Great policy guys

 I'm in the office today and am on a bank of 20 desks on my own.

Brilliant.

Appraisal

 In other work related news I had my annual appraisal with my boss this morning and it went well.  He's writing it up now but it's meet expectations in all categories except a couple where he is going to grade me higher.

It's been years since my last appraisal, my last role was also an FTC but I didn't have to do one.  Seems a bit pointless.

Wait and see

 I put my appeal in for the flexible working request yesterday, they had a meeting today to discuss, but not heard of any outcome just yet.  I guess they have to write it up.

Not bruised enough

 This is the state of my injured shoulder 5 days after the game.  All you can see is a slight greeny yellow discolouring. With the way it still hurts I was expecting much worse.

New car

 The new car arrived on Monday.  I had my first shot in it yesterday picking the kids from school.  It's lovely.  Will take a little time to get used to the size.  It just about fits on the drive...  Audi Q4 Etron.

Whoops

 I dropped my work laptop yesterday.  I was trying to get open a keyed access door but it wouldn't open so I moved to another scanner and tried that.  As I was switching hands I accidently dropped the laptop onto a tiled floor.  Oops!  It still works but have told IT and they're going to build me a new one.

Ribs and wings

 I made ribs and wings for the Clark family on Friday, Turned out well, although it turns out Arthur really doesn't like spicy food.  Whoops!

Christmas at the club

 On Sunday we had our annual Christmas party, the kids had a great time.  Pretty sure the coaches had fun too.  We ended up leaving at around 4:30 (11:10 start... urgh).  We then had one of the other families coming round ours for pizza in the evening.  It was a big one.  I love the new friends we've made at the club whilst coaching the minis.

Well fought win

We played Whitstable 2nds team on Saturday and it was a tough one.  Cobnditions were tough with lots of dropped balls.  We won 14-20, with all 4 of our tries flyinging down the wings in the corners.  The Whitstable lads were big but we outplayed them at rugby.  Great fun in the end.  I smashed their no. 8, their best player at the end of the first half with a terrific tackle.  He didn't come on in the second half, i'd like to think it was because he couldn't continue but I think his first team that were also at home needed some help as they were also getting beaten by Tunbridge Wells 2s.

 

Pitches moved on Sunday

 Change of pitch on Sunday!  Looks a bit damp to me!

How strange

Just received this e-mail this morning.  It's the first I heard that I was on a radio show... 

Hello Stuart,

Just caught your interview on Sky Sports Radio's Big Sports Breakfast - loved it!

One quick question: are you planning to do more podcast appearances in the near future?

I ask because what you shared would resonate with a lot of other audiences. The challenge is most people don't realize how much time it takes to find the right shows, craft personalized pitches, and handle the coordination.

That's exactly what PodPitch solves. We're like having a personal booking agent, but at a fraction of the cost. Our users typically land 8-10 interviews per month without spending hours on outreach.

If you're interested in scaling your podcast presence, I'd love to show you how it works. Takes about a few minutes.

Worth a quick look to explore?

Neal @ PodPitch

P.S. Mentioning your Sky Sports Radio's Big Sports Breakfast appearance in future pitches would definitely give you an edge with hosts.

Arthur's nativity

 I went to Arthur's nativity yesterday afternoon and it was very good.  Not much about Jesus and only lasted 30 mins! 

Spooky cloud formation on Wednesday night

 The minis coaches had a meeting at the rugby club on Wednesday evening to discuss various issues.  Walking back we spotted this cool cloud formation.  Spooky!

Flo's science experiment

 Using sea salt to lower the freezing point of ice to chill a cup of juice enough to make a slushy.  Safety glasses optional

Flexible working

 I had my request for flexible working turned down this morning.  I want to drop the days in the week in the office down from 3 to 1.  I am livid.

Christmas concerts

 We had two Christmas concerts at school yesterday, one for all children in years 3 and up, and the second one for kids that do extra music lessons or are in a choir.  There was an hour gap in between (not sure why) and it over ran by 35 mins.  So we didn't get back till 7:45.  I was 50 mins late for my d&d session.

Arthur had to sit through it, beginning

at the end

Another present

 Squishy d20.

It came with a free plastic duck

New Bauble

My new Metallica bauble arrived yesterday and looks great on the tree in the front room.

Not quite so idilic

 Yesterday's dog walk didn't go quite to plan.  It was sunny when I left the house and I had my sunglasses on.  It absolutely hammered it down 15 mins into the 1h walk.  Urgh.

Chicken pot pie

I made chicken pot pie for 10 on Sunday. 

Dog tired

 Arwen on the sofa last night.  Shattered!

Cold but fun

 It was cold yesterday morning but the kids had a lot of fun.

Another win

 TJs 3s played Gravesend on Saturday and we got another win.  My minis coach friend Ben played his first game in nearly 20 years!  He did only make 10 mins though!

Productive

 Given the cold weather we decided to bring my chilli plant indoors,  It's probably the most productive plant that i've ever had.

Friday was productive

 WE took Arthur's old bed apart (and sold it on Facebook) and made his new cabin style bed in one day.  What was most impressive was the fact we didn't argue whilst doing it!  Athur loves his bed.  So does Flo.  They made a den underneath.