I have another head cold – just staying at work till 4.30 p.m. yesterday was a mammoth achievement, but I’ve so much to do now we’ve a member of staff on long term sick that I can’t afford to give in to it, especially as I'm off anyway Thursday for the funeral. So I shall just have to be a martyr - just as long as everyone knows it. I got home and went straight to bed for a couple of hours – just to try and get rid of the headache and sore eyes and I did feel a bit better when I got up again.

Dilys thankfully came back to work today – she’s retired twice now. She’s coming in on an ‘as and when’ basis from now on. Which basically means that she’ll be here two days a week unless she’s off to her villa in Spain (very nice) – and that is happening more and more and for longer periods of time. This last time she was over there for two months.

Just having her back has lifted a great weight off my shoulders. She’ll take over the day to day personnel stuff and help to train staff to cover other areas – which is something that I’ve been trying to put into place for a while now. I want all of the staff to be able to do each others jobs, but obviously that takes time and a fair bit of organising and input on my behalf. I don’t what to be the only person who can do all of the jobs ever again.

I’m also very aware of the urge I get to say ‘don’t worry, I’ll do that’; an old and very bad habit of mine and one that I am trying to at least have some control over, if not break altogether. I'm fine most of the time, but of course it's now crunch time - the pressure is on - because it’s just so much easier to do what you know needs doing yourself. But if you’re not careful a few more minutes a day turns into an extra half an hour, and then before you know it, you’re in work at 8.00am and its 6.30/7.00 p.m. before you’re setting the alarm to go home. Not doing that again. I’m not.

Trouble is, with the best will in the world, when you feel under pressure its not easy to gain control over a previous learned behaviour – I managed the last time by living for years on my adrenaline – I was in a constant fully wound up state. I rushed from one job to another, working longer and longer hours and took work home in the evenings and at the weekend. Last week, I started to feel the same way again and I found I couldn’t switch off when I got home, hence that very late blog. At least this time I know its happening, I recognise the signs, which has got to be half of the battle.

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Made some time last night to start looking at some of the photos I’ve taken – I’ve got loads that I’ve not looked at properly yet, just sat there in a folder on the computer - that should put the fear of God into some people. A threat of more to come.

Foggy Common on Sunday




Bewdley Gulls