Thursday of last week...... No Paul (again) at NW Hampshire JC - he must be seriously busy! Nick had some interesting stuff set up to project from his laptop for us to watch. I particularly enjoyed a presentation entitled "No more boring data." by a Scandiwegian doctor and academic named Hans Rosling. He took graphical data analysis to levels hitherto only available (to my knowledge) within the pages of Douglas Adams's 'Mostly Harmless' (the fiftth, and, some would say, least satisfying) volume of the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe' trilogy. (Yes I know........it's really not my fault!) The usual round of interesting/amusing/useful/inane (delete as applicable) conversation ensued.
Norman (see earlier posts and drive my stats up!) gave us his observations on Basingstoke Job Centre's attempts to involve him in the "Work Program". These were by turns entertaining (in terms of Norman's refusal to be cowed by 'authority') and troubling (in terms of information being presented to him as hard fact with nothing to back it up). His experiences seem very much at odds with my own almost entirely positive ones with Andover JC and A4E (of which more later!)
Nick also told us about the upcoming Andover Business Expo at 'The Lights' (of which more etc...)
and so to....... Friday!
Firstly I picked up a message from Julia passing on an enquiry she'd received via Andover Mutual Business Group asking whether she knew any Software Development Professionals. She has (as of last contact) passed my CV on for me, so you never know! Good stuff this networking!
Next, having squandered all my available cash on necessities (food, toilet rolls, that sort of thing) I arrived home to discover that A4E had booked me on an induction course in Winchester at 10.00 on Monday. This was problematic because:
- I was due to meet A4E's Enterprise Adviser in Andover on Monday afternoon.
- I had no access to more money until my JSA became available at the Post Office, which opened at 09.00 on Monday. This would mean a race against time to Whitchurch station to catch the 09.14 train, which would just get me into Winch (as the young people call it) in time.
It turned out that the guy I was meeting was only travelling to Andover to see me, so I could catch up with him while on my course, so that was one problem out of the way!
However.....Having got stuck in a queue even before the P.O. opened, I was hot-footing it up the hill, with just about enough time (if not breath) to get the train when I met a stream of people coming the other way. The train was cancelled (signalling problems at Axminster!)
What to do??? After a quick and informal risk assessment I made all haste to the other end of Whitchurch (thankfully not a big town....and, incidentally, the only town in England with no traffic lights!) and stuck out my trusty magic thumb. The hitchhiking skills gained in my student days stood me in good stead, and I got there just in time to be late (alas, far too often my default option!)
The course (day 1 of 2) wasn't, I'm afraid, hugely inspiring, but the second session next Monday promises much more interesting fare!
A4E JC on Tuesday - not much to report, except one specialist agency I spoke to who seemed more positive about my chances of reestablishing my 'Software Dude' credentials. Still looking at transferrable skills as well, in the hope of finding something else to aim at.
Wednesday.....Popped in briefly to have a look at the Andover Business Expo. It looked a really good event, but more geared at business-to-business interaction than anything I could take much from.
Thursday - North West Hants JC again. A really excellent mutual support session, with some newer members being given a chance to add their experiences, fears, hopes and plans to the general discussion. Sometimes sessions with a high level of spontaneity can produce really rewarding outcomes!
Enough for now, I'll try to get back my to 'little and often' ethos in future!
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