It's Official!

Just got my certificate - I'm officially qualified! :)

The heat is on!

This last weekend was test weekend…back at Chatton for a practice day on Saturday and the level 1 DSWA test on Sunday.

The weather forecasts for the weekend were doom and gloom but I woke Saturday to blue skies and sunshine and that was to be the pattern for the rest of the day. We set about rebuilding the gap in the wall left from our last visit and incorporating a squeeze stile that would lead to the stone circle we built last time. It was a good day with just the right amount of practice before the main event.

Sunday morning – an early start…at Chatton just before 0800 for an 0830 start to the test. We all pitched up in various states of nervousness and after getting our gear together, it was time for the off. The examiners marked out the stints that we’d be working on – 6 of us in total, with four lucky people getting an end stint each (I say lucky as at the end, you cut in at 45º from the existing wall meaning considerably less to take down, build and less foundation to mess with, whereas a middle stint means the full 2.08 meters of wall to strip and rebuild). I drew a middle stint, but on the bright side it was slap bang in the middle of Ben and Jonathan and being used to working with both of them I knew they’d see me right in terms of building in their stints and not (as Ben puts it) “seeing me off”.

The stripping out went well and in relatively quick time I was at the foundations, then my first fright occurred – one of the foundations was cracked right down the middle! However, this proved to be a short lived problem – one of the curiosities of walling is that, in theory, you should be able to roll out the foundations and then roll them back in the exact same position. I have yet to see this happen, but what it did mean was that the cracked foundation was negated by leaving a gap just big enough to put in a really nice stone and everything actually worked out OK.

Building the first lift actually went pretty well and Donald had told us that we wanted our throughstones in by midday at the latest. It was around 1130 when I hit this so felt I was doing OK. There was a small problem of being left with too little space between throughstones to place the two that were originally in my stint, but the examiner told me to just to put them both in anyway…no harm in doing this, but with hindsight, my stint would have looked far better with just the one and the measurements between the stones would have been so marginal so as not to have mattered to the final finish anyway. Instead, with two throughs crammed into a small space I was struggling to fit stones between them and also to level off to them.

This took me a whole lot of my time in the early part of the afternoon, so much so that our 1530 deadline (lunch was taken on the hop) started to loom closer and closer. By about 1400 I was having real trouble. Another curiosity with walling is that you can take down a wall and practice on it over and over again, every time bringing in more hearting and good stone, but every time, run out of both…I don’t get it! Anyway, I spent a lot of time just trying to find some decent stone to get into the second lift and by abut 1440 I was starting to pretty much slap any old stone on just to get finished.

I’d promised myself that I would focus on my piece of wall all day, but with Jonathan building a stunning piece of wall next to me, Ben doing well and others tidying up having finished I was in a mini-panic. I pretty much threw my cope stones on and did some rudimentary pinning and the guys helped me tidy up (thanks everyone!).

Test over. I looked back at my stint and just felt so despondent. I felt pretty sure I’d passed as I’d done everything technically right, but the overall finish was appalling – I’ve done far, far better on several occasions. I don’t even think it was nerves getting the better of me…I just didn’t have great stone for the second lift or the time to go and find some. Then it dawned on me – this was my exact same horrible stint from my last visit – remember that from my last post? Luck (or lack of) the draw….[sigh].

Never mind – the examiners gave out the mark sheets announcing the passes. I’m certain that mine was the lowest mark and deservedly so. The marks reflected how I felt about what I’d done – not borderline, but by no means great. Still, it was enough on the day and that’s all that counts in any test. I have my Initial Dry Stone Walling certificate and I know I can do far, far better wall than that. Donald appeared rightly proud that all had passed and some, exceptionally well.

The examiners on the day were nice guys. One of them, Steve Allen is generally regarded to be the best waller in Britain and both examiners went about their work discreetly, but also offered advice, guidance and help when needed. I was please and grateful for this as it demonstrated that the level 1 test, whilst a test, is still at the entry and very much learning level of a walling. It also assured me that the aims of the DSWA are noble – in that the examiners want people to pass the tests as ultimately, it makes Dry Stone Walling and the DSWA stronger. With some such associations the order of the day can be about exclusivity and keeping others out, but having seen how the examiners conducted themselves I am reassured that this is not the case with the DSWA.

Would I change anything about my general approach to the test? Not really. I think, as always, coming back from the wall more often (maybe set a timer to go off every 15 mins?) is always a good idea. Also, despite stopping to grab a bite to eat I think having some snacks and sweets nearby is a good idea as by the end of the test I was actually pretty low on energy – little and often is the order of the day and my Camelbak was a really useful thing to have.

I genuinely believe that the problems I had evolved from the stone that was in my stint. I know seasoned wallers would say that you just have to work with the stone, but I’m not a seasoned waller and having good shaped, big stone really does make a difference. The finish in others’ stints was testament to that with nice big square looking chunks all over…so at the end of the day, some of it was just luck of the draw. Oh and for sunny days, I’m going to buy one of those “legionnaire” style hats. I didn’t stop to put sun block on and as a result sat with a wet towel on the back of my neck for the rest of the evening! Stoopid! I now have the most ridiculous tan which stops at the top of my skull where my baseball cap was (I even have a nice “half moon” tan at the back of my head where the hole is…I look like a pint of bitter!

Anyway, job done and first step over. I’m not sure how much walling I’ll get in during the rest of this year with money and annual leave running low. At the moment, I’m thinking about starting up on level two at the start of next year, but if opportunity comes sooner I’ll certainly take it up. For now, I think I’ll get on with reading a few books just to keep the mind ticking over. Congratulations and thanks to everyone else on the test – I hope we can get together again for the next step, and thanks, as always, to Donald for his time, confidence and guidance.

See you soon.

Al

A week of two halves...

Last week, I got back from a week of walling, once again with Donald, in Chatton, Northumberland. The week (Sun to Sat) was a chance to get in plenty of hours of practice prior to a Level 1 DSWA test on the second weekend of July.

It was good to meet up again with Ben (and his Border Collie “Ruff” who confirmed my thoughts about Paddy, that being a Waller’s mate is an ideal occupation for a Border Collie) and Jonathan from the taster weekend and there were also five others in attendance – most aiming to do the test in July also and one taster.

On our first day (Sunday) we went over some of the basics again (mainly for the benefit of those that were new to walling) and then set about stripping and re-building a section of wall that we had practiced on in April. Working alongside Ben and Jonathan, we had a good craic and had the wall up in quick time and it looked pretty good.

On Monday, we went up the hill and rebuilt a section up there. By a nice coincidence, Jonathan and I were at a point in the wall where Donald decided that we’d build a “Sqeeze Stile” – basically a tapered gap in the wall allowing people to pas through but narrow enough to keep livestock in. This was a good opportunity as not only did we get to build a feature such as this (a higher level feature) but also to see how a “Cheek end” (the end of a wall) is constructed. This was a pretty hard day as the stones required for a cheek end are pretty hefty, but after a reasonable time, the wall and stile were built.

Fortunately, we were also not far from the Iron age hill fort nearby and the Kettley Stone and Kettley Crag Rock Art, which I mentioned back in April. We took a short trek across the beautiful Northumbrian countryside to see these sites and I have to say, I was really pleased to have done this. The view from the hill fort was stunning, with Hawk Aircraft (probably form RAF Leeming), Tornadoes (probably form Leuchars), and Tucanos (probably from Linton-on-Ouse) flying past at almost eye level. Then it was downhill into a small valley at the bottom of which is the Kettley stone – a Neolithic font carved into the bedrock. The area is predominantly sandstone and the soil is very sand indicating that the area was once sea bed and the features of the land indicate a watery past. It’s thought that the font would have been used in ancient water worship ceremonies, although others have speculated that it was used in early Christian worship. Another short trek back uphill and we came across Kettley Crag – an overhanging rock with awesome Neolithic carvings in the base stone. This stone was covered by turf for millennia and largely remains well preserved due to the overhang and also the fact that unless you know where it is, it’s actually pretty hard to find. There are many of these “cup and ring” stones across Northumberland and theories abound about what they mean from ancient maps to simple doodles. All I know is that all of this is a call from an ancient past when nature was worshipped and unspoiled. This alone makes such monuments simply awesome. There are a few good resources around if this sort of stuff interests you: Firstly there’s the Beckensall Archive, then there’s the Megalithic Portal and lastly The Modern Antiquarian.

After this, it was back to the site and up with the coping stones, then down into Chatton Village for a couple of well-earned pints…lovely.

Tuesday morning…I knew I was in trouble, as by 0800 it was already a warm day. The task for the day was to dig out the foundations of the section of wall we’ll be tested on in July, re-build and to ensure that the stone in the wall was good quality. This was slow work in the heat and finding decent foundation stones is harder than you might imagine. Just after lunch I had to call it a day as I had to drive back to Kent that same afternoon and evening as it was my Grandad’s Funeral on Wednesday morning.

My Grandad was 94 when he died and it was ultimately simple old age that caught up with him. He was a kind and gentle man and everything a classic Grandfather should be. I credit much of my enthusiasm for gardening to him and the days I spent helping him in his garden, eating fresh vegetables at Sunday lunch. Nothing bought in any shop has ever come close to that taste. He lived a pretty simple life – much of it outdoors, in the Kent countryside – he never wanted for much, just enjoyed working outside, eating well and enjoying a few pints of Guinesss before lunch on a Sunday. On reflection, there’s a lot we could all learn from the way he lived his life and his influence, stories and even his looks live on though his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In aspiring to a walling lifestyle, I hope to recapture something of the simpler life that he has shown us all.

After another drive back North on Wednesday afternoon, I arrived back at Chatton on Thursday morning. Apparently Wednesday had been another hard, hot day, with the stone in the wall difficult to work with so progress was not what I thought it might be so after some finishing of of rebuilding, we moved on to making a circular seat just behind the wall. Donald explained the finer points of circular construction and with all hands on deck, the wall went up pretty quickly and looked pretty good by the end of the day. Work remained to be done on constructing the actual seat and also building the seat into the existing wall with a squeeze stile for access at the front, but it was a project I was pleased to have been involved in.

Friday brought in the rain and another day of stripping down wall and rebuilding, but this time under mock test conditions. We were given random stints of about 1.5m of wall to strip and rebuild and I was off to a bad start when I discovered that the foundation stones I had were pretty poor so after much swearing I finally got the all important foundations settled. It was ultimately to set the tone of the day for me with seemingly poor stones to work with all day. Granted, you have to work with the stone that’s available, but if you have nice square stone to hand the work becomes so much easier. There was some respite after the delivery of some better stone from further up the hill and I eventually finished but I was far from happy with what I’d done. Once the batter frames were down, it did look OK and Donald said that it was of a good enough standard to pass, which was a relief, but the major faults were not getting big enough stones in at the bottom of the wall and using sloping stones lower down which created misery further up. It’s just the way it goes sometime – a day or so before it all went so smoothly…just a bad day at the office and Donald’s feedback was delivered in a very constructive fashion so I now know exactly the areas I need to look out for in my work.

Saturday brought more rain and heavy mist and with little to do on the site, we simply tidied the area up (inadvertently disturbing a bee’s nest in the process!). I think by this point, everyone was pretty tired and muscles were sore, so we only worked until about 1400, said our goodbyes and were off until our test in a couple of weeks’ time.

The week was great – great to get in so much practice, to see some new features and also to get to grips with good foundations. Working for a week was tough but sustainable and the weather was also interesting. I’ve come back with a really healthy outdoors “glow”, but by Tuesday, the heat really did have an impact on the ability to work at a reasonable pace. One of the best investments I made prior to the week aside from my own tools and kneepads (such a good idea!) was a Camelbak – just makes keeping hydrated so much easier than stopping to get a drink. On the flipside, when the rain came, the only difficulty I had was gripping some of the larger rocks when wet, but as for comfort, no problem whatsoever – god bless GoreTex. It is useful to have something warm and dry to change into for the drive home though.

So now it’s only a week until the level 1 test, which I’m excited and nervous about in equal measure. It will be great to get that under my belt. Onwards and upwards!

Dedicated to the memory of Alan Norris - 1914-2009

Away from here...

I was driving along in my car the other day and dug out a CD that I hadn't listened to for a while... "We'll Live and Die in These Towns" by The Enemy. I just wanted to share a selection of the lyrics from one of the tracks - "Away from Here". Pretty much sums up how I feel about my current job...

Im so sick sick sick and tired
Of working just to be retired
I don't want to get that far
I don't want your company car
Promotions ain't my thing
Name badges are not interesting...

Away a way oh, oh oh, away from here

I'm fed up of early mornings
Wake up calls are getting boring round here
Feet dragging on the pavement
The same people with the same arrangements
Irony can be quite funny
Making other people money
My working day has just begun
It's not exactly what i'd call fun...

A way a way oh, oh oh, away from here

Saturday is your only highlight
When you go out and live the high life
Meeting up with other people
Get interaction with the weekend people
At least when all is said and done
You wouldn't been the only one to be a slave to the modern wage
Your crappy weekend is your only escape...

Still...maybe a week next month walling before a level 1 test...we'll see.

Al

Part of my dream is over...but the dream lives on

I wrote in my first post about my dog, Paddy, a lovely Border Collie.

Paddy died on Wednesday this week after a quick deterioration due to a cancer in his brain stem. He was ten years old.

Had he made it, he would have loved the walling lifestyle and would have been the perfect companion during a day’s work.

My family and I all miss him so very much.

Let's get the party started...

Dry Stone Walling Taster Weekend

Chatton, Northumberland 25-26 April 2009

So, I’ve just come back from a great weekend up North. I drove up to my in-laws’ near Morpeth in Northumberland on Friday after work. My wife and kids were already there having been visiting that week.

Here, I’m going to give an overview of the two days and my thoughts, along with any things that really struck me. It’s not my intention to give an instructional account of construction – there are many books and DVDs that can do this and, of course, there is absolutely no substitute for hands on instruction, so if you want to know how to build a dry stone wall, get out there and do it! I guarantee you’ll have a great time…

Day One

Saturday morning, I set off bright and early for and 0930 start at Chatton, just North of Alnwick, which was to be the site of my first real taste of Dry Stone Walling. I arrived at the site and met Donald, the instructor that I’ve previously mentioned and my co-newbies, Jonathan, (a chef that creates the recipes for supermarket ready-meals etc) and Ben (an Army Physical Training Corps Warrant Officer).

We were introduced to some fundamental health and safety principles, a brief geology and ecology lesson and some of the main tools that we would be using. Our job on day one would be to rebuild a section of wall that had been damaged by the sheep that were in the field that it enclosed. One of the things that really struck me in doing this was just how essential stone selection is…considering fit, where the face is, vertical fit with neighbouring stones, whether the stone has moss or lichen on the face (two sides of the same wall can operate very different eco-systems), the slope of the face and how this affects drainage...the list goes on. At every stage of the building you must be constantly appraising how the stone you are laying will affect the integrity of other stones and the overall wall. Here’s a diagram so you get an idea of how a wall is constructed.

Even the “hearting” needs careful consideration as to how it is fitted – it’s not simply a random throwing in of rubble to fill the gaps – it’s actually this that is the core strength of the wall. I felt that you really come to get a feel for how the wall is a sum of all of its parts and this takes a real focus. To my mind, this sort of work is engrossing, much like meditation (which I’ve written about on my other blog) in that it is single pointed concentration – now how many jobs are meditative by nature???

Having made a promising start we stopped for lunch and this was exactly how I’d imagined it might be in my first post. Sitting propped against wall, in the sun, viewing the mist draped Cheviot Hills in the distance. Oh glory! Today, back at work, I’ll no doubt sit in my car in the middle of a business park…maybe go to Tescos if I’m feeling adventurous. What a juxtaposition! And I’ll tell you what, a packed lunch always tastes better after a bit of graft.

As the rest of the day drew on, the wall slowly came together and by just after 1800, we’d placed on the last coping stone. I think all three of us felt a great sense of satisfaction and pride as we stood back and saw (to our eyes at least) how the work we had done blended neatly into the existing wall – a boundary built to withstand, yet work with, nature.

I left feeling tired (usually, I leave work tired by stress and frustration, here it was simply a gratifying sort of tiredness brought on by physical endeavour – so very different and a whole lot more “honest”), sunned, thirsty and probably more satisfied than I’ve felt in a long while. I was also so pleased by how close to my vision which I outlined in my first entry here, the actual experience was. Often when you open your mind’s eye, reality can fall short. Not in this case.

Day Two

Eager to crack on, we made an 0900 start, back at the same site. This time, we were to set about repairing a stone seat within the wall which was suffering from some unstable aspects of previous construction. Following the same process as the day before, we stripped out the wall and rebuilt, although, for some reason, I think all three of us felt that the stone was not as easy to work with as the previous day – it just seemed to be more irregular and the placing was less intuitive. This was helped somewhat by Donald showing us how to shape and cut stone using various hammers. Whilst keen not to abuse the use of the hammer, it did make the task somewhat easier, but I agree entirely with Donald that it was better to have learned the way we did on day one as there would have been an over-reliance on the hammers had we not.

Again, slowly, but surely, the wall and the seat took shape and by the end, looked substantially better and stronger than it had when we started the day. With both walls, progress at the start was slow, but this, I think is a reflection of the need to get the foundations right. As the wall comes together, particularly into the “second lift”, work rate increases and before you know it, something, that you, at points, didn’t feel was going to happen, suddenly materialises and you can stand back and admire something tangible from your efforts. Again – how many jobs really allow you to do that at the end of every day???

I feel that I learned a lot over the two days. Donald was a great instructor, passionate about good walling and he held nothing back from his considerable experience. I certainly feel that I’ve been fortunate to find a great teacher and hopefully, mentor, on this journey. I enjoyed spending time with the other guys and it would be great to spend time on another course with them if that’s possible – we spoke about a level 1 course in a few months so we’ll see how that comes together. Thanks to all of you for your time and company.

The things that struck me most were really around the relationship with the land around you. You’re slap in the middle of some great countryside – what an office! You’re working sympathetically with natural material – you feel it, hear it, even smell it and all of this creates a huge awareness of the environment you’re in and a sincere concern for it. I heard the phrase “stewardship” mentioned a few times and working in this type of environment really develops a sense in you that you have this type of responsibility for the nurture of the world around you.

Nearby the site we were at, there was an ancient hill fort, and some stunning rock art, that, unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to see (I will try and do that next time I’m up that way). Working in, and being part of this landscape, working in a physical way on something that occupies your concentration fully is, quite simply, awesome.

I know for certain that this is where I want to be – there is a freedom, a substance and a depth to Walling that simply does not exist in a sterile office. It’s a lifestyle. To quote Maxim Gorky “When work is pleasure, life is a joy! When work is duty, life is slavery”.

I’ve made my first foray into making my vision reality and I’m more excited than ever. Catch you soon.

Al

Could this be my new office?

Book Review - Dry Stone Walls by Lawrence Garner

Shire Publications

ISBN: 978-0-7478-0620-2

Price: £4.99

I thought I'd do the odd review of stuff I read/watched. Clearly I'm coming at this from the viewpoint of a layperson and a beginner, but it might be useful for anyone, like me, looking to find out more about Dry Stone Walling.

After a brief search, I came across this book and was drawn to it, I admit, by the price. I didn't want to spend a fortune on a book that was going to be too advanced for me so it seemed a safe bet.

The Author is well placed to write on this subject having been the first Director of the DSWA. It's actually more of what I'd call a "pamphlet" than a book at only 40 pages, with some of that taken up by many great photos. It took a little less than an hour to read, and I have to confess a short attention span so this is testament to an accesible writing style with little by way of unnecessary "filler".

The subject matter deals with a brief history of walls, some basics of construction, a look at varying regional styles of walling, a look at the state of the craft today and some further information for readers to follow up.

The history was actually quite interesting and certainly gives the budding waller a sense of heritage. The construction section, although short and introductory, already taught me more than I knew to date and certainly shows that there's more to it than simply stacking some stones together. This section also shows why, as a craft, it is important for organisations like the DSWA to uphold standards and practices.

The section that I actually found most interesting was on the regional variations, which explains how different styles of wall have emerged in each major walling region due to economic, geological and geographical circumstances. What this means for the professional Waller I'm not sure...does it mean a Waller who works Nationwide needs to master all styles? It does appear to me that there are some styles that are just more robust than others, but to what extent does the use of local stone and its limitations and sympathy for local traditions hold sway over superior walling techniques which give greater longevity and craftsmanship? A question for another time I think, but interesting nonetheless...

The section looking at the craft today aims to challenge the perception that Dry Stone Walling is a craft in decline. It would seem that between Professional Wallers, volunteer conservationists, farmers and hobbyists, there are a fair number of people involved. I remain open to challenge to this, but I would imagine, however, that the age profile for the majority of these people is rising all the time. I say this with no prejudice - I'm just pointing out that there could be a succession issue in future.

Lastly, the sections that offer the beginner guidance on further reading and other associated organisations are a useful resource that the Internet doesn't readily throw up with a basic google search so I look forward to following some of that up.

Overall, its a good little book. Ideal for me as someone new to the subject and probably as much as I needed right now. Colour pictures throughout are great and satisfied the feeling in me that this is a craft that sits in communion with the best that nature has to offer.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

So how to make this dream a reality? Well, the internet is a vast resource, so a quick Google and voila! The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain (DSWA).

As a starting point, the website has a lot of information, including how to access training. Not surprisingly, much of the training is in the North and a small amount in the South West. The training is vocational in nature, which is exactly as it should be. It’s a practical skill that can surely only be learned by doing. It seems that anyone could become a Dry Stone Waller but I’m certain that there’s more to it than piling up a bunch of stones so it’s appropriate that the key skills and knowledge are passed on in a formulated syllabus and that competence is defined.

To do this, the DSWA work with an accrediting body called Lantra who provide training and assessment in the land based and environmental sector. This enables the DSWA to accredit craftsmen to various levels, the highest of which is described as “Master Craftsman”.

The development and retention of skills in any sector is important to the survival of skills and also to those seeking practitioners – it gives a “seal of approval” that the work will be of good quality. In my opinion, this is so important. In so many jobs and trades, people can set themselves up as practitioners and conduct work that is shoddy, which is clearly bad for customers, but also the trade at large. Additionally, I think it does genuinely skilled workers a disservice that people think that “anyone can do it”, when so many have spent a long time honing and developing skills to a high level.

Anyway, Master Craftsman seems to be the ultimate goal, but it would appear that a working waller could crack on with an intermediate level award under his or her belt. How long this would take, I do not yet know, but, in principle, that’s another great thing about a Vocational approach to qualification. Attainment is (or should be) based on actual demonstration of competence, rather than “time served” so, in theory, qualification should depend on how quickly an individual develops.

I searched through the list of training suppliers. None in the South East as far as I could see (and, to be fair, Dry Stone Walls do not feature heavily in the South East landscape). My next thought was the North East. My mother and father in law live in Morpeth, Northumbria – definitely Dry Stone Wall territory, so there’s convenient accommodation if I can access appropriate training. (As a side note, I should also mention that there is a plan for our Family to relocate to the North East. My wife wants to be closer to her parents and as our 4 year old Boy/Girl twins, get older, our 2 bedroom terrace seems to get smaller and, simply, bigger houses are cheaper up North!)

I found a college that offered courses only to be told that they’d stopped running them so I tried another chap listed – Donald Gunn. I gave Donald a call and he told me that he runs a two day “taster” course over a weekend in various places around Northumbria with the next one running in a couple of weeks’ time. Sounds perfect. Simply, I’ll book a long weekend and drive up. The wife and kids get a long weekend with Gran and Grandad and I get to go and play in the great outdoors!

It seems, based on what I’ve read, that it may be possible to attend a series of training weekends as and when they’re available and when it fits with other commitments. This is fine…without much spare money floating about, it’s not like I’ll be using my leave on long holidays anytime soon. It’s a journey that we and our trusty Skoda are well used to and my wife won’t have a problem as it means more visits to see her parents!

On the face of it, it seems like something very attainable for me, and the learning process should be a pleasure too. I titled this entry with a bit of wisdom attributed to Confucius. He seems to have been a wise man indeed – here’s another “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”. There really is very little substitute for getting hands on and actually doing something to learn it. I’ve played the Academic game for so many years, what with school, University, professional study and it’s all a bit of a farce in my opinion. I’ve called it a game because that’s what it is – it has rules that you need to follow and as long as you follow those rules you can get through…all that is ever really tested is knowledge and the ability to regurgitate it on request either via an essay or exam. Very little in academia ever confers any actual competence because what is missing is experience. I’m so bored by academic study. It’s so tedious and all I’ve ever done is to figure out what it is the teacher/tutor/examiner wants to hear (which isn’t always what I think!) and give them that because it gets me a certificate that says I can follow someone else’s vision of the truth.

By learning a skill in a hands-on way will be a pleasure – the learning is tangible, real and the test is in the construction itself. No more navel gazing – you either build it well, or build it badly. It will be so nice not having to pander to academics' egos to get a pretty meaningless piece of paper. Far better to go through a learning process and come away with hard skills. I can’t wait to get started.

One last note, I've also just joined the DSWA - it cost £24 for the year as an open member. For that I get a quarterly magazine and access to a network of professionals that I hope will be a great resource for me in my journey.

See you soon.

Al

How did I get here?

My first entry set out my vision and what this blog is about. Now I want to give you some idea of where I’ve come from and how I came to be where I am today.

I never really knew what I wanted to do while I was at school. I was always really good at English and Art, found History and Geography interesting and everything else barely tolerable. Still, I kept my head down and did OK at most things without too much effort. As exams approached, thoughts of, and indeed lessons in, careers began to come into view. I still had no idea. I had ideas that something involving Art might be good – maybe graphic design, but the pragmatist in me said that maybe telecommunications were the future, even though I had little interest in that area.

One thing I vividly remember though was telling people that I didn’t want to work in an office – no way.

All through my childhood I had been in the Cubs, then the Scouts and in my teens I was in the Air Training Corps (ATC). I went on great school trips to the Vosges Mountains in France and Duke of Edinburgh’s expeditions in Wales. The ATC regularly took me off on adventurous activities, often in the relative wilderness and I enjoyed it all. I was pretty convinced that office life was not what I wanted, so I started to look at the Royal Air Force as something to aspire to. Family links and my time in the ATC also pushed me in this direction and I thought it must be the sort of job that isn’t 9-5 grind and had a fair chance of being outside at least some of the time.

Even with this general direction, I still didn’t really know what I wanted to do – being a pilot never really interested me, and besides, my Maths was so poor I doubted I’d ever make the cut. Engineering held no interest and the RAF Regiment looked pretty tough (it’s good to know your limits!). I decided that the best strategy was to sit tight and wait to see if something would reveal itself and in the meantime, increase my chances of a better life. So A’ Levels and subsequently University beckoned.

Still none the wiser, I bummed around for a year after graduating, working in a bookshop, during which time I formulated some kind of grand idea that Personnel/HR/Training would be a good area to get into – seeing some of the poor treatment and utilisation of staff in the company I worked for, led me to think that by working in this field I could influence this and make a difference – idealistic tripe as it turns out!. Given that my degree course in English Language was heavily geared towards moving into education, I decide to specialise in Training & Development. Lo and behold, the RAF had a commissioned branch called “Admin: Training” which was Officer entry, graduates only. “Result!” I thought – it was all coming together. Off I went for Selection and was eventually told (more or less) “you’re a bit green” come and see us again in a year or so”.

Fed up with working for a pittance, I decided to move back South and pursue the Training & Development agenda from there. Back to college to get a professional qualification, temping in what HR jobs I could get on my CV, I eventually landed my first professional training role with a large aviation engineering company. “Perfect” I thought with my next RAF application in mind. The second RAF application was thrown into jeopardy by a Rugby accident, but after a couple of years and an eventual operation and recovery I was back in a position to apply again. This time round, I was ultimately successful. By my point of entry to the RAF as a Flying Officer I was 27.

Ultimately, it wasn’t to be. The RAF wasn’t for me…I think it was a case of the right place at the wrong time. Had I been younger and less experienced I might well have been more able to put up with the more mundane aspects of service life, less questioning of practices that I knew professionally were wrong or out of date. I left the RAF having had a difficult, but useful experience. One of the main things I really enjoyed was the outdoors stuff during my Initial Officer Training. One stint was a ten day exercise on Otterburn Training Area during November. Otterburn’s a barren, yet beautiful place and even when it was blowing a gale and lashing down with rain, I was still happy. Life was simple. It was just you and the elements. It felt like that’s how life should be. It’s hard not to feel inspired and tranquil all at once when surrounded by beauty on such an awesome scale.

Later, during an almost three year stint commuting in and out of London, including the Tube, I would return to that place in my mind’s eye, trying to escape the fact that I was crammed into a metal tube with equally miserable strangers on my way to a job that I hated.

Despite hating what I was doing I fell into the socially conditioned trap of trying to further my “career” by doing more professional qualifications and striving for “better” jobs. Both endeavours that I was successful in and a few job moves later I find myself in a senior Training & Development role in a large and successful insurance company. Don’t get me wrong, in less than a decade I’ve achieved a lot and have a CV that many would envy. Just think what I could have achieved if I was really trying…if I was doing something that I really enjoyed?!

Where has the childhood interest in art and creativity gone? What happened to the assertion that I didn’t want to work in an office?

I’m 34 now and I figure I have around 30 years of good work left (assuming I don’t win the lottery!), possibly more looking at the way pensions seem to be working out.

I want to spend that time doing something I enjoy, something that sustains me and my family alone. I want something physical and creative and ultimately, something that I can be proud to tell people about…something that gives my children cause to be proud of who their father is. I want to be more than just another manager in another dull office.

So, how did I get here…? I’m really not sure. I know I directed my career to date, but it feels like I accidentally drifted into mediocrity. So now it’s time to muster my efforts in a very conscious effort to do something that I really want.

This could be it. I hope it is.

I have a dream...

I was sat at work, bored senseless (a normal occurrence), daydreaming. I was trying to think of ways out of my office-induced misery. It was a lovely spring day outside – blue sky, bright sun and a gentle breeze just enough to make the newly blossomed trees tremble – the sort of day that you could wander around in a t-shirt and feel the sun warm your skin against the chill of the breeze. “How can this be right?” I thought. “How is it that I’m stuck behind a desk with poor posture, atrophying and a mere spectator in what is happening outside of this sterile monument to another man’s dream?!”.

Then, from nowhere, it hit me, and I’ve no idea how or why. Dry Stone Walling. My mind spun off in a flurry of excitement at an imagined new future. Me, out on some fell, maintaining part of our natural heritage. Creating something that will stand long beyond my time. Firstly I imagine a day like today – working out in the sun – beautiful greens and browns all around me – shadows dance along the ground as the clouds roll across a picture perfect sky. I stop for a break – sitting propped against my labour surveying my workplace – a landscape that office folk have to resort to calendars and holiday snaps pinned to their cubicle walls to find.. But, what about the other seasons? It’s not all sunny days, far from it, so I imagine this – easy to do having experienced it. I’ve got the right gear for the job so the wind and rain doesn’t bother me too much. The harshness of the conditions actually brings me closer in-tune with the landscape around me. I stop for a break in the cab of my Land Rover, heater on, a flask of soup – a brief respite in a cocoon of warmth and solitude. Except, maybe, for a dog – yes, Paddy, my Border Collie would love this…or (and let’s face it, Paddy’s getting on and the injustice of a shorter life span than humans does mean he’s not going to be around forever) any other dog that I might have in future (I can’t imagine life without a dog). Or maybe, in years to come, my kids have come out with me, during the school holidays, or maybe even as apprentices.

Oh yes – this sounds good…and I can do it on my own, be my own boss. But what about work? Is there enough? Does it pay enough? Well, I’ve already decided that money isn’t everything – quality of life is where it’s at. I’m always hearing that it’s a trade in decline, yet in demand – miles of walls need repairing, I know the MOD own huge estates which need to be maintained. There’s a rising interest in all things ecological and we know that these walls become the habitats for a myriad of wildlife. Then there’s gardens – people like a nice crafted look for their gardens – and the skill can easily be adapted for commissions – benches, tables, art pieces. Surely there’s enough work around….and being your own boss, success is in your hands. Oh, and there’s my training background…if I’m good I could run courses…for office folk who want to come out to play and experience life outside of purgatory.

And it’s physical. The human body is an amazing thing. It’s been honed over millions of years to be able to do extraordinary things, yet what do most of us do with it? Abuse it and exercise little more than our fingers every day…what a disgrace. I spend a lot of my spare time trying to make best use of my body through exercise, trying to slow the slide created by the sedentary world around us.

Is it possible that I can break away? Get a new life doing something completely different and something that feels more like life than work?

That’s the question, and that’s what this blog is about. Here, I’ll be documenting my efforts to pursue this potential change in work and life. I’ve kept another blog for a couple of years now, documenting my love affair with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and have found it a useful way of staying focussed, reviewing what I’ve done, and, maybe, giving some information to others that may find it interesting or useful. This seems like another adventure that I’d like to record. You’re welcome along for the ride.

I’m not expecting this to be quick or easy, so updates will be as and when I have something to tell. No doubt there’ll be an initial flurry of thoughts, then large gaps where life, as it currently stands, gets in the way of progress, but I will try and add thoughts and articles on related topics to keep it varied and interesting.

I'd love to hear from anyone that has been through a similar journey and especially anyone that's already in this line of work...I'm hoping that I find an open, helpful, friendly trade with people willing to pass on advice and help.

Check back soon – take care.

Al