A new beginning

Hello everyone,

It has been far too long, and I wholeheartedly apologise for the gap in between my last posting and this one. As I said, my laptop has been broken and is now in the process of being fixed, I just haven't been that quick about it. I guess it just shows we don't really need all of these electronic gadgets to live our lives (thanks to Grace, my wonderful girlfriend for lending me her laptop in the meantime...) .

I have been a very busy bunny, what with finishing my stint on FM, working on concerts in the forest as a runner and starting as a recreation ranger. More of all that to follow. 

I would just like to say, it feels like a very interesting time for the Forestry Commission, as all Government Departments come under review for spending cuts. Obviously, as everyone does, the FC wants to make a case that it's 'special' as it provides so many benefits for the public and the environment, as well as generating revenue. Nevertheless, the way it is run is bound to change, which is probably a good thing as at the moment there seem to be way "too many chiefs and not enough Indians", to quote the wise old words of Gilly. At first it looked like it might be bad for me once I finish Uni as well, as they have stopped recruiting from outside, but then I realised there may just be far more opportunities for enterprising souls who make the most out of the new gaps which appear.

Anyway, enough speculation about the future, right now I am working with Recreation, which is basically the department that deals with all aspects of the public using the forests. This includes maintaining bike trails, organising events such as running and orienteering, looking after High Lodge which is the large visitor centre we operate here, and general maintenance and upkeep of picnic sites and waymarked walks scattered around the forest. Most of this stuff seems to look after itself, but sometimes you have to deal with accidents, anti-social behaviour, littering, vandalism etc. 


Last week I was out using a little golf cart thing we have on trial to drive around the forest and repair signs and posts which had been knocked over on the various bike routes around the visitors centre. It is a nice job really, all the Rec' team are really friendly and generally a young lot and quite engaged with the public.


I promise to get some photos up and put them on here when I get my camera and get back into the swing  of things, I realise it can be quite boring reading lots of words and not having any pretty pictures to look at. You youngsters, eh? In my day, we were happy with a book and a belt across the arse...


Lastly, I will say that the first lot of concerts put on here in the forest went off perfectly, apart from the parking chaos. We had Keane, Simply Red and Doves, so not exactly my cup of tea, but Doves and some of the supporting bands were rather good. My job as runner was basically to drive off site to pick up anything the band or catering wanted, do little jobs and give people lifts, and try to sneak back on site using all the little tracks I know from work to avoid the traffic. It was a really good weekend, got to meet some of the bands and have a great party with the stage crew on the last night. Lots of nice food to be had backstage, too.


Well, that's all for now. Hopefully back with some pics of this weekends concerts soon. 


Luke


Listening to Foals - Total Life Forever