Laying the groundwork - or speculate to accumulate

As hinted at in the previous post, I was planning a piece on CAMRA’s milestone, 50^th Birthday; a proper tribute if you wish, as despite no longer being a member, I still possess a large amount of affection for the campaign.

The trouble is I’ve written so much in the past about CAMRA that it’s hard to know where to start, as well as trying to avoid repeating myself. The other trouble is I’m cream-crackered, to use a bit of rhyming slang, so much so that it’s more common than not for me to fall asleep in front of my computer screen of an evening.

Yesterday, for example, I was woken by Mrs PBT’s coming up the stairs and found myself staring at several pages worth of the letter “k.” My finger had obviously been pressed on that particular key, when I dosed off!

With a significant milestone birthday less than a month away now, I ought to be winding down. To a certain extent I am, but at the moment it’s a case of speculate to accumulate, with my plan being to go part-time, and switch to a three-day week. This new pattern of working is scheduled to take effect from the end of September, which is when Mrs PBT’s also reaches the same milestone.

I outlined these plans a few months ago, even though I haven’t yet found the reference to them, but I’ve had them approved now by our board of directors and agreed them with the rest of my management colleagues. So, as well as guiding a busy department through a period of unprecedented demand for the company’s products, I’m heavily involved with the re-structuring that’s taking place in order to strengthen our management team and take us into the future.

Being a relatively small concern – less than 50 employees, we don’t have an HR department, although we have now outsourced this to an outside organisation. This means re-drafting job descriptions, whilst recruiting three new members of management. One of them will be my successor, so as I’ve invested a lot of time in both my team and the company, it’s important that I help choose the right person.

In the meantime, we’ve got the aftermath of an ISO re-certification audit to deal with, although that’s not too onerous, plus the problems caused by leaving the European Single Market and Customs Union. Now which bunch of numbskulls thought that would be a good idea? So, with all work and no play making Paul a very dull boy, it’s hardly surprising that I’m nodding off in front of my screen – but at least it’s at home, rather than at work!

It will be worth it in the end, I keep telling myself, and I’m sure it will, so apologies for the non-appearance of the 50^th anniversary tribute to CAMRA, as well as a rather more enlightening piece about campaigning during the early days of the group, and a campaign that backfired.

Before ending, there’s another task that’s been taking up my time, and taxing my mind, and that’s the job I have of winding up my recently deceased father’s estate.  Dad’ financial assets, whilst not above the threshold for income tax, still require a grant of probate before the banks will release them. So as joint executor of his will, this job falls to me.

You can apply for probate online, at the UK. Gov website, but there’s a complication as the other executor is the eldest of my two sisters, who just happens to live in the USA! Because of this, I decided to hand the process over to the firm of local solicitors that Mrs PBT’s and I have used from time to time – most recently to draw up our own wills.

The solicitor will sort everything out, including the issue caused by my non-domicile sister, but there are obvious costs involved. Solicitors always seem painfully slow, but it frees up my time, and along with the other beneficiaries, I will know that things have been done properly.

Finally, I don’t want this post to come across as a whine or one of “Woe is me.” I am merely laying the groundwork and preparing myself for better things to come. So, with things such as meeting up with friends, going to the pub or travelling to new places off the menu at present, I might as well use the time wisely. That way I can enjoy myself all the more when we are all released from our cages and can really start living again!

See you in the morning, as I’m off to bed now.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz