Tag Archives: tray bake

Adrian’s All – fairy tales of a jobseeker  

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Adrian Phelan

Post 8

Dancing the night away | Gaeilge Lingo | The job bit | COVID-19 Inquiry | Nizlopi supportEd | Do Good Well | TV and film | Rounding off

Welcome to this week’s blog. 

I’m in the mood

The blog week started on Saturday with a trip to Beeston near Nottingham for a surprise 60th birthday party, and it was brilliant. There just aren’t enough opportunities to have a boogie these days and we danced the night away. I have a milestone birthday in 2026 myself and no one’s having buffet (vol-au-vents, chicken wings, quiche) until we’ve timed you dancing for at least half an hour. It’s just the tonic for life’s challenges. My feet are still going.  

And it snowed on Wednesday. It was short-lived but for about ten minutes the place looked like a winter wonderland and there were fewer people in shorts and crocs (overkill on that one I know). Significantly I heard the last time it snowed in November there was a white Christmas so let’s wait and see.  

Speaking the lingo 

This week I started practising Irish on Duo Lingo and I’m surprised both at how much I’ve remembered and how much I’ve forgotten. What’s good about it is that it also teaches you how to learn. It does have to show me some words about 8 times before I remember them however and I have no doubt if it was human it would have thrown a blackboard duster at me by now. But I’m really enjoying it. (I hope there’s some reading this who don’t know what a blackboard duster is.)  

How can I help you? 

I’m deeper into my new temp job, and the comfort of the training days are long behind me. I’m chatting to lots of people on the phones now, hopefully sorting out some of their problems and suffice it to say that when 5pm comes each day I am knackered. And the work doesn’t stop there as the job searches need to take place into the evenings. I’m planning to cold approach people at companies I’d like to work for so brace yourselves, I’m coming for you. Nothing ventured…as they say. A reminder you can find me on LinkedIn at Adrian Phelan | LinkedIn 

COVID-19 inquiry 

If you have seen my LinkedIn profile, you’ll know I’ve spent the last five years promoting adult and childhood vaccinations. During the pandemic the focus was naturally COVID-19. It was a massively significant time for all of us, but I think even more so for the NHS staff who selflessly put themselves at risk caring for patients, day in and day out. So, I read with interest the inquiry’s findings into how the four governments did. I don’t think any of us would have taken their places but the idea that the lockdown(s) could have been avoided and 23,000 fewer lives lost is mind blowing. I’m going to leave that one there, but I hope we’ve learned lessons and are far-better prepared for any future pandemics that fingers crossed never happen.  

Nizlopi SupportEd

I was delighted to see that Nizlopi, who featured in Blog post 3 will be supporting Ed Sheeran on his UK and Ireland dates in December. They have a long association so it’s great that the duo’s reunion is marked in this way. All the dates are sold out so to those of you who have tickets make sure you get down eary to check out Lemington’s finest. They really are very good.  

Do Good Well 

I’ve been avoiding the Prostate Cancer UK guy all week at the station. I support three charities already so can’t afford to add a 4th but what we can do for free is raise awareness of their great work. What he was promoting was the “multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) scan which is a special type of scan that creates more detailed pictures of your prostate than a standard MRI scan. It does this by combining four different types of image.” These images give your doctor information about whether or not there is any cancer inside your prostate. Read more online and do consider a regular donation if you can.   

What are you watching this week?  

I haven’t been to the cinema this week but The Running Man and Wicked are on the list. If you see either of these, do share your reviews. I am nearly at the end of the Iris Affair mind and I’m enjoying that a lot. If you have Sky Atlantic, do consider watching.  

So long and thanks  

As ever, thanks for coming with me this far. Do get in touch for any or no reason. I’d love to help raise awareness of anything you’ve got going on so just ask.  

This has been somewhat of a blogette this week, but it gets you back to your day quicker.  

See you again next Friday.  

Adrian  

07974669338 

adrianphelan@hotmail.co.uk 

Adrian’s All – fairy tales of a jobseeker  

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Adrian Phelan

Post 7 (Definitely becoming a ‘thing’ now)

Unmissable afternoon nap | Job seeking stuff | The Northern Lights | My day with the doctor| This week’s film| So Long Michael D| Do Good Well| Rounding off

Welcome to this week’s blog. 

Zzzzz 

I’m in the new gig three weeks now and I think I’m adjusting quite well to the routine of five shirts, five shaves, no more Countdown etc. But the one thing that’s knocking me sideways is missing the afternoon nap. My goodness did that become a thing over the last four months. Everything revolved around it. It usually happened after lunch when for some reason even something as modest as a sandwich could put me into a coma. Or occasionally it could be in the morning when I was killing time before the library opened. Either way I think it’s the lack of it that has had me looking like something out of Shaun of the Dead since my 5-year contract began in 2020. You’ve got me going now. Look out for next week’s blog which will be a nap special, aimed at putting us all to sleep. Well, hopefully not.  

Glass half full  

My go-to expression when people have asked how things are going is that I’m ‘Keeping the glass half full.’ But I have to admit to the occasional wobble. I had one this week when I reflected on the length of time that has passed since I left the job and how quickly that time has gone. Like pretty much every week of my 40s it has flown by. However, I have some talented good friends in a similar situation to me and there really is safety in numbers. If sometimes I feel down, I certainly don’t feel alone. There have also been times where I’ve been able to use my situation to signpost people to places (like job agencies) that could help. So, when all is said and done, I’ll try and look back at the positives.  

Alas no Northern Lights for us  

The weather’s actually been nice and mild this week with the sun poking through occasionally. There’s still lots of blokes in shorts; some with obvious burns to their feet (winks) however just when we needed it to be clear, it was typically cloudy the night we might have seen the Northern Lights. But they did come out in Dublin, and you can see some pictures on the RTE website. I mention this because it was with absolute joy that I saw my first ones last year and I’m really hoping we’ll get to see them again.  

Putting my foot in it 

I am the most medically boring person you will ever meet, but for the first time since I was 11, I finally had to go to hospital to get something done. I had a steroid injection in my right ankle to fix a tendon issue. The procedure was guided by ultrasound so there was jelly involved. If the anaesthetic needle was a bit sharp the free foot massage more than made up for it. I went in hoping the procedure would be one-off, now I’m considering feigning injury to get the other foot done.  

The good thing though is that I can continue running, and I went out for a long one after work on Wednesday. Many of my deepest thoughts get processed when I’m out running so it’s very good for me. But sometimes 5k could pass by and I still can’t work out how dragons blow out candles or if there is a German word for ‘fluffy’. The natural endorphins are always a bonus though and I shall carry on. It has been the best addition to my life in 2025.  

Filim slot 

I went to see The Choral on Monday, and it was very good albeit I thought that Ralph Fiennes was too big for it. It was a very cute tail though, set poignantly in front of the harsh reality of war and the young men forced to go and fight in it. It was filmed in the beautiful Saltaire, a town I once worked in as a student. A fairly large local choir were in to watch on the night and the altos on more than one occasion had to be told to be quiet (Seriously). They’re a rowdy bunch those altos. But do check out the film if you get a chance.  

So long Michael D  

A few words on the outgoing Irish president. Ireland loved him. In 2022, one of his staff arranged for a nice official note to be sent to my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary. I don’t know how personally he got involved in such requests, but the fact that he rubber stamped them was special. The very best of luck to him and his wife Sabina.  

Do Good Well – World Diabetes Day 2025  

This week’s nod was a no-brainer as I worked for Diabetes UK for four years back in the noughties. Today (Friday 14 November) is World Diabetes Day. If you can afford to, please donate to Diabetes UK or Diabetes Ireland. Two very worthy causes.  

Bye, thanks get in touch  

As ever, thanks for getting this far with the blog. Do send feedback and more importantly, please share with your friends. Be it 2 or 2,000 readers, I will carry on.  

Adrian  

adrianphelan@hotmail.co.uk 

07974669338 

(2) Adrian Phelan | LinkedIn  

Adrian’s All – fairy tales of a jobseeker  

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Adrian Phelan

Post 6

Thoughtful beginning | What the fire extinguisher | Bonfire night | Delicious Tray Bake| This week’s films| Do Good Well | Rounding off

Sending thoughts 

I want to start this week’s post by sending love to a number of friends who have very recently said goodbye to close family and to others tackling health issues. My own Dad is going through the mill currently, so I also want to give a shout out to my siblings who have been doing a great job navigating his various medical appointments and then feeding back. My light words in this blog pale into insignificance against the seriousness of some people’s lives at the moment. We will crack on, but you are in my thoughts.   

Mandatory training – bloody fire extinguishers  

I must have done mandatory training about eight times over my career, and I can never get the questions about fire extinguishers right. I would normally be too catholic to photograph the correct answers and cheat, but as I’m now lapsed…I’m also questioning my moral judgement as to what qualifies as a conflict of interest. In fact almost every module of the training had me questioning some of my long-held beliefs. If I’ve ever offended you, I apologise. Take comfort in the fact that at some point I may put out an electrical fire with a water fire extinguisher.  

I’ve started dealing with customers for real now. I have to say that doing customer services as a 23-year-old [I once did it for a publishing company] and doing it as a 49-year-old are two very different experiences. I honestly think you have more empathy at this age, and you certainly have more life experience. The world including technology has also moved on quite a bit. I’ve had to get used to a number of new software packages so training has been fairly full-on. But I’ve been very well supported by my new colleagues and that has been a big help. The hunt for that more substantive post continues however and I have a couple of applications to complete this weekend.  

Bonfire night  

I hope everyone enjoyed bonfire night. At about 6pm on the night I passed a guy heading to my local shops in a t-shirt and shorts. When I moved to the UK first, we used to freeze our bits off on bonfire night. Now we’re burning our toes for wearing flip flops. You’ll always see people in shorts in garden centres and Costco no matter what the time of year. We can add bonfire night to that now.  We’re going to a late one this weekend and I’m looking forward to it. We don’t have it in Ireland (We do fireworks on Halloween instead) so it’s always been a novelty. I ignore the fact that it’s about burning a catholic. As I said above, I’m lapsed anyway.  

Bake-off 

I did some baking this week. I made tray-bake which is a sweet treat made up of coconut, chocolate and raisins (egg, sugar and margarine). My Mam and aunties used to make it for us when we were kids. It was always a favourite so it was nice to have a little taste of the past. The picture above is what they came out like. If you would like the recipe, drop me an email. They are quick and easy to make. I’d also welcome other recipe suggestions if you care to share. We’re all over banana bread and blueberry muffins already in our house but anything else you have, do send on.   

This week’s film 

I saw Bugonia on Monday and I’m still trying to process it. It’s one of those films that saying anything about it will spoil it, but I will say it’s a whole heap of weird. The same director did Poor Things with both films starring Emma Stone ,so that gives you an idea of what to expect. If you saw Sinners earlier in the year you will know about films with surprises and it’s suffice to say this film is in that territory.  

Back to the Future is also in cinemas celebrating its 40th birthday. How is that even possible? Me and my brother saw that without our parents. That’s how old we are now and now that I think of it, it came out in the same year as Live Aid. What a year ‘85 was. In case you’ve ever wondered 1.21 gigawatts is 1.21 billion watts. Wonder no more.  

Do Good Well 

Actor Pauline Collins sadly died this week at the age of 85. She had Parkinson’s Disease for a number of years so in honour of her life and other sufferers of the disease I’m signposting to Parkinson’s UK and Parkinson’s Ireland. A number of my grand uncles also had the condition. Support if you can.  

Bye for now and thanks  

As ever, thanks for stopping by. I’m going to try and get a weekly post of some sort out by hook or by crook and I hope the content continues to amuse.   

Please do get in touch if there is ever anything you would ever like to reach out about.  

Adrian  

adrianphelan@hotmail.co.uk 

Adrian Phelan | LinkedIn