Castles, caves and a cabin

From the 22nd to 27th October, Gary, I and our friends Martin and Stu had a trip to Scotland.  This was our first time there and we were very excited to see it.  The pictures we saw and the tales we heard made us even more eager to experience the place.  Our mates have been here before so they were acting as our tour guides but we had a few ideas of our own as well.

Edinburgh

On the Sunday morning we started our long journey up to Edinburgh.  Our first mini stop off was at the border to get a quick picture of us standing in two countries at once.  On our way into the city we was in awe of the dramatic scenery of the gigantic mountains that were scattered with trees and wildlife and this was even before we hit the highlands.

We arrived and checked in then went straight out for a walk around the city.  With stone, medieval-looking architecture the city looked very ancient and grand.  It had a very warm and welcoming feel to it despite the drop in temperature.  There was a little market that was based in a church with many craft stalls inside.  One particular stall caught my eye as it was selling gemstones.  I got an excellent bargain by purchasing a seven layered gemstone orb!  In the early evening we ventured up to the backdrop of the city, Arthur's Seat which was very dark and chilly at this point.  We only made it half way, guided by torchlight but was rewarded with stunning panoramas of the lit up city below!

As it was close to Halloween we booked a tour to walk around the spooky Edinburgh Vaults.  We were part of a small group and had a animated guide to entertain us with ghostly and gruesome stories.  Martin ended up being chosen to act out some of the storyteller's scenes!  I had been selected to stop behind the group to check everyone had moved on, but I was anxious about 'Mr Boots' touching me on my shoulder! 😱  The vaults were very interesting as they were part of an original bridge and later had buildings erected around it, except for one arch that is still visible to the public.

In the morning we got up early to visit the Edinburgh Castle.  This was situated on an ancient volcano that overlooked the city and sea surrounding it.  We got some fantastic view points to take many pictures of us and the city.  We walked around the castle's buildings, underground and even got to see the crown jewels.  After our castle exploration, we set off on our journey up to our cabin near Invermoriston.

Loch Ness/Inverness

As we left the city, we passed through the Highlands.  The mountain backdrops got even more gigantic and epic-looking.  This was amplified by the various shades of reds and oranges that Autumn had brought.  The cabin we stopped in was very cosy and overlooked Loch Ness, it was literally inches away from us.  We settled in, ate and headed for one of the cabin's main features, a hot tub!  The sky was crystal clear so we turned the ambient lighting off and star gazed for ages.  There was no light pollution and was extremely silent - bliss.  The sky was that clear we even saw passing satellites!  We then started revelling in conversation about alien life beyond our galaxy and future human evolution impacting on our planet - pretty intense conversation for the first night!

Inverness was the closest city to us so we headed there on the next day.  We had a brief walk around and stopped by at Inverness Castle and replenished our stocks for the cabin.  In the afternoon we visited Urquhart Castle.  This was a very interesting place built on the edge of Loch Ness.  You start off being led into a mini theatre to watch a somewhat cheesy video on the history of the place but as the movie ends the curtains behind the screen open up to reveal the true castle in all its stunning glory.  You could walk around all of the ruins and climb at the top of the tower.  We wanted posh grub that night, so Martin and Stu recommended a drive up to Cawdor.  Here we found an unassuming tavern that Gary said gave him one of the best meals he had in years.  Succulent venison in a red wine and berry sauce on a bed of red cabbage.

Isle of Skye

You cant visit the North without having a day rambling in the wilderness - so we choose the Isle of Skye for this.  I had to listen to something very fitting to set the mood and so I played us the Prometheus soundtrack.  Not only did it enhance the misty and haunting landscape we were seeing with the visuals and audio giving us goosebumps, but it got me feeling very excited for the second part of the day...

Before we visited a particular place I was so excited to see, we went to the Fairy Pools.  From a distance it didn't look that far away, because of the trickery the giant mountains play, it makes everything seem smaller yet a massive layout.  We walked up the river side and saw gorgeous waterfalls cascading into openings where crystal clear water was pumping out.  A sharp pointed mountain with a summit covered by swirling grey mist gave the whole place an eerie and ominous vibe.  Afterwards, we all had a spot of lunch in a café in Portree and walked around the town and harbour.  Gary bought a coaster with a Scotsman's kilts blowing up to reveal his peachy bum!

Now, as a massive fan of the Alien movies (including Prometheus and Covenant), I was extremely excited for our next stop!  We visited the filming location of the beginning scene of Prometheus - the Old Man of Storr.  I just couldn't wait to put myself in the movie scene and make a discovery!  The views that we were given were incredible, I can see why this was chosen for the movie.  Those giant jaggered shaped rocks make it a very distinguishable place.  One personal mission I had was to get a particular picture of me and the rocks and merge with a familiar movie scene.  I didn't manage to get one grouped together like in the movie as the focal point was way up in the mountains.  However, I got this picture, merged it and just had to caption it with 'I think they want me to come and find them'.

I saw this as a once in a lifetime opportunity, as it's such a long journey to get to, so I embraced it and took every moment to get pictures against these ancient rocks.  This was a pretty treacherous place, at least on this day it was, the wind literally lifted me off my feet!  When we got up to climb around the Old Man of Storr, the wind was more powerful and nearly blew me down the steep descent!  In the fifth picture (left to right) you can see me to the bottom right, just to give you the scale of the place.

After another busy day, on our way back we headed for a local fish and chippy.  Obviously I just had chips and peas.  Then the daily ritual of a hot tub dip occurred followed by some board games.

For the final day we were tempted to head to John o' Groats but the three and a half hour drive ruled that out.  We visited the Highlands Wildlife Park instead.  This was very similar to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park which I visited again earlier this month.  However, they had some very different animals local to the highlands and some exotic ones, which was something new for me to see.  They had Arctic Fox, European Bison, European Forest Reindeer, European Grey Wolf, Japanese Macaque, Mishmi Takin, Red Panda, Scottish Wildcat, Snow Leopard to name a few.  Just like the Yorkshire Wildlife Park they had Polar Bear too.  We ended the night by carving our pumpkins we bought a few days earlier and displayed these on our cabin fence all lit up.  Gary made us a suggestive pumpkin design and with his fine art drawing skills, he drew Martin and Stu a Nessie imprint.

As we drove back home we took in our last sights of Scotland by passing through Glencoe, Loch Lomond and Glasgow, before hitting familiar territory.

A return to form

A new chapter in my career is about to begin...  A short while ago I reflected upon how I felt about my career and said "I feel I have a lot of scope and mileage to ascend to something higher" and wanted to work back with my strengths. While I was waiting for further details on the development/future of my then current role, I decided to scout out other potential jobs I could progress to.  In my searches I found the role and place where I wanted to be!  Since moving on from my last two roles, I have learned that it is ok to move on from organisations when circumstances change and not feel like you have to be rooted there.  In this case I took a brave decision and not to sit it out to see what happens.  I put myself in the driver's seat and took the destination I wanted to be at.

Employ-meant

Whilst I was in Croatia, I had seen the Senior Digital Practice Adviser role at Nottingham Trent University (NTU), listed on the ALT Weekly Digest, which I was instantly excited of what the role entailed.  So I went ahead and applied for it and to be later invited for an interview.  Originally, I was really anxious about attending the interview and nearly declined it due to my own negative thoughts of not doing a great interview, facing candidate competition and dealing with the disappointment if I didn't get the job.  But I was reminded of why I applied, what I have to offer and how it was a privilege to be invited for an interview, so I attended.

Prior to the interview, I had a conversation with myself and filled my mind up with positivity and determination.  I woke up on the morning of the interview and the first thing I thought of was intending on getting the job.  I got washed, made myself look decent and set off out to Nottingham on the train.  The sun was shining all day and I had those feel good vibes surrounding me.  I felt determined all day and kept it in my mind that I was going to be the best and express myself the best I could and be offered the job.  I feel I gave a good interview and mentioned quite a few key things I wanted to bring up - but there's always things you forget to talk about.  I don't think there is such thing as a perfect interview.  For me there's always just too much experience and examples to recall and frame in such a precious timescale, and to get your best impression and efforts over to the panel.  However, I still need to work out composing what I am going to say before letting myself bubble over with passion and stumble with words!

I received a call from the Digital Practice Manager to say I had not got the job, so I was feeling very deflated.  It's always disappointing to hear this, however, I received strong feedback and that the panel had seen potential in me.  And to my unexpected surprise, a Digital Practice Adviser post came up, so I had another shot of hope at getting a position there - I didn't have to reapply or interview again either.  This role was similar to the senior position but this is more involved at the frontline, developing academic and business support staffs’ digital capabilities in all elements of the NTU Digital Framework.  Again, I instantly connected and was thrilled by the thought of this opportunity.  Collaborating with others on ideas and challenges to create innovation, and then supporting people through the process - this is where my passion lives.  The role is a perfect fit of what I want to do, where I was wanting to head towards and more importantly I have the knowledge and skills to do it, so it was certain that I'd apply.

After the waiting game, I feel absolutely overwhelmed with happiness.  I've been waiting for this moment for a long time and to receive a call and hear those words spoken to me "I am pleased to offer you the Digital Practice Adviser role within the Digital Practice Team at NTU" just gave me the biggest smile and sense of achievement.  It means a lot to me getting this position because the role is everything that I am strong and enthusiastic about and is at an outstanding place I want to thrive in, so I proudly accepted the offer of the role.  I have so much to offer and I gave the best I could in the interview and for all of this to be accepted just brings me pure joy.  I patiently waited for this moment and it arrived, it really did and I couldn't be more happier,  It felt right, it was right and it will be right.  After the call I just wanted to shed a little tear of happiness - but instead, I instantly felt very light headed and had to go to vomit.  So you could now say I was sick at the thought of the job! 😂 This has never happened to me before, so it must have been a build up of emotions and adrenaline or something.  A few minutes later I was back to my normal self and enjoying the moment.

During the time of interviewing for the NTU job, I somehow pulled a double feat with being offered another job - which I accepted before I got offered the NTU one.  I was glad I did because the day after I got offered the NTU role they had to withdraw the job role itself.  Saved me telling them that I had a better offer...  But still, imagine leaving a job for no job - close shave.  Anyway.  I was invited for an interview for the Virtual Learning Officer at a commercial skills, education and employment organisation where the role focussed on leading and shaping their digital learning offer.  As part of the process I had to deliver a presentation of my Virtual Learning Environment and curriculum development projects.  After the presentation I received some really good and interesting comments - I somehow blew a panel member off her chair in amazement.  Subsequently I got offered the job due to my performance, I accepted.  However I knew that the NTU role was the best career decision for me.  These two interviews especially have increased my confidence and demonstrated that I am a strong candidate to compete for jobs like my new NTU role.  I won't hesitate or doubt myself in the future if I am in this situation.  I'm ready for a new start and to bring everything I've got and more to NTU!

Restore and reflect

After my last working day I now have a two week break before starting with NTU later this month.  I'm going to use this time to refresh and prepare myself to delight future colleagues with my wisdom.  It's also good for me to take some time to reflect, take stock and enjoy the positive changes that are about to come.  I started my last day of work by purchasing P!nk's long-awaited new album Beautiful Trauma.  On the first week of my break I am attending Jisc's 'student experience experts group meeting'.  It will be good to see familiar people again and re-establish myself to others in my new role, as well as gaining some inspiration and updates to take with me.  I had also arranged an informal visit to NTU to meet people and get familiar with the place.  I'm really excited to meet the team I will be working with and will be good to put some faces to names.  On the second week I have my first trip to Scotland and will be visiting Edinburgh and Inverness.  So it looks like it turned out to be a very well-timed break!

I can't wait to get back to reflecting on what I am doing in my practices, as much of it recently has been about what I have done and achieved.  Which is good, however I've missed talking about the process of what I'm discovering, learning, making sense of and putting it into practice, which can also benefit the wider community.  I may even get back to stating some discussions on the ALT mailing list.  So watch this place and space as it's a return to form!

WinterSummer is coming - the boys' landing

Summer is coming...  Or was here!  It's been a long time since we went away together and that was in Rome last October.  We were well overdue on a good break together.  So this adventure takes us to Croatia but with a little twist - part holiday and part stag party.

Before we met up with the other chaps for the stag party me and Gary decided to have a week to ourselves.  We divided the first week up with Dubrovnik and Makarska then up to Tisno for the Soundwave Festival to celebrate the upcoming marriage of two of Gary's friends; Daniel and Rosie.  So here is our Croatian adventure...  Our eyes weren't ready for what we was about to see.

Dubrovnik 19-21 July 2017

Gary and I got a late afternoon flight that flew over Western Europe.  As we relaxed we looked out of the window and saw some gigantic mountains with snow and small lakes on top.  When we landed in Croatia we got a bus to Dubrovnik which dropped us off outside the Old Town (Pile).  The sun was just setting at this point and we had a sneak peak of what were going to see in the next few days.  The Old Town reflected the evening sun and was golden in colour.  We then got another bus to take us to Lapad, which is the area we stopped at for the next couple of days.  We found our villa and I was amazed how modern and quiet it was.  Our room view was brilliant, it overlooked a small beach that was just past a gorgeous little strip where we had food later that night.

On the second day we got up early to walk around the wall of the Old Town. Before this we had to walk down to a little cove where the sea was. There was Game of Thrones tours so we kind of hijacked some of the talks and learned that there were many scenes filmed in this location and around Old Town. We headed to the wall and when we got there, we were smiling from ear to ear because the view was just as overwhelming, really breath-taking, just as when we first saw Rome and the Pompeii ruins. This was truly an amazing experience! You could look into the centre and see the figures of people walking around the town and market areas. On the other side you have the edge of the mountains and the lush blue sea lapping up against the ragged rocks. We then ventured up to a high point around the wall for one of our best pictures yet before popping down to explore the harbour. Gary had been recommended a vegan restaurant in the Old Town by one of his clients, so later that afternoon we ate there and it didn't disappoint, the Mediterranean vegetables were delicious.

For the third day in Dubrovnik, we island-hopped to Lokrum.  Gary had discovered there was a naturist beach here so we decided to join in!  The beach itself was beautiful, massive dramatic rocks over looking crystal waters, it was liberating to be in the sea in our natural states.  We had a walk around to Lokrum's 'Dead Sea' which was a enclosed rock pool with water from the ocean.  It was time to relax again (we are on holiday after all) so we went for long sit down in Lokrum's park where there were wild peacocks and rabbits roamed.  The evening activities involved going on the cable car that was above the Old Town to watch the sunset.  This was quite a magical experience joining the others sat along the mountain ridge waiting for night to come.

It was now time to move onto our next place, which was Makarksa.  We got a local bus which took about 4 hours.  Along the way we went through Bosnia as they own a little bit of coast. We stopped there for a short break so we seized the opportunity to get a picture, you know, just to say we've been there!

Makarska 21-23 July 2017

The next 3 days we spent in the upbeat town of Makarska.  As most of Croatia's coast is on the edge of the mountains, there is yet more steps and hills to walk up, which is where our apartment was.  On the first evening we ventured out to see what this place was like.  It was more of a holiday-maker place with lots of restaurants, bars and shops.  We found some good cocktail places and knew that we would be back later to try them out.

On our first full day we got a local bus to the very beachy Brela, Gary had found this place online and was eager to find some particular rocky outcrops.  This was like a pocket version of Greece that had a series of mini beaches.  We spent the whole day there and enjoyed the sun, sea and shale!  I have to reiterate just how awesome the coastline is along the Adriatic Sea.  This was just before the heatwave and the temperature was averaging out at 35 the whole time we were there.  It felt more like 40's though.  On our way back we waited around an hour for a bus that never turned up,  so we ended up walking 15 minutes down the road to a taxi drivers house to get back - we got back ok with the help of Google.

The day after we took a nice relaxed day to explore more of Makarska.  The morning started by being woken up by a thunder storm and heavy rain.  We started by walking around the harbour and to a nice tranquil point that overlooked the dramatic mountain-esque view.  Afterwards, we walked around the front and into the old village area.  We then made our way towards the main beach for an ice cream, we became very fond of Croatian sorbet having one nearly every day.  We saw a good view point across from when we was at the harbour, so we headed there next.  It was a nice park and had a statue on the side along with love locks all over the fences.  We had one more cocktail at the bar from earlier and then prepared for our next journey to Tisno to meet up with the stag guys!

Tisno 23 July-1 August 2017

We took an extra long  journey to Tisno which involved two buses and a taxi all of which were delaying and involved waiting in traffic, never mind we soon checked in the 'lads' apartment.  We explored the small town to get our bearings then awaited the boys' landing!

We weren't as rowdy as you would have expected, but had our moments!  We enjoyed a few morning swims in the sea and attempted water polo.  One of the main features of this next 7 days was to go to the Soundwave Festival that was in The Garden Tisno.  It was like a mini Ibiza club party on the beach, which was even better at the night.  We went there four times in total, once in the day and the rest at night.  In the day we relaxed on the shale beach listening to the tropical music.  In the afternoon we had booked to go on a reggae boat, even though we wouldn't normally listen to this music you really get into it on the boat as its perfect for those Summer vibes.  It was pretty awesome to be dancing to it in the middle of the sea until early evening.  On the evenings we went to the different stages that had a few varieties of music and remixes of modern and classic songs and there were food and drink stalls.  We had a really good boogie and joined in with the festival-goers.

One favourite day involved myself, Gary and his brother exploring the local area.  We walked around to the neighbouring Jezera, it took about a 20 minutes.  There was a stunning coastal pathway that allowed us to take in the blue sea and small islands around us.  We knew we had to come back with the guys to chill on the beach along the path and spend the day there.  The sea was really warm and much clearer than around the town area.  I couldn't keep out of it!  I even had little snorkel session around the rocks.  So many creatures and corals that go unnoticed.  Some of the guys were brave and decided to swim to another island!  They made it back after a couple of hours worth of swimming!

The whole group hired push bikes and we cycled around Jezera to find some good view points at the top of a large hill.  Then we took a route back to Tisno.  Before we took the bikes back me, Gary and his brother had them for a bit longer and cycled around the opposite side of Tisno to be rewarded with a good long downhill ride.

The group of us rented two boats and toured the surrounding areas. we stopped off in Jezera for breakfast and literally just pulled up into the harbour like we were going to be greeted. Afterwards we headed to an island that was recommended for cliff jumping. All the other guys jumped the said cliff except the groom-to-be who has a fear of water and the ever present sharks within! I didn't even entertain the thought of jumping, this was one of my rare sensible moments! We circled another island and made a make-shift water ski before heading into the Soundwave Festival beach area for a short while with the boats.

The holiday and celebration ended in Zadar when we got to the airport for a late night flight back to the UK.  Thank you Dan for letting us share your holiday stag party with you.  All my love and best wishes to you and Rosie on your wedding day next year.