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Grant Holts Moustache

OT: Long summer of unemployment. How should I spend it?

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Please forgive me for being off topic but it''s a long summer with little football and lots of dull transfer rumours.

Here''s the craic. I just lost my job and don''t want to find a new one just yet. Well it is too nice out for such seriousness and I want to explore our fine city and beautiful countryside! I am seeking the help of all the illustrious pink un posters on what I should do with my new found leisure time. Am looking for suggestions, maybe you have a project you need help on, know someone in need, are involved in a little known subculture or just have an excellent idea? I am very open to trying something new and am reasonably intelligent so can be of use if needed.

Me, I''m 30, live in the fine city and have worked for charities project managing and delivering services. Am not looking for a girlfriend as already have one. Have my season ticket already but can''t afford to go on tour with the city for pre-season. All my friends are working so if I don''t find something to do I will just spend my days reading and searching for jobs. Possibly ending up with a habit for Jeremy Kyle and other pointless day time TV. Please help me avoid that!

It''s time live life differently! Please help pinkun and I will be eternally grateful. What do you suggest?

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If you have a gym membership or into fitness this is the only time you can really make a difference. When working you just maintain so make the most of it.

There are plenty of free courses that you can do while off work. Really valuable to add to cv.

Most importantly volunteer there are loads of programmes - there is a group that clears mousehold heath of rubbish once a week. Great job clearing brush or rubbish, great to be in clean air and catching the sun.

Then there are charities that want people just to go into elderly peoples gardens and just water, weed and clean up a garden.

Certainly plenty to do, good luck with the job hunt. Never easy and I think make the most of being unemployed in the summer. The winter is much worse.

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I too will be unemployed after Friday, 10th July. Returning to live with my family near Bradford after 4 months working in Southwold. After 4 months away I am looking forward to looking after my 2 children and cooking my wife evening meals. I will look for a job up north come August. Enjoy the weather, shame no mighty Norwich matches, competitive anyway. I am 36 and have never been unemployed in 20 years so it will feel strange... I have busted my balls for 20 years, generally working an average of 50 hours a week. I cannot be bothered to sign on and have no need to claim from the public purse anyway.... Be in the good weather in your lovely City, if you can''t go to the pre-season matches. Bradford is not quite as nice as Norwich although it is very picturesque when heading a few miles north, up in the moors - Enjoy!

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Sorry to hear about your job- lost mine in April but managed to find another pretty swiftly.

I''d agree with the poster who mentioned exercise- you have the time so worth doing some stuff to keep fit. I''d also recommend resisting the temptation to lay in every morning!

There is lots to do around Norwich so take the chance to explore- the Sainsbury Centre at UEA is great if you are into art and the Castle is always interesting. In this weather thAlere are lots of places worth visiting on the train also so get out to the coast.

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The Norfolk Wildlife Trust are always on the look out for volunteers to work on their sites around Norfolk.

I''ve done some volunteering with a group from my place of work at Hickling and New Buckenham Common. These days are hard work, but rewarding and make a refreshing changes from sitting in an office all day.

Have a look here: https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/support-us/volunteering

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I am definitely looking to get a little fitter. Have spent the last two days checking gumtree for a decent second hand bike and will be getting out and about on it when I find one.

Thanks for the tip about the group on Mousehold heath Smooth. Is right round the corner so will have to find out more.

Sorry to see others becoming unemployed but I will say it is always great to recharge and have some time to do things for you and the family.

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Fuzzy.........''Train hard and see if Sporting Lisbon will take you back''

Best joke on this forum for good while, Cheered me up after losing a tooth on me chainsaw chain due to some numpty using the tree as a fencepost,

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DC.... shame about your job, did you ever consider registering multiple identities on this board and using them to run down the club at every opportunity, better be quick as i''m sure someone else will think of it soon too.

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Plenty of festivals for all musical tastes accross the country this summer, some still with tickets left. why not spend it in the sun partying! the best summers are festival summers!

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[quote user="Dead Canary"]What I really want is to do some cool projects with people.[/quote]I''m yer man. [Y]The lawn needs cutting.....you can clean the car.....walk the dog.....clean the windows.....And if you''ve still got time.....there''s always the washing up. [;)] [:D]

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[quote user="Dead Canary"]Lappin I think you got cool and project mixed up with mundane and chores.[/quote]When you''re bored laying down by the river somewhere, don''t say I didn''t offer. [;)]

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[quote user="Dead Canary"]Me, I''m 30, live in the fine city and have worked for charities project managing and delivering services.[/quote]You''ve been without a proper job for quite some time then [:)]

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I also had a similar situ in March. Still not sorted anything permanent out yet, just been doing temp stuff to keep the money rolling in, but it has allowed us to move to a different city - not very far but moving from Derby to Nottingham, so there''s a lot more opportunity and stuff to do there. Also allowed me to chase the career I wanted, and should have gone in to. Had an assessment day last week, won''t hear the outcome until August but I''m quietly confident I''ll get on it - 19k tax free allowance, post grad degree for free, and a fully qualified social worker in 14 months, which is a profession every country we are considering emigrating to has on their jobs list, so a few years down the line, and it will make our move to warmer climes a lot smoother and simpler! Oh, and a guaranteed job at the end of the programme with the local authority you do the programme with. If it doesn''t work out that way, then I can either go back to uni and pursue it that way, or I can get something permanent in a nicer work environment for a few years and then reconsider.
In terms of things you can do this summer, I don''t live in the fine city, so can''t give you any local knowledge, but you could always volunteer on a helpline for Samaritans/Childline etc, Schools are often looking for adult mentors to spend an hour or two a week mentoring students who are struggling with education, spend some time in the gym as others have said. If your missus would let you get away with it, you could volunteer (or even work)  for a charity abroad for a few months and put your skillset to good use on a project in the developing world and see a bit of the world while you do it. Old people''s homes are always looking for people to come in and spend time with the residents. Learn a new skill, try out different activities (I am a certified scuba diving, the diving is only really spectacular when you''re in an ocean worth diving in, but it''s fun to learn the skills, and if you liked it, you could start certifying and do the academic bit, and then do the practical bit (the skills assessment and the open water dives on a holiday somewhere worthwhile at a later date - Red Sea would be my suggestion as you can get cheap deals to go out there during term time and the diving is unbelievable). 
The world really is your oyster at the moment.
Whatever you do, good luck with it!

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[quote user="lappinitup"][quote user="Dead Canary"]What I really want is to do some cool projects with people.[/quote]I''m yer man. [Y]The lawn needs cutting.....you can clean the car.....walk the dog.....clean the windows.....And if you''ve still got time.....there''s always the washing up. [;)] [:D][/quote]HA [:D][Y]

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Really sorry to hear of others going through a situation I''m unfortunately about to endure. I was offered redundancy on Monday and bearing in mind the alternative is to relocate to Leeds or Newcastle (I''m currently based near Stansted), redundancy it is...

Like others I plan to spend time to reflect and chill (this is my first break from work since I was 16) and then get straight back into it. I hadn''t considered the thought of volunteering but others on this post have made me think it would be a great thing to do this summer.

Hoping everyone who is going through this sort of situation finds something soon.

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I offer no apologies for those that I might offend but I cannot resist saying whatever happened to the spirit of the greatest generation? We now have healthy bodied people contemplating taking the summer off, having the time to come on here and contemplate their navel....

 

I have to say that kind of thinking is a stones throw from the problems that the Greeks are going through which is about to get worse ( one way or another ).

 

P.S: Working 50 hours a week for 20 years is not busting your balls. Working hard every hour 6 days a week while putting in 70 hours for 40 - 50 years is busting your balls. That''s what made some of the western countries great in particular....the sweat of the earlier generations. Now it''s time to figure out how to sustain that level of affluence for fear that it might blow away on the wind.  

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In UK terms, The greatest generation were the post Ww2 children. All the jobs, all the housing, university still a rare thing and a degree that was funded by the state and meant something.

This generation have significant disadvantages relative to the last.

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Anyway. In my earlier days I spent a summer cycling around Norfolk and taking in the towns and villages on various day trips, with a picnic lunch and a hip flask for the harder times. I met many good people and shared some good laughs along the way. Even dipped into Suffolk once or twice. So if you wanted to explore our beautiful county, there are worse ways than by bicycle. Gets you fit and all.

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You can bust your balls in two hours work or 50 or 70. Watson is doing a fine example of this against Williams at Wimbledon for the last 2 or so hours. Busting your balls was used as an expression of the effort I put in and the level of responsibility and pressure put upon me. Job satisfaction levels aren''t great in all parts of the world unless your in a lucky minority. I am entitled to have the summer off as I can afford it. I plan to do some pta voluntary work at my children''s school and I am helping landscape a community recreational area with my children too. Its going to be a great time having the summer off, avoiding making shareholders richer!

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Work! whats that?Oh yes, its something I did for fifty years. It seemed the right thing to do at the time but I can''t really say that I miss it now.Time is running short but at least its mine to do as I like with.[:D]

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Thanks for so many replies. I am on the hunt for a bike but everyone keeps getting the good ones on Gumtree first! Once I get it will most certainly be my way of keeping fit and exploring.

I am with Bradford on the summer off/ busting my balls thing. It''s not about the hours you put in its about how much of yourself you give to the job. Working for charities has been tough the last few years with all the budget cuts. Seeing people suffer because the government things it''s okay to destroy services is very draining. I need a break and have saved enough money so I can do so without signing on.

Any more suggestions are welcome. Really up for doing something very different maybe there is an artist on here who needs an assistant/ model. Is anyone building something and needs help as that''s something I would like to learn about. Someone could even set me a challenge and we could raise some money for a local cause. Keep them coming!

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[quote user="Dead Canary"]Thanks for so many replies. I am on the hunt for a bike but everyone keeps getting the good ones on Gumtree first! Once I get it will most certainly be my way of keeping fit and exploring. I am with Bradford on the summer off/ busting my balls thing. It''s not about the hours you put in its about how much of yourself you give to the job. Working for charities has been tough the last few years with all the budget cuts. Seeing people suffer because the government things it''s okay to destroy services is very draining. I need a break and have saved enough money so I can do so without signing on. Any more suggestions are welcome. Really up for doing something very different maybe there is an artist on here who needs an assistant/ model. Is anyone building something and needs help as that''s something I would like to learn about. Someone could even set me a challenge and we could raise some money for a local cause. Keep them coming![/quote]

 

I suggest you''re "with Bradford" because it suits your lifestyle choices, and I underline the word choices, something you''re able to do because of the effort of past generations ( before my time....and I was born during WW2 ). Those people did not have the choices you have and they had to work hard every single hour on the job because there were many standing behind them waiting to take their job. So working was not a choice, it was a need.

As for your comment on the government thinks it''s "okay" to destroy services, governments that are not acting in a manner to live within their means are, unfortunately headed on a path that is akin to what is going on in Greece today. An example is the story on the current crisis in Greece, where pensioners, for example, cannot even access their pension money from banks. This, in a country where it was common for the government to give in to the "wishes of the people" in past decades and not cut services. Indeed, the people regularly marched through the streets in parades demanding more services when they couldn''t even afford the ones that were already being provided. I watched it. I was there. The path they were on was predictable, but avoidable.

Good luck with being an artist''s model. While you''re sitting there you may spend some of your time pondering how you can ensure you don''t end up one day in the same shoes as a current Greek pensioner.

 

  

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Okay Yankee, obviously you feel somewhat bitter. I don''t want to get into a massive debate about this but I''ve seen first hand what the government has done to those most vulnerable in our society and it isn''t pretty I can assure you. I believe there were other better ways to reduce costs and I don''t believe charities should be exempt from this but the scale of it is what has been devastating. You will obviously have a very different view to me and that''s fine how ever I made the thread to see if I could do something good with my time not for a rant or debate on politics. I dealt with enough of that at work.

PS there was no choice about becoming unemployed. Would much rather be working, earning and doing something to help those who really need it.

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