn't produce fruit this year. I was fed up with them not giving fruit in past years. Some of that was due to the weather, well most of it, but I had given up on ever getting fruit from them. Well they now survive for a few more years to come. And the good thing is there is more to ripen so Magz is happily looking forwards to them.
I the meantime I have been working on the chain I spoke of last week. To go with the necklace I have also made a bracelet to go with it in the same style. Well it would be wouldn't it, hehehe. I still have the catches to make for it. Calum, who is away at T in the Park, wants me to do some bar catches for them. Me being me, I want to make them different from the normal by soldering three silver wires together from the same gauge as I used to make the links. Why? I hear you ask. Well I just think it would look good and also more unique as well as interesting. So it might make them stand out more to anyone wishing to buy them. Well that is what Calum plans for them once I have completed them.
Magz enjoyed our first cherry from our garden this week. I was watching closely so the local bird life wouldn't get them before me. That does mean that the trees have saved themselves from my saw. I had been planning to get rid of them if they didn't produce fruit this year. I was fed up with them not giving fruit in past years. Some of that was due to the weather, well most of it, but I had given up on ever getting fruit from them. Well they now survive for a few more years to come. And the good thing is there is more to ripen so Magz is happily looking forwards to them.
July 4, 2015
4th July 2015
Just stopped working on another silver chain for Calum. This time it is a Wiggly chain that I am making and he wants some stone pendants hanging from it. This chain is easier though than the last one I did but it is the first time I have done this style so more enjoyable for that.
This week has seen a lot of heat even if the sun has been shy. Though yesterday it did break through to make a lovely summers day. My garden plants must have enjoyed it. My carrots, potatoes, and the herbs are doing really well, When I say herbs that is other than the rosemary which I think I will need to put in a separate tub with some sand mixed through the compost. Mind I will need to get the sand for that and with money on the low side it will need to wait just now.
I got my ID back from the SIA this week. I was glad to see they didn't need them for long and they were quick to return them. Now I have to be patient will they do their security checks before making the decision on whether or not to give me a licence to work as a CCTV operator. Of course unless they have a reason to turn your application down then you shouldn't have a problem getting the licence. Still waiting for the decision is the hard part and that can take 5 weeks. It seems like a long time, and in some ways is, though in this age with all the recent events in the world an understandable one. We you wouldn't want them letting the wrong individuals work in security let alone CCTV. My hope if I do get a job in a control room that I do a good job.
This week has seen a lot of heat even if the sun has been shy. Though yesterday it did break through to make a lovely summers day. My garden plants must have enjoyed it. My carrots, potatoes, and the herbs are doing really well, When I say herbs that is other than the rosemary which I think I will need to put in a separate tub with some sand mixed through the compost. Mind I will need to get the sand for that and with money on the low side it will need to wait just now.
I got my ID back from the SIA this week. I was glad to see they didn't need them for long and they were quick to return them. Now I have to be patient will they do their security checks before making the decision on whether or not to give me a licence to work as a CCTV operator. Of course unless they have a reason to turn your application down then you shouldn't have a problem getting the licence. Still waiting for the decision is the hard part and that can take 5 weeks. It seems like a long time, and in some ways is, though in this age with all the recent events in the world an understandable one. We you wouldn't want them letting the wrong individuals work in security let alone CCTV. My hope if I do get a job in a control room that I do a good job.
June 27, 2015
27th June 2015
Well I have now paid for the SIA badge. I have now to wait for all my documents and security checks to clear and they should send me my badge in the coming few weeks. In the meantime I continue with job hunting and sending my CV via email to possible employers. It all really goes without saying I suppose but it is good to repeat to keep your focused on get back into work. It is easy to fall into lethargy as time passes without so much as a rejection email from applications sent. I was lucky in that sense this week as I got just that, a rejection that is. Though it wasn't the outcome I wanted it did remind me that someone is behind the faceless web applications we all fill out these days. After sending countless number over the past few months without any word back it was good.
Magz might get some cherries from our trees this year. There are a few cherries swelling nicely on them. Though with the local bird-life I will have to be quick when I see them go red. Talking of the garden I seem to have a lot of snails this year even though I have put down plenty of pellets to deal with the problem. I will actually need to get more pellets if my tomatoes are to survive as they have come attack in the past day or so and just when they were showing signs of shooting up.
Magz is still wondering what to do with all the rhubarb that was picked last week. Yeah I was hoping for crumble and I still am. Keep your fingers crossed for me, hehehe.
Magz might get some cherries from our trees this year. There are a few cherries swelling nicely on them. Though with the local bird-life I will have to be quick when I see them go red. Talking of the garden I seem to have a lot of snails this year even though I have put down plenty of pellets to deal with the problem. I will actually need to get more pellets if my tomatoes are to survive as they have come attack in the past day or so and just when they were showing signs of shooting up.
Magz is still wondering what to do with all the rhubarb that was picked last week. Yeah I was hoping for crumble and I still am. Keep your fingers crossed for me, hehehe.
June 20, 2015
20th June 2015
Tammy and me are just back in from the garden. We were picking/cutting rhubarb and what a crop we got. I actually think we have too much for our needs which shows me that I need to divide the root at the end of the season. I would love for the half I take out to go to someone but I don't know anyone that wants it. Well that is the way the cookie crumbles, hehehe. I have cherries this year but the birds have noticed the trees aren't protected so have begun feasting on the green fruit. Hopefully they will leave some to go red. Then maybe Magz will get to taste some. Sadly all the replanting hasn't come to anything which means no lettuce this year or peppers, cucumber, courgette, and sweet corn. Maybe next year if they don't come up in the coming week.
I am to get funding towards my SIA badge. I got an email to go in on Tuesday coming to sign some paper work. That is a lot off f my shoulders as without help I would have had to put it on the never-never card. When you don't have a job that is the last thing you need to do is build up debt. Though I have been applying for jobs in the security sector I still haven't heard anything back yet but it is still early days I suppose. I just need to give it the time it needs. Easier said though.
I gave up on the Witcher 3 game. I became to frustrated at it fairly quickly which led to Calum and myself arguing. He loves the game and I didn't. I in truth was not in the right frame of mind to learn another game. By that I mean the controls and with Witcher 3 there are a lot of keys to remember to get the most from it. Some are your standard "wads" But there are others. It is the others you need to learn and it all got too much for my little mind to absorb. What happened to keeping things simple?
I am to get funding towards my SIA badge. I got an email to go in on Tuesday coming to sign some paper work. That is a lot off f my shoulders as without help I would have had to put it on the never-never card. When you don't have a job that is the last thing you need to do is build up debt. Though I have been applying for jobs in the security sector I still haven't heard anything back yet but it is still early days I suppose. I just need to give it the time it needs. Easier said though.
I gave up on the Witcher 3 game. I became to frustrated at it fairly quickly which led to Calum and myself arguing. He loves the game and I didn't. I in truth was not in the right frame of mind to learn another game. By that I mean the controls and with Witcher 3 there are a lot of keys to remember to get the most from it. Some are your standard "wads" But there are others. It is the others you need to learn and it all got too much for my little mind to absorb. What happened to keeping things simple?
June 13, 2015
13th June 2015
I turned another year older this week. My son got me a computer game, Witcher 3. I've started playing it after the new update to Elite Dangerous cause numerous problems whilst jumping from one system to another. Having travelled over 21000 light years in the game from human occupied space it grew quite frustrating being booted from the game. In the end I was needing to take a break or be put off of the game for good. In the meantime I now have the next instalment of the Witcher series. The graphics are truly great but learning to make the most of the game is taking time, as always. Well more so as I get older. It was only a few years ago that I found everything easy to pick up from new. I wish it was still as easy but in the last year or so it seems to take a bit more of an effort on my side.
For that reason I was glad that when it came to the SIA CCTV course I was on that I got to sit through the course twice before sitting the exam. I think that is the only reason I passed it on the first sit. Yes I got my certificate this week confirming that I was successful. I have begun the process of getting my SIA licence and am hoping that the jobcentre will help me with the £220 cost of it. I was at the jobcentre on Thursday to see my advisor but she wasn't able to see me then so I will see her on Monday and with a bit of luck. In the meantime I have begun t query employers as I have the certificate as proof that I have done the necessary course. Though getting the licence is still important as that is what employer will really be looking for.
For that reason I was glad that when it came to the SIA CCTV course I was on that I got to sit through the course twice before sitting the exam. I think that is the only reason I passed it on the first sit. Yes I got my certificate this week confirming that I was successful. I have begun the process of getting my SIA licence and am hoping that the jobcentre will help me with the £220 cost of it. I was at the jobcentre on Thursday to see my advisor but she wasn't able to see me then so I will see her on Monday and with a bit of luck. In the meantime I have begun t query employers as I have the certificate as proof that I have done the necessary course. Though getting the licence is still important as that is what employer will really be looking for.
June 6, 2015
6th June 2015
Don't you just hate summer colds? I do and I've been struck down with one since Sunday. Unlike winter colds summer ones don't like to go away. No they just start to ease then slap you in the face to remind you that you haven't shaken it yet. Luckily they aren't that common. The last time I remember having one was a good few years ago when I worked in a chilled environment so you could say it wasn't a true summer cold. The first was when I was a kid and that one had me stuck indoors and not allowed out under doctors instruction. For me at the time it was like being in jail or at least how I would imagine it to be. The skies were blue and all the other kids were out enjoying themselves in the summer heat. All I could do was wipe the snot from my nose and watch them from the window. Well at least when I had the energy to pull myself from my bed as I remember sleeping a lot. This cold has been the same stealing me of my energy. I did feel better yesterday but today...
Because of this the garden has been ignored and yesterday when I did get a look I was shocked. The wild plants have overrun the strawberries. The tomatoes I planted out have died off and I will have to replant. In fact almost all of what I planted has for some reason failed. On brighter note my potatoes are doing well. As are my herbs which always seem to do well. And once I deal with the weeds the strawberries should give some nice fruit as they are in flower. I just need to shake myself free of this cold and for today's rain to pass as the weatherman promised and the war on weeds will continue.
Because of this the garden has been ignored and yesterday when I did get a look I was shocked. The wild plants have overrun the strawberries. The tomatoes I planted out have died off and I will have to replant. In fact almost all of what I planted has for some reason failed. On brighter note my potatoes are doing well. As are my herbs which always seem to do well. And once I deal with the weeds the strawberries should give some nice fruit as they are in flower. I just need to shake myself free of this cold and for today's rain to pass as the weatherman promised and the war on weeds will continue.
