The past month of our lives...

When Nina’s parents came to visit over Easter, they took her car back with them to Germany. They sold it relatively quickly and it was then Nina’s intention to buy a car here. For many years now Nina’s passion has been horseback riding and since most of the stables are in the country, it has been extremely difficult and limiting for her to try to access them by bus.

When we got back from our trip in June we started the long process of finding a new car. She previously owned a Seat Leon which is a Spanish brand, now owned by VW. It’s a great deal as you benefit from VW and Audi engineering, technology and even parts without paying the associated price tag. She wanted to buy another Seat and was only interested in dealing with Seat authorized dealers. I took on the job of doing the research; making the calls to the dealers within the Midlands and arranging the appointments. It became a complicated and drawn-out process as there were loads of new models available, but finding models from the early - mid 2000s that weren’t sports editions (Nina didn’t like the feel of the suspension) became almost impossible. It became clear the dealer in Leicester was not going to be able to help us so we rented a car 2 weekends back and drove north to Nottingham and Derby. In Derby we lucked out as one dealer had two models that fit Nina’s model, year, style and price categories. We test drove one which was identical to her last car save for this one was petrol and her last was diesel. Other than the colour and the fact this one was one year newer, it was like being in her old car again (except of course, the steering wheel was on the other side).

We bought it on the spot. This dealer only offered a 30 day warranty on used cars but offered to sell us an extended Seat approved warranty. We were fine with the price of the car so I negotiated a 2 year warranty which he threw in for us. Since this was a 2004 model and were only going to be in the UK for another 3 years, we were happy with the peace of mind offered by 2 years of coverage.

On the east side of Leicestershire is the smallest county in the UK; Rutland. And, within this mini county is Rutland Water; the largest nature reserve and artificial lake in Europe at 25 miles in circumference. The Rutland Water Sailing Club was having an open house that same weekend, so we took advantage of having a rented car and went out there for the day.

We arrived at the sailing club, signed in as guests and headed down to the docks to get suited up in life vests. A gentleman in one of the few motorised boats on the lake (a rescue boat) was taking people out for a little tour and history of the reservoir, so we jumped onboard. We learned the reservoir is manmade as the local authority had flooded a valley in the 1970s by damming one side and allowing a few rivers and creeks to channel in the water. I believe it took 4 or 5 years before the lake was filled. Now it supplies drinking water to the local communities and gives a world-class sailing and racing experience to the locals and international teams that come to sail recreationally and competitively.

Back on the dock again we decided to head out on a small sailing boat. I have never felt all that comfortable on the water, especially in a boat where you can feel the waves and the where the wind can affect the pitch of the craft. I was assured it was safe and would not tip over and hesitantly, I boarded. We were the only people on the boat with the captain and the three of us filled up the small seating area. In fact, we were needed for him to sail as this type of boat requires two people (which is the optimal number on such a tiny craft). He sat in the back and steered and Nina and I were each responsible for a rope on our respective sides of the boat. The sail at the front of the boat swung to the left or the right side depending on which one of us pulled the rope. At times the boat was up on its side which was a little unnerving; even for Nina who has grown up on sailing boats (albeit it a lot larger than this one). When Nina’s side was riding out of the water, she would sit up on the lip of the boat to counter balance it. The edge of the deck next to me was now at water level and I was finding myself leaning perilously toward the water rushing by. When it was reversed and I was on the “upper” side leaning back out of the boat, it was exhilarating.

After that second ride my adrenaline was pumping and, although I did enjoy it, I was quite ready to remain on dry land for the remainder of the day. So, we left and drove along the shore of the reservoir to a small church. Before flooding the valley they decided to protect this church by reinforcing its foundations and shoring up the land around it. Now, it acts as a visitor’s centre for the lake and showcased some of the fossils unearthed in the area.

By this time we were ready for something to eat and headed to the town of Oakham on the western side of Rutland Water. We walked around the village centre, poked around some of the shops and finally settled on resting in a garden café. It was simply too cute to pass up and so typically English.

After lunch we poked around the picturesque village where the remainder of these pictures were taken.

When I was in Amalfi Italy played their first World Cup game. The mood was electrical and I watched some of it, but to be honest, it was hard to find a bar where there was an inch of room to even get a glimpse of the game. When we were in Pantelleria Italy played their last World Cup game, which Nina watched in a bar. I was outside reading my book by the ocean. I knew there would be more games to watch over the next couple of weeks, however my days of sitting ocean-side were numbered.

When we got back we really started to get into it and caught all the important games at our local pubs. The England vs Germany game was the first one we saw back in the UK and it was awkward. As we don’t have cable television, we had to watch it in a bar. We sat in a corner, away from other people (which was easy enough to do as this game occurred earlier on and the pubs weren’t as packed as in later games). Every time Germany scored we quietly and discreetly cheered (which was quite often) and it soon became apparent the game wasn’t actually going to be a competition at all.

Nina was cheering for Germany and I started cheering for the Netherlands. I joked with her about how fun it would be if those two made it to the end and that was very close to happening. Unfortunately, Spain put a cramp in that plan and miraculously beat both teams. This wouldn’t have been such a big deal except for the fact Spain couldn’t shoot the ball! I was astounded at how good they were at stealing the ball, running down the flanks to the opposition’s net and then they were clueless as to what to do. Good for them for winning their first World Cup, but as far as I am concerned, they are not of World Cup standard with the soccer they played. Maybe I am picky, but some semblance of accuracy when shooting the ball is required by world champions.

For Nina’s birthday I bought her a bread making machine which she has been enjoying. Last Saturday morning we woke up to the alluring smell of fresh baked bread thanks to the timer mode. And for the past number of weeks we have been enjoyed home-made pizza and let me tell you; it tastes a whole lot better on homemade dough with fresh toppings.

When I was in Sicily (Catania to be precise) I got an Email from Kevin at the University of Derby’s corporate office. He wanted to let me know there was still some money left in the fund I had secured for my website workshop last fall.

When I initially applied for the fund, I created a budget which gave a sum of money to my previous lecturer Colin to edit my work, a sum for printing out the accompanying book and another sum for the marketing. Colin did the editing but didn’t want anything for it, the university has its own printing department and the marketing is done in-house. So, a sum around 1/3 of the total was left and Kevin needed to spend it before the end of July.

He sent me a short Email asking if I wanted to build on my workshop and extend it in order to generate more work and get this money spent. I sent him off a quick reply with a brief idea of how I could add an additional half-day to the workshop. In all, I spent maybe 10 minutes thinking about it and crafting my response. Then I headed off to catch a bus to the other side of Sicily. When I arrived in Palermo 3 hours later, I arrived at the guesthouse and checked my Email. I had a response from Kevin waiting for me; he liked my idea and was issuing a purchase order. Most definitely the least amount of time I have ever spent to secure work. And, it increased the amount the university paid me by 50%. Just like that, I had a summer project.

When I got back to the UK I thought more about it and decided to break my workshop into two parts; 1 day workshop on assessing one’s website and all best practices that go along with it. And, a self-contained half-day workshop on do-it-yourself testing to see where the problems lay and to determine what needs addressing. By breaking it in two it gives the university more options for marketing the workshops as they can be packaged together or sold individually.

Kevin was also successful in finding another department that would manage and market my workshop after the failed attempt by the corporate office’s marketing team in May. The Creative Exchange department have taken it on and according to their website, they are:

“An Apple and Adobe accredited training centre for the creative industries. Our aim is to assist individuals, businesses and the education sector to fulfil their potential by gaining new skills and knowledge through creative development, training and expert advice. The Creative Exchange provides scheduled training courses delivered by Apple and Adobe authorised trainers and industry experts as well as tailored training and consultancy that meets individual requirements.”

I spoke with Matthew — my contact there — and he was as enthusiastic and positive about my workshop as Kevin. We brainstormed on marketing ideas and ways to increase the spectrum of who might be interested in attending my workshop. He had some great ideas and was able to broaden the scope quite a bit leading me to believe (hope) he will be able to attract a fair amount of interest. The pilot workshop will run at the end of July.

While we were in Pantelleria Nina also received some very good financial news; she had applied for a year’s worth of funding from a German grant and it had been approved. This grant will give her a living stipend for 12 months, pay her university fees for one year and includes money to attend conferences. It occurred to us that, perhaps, we should go away more often as it seems that’s when money floods in. And speaking of which…

The first quarter of this year was spent working feverishly on getting my workshop ready. Then I had to deal with my university application/getting my unconditional acceptance. I then had a small amount of down time left in which I planned my Med trip. On that trip I was coming up with ideas for a summer project before school started and that’s when Kevin contacted me and expanded my workshop. I came back and have been working on the expansion as well as preparing for the pilot workshop. All the while Stefan has been keeping me busy. Balancing all these projects and requirements nicely has just been thrown on its ear as Wayne Emailed me with a project to assemble, format and edit a series of manuals for a client. We have a meeting planned when I am in Vancouver next month. Recession; what recession?