Walking Thoughts

 I recently visited Coventry on business. While there I thought I’d see the sights before making my way home. Coventry has a cathedral. I visited the ruined cathedral because I find history interesting and I find ruins have aesthetic appeal. I did not plan, however, to visit the extant modern Cathedral. I’m not a Christian, so the appeal is minor to me. I have an active interest in sustainability and finding technological solutions to combat climate change. I believe that scientists are the wrong people to motivate hearts and minds as necessary for the transformational change that is truly needed if we are not to suffer worse consequences of global warming than we have already seen. Scientist and engineers should certainly deliver the technological solutions. But the change that is needed is cultural and spiritual. The problems of greed and apathy have proven to have greater inertia than those of fossil fuel dependence and the decimation of nature.   A large sign close to the ...

  The Christmas episode of call the midwife Depicted a mother giving birth in pitiful conditions. The midwife attended the birth in a room shared with all of her children sleeping on dirty mattresses and with candles for lighting. The scene is set in 1969. Surely this level of poverty is more Victorian than 1969?!  Having moved from London in 1973 with my family to a London overspill town in Essex I decided to research the scenes authenticity. In 1960, the  Greater London Plan  proposed that over one million Londoners should be relocated from  Inner London . The great majority of overspill families were relocated either to existing or  new towns  within south east England In 1964 the Greater London Council GLC began building HOUSING Estates in market towns in the southeast - notably Essex Northamptonshire Norfolk, et cetera. In the course of this research I uncovered this quote from a family that had moved to the same town as me in the same year; “I ha...

 The innkeeper who provided shelter in his manger To a pregnant woman and her husband on December 24 Has been described as a Christian before there were Christians. Of course he is most likely a Jew. But why not a Muslim or a Hindu or a Sikh? Or no religion just someone with compassion? Christians are people who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in that manger. Could it simply be that the teachings of Christ are the values that Jesus learnt from the story of his birth from his mum and dad? That the kindness of strangers meant everything to them.

 The year started with a big shake up as I chose to seek a new opportunity In my career. One of the things that I wanted to explore further which had been part of my time leading a team and creating a new business for a start-up was my writing. As an engineer and scientist creative writing was never really Something I had undertaken. But over the previous three years, I’ve been published quite a lot and in some pleasing magazines and Journals. I’d also been forced to travel a bit with my job and I wanted to address my outstanding ambitions in life. So I sought opportunities for writing and content creation and chose to be courageous. Having travelled to the states twice once to Detroit and once to New York in my old job it transpired that my new job was to take me to such exciting and exotic places as Coventry and Leeds. 😂  But I have explored the writing and content creation. I worked pro bono for a technology start-up Which also embraced my interest in mental health. I have...

 Tradition Engineering Carbon footprint Strategic drift Business management This weekend, I decorated my Christmas tree with my son. They commented on the age of the tree, which is twice his age, and how he preferred the warm glow of the ‘old-fashioned’ lights. I wasn’t offended. I’m very proud of my tree. It is said That an artificial tree needs to be at least 10 years old to have a smaller carbon footprint than a real tree. Mine is 30. And while I love the tree renting options, where Trees are adopted each year at Christmas and then returned until they are retired at 7 feet tall back to the forest of their origins, These weren’t an option at the end of the last century, which is when I bought my tree, and the lights. Each year I unfold the trees branches, and I admire the engineering, as each node has an individual hinge.  We untangle the lights and I comment on their terrible design. And I caught my mind back to studying electronics at college as part of my university certi...

 It’s Monday The title is meant to be a typical day. But the way that AutoCorrect has written, it might be good too because Mondays are the hardest of the days. I woke up about 0600. I could tell that I was bleeding through my sanitary protection and period pad into the bed so obviously I had to get up to stop making it any worse with the blood out of my underwear soak the sheet and mattress protector share the blood off of myself clean the toilet For all the blood in the seat and porcelain on the external let alone what’s inside . 0700 My alarm goes off. I get up and make my son a lunch. I put all of the soil bedding in the washing machine and take out what was already in there. That will have to be done later. I empty all of the bins. It takes five bins to empty in my son’s bin. I empty all of the bowls and spoons and glasses out of my son’s room. Lay him into the dishwasher and reload it with everything from my son’s room. I pray for menopause because obviously then the bleeding...

 Wednesday 11 December 0600 Low level pain ‘sigmoid colon’ - LHS low abdomen. Doesn’t hurt to fart. Early breakfast - 3 grapes and cucumber stick. Hot tea. 50mg atenolol and 25mg levothyroxine. :-) 0742 Hurts to fart. :-( 0748 small poo. Pain ok. Uncomfortable only :-/ 12:12 no pain yet. But I’ve not eaten. I’m planning on porridge with dried fruit for lunch. Wish me luck. Thursday, 12 of December Largely pain-free Constant feeling of heaviness and a wibbling like a hamster living in my lower abdomen, He sometimes uses his wheel. Breakfast - oatibix with hot milk Seeds and berries a few banana chips, a small amount of carrot, cucumber, and grape Lunch loaf, skin on potatoes and peas Dinner, brown rice, onion, green beans, fresh oregano, a small amount of vegan sausage. Friday, 13 of December Woke up largely pain-free, just the heavy feeling and like a peg is clipped to my gut Early breakfast, hot tea, a carrot stick a grape. Toast and cheese for breakfast no pain Brown rice, onions...

  Sectors Water and the environment 28 years water industry experience asset management, Engineering, Innovation , Investment planning and optimisation 3 years chief carbon reduction engineer and chief scientist environmental services Commercial engineering   Solution identification Qualified risk and value facilitator solutioneering for water industry capital delivery   Process and cost validation PR09 amP5 process cost and validation - wastewater investment programme   Technical engineering   Process design and improvement PhD process design 10 years process improvement experience Management services   Energy management   Carbon management Built and led a team of 10 professionals delivering carbon management of £1.6 million of revenue annually   Renewable energy Calculated solar panel power requirement for UK manufacturer Manage maintenance plans for the CHP Qualified for ESOS practitioner pending funding for annual license Environmental manage...

 Women are amazing. Running a home, raising children, Holding down a job, Developing a career, Maintaining an education, Meal planning, Housework, Monitoring their child’s medical conditions, Managing their own medical conditions, Earning enough money to pay for the home and the food and those parts of the prescriptions for everyone that the NHS full short of. Making sure that child’s dinner card has enough money on it considering what everyone wants for Christmas presents cleaning the home in time for Christmas mentoring other young upcoming professionals, Using what resources they have for creative output keeping clean getting dressed maintaining an acceptable or professional appearance meeting those social expectations. My baby daddy gets himself up and goes to work. He calls me half a job, Bigg. I was reminded of this this morning as I turned the items in the dishwasher over so they could drain and dry properly, While boiling the kettle for a cup of tea to take my medication wi...