Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures In Surrey, Northamptonshire, East and Central London.
Last weekend the family had a surprise b’day party for mum. It really was a surprise because her special day was not for several months. There had been chat about having it in July or August, in the end it was decided to hold it last weekend. All the plans to sit in the garden were scuppered by the good old British Summer weather; it rained on and off (more on, if I think about it) all day.
As mentioned, this was a surprise party, but it turned out that my sister SAZ and I had both accidentally mentioned names of people coming hoping that mum had not noticed. Mum of course sees and hears everything. Thank you, mum, for looking surprised at the appropriate time. Mothers really are the best.
Everyone really had a lovely afternoon, especially Mum who loved being surrounded by all her grandchildren. This was the first time in a very long time that we were all together. We don’t live in different parts of the world, but normal boring life gets in the way. I am fully aware how lucky I am to be so close to many of the family. We really must get together more often. A huge thank you to SAZ for all you did to make the afternoon successful (I will buy you drinks on the beach in a few weeks).
And Now For Something Completely Different……
This week I had my 3rd interview since January. Yes, you read that right. These 6 months I have applied for hundreds of jobs and have only had 3 bites. This one was virtual, so I dressed smart for the camera and stayed scruffy out of shot. I really wanted this job working for a large organisation as an admin assistant, spending some days at home and others in the office in central London.
I spent hours researching information about the company and had facts and figures memorised ready to impress the interviewer, of course none of them were needed or asked for. I didn’t attempt to scatter any of the useless info into the conversation because it would have just sounded strange. I had waffled enough trying to impress as it was.
The interview went well, the person said they were impressed with a few things I had put in my application. The chat was the easy part of the process, a little while later I received an e-mail with the 1hr two section test. The first part was to compose replies to correspondence sent into the organisation; the second section was more figures oriented. Stupidly I spent far too long on the first section because I wanted to compose the perfect answers. This mean that there was just not enough time to complete the part two. With minutes to spare I submitted what I had completed, feeling very disappointed and deflated. Friends and family have said that tests like these are a small part of the recruitment process, personality (the chatting part) is more important. They have fingers and toes crossed, I won’t hold my breath and will continue to apply for suitable roles. If I get an e-mail in a few weeks with good news that would be lovely, but I cannot allow myself to really think about it, the interview is history. Lesson learned, deal with the difficult section of the test first.
My job-hunting adventure continues……
And Finally….
After I have published this ramble, I will be off to central London to attend a cinema full of Doctor Who fans to watch the last two episodes of the current series. The first episode that will be shown is The Legend Of Ruby Sunday which was broadcast last Saturday, then at the stroke of midnight along with UK iPlayer and Disney Plus worldwide viewers we will be watching the series finale Empire Of Death. The series is only 8 episode which have been broadcast over 7 weeks. As it’s a long wait until Crimbo I will restart my one episode a day rewatch from the beginning of the series in 1963. I love modern Who, its beautifully produced in every way, but there is something very special about the classic years 1963 to 1989 & 1996, especially the black and white era (1963 to 1969) which is definitely my favourite period. This fan is extremely excited to be returning to the series beginnings.
This first series of the 15th Doctor has been enormously good fun, and I am very much looking forward to the festive special and series 2 in 2025. Next week I will report more about the cinema trip, unless there is something more interesting and important to say.
R.I.P Donald Sutherland, who kept me and millions entertained for decades. P.s. I loved him in Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting video (1985) so much.
My Mid-Life Crisis Conts……
This Week I Watched……
“Black Hawk Down”, (2001). Carry On Regardless”, (1961). “Celebrity Googlebox”, (S6, ep 2, TX: 14/06/24). “Dead Boy Detective”, (S1, ep 6 to ep 7). “Eric”, (S1, ep1 to ep 2). “How The Internet Travels Under Sea”, (Simply Tech/YouTube)(TX: 15/03/22). “Jason Bourne”, (2016). “Little Fockers”, (2010). “Meet The Fockers”, (2004). “Meet The Parents”, (2000). “Mythbusters Asdam Savage Explains Why Interstellar’s TARS Is The Perfect Robot”, (Business Insider/YouTube)(TX: 16/12/16). “Open Space June 17th 2024: Live QA With Fraser”, (Fraser Cain/YouTube)(TX: 17/06/24). “Stan And Ollie”, (2018). “Star Trek (Original Series)”, (S2, ep 8, “Metamorphosis”, TX: 10/11/67). “Subsea Cables Connecting Aussies To The Rest Of The World – 9 News Australia”, (9 News Australia/YouTube)(TX: 22/11/23). “The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad”, (1958). “The Boy That Would Be King”, (2019). “The Bureau Of Magical Things”, (S2, ep 11). “The Great British Sewing Bee”, (S10, ep 5, TX: 18/06/24). “The (New) Old Doctor Who Show Podcast – The Legend Of Ruby Sunday”, (The (New) Doctor Who Show/Youtube)(TX: 15/06/24). “The Stranger Left No Card”, (1952).
Doctor Who Watched This Week……
“The Legend Of Ruby Sunday”, (Series 1 (S14 Since 2005 or S40 Since 1963) ep 7, TX: 15/06/24). “Doctor Who Unleashed: The Legend Of Ruby Sunday”, (TX: 15/06/24).“Pyramids Of Mars”, (S13, Prod 4G)(Pt 1, TX: 25/10/75)(Pt 2, TX: 01/11/75)(Pt 3, TX: 08/11/75)(Pt 4, TX: 15/11/75). “Tales Of The TARDIS – Pyramids Of Mars”, (TX: 20/06/24).
This Week I Listened To…..
“Blake’s 7: The Mutoid Podcast”, (ep 25, SB, ep 12, “The Keeper”, 18/06/24). “Brian And Roger”, (22/06/24). “Bridgerton The Official Podcast”, (“Introducing: Bridgerton: The Official Podcast”, 01/02/21)(“Getting Acquainted”, 18/02/21)(25/02/21)(05/03/24). “Broadcasting House (With Paddy O’Connell)”, (BBC Radio 4/Sounds)(16/06/24). Clinton Baptiste’s Paranormal Podcast”, (S7, ep 2, 21/06/24). “Doctor Who Flashcast”, (TeeVee)(ep 82, “The Legend Of Ruby Sunday”, 15/06/24). “Doctor Who Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels – Happy Times And Places”, (81.2, “Resurrection Of The Daleks”, 17/06/24). “Doctor Who Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels – Happy Times And Places – Indefinable Magic Bite Size 6”, (“Rouge”, 15/06/24). “Doctor Who: Watchers In The Fourth Dimension (W4D)”, (ep 3, “The Edge Of Destruction”, 03/02/19). “Exocast”, (ep 51-b, 04/05/21). “Liza Tarbuck”, (BBC Radio 2/Sounds)(15/06/24). “Hard Boiled Eggs And Nuts – A Laurel And Hardy Podcast”, (ep 51, “The Devil’s Brother (1933)”, 14/07/18). “NASA Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 340, 21/06/24). “Nick Abbot Whole Show”, (LBC)(15/06/24)(16/05/24)(17/06/24). “Pale Blue Pod”, (12/12/22)(17/06/24). “Physics World Stories Podcast”, (27/01/16)(23/02/16)(30/03/16). “Radio Astronomy (Sky At Night Magazine) Star Diary”, (“17th to 23rd June”, 16/06/24). “Random Movie Generator With David Earl And David Edward’s”, (S3, ep 25, 19/06/24). “Random Trek”, (The Incomparable)(ep 16, “(VOY) Phage”, 11/09/14). “Robot Or Not?”, (The Incomparable)(ep 138, 20/08/18)(ep 139, 03/09/18). “SestraCast”, (The Incomparable)(ep 4, 21/07/17). “Smersh Pod – The Medusa Touch”, (17/06/24). “Smersh Pod – The Presidio”, (11/06/21). “Space And Things Podcast”, (STP199, 20/06/24). “Space Rocket History Podcast”, (ep 237, 20/12/17)(ep 238, 03/01/18)(ep 239, 10/01/18)(ep 240, 24/01/18)(ep 241, 31/01/18)(ep 242, 07/02/18). “Spacewalk With Everyday Astronaut”, (“Spacewalk Trailer”, 19/03/24)(ep 1, 21/03/24)(ep 2, 29/03/24)(ep 3, 10/04/24)(ep 4, 23/04/24)(ep 5, 16/05/24)(ep 6, 05/06/24). “Star Trek Universe Podcast”, (TOS, S2, ep 1, “Catspaw”, 18/06/24). “The All-New Angelos And Barry Podcast”, (21/06/24). “The Cosmic Shed”, (ep 1, 25/11/14). “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (LBC)(17/06/24). “The Official Doctor Who Podcast – The Legend Of Ruby Sunday”, (BBC Sounds)(15/06/24). “The (New) Old Doctor Who Show Podcast”, (ep 160, 15/06/24). “The Old Doctor Who Show Podcast”, (ep 153, 29/03/24). “The Space Shot”, (ep 367, 23/05/18)(ep 368, 25/05/18). “The Who Watch Podcast”, (“The edge Of Destruction”, 15/11/23). “Trash Talk With Count Binface”, (“Manifesto 24″, 18/06/24)(20/06/24). “Universe Today Podcast”, (ep 355, 29/07/17)(14/06/24)(2 x 18/06/24)(19/06/24). “What’s Your Problem With Nick Abbot And Carol Mcgiffin”, (LBC)(17/06/24)(21/06/24).
This Week I Enjoyed Music By……
“Morrissey”, “10cc”, “All About Eve”, “Belinda Carlisle”, “Bobby O”, “Echobelly”, “Garbage”, “Hothouse Flowers”, “Joan Armatrading”, “Kaiser Chiefs”, “Laura Branigan”, “Madonna”, “Maria McKee”, “Pink”, “Primal Scream”, “Queen”, “R.E.M”, “Small Faces”, “Strawberry Switchblade”, “Suede”, “Tasmin Archer”, “The Chemical Brothers”, “The Cure”, “The Housemartins”, “Two Door Cinema Club”, “Yeah Yeah Yeahs”.
MisFits Mid-Life Crisis.... 