Confidence - Losses and gains.

Yesterday, i posted an AudioBoo in which i happened to mention confidence. This was mentioned in the context of having just been offered a part time job and the potential boost in confidence that this may well bring.

After talking and thinking about this afterwards, i have decided to expand on this topic a little. Partly for my own benefit. But, also because it is a topic that is very relevant to a lot of us.

As i said in the AudioBoo. I have just been offered a part time job. Nothing particularly earth shattering about that, you may think. But, for me this was big news and good news too.
One reason for this being such good news, apart from the obvious monetary considerations, is the fact that this will now allow me to persue some other ideas that i have. One of which i mentioned in the podcast. That is something that i will be talking about at a later date.

But, the other aspect that i also mentioned, was the boost in confidence that a job offer like this gives to you.

I was made redundant in July of this year, after working in the same industry for very close to 36 years. I left school at the age of 16 and went straight into work. I literally left school on the friday and then started work on the following monday morning. And that's where i stayed for the next 36 years.

Now i realise that this makes me fairly unique and also very lucky. Not many people are able, or willing, to stay in the same line of employment for that long. And many more have the decision made for them and are made redundant, laid off, sacked etc etc.
I was also lucky in that i was able to take early retirement, with the agreement of the company. This certainly helped to soften the blow and left me in a better position than some.

But, one potential downside to remaining in the same industry and in the same line of promotion, is that you tend to lose touch with the outside world. I was also in a line of work that was considered to be safe. Obviously, that illusion was shattered for me a few months ago!

So, when i found myself out of work and in need of some form of work. I was totally out of touch with how to go about it.
The fact that you've just lost your job is bad enough. But, the thought of having to find another, after such a long time and in the current economic situation, was not a very encouraging one.

Then there is the added consideration of the circumstances under which you lose your job and the huge dent that this makes to your confidence.
Without going into any detail. I was effectively told that i was not suitable for the new job role that i had to apply for, as my original job description was being fundamentally changed.
I, obviously, disputed the companies reasoning, as i felt that i was a worthy and experienced candidate. But, ultimately they had reached their decision and there was no going back.

As you can probably imagine, i felt rather bitter and even angry about this at the time. But, in hindsight, i now realise that the company might have, quite unwittingly, done me a huge favour.
Maybe, one day, i'll get the chance to thank them?

But, all of that doesn't change the feeling you then get, that you're just not good enough anymore.
Whatever age you are when this happens, it is not very nice. But, when you are in your 50's, there is a very real fear that you may well have been consigned to the scrapheap. At least as far as trying to find a new job is concerned anyway.
Now, that type of thing would, quite understandably, cause a massive loss of confidence for anybody.

Happily for me at least, that huge loss of confidence didn't appear to affect me too much. Yes, at first it was hard to come to terms with and i suspect that it probably affected me more than i actually realised. After all, it is never easy being told that you're considered not to be good enough for something.

So, yesterday's news was very welcome indeed.

The job that i applied for had 52 applicants, for potentially 5 positions. This in itself is a sign of the times, as i can't imagine the job would have got that many applicants in more normal times.
Twelve people were selected for interview. I was, obviously, one of those people. Now, i consider that to be an achievement of sorts.
As i mentioned earlier, i have been out of the job market for so long, that i had not filled in a proper job application form for many, many years.
Believe me, that made me think very hard and was not an easy process at all. So, to get an interview and then to be told that my application form was very good, was a nice boost.

During my recent working life i have interviewed many people. But, to be on the other side of the interview table was a very different prospect.
I don't think anybody likes to be interviewed? You are never quite sure how it is going to turn out and let's face it, some people are far better at being interviewed than others. This can seem to put certain people at a disadvantage. The interviewers themselves can, obviously, make a huge difference to how things turn out as well.
So, to have a good interview was another nice plus point and another confidence booster.

Not having had to get over both the application form and interview hurdles, for many years. Getting through that process was a valuable learning experience, as well as possibly setting me up for the future.
If i ever have to go through this again, i will do so with more knowledge and confidence.

Obviously, the ultimate confidence boost was the one that i got yesterday.
It was only when i started to think about it that i realised that this was actually a big vote of confidence in me.

So many of us go through life thinking that we are not as good as many other people. So, to be told that you are, essentially, better than 48 of those other job applicants can only be a good thing.

I have been as guilty as most people in not thinking positively enough about what i have to offer. Being British can be another disadvantage, as we are notoriously bad at singing our own praises and selling ouselves.

Maybe, now that i've had this big boost of confidence, i can have more faith in my own abilities.

All i need to do now, is to find something that i'm actually good at!

Renting A Cherry Tree.

(Can i first just say that this blog post is not an advert and i have not been paid to talk about this. It is just a blog from a satisfied customer)

For those of you who may follow me on some other social networking sites. You may have noticed me mentioning the fact that i've been out picking cherries from my cherry tree.
Now, i do not own this tree, i merely rent it.
Renting a tree?, i hear you ask, how on earth does that work? Well, i'm glad you asked, because i'm going to tell you.

Up until a couple of years ago, i had never heard of anyone renting a fruit tree and apart from the scheme that i'm involved with, i still haven't.
It's all very simple really. I pay a yearly rental fee for a particular cherry tree. For that fee i get to pick and keep, all of the fruit from that tree. It is in effect, my tree. I even have a certificate, with my name on it, telling me exactly which tree is mine. As long as i pay my rental fee every year, the tree remains mine.
And that is it.
The farmer does all the work and looks after the tree for me. He even sends me regular emailed newsletters, telling me about the state of the trees, the likely optimum picking dates and how good the crop is likely to be. All i do is pay my money and then turn up and pick the cherries. I can then do with those cherries what i wish. I could even sell them if i wanted to.

As you can see from this photo, the trees can carry a lot of fruit.

Whilst i don't know if this scheme is unique and i certainly hope it isn't. I think that this is a really good idea.
Here in the UK, we have seen a number of farmers "grubbing out" their fruit trees, because they are not really financially viable any more. This has certainly been the case with apple orchards, where many have disappeared over the past few years. Fruit farming, in the UK, seems to have taken a big hit recently.
So, this renting scheme seems like a really clever and inventive way of preventing this happening. It helps to preserve the fruit trees for future generations and it also helps to keep the farms in business.
I'd love to see it extended to other farms and farmers. But, also to other types of fruit. Apples for example. I would certainly be very interested in renting an eating apple tree as well. So, if anybody, local, knows of one, please let me know.

Another added attractions of the renting scheme, is the family aspect of it all.
As i said before, the tree effectively becomes yours and this has an effect on the way that you and your family start to feel aboutt that tree. For example, when you are picking the fruit, you make sure that you don't harm the tree in the process. After all, this might harm the crop for next year.
When i went to pick my first batch of cherries this year, with my son as it happens. There were family groups there, making a day out of the whole picking process. They had brought along a picnic and were sitting down, next to their tree, eating their lunch. What a nice way for a family to spend a day together.
I went back today, to pick the remaining fruit and this time i went with my father-in-law. As i said, it becomes a family affair.

So, all in all, i am one very satisfied customer and i can recommend this scheme and any others like it. It's a great way of keeping the fruit trees in the orchards and the fruit farmers in business. And you can have some family days out, picking your own fruit, in the great British countryside into the bargain.

Now all i need to do is figure out what i'm going to do with all of these cherries?

Points Mean Prizes?

I'll admit that i've always been more than a little cynical about, so called, "Loyalty Schemes".
For a lot of people, they are usually thought of as just a sneaky way of supermarkets etc monitoring & watching what you buy in their stores.

You only have to look at the promotional vouchers that they send you periodically, through the post, to realise that they have an awful lot of information about your spending habits.
It really is quite frightening, when you start to think about it.

You're giving away all of that information, quite freely & all for the promise of some money off vouchers, or coupons. If somebody was to stop you in the street, or come to your door & ask you about the contents of your shopping basket, would you tell them quite so happily?

So, i guess the question we need to ask is, "Is it really worth giving away all of this information? And what rewards are we gettting in return?"

I remember years ago, my parents collecting Green Shield Stamps. Remember them?
They would be given away, when purchasing certain items, or in certain stores (I think!)
You then stuck the stamps in specially provided books. The idea being to fill up & then save the completed books. You could then exchange these books of stamps for specific items. Which were displayed in special Green Shield Stamp catalogues.

Aah, those were the days.
When nobody was really that bothered about what you were buying & when you were just being rewarded for buying certain goods. Nobody was trying to build up a huge database of what their customers were buying. And your innocent little shopping basket was not being used as a secret market research tool.

I have no doubt that some of these Loyalty Schemes are a lot better, than others. I know for a fact that i get far more from some, than from others.

From a purely personal point of views. I think i do fairly well from the schemes that i use.
I'll admit, that i don't use, or sign up, for very many of these schemes. That is partly because of that cynical nature of mine that i mentioned earlier. I don't really want too many people having too much information stored about me.

I realise that this is probably a very naive pont of view. Because my personal information is, more than likely, currently stored on computers all over the world.
Still, i suppose i can kid myself that this isn't the case?

But, i do feel that i have been "rewarded" pretty well by one of the schemes that i'm signed up to. Albeit, by using it smartly.

As a family, we usually do our shopping at Tesco & as anyone who regularly shops there will know, they have their own loyalty scheme, Tesco Clubcard Points.
Like most people, i suspect, when we first signed up for Clubcard Points, we just got the money off vouchers & were quite happy with that. After all, they are giving you money off vouchers for doing the shopping that you would do anyway. How can you lose?

I then realised that i could have the Clubcard Points transfered straight into my Airmiles account. Yet another Loyalty Scheme. but, one that has the potential to get you free flights.

Well, since making that switch, i have "earned" two free flights to the USA & also a cheap weekend for all the family to New York City. That's some kind of reward for doing your weekly shopping!

In 2008, i got a free return flight, with British Airways, to Chicago & i have just booked another free return flight. This time to Los Angeles, also with British Airways.

And, no, there isn't a catch. In fact, the 'deal" has got better over the years. In the past, you had to pay taxes for the flights. But, now there are no taxes to pay & it is all so much simpler.

I know this all sounds like a bit of an advert for Tesco & Airmiles. But, really the point i'm trying to make is that, if you play the Loyalty Scheme game correctly, it can be used to your advantage.

And, all you have to do is go out and buy your weekly shopping.

Have a nice flight.

Race For The Poppy.

It's that time of year again. Well, here in the UK anyway.
The annual race to be the first person to wear a poppy is now well underway.
Now, don't get me wrong, i always buy at least one poppy myself & fully support the cause.

The Royal British Legion do a wonderful job & those have that have given & are still giving their lives for this country need & fully deserve to be remembered.
But, what i do have a bit of a problem with though, is the apparent obligation to wear a poppy by all politicians, TV presenters & basically anyone in the public eye & the race to do so. I often wonder if there is some kind of instruction sent out to those i mentioned that they must wear a poppy.

Maybe i'm just a little cynical? But, this, apparent, annual race to wear a poppy before anyone else, or because they feel they have to, does a great disservice to the original reason for wearing one in the first place.

The slogan of the annual poppy appeal used to be "wear your poppy with pride". That's exactly how it should be. Wear your poppy with pride & because you want to, not because of obligation.

We will remember them.

BBC & BNP, IMHO.

“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for those we despise. We don’t believe in it at all”

Unless you’re not British, or have been living under a rock for the past few days, you can’t have escaped the impassioned debate that has been going on regarding the appearance of the leader of the British National Party, Nick Griffin, on the BBC’s “Question Time” programme.
Just about anybody with an opinion on this has been wheeled out to express it.
So, why should i be any different?

As you can see by the quote that I opened this blog with, which is from Noam Chomsky by the way, i, somewhat reluctantly, believe that it was right for Nick Griffin to be asked to appear on the BBC's Question Time.

I’ll state straight away though, that I find the views of the BNP to be, at best, misinformed & misguided & at worst, to be basically Fascist in nature. I abhor their attempts to stir up ethnic tension & racial hatred in Britain. They certainly don’t do so in my name.

But, as the quote suggests, just because you don’t agree with the views of the BNP, or their methods, doesn’t mean that they should not be heard. After all, the reason that Nick Griffin was invited onto Question Time in the first place, is because he is a democratically elected member of the European Parliament.
Therefore, he is entitled to air his views in public & who are the BBC, or anyone else for that matter, to deny him that right?
One of the great things about living in a democracy is the right to freedom of speech. If that is stopped, where does it end? You cannot pick & choose who has the right to freedom of speech, however unpalatable that may feel. Especially if they are an elected politician.

The people who should be blamed for this, are the people who voted for Nick Griffin & his BNP party in those elections. I suspect that many of those votes were cast as some kind of protest vote against all the other political parties.
I wonder what those people are thinking now & whether they will be voting BNP next time around?
Remember, be careful who you vote for, they might just get in.

I’ll admit that i didn’t watch Question Time myself. But, having heard the news & read the quotes, it appears that Mr Griffin didn’t exactly shine on the programme. Which, to me at least, is a big relief.
One of the good reasons for inviting him, or any other politician, onto a programme like Question Time, is to try & force them to say what they really think, to put them on the spot & to expose their shortcomings.

I’ll end this post by mentioning one of Nick Griffin’s quotes, which was about the “indigenous” people of Britain. Presumably Nick Griffin is one of those people who feel that only “true” British people should be allowed to live in the UK?
I find this very amusing, as it reminds me of my recent blog post “You’re not from around here are you?” which talked about exactly that point.
I wonder if Mr Griffin would subject himself to a DNA test? So that we can all see exactly where his ancestors come from.

Now, that would be worth televising.