Holding one's breath

Despite the Gorse Fox's worse fears, Starfleet came through with the reference needed. Indeed, the Gorse Fox had implemented Plan B so in the end they got two references. Meanwhile back home the Silver Vixen had heard from the agent and it looks set for a contract exchange tomorrow. One may hardly dare hope....

But being the optimists that we are, the removal company are turning up tomorrow to start on the packing.

Meanwhile back at Starfleet the Gorse Fox has been preparing material for a workshop tomorrow and sitting on interminable teleconferences that wiped out the whole morning. There are times when being the chief designer, for such a huge undertaking as this, can be a positive pain in the ear. One interesting nuance to this opportunity, however, is the client's hands-off attitude to design; the Gorse Fox may end up being the ultimate authority for what gets designed and installed as nobody else seems willing to step up to the mark. This could be an interesting story for the memoires.

Progress

It can be a problem when work interrupts a train of thought or plan of action. So it was today. The Gorse Fox had to start the day at the Starfleet office in Edinburgh where he would spend much of the morning in a workshop.

By lunchtime he had not received any interrupts from the real world so he did the interrupting by phone the letting agency to determine what else they may need. They claimed they had sent some forms for the Gorse Fox to have completed but it was evident they had not arrived. after a little cajoling and pushing the agents re-sent the forms and the Gorse Fox started to complete them. This proved fairly trouble-free until it came time to submit them. It didn't like the format of Starfleet email addresses, claiming they were invalid. Eventually when the Gorse Fox had found a way round that he tried to submit but nothing appeared to happen. Frantic phone calls with the agent revealed that the reason was that the Gorse Fox had not clicked a particular button. checking the form, the Gorse Fox observed that the button suggested was not actually on the form. Bizarre... but sorted.

By the end of the day everything seemed to be on schedule... though Starfleet say it takes 4-7 working days to turn round a reference. Not much the Gorse Fox can do about that today but he will start to exert pressure tomorrow.

Preparation

On the off chance that everything starts to go to plan, we had a bit of a last minute clear out, the Gorse Fox ordered some temporary window blinds, arranged for the collection and destruction of some confidential waste and took a car load to the local tip.

Emails were written to solicitors, and agents. Details were sent to letting agents and links for references included. Its up to everyone else now - Gorse Fox has passed on every morsel of information he can think of.

The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox went into Worthing for a bite to eat at Liming (the Mexican Restaurant) then headed back so the Gorse Fox could collect his stuff for this week's trip to Edinburgh. After a very bumpy flight he is now sitting in his hotel room preparing for the week's work.

Positive vibes

The positive vibes and wishes of friends, readers, and family are obviously paying off. The plan was to view three potential houses, but ended up as four. It was clear, however, soon after we entered the first house that we had a solid contender. The Agent was instructed to call her office and get things under way and the rest of the day was really spent confirming to ourselves that the other options were not really viable and fielding telephone calls from the letting agent asking for various details.

Now we are up against time - can we turn round the references and forms in time? (and more to the point, will the solicitors be in a position to exchange contracts - because the final commitments can't be made until that happens).

The stress of the last few days has morphed to a gentle but mounting excitement. It looks as if we may soon be living in Fontwell... but based on recent experience, the Gorse Fox is not counting any chickens.

Limbo

Well we seem to be in limbo. The owner of the house that we had hoped to rent has concluded dealings with the other party and she is set to move in. The GF is furious about the way in which the agent has behaved, but respects the owner who had taken the position that he was negotiating with the other party first and because we didn't commit (because the agent didn't keep us informed, and the contracts had not been exchanged) he opted for her. His decision was honest.

But we are in limbo.

The agent took us to see another property - it was in the local equivalent of Millionaires' Row. Fabulous location, but the house was barely habitable. The Gorse Fox felt embarrassed that the agent thought we might consider it. The place needed raising to the ground and rebuilding - not a lick of paint.

The online search continued. Several properties have been shortlisted and tomorrow we will rattle round the county viewing candidates.

Nothing is ever clear cut

It seems that the Gorse Fox might have been hasty in his reports of yesterday. The Silver Vixen today visited the agent and despite yesterday's promises it seems thta everything is again up in the air.

The Gorse Fox has tried to even the playing field by offering to pay rental starting from tomorrow even though not moving in for another week. It is all in the hands of the owner now. Meanwhile the agents have come up with a plan "b" which we will probably look at tomorrow... but the Gorse Fox holds out little hope that it will suit.

Watching the world go by

The Gorse Fox is sitting in Edinburgh Airport watching the world go by as he waits for his flight home. He wishes they would shut off the ambient music.

What a save

The Silver Vixen was checking properties on line. She noticed the that the home we were planning to rent had disappeared. Panic.

She phoned the agent - they had let it to someone else despite us making it clear that they should contact bus if anyone else showed interest. The Silver Vixen got stuck in and the balloon went up (metaphorically). Several hours and many phone calls later she had it sorted. We move - all things being equal - next Friday. No panic!

Thank goodness the Silver Vixen was on the ball and spotted the problem.

Easing

The Gorse Fox ha a dreadful night. The pain from his foot woke him every time he moved. By five o'clock he was dying to get up and about.

And early breakfast was enjoyed before grabbing a taxi down to the client's site. As it was only seven thirty, the place was deserted so the Gorse Fox was able to get on with some work and setting up the day. The think about this foot problem is that it is entirely painless if there is no weight on it and the Gorse Fox is sitting still. It only hurts when trying to move about.

As the day progressed the acute pain began to disappear and now the Gorse Fox can get about a little more easily. The foot is still stiff, but at least it is not so painful. This, by the way, dictated the Gorse Fox's evening meal. He was clearly not going to chance walking far so he took his place in the hotel restaurant for an early meal. Now back in the hotel he plans a quiet evening in front of the TV and an early night.

RIP Margaret Thatcher

The greatest Prime Minister of the post-war period has died. The vitriol from the pathetic left has begun, but Gorse Fox will not accept their indoctrination. She took hold of the country as it was plunging towards bankruptcy and she put us back on the right track.

She didn't destroy the mines - the Miners' Union destroyed the mines - she just stood up to them.
She didn't destroy the steel industry - it was uneconomic and doomed to fail - she faced reality.
She didn't start the Falklands conflict - but she did stand up to the Argentine aggression and protected our citizens.
She didn't try to buy votes with benefits - she allowed people to buy their own council homes.

The list of her achievements would go on for pages.

The toxic left can say what they want - but history will remember her as the greatest Prime Minister of the last 60 years.

Not playing

The Gorse Fox needs to let Avb know that he will not be available for the game against FC Basel on Thursday. He went to bed with a slightly stiff foot... and woke up unable to put any weight on it. He spent most of the day crawling and hobbling around the house but had to face up to a drive then flight to Edinburgh. This has been a nightmare of discomfort - and certainly his usual cat-like elegance as he walked was far from evident.

Yep, Spurs will have to do without him this week.

Welfare

Initially the Welfare or Benefits system was designed as a safety net to help those in greatest need.

In recent years Benefits have been created to buy the votes of those who want to be looked after.

As a wise man once said (and GF would credit him if he knew his name):

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.
2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!
5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Rebate

The Gorse Fox was checking some statements and became concerned that he was paying too much for his Sky subscription. He started to check online when a chat window popped up from Sky centre and an operative asked if help was required. Leaping on the opportunity, GF explained his query and when all was checked, it became clear that they had not reduced the subscription after GF changed his package 18 months ago!

Large rebate expected in next 48 hours.

Result.

Hate, Envy and Despair

GF has been focused on work and moving house, making little comment on current politics for a while now. However, reading the papers, watching the BBC, and following Twitter he can't help but notice (and this is a wild generalisation) that the more left-wing / socialist a person is, the more they seem to:

• be filled with hate, vitriol, and invective
• be jealous of what others have
• believe they have a right to have what others have worked hard to achieve
• sow a message of despair through distortion of the facts
• prefer catchy slogans to demonstrable facts or science

Now excuse me, but

• the Gorse Fox worked hard at school to get a good education
• got a job, starting at the bottom as a data-correction clerk
• has worked hard for 42 years (so far) - often exceeding 70, 80, or even 90 hours per week
• is happy that some of his taxes help those who are in need through infirmity or injury, and doesn't really mind too much that they support workers and their families where their wages do not match their basic requirements

This doesn't mean that some socialist can continually demand more and complain when the Government puts a cap on the benefits INCREASE scheduled for future years... The Gorse Fox's employer - like most in the private sector is quick enough to cap or even cancel salary increases if the financial climate is not right. Why then should this not apply to management of the Government purse.

The Gorse Fox can't help but think that socialism and extreme left-wing politics are a cancer at the heart of the country. It was discredited and dismantled in the Soviet east - but like many cancers seems to have survived and metathesized here.

Pivot

Well after a fair bit of faffing about, the Gorse Fox managed to successfully install the software that enables him to review the database of information the team has gathered about the client's existing systems. Long way to go before it is complete - but at least GF can now review the data.

Working with extracts from the database GF managed to develop a number of pivot tables that showed several different analyses and illustrated how complex this work is going to be.

Summer Schedules

Damn and Blast!

EasyJet have switched to their summer schedule. This has added several hours to the GFs week as his flight to Edinburgh arrives later, and his flight home isn't scheduled to land until 21:30.... and then to top off the "customer experience" they bus us back to the terminal - adding another fifteen minutes or so to the journey. It was just after 22:30 before GF arrived home.

That's got that off the chest (until next week)

It had been a glorious day in Edinburgh (though cold with snow showers down here in Sussex). AT lunchtime GF was able to stroll across St Andrew's Square in shirtsleeves - as long as he stayed away from the shaded areas (which were still very cold).

Documents are almost ready - just awaiting the insertion of some tables, once the team have finished rebuilding the source database! Pressure is slightly relieved by the fact that we will not hand over the documents until the client has signed the contract. It seems that some of the large organisation believe that Starfleet operate as a charity and there is no real necessity to pay.

Long day

It was a relatively long day. An early start saw the sun lighting up Edinburgh in a way that has been sorely lacking for a number of weeks. Today was glorious - if chilly. A quick breakfast prepared Gorse Fox for a stroll up past the Castle and down to Princes Street en route for Starfleet's offices.

A number of internal meetings and discussions filled the morning before we headed down to the client's site for a meeting with their project managers. We seemed to come to a remarkably quick consensus on what was needed in the deliverables scheduled for this week... and headed back up the hill to Starfleet for the rest of the day.

Gorse Fox has just got back from supper at Nanyang's - the local Malaysian restaurant that he likes so much. The plan for the rest of the evening is to catch up on last week's documentary on Pompeii. BBC iPlayer can be a boon to the travelling man!

Friends in the north

The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen went to the solicitor. Contract is now signed and just needs to be exchanged for things to move forward. As you would expect we are well on top of things, but can really do nothing further without some solid dates.

At the end of the afternoon the Gorse Fox headed for Gatwick which was uncommonly busy this evening. Undaunted, he made his way through the throng to a plane destined for the northern reaches of the Union and another few days in Edinburgh.

Old Boiler

The Gorse Fox has had the old boiler serviced. (He should, perhaps, clarify or disambiguate - this is a reference to the gas fired central heating boiler). The heating engineer gave the old beast a good going over and it fired up and ready for another year of service.

He was obviously not fully aware of the latest Health and Safety concerns, however. Borrowing a step ladder to check the header tank - he failed to harness himself or request that the Gorse Fox held the ladder. Then reaching the top step he balanced on the ladder's handrail in order to see what he needed. GF could feel a lawsuit in the making (should he fall) so twice pointed out the error of his ways and offered a bigger ladder. These offers were declined and fortunately gravity decided today was not the day to play tricks.

Helmets on

The Silver Vixen called to the Gorse Fox. A number of vans had collected in the road outside the house. Checking from the upstairs window it was clear they were from the gas company. Now, there is only one thing more disconcerting than seeing the gas company at the bottom of the drive - and that is seeing the bomb squad.

The Gorse Fox went to check with the foreman - it appears that there is slight build up of gas in a pipeline outside a neighbouring house.