The Brighton Bubble...

We have had our first visitors of the new year.  Simon, Martyns elder brother and his partner Ray came to see us a couple of weeks ago.  It was great to see him and meet Ray again.  They are expecting a child this coming summer and are very excited.  We had a few beers and some drinks and a good old catch up.  Simon has lived in London for a number of years so has always lived quite some distance away from us.  Now he is only an hour away so it will be really good to see him more often.  We will have to venture out of our bubble in Brighton and face the big smoke sometime soon!  They live near Eel Pie Island.  Martyn has recently been dealing with a customer who lives there so is very keen to go and have a look.  Our other visitor was that famous bad man we call Uncle Tubbs.  Our friend and fellow scooter rider. He lives in Hull but had travelled down from Blackpool with his Mum for the weekend.  I believe it was his birthday treat!  It was just a shame the weather was dreadful.  We had high winds and heavy rain just about all weekend.  It was great to see him and finally meet his Mum though.  We had a few cheeky beers and lunch together on Sunday before saying goodbye.  I woke up on Sunday with a terrible feeling of homesickness.  It was strange really.  It always feels so normal being in Brighton with Tubbs and I think the thought of him going back to Hull made me feel unsettled.  We actually met him on the campsite here whilst on our holiday.  We introduced him to the delights of wallasea Island on route to Mersea Island and he's still our friend so we must have done something right.  It made me start to think about how far we are away from everyone and how a couple of days here and there with people you love doesn't always seem like long enough.  The cure for homesickness?  Plan a trip home!  We have to go back to Yorkshire to collect Martyns Lambretta some time soon so we will makes plans around that. 

Brighton is an amazing place and I have no regrets about being here.  We were in a pub in town waiting to meet Tubbs on Saturday when I noted a poster advertising one of the Brighton festivals.  It was an old poster from a couple of years ago.  The poster was cartoon style and showed all the tourist attractions of Brighton in a way that made me think of the city as being one big bubble.  It's a place that has everything you could possible need (apart from Ikea but I think that's on it's way!).  You don't need to leave Brighton to be entertained, to shop, to swim in the sea or to pose outside a cafe bar.  It's all here.  You can be quirky, creative a fashionista or just you and nobody minds.  It's diverse, crazy, cultured and yet down to earth at the same time.  I love this city and I have no intentions of leaving.  I just wish sometimes that all the people I love and miss would come and join us.  Then my bubble would be complete!

Reaching new depths...

So this is finally what it's come to folks. I have spent the last four hours of my life registering with survey companies. I have finally succumbed to the screaming adverts that tell me I can make a fortune from the Internet. That's me, the once reasonably sane member of the human race who once earned a respectable living doing what millions of others do... going to work...! I have seen the ads a million times over. They hang off the side of job sites flashing away, promising money for nothing, except your valuable time... I'm not sure what made me do it other than desperation. Maybe I'm going mad or maybe just maybe it will work. Either way the time has gone now. I can't get it back. I just have to wait for that first survey to come through or to win that £2000 they all promised I was in with a chance of! I wonder how many thousands of individuals have done the same? How many of the unemployed, desperate people around the world who spend their days sat for hours in front of a computer screen have done the same. We all know it's a sham just like the lottery but sometimes you think you've got nothing to lose so you might as well just give it a go! I'll let you know how it goes!!!

High hopes!

There was a definite change in the climate last week. Not scorching temperatures just a milder feel to the air. That is until today, it's back to winter and as I write this can see sea spray coming over the wall. It was nice while it lasted and even if it is a little colder again at least it's staying lighter for longer. So things are looking up, I hope.

Another rain forest worth of application forms for jobs have been printed in the last couple of weeks. I have given up trying to send them by e-mail. For some reason this laptop will not allow me to send anything in a format that anyone else can open. This may explain why I haven't had much feedback from anywhere. Who wants to employ someone who can't even send an e-mail...?! My biggest faux pas to date was sending a job application to one of the Universities. I had gone to great lengths to explain to them why they should employ me. I had spent literally hours putting my case together and explaining how good my attention to detail was. I attached the files sent the e-mail to myself to check it again. It looked good to me. I attached the correct e-mail address and clicked the send button. To my horror I read the subject line of the e-mail just as it slipped away. I had typed the job title in the subject matter with one huge mistake. I had replaced the word marketing with materials! Clearly my last job was still firmly ingrained in my mind. I tried to re-call the e-mail but before I could so an e-mail clicked up thanking me for my application which had been received with thanks and should I not hear back from them within three weeks of the closing date should consider myself not to be successful. Guess what...?

My next great plan is to take up my proofreading studies again. Although I'm not sure if my 'attention to detail' is just good enough these days. I forgive myself some of the errors whilst blogging, it's meant to be conversational and without too many rules! I am applying for part time work so I can earn some money to put towards the bills whilst having time to study, write and hopefully do some photography. I have high hopes! I fully believe I can achieve everything I want to. If things go the way I hope then I should eventually be able to earn money and make a living from anywhere. Maybe then I can persuade Martyn to fire up the engines and take me on a new adventure...!

I am started to feel excited about being here for the summer. I dream of long,warm sunny days and barbeque's on the beach in the evenings. I'm hoping to get another scooter (when I get a job) so we can attend some of the Southern rallies and meet some new friends. It would be nice to explore some of the area too. We haven't really seen much outside of Brighton since we arrived. It would also be nice to take the boat beyond the marina walls and out to sea again. I do wonder if it will ever be calm enough again sometimes! I watch the fishermen in their tiny wooden boats heading out alone and wonder how they do it. I know it's their job but they must get scared sometimes. Maybe it's just us...?

So I have high hopes all round... I will eventually get a job that I enjoy, become a freelance proofreader, write a book and become a photographer. I will also buy a Lambretta, develop a bikini body without going to the gym and ensure that we have wall to wall sunshine with calm seas from Spring to Autumn... I can't see a problem with any of that can you?

It could be you...!

2011 has been expensive so far. A new motor for the heating system, five pounds a day in coal during the two weeks said heating system was out of order. Boat insurance circa four hundred pounds, three hundred and fifty pounds to get car through the MOT, another case of "your not from round here" methinks...! To top it all off one of the breakfast bar stools has collapsed meaning that one of us has to eat standing up until we can afford a new one. This coupled with me having flu for the best part of three weeks, a gig we had bought tickets for being cancelled without a refund in the offing and it's not been the best start! We must have wasted a small fortune on scratch cards since Christmas. Yes, we know it's a mugs game but somebodies got win! I only buy them when I get 'the feeling' You know the one, your mind tells you today is the day something good is going to happen. The shopping at Asda leaves you with a quid or so change, it burns a small hole in the palm of your hand, you approach the exit with the intention of leaving and keeping the pound but that little voice pops into your head "maybe today is the day?". " You got to be in it to win it"! That's it they've got you! You stand in line with the rest of the gamblers and feel the shame. You know the checkout attendant is thinking "This is becoming a regular occurrence". She / he probably more likely to be thinking about what's for tea but the shame of playing the mugs game makes you somewhat paranoid. You peruse the tickets on display and hope that the one pound option stands out and says "I'm a winner!". The two pound option is usually the one though, more chances to win and bigger prizes! There's always someone in front buying the five pound option. I once watched a man who must have been well into his seventies. He was holding up the queue with his shopping list of lottery cards, cigarettes and scratch cards. The last thing on his list was three five pound scratch cards. It made me think. What makes a man that age so desperate to win some money he spends most of his pension on gambling? I know nothing of his personal circumstances. He may have been buying for others, either way a lot of money passed that counter heading for the National Lottery that day. I hope he won. I would like nothing better than to imagine him sat on a deckchair somewhere a little more exotic than Brighton Pier, champagne in one hand and a big cigar in the other! I suppose my scratch card habit is not that extreme we can afford the odd pound every now and then. It's more the illusion that all our problems can be solved by winning money instead of earning it! It's the mentality that says "I only need five grand just to sort that bill out". What happens next year when there's another big bill? Or when the bills are no problem you just feel that life would be better if you could afford that exotic holiday, that bigger car or that apartment by the sea? Everyday the lottery sells these dreams to millions of people and most of us are lured in and have a flutter. I'll try my best not to become the one buying the five pound scratch cards and spending all Martyn's hard earned cash on gambling...!

By now I imagine you're all thinking "Why don't you get out there and get a job you lazy bugger...!". The truth is I have applied for that many jobs this year I can't actually remember what half of them were for! I have another three to apply for this week. It's not my favourite pastime I must say. I am not the best at trying to sell myself. The jobs are mainly for the Universities, some of the jobs are in the same departments so trying to vary the applications is difficult at times. I would love to work part time if possible. It appears that lots of other people would too. I have started writing about our boating life and would love to be able to continue with that if possible. I would also still love to study photography when I can afford the course. It's all a vicious circle at the moment but I'm sure we will get there. Most of all I'm looking forward to the day that Martyn can start to enjoy some of his hard earned money instead of watching every penny. You never know, we might just be the lucky winners one day...!