Brrrrrrrr !

About 2 months ago, we spent a small fortune on a new combi boiler for our house, as the old one was not working properly. I mistakenly thought that this would give us several years of warmth and hot water, but no - that was far too optimistic, as today it decided to stop working.

We are now sat here in the cold, so hopefully the engineer will be able to sort it out tomorrow !

A Confession !

My name is Jim, and I am a gambling addict.....

.....but only on the 2p machines in the arcade at Dawlish Warren !

We have spent the last week there on a family holiday (in Dawlish Warren, not actually in the arcade!), and although Robbie was ill, and there was not a lot to do, and some of the people were very strange, we still managed to have a good time!

We went for a walk on the beach, played crazy golf, had a day in Exeter taking some pictures of buses (me and Rob), and played games and watched "Family Guy" dvds in the evenings.

In between doing that, we posted lots of 2p coins into the machine in the arcade which eats most of them, and very occassionally drops some 2p coins out. We did eventually end up with over 1000 token points, which we exchanged for some toys for the kids, and some other crap we didn't really need.

I will definately go to Dawlish again, hopefully when I am about 85, and I can sit on the seafront with my tartan blanket over my knees, complaining about the weather to anyone passing by!

Stroud Half Marathon, Hockey, and a Wasted Journey

After waving goodbye to Liz and the 3 children, who are off on holiday (I am joining them tomorrow), I continue with preparations for the Stroud Half Marathon, which is taking place tomorrow. I am not running in it (obviously !) and for the first time in living memory I am not the Duty Officer for St John Ambulance - this "honour" falls to Dan, who is taking on his second "big duty".

I set off down to HQ to meet Michael and Dave, to sort out the bikes, and pick up the response car. Michael had beaten me down there, and had already got both bikes out, and was going through the kit, so I start sorting out the response car, including replacing the defibrillator (the "Stand clear- Shocking" machine), which was complaining of low battery. Time for coffee and a cigarette next, while I have a chat with Coral, who has arrived to pick up an ambulance for a PTS job (Patient Transport Service) in Dursley.

Everything sorted here, so I head for home, via my parents house, where I pop in for a coffee and a chat, then off to St Peters School, to play hockey against a team from Stroud. As I get out of the car, the rain stops, and it loooks like we are going to be lucky with the weather.

We comfortably win the game 4 -0, and after a cheese salad baguette for tea, I head for home, planning to start the task of looking for my camera bits and pieces to take away with me tomorrow, but this is thrown into disarray by a phone call asking me to return the response car, as it is needed this evening. After a bit of internal swearing about piss - ups and brewerys, I headed back to HQ to drop it off, but what do I see when I arrive there, the crew member driving out through the gates in an ambulance. "Don't worry about the car Jim, I will go out in this" he said, and disapeared down the road. Cue a bit more swearing about having wasted half an hour returning a car that did not need returning.

Back home for some well earned rest- clocks go back tonight, which should cause some confusion tomorrow!

Now where is the camera tripod......

Heritage buses on normal services.

On Saturday 12th September, Stagecoach West celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Cheltenham District Traction Company, and the launch of "Stagecoach Gold"- 12 new luxury buses running on the 94 route between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

After finding out about this event by chance at lunchtime on the Saturday, we decided to walk into Gloucester town centre, to view the new buses, and also the vintage buses which were running alternate services on the 94, and the whole service for the day on routes 97 and 98.

I made sure I had plenty of battery life left in my camera, and some money for coffee (and ice cream /milkshakes /crisps, as we were taking the kids !), and we set off for town. We saw the first vintage bus as we got to London Road - 969 EHW, a Bristol Lodekka, and I diced with death by standing on a traffic island to get a few shots as it drove past!

Thirty seconds later, we saw the first of the new Stagecoach Gold buses- VX09 NBK coming up the hill. The 12 new buses are all Scania Enviro 400s, with the main selling points being: full height hand-stitched Italian leather seats, helpful uniformed drivers, and a greener engine to save the planet! (the seats do look very comfortable though).

When we arrived at the bus station, Liz, Lucy and Michael went off to the shops, and myself and Joseph found a good vantage point near the entrance, with a few fellow photographers. Within minutes, we had seen another "Gold" bus, a Bristol RE, and a Bristol VR.

We spent the next two hours taking photos of the various buses in and around the bus station, apart from the time spent queuing for a coffee and a milkshake in the bus station cafe, and when the others joined us, we decided to catch the 97 home.

We got onto the Bristol RELL (KHW 306E) and for the first time in my life, had to pay a conductor rather than the driver! Joseph was particularly interested in the vintage ticket machine with winding handle, and has kept the ticket for his scrapbook. After witnessing a brief argument between two Stagecoach drivers about who should drive; possession being nine tenths of the law, the chap in the driving seat won and we were off towards Longlevens.

I'm not sure that Stagecoach did enough publicity about the vintage buses running on normal services with the launch of Stagecoach Gold, as on the way back I overheard one elderly lady telling her friend that this bus looked older than the normal buses, "and it's not even painted gold" !

Frampton Country Fair

On Sunday, Stroud Division covered the annual Country Fair at Frampton on Severn.

There were 9 of us on duty, as well as Severnside Cadet Division, who were doing a PR and recruitment stand.

We arrived on site at 8am, and proceeded to erect the tent, in the same place as in previous years. We had just finished putting it up, when one of the organisers came running across the field to tell us we were in the wrong place. I went and assessed the access and egress routes, while the rest of the team moved the tent !

As I was going to be crewing the ambulance, Dan was going to be Duty Officer for the first time, so I stood back and let him organise the setting up of the first aid post, and deliver the pre-duty briefing. We had some response teams out and about in the crowd, but the ambulance crew were based at the first aid post, so I made myself comfy in a chair, with a good view of the main ring.

During the morning, we had some casualties turn up to the first aid post, all for minor injuries - blisters, small cuts, and a twisted ankle, and they were dealt with by the team. We then had an emergency call from the ambulance service, asking us to attend a 999 call in the nearby village. Myself and Dave got into the ambulance, and made our way (very slowly) through the crowd and out onto the main road. We arrived at the incident in 4 minutes, and then dealt with the football player who had injured her leg. An ambulance service paramedic turned up not long after us, shortly followed by another ambulance, so we all worked together to move her from the ground into the ambulance.

We returned to site, and the rest of the day was fairly uneventful, although one of our response teams did witness a fight, where a group of drunken youths were trying to drive away on some mobility scooters from one of the trade stands !

At 6pm we packed up, and somehow avoided all of the traffic queues that had been around the site all day, and managed to get back to Stroud in only 10 minutes - unlike the poor people stuck in the car parks, who took 1 1/2 hours to get to the road !

PCV Test

After a few months of bus lessons with Mike from Cotswold Green, the time had come for my 1 1/2 days of "official" training, followed by the test on the second afternoon.

I arrived at the training centre near Stroud at 8am and met my instructor, Will, who explained that unfortunately the coach was in Cirencester, so we had to drive over there to start with. We got there and found the coach we would be using, and found the next problem: no "L" plates ! A quick trip to the local garage sorted that out, and eventually we were ready to go.

Will explained the controls particular to this coach, and we set off towards Gloucester, where the majority of the training would take place. The lessons spent with Mike paid off, as I was fairly confident with using the gears, and also with the size of the vehicle, and we headed through Cirencester and out onto the A419 to Gloucester.

When we arrived in Gloucester, we started going round areas likely to be travelled on the test, with Will telling me how specific things had to be done in order to win the approval of the examiner. After about 2 1/2 hours, we stopped at a food wagon, and had a cup of tea and a break from driving, then it was off back to the training centre at Stroud, for maneuvering practice in the yard.

After reversing the coach around the yard between cones, and stopping in a small yellow box several times, we were back out for more normal road training around Gloucester. At the end of the day, we went back to Cirencester to drop the coach off, and then I went back to the Cotswold Green yard, but I was too tired to do any shunting, so I went home !

The next day started well, with a good drive from Cirencester to Gloucester, and then off around some more test routes. we then went back for more maneuvering practice, and a few tries at emergency stops. After lunch we headed over to the test centre, and as we got closer, I got more and more nervous! We met up with Mike at the centre, as he was very keen to see what happened at the final hurdle !

The examiner kept me waiting for about 5 minutes, but I thought it prudent not to complain ! When he arrived we went out to the coach and he explained how the test would go. First up was the "S" shaped reverse into a marked bay, which went fine until I drove into a shadow and lost sight of my marker on the wheel arch - luckily I managed to lean out the window and regain my bearings, and completed the task successfully.

Next up was the emergency stop, where I had to accelerate up to 20mph and then stop in one coach length. This went without incident and we then went out onto the road where we ended up behind several Gypsy caravans being pulled by horses. This held us up for about 10 minutes, but once we had got round them, the rest of the tent went very well, and I was incredibly relieved when we got back to the centre and the examiner told me that I had passed !

Mike and Will came over to join me, and after a quick chat with the examiner, the "L" plates were removed from the coach, and I drove back to Cirencester, with my two trainers as my first passengers I had carried as a qualified driver !

Back to the Cotswold Green depot then, to pass on the good news to Rob and the others. After a coffee and a chat, I headed for home, where my lovely wife had baked me a celebratory cake !

School Bus !

From Monday to Wednesday this week, one of the Cotswold Green buses has been turned into a classroom for nine employees to study towards an NVQ. This is all to do with the Government insisting that all bus drivers (as well as taxi, lorry and coach drivers) have to now hold a CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence).

The first day got off to a bad start, as the training company had made a mistake and did not turn up at the depot! After a few cups of coffee and several phone calls, the training was abandoned, so we went home early, with instructions to be back at 9 in the morning.

We reconvened the next morning, and straight away found the next stumbling block: the internet was not working, so some of the essential testing material could not be downloaded. Luckily I had my mobile internet dongle in my car, so we managed to get online, and I earned myself the promise of a cake!

Then came the paperwork ! Form after form after form to fill in, sign, initial, read, and file into the portfolio, and this was just the induction for the NVQ. For the rest of the afternoon, and the following day we talked about customer service and diversity, and took it in turns to take an online exam, which was one of the modules towards the CPC.

All of us passed our exams, so Rob was pleased with the progress made. I have another appointment to see the NVQ assessor on Monday, when I have to take along my homework- a copy of my CV, and a learner statement about when I have provided good customer service.

This evening I have been left in charge of the children, as Liz has gone on a girls night out to watch the new Harry Pottter film, so I have taken the opportunity to work on some more fare charts for the new Cotswold Green website which will be launched in August.

Bus Driving around Cirencester

I had another bus driving lesson today, my third so far, this time in the biggest vehicle in the fleet, a Scania N113CRB (about 38 foot long).

After arriving at Cotswold Green HQ, I set off on an observation exercise with Mike, to do a school run. After putting on my new official Cotswold Green uniform polo shirt, we went and picked up the students from the school in Stroud, and went on a route through Minchinhampton and out to Tetbury, with Mike teaching me tips about driving on a school run. As soon as the last students left the bus, we stuck the "L" plates on, and set off again with me behind the wheel.

This bus was very different to the Dennis Darts I had driven on my previous lessons, it was longer, and much more powerful. We went into Cirencester and around the very narrow and winding one way system, and as I mounted the pavement twice, we went round again - this time I corrected my errors, and Mike almost looked pleased !

When we got to Stroud, we did the traditional trip around the one way system, and I managed to get round the tight corner, for the first time without running over George Holloway's toes !

I drove for about 2 1/2 hours this time, and when we got back to the depot, Mike got me to do a reverse into a gateway, and then get the bus into the right space in the yard. It was just gone 7pm so it was time to get across to Stroud, ready for the weekly St John meeting.

Sidecar Racing, Strawberry Bon-Bons, and a Red Flagged Race

I was out on the course at May Hill on the ambulance today with Helen, so we left HQ first this morning. When we arrived on station, the first bit of good news was that the marshals had brought sweets ! After a few strawberry bon-bons, we had the bad news: racing had been delayed by 30 minutes with a start time of 11.15, due to rain elsewhere on the course.

After ½ hour we had another radio message that racing had been delayed for a further ½ hour due to hailstones on the course! Myself and Helen went down the road to post my postcards (which I had been carrying around in my bag for 2 days) and while we were there we had another message, that racing would now start at 12.45. We also went down to Ramsey Hospital to re-familiarise ourselves with the helicopter landing pad, in case we had to take a casualty there from the track.

At 12.30 the next message came that we would be now starting at 13.45. By this time I had done 3 crosswords and eaten the rest of the sweets, and we were getting a bit fed up with all the delays.

Racing eventually started at 14.00 and the race passed by without incident. We then had ½ hour before the electric bikes came round, so we went into Ramsey and bought an ice cream each- my second ever Manx ice cream!

In the sidecar race, there was a serious incident at Ballacobb, and the race was red flagged, as a sidecar had crashed and caught fire. The driver and passenger were both airlifted to hospital, along with a marshall. This put a dampener on the day, and the race and planned practice were abandoned, so we were stood down.

Day off tomorrow, and we are off in the minibus to visit some places around the island.

Racing, Electric Bikes, and a Veggie Chilli

We all managed to get a bit of a lie in this morning, as the roads were not closing until 11.30, ready for the first race at 12.15. I was stationed at Ballaspur for the day, with Simon (from Merseyside) and Andy (from Kent), so we got a lift in the back of the Ballacraine ambulance, and walked the last few hundred yards up the track to our post.

The marshall point at Ballaspur is a scaffold tower from the field next to the track, so we had a really good view of the racing as they passed, really fast, only a few feet away from us. The marshals there are very friendly, so we passed the time chatting to them, while we were waiting for the first race to start.
The first race started on time, and less than four minutes later the first of the 600cc bikes came past us. The race passed without incident for us, so after the last Travelling Marshall went through our location, we climbed into the field behind our post, and sat in the sunshine to eat our lunch.

Next up was the sidecar practice laps, and apart from a few bikes getting very close to the boarding, there was nothing notable at our location. Once the sidecars had left the track, we waited to watch a first for the Isle of Man: the first battery powered bikes doing a lap of the mountain circuit. These bikes are powered by big batterys and motors in place of the tank, and they can reach speeds of over 100mph- but quietly ! Because of this, if the bikes are going through a yellow flagged incident, they must sound their horns, to give us some warning that they are coming, and a chance to get out of the way! The electric bikes came through at quite a respectable speed, although a few of them did seem to struggle with the hill, and one of the marshals mentioned that he had seen a sign in a shop in Douglas: “Extension Leads For Sale, 37 ¾ Miles Long” !!

After the electric bikes had completed their lap, the crossing points were opened, and we walked back down to Ballacraine for a break, where we bought Andy (who has a well known fondness for chocolate) a “TT Special”, which was a chocolate muffin, with a mars bar shoved in the top.

We then returned to our station ready for the next race, and at that time the midges decended on us, so we were trying to watch out for bikes, and also avoid getting bitten to death by the midges. The first bikes came found the corner, only a couple of seconds apart, and from then on were really going for it, with several coming close to crashing into the airbags on the way out of the corner. One bike went over so far, his footpeg went into the tarmac, back wheel lifted, and for couple of seconds all of the marshals and medics were sure he was going to come off. Somehow he recovered, and we spent the rest of the race on the edge of our seats !

When we got back to HQ, the Commissioner had cooked us all dinner, as we had had a long day with no chance to get anything from the shop. The veggie chilli was delicious- and very spicy! Racing again tomorrow, and roads close at 10.30, so I will have to leave HQ at about 9 to get up May Hill on time.

On a private plane with a celebrity !

After a morning at work, Liz took me to Staverton airport to catch the plane to the Isle of Man for the TT Races. When I got on the plane I had two surprises: one was how small the plane was- the pilot gave the safety briefing kneeling down! - the second was that I was sitting next to John Sergeant (recently of Strictly Come Dancing fame). He was not very entertaining though, as he spent the whole (45 minute) flight listening to his mp3 player.

The first part of the flight was not too bad, but when we started the descent towards the IOM it became very bumpy, and the landing was very rough!

Geoff picked me up from the airport in the hired minibus, and 1/2 hour later I was at HQ getting into my uniform ready for the evening practice races. I went to the Grandstand and signed on as a marshall, and covered the finish line until roads opened at 21.30- by that time I was freezing cold, as I had forgotten to take my bomber jacket.

Back to HQ for some toast, followed by Jammy Dodgers with a cup of tea, then off to bed now, ready for an early start for race day tomorrow- weather dependent!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling....

Fame at last ! I was on duty at the Cheese Rolling on bank holiday monday, and I was interviewed by a German TV crew for a documentary.

The Cheese Rolling is an annual tradition in Gloucestershire, where a group of mad people run off the side of a hill (cliff) chasing a cheese. First to the bottom wins the cheese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVSJujKLSKk

You can see me at about 1.47 minutes in, as I drive in with the ambulance.

We had a busy day, with 55 casualties, 11 of these needing transport to hospital.

Bus Driving

Today was the day ! I had been keeping on non-stop to Rob for the last few months, and after having obtained my provisional license, I was allowed out for my first bus driving lesson!

I went to Cotswold Green's depot at 12.30pm to meet Rob (who was late) and met my driving instructor, Mike. He showed me around the Bus I would be driving( N464 TPR, a Dennis Dart with East Lancs. body) and explained the location of all of the controls.

Rob arrived with the Sellotape, and we bodged some "L" plates onto the front and back of the bus (a little too much Sellotape in my opinion, but Rob seemed to be happy!)

Mike drove us out of the depot and onto the main road, then pulled into a layby, we swapped seats, and then off we went, with me driving for the first time! The first challenge was a left hand corner, which I achieved without incident, so after a few more left and right corners, Mike decided it was time to try some roundabouts!

We went from Nailsworth to Tetbury, Cirencester, Coates, Aston Down, Stroud, Cainscross, Forest Green, and then back to Nailsworth, and I was driving for about 3 hours in total.

I hit two kerbs with the back wheels, one in Cainscross, and the other in Stroud centre. Both times were due to me not looking in the mirror properly as I went round the corner, and not allowing enough room for the back to swing round. Mike made me go around and do the same two corners again, so I would learn my lesson!

I really enjoyed my first lesson, and am looking forward to the next one!

Lawn Mowing, Clay Pigeon Shooting, and a BBQ

The whole family went to Stroud yesterday morning to collect some kit from the St John HQ, and we also went to visit my sister in law, Angie, to pick up the electric hedge trimmer.
When we got back, I spent the rest of the day cutting the hedges, mowing the lawn, and doing general tidying work around the garden. (some of it involving leaning on a tree inspecting how well my new grass seed was growing!)

This morning I was invited along as an honorary employee of Cotswold Green bus company (I maintain their website) to a company clay pigeon shoot near Cirencester.
It was good fun, but quite difficult, and I managed to shoot 14 out of 25 clays.

This evening we have had a BBQ with Rob and Angie, and the kids have been eating their body weight in burgers and cake!

We are both very tired tonight, so early to bed, as it's back to work in the morning.

By Royal Command !

This blogging lark is more difficult than I thought it would be. If I had time to update it every day, I might stand a change of actually remembering what has happened!

I have decided that this will now be an "occasional blog", which I will update when I have a chance.

The past few weeks have been really busy, both at work and at home. I have also been working non-stop in the garden whenever the weather has been suitable, as well as training for the St John Ambulance regional competitions.

I had a manic day at work today, and hardly stopped all day. One good thing happened though, just before lunch time I set up a new PC and printer for the kitchen staff, and they rewarded me with free lunch and flapjack!

After work today, I was lucky enought to be one of the two ambulance crews who were invited to St John County HQ, to meet various important people, including HRH The Duke of Gloucester and the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, who had come to look round the headquarters. I firstly had to lead some demonstrations of ambulance equipment for the cadets- who were very quick learners, and then show the guests round the ambulance garage. It went really well, and I had a good discussion with the Lord Lieutenant about the merits of different models of Land Rovers !

Almost a weeks worth !

It's been quite a busy week, and I have not managed to update the blog at all, so I will do a quick roundup of what has been happening.

Saturday

I spent the morning working at home, tidying up the garden and cutting up some wood. Just after lunch, my parents-in-law popped in for a coffee, which resulted in a mad rush to get ready for hockey! I arrived at the hockey pitch in Cheltenham (only a few minutes late) and we had a good game, but we ended up losing 3-1 after some very dodgy decisions by the umpires!

Sunday

Up early, and as I was going to cut up a tree today, I tried out my new chainsaw in the garden before 8.30 ! I decided that might upset some neighbours, so turned it off again straight away!
A friend of my parents had taken down an apple tree in their garden, and had no way of cutting it up, so my mum had volunteered me for the job- in exchange for the wood- fair deal.
I went round, the chainsaw did its job well, and I half filled our trailer with wood for the fire.
In the afternoon our friends Jon and Tracy came round to try out putting up their new tent in our garden. This test run went ok, and they are all set ready for our camping trip in April.

Monday

Can't remember a thing which went on today!

Tuesday

Got to work today to find Michael, the technician, looking very poorly. He sat at his desk all morning not getting a lot done, so I sent him home at lunchtime. He did not want to go, as he has only recently started working here, but I told him that I didn't want to catch anything, so he had to go!
First aid was needed again today, as a student had accidentally put their arm through a window, causing quite a deep cut to their forearm. I put a dressing on it, and sent her down to hospital, where it was glued back together.
In the evening I went to my St John unit for a training session, and a teacher from a local school came to present me with a cheque for £50, which his students had raised by doing a concert. They had not had any links with us, so that was nice of them.

Wednesday
Michael was still ill, so I was by myself in the office today. We had a demonstration of the SIMS learning gateway- a way of accessing school data over the internet.
After work I went to the staff gym, and did 30 minutes on the treadmill- 10mph for 21 minutes of that, and 5mph for 9 minutes. My first target is to get to the full 30 minutes running at 10mph on the cross country setting.
In the evening I had a church council meeting, to which I was nearly late due to some temporary traffic lights which kept me waiting for almost 10 minutes on red !

Today

This morning I went to an open session at the college hosted by our chaplain, called Prayer Story, where he goes through 12 pieces of art in the conference room, talking about the meaning in them. This series of events is to get outside people to engage with the college, and they have been quite successful so far. As I am a Governor, I was asked to go along, and I found the session very thought provoking.
This evening I have been to a Community First Responder unit leaders meeting. CFRs are members of the public who are trained in Basic Life Support and Automated External Defibrillation, and are volunteers who are on call to the ambulance service to answer emergency calls in their area.
We were shown a new piece of software which can log when CFRs log on and off via text message, and also provide reports, and real time status updates. This is a really good development, and hopefully we will be going live with this soon. I also managed to acquire a new uniform polo shirt!

Cheltenham Races, Radio Control, and a Busy Day

Another early start for the last day of the Cheltenham Festival. Today I will be in Control, working with a GWAS (Great Western Ambulance Service) Controller, dispatching all medical resources around the site. We have 4 foot patrols, a cycle response unit, 10 ambulances and some officers on site for the day.

I set up in control while all of the other medical staff attend the briefing, but 10 minutes in, the first emergency call comes in- a member of staff had fallen in one of the catering areas. I rang down to the medical centre to interrupt the briefing, and ask for an available crew to take the call.

In control we use a clever bit of software called Despatch, which shows the location and status of all units, and logs all call times, and radio comms, and pretty much anything you want! Units who are available are shown in green, busy units are shown as red.

It was very hectic all morning, with many calls, including falls, angina attack, collapse and others, and at one point every resource on the screen was red, and the calls were stacking up!

Around lunchtime, it calmed down a bit, and I managed to get a break for lunch, (goats cheese and spinach tart, with vegetables). Once I returned to control it was fairly steady all afternoon, with only a few really busy periods.

As always, just when we were getting ready to go home, we had a call come in for a collapse near one of the gates. I despatched the nearest foot patrol, and also the cycle response team. The cycle response team arrived first, despite being a lot further away than the foot patrol. They requested an ambulance to their location, and this turned out to be quite a protracted incident, as it was unclear whether the casualty had any injury, or was just drunk! Eventually they got him off site, and on his way to the Emergency Department.

We then had the order to stand down, but the last job was to close down control, disconnect all the computers and pack up. Job done, the car arrived to take me home after a very tiring day!

Cheltenham Races, Cycle Response Unit, and The Sun

I had to get out of be as soon as the alarm went at 6.30 this morning, as I was off for the first of my two days at Cheltenham Races, and I was being picked up outside the house at 8.00am. I had to get all my cycle responder kit on, and also pack up my other uniform in case I was needed to do other duties instead. Had time for a piece of toast on the way out the door, and then the car arrived to collect me.

We got to the racecourse in plenty of time before the briefing, and the first job was to check the bikes over. The only issue with my bike was that it was covered in mud, so I volunteered to make a cup of tea, while someone else cleaned it for me !

Cycle response units are a fairly new initiative in Gloucestershire St John Ambulance, but they are really useful resources at large events with big crowds. We can get through traffic jams where ambulances would get delayed, and can carry more kit, and move faster than a foot patrol.

Once the bike checks were completed, we went into the first aid post and listened to the duty briefing, and then with the callsign "Charlie One" we were off on patrol around the North coach park. We watched the steam train arrive at the station, then headed back up the hill to go on standby near control.

After our time on standby, we were sent on patrol of South car park, but decided to take a detour into the "Best Mate" enclosure, to have a chat to one of the ambulance crews. We left our bikes in the charge of some stewards, and went in. Just inside the gates was the big red bus belonging to "The Sun". We went over and managed to get some free beanie hats. They also had a model horse there, which we decided we would sit on for a laugh. While we were sat there, a Sun photographer came out of the bus, and took some photos of us with some "The Sun" girls draped over us ! Its a tough job !

No emergency calls for us all morning, so at 1pm we are sent up to the emergency workers marquee for lunch. It was really nice with soup, stuffed tomatoes and vegetables, followed by fruit. After lunch we went on standby at the first aid post for a while, before resuming our tour of the car parks.

Again we managed not to get any calls, and soon it was time for shift change, so a new crew were on the bikes and I joined a foot patrol team, walking round the crowd areas. Before long we had a call to one of the bars, where a 41 year old man had injured his knee after jumping over a bin! I assessed the injury, and the knee was clearly dislocated, so called for an ambulance to come and transport him to the medical center. There was a bit of confusion on the radio, and somehow there was quite a delay in getting the patient removed from the bar, and it ended up with us pushing him on the trolley to the medical center, rather than via an ambulance. The doctor assessed the patient and decided he would need hospital treatment, so he was loaded into an ambulance and transported off site- this was the only patient I treated during 10 hours on duty.

It was very quiet today with only about 30 patients treated, so this could be the lull before the storm and tomorrow could be really busy.

Library System, Chocolate Cookies, and an Early Finish

I managed to get up on time this morning, so had a leisurely walk to work for the last time this week, as tomorrow and Friday I will be on duty at Cheltenham Festival.

First job is in the main hall, to help sort out a technical issue with connecting a laptop to the data projector. When I get there, I find that there is no power to the Audio Visual cupboard, and nothing is working. I get hold of the site manager and the AV technician on the radio, and between them they find the tripped switch, and get everything working just in time for assembly.

I spent some time in the library this morning, battling with adding the function to export pupil details from SIMS (the school information management system) into the library system. I was on the phone for a while with their technical helpline, who have not managed to solve the problem yet.

I had a nice treat after lunch, when Claire (one of the supply teachers) brought in some home made double chocolate chip cookies- they were very nice!

Next I had a phone call from one of our suppliers to say that the extended warranty for some laptops which they had quoted at £10 each were actually going to cost us £40 each- I was not happy about this, and considering I have just spent £12,000 on laptops with them, they are not getting away with it! I am now waiting for them to call back to let me know what they are going to do about it.

I am finishing early today, as I have to get all my stuff sorted out for the next two days at the races. On Thursday I will be a Cycle Responder- on one of the St John Ambulance mountain bikes, and on Friday I will be in Silver Control, directing all medical resources on the site.

Late Start, RM Tutor, and a Governors Meeting

I got up late this morning, and was rushing around trying to get everything ready to go, when my phone went. It was one of my colleagues Julie, asking if I wanted a lift to work. Good timing! Eventually got myself sorted and out of the door, so arrived at work on time after all.

At school we use a package called RM Tutor to monitor what the students are doing on the computers. It is a good piece of software which lets you do all sorts of funky things, like restricting internet sites, taking control of their keyboard and mouse, and locking their computer when they are supposed to be working. We had a bit of an issue this morning, as a teacher had used RM Tutor during their lesson and locked all keyboards and mice in the room, then left at the end of the lesson without unlocking them again. The next teacher in was unable to do anything about it and I had to run around the school trying to find the teacher to unlock it with their laptop. This wasted about 20 minutes of a lesson.

There was a steady stream of students at the office door up until lunchtime, all requesting password resets or to be logged of other computers- they don't seem to get the idea that when you finish using a computer you need to log off!

At lunchtime I went outside to do my duty, and as I walked out the door, it started to rain. Luckily it was very light, and only lasted a few minutes, but I was glad when the bell went and I could get back into my warm(ish) office.

I spent most of the afternoon copying music from CDs and finalising the ICT Development Plan ready for the Governors meeting this evening.

After work today I went straight into the Finance and Premises Committee meeting, where among other things we discussed my ICT Development Plan. The chairman thanked me for my work and said it was a "comprehensive plan", and some of the points will be brought up at the next meeting. I was pleased with this outcome, as it had taken me ages to put it together!

Walked home in the freezing cold, and since I had got a lift in the morning, I didn't have my coat on. I did get home to a nice warm house, and sat in front of the fire with a coffee to warm up. It's been a long day, so I think I will probably have an early night.

Power Cuts, Macs, and a Pink Mouse

This morning when I got to work I had an email from the supplier of the exploding toner cartridge (see previous posts). They have passed the complaint to their supplier, and are awaiting to see what compensation we will be getting- That should please the admin lady whose shoes were ruined.

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After the first couple of jobs, I had a few minutes spare to do a favour for another admin lady, Arnie, who since she started at the school has wanted a pink mouse for her computer. (don't know why!) so I took an old mouse down to the DT department, spoke nicely to Nina the technician, who gave me a can of pink spraypaint - half an hour and a couple of coats later, we had a nice pink mouse, and a very happy Arnie.

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As soon as I got back to the office, a teacher arrived with a student who had knocked his face against a cupboard. (It wasn't my turn on the first aid rota, but my office was next to the classroom where it happened). His cheek was swollen up, and he was in a bit of pain, so I gave him some ice, and got him to sit in student reception. After about 15 minutes the swelling had gone down, so he went back to class.

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Rob, the art teacher, brought his Mac notebook up to the office next, as the Windows XP installation on the virtual machine software had stopped working. I hate Macs, and sorting this out took the next couple of hours and a lot of trial and error- after that, I like Macs even less!

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During lunch time there was a power cut affecting the whole school, which only lasted less than a minute. As the servers are all on uninteruptable power supplies, there was no lasting impact, but a few people lost the work they were doing when their machines powered off. Quick tour of the school next checking that all network cabinets had come back up properly after the power cut- all was ok.

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At the end of the day, I got home a bit late, to find my wife waiting by the door, ready to take my eldest son to swimming lessons. Luckily dinner had already been prepared, so I only had to put the potatoes on to cook when it was time.

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Baths for all the kids tonight, then we sat down and relaxed in the lounge in front of the fire- Liz is watching Charmed on DVD, and I have been surfing on Facebook and playing online chess!

Mud Glorious Mud!

Early start again this morning, but not due to Libby keeping us awake all night, as she was very good and slept through until 6.30am (see previous post) but because I was on duty with St John Ambulance at a motocross. I picked up my crew mate, Dave, at 8am, and got to the track at about 8.30, just in time to join a massive queue from the gate. This was due to the very muddy conditions on the site, meaning that the competitors support vehicles were all being towed in by tractor. We eventually got to the site of the first aid post, to find that the entire area was covered in thick muddy clay.

As soon as we got on site the first practice started, as we tried to get the 4x4 up to the centre of the track. The farmer who owned the field, told me that we would never get the 4x4 up the hill, and he was right! Even with low range diff lock, the land rover struggled to get up the hill, and started to sink- the clay mud was turning the off road tyres into slicks! After several attempts, and change of route, we eventually got to a vantage point mid way up the hill, and decided to stop there!

The morning passed uneventfully, with the first aid post only dealing with 1 fractured collar bone. This was due to the very muddy course, meaning that the bikes couldn't go very fast, and if they did fall off, there was a very soft landing!

Lunch time next, and as usual, no break in the races, so the first aid staff came off the field and had their lunch 2 at a time. Chips for me, as burger vans don't do much in the way of vegetarian options!

After lunch the conditions were made worse by persistent rain and high winds. The first aid tent nearly blew away, and had to be tied down to a nearby van, and the course had to be altered as the bikes were unable to negotiate some of the track.

Only minor injuries to deal with during the afternoon, but there was some entertainment when one of the first-aiders, Marie, went to take a photo of the bikes, but slipped and fell down in the mud.
The last casualty treated (for a small cut to his knee) told us that the current race was the last one, so when the last bike passed the line, we started packing up the kit, and bringing the crews down from the track. Next thing we know, bikes are coming down from the start- seems like our casualty was not a reliable source of information!

This race was the last one, so as soon as it finished, me and Dave loaded up the vehicle, and headed back to HQ and the jet wash. The 4x4 was so covered in mud, it took us nearly an hour to clean it.

I have been doing motocross duties for the past 12 years, and this was the worst track conditions I have ever seen. Hopefully next time the weather will be better!

Wood chopping, hockey and babysitting.

Early start this morning, as I had plenty of work to do in the garden. Moving a woodbunker, and then sorting and chopping up logs for the fire.

This afternoon I was playing hockey, but our 11th man did not show up, so we only had 10. This was ok until about 10 minutes into the match, when one of my team mates got hit on his hand by a stick, and split his finger open quite badly. After practising my first aid skills, then sending him off to hospital, we resumed the game down to 9 men. Despite a valiant effort, against a full side, we ended up losing 2-3, not bad considering we failed to convert a penalty stroke which would have made a draw.

Had to dash back home after the match as Alex, the heating engineer, was calling to have a look at our combi boiler. No good news from that visit, as we now have it confirmed that our boiler is not working properly, and will need replacing soon.

We are doing a favour for some friends, and are looking after their 5 month old daughter, Libby, overnight. They arrived at about 4pm to drop her off, and so far she has been crying for about 2 hours non-stop! Hopefully she will stop after she has had her bottle, otherwise we will not be getting much sleep tonight.

Nothing else planned for tonight, just a relax in front of the telly, and a fairly early bedtime, as I have to be up for the motocross duty in the morning.

ICT Development Plans and an Exploding Toner Cartridge.

Enjoyed a bracing walk to work this morning, with hard frost on the ground, but nice warm sunshine.

As I walked up the stairs to the office, I get the first enquiry of the day; a teacher wanting to be able to watch a Youtube video in the classroom. (Youtube is filtered in the college, to stop the students accessing inappropriate content). After sorting this one out, I pop along to staff briefing for a cup of tea and a chat.

First couple of hours are fairly insignificant- usual list of students coming to the office for password resets and help with various things, while I am trying to work on the ICT Development Plan.

This is a document which I have spent a lot of time on, putting our aims and objectives for the next three years down on paper (15 pages at last count). I then have to present this to the Governors next Tuesday to try and secure funding- (which is when the ICT Development Plan might get re-written if there is no money available!).


Bit of excitement after break, I am called down to reception for First Aid to see a student who has sneaked out for a cigarette at break time, and now feels sick. I walk into the room to see a student with her head in bin vomiting, while the teacher tries to hold her hair out of the bin. After she has been sick, she immediately feels better. Note to students: At school during break time is not the best place to try your first cigarette!

Issue with an exploding toner cartridge came next- in one of the offices, a very upset admin lady stood covered in yellow toner, after she tried to change the cartridge in her printer. My technician busied himself cleaning up the mess and replacing the cartridge, and I fired off an email to the supplier expressing my disappointment at the quality of their product. Have to wait and see what comes of that.

This evening I went to do some work for a local coach company, who needed some programming work done on their phone system. After a couple of hours battling with an unfamiliar system, with limited information, I eventually got it sorted (and therefore paid). Hopefully I have secured some further work with the company next door as well, so not a bad evening all in all.

On the way home I picked up the 4x4 ambulance from its garage, ready for the motocross duty on Sunday, so I now have a big white landrover parked on the driveway, blocking my view from the window.


Thats it for today, my first day of updating the Blog. Hopefully I will have time to update again tomorrow.

First Post !

Welcome to my Blog. I have been thinking about writing a blog for a little while now, not because I have anything important to say, but because occasionally interesting things do happen that I want to make a note of.

I am an ICT Manager for a school in Gloucestershire, and I volunteer part time with St John Ambulance (hence the Blog title). I am married, and have 3 children.

This Blog will be updated regularly (or more likely rarely) with everyday happenings in my life.