Yuletide in East Anglia
Judging by some of the more peevish messages I have received recently, it is time for another edition of the Hogga Blog. Ah well, my readers are my life so once more to the keyboard. And this time it is a somewhat grimy old keyboard at my temporary workstation in the open plan office of my new employer. The first time I have worked in open plan, actually, and in a department composed mostly of female HR consultants.
Yes folks, the Hogga has moved again - this time to the lovely little cathedral city of Norwich. Another first is that I am living within a short walk of the office - well, renting to be more precise while I look for a place to buy. Time to shake the dust of Bracknell from my feet (and leave that strange Lego block house full of immigrant lodgers and bad memories, too many photographs and even now, stray ginger hairs on my old jackets).
This is indeed a pretty place to live. Surrounded by a maze of little country lanes and villages, close to the sea and even closer to the Norfolk Broads which is a sort of wetland and network of canals and lakes. A mix of very old and new, and strangely enough a part fo the world from which some of the Hogga ancestors rose. My maternal grandfather was descended from a very old and very small (in numbers at least) North Norfolk family about which more at a later stage. So a sort of homecoming, although I don't want to place that much significance on what is essentially a lifestyle career move.
My new duplex is on the river Wensum and has views of the cathedral spires. An impressive place and with some amazing interior decoration including the face of the secretive "Green Man" peeping out of some leaves, a hint of the pagan past perhaps. For more on the Green man mythology checkout http://www.btinternet.com/~breinton.morris/WhoistheGreenMan.htman.htm
Interesting walking to work (and dangerous too at times, I come barreling out of my warm little duplex and get halfway down the street before realising that the pavements are icy; my Fred Astaire routine is now quite athletic and only stops when I hit the even more treacherous cobbles in Elm Hill Street and am required to adopt a hunched and geriatric shuffle). Such a large amount of light coloured eyes here - all shades of green, blue and grey with the occasional flash of topaz and amber. Of course many people are bundled up in dark coats against the occasional chill so it's like snorkeling in Lake Malawi - monochrome and then flashes of colour as the cichlids swim past.
Another way to spend spare time here is looking for a house to buy. Three broad categories I guess; country cottage, suburban house or city apartment. I've looked at all three and bugger me if I can make a decision. I suspect it'll be the suburbs again - it is a compromise between the constriction of a small apartment and the space and isolation of a 1700's cottage in the Broads. I've seen some lovely old cottages but my DIY skills are notoriously limited - and I think those kind of things are projects for couples anyway. Not that I'm wimping out - just that I would find it difficult to summon the enthusiasm to work alone on the place after a full week at the office.
Ah well, back to the office and more induction meetings. It is a complex and complicated role I have accepted here, managing HR programmes in a large company with tens of thousands of employees and a propensity for "Ready Fire Aim" kind of project generation. Christmas will be with a clutch of African cousins now doing very well over here, New Year probably nowhere in particular. Greetings of the Season to you all.
Yes folks, the Hogga has moved again - this time to the lovely little cathedral city of Norwich. Another first is that I am living within a short walk of the office - well, renting to be more precise while I look for a place to buy. Time to shake the dust of Bracknell from my feet (and leave that strange Lego block house full of immigrant lodgers and bad memories, too many photographs and even now, stray ginger hairs on my old jackets).
This is indeed a pretty place to live. Surrounded by a maze of little country lanes and villages, close to the sea and even closer to the Norfolk Broads which is a sort of wetland and network of canals and lakes. A mix of very old and new, and strangely enough a part fo the world from which some of the Hogga ancestors rose. My maternal grandfather was descended from a very old and very small (in numbers at least) North Norfolk family about which more at a later stage. So a sort of homecoming, although I don't want to place that much significance on what is essentially a lifestyle career move.
My new duplex is on the river Wensum and has views of the cathedral spires. An impressive place and with some amazing interior decoration including the face of the secretive "Green Man" peeping out of some leaves, a hint of the pagan past perhaps. For more on the Green man mythology checkout http://www.btinternet.com/~breinton.morris/WhoistheGreenMan.htman.htm
Interesting walking to work (and dangerous too at times, I come barreling out of my warm little duplex and get halfway down the street before realising that the pavements are icy; my Fred Astaire routine is now quite athletic and only stops when I hit the even more treacherous cobbles in Elm Hill Street and am required to adopt a hunched and geriatric shuffle). Such a large amount of light coloured eyes here - all shades of green, blue and grey with the occasional flash of topaz and amber. Of course many people are bundled up in dark coats against the occasional chill so it's like snorkeling in Lake Malawi - monochrome and then flashes of colour as the cichlids swim past.
Another way to spend spare time here is looking for a house to buy. Three broad categories I guess; country cottage, suburban house or city apartment. I've looked at all three and bugger me if I can make a decision. I suspect it'll be the suburbs again - it is a compromise between the constriction of a small apartment and the space and isolation of a 1700's cottage in the Broads. I've seen some lovely old cottages but my DIY skills are notoriously limited - and I think those kind of things are projects for couples anyway. Not that I'm wimping out - just that I would find it difficult to summon the enthusiasm to work alone on the place after a full week at the office.
Ah well, back to the office and more induction meetings. It is a complex and complicated role I have accepted here, managing HR programmes in a large company with tens of thousands of employees and a propensity for "Ready Fire Aim" kind of project generation. Christmas will be with a clutch of African cousins now doing very well over here, New Year probably nowhere in particular. Greetings of the Season to you all.
posted by Shane Hodgson at 1:18 pm
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