Steve Rose's Blog

More Shard

2011-10-17T15:51:00.001+01:00

It's still growing skyward.

Autumn Break - Day 3 (Part 2)

2011-09-28T20:04:00.001+01:00

Day spent shopping (new shoes and t-shirts) and at Sagrada Familia.

Wow, what an amazing place, so many styles and colours!

Just eaten dinner and off to find a cocktail bar.

Autumn Break - Day 3

2011-09-28T11:16:00.001+01:00

Up late today but that's ok as we needed the sleep.

Breakfast in the cafe next door to the hotel, with 2 cups of their excellent coffee.

Wifi is patchy in the room but strong elsewhere so I was able to update the accounts using Hamish's android pad.

We are now off to shop and explore!

Autumn Break - Day 2 (Part 3)

2011-09-28T09:59:00.001+01:00

Ah beer.

Autumn Break - Day 2 (Part 2)

2011-09-27T12:37:00.001+01:00

Safely in Barcelona and waiting to check in to hotel. Blimey it's hot.

Autumn Break - Day 2

2011-09-27T06:45:00.001+01:00

My new alarm clock worked a treat and woke me up at 3:30 ready for the taxi at 4:30.

Everything was on time and, after having to leave my electrical items, most of my clothes and my dignity in the scanner tray whilst I was frisked, I am now sitting on the plane waiting to take off.

The plane is orange as its Easyjet, unfortunately.

Autumn Break - Day 1 (Part 2)

2011-09-26T20:12:00.001+01:00

Back from town OK and Hamish has completed the packing.

Bought a new alarm clock/ipod dock with DAB whilst in town as my bedside table was getting a bit cluttered. Seems odd to have space back again.

Just cooking dinner (well warming up a big pasta ready meal), drinking a large gin and tonic and hoping I can get to sleep tonight ready for tomorrows early start.

Autumn Break - Day 1

2011-09-26T15:13:00.001+01:00

Day one of my 10 day autumn break and I'm in Croydon town centre about to get some euros ready for tomorrow's trip to Barcelona. Unfortunately, due to the exchange rate it's nearly euros of pounds - oh well.

I'm still very stressed following an intense time at work over the past few weeks but I am hoping this will wear off soon.

Hamish is packing and I'm going to get at early night tonight as we are off at a stupid time in the morning.

There's quite a few people about today which seems to show that unemployment is up again and, this being Croydon, lots of very young mothers with prams.

Idiots

2011-09-06T17:17:00.001+01:00

I was an hour late for work this morning. Why? Because some idiots stole the electric cable running to the signals at London Bridge Station.

How irresponsible can you be. This is the cable that controls the signals that STOP TRAINS CRASHING INTO EACH OTHER.

As a result all trains were delayed (and, at 17:00 still are I believe) and it has cost Network Rail thousands of pounds to put right.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lion Roars

2011-09-05T18:48:00.001+01:00

I upgraded my Mac to OSx Lion the day it came out and boy did I have problems. A couple of weeks ago, Apple released a bug fix and now all is well. In fact all is awesome.

The problem is the details of the bug fix listed a few obscure issues that were fixed so how come everything that was wrong is now sorted. Why can't Apple be honest and admit there were loads of problems and list them rather than sneaking the fixes 'under the wire'?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Busy Busy Busy

2011-09-05T18:40:00.001+01:00

Work has a load of new systems in place which are keeping me busy at the moment.

Good weekend with Matt but that has faded away now I am back to the office - today shot by and I still haven't got everything done.

Hamish had a good weekend in Amsterdam but it was good to have him back.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New Method Of Input

2011-08-31T23:29:00.001+01:00

I've added a keyboard to my iPad (a Kingston Bluetooth Keycase to be precise) which is enabling me to be a lot more creative. So, once again, I am having a go at keeping this blog up to date.

Looking back at my last post I was not in a very good place. I have ditched the therapy and the tablets and am trying to make it on my own. Work is stressful but I am doing ok so far (mostly).

Hamish is making me a cup of tea at the moment and we are half way through a trashy sci-fi film (Surrogates) at the moment - not really Hamish's sort of film but I get to choose on a week night.

We have just booked a few days away in Barcelona and I am looking forward to that. I have also booked 10 days off work as I need a long break.

So, I will try to keep this up to date - can't promise anything though :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Last Week Was Shit

2011-07-03T23:38:00.000+01:00

Last week was not a good week and I don't really want to blog about it - suffice to say that it was not one of the best.

I decided on some retail therapy and so I am now the proud owner of a new MacBook Pro 15" and my old MacBook is now on eBay. Wow this is a fast computer - the most powerful I have ever owned and at last I can play WOW in full resolution without the computer melting!

Stop Fucking With My Mind

2011-06-25T11:28:00.000+01:00

The events of Wednesday's therapy session have really fucked with my mind. I find it unbelievable that a service that is supposed to provide support can just cast people aside. I have spoken to MIND and they are willing to help but I really shouldn't have to do this.

Also I spent the day waiting for confirmation of whether Matt had got a new job or not but they didn't call him - looks like they are making the candidates wait until Monday.

Unbelievable

2011-06-23T15:06:00.001+01:00

Had my session yesterday and was told that although I need at least 2 years support they are cutting it off after one - I.e. In 8 weeks time.

To say I am angry is an understatement.

A Clear Inbox

2011-06-22T08:40:00.000+01:00

Almost got my work inbox down to zero yesterday which is an amazing feat - a clear inbox = a clear mind.

Suffering quite badly from the side effects of my tablets at the moment and still feeling low. I need to take them but the side effects are very debilitating.

Spoke to Matt who is looking forward to his second interview with my boss on Thursday - I hope he gets the job as it will be good for him and good for us.

Start Of Daily Updates

2011-06-20T23:12:00.001+01:00

I'm going to try an experiment to see if I can post daily for the next year. So here goes.....

It was may 41st Birthday today and I had the day off work as usual. However I am in the middle of a low period in my depression so today was not good.

It was nice to see all the messages on Facebook but I still felt low and disconnected.

I'm back at work tomorrow so hopefully keeping busy will help.

Watched TV during the day including Doctor Who and the Seeds Of Doom on DVD which was good. This evening was a bit lost as feeling low just made me feel that I was wasting time and that I should have been doing something.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Quick Update

2011-05-18T18:30:00.002+01:00

Sorry it's been quiet again, but I am in the middle of my annual appraisal run at work (32 members of staff = 32 x 2 hour meetings).

So, not surprisingly, I'm a bit shattered at the moment!

The Shard In The Sunshine

2011-04-08T13:01:00.001+01:00

It's a glorious day and the Shard is really coming along.

Tech For Non-Tech

2011-04-02T13:12:00.000+01:00

I support all the gadgets in our home, including the various computers. I tinker - I admit it, but I always strive to ensure that all the tech we have is up to date and operating as efficiently as possible.

This morning Hamish saw me updating the software on Netty and gave me the third degree about what I was doing. I can't always easily explain to him what the software is doing but I try to tell him that I know what and, more importantly, why I am doing what I'm doing.

This ultimately puts me on the defensive and causes friction. However if I didn't maintain our tech and let entropy take it's course I would then be criticised when the various systems we have grind to a halt.

I can't really win this one.

Back - By Popular Demand

2011-04-01T00:58:00.000+01:00

Well, I never really went away. I didn't really think anyone actually read this blog but a few of you have asked me when I will update again and, as it's been 4 months since my last missivek I thought I would say something.

This year has already been a challenge. I'm still not well (no change there) but I've started my psycho-dynamic therapy which is quite tough but rewarding. Work is going very well but very stressful. I've just started annual review season and am at the start of 31 reviews and this is on top of the usual day to day stuff.

Four weeks ago Hamish and I had a phone call from Roxana at midnight on a Monday evening to say that Hamish's dad, John, had had a fall in his care home and was now in hospital unconscious and not expected to come round. We jumped into the car and drove down to Salisbury to begin a 12 hour vigil at his bedside. He had suffered a massive bleed to the brain and was in a coma. We were told at lunchtime on the Tuesday that there was no chance of recovery and, at 5 o'clock that afternoon, he was dead.

John was not a nice man, in fact he was a psychological bully, but it was still strange to think that he had gone. The next few days were filled with organising the funeral. As a family there were mixed feelings - relief that he was gone but also a degree of guilt that we were relieved. We did what we always do and found humour in the situation and closed ranks. I am so lucky to be a part of a truly remarkable family.

The funeral was two weeks later - a full Catholic Requiem Mass followed by a burial at London Road cemetery. As could have been predicted, things did not exactly go to plan and due to a miscalculation in numbers coupled with the fact that Ian's estranged son, Aaron, arrived I had to jump out of the funeral car at the last minute to make space and subsequently missed the burial. John was awkward to the last however when the coffin got stuck going down the hole. Luckily the funeral directors managed to get him down without resorting to giving him a good shoeing so all was OK. We ended the day in true Walker style by all getting completely legless.

So now things are starting to return to normal and I will try to keep this blog up to date. I've said that before!

Christmas Shopping - Aaargh

2010-12-04T21:14:00.001+00:00

'Tis the season to be jolly - bollocks is it. We went into Croydon to do some Christmas shopping today and it was full of idiotic, slow moving, halfwits.

Everywhere we went was overcrowded with people who seem to think that they are the only ones in the store and that it's ok to stop in the middle of an isle and have conversations with their partners.

Then, after queuing in House Of Fraser for a checkout - the till crashed and I had to wait 15 minutes while it revolted and then checked to see if my purchases had been credited to my card (they hadn't).

I usually like the lead up to Christmas and enjoy the shopping bit but maybe I'm getting to old for this!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The North Wind Blows And In A Trice, What Was Water Now Is Ice

2010-12-04T12:34:00.001+00:00

Blimey it was cold this week. It started snowing on Tuesday and didn't stop until Thursday.

As usual, the entire country ground to a halt and I was unable to get into work all week - luckily I was able to work from home.

My psychodynamic therapy session was cancelled on Wednesday but too late to stop me worrying about it.

A load of Christmas presents bought on Amazon are waiting for me at work so I will have to take a load of carrier bags with me on Monday.

Last night, the temperature went from -5 to +4 so, at last, the snow is starting to melt so we should be back to normal next week.

We are off into town in a bit to buy dinner as the Waitrose delivery couldn't get through last night.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Overdue Catchup

2010-11-28T17:38:00.001+00:00

Let me start by saying that I realise that it's been some time since I last posted an update, even though I keep saying that I will update more often.

I've not been too well over the past few weeks and have found things a little overwhelming. I'm feeling a little better now so I thought it was time that I caught up.

We had a great time in France and will definitely be going back next year. I feel like we made some good friends and, even though we were only away for a few days, I felt very relaxed.

Getting back to work and normal life however was quite hard. I haven't had a proper rest for some time as I have always been doing things.

Last weekend I went up to see Matt and, whilst it was great fun to see him, he also has a few things going on so the evening was a little tense at times. He looks like he has solved his problems now however which is a great weight off my mind.

Yesterday I started the Christmas shopping so I feel like I have achieved something (in fact I am just about to go and ice the Christmas cake).

I've also made an effort to make time to play and digitise more vinyl records as that gives me a huge amount of pleasure.

I have also started my course of psychodynamic therapy. I have only had 4 sessions so far but I am not convinced this is going to help. Every time I try to tell Pazis, my therapist, how I am feeling she tells me that whatever it is is pushing buttons from my past. Er thanks, but I could of told her that. She also keeps saying that what I am telling her is making her sad - not really what I want to hear. I'm not going to give up on the therapy but I really hope it develops a bit more than this soon.

Anyway, that brings me up to date - I've got a few weeks left before Christmas and I want to try and make the most of them.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hinge And Bracket Weekend - Day One

2010-11-13T18:52:00.001+00:00

Friday 12th November 2010 - 10:30

I'm writing this sitting in my seat on the training to Poitiers waiting to depart from Montparnasse station. It's 10:30 local time and I have been up since 3am.

We are off to spend the weekend in the guesthouse run by George Logan, the Hinge half of Hinge and Bracket. And this will be the fourth Hinge and Bracket weekend that George and his partner Louie have run this year.

As I said, we woke up at at 3am and left home around a quarter to 4 to drive to Ebbsfleet to catch the EuroStar to Paris. Then, following a very bumpy Metro ride from Gare du Nord to Montparnasse where we have just had (for us) lunch. There is now an hour and a half train ride south to Poitiers where we are due to be met by a friend of George's who will be driving us further south to the guesthouse.

14:30

We were met by Paul at the station who drove us to Bel Ombrage. The journey was very pleasant and I was surprised how much the countryside was like that in Wiltshire.

George met us when we arrived and we had a very welcome cup of tea and met our fellow guests; Ann, Heather, Jane and Terry.

3:00 (Saturday Morning)

We had a very much needed sleep after our cup of tea and at 7pm sat down to a wonderful dinner cooked by George and Louie. We then spent meany hours reminiscing with George who told us some wonderful stories about the act and about Patrick (Dame Hilda). Much wine was consumed and we were all a little 'tired and emotional' by the time we hit the sack 24 hours after we left home!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad