Case1worker- That's me!

I left the civil service some two years ago as part of government cuts and whilst trying to decide what to do, I found the world of online writing. I have written on a number of sites with some success. The main achievement has been to increase my confidence which was at a really low level when I left my job.
When I first started writing I thought "what on earth can I write that anyone will read ", the answer is "quite a lot actually". The main thing to do is to learn the ropes, join a site like Squidoo which offers support to the novice and follow their advice. As time passes you realise that you do actually know what you are doing and visitors leave kind comments which really just makes you want to write more.
In the summer of this year I hope to start research for my first book which will be a living history of young people and children during World War two. Writing on line has given me the confidence to do this and I am so excited about it. When I mention the project to family and friends they are so supportive as they have already seen the evidence that I can write!

When I left my "proper job" I never wanted to work again, but life changes. I have had a fun two years, working with the Census Project where we counted everyone in England and Wales and working as a classroom assistant with disabled students and adults. I have now settled down and got another "proper job" at our local university where I sit and tap away at the IT all day, not quite what I want but they are such lovely peope to work with, that it takes most of the pain away! I still do a few shifts working with disabled students at the University which means I get to attend a number of thought provoking lectures, without having to do the homework!

I have the obligatory husband and Kids- though the eldest is 22 and a teacher in her own right. I still cant get over the fact that my little baby looks after other peoples little ones- so weird. I have two beautiful cats- Tiggy and Bagera who were rescued from the R.S.P,.C.A. some ten years ago. The tabby is Bagera whilst Tiggy is ginger. They are getting rather slow and forgetful now as they get older, but hey so is their dad! We have a sign in our kitchen

Cats and Husband missing, reward for cats!

Seems about right to me!

I have always done things with my hands, as soon as I was able I learned to knit and spent my teenage years knitting jumpers and cardigans, until of course I discovered the night life of University. When the children came along, out came the knitting needles and the wardrobe was filled with hand knitted cardigans and shawls, I even managed to make some romper suits for the little darlings. Two years ago my nephew and his wife had a little boy which resulted in a frenzy of needles and wool.
My creative talents have taken a bit of a turn in the last year. Our church is small, so small we don't have a building so we hire the local school or ask the local publican nicely if we can use the bar before opening time! We were trying to make our mark on the community saying "Hi, we are here"!, but it was hard. We held a number of large fun days and community pic nics which were good, but hard work- .

We decided to organise a craft club- actually it was my baby and everyone luckily agreed what a good idea it was. The local council were rather kind and gave us enough money to start it off and then when one of our congregation passed away his family kindly donated enough money to keep us running for some time. Working with our local community is rewarding, but not that easy. We live in a multi cultural city in middle England and our parish has people living in it from all religious persuasions and none at all. We wanted people to come and enjoy some time with their children and if they wanted to ( and only if they wanted to) find out more about christianity.

I can remember our first meeting, the joy we had when 15 people turned up- now one year on we have at least 40 attend and instead of arm bending tactics to get people to volunteer to help- they just come. The format is quite simple we have 5/6 craft activities which always includes painting. After crafting for about an hour ( oh and that includes mums, dads and grand parents too) we have a break. We have a talented vicar who tells a Christian story and sings a couple of childrens hymns with the families during which we serve tea, coffee and biscuits. These services are true multi faith, we have families from the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities as well as white families who may or may not have a connection with a religion. After coffee its back to crafting until home time. We do this 6 to 8 times a year and it is always fun. The best bit about it is "it's free"

i wonder what the future holds? I guess we all do really. All I know is that this year will be fun and busy. In June we have the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Church will no doubt be doing something fun involving the community. In August we have some tickets to see the Olympics in London. We won the tickets in a lottery and I was really lucky to get tickets for the Boxing!! I have not told my husband yet, but the last time I went to a boxing match I was physically sick! Hopefully the sun will shine, the economy will bloom and life will be good. I hope and pray that life is good for you all.