tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53457203994818403362023-11-16T18:06:01.147+00:00 Always Ex MilitaryI am a former Airman in the Royal Air Force in Air Traffic Control. This blog is to talk about my transition from Airman to business asset, my day to day observations and advice for soon to be veterans to help them navigate the transition process. All of the opinions specified are mine alone, some may be dark , some may be blunt , but all are the truth. All veteran issues will be covered all in a language everyone will understand. PaJohnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858817430890641362noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-71889327286708673802020-04-27T14:20:00.003+01:002020-04-27T14:20:52.070+01:00Corona virus and the new normalFirst of all big shout out to Bill Gates, he called out the fact that the world wasnt ready for a pandemic and they were right... so here we all are at home, either working remotely , furloughed or worrying about our financial future.<br />
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I have been lucky, Deloitte has always been a strong advocate of working from home and i have been able to continue all be it with personal development because my projected got cancelled because of the virus.<br />
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We are all facing a new Normal, what does this look like? No one knows or will speculate on what is coming.<br />
if we take away the virus measures themselves i think business will evolve, i think remote working will increase, the real question is how long will it be til we can trust a handshake or want to get back to a hug?<br />
in terms of the reatil busienss i have always been a firm believer in having an online prescence. Toys R Us didnt believe in online retail and i beleive that was a factor in their demise.<br />
Obviously manufacturing will have to go back to some sort of normal, because of the special machinery required, but not all of the office staff will need to be in the office, this could reduce the factory footprint and increase peoples working flexibility.<br />
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I guess time will tell, meanwhile we are all locked down for another three weeks minimum, but on a good note its really nice to hear birdsong in the city again, if ntohing else it has given us time out to smell the roses,,,,stay safe readers , stay at home, use the internet to shop.... til next time</div>
PaJohnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09858817430890641362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-2046047846231107602020-04-27T14:06:00.000+01:002020-04-27T14:06:46.514+01:00Update on my Deloitte journeyHello readers<br />
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there have been alot of defects resolved since our last contact!. so the project I was on has finally gone live.<br />
I was the lead defect generator on that project and it reminded me why I am a tester.<br />
I like breaking things, the cooler the better. The last project integrated to an amazon dot and would provision a pension purely by voice. It would launch an app the team had built ( which i had tested) and take the customer thru this process . To see it demoed and know I had tested it and the demo went smooth with no visible defects or problems for the demo person was a really special feeling.<br />
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The first team retrospective ( before my time on the project) was at the Gleneagles Hotel , and so it was fitting that the very last retrospective of this iteration of the project should take place there.<br />
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I just realised this post never got published, so to round this off, i was really proud to help this client go live and whilst my contribution is now over i have had a lasting effect on this project. i was told at the go live party for example that a defect was found, that was not discovered in the test phase ( it was one i had previously tested, but a different iteration of code so the defect had regressed) and at triage it was said that had i still been there i would discovered that defect... it made me smile<br />
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so now im on the next... a large manufacturing client in the midlands.<br />
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This engagement lasted 10 months, mostly because their residual income strategy for the lifetime support of their products in the customer environment doesnt really work, and when corona virus hit, that residual income ceased and the project had to be mothballed due to insufficient funds. The role itself was awesome. i became the lead tester, managing resources including an offshore team and being client facing and implementing defect lifecycle management, and demonstrating value that testing was bringing to the quality output. This was the busiest i have ever been in my life ( seriously) but i loved it. It still gave me the flexibility to attend the military events that the firm hold and attend a veterans work debate , which invoked a government response.<br />
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Unfortunately with the outbreak of corona virus this was shelved to initiate the nations response. the overall goal was to make the UK the best place to be a veteran in the world and highlight to the wider world of business that veterans have skills and you can take the people out of the miltary but never the military out of the people..<br />
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Ill give an update on this jus tas soon as there is something to report<br />
<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-11016826095591623282018-09-21T09:00:00.000+01:002018-09-21T09:00:46.853+01:006 months inHello readers,<br />
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Well my Software testing role for Deloitte is going really well. I spent two weeks going through some company policy documents ( mandatory compliance training) and then I was sent to a large financial services client in Scotland.<br />
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The thing i really like about Deloitte is the comparison between it and the military. Deloitte has an all inclusive culture, and whilst I do not work directly with everybody as a programme we do socialise together once a month we have programme wide meetings and for networking it has been amazing. There is another point here in that , there isn't a single person that i dislike. ( which given my experience of working with lots of different people there is always at least one).<br />
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Now this blog has always been designed to assist service leavers with information to enable them to get a good second career.<br />
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Here we go! Deloitte is relaunching their Deloitte Military Talent And Transition programme, due the shortage of test consultants there is a new programme being created which will specialise in training service leavers initially and then veterans with the qualifications and understanding of how to test effectively. His programme will include the ISTB foundation, an Intro to code and a look at how to be an effective tester. this will also include some robotic process automation and some test automation.<br />
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The next DMTT presentation is on 08 October and you can register your interest here<br />
https://talentsourcing.deloitte.com/UKcommunity?pipelineId=12487<br />
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Thus day is an insight into how the former military community integrates into the firm and how you can be a part of it.<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-23093203031298307312018-03-09T15:36:00.000+00:002018-03-09T15:36:03.104+00:00Big FourI am writing this post as my journey continues...A friend ( Ex military) knew somebody that may have the perfect opportunity for me. I have the deepest respect for this person and they do not use the word perfect lightly, So I applied.<br />
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I then googled the company I had applied for, and realised that getting a job with this particular firm is more difficult than getting a place at harvard university ( which is less than 20%). This is not some wild accusation on my part its actually written on google. So with odds at 80:20 against I had nothing to lose. He put me touch with a friend of his that actually worked there. ( see its not what you know its who you know) . He gave me some solid advice and interview preparation.</div>
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I had to get through the filtering process and that alone was a challenge unto itself. I was rejected once, the computer decided it would submit my application whilst it was not complete, I still have no idea how it did this , but I gave that email a good ignoring,completed the application and submitted it complete. I emailed the recruiter to inform them of this email and even spoke to my friend on the inside and needless to say I got through the filtering process. </div>
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This lead to me being offered an interview. Now everybody knows I now live in the East Riding of Yorkshire, I have just bought my own house so moving is never on the cards..( and I mean never). I was invited for an interview in London, I had prepared the most I have ever prepared for an interview, and I still felt like I needed more. With an interview at 2.30 in the afternoon, I factored in how late the trains were going to be and left at 0825 in the morning. ( OK so cost was a factor too) and I got to London at around 11.30, and got on the tube to make my way to Chancery Lane tube station. 1</div>
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Since volunteering at the Olympics , London always kind of feels like home and being on a tube full of Londoners, and having the luxury of standing next to a suited armpit is the best!. It was almost a relief to get off and make my way above ground,but I had to change trains. There were no disruptions on the tube and I did a walk by of where the interview was and found a coffee shop nearby. I had a coffee and watched people come and go, and then thought it would be better to go over some of my notes. </div>
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I was in the coffee shop about an hour and 20 minutes ( 2 drinks and a piece of cake ), when i decided that it would take at least 15 minutes to get thru security and navigate my way to the room in the building where the interview was taking place. I was proper nervous when I left this coffee shop, I walked back to the building , checked in and was shown upstairs . I was offered a drink, by the staff on that particular floor and I have always been taught that if you are offered a drink,always take water. If you spill it it will not stain, it if stays on your face they will not see it, it does not cause embarrassing breath issues and lets face it after the coffee I had just drank I needed something to counteract the caffeine. </div>
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I have to say when it comes to buildings and interview locations this one was pretty special, it was light and airy and had a magnificent view of the city. I had a good look at the wall exhibits to try and glean any knowledge that may be worthwhile. ( which it was as it turns out, as there were exhibits on how this particular company had assisted the companies on the wall with business, and trying to find out who their clients were was near enough impossible. It is ironic that they asked me what I knew of their clients and why they may have engaged this companies services and this is a question I would have never have known t he answer too so it goes to show that having a look round is not a bad thing).</div>
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My Interview was to be split into two parts, a technical based section and a partner section. Technical because I am a sofware test analyst and once a software test analyst, technical tests and interviews become par of the course. The questions were all situation based, but again I had revised the STAR technique for answering these questions , we had a laugh and for me it was odd, i was suddenly aware that I was actually relaxed and not nervous at all.( probably just the caffeine). I felt I had smashed the technical interview but the difficult bit ( thanks google ) is the partner section. It is judged to be difficult because it is questions that picked up on your previous answers and personal stuff so it not like it can be prepared for, but like i said I was relaxed. The long and short of it was the questions were mostly about salary expectations and the fact I lived in Hull and the home office would be in London. The thing is this is not a job, its a career changing move. Yes I would be away 3 or 4 nights a week, if there is somewhere i need to be , I will be there and then another sudden dawn of realisation, I may not get this because of where I live. I had spent a considerable amount getting to this interview and I wanted to think i could be in with a chance. I didnt want them to think I was just going with the flow. I decided to put my cards on the table so to speak and I just said that I wasnt there for a job, I was here for the career opportunity, with all the mentoring , coaching and the increase in knowledge and I was here to do what ever it took to be successful( I'm not going to get another chanceso why not right?) . Well that killed the location based questioning and we moved on to career progression which got me excited. I am passionate about testing and breaking things. I am abitious, sometimes to a fault( i have some family problems at the moment, but this was more important to me ) but short term pain for long term gain. the interview lasted exactly 57 minutes.</div>
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When I left, I left knowing there was nothing else I could have said or done differently. I got the train home ( it was late, but that was ok if it had been on time I would have missed it).</div>
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10 days later I found out I had been successful, And last friday I put in my notice here and in under 30 days I begin a new chapter and start work as a software Test consultant with Deloitte. This will not be the only part of the job though, as Deloitte are looking to relaunch a Military veterans transition and talent programme to tempt some ex military talent to the business and I cant wait to get started....</div>
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Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com08 Buxworth Close, Hull HU3 5DZ, UK53.73794955580788 -0.3856801986694335953.735601555807882 -0.3907226986694336 53.740297555807878 -0.38063769866943359tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-32140755743991494802018-03-09T15:34:00.000+00:002018-03-09T16:37:32.941+00:00Job Hunting advice for VeteransToday I am writing to be able to present why veterans are a good investment for business.<br />
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I am a software test analyst, in english that means I break stuff. If you use an app on your phone , it has been tested, if you online bank, that has been tested. Testing has become an important part of the software development process. The risk of failures in frontline systems in hospitals, aircraft or other items driven by a computer is too great, so testing has been introduced to reduce the risk.<br />
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The "how" I became a tester is not important, it just goes to show that I have applied new skills and adapted, but had I taken the career path I was going to take I may not of loved another job as much as I love testing.<br />
I have been Testing about 4 years, I have done alot of technical testing ( using my own code) using SQL, Groovy, Angular JS languages. I ask myself what if and test if a product is designed to process a, does it do anything else ( process x) does interfere with anything else on the system ( process y) can it cope with foreign characters, simultaneous multiple operations, in other words can i break it?<br />
I love software testing. It engages my brain everyday and when I discover a defect I class that a minor victory in the battle between me and Machine.<br />
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This article is not to talk about me its to talk about people like me, or veterans that thing a job in a civilian company is thing of myth. ( which probably explains why a lot of ex service personnel end up working for defence contractors) .You may be a service leave searching for help. Well this is mission critical information, your next mission is to go covert into civvie street, assimilate into their community and prove that you can do this. The weapons of choice are confidence, transference of skillset and ability.<br />
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The truth is though it is not unobtainable. The CV is the most important thing, but it needs to be in business context. If you were a squad leader that needs to translate to supervisor, and the subordinates were your team members, the customers were the people you were assisting at the time. It is really important to be able translate military skills into a business context. Even as a heavy machine gunner operator ( I was RAF sorry, i m guessing here), the customers you were helping were the rest of the squad, there would be pressure situations, leadership , teamwork and discipline. These are the qualities that make your skills transferable to the business sector.<br />
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Recently I attended an Interview and all the way through my military resettlement courses it was more or less a "thing" that military experiences should not be discussed , largely because "civvies" would not understand. I have learnt recently this is complete Tosh.<br />
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At the interview I was asked to produce a example where I had worked well under pressure.Using the STAR response My answer was that in (Situation) 2004 I went to Basra Airport and was tasked with implementing an airside security system from scratch. ( Task). despite tight timelines and limited personnel and being under fire, I utilsed the strengths of my team.(Actions).We delivered the security system on time within 3 weeks. (Result)<br />
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Now there are alot of pressure situations I have been in, as will all ex military people, I was Air Traffic Control so multi tasking, hyper awareness are essential but each every facet of the military will have examples of their own. The point is not to get bogged down in the weeds of the military task and keep it simple, but get the point across.<br />
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The point of this, is that military training teaches you that the job still needs to get done and everything else is an afterthought. Yes we reacted to mortar fire, we dealt with the personnel shortages and we met the deadline. This told that employer that I was focussed on getting the job done and can react well to extreme pressure.<br />
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This is just one example. Ex military people are often overlooked because they have head machine gunner or other military specific roles in their CV that do not relate to business, or their CV isn't in a business context. That doesn't mean that this shouldn't be included persay, it means those skills need to be put into a business context. How did that role effect your customers. To answer that question you first need to figure out who your customers were. You can translate some of these skills into a supervisory or leadership role, this is what you are trying to market to companies. You are trying to demonstrate the transferable skills and therefore the value you can add to their company. The underwritten skills are teamwork, self discipline , good time management, leadership, adaptability, fast learners, ability to follow instructions and not afraid of hard work.<br />
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If we translate that a little bit , someone who will work hard be reliable, turn up for work early, be able to work with everybody and become a success in any field of their choosing. The other thing that I thought about, which has prompted me to rewrite this ( well add to it precisely) is that in the military we speak a slightly different language, we have different mannerisms, a different sense of humour. You as the service leaver need to be aware of this, get some of your civvie friends to get you practice interviews, the questions are immaterial its body language, and eye contact. They can give you valuable feedback on how you sat in the chair, whether you come across as uneasy or whether they thought you were engaged. Did you fidget? do you have any unusual mannerisms or habits you are unaware of? Once you know this information its time to revisit that CV.<br />
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Now the average recruitment agency looks at your CV for less than 20 seconds. It will probably go through a word filter too. So it is really important that all the keywords from the job description actually feature in your CV. There is nothing wrong in copying the job description and inserting it into your CV, providing you can prove that you can give situations where this occurred. Practice in front of a mirror. Remember if you were the section leader of a machine gun patrol, you were a team supervisor, and get in to the habit of using team supervisor rather than section leader.<br />
Trying to break into industry is like trying to learn a new language. It will take practice everyday. Know your CV so that any questions on your CV will not catch you out. This seems like common sense right? The next thing is there is no such thing as a standard CV unless you are applying for the same kind of job that has job description commonalities. ( even then its worth noting that if there are any differences in the new job description that you are able to give examples or demonstrate knowledge of these "new" requirements).<br />
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When you have done this we need to thresh it out and seperate the wheat from the chaff and ensure that unless stated, that the CV should be no more than 2 pages. My recent interview for Deloitte, had requested extra information which meant that my CV was actually three pages. It had alot of my military stuff ( in civilian language ) to show my supervisory, leadership and management experience.<br />
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Whilst we are talking about leadership and management, there are military courses you will have undertaken that were probably ILM accreditted. In the RAF , Junior NCOs go to Junior Management Leadership training. ( this is ILM accreditted), but this also demonstrates that you have had training in a management discipline and is worth including.<br />
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If you have done any kind of resettlement ( Training) this will also need including. Some companies like to see a comprehensive learning history to prove that you are not an old dog that cannot learn new tricks.<br />
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So the checklist for you is ;<br />
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CV is in chronological time order?<br />
All Military terminology is removed/ converted into civvie language?<br />
Job description from Job being applied for is incorporated into your experience with examples given?<br />
All qualifications listed ? including management and leadership courses? ( that could hold value for business) .<br />
Is your name and Mobile number in the footer of every page? ( in case your CV becomes seperated?)<br />
Your CV is not stapled together.<br />
You have hobbies and interests on page 2 of your CV ( to prove your not an automaton?) You can use these to boost or reinforce some aspects of the job. For example if you are involved in your local Youth club, you could demonstrate organising events, running a schedule, handling money, leading a team,Mentoring young people, all kinds of transferable skills. It will also boost your profile from within the local community. ( this is even more important for companies looking to increase their local community engagement strategy).<br />
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It seems all ex military people have problems getting adjusted to the civilian business environment, but once employed adapt and apply themselves like they used to. These problems are usually attributed to the military mindset and the advice given during the resettlement process.<br />
It seems to me that the resettlement process mostly thinks we are only good enough to be truck drivers. This is great if you want to be a truck driver. I didnt even have a HGV licence, so it left them scratching their heads a bit. If you have no idea what it is you want to do, dont worry. I was like this.<br />
Networking is the key here. Maybe see which hobbies you really enjoy and see if you can get a job doing that? or ask people from the same sort of military back ground how they faired. This is where the Armed Forces Breakfast clubs come in. Everybody knows someone that knows someone. Its definately not what you know , but who you know that counts. The more friends you make., the greater chance you have of finding that elusive opportunity.<br />
Your next point of focus is finding local companies that have signed the Armed Forces Covenant. This means that a small percentage of their workforce is Veterans of the Military and therefore you have a better chance. Do they have a military programme?<br />
Have you googled companies in your area or commutable distance that offer military programmes?<br />
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Times are changing and more companies are realizing the potential and value that ex military personnel bring to business. This is your most important mission yet, Good luck...Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com08 Buxworth Close, Hull HU3 5DZ, UK53.73784802154335 -0.38589477539062553.728456021543352 -0.406064775390625 53.747240021543348 -0.365724775390625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-80212695301844920432018-03-09T15:33:00.000+00:002018-03-09T15:42:57.645+00:00When attitudes change or as mary poppins would say the wind has changed direction...Here we again twice in as many days.... This blog is testing specific so is very technical, I have tried dear reader to keep it simple so please bear with me. This post is a bit of a ramble but hang in there.<br />
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I was chatting to a colleague from another area of the business today ,and we were discussing my role, and my intention to leave.<br />
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My intentions to leave were based on several factors, not least that when I was interviewed, I felt that the business was ready to have testing incorporated into the processes, but didn't know how. I knew how and I am a tester to boot , so the challenge did not scare me.<br />
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The manager changed about 6 months in and processes began to change but my role did not change adversely, I was testing a different project. I had implemented documentation to enable testing to take place and identified that requirements documents were required to be produced, in order for development and testing to take place.<br />
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We released the project I was working on , on September 19th. Part of my role was to be able to declare this product fit for release. It was not. I told them. It was released anyway.<br />
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Testing work on products and projects has been very light since then, and as I am an active person, so decided to overhaul my automated test suites to bring them up to date. There have been the odd jobs, but nothing really test intensive. The irony of this is that the business was releasing a product per month ( every two sprints), it would be released as I started testing it, I would find a tonne of bugs ( no defect resolution meeting) the more serious bugs would be fixed and that was that. The custoemrs may encounter a few days of difficulties and then all of a sudden it will be fixed.<br />
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I get Newsfeeds from testing professionals and one I read made me think hard about what it was I was doing. So the question was where will you be in 2 years time? The answer to that having been employed here 16 months was doing exactly the same thing , on the same money and getting more frustrated as the workload lightened even further. The amount of testing work that needs to take place is actually increasing but I am prevented from testing it and so it gets released to the customers defects and all. The only way to get big defects resolved is to identify a different area of the buiness that the defect will effect and then go and demonstrate the defect to them. This gets raised and will get fixed, because the "business" has assigned a prioirity. ( unlike ther tester that they give a good ignoring).<br />
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I was initially approached by a recruitment agency before christmas and they asked me some probing questions which made me ask myself , how long can i flog a dead horse? I have an appointment with the CEO on Wednesday, hopefully the next person can make the changes required. ( part of me thinks they actually wont replace me as they think they don't need a tester).<br />
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So this time next week I will have 2 and 3/4 hours left to work. Do I regret this job? No, I have learnt alot. ( mostly self taught) I have learnt Protractor from scratch ( which is javascript test tool), am I looking forward to starting my new job? Hell yes! I am nervously excited. The company I am going to, really believe in their people and I am hoping that once in the test team and environment that their agile process and sprint meetings are more structured ( like my previous job, not like this one) and it is everything I hope for and more.<br />
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I guess jobs are like dating, ( you have to kiss alot of frogs to find a princess) , this job wasnt a<br />
frog , it was a toad and it has left a nasty taste in my mouth lol. So Spit Spot, the wind has changed and its my turn to move on. ( to another business that needs me and will actually use me properly).<br />
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The project manager in me says what lessons have we identified with this experience. Well I was recruited to do a job that only materialized for 6 months, and despite realizing my positive impact on products and services , and recognizing it when it came to the end of the financial year, decided somewhere along the line that the risk of defects at the customer end, was less than a tester finding 20 defects per product and spending the time producing a better quality product than the reputation of the business with its customers.<br />
I have also identified tte fact I miss working in collaboration with other testers in order to grow. I collaberated with some friends in regards to my protractor product and this moved me on massively, enabling me to make it more consistent. ( even with server latency). There was no one to fight testing s corner as I was more focussed on delivery rather than implementation. Its the old adage, everyone thought they knew my job, but when i was not there no-one did it. I suppose I dont feel like my job is valued, and my ability is constantly questioned despite having proven myself repeatedly an efficient tester.<br />
The QA process here is now non existent, good luck with that....<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com08 Buxworth Close, Hull HU3 5DZ, UK53.737898788706268 -0.3855514526367187553.733202788706265 -0.39563645263671876 53.74259478870627 -0.37546645263671874tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-75876797548669362172018-03-09T15:32:00.000+00:002018-03-09T15:32:38.457+00:00Bizarre christmas presentHello readers,<br />
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I hope you had a great christmas, we enjoyed being with family, but this year I havent got what i asked for. I asked Santa for a job...We were away for christmas, so when we got back there was a present under the tree....Santa had brought us a present....well more of an unwanted gift really...Santa had given us a live mouse for christmas, no cage, food or anything just the mouse....<br />
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After much screaming, it did whats its predecessors did and ran for it and disappeared. We thought it had returned to its predecessors haunts so having calmed down a bit, we had a drink and settled in front of the telly, It came out to watch Downton Abbey , and disappeared and wasnt seen again.<br />
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Yesterday we didn't see it all, in fact new years day was lovely. Right up until we went to bed, Jenny went to the toilet and was greeted by the mouse doing a runner into the bathroom upstairs. More screaming and I went to investigate. I moved everything out of the bathroom and it ran out of the bathroom on to the landing right where jenny was stood. <queue more screaming> and eventually it ran into our box room. ( well there are plenty of boxes in there).<br />
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Today we visited the new Tesco of awesomeness in St Stephens in Hull, they do mouse sweeties, so we bought a box. we are going to try our own mouse control and see if we can have any luck. If not we will be ringing the landlord on monday ( again) and hopefully they will actually get here this time...<br />
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Happy New YearTester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com08 Buxworth Close, Hull HU3 5DZ, UK53.73780994613103 -0.3857982158660888753.737516446131032 -0.38642871586608885 53.738103446131028 -0.38516771586608889tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-3344890214976451162018-03-08T15:27:00.000+00:002018-03-08T15:31:10.577+00:006 days to goWell Its the week, that everyone loves and hates in equal measure. The last week at an employer.<br />
I have had a couple of reasons for not blogging recently and mostly they are down to health, mine and other peoples.<br />
I have had a persistent stomach ache for the last 5 days, which to be fair, was not pleasant at all. Like a stitch but with more pain. The doctors still think its a muscle twinge but its not getting any better, although I am able to cough now without tears forming in my eyes with pain, so it must be getting better I guess.<br />
We also had a death in the family. We were actually present at that moment they passed away, it was horrible.<br />
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But away from personal reality for just a second, I'm at work I have 6 days left at my current employer, which is the reason for this blog. The last time i saw morale this bad was in the RAF after the first set of redundancies in 1994. It seems that whilst I was away there were some choice words amongst the team, which has not done anything except assist a lot of the team to make a decision that its time to get off this train.In fact the more people I speak to , the more want to leave and this has more than justified my own decision to leave. There are other factors but I cannot legally disclose them yet.<br />
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I read a blog this morning, about dream jobs and following dreams .Chasing dreams is like climbing a mountain, the feeling when you get to the top is like nothing else. Some will stay at the top and enjoy the view, but unless you can see the next mountain to climb, the only way is down.<br />
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It occurred to me that after achieving what I set out to do in the RAF, I had achieved the goal I had set, I had reached the summit of my mountain. But now I had got to where I had set myself I didn't know what to do. I was just floating ( enjoying the view), and this indecision effectively made me lose 2 years of life, I may have lost more but I had nothing to aim for and didn't set myself realistic goals, which probably was a sign that I would leave at my 22 year point.<br />
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This article made me realise that I was back pursuing my dreams with goals. The other thing that struck me is that at the interview stage with my new employer, we were already discussing career progression but with time frames attached , so I now have goals with my new employer. It motivated me because now I know there is progression available and a new shiny mountain has appeared. It has pitfalls , and probably lots of traps , but there is a path, that has been trodden before. Hopefully those people can give me guidance on how best to navigate this path to help me get to the top of my next mountain.<br />
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If you ask any members of my family why I chose to apply for this job they will not get it, especially my wife ( she doesnt like heights). I would say I am pursuing short term pain for long term gain. Yes OK I will be away 3 or 4 nights a week potentially, but within 2 years I could be working in Leeds and could commute.<br />
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When I researched my future employer and their interview process on the internet, it said that more people get into Harvard university than are successful getting through this process.(i did mention this in my previous blog, sorry)m but I have done that,I got through. So the message of the day , do not give up, have faith in yourself, confidence in your ability and ensure it shines through at interview.<br />
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The other thing to learn is that once you have achieved a goal dont enjoy the success too long, its time to look up at the next mountain.Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-58170738654225744172017-12-08T14:44:00.000+00:002017-12-08T14:44:08.773+00:00BillyI told you in the last post I had joined my local breakfast club, and given that today would have been Billy's birthday, I figured today is a good day to post a tribute to this legend.<br />
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When I arrived at breakfast club he was the smallest bloke in stature there, he had a big personality and he made me laugh alot.He wasnt afraid of banter and gave as good as he got. He died suddenly and bizarrely for someone I had only known for 6 months it hit me hard and even now i miss him like he was a family member.<br />
The funeral reflected his personality but they say life goes on, and to a certain extant that is true, but there is still a billy sized hole at breakfast club. the way he made people laugh, the crack we had, that is not there any more.<br />
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So to my old mate Billy, Happy Birthday. Know that just because you are not here , does not mean that your have been forgotten by your friends and family. We will raise a glass in your honour.Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-17100618952572951402017-12-08T14:35:00.003+00:002017-12-08T14:35:57.897+00:00Update on where we arewell despite my best efforts to keep on top of this blogging malarky it doesnt seem to have worked does it?<br />
So i am effectively going to try and bring you up to date on where we are and it will probably explain why i havent blogged.<br />
So in my last post I had sent the wrong CV to a company, wierder than that an old friend contacted me and asked for my CV. When i Sent him my latest attempt he laughed and asked where was my proper cv.<br />
I thought I had done a good job of tailoring it to the job I wanted, but the problem was, I couldnt seem to let go of my military employment. My friend said he could help me providing I was happy for him t o help me , which of course I was, cos so far my way wasnt working.<br />
I joined an Armed Forces Vetrans Breakfast club , and this is where things get really interesting. There were alot of guys and gals there that were in the same boat. I soon realised that for employment i didnt have to be a veteran just another employable minion. That seems a bit harsh but when I got my CV back from my friend who had completely rewritten it there was no mention of my previous time in the Royal Air Force, apart from two lines at the bottom that more or less just stated , also served in the Royal Air Force, like 22 years of my life didnt really matter.<br />
In reality I posted my New Cv online that evening, the telephone rang int he morning , I had a telephone interview in the afternoon, face to face interview the next day and started the very next morning, so it demonstrated to me that my friend was good at writing CVs and that being in the RAF was great and everything but it does nothing for your employment prospects.<br />
The question though is should it?<br />
My new job was a Test analyst for a small family run company, I loved that job. we had a laugh everyday, the team were a great bunch of guys and although sometimes they didnt like it when i did my job, ultimately they were grateful, despite the whole time I was there I never had any piece of work that actually passed Testing first time. it felt great to be part of an actual team again.<br />
On January 15th 2016 one of the guys I had got to know at breakfast club, attempted suicide. It was a pretty determined effort , he took a medicine overdose slit his wrists and tried gassing himself with his car. Fortunately he was found by his family quite quickly and in his unhealthy state of mind he posted on facebook his farewells and how he felt there was no one there for him. I went to see him at hospital and introduced myself. he was put into a secure mental health facility in Hull, im trying to keep naming places and people out of this, but needless to say , it was horrible.<br />
I had to sign in, which in reception was nice enough, but when they escorted me through, the door was a huge steel door and it closed with a sound that made you feel you were being locked in a bank safe. The escort was probably of haitian origin, he was very dark skinned, had a great smile but he never said a word. He was built like a proverbial brick shithouse tho. I was shown into the waiting room.<br />
From the outside, this building looked pretty modern, but from the inside, now i knew the NHS were short of cash, but when i got to this waiting room , nothing prepared me for what to expect. There were no windows the seat covers were from the 1970s and even with the lights on it was dark. the room was smaller than my lounge and in it there were three tables. there was a 2 person table in the corner , an 8 person round table inthe middle and a 4 person table in the other corner.<br />
There were alot of mentally sick people in there, one of which kept replying to the voices in her head , another with tourettes syndrome that seemed to coincide with the voices in the girls head ( but she wasnt responding to what he said), and the room smelt like stale urine. When they brought my friend in, there was no wonder he had relapsed, this place made me feel depressed and I wasnt even ill.<br />
He told me about the doctor saying he was making it all up ( despite having a formal PTSD diagnosis on his medical records) and that they had withdrawn all meds. ( probably because of the overdose)..<br />
There was no way he was going to recover in there. the attitude to illness was not condusive for a start.I tried talking about other stuff to try and lighten the mood but as the tourettes bloke got louder and the girl had an argument with her internal voices , it got louder and eventually we just sat there.<br />
I went back two days later to see how he was getting on, the news was better, only because he had become so out of control off the meds , they had to administer the meds in an injection to calm him down. He told me of the repeated escape attempts of some of his residents. He gave me his families contact numbers so i could ring them and the tourettes bloke and the girl with voices in her head were not present in the waiting room so we could actually talk.<br />
It turns out his dad served in the TA with one of the local MPs and that they were still friends. Whe nI rang this MP, this is when things began to change for the better for my friend. he was moved to a better secure mental health unit, it had windows, the staff listened, and made sure his room did not overlook the road and wit hthe MPs help ( only with the MPs help) did my friend get some treatment.<br />
he still has good and bad days and in many respects he was lucky. He tells people I saved his life, I didnt of course I didnt find him, but i still checkup on him, make sure he is keeping busy and is making progress on his road to recovery, which (fingers crossed) he is.<br />
He isnt the only friend I have have that is a military veteran and has PTSD. Another friend of mine is more determined, he took an overdose having said goodye to his family face to face. they misinterpreted his words and by the time i got to his house to check he was OK, he had collapsed. 18 months on from being in that terrible place i thought thats where he would end up. Evidently not. I called an ambulance , who asked if he would attack the ambulance men again and when i said he was barely conscious the operator relented and got an ambuulance dispatched. He had posted a message on facebook, and someone had called the police. they showed up as he was put in the ambulance, now here is where the conflict in fortunes occur. when he got to the hospital, no one would take responsibility for his mental health, so consequently no one did, and after seeing no one he discharged himself at around 0050. He had been in hospital 6 hours.<br />
His wife made repeated attempts to get him sectioned and there wasnt a doctor within his care chain that would section him. The crisis team did show up to remove any meds frm the house tho , which by monday morning, the beast was no longer asleep and he was in full Hulk mode.The police were called again, but because he was in his own house there was nothing they could do. apparently sectioning is as a last resort. quite how last resort is last resort im not sure.<br />
Medical professionals take note , when a former serviceman informs you he is going to commit suicide it is not a call for attention ( even tho it technically is), its not so you will stop them ( because you wont) , they are telling you because there is nothing you can do to stop it. The doctors have the opinion that those that talk about it dont do it, and for civvies thats probably true. When it comes to veterans that have been trained to operate in the most extreme environmetns and survive, when it comes to suicide they know no one can stop them. it needs someone to watch them like a hawk , checkup on them and make sure they are around when they collapse.<br />
This is what mental health in this country has come to. There are over 3000 military charities that are there to support ex servicemen and women. most of these offer grants and there is very few that can talk about treatment, which in turn is placing excess pressure on thise that do offer treatment.<br />
This is a real and current threat, for every man or woman that was killed in Afghanistan and Iraq there were 5 with life changing injuries and a further 10 with mental health related illnesses, and they are the pople that were showing mental health symptoms early on, it doesnt tkae into consideration those that developed symptoms later on.<br />
I will pledge to blog more often, mostly following the life and times of veteransTester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-16700621642925781332016-01-11T23:54:00.000+00:002016-01-12T01:46:01.885+00:00Another legend diesWell today we learnt that David Bowie had lost his fight with cancer. He is the first popstar after Cliff Richard to remain current in 4 decades, he trod the the path that many then followed. For a brit, he did wonders promoting british music abroad.<br />
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Aside from the sadness, we have had a multitude of professional visitors this week, the mouse man was back to eliminate scouse mouse once and for all, but more than that, we had a bloke that filled all of the cracks and holes in the house to prevent ingress or in fact egress for the said mouse with expandable foam. I had this vision like a cartoon, where this mouse was slowly expanding as it took on the foam and somewhere there is this giant mouse almost solid now with foam.He cant get out, that is for sure, but dont worry readers he has an almost limitless ( in mouse terms) of nice blue sweeties to go at. so we will see. The screaming in the Johnson household would have been reduced as the Mrs Johnson has had a cold and Mucus cough all week so she couldnt have screamed even if she had wanted to. This mouse has proven elusive in the past so we will have to wait and see.<br />
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On the job front, something weird happenned today. I applied for a job attached my CV, but once the application had been sent, I realised that the Cv that had been sent wasnt quite my own. I was sent a CV to copy for format and content, and all I had to do was change it, I had, but the computer hadnt saved it. The recruiter rang for a chat, whereupon the mistake came to light. I forwarded the proper CV and now they are finding work for me ,so that at least remains positive.<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-84586367772533826812015-12-18T19:49:00.000+00:002016-01-02T14:21:46.836+00:00Run up to ChristmasHello again, Happy Christmas,<br />
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Since I last blogged, I have been to the job centre to sign on, normally I dont mention it, but on this occasion , my job centre person said , that her whole life had gone to ratshit,. Now whilst I have been there, I had a sudden flash of inspiration and suddenly said "oh well it could be worse you could be out of job coming up to christmas and only get your national insurance paid...", needless to say it was a short appointment.<br />
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Good news and bad news, I have been applying for loads of jobs and whilst 90% of employers suffer from very poor admin in that they dont acknowledge the application let alone respond, I got an interview for a job. It was for the civil service at Leconfield. I had a days work experience in the same environment to prepare me for possible interview quaetions. Turns out wasnt such a great idea, because all of the hull veterans work club did the same, but needlesss to say it was enjoyable. At the interview we had a variety of competency questions, but needless to say they ticked the " we identified with the stronger candidates" box. I asked for feedback, but in real terms it was repeated in every box , close but no cigar...<br />
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I have started taking photographs again properly. I started again at the breakfast club and have started taking some everytime I go into the city. Theres something quite surreal to living in hull, its really quiet but every now and agin we get a rag and bone man, and its not some bloke in a transit van. these guys do the job properly. They came again today and I finally got the chance to photograph them coming down the street. I am going to edit this picture to show passing of time, maybe some black and white in the middle, im not sure yet, but never the less I thought I would share it with you.<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-72800768545430218082015-12-11T21:34:00.001+00:002015-12-11T21:34:36.299+00:00Alex Politzzis Programme on BBC2Since I last blogged I have applied for another 20 jobs and I do have some good news. I have an interview on Monday with the Civil Service. So we will see.<br />
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Im watching the Alex Politzzis programme on hiring veterans, obviously these guys are my brothers so it helps to see Im not the only one going through this.<br />
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In the mean time there have been no sightings of the mouse/mice and financially things have been really tight, but the veterans support groups in Hull have been amazing. I can wait to get a job tho... Til next timeTester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-85500736095669259342015-12-02T23:00:00.004+00:002015-12-02T23:00:39.901+00:00Syrian Air warToday, the government sanctioned airstrikes against Daesh. its ok taking the war to the enemy, but how are we doing that? when we atacked Iraq we had a strict UN resolution framework to work within. It hasnt been mentioned that we have a legal basis to allow these attacks.<br />
People say it will make Britain a target for terrorists. My response is that Britain has always been a target for terrorists. Look at the IRA. they were far more technically savvy than ISIS. We combatted the IRA as we will Daesh, and our domestic security has improved alot since the early 90s.<br />
The other point is that the Tornado is in demand because of the brimstone missile. this missile is awesome its an anti armour missile and can take out any vehicle at any speed (so far) and limit collateral damage. , the replacement for tornado , the F35 cannot carry Brimstone..<br />
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On the work front I got an interview for the storekeeper position at Leconfield in the civil service, thats not for a couple of weeks tho. so fingers crossed.<br />
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In other news, there was a mass shooting in the US and a number of people are dead after 3 gunmen opened fire. Before we panic guns are legal in the US.<br />
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Above all that the real debate is, is the fashion to have a beard waning? i have a goatee and tash,and wondering if its time to go of whether I should keep it a bit longer.....<br />
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No Mouse sitingsTester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-349689009391804972015-12-02T00:17:00.002+00:002015-12-02T00:17:41.133+00:00Scouse MouseIts amazing you know, you start talking about rats and drain pipes and a mouse appears and I mean actually appears in the lounge. Now our new tenancy agreement is very clear about not harbouring animals so I duelly rang the landlord to notify them of the new occupant and felt they should come and do something about it when Jenny screamed the house down. I thought someone was being murdered in the lounge ( couldn't be Jenny she was still screaming..) so I told the landlord to hold and went to find out that Jenny had actually just seen the mouse...( she had seen it before and not screamed, because she saw it in her periferal vision and thought she was imagining it, so i gave her loads of grief prior to this because it only appeared when I wasn't there. So I said it was her guardian angel) but then it got braver...( and maybe a bit deaf) it didn't care if we were in the lounge and we started to see it or them or whatever daily. we saw it in the dining room too, and the the pest control person appeared. He is a nice chap he keeps snakes he furnished the house with some fetching white boxes and trays of blue mouse sweets. Typically we didn't see it for three days, but then before the mouse man was due to show up again it appeared again, the mouse had tried to fill its hole with a cake wrapper from the bin.so that was removed.<br />
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When the mouse man came back he said the mouse or something had partaken in the free mouse sweets in the buffet but the white boxes were untouched. We haven't seen it since that last mouse man visit, so fingers crossed....I thought it had died under the fridge because of the smell, but then I found a rotten potato.So the elusive Scouse mouse ( so called as we are on Mersey streeet) Saga continues....<br />
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I will get better at this blogging malarky soon as I will start taking some pictures..why not eh? Mice are a bit fast tho lolTester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-36536796350133380342015-12-02T00:03:00.000+00:002015-12-02T23:01:51.789+00:00Christmas approachesHere we are 3 months in and whilst I feel supported, by the excellent Barkers Breakfast club and the Hull veterans work club, I had my CV professionally reviewed and basically they tore it to shreds, which is maybe why I havent heard from any of my 50 applications, but then part of me says they were a professional company and they want me to pay for them to rewrite it.<br />
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So my mission here is to prove that not all ex military people are alcoholic fighters that are only fit for military service. It has kind of hit me for six, I have a wealth of skills and feel desperately old and overlooked. the last interview I went to I wasnt the oldest however...in fact as I Know I will never work for that particular company like ever , here is the story...</div>
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I applied for a job with this company ( despite knowing i will never work for them I'm not completely stupid in naming them lol) , they made me go thru several hoops to get to this particular stage, including an online customer service test which i scored 93% in, a typing test 6241 key depressions per hour, ( 90%) and another test which was role related and I got 100% in that one. This got me thru to a video interview, well I say interview there was nobody there , the questions popped up o nscreen and I answered them, it was horrible but necessary. This got me thru to a group discussion which was like going for RAF Selection all over again. This group discussion was split into three parts. The first part was an ice breaker where we introduced ourselves and said some other interesting things, this then went into a communication exercise, where we were given a laminate to describe for the rest of the group to draw and everyone drew what I described. What followed was a cave rescue scenario where we decided as an individual who in the party we would rescue. Then we had to decide as a group, no one came forward to present their ideas, as we sat there for 5 minutes. So I stepped in and chaired the meeting getting my own opinions across but taking everybody elses opinions into account to come up with a definitive order for the party to come out. The final list looked nothing like I had written down but we all presented why that person should be in that order, and that was the final decision. </div>
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I got an email 3 days later saying thanks but no thanks and that detailed feedback was available and so I emailed them and im still waiting.....I guess they wanted a sheep rather than a shepherd.....</div>
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I took it as a postive experience and when I went to the Hull veterans work club and they said that was common for this particular company. So undeterred I have applied for another 5 positions at this company with different Cvs and whilst ( in my head) they give me due consideration..(NOT!) they probably just laugh and chuck my application in the bin. Don't fear tho readers they haven't posted a new job in a while but as soon as they do..I'll be in there like a rat up a drain pipe...( do rats run up drain pipes btw? ) </div>
Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-41472066586487772622015-11-17T17:48:00.000+00:002015-11-17T17:52:53.442+00:00geographical attitudes<br />
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Its been just over a year and we are still coming to terms with the Paris attacks. </div>
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On a personal front its time to bring you up to date, the good news is that Kit Us Out continues to go from strength to strength and our athletes got a good bunch of medals at the IPC world athletics championship.</div>
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Over the last 12 months I worked for a company that was mainly ex military. for professional reasons i wont go into too much detail, except that they had a number of financial issues and this meant I wasnt paid on time 8 times out of 11. This lead to some difficulties especially when we were paid 18 days late at one stage. They told me in July that the company was going into voluntary liquidation</div>
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this was a lie.They were still discussing it, and we finally got paid 22 days later. in the meantime I had gone to the job centre,and informed the landlord of the companies state, he served with a section 21 despite not being in arrears with our rent. With no money and no food in the house I put it as my status on facebook and all of a suddden i had three people contact me with food and some cash, to ease the problem. We were amazed. But my mother in laws health was deteriorating and with the landlord being difficult we asked the Royal British Legion for assistance. They were very quick, and whilst they would have sorted the landlord out, once they heard that my mother in law wasnt well, and we sort of planned to move to Hull they made it happen...and 34 days later we had moved...</div>
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Noiw Hull may have been featured in the worse places to live a couple of times in the last few years, but I have to tell you, the assistance for veterans is staggering. There is an Ex forces advisor in the CAB, there is a Hull Veterans Support Centre, there is a Hull Veterans work group, and of the course the orignal Breakfast club at Barkers. Whilst my wife has family and friends in Hull, so whilst feeling the pressure of not being employed again, I set off to find my brethren. </div>
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The breakfast club is awesome, everyone knows a guy that knows a guy and thats how I discovered the Hull Veterans Work group. There were 70 veterans attend that breakfast club, a good mix of Army Navy and 4 RAF ( including me lol). We pass the time of day, have a butty and then thin out. </div>
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they meet twice a week, and it gave me a lift. In these times of austerity, the state cant support veterans and some companies cant hire them either.Since I have moved to Hull, I have currently applied for over 30 Jobs for 1 interview, but as the job centre will tell you its early days yet....its never early days when you have no money.....well till next time, it will be more regular now , i have tome on my hands lol</div>
Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-10717945693667619612014-11-19T13:58:00.001+00:002015-11-17T17:49:12.894+00:00A year in the life..Ok readers, its that time of the year again, but in many terms things have changed massively, With this post I aim to bring you up to date with life as a veteran and some of the issues that people like me are facing.<br />
So this time last year I was still a man of leisure enjoying my retirement, but on about this day, it became apparent that I would need a job. I had applied for several but hadnt had any interviews.<br />
I spent a week revising my CV and that didnt work either.<br />
Now fellow ex military its all about the trivial things that we do that we take for granted that are really valued. Self discipline, work ethic, loyalty and other military traits that nly we can offer a civil employer.<br />
It was February before I got a telephone interview for an ex military programme in London. I passed the telephone interview and was invited down for a. assessment. This was with a company called FDM. They are a recruitment agency with a difference, in that they recruit the people with the personality traits they like and then provide them with the skills that then are marketed through their sales department. I passed the assessment, and subsequent final interview and started "work" on Mar 17th.<br />
In a slight break,i need to tell you a story.<br />
Once upon a time a great king asked his followers to get him all of the knowledge of the world, many tried and came back with great tomes. The king whilst impressed said that whilst this was indeed impressive he wanted something shorter, and his followers compressed all the knowledge into one book. the king was impressed but said it still needed compressing, his followers got all the knowledge down to three chapters, the king required it to be compressed further and eventually one of his followers got it down to one phrase......"There's no such thing as a free lunch"<br />
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This is true about FDM. The way it works is that you undergo a period of training depending on what FDM think your specialisation is better suited. Because I was already a qualified project manager, it was decided that I was better suited to a test analyst specialisation. My total training period was 16 weeks. the Majority of which was a 60 -70 hour week to get the project work and revision done. I as lucky and able to stay with my aunt. this is all on the basis that you will be placed with a client at the end of your training. My mother in law is very ill and DM were desperate to place people in Yorkshire ( which suited us). Whilst it would be unprofessional to add personal feelings or comments, all I will say is that I was given some bad advice and the extra pressure ( on top of everything else) made me become a different person and the placement didnt work out. I was released by FDM without any contractual penalties and an amazing sense of relief swept over me. I have made some terrific friends and I will never forget some of the sacrifices they were willing to make to help me.I was sad but elated that I didnt have to get up at 0445 to make a 160 mile journey to park and then catch a tube to get to work for 0745, and then look forward to the return journey at 1700.<br />
I could have cheered.<br />
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Networking is key, its not what you know, its who you know ( and who they know). I posted on facebook that I had been made redundant and was instantly offered a casual bird control position at the RAF bases in Lincolnshire. I loved this job aircraft annd birds in one day result! the only down side is that I only got paid for the hours I worked, which is Ok when the hours are regular.n a zero hours contract I could have good weeks and bad weeks and finally it became apparent that irrespective of how many hours I worked the money didnt go up, so I consulted my resettlement advisor. He knew of a job in my local area, that needed ex military staff. I applied and got the job. Its nice to get a salary and not have to worry about hours per week.<br />
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I am an Emergency Response Controller working for a company in Boston. providing assistance when required for Loan workers,Gap year students and School trips, that are customers of the GapTrac, Locuro or other related products. I find the work interesting and every day is different mostly driven by current affairs. The important thing though is that all of my Emergency response controller colleagues are all ex military and we share good banter. ( the coffee is awesome too...)<br />
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I apologise for the mass text posting that this will appear as but this is the end of the beginning...and a new blogging chapter starts here.....<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-13393823639542012972013-11-11T23:35:00.002+00:002013-11-11T23:36:07.072+00:00Lest we ForgetAs the guns fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we all sit here in quiet reflection, but what do you readers think about?<br />
As a member of the Military I reflect on all my friends that didn't make it, the ones that are mentally scarred that could never come to terms with what they saw, the ones with injuries that serve as a constant reminder of the times they served, the ones that are serving a different kind of her Majesty's pleasure, but most of all the families of these men and women.<br />
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For them another date on the calendar, an empty seat at the dinner table and a missing presence at Christmas. The family that buying a poppy has extra significance, they are the unlucky ones...yet the one thing they all have in common is that their family member died doing what he enjoyed the most. When it comes down to it, the bond that Forces personnel have with their friends is deeper than you can imagine, and whilst its a factor that you could die, in reality its just another day eating crap food, having some good banter with your mates and doing a job. The fact the locals don't like you very much, only really enters your thoughts when they turn their rockets on you as you die for cover,and wait for the all clear.<br />
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I found out today one of the dambusters that I had met Sqn Ldr Tony Iveson had died today. He was an amazing gentleman and he inspired me on the two occasions I met him. The Bomber boys were a different class, they got into an aircraft everyday knowing full well it could be their last and that they were only expected to live for 9 missions. Some defied this destiny of course mostly down to the skill of their crew, the weather and in some cases luck. It doesnt detract from the fact that Bomber command were the largest loss of life for any unit of the war, and yet it was their efforts that really brought the war home to the enemy.<br />
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My last thoughts of today actually derive from my rememberance service from yesterday. I met a man yesterday and he wore his grandfathers German Iron cross, and for the first time you realise that we are remembering them too, at the end of the day they too were having just another day of crap food, good banter with their mates and doing a job.<br />
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I will close with the inscription from Headley Court:<br />
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"<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i><b> <span style="font-size: small;">Its about the blokes,our men and women of the Armed forces. Its about Derek, a rugby player that has lost both of his legs. Its about Carl, whose jaw is wired up, so he has been drinking through a straw. Its about Richard who was handed a mobile phone as he lay on a stretcher so he could say goodbye to his wife. Its about Ben,Its about Steven and Andy and Mark. Its about them all.They are just blokes, but they are our blokes, they are our heroes and we want to help our heroes...</span></b></i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">." </span><br />
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But its also about the blokes that didnt come back....Rest in Peace<br />
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Lest we forget</div>
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-12709665046535883272013-10-03T23:11:00.000+01:002013-10-03T23:11:56.058+01:00Kit Us outs latest kit recipeintLast week I had the honour of arranging and delivering a pair of spikes to the ivory coast national triple jump champion Fatima Diasso. She is training hard to qualify for Rio 2016, and fortunately for us she paid a visit to France to further her training, and through ordering through the Nike France website we were able to get the spikes to her before the competition in France.<br />
That takes up to 60 athletes so far and the mission continues....Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-89136181181227263012013-10-03T23:06:00.001+01:002013-10-03T23:06:38.123+01:00Latest NewsOk blog fans, i have been away quite a bit, so progress so far,we will start with the job front before i end up on another tangent... I applied for th Bridge keeper position at Sutton Bridge and whilst I as informed by one of the guys, that 60 applied they only invited 6 people to interview, but they were really quick in telling me that I was unsuccessful, I have requested feedback and I should get that tomorrow, In the meantime I have a Network Rail interview on Tuesday, The only good news on the job front is that I actually passed my IPMA level D APMP exam which makes me a certified Project Management Associate, trying to find entry level positions is proving challenging though.<br />
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It is becoming increasingly apparent as this government strives to save money ( not very well) that they have taken their eye off the ball. There are thousands of Servicemen being made redundant and everyone of them that I have manged to speak to are finding it difficult to find a job. One of them is now living day to day because he doesnt know where the next meal is coming from let alone getting any money...<br />
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In the meantime, Life on the Costa Del Gedney continues to improve, dont get me wrong being this remote is challenging, there is no mains gas and until today we were on a card electric meter which would cut the electric off at a moments notice without any warning. We need to get more involved with village life and the people, because whilst everyone is very friendy and always says hello, its the old adage its not what you know its who you know..<br />
The Hot Tub is settling in nicely, it doesnt have a name yet, but with the onset of inclement weather we have ordered a gazebo so that we can continue to enjoy the tub in the cold.<br />
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The thing we are really pleased about is that we have lived here 2 months today, and in those two months we have had more visitors than we had iin the whole 13 years we have been married and working in the Royal Air Force.<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-23308752316349337272013-08-29T13:34:00.002+01:002013-08-29T14:00:13.402+01:00Today and 22 years agoWell,today is my first day as a veteran officially. To be fair I don't feel any different to yesterday, I managed a walk to the post box, and enjoyed the peace and quiet and the sounds of the birds, that were then disturbed by some heavy machinery, and despite where I currently live we are not talking of the airborne variety( which strangely haven't been here for a couple of days...hmmm I wonder if something is about to kick off?). It was the largest Combine Harvester I think I have ever seen, it took up all of the road and had to mount the kerb every time he came to a parked car, but anyway I digress.<br />
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Basic Training 22 years ago is a world away from what they do now. The first day consists of decivilianising your appearance, so everyone receives a set of green coveralls and the same haircut. You are issued a pair of trainers, two pairs of shorts and two T-shirts, your combat clothing,some socks and a pair of boots. <br />
The first week consisted mainly of physical training, Drill and briefings about Service life, but in reality that was the day routine, the night one consisted of polishing everything, and then spending about 4 hours polishing the floor ( and when I say polishing, I mean 10 guys in a row adding polish to the floor by hand, one guy with a brick on the end of a pole with a duster on it buffing and then two guys on a polishing machine ( one holding the handle and the other sat in on top of the polishing machine, putting washing powder in front of the brushes to make sure it polished correctly) and then setting your bed up for the inspection and then sleeping on an abandoned bed frame. It meant we are only getting between 4 and 6 hours of sleep per night, so we were knackered most of the time but became accustomed to it.<br />
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Its quite a surreal experience to be asleep in the darkness and yet you can here the other 14 guys breathing and snoring. The guys I shared my room with, were not team players and we didn't get on. Fortunately I met a fireman called John ( he was our Senior Man) and we came to a mutual arrangement, he did my bed pack ( which is your blankets,sheets and covering all folded together so that you can pick them up with one hand so it doesn't fall apart. The acid test was being picked up by a pace stick in the morning) and I polished his shoes. If I had stayed with my fellow room mates, its fair to say that I would not be here now. I lasted in there two weeks and then moved rooms to the same one as John. The atmosphere was completely different and we all did each others kit. There was a knack to doing each piece of equipment and they all had to be identical, so having the same person do them all seemed a logical step.Now the first weekend is always a lock in, to enable the flight to pass "Drill Check" which is a series of drill manoeuvres ending in an inspection all with commands. Our flight was dismal at drill. The man at the front who everyone was trying to mark from just marched too damn fast so,during drill check at one point everyone else was six paces behind him and the the three rows of people that stayed with him had a sweat on. We were the first flight in 20 years to fail Drill check. In fact we ended up marching and doing drill pretty much for the whole weekend....its a good job the Naafi did good pizza. to give you some idea if what we went through heres someone elese swinderby memories, itl give you the right idea and I too was in Gibson Block Middle floor but I was at the back..<a href="http://youtu.be/MLewo6_K4eg">.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLewo6_K4eg</a> and here <a href="http://youtu.be/T9icMo4ZWU0">http://youtu.be/T9icMo4ZWU0</a> The second video is two years before me and yet nothing will have changed...I may convert my Graduation video to DVD yet..I was 2 sqn 2 Flight. If you ever went to Swinderby, we had diffferent scarves round our necks. 1 sqn was red 2 sqn was blue and 3 sqn was green. By 1991 3 sqn had disbanded.<br />
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Swinderby was a proper 1950s RAF station, one of the hangars had been converted into the gym, all the domestic accommodation was on the other side of the road. It was always neat and tidy because lets face it when you have over 500 people going through basic training there are no shortage of "volunteers" to make sure standards are maintained. When I think back though, it was August 1991, the war in Iraq was still raging, ( not that we knew how it was going because we didn't have access or time to watch any TV), we had radio though, and I can tell you "More than Words" by Extreme was in the charts and there didn't appear to be very much news on the radio channel we were listening to. I can tell you this, I was developing a loathing for our female drill instructor. She was Evil. She made the TV in Willo the Wisp seem nice in comparison...( for the kids that was the original series from 1981...check out kids TV here <a href="http://youtu.be/sAwtC0b_gf4">http://youtu.be/sAwtC0b_gf4</a>) but kids tv from when I was a Lad is a completely different subject....<br />
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<br />Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-76158442712349809762013-08-26T17:22:00.001+01:002013-08-26T17:22:08.744+01:00The last day as an airmanSo where do you go on your last day in the airforce? Well I went back to where it all began.<br />
I went home. Sometimes we all associate home as a house, but whilst the district I live in is Home, I associate Home as the village where I grew up, so I went to Whaplode.<br />
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It was flower festival weekend and the church smelt absolutely fabulous, it was quite poignant as it was the first time we had been to that church since mums funeral in 2008,but more than that I met school friends I hadn't seen for over 25 years, it was really nice to catch up and I do hope they keep in touch! and bizarrely I climbed a tree to rescue a parachuting teddy bear that had got stuck in an almond tree...( its ok I was a bit of champion tree climber in my day,been a while tho, but I am pleased to say I've still got it!)<br />
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We had a Laddies ice cream in Holbeach on the way home, and all those that are from the area know that Laddies is an institution, and I'm pleased to say that the strawberry and vanilla ice cream flavours haven't really changed since I was a kid.I have decided that every time we drive by that shop if its open we shall partake in a laddies ice cream..<br />
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And now dear reader you are thinking so he went back to his childhood on his last day? In part yes that would be correct, because somewhere there the dream was born. I was taught to follow my dreams at that school, so by the time I got to secondary school I knew I was going to join the RAF. I didn't know then what I wanted to do, but that was shaped through my schools work experience, and in many ways I am here again, at that crossroads trying to decide what path I should choose next...<br />
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On a side note what a beautiful day we have had today weather wise, not too dissimilar to the day I experienced 22 years ago. I took the oath of allegience in the morning and to newark in the afternoon to Swinderby, although I seem to remember mum and dad taking me to the gates and dropping me off. We were assembled and marcged to our quarters and briefed on the proceedings for tomorrow, which was an early start and included the infamous haircut....Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-42404061957253597482013-08-26T00:21:00.002+01:002013-08-26T00:58:24.327+01:00A year ago todayA year ago today I was at the Paralympic games as a volunteer, initially I was part of the Paralympic famiy assistant programme, but when it became apparent some of the smaller countries werent going to use the programme, I was given the chance to transfer to the Paralympic Village.<br />
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On my first day in the village( it was day 8 of my paralympic games experience) they asked me how long I could commit to, with that information I was assigned to the Jordanian Paralympic delegation. This consisted of 9 athetes, 3 coaches, a doctor a chef de mission, an aide( who was actually the chef because he could speak english and my boss effectively) and 4 members of the Jordanian royal family with associated royal protection squad.<br />
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This picture shows 2 of the table tennis athletes with some of the delegation( doctor,coach and The chef)<br />
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This experience truly changed my life, and I don't say this half heartedly. In many ways it was a catalyst to help me move on from the military in a " theres more to life " type way. It became apparent that there are no wheelchair maintenance facilities in the Middle East and all of my athletes had had to fly half way around the world just to get a sports wheelchair.<br />
Now there is a company out there called Ottobock, they are a wheelchair and prosthetics maintenance professional, they travel to major competitions ( like the paralympics) to repair wheelchairs and service prosthetics. Some wheelchairs though are beyond Ottobocks magic touch. Some of my delegations chairs were in this category and so I set out to find some wheelchairs in a better state that Ottobock could fix and that my delegaton could use....unbeknown to me some of my National Paralympic service assistants were trying to do the same. Two of the Ivory Coast NPCAs Dermot and Tariq, were already making makeshift starting blocks for amputees and trying to source chairs for their delegation.By pooling our resources, Tarriq co ordinated the exchange of 22 wheelchairs, including two of our delegations chairs...but this only seemed to be a scratch on the surface and we all met together, I was introduced to Alex mitchell, and we discussed how shabby some of the athletes basic equipment was. Kit Us Out was born right there, Alex has amazing media contacts and Dermot touched base with some of the larger delegations and we set about begging for some of their equipment and distributing it to the athletes that needed it...by the end of the games we had distributed new equipment to over 40 para athletes...<br />
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This is Ananias Shikongo from Namibia, he is partially sighted and has to have a guide we kitted out 8 athletes from Namibia and Ananias got a Silver and a Bronze medal at the world championships.<br />
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You need to click on the link now....because our legacy equated for one country that had never won any medals to three at the paraympic games and another 8 at the Word championships and the job is not yet done..We are ensuring that by giving the para athletes the equipment they need, it levels the playing field and makes that discipline about ability...and that is what we are about... to date we have equipped 59 athletes from 60 different countries....<br />
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Here we all are, Dermot, me,Matt Dimbylow (Captain of Paralympic GB Football team),Tariq and Alex..We may all be totally different personalities and have different backgrounds, but our combined strengths and determination to level the playing field with the provision of basic sports equipment fills me with joy. Once more the power of poppy and purple....Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345720399481840336.post-73271717997965556702013-08-25T23:15:00.001+01:002013-08-25T23:15:18.202+01:00In the beginning...OK so Im new to this blogging malarky, but you have to understand one thing. When you are in the military you become adapted to a new lifestyle, you get used to doing everything you can to get promoted. But there is a time when promotion is no longer on the cards and from that day on, you are counting the days to the last day, what we all call the ultimate promotion, becoming a Mister (or Missus).<br />
Tomorrow is that day for me, the end of 22 years service and in todays climate of support of british forces Im going to document my transition to being a "civvy". The thing is that once you are in the military you never really change so whilst I may become a "civvy" I will alway be Ex Miitary, hence the blog title.<br />
Now you would have thought getting a job is easy, but so far, because my CV is miitarised, I'm having to civvify my CV to enable to make me more employable..<br />
In the traditional Cricket score I'm currrently 75-3 with jobs applied for versus interviews. I have had one job offer, but that companies admin is shocking and I have to be self employed and whilst I havent ruled it out, Im having to look into how to be self employed...Tester_of _the _Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07374888865786014199noreply@blogger.com0