We just need to make sure @theotherjonv sticks it out until the asshat company owner moves on…

All the best for tomorrow. It won’t be easy but as a dog owner it is the ultimate responsibility all dog lovers have to face up to. It is also in many ways the most loving thing you can do if a dog is starting to really suffer.

It was 2018 when my last dog had his final  appointment with the vet and even now thinking about it breaks my heart but I also know it was absolutely the best thing for him. For weeks afterwards there were some days when I couldn’t face going home from work to an empty house. Just make sure you stick up a few decent pictures of the old girl around the house; the constant reminders of happier times really do help.

Evening all, I thought an update was in order. I’m now back in Devon; Tesco did offer me a job but another job in my chosen industry came up. I’ve had to take a step or two back down the ladder and move from a management position to a supervisory one, but to be honest I was always happiest at that level. Just because you can climb the ladder doesn’t mean you always should. I started my new job on Monday and I’m working for an ex-colleague. I have a number of jaded fellow supervisors to win over and 130 staff to get to know/ annoy/ support but I’m looking forward to it. Plus I’m back in a pair of steel toes and high viz with a promise of a play on the forklift if we get short of yard staff. The whole office is slightly stunned that I’ve announced I’ll spending most of next week working as a loader so I can get to know the crews, but you can’t lead if you can’t prove that you can do.

The final day at my toxic job was last Wednesday and after finishing off some projects I had started I was happy to walk out without a backwards glance.

It has been a very weird year, and as somebody who has always just sort of drifted through life up until now I can’t help but be amused that for the first time in my life, when I’ve actually made a very sincere and carefully thought out plan it has taken me back to square one. I’ll be sticking to aimlessly drifting in future. I certainly have no complaints over how things have worked out.

This has turned into quite an inspirational thread. Well done and good luck OP.

Glad to have been of service. There have been some really good posts on here.

The news of my upcoming departure has finally been sent out to the rest of the department. Some of them seem genuinely sad so see me go. I do try and support the people I manage and had some nice messages from some of them.  It does seem that my soon to be ex boss turned the announcement into a “If you aren’t happy in your job you can go” sort of speech. I’m working from home today and tomorrow so missed the full horror of his attempt to rally the troops. I’m lucky in the fact I have an escape route and I’m not trapped in the job like some of them, so I do feel for the decent ones I’m leaving behind. That said, the scheming over who will go for the job I’m vacating has already started, so I know I’m best of out of it.

It does look like I’ll be working my full notice period so I can look forward to several weeks of being micromanaged by a boss who no longer trusts me. Joy.

Don’t have anything else lined up just yet but the folks at Tesco seemed nice enough if a bit disorganised (I was interviewed in the store room behind the fag and vape counter) when I went for an interview last night. They will let me know at some point. I get them impression they have a high turnover. Still got some applications out for other jobs. Something will turn up.

Right now I’m just looking forward to getting through tomorrow then riding my bike at the weekend. Sometimes its the little things that matter in life.

Well, that was a strangely anti climactic day. Spoke to my manager this morning and told him I was resigning and all he could say was ‘thank you for letting me know’. After that it wasn’t mentioned for the whole day. There is a senior management team meeting tomorrow where I’m sure I’ll be on the agenda, but its all been very quiet. Thought it was a bit weird that HR apparently didn’t know I was leaving when I gave them a nudge this afternoon about things I won’t need to do now I’m going. No doubt me doing that will upset somebody on the management team so there are still hopes for a stand up row taking place.

I’m intending to be professional and work my notice period but it is rather hard to give a damn, especially as I’m now trying to arrange interviews nearly 300 miles away. First sign of hassle I’ll play my ‘outraged of Devon’ card and flounce out. Never flounced out of a job before so it might be fun to try; I’ll call it my mid life crisis.

Told my landlady and her husband and they’ll be sad to see me go. Somebody at least will miss me.

Well folks,

The email has been sent and tomorrow morning I’ll be in the office to see what the impact will be and to find out when I leave.

Its been a long weekend of beer drinking, loud music and solo bike rides to help me get my head around the situation, but when it came to typing out my intention to resign I felt absolutely nothing. That alone tells me something, and when all of the options are considered the job simply isn’t working so best to go.

I still feel Essex is a part of my future but there isn’t a lot on the job market up there which would suit my background and skills. Plus the recent experience has rather tarnished my view of the area where I’ve been working, which I know is irrational but I’m keen just to get away now.

Don’t fancy letting out my place in Devon as I want to get it back in the same shape it is now, plus with the costs faced by landlords these days it would be a massive pain to deal with. Far better to move back in and try to get a local job to tide me over whilst I plan my next step. I’ve got two applications out for lower tier jobs than the ones I’ve been doing recently but they look like enjoyable options; I’ve done them before elsewhere and they are well within my capabilities. Plus, Tesco want to interview me on Wednesday evening to see about becoming a delivery driver! I’m not afraid of hard work and I have a total lack of ego when it comes to earning money to pay the bills.

I feel surprisingly relaxed about the situation which is probably very naive or delusional of me, or perhaps means that I’ve made the right decision and corrected a plan that was going awry. Time will tell.

Evening all, thank you for all of your feedback. It is genuinely useful.

In response to questions asked about the toxicity of the workplace; it has become apparent that there may as well be a revolving door on the office so many people have left over the years. In the last couple of weeks two people have found work elsewhere. I have two direct reports I’ve never met, as they are seemingly on permanent secondment to other departments and never want to return. It turns out my predecessor was bullied out the door and another recent employee has had a breakdown. The way in which junior staff are discussed by senior managers, often in an open office, is staggering in its inappropriateness. All really hopeful signs for the future…

Unfortunately it does seem that the management culture has started to become normal for the staff working there, so even the team members I’ve been trying to protect are just furthering the problems with their behaviour and attitude. For a bit more detail for those who may be wondering, I work in the waste industry so walking into work every day to deal with strong personalities and problems is part of what I do; I enjoy the dynamic working conditions.  I think I may have met my limits with this one however.

I’m working remotely from Devon on Friday to give myself a bit of space and mull things over. I also have another estate agent coming around to revalue my house. I have a strong feeling that I stand to loose a lot of money if I sell now, and for the current job that just isn’t justifiable. Devon has had a buoyant market for the last couple of years but things have changed a lot for sellers since I put my house on the market.

I have started casting around for other work to see what is available just as a back up. If I do leave it will be justified on the grounds that the job is veering very far away from the direction I was expecting to go in and also on the grounds that in financial terms my carefully planned, thought out, and heavily spread sheeted moving plans now lie in tatters. I am very fortunate that I can afford to tough it out without a job for a few months if need be.

When it comes to potential future employers, if I do leave after only two months I have no problem with telling them why I left.

Just need to spend more time looking at all of the options although I have learned to trust my instincts over the years and one option is feeling more right than the others. You can all probably guess which option that is but I need to get a bit of space before finalising my course of action.  A couple of posters have suggested my new employers need me. I think they probably do; just need to figure out if I need them.

Kind words Goldfish24, thank you.

My old job isn’t still available; I mentored the chap who took it on after I left (I’m good like that). I didn’t burn my bridges when I left though, respected my old boss too much for that. My new one I’d happily back my car over. Repeatedly.

I guess deep down I know what to do. I’m driving back to Devon on Thursday night and working from home on Friday. Time to gather my thoughts and plan the next move over the weekend I suppose. I’ve spent my whole career dealing with difficult situations, time to apply that experience to something personal and work through the problem.

Thanks for the feedback chaps.

If I do decide to jump ship I will enjoy telling my estate agents to take a hike and that I’ll be staying. Their antics are worth a thread all of its own…

No chance of a frank conversation with management?

Not really, management are the source of the problem. Its astonishing what’s been allowed to fester in the place.

Good point about the probation period; its something I’ve said to staff I’ve recruited in the past. Never thought I would consider being the one to pull the eject lever. I guess after putting so much effort in I’m reluctant to admit its been nothing but a learning experience. I’ve been dealing with the toxic situation since starting the job and keeping on top of it, but on Friday when driving back to my house in Devon to do a bit of work there I was struck by a voice in my head suggesting it would be easy to just pack my stuff up and never return. Never felt that way before. It was like a gut punch. I’ve been reeling from it ever since.

What was it that made you want to return to Essex? Does that reason still exist?

Good question. I initially moved to Devon to support my parents as they got older. They are now both gone and I felt I needed to take back control of some areas of my life and move to an area I know well and start over on my own terms.

A seemingly good job came up in an area I know well and it seemed a good fit; I’ve tended to follow the work most of my life and whilst not career driven I do feel the need to take on jobs that I find fulfilling. In terms of the work attraction still existing, the answer is no. The job is being altered around me and the environment is definitely not as advertised. I’m breaking even financially at the moment but the longer I stick out a bad situation that will change.

The last time one of my local bin men ask me for a tip I suggested they wear the correct PPE or risk a written warning but then I am one of their line managers!

Its not unusual for a well liked crew to collect up to a £1000 in tips on a good year and that is before you account for the booze, chocolates and biscuits they all receive. Our operations office is already turning into an overflow for the chocolates they have gotten sick of eating. I’ve already gone off Heroes and Quality Street.

Don’t feel too bad if you don’t tip the local bin men, they do quite well at this time of year. I predict not a single driver or loader will be off sick next week in our department.

Never tipped the postie; he seems to always give me my neighbours post.

If you were going to buy one I would certainly recommend the diesel if you have any desire to avoid third gear on long hills. I have the 1.4 petrol and whilst I’m happy with it the car ain’t the fastest I’ve ever owned. That said I’ve had it since 2012 so it can’t be too bad.

Yep, fairly reliable. The front suspension mounts are a well known weak point however and the paint chips off more easily than the shell on a hard boiled egg.

Should be a pic on here if you scroll down:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fiat-qubo-citroen-nemo-as-bike-car-anyone

I have a Qubo and the only way I can get my road bike into it is to take out the single removeable back seat behind the driver and also remove the front wheel of the bike. That way I can then stick the bike in rear wheel first with the handle bar pointing toward the rear window. This still leaves the double rear seat in place. You do need to slide the back wheel a little bit between the side of the drivers seat and the B pillar.

I did once post a picture on here on a similar thread. With that arrangement I was able to transport my ageing father, even older spaniel and my bike along with a weeks luggage for us all.

Never tried fitting anything in with flat bars but I’m sure its possible.

It will settle down. I think the contractor and South Hams Council got their round modelling a little wrong from what I’ve heard and possibly underestimated how many of the new lorries they will need. They fill up quick and the crews have to learn how to load them efficiently.

It always makes me smile a bit when our customers go totally ape over missed collections and rejected boxes. Yes it is important but I always tell our staff there is no point getting upset over other peoples rubbish. If we miss a recycling collection it is a service failure that needs to be corrected but it will still be there tomorrow; it ain’t as if anybody is going to steal it.

@deltacharlie72, you wouldn’t happen to be in South Hams would you? I’ve been hearing horror stories about the roll out of the new services there. Having had to be in the roll out of new services myself I know is isn’t easy.

I tend to watch news stories on recycling, especially plastics, with a heavy heart. I’ve been in the industry for nearly twenty years and currently work for a small local authority in Devon. We know where all of our plastic goes. None of it leaves Europe and the different types of polymer go to specific reprocessing or manufacturing sites. We work very closely with our local transfer station to ensure they manage the material we give them carefully, unfortunately the picture isn’t the same nationwide. We run a kerbside sort based collection as opposed to large co-mingled wheelie bins for recycling. It tends to make the material easier to sort into different grades.

We face a lot of problems in the UK with regard to recycling generally, not just plastics. One of the main ones is we just don’t have enough processing infrastructure. It is hard to finance and even harder to find end markets for some of the materials. Only food grade plastic can go back into food grade products for example, unless you want to run VERY expensive processing lines, and establishing closed loop manufacturing/ recycling processes is difficult.

The legislative drivers are also all wrong with local authorities given the responsibility for picking stuff up when we have no say in what is placed on the market in the first place. There are several consultations being run by Government at the moment on enhanced producer responsibility, deposit return schemes and consistency in the way councils collect stuff. These may lead to some positive changes but packaging producers and retailers are already kicking off about the increased costs they will face for placing certain products on the market.

As said by others above black plastic can’t be easily read by the NIR scanning heads used at sorting plants. If it makes you feel any better black plastic is usually clear or coloured plastic flake that has been recycled at least 6 or 7 seven times at which point it is no longer able to hold a specific colour. It gets dyed black and given one final use before it goes to the incinerator.

I really feel for you OP. My dad was diagnosed with vascular dementia last year after noticeably declining in his mental health for a number of years. A short stay in hospital following a short but serious bout of illness basically pressed the reset button and he has never really gotten back to his previous level of cognition. He is still himself but the gaps in memory, behaviour and understanding are quite obvious to me now; until something dramatic happens dementia can creep up on the sufferers and those closest to them.

Unfortunately I’ve had no support from the family and it has been a hellish 12 months as a result. I must say that social services have been superb and a real source of support. I realised early on in the process of coming to terms with everything that there was no way I could hold down a full time job and make sure my dad was OK without the risk of him coming to harm when I was at work. I’m pretty sure I would have had a nervous breakdown if I tried and so with the help of social services got my dad into a nursing home close to my own home. I’m sure I’ve been incredibly lucky but the staff there have been brilliant in stabilising my dads health and providing him with company and safety. I pop in to see my dad most days of the week and he has gotten to the point where he is fit and healthy enough for the odd trip out at the weekends when I have the time. The important thing is I can get on with my own life knowing that when I am not with him that he is safe and not isolated.

Your dad, possibly with your support to set it up, really needs to get as much outside support that he can from professional carers. Without it he will only collapse under the weight and strain of it all over time. He may feel guilty (I’m still wracked with guilt from time to time) about handing over so much responsibility to others. If he is old school it will probably feel like he is giving up, but as others have said above everybody has different limits of what they can cope with. I was honest about my limits early on and it means I can focus on the important social and emotional needs of my dad whilst others take on the day to day routine and health requirements.

If you are able to sort out power of attorney for your mum do it now. I had to go down the court of protection route and it was time consuming and a pain.

All the best with whatever comes next.

To the OP, I feel your pain. After my mum died suddenly a few years ago I’ve slowly become my dads carer and my career has lurched from one bad job from another. Right now my dogs on the way out, after a summer from hell my dad has ended up in a nursing home with dementia, I’m skint and despite being experienced at what I do I just can’t seem to get a decent break job wise.

As said above you just have to roll with the punches. Sometimes its hard not to sit down and have a good cry, especially as the rest of the family have left me to pick up all the pieces and set up my dads care package. I tend to pour my frustration into my cycling. It may feel like the world is against me but bloody hell I’m quick up hill these days.

Make sure you talk to people about what you are going through and get plenty of time out in the great outdoors, it really does help.

For even more power, you can fit a Travel Agent. I had one on the front with a mini-V and it worked well…

SJS cycles

I run Travel Agents on my Uncle John with full size V brakes and they work well.

Yay, the Building Research Establishment is getting a mention. In another life I used to work there.

I didn’t get paid for burning stuff sadly…

Chasing birds
Not doing his recall
Going so far away from us when off the lead we can’t see him
Digging holes
Stealing food off table
Jumping on sofa and doing wall of death around the front room
He has snapped at the wife
Burning the grass with his wee
Chewing his beds and toys to bit
Stealing the boys teddy’s off the beds.

My cocker is over 14 years old. He may have slowed down a bit but he still does most of the above. He did start to calm down a bit at around 7 years old but only a bit…

The OP made me chuckle with his experiences. A couple of years ago I built up a fixie because I felt it would be good for training on (I have neither a beard or ink so it was a non-fashion purchase).

Now, I live on a hill, surrounded by hills and quickly found out that my choice of gearing which enabled me to get up the hills meant I had no ability to brake effectively through the pedals when doing down them. I’m no idiot, I did fit brakes, but I got tired of starting every ride with hands like claws after braking and pedaling at 3000 rpm away from my house downhill (yes it looks stupid). I also found riding in traffic was no fun (just where the hell will your feet be when you get cut up and need to stop suddenly?) and turning right from busy junctions involved clipping in at a speed not seen outside of a velodrome.

I loved the acceleration and the ability to mash my way up every climb at full speed. The directness of a fixed gear is brilliant and every ride was a great workout. Nowadays however I ride my bike as a single speed. Its an On One Machinato and since swapping to a freewheel I’ve discovered it handles beautifully in tight corners. Its possibly my favourite bike to ride but as a fixie I just found it a little too focused.

I feel no shame in swapping it from a fixie to a freewheeling singlespeed; its still hard work but without the added peril.

I have a 10 year old Thorn Sherpa tourer in the garage. It has its own gravitational field it is so heavy and needs a full rebuild but only because I’ve worn all of the components out including a set of wheels. The frame and fork could survive a nuclear attack and still look brand new despite many hard miles. Its a very comfy bike and is surprising stable at pretty much any speed; despite being ugly and unbelievably heavy it is very well designed.

It isn’t to everyones taste but I can’t see myself ever getting rid of it.

I’ve got that very same cabinet. Had it for a while now. Its sturdy enough for domestic use.

Be warned, just because you’re buying it to try and tidy up the garage does it mean in any way that your garage will indeed end up being tidy.

I learnt when my mum was dying of cancer a few years ago that for all of us the big decisions in life are largely taken care of. In her final days I was more concerned about making sure that the little things; her favourite music, news about her friends and family etc were taken care of. Death comes to us all, try and be comfortable and content when it arrives.

There are a couple of reasons behind it. A lot of crews still work to task and finish and so there is an incentive to start early so they can go early. In many cases its the way things have always been done and they see no reason to change it. For a lot of the crew members task and finish is a big incentive.

Being able to get the town and city centres done when the traffic levels are relatively light also means they encounter less hold ups. A lot of the rounds tend to be structured to avoid pinch points like schools at times of peak traffic demand.

Another key reason is that a lot of waste goes to landfill sites or transfer stations that have strict operating conditions. A lot of landfill sites have to have the tipping face covered over with soil at the end of the day which for them is typically 4 – 4.30pm. If the bin crews start later in the day they may not be able to make it to the landfill site before it shuts if they encounter traffic delays.

A few councils are starting to end the culture of task and finish. All this has resulted in are the crews sitting in their trucks in a layby reading the paper before they go to tip.

I watched Endeavour instead. Sherlock appears to have disappeared up its own rear end going on last weeks episode (and the last couple before that) and while I was never a fan of Morse the 60’s reboot at lease has some detecting in it.

Just get a san marco rolls

This ^^^^

I have a Brooks and it is a lovely hand made thing to behold. It is also now in a cupboard as I’ve never quite got on with. Plus I live in Devon, where it rains a lot.

A San Marco Rolls however is the saddle I have on two long distance bikes. Sheer heaven to ride on.

All depends on the shape of your ass I suppose.

I think Planet X have possibly lost their way a little bit. Apart from the London Road there hasn’t been much to interest me in their range for a while. The boom in cycling has meant that a lot of people are happy to pay a decent price for perceived high quality; Planet X’s pile it high, sell it cheap approach may not be that appealing for some, especially when the comments made about them on the interweb can be so mixed. If a new cyclist wants to get serious and spend a grand on a carbon road bike they want to be sure they are getting the best value and quality for money, and they may want to feel more supported by their retailer of choice.

For the record all of the frames I’ve bought from them have been cheap but decent quality for the money. Even my London Road which was purchased at the same time as the other patchy quality ones is doing OK. Maybe they need to start charging a bit more and putting more emphasis on selling interesting designs that are backed up by a decent level of quality and customer service.

My cocker spaniel was 7 1/2 when he was diagnosed with cancer of the anal glands. It is a very aggressive cancer and killed a cocker that my family owned many years ago. I had the local vet carry out the operation to remove the tumour and cancerous gland but decided against chemo (the treatment would have made him miserable and is not proven to increase lifespan). A few years ago the same dog then developed malignant melanoma in his toe. Again, the same vet removed the tumour and affected tissue.

My dog is now 13 1/2 and although showing the effects of getting older he is still very much alive and very happy. Both of the operations were major and involved removing more than just the tumours but I’m so glad I paid up and had the little bugger operated on. The thing to remember is that dogs are amazingly resilient and if the operation is a success your beloved pet will be leaping around like a fool before you know it.

Tough situation to be in OP and I sympathise with you. I had a difficult and abusive neighbour for many years. I tried the sensible route and had the police round there many times with each incident being logged and believe me it was a long and varied log sheet they were able to build up. Every time the plod turned up they just seemed to have yet another excuse why they couldn’t deal with him. In the end I snapped one day and ‘had a word’ with him. The whole street went quiet as I described to him just how nasty I was prepared to get. I actually had him cowering and some of the neighbours still give me a wide berth.

He has since moved and crosses the road when he sees me; being polite and law abiding for many years meant he didn’t know what a nasty sod I really am until I decided I’d had enough. There are sadly some scumbags in this world who will only understand the threat of violence or violence itself. Log the abuse with the police by all means but be prepared to go full on postal at some point. Sounds like your actions are limited to either standing up to him or moving; how much do you like your house?

I’ve lived in North Devon for about 11 years. Moved down from the South East via a short stay in South Wales. I never want to have to live anywhere other than North Devon.

That said, the job opportunities are a bit rubbish. You may need to either lower your expectations work wise or commute for a decent paying job. It will be worth it however.

On a slightly more positive note, bed bugs can’t move that fast

As an ex pest controller believe me when I say that the little fcekers can move plenty fast enough.

Freezing is a good approach to take with your clothing. Get some vacuum bags and leave them in the freezer for at least a week. It can take a while for bulky items to get properly cold all the way through. If you were in Devon I’d offer to lend you my portable bed bug oven (oh yes, they exist). Steam treatment is also good for killing bed bugs but you need a very good quality steam cleaner which can reach very high temperatures.

If it was a bad infestation a half decent pest controller would have found plenty of signs of bed bugs such as blood spotting and skin casts. Ask the hotel for more details on who carried out the report, check that they are property qualified and as said above use Trip Advisor.

If you are unfortunate to find any bed bugs in your own home search online to see if you can buy a product called Perbio Choc. It has a weird name but kills all insects, and I do mean all insects. It should only be sold to professionals but some places will sell to the public. Spray it on the bed bugs and watch the little sods convulse themselves to death.

Best to kill the nests. Whilst wasps don’t return to the old nest once the colony has died the emerging queens at the end of the season won’t fly very far to over winter and will end up building more nests next year close to where they are now.

Most wasp colonies have reached their peak at this time of year so they stop being vaguely useful as pollinating insects and pest controllers and just start being a monumental pain in the neck.

Money alone is a very poor measure of “wealth”.

Well said.

A couple of years ago I was earning good money but totally hated my job and the culture at the company where I worked. I also had to do a lot of driving for work and was getting sick of it all. Redundancy came calling and I worked for myself for a couple of years which I enjoyed but never managed to make the money I wanted and I was stupid hours. I never managed to find the sweet spot I was looking for but it was a good way to press the reset button on my career and my expectations.

Fast forward to the start of May and I took on a job that pays about 10-11 grand less than I was on a couple of years ago but I work with people I like, I get to walk to work and, much like working for myself, I get to see what I’ve achieved at the end of each day. Money truly isn’t everything. Lifes too short to spend chasing it.

GLis Glis does indeed require a licence to trap them as they aren’t technically a pest species. They aren’t as invasive as house mice and don’t breed as prolifically so a licensed pest controller should be able to get the situation under control fairly quickly. I’d get professional advice if I were the OP.

If they are honey bees and have only recently arrived a local swarm collector or bee keeper may be able to rehome them. Check out the British Bee Keepers Association for details of somebody nearby who can help.

If they are not honey bees then a bee keeper won’t want them and your best option would be to move the bird box if at all possible. Bees aren’t as aggressive as wasps so with a bit of care and decent gloves you should be able to do it yourself.

If all else fails a pest controller can deal with the nest but that tends to end very badly for the bees…

It wasn’t too bad. The presenters clearly need time to bed in but on the whole I thought it was a decent enough start. The follow up program on BBC3 Extra Gear is actually very good and in some ways it would make sense for some of that footage to be shoe horned into the main show.

I honestly can’t say I miss Clarkson, his beer gut or his tired cliched ideas.

A customer I saw recently kept calling her little boy Lucifer. I thought it was a nickname as he was a bit of a destructive little brat but nope, turns out he really was called Lucifer. I can only assume she never intended to have him baptised or christened…