Mixed up Day

Yesterday was supposed to be the worst day of the year, blue Monday, lowest point after Christmas, not yet pay day, dark and cold and miserable. Strangely I didn't know that until bed time and as a result had no idea I should have been low :-) not that I have ever let general views dictate my world. I have my car back fixed so got to and from work in comfort and warmth, I loved the bus ride, but hated the cold wait at the stop and the walk in the snow and ice always made me feel colder even when wrapped up. But the bus ride was fun, the drivers were always nice and friendly, the bus warm and well lit, the other folk chatty when I wanted to chat and quiet when it was just too early! Even the fact it was also the school bus and filled with hyper teens on their way to school didn't lessen the experience. So while I am back to driving I can see me getting the odd bus in future when car is with son or when life allows.

This morning we had two announcements, one a staff member has a promotion and will be going to be a head elsewhere soon, which is good for them and puts them closer to where they want to be. But we also heard of a death last night of a local guy in his 30's which came as such a shock, I know it happened and we have lost pupils before now, but any untimely death has an effect on you. Has left me in a mixed up feeling and an odd sort of day, when we should be celebrating the new post we are mourning a loss.

I am doing two future learn courses again, I promised last time I wouldn't do this again and now not only am I but I have signed up for a fab looking mooc from the USA. I am doing a managing people mooc with future learn and managing your money mooc with future learn, both of which are proving very interesting and much more than I expected. Then last week I was chatting with a colleague when she showed me this course Library Advocacy Unshushed from Toronto Uni. I know I have too many running but the chance to do one of these with someone local is too tempting. So I signed up, and it starts on the 2nd Feb, if you have a bit of time I would highly recommended it, either this or checking through future learn and finding one to suit you. In this world we can wait for our employers to give us CPD time and direction or you can go out and grab it for yourself. 

I the same vein as grabbing things, there is a mentor training and catchup session in Inverness this spring which I am so pleased about. We are so far away form everything that any course that comes our way is much appreciated. I know for me it is still nearly 3 hours away south but we get used to that, used to shop in Inverness once a month before the big tesco got built up here.

Mentor training session

Monday 27 April 0945-1630
G20, Longman Campus, Inverness College UHI, 3 Longman Road, Inverness, IV1 1SA

For any further information or to book, please contact Alison Turriff or Val Walker the Mentor Support Officers for Scotland. Contact details alisonturriff6@googlemail.com and vmwalker@blueyonder.co.uk

feel free to contact for further information.

Also got myself challenged, I am to put things in the county show! now I am not sure when it is and have had to beg a copy of the show listings from someone I know is doing it, but I am already checking stashes and planning my makes. I will put up things as I get them done but not all ;-) just in case.

My mother had mice in her attic, and had to clear it out, and has been finding things. She gave me a pile of photos and this was in it, Me at age about 6 or 7 on a sweet pony called Sailor, at the local stables in Devon looking very smart of early 70's (note the purple stripy jumper and purdy bob!) taken by my dad sat in his car waiting for me to finish.

Even after nearly four decades I remember what this pony was called, how he pulled and where we used to go on him. The stone stables had been part of the local big houses stables but were a separate going concern then, and they still run to this day, Bold Try stables is still run by the daughter of the lady who taught me and is helped by her own children who are now adults.

Also I got given this photo, which is moved on by nearly 15 years and still focused on me and horses. I decided to learn more jumping and cross country skills and spent a summer working at the local factory and then after work taking classes once a week to help improve my skills. I remember my father taking this shot with an old camera that had no motor in it as then the more modern camera went off the horse spooked, so he got an old camera out and took various shots of me very focused and serious.

Well back to work and back to finding time to do two courses before it becomes three. Back to minus 5 or 6 in the evening and crunchy morning under foot. Planning for the spring and summer under way and even some for the autumn, but more another day when I am less mixed up.

I Ate'nt Ded

I am using a quote from my favourite author from teen years, Terry Pratchett, my lovely husband refers to him as a triumph of style of substance, but my past is full of the latest book. One character in the books goes 'Borrowing' which means she borrows someone’s mind and uses them to check or do things while her body is at home in her bed with a sign on it saying 'I ate'nt Ded' which just about sums up my blog this last couple of months or more.

Work has been frantic as normal and my CPD world has also been frantic, but worst of all I have got out of the habit of Blogging! I am doing as much as ever, but home life has been tougher and work has been none stop and despite the improvement in the economy the effects of the recession are still biting and the fall out still coming. It has been a challenge to adapt and change to suit the environment and the new ideas coming are very very exciting, while some may be less so we are still going and libraries are still viable and not yet written off. 

I see my job as increasingly one of facilitator, of starting conversations or identifying what is needed rather than what is wanted. No longer gate keepers more filters and accesses, less a giver out of books and more help to identify a need. The approach of the universal credit that will be a big shake up of libraries no matter how folk say it won’t be. An increase in Wi-fi (even up here) means we are less a hardware support and more a social platform, and we have to adapt and change with this.

The new build for the school is going ahead at a great rate of knots, we are all signed off and ground broken and I have been enjoying the smell of the tarmacadam as they lay it. The general noise form the site is more than I expected but still less to me then the technical workshops. The local storms have caused some damage to school and more to one of the building sites but despite the very high winds I doubt it will set back much for long, the worst was the lack of power which ran from the early hours of Friday until the early hours of Monday for some. I got my power back mid-day Friday so only suffered a short while.

I will get back to blogging more and being more relevant once I am back in the swing of it again.

Happy New Year and Keep Safe.