Dazed and Confused ....

Bigger bloom.

Ever get those days when something happens which leaves you rather dismayed and stunned? Well I've had 2 of them today! The day started well - no work this morning, woke to glorious weather, fed Tom and then sat in the garden with a cuppa. I decided as it was so nice I'd get some potential blips. That's when my 'oh hell, what's happening?' day kicked off. Firstly when shooting I managed to drop my camera - right onto a stone bench! It happily took a couple more shots but when I decided I'd better head indoors and switched it off the lens didn't retract. Many attempts to switch it back on resulted in the power light flashing a couple of times, the camera beeping at me then switching off again. Oh shit hell!

I needed to go out, so switched on my mobile phone (my signal indoors is often iffy, so I only have my mobile on when I'm out - those who may want to ring me have my landline number anyway). Then I found I'd been sent 2 texts by my boss, apologising for contacting me whilst on leave but asking me to ring him urgently. So I did. Turns out that on arriving at work first thing everyone in our (very large) department had been greeted by an email from The Man at the Top - to the effect that a review has been undertaken and it's been decided that cuts are needed in staff levels (oh, very funny - we have loads of work). This affects those of us dealing with schools (which includes me), and a cutback of 15 people is needed. Over the coming weeks, after consultations etc, there'll be 15 less positions, so voluntary early retirement and voluntary redundancies will be sought and, if push comes to shove, compulsory redundancies. Oh glory be! Meanwhile us minions, feeling rather dazed and confused by this sudden news, have to await the outcome in early September. Oh, and how cowardly is this? The email had been sent well after everyone had gone home, and almost all senior management have simultanously taken a week's annual leave this week - how convenient! The words piss-up booze-up and brewery come to mind!

One good thing though - when I came home later I tried something. I held down the power button on my camera and as the power light blinked, I gently but firmly put pressure on the lens - at the second attempt it clicked and then retracted! So I switched the camera on and off a few times, and it worked perfectly. PHEW! So I managed to get today's blip this evening.
On July 9th last year I posted my first 'rather inebriated in the very early hours, assisted by LED headtorch' blip - Clematis 'Fond Memories' . To this day it's still one of my favourite blips and one I'm proud of, though I say it myself. I've been wanting to re-blip that Clematis so here it is again (this time taken sober and at a repectable hour of the evening!). Taken this time when it was only just dusk, the flash kicked in - but it's amazing how different these 2 shots are.

A music link, which describes us all at work so well right now - the brilliant Led Zeppelin.