Off the Bench, Off the Wall - It's Much Nicer Here On the Ceiling
What can I say about my first day back at the Star?
I am so glad I came back; and grateful that they let me return - even wanted me back working there. The experience I gain will be so valuable; worth more than any wage, in my opinion. This way, I can move over to Portadown in the autumn and say I have nearly five months' experience working and writing at a newspaper. And I'll have the portfolio of my obsessive little newspaper clippings to prove it.
They started me off with some fairly easy work; so not dropping me in at the deep end! I was given a load of fillers to occupy the time before my big assignment of the day.
At one o'clock, I would be heading off to Cineworld to cover the premiere of "Off the Bench", a short film about the 10-week course of the same name, which was recently given its second run by Saints Rugby Team and the Job Centre.
This meant trekking through the St Helens streets in those accursed heels that I've bought as part of my posh work outfit. They must be two inches high and slightly too big for me as my feet keep sliding about in them as I walk. They're murder to get around in, but I must admit they make me look three years older and about 70% more female.
I arrived at the cinema early; so much so, in fact, that the place was still closed. I had a lovely chat with another lady who'd just arrived about who I was, why I was there - I always end up talking about where I'm from with strangers; must be the accent. A few more people showed up and then we were let in.
Talk about brilliant! Everyone was so nice to me when I was there. We were all supplied with popcorn and a drink (Steve told me to bring some back or he'd fire my arse and hire the rest of me) and the film itself was great.
Recorded and edited by the course participants, it did its best to cram ten weeks of awesomeness into about fifteen minutes of footage. It showed us the activities they did over the weeks, as well as featuring interviews in which the participants talked about where they were before the course, what they wanted to change, and follow-ups on how they felt at various stages throughout.
And then there was the special feature they did about colleague Les, who reportedly said 'not doing that' a total of 347 times during the course. What a laugh! Even in only five minutes of film, his personality shone through - a wonderfully quirky fellow who you just had to love.
You know, "Off the Bench" reminded me so much of The Prince's Trust. I talked to one of the organisers, actually, after the film, and mentioned my own Prince's Trust experience, and he said that "essentially it's a Prince's trust Team programme for older people". The similarities between the two courses is staggering!
After the film I did a bit of interviewing here and there, talking to participants and organisers, and then pottered home with my bag of not-even-half-eaten popcorn. Kelza wouldn't be fired for failing to deliver the popcorn today!
Ultimately, I got enough material to write 500 words on the premiere. As you can imagine, trimming it down to meet Steve's limit of 300 was entertaining; I get a weird kick out of editing so extensively. Steve, the madman, said he'd try and whittle a further 50 words off it himself - good luck to him!
My hard work was well rewarded, I must say, by the fact that I got to hang out with Jason after work! It must have made the day a hundred times more perfect. We agreed to meet outside the Star office but when I left the newsroom, popcorn in hand, I found him waiting in the reception. As soon as he clapped eyes on me in my posh work suit - well, we'll say that it's the easiest 'wow' I've ever managed to wrangle out of a guy!
My response? "I know - I have popcorn! Isn't it awesome?"
We started out by invading The Glass House, a Wetherspoons pub that doesn't have The Running Horses' tendency to get horribly crowded. Going to the bar isn't a suicide mission. For once, I didn't fear for Jason's life when he went to buy drinks. And when we talked I could actually hear what he was saying.
Only a family stole our seats when we both nipped to the loo at the same time. Bugger.
We had a couple of drinks and something to eat (chilli con carne - omnomnom) and then went back to his place. My heels were seriously bugging me at this point and I was unsteady enough after a couple of Magners so I took them off on the way back - and made it as far as college before putting them back on.
You know what we did for nearly four hours? Just cuddled. About two of those hours were spent in silence, just lying there. Talking occasionally but saying just as much in the moments between words; the constant presence of his body against mine, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and steady breathing. It was perfect. I'd forgotten just how nice it was to have someone to share those hours with. Then...
Jason: This is relaxing, just lying here listening to your breathing. Sounds like the sea.
Kelza: I can make whale noises if you want!
He should have known what he was signing up for when he agreed to go out with me, really. Madness was all part of the deal.
He'd set an alarm, in case we both fell asleep, so that we'd know when it was time to set off for the bus station. Well, eventually that time came - totally snapped me out of my reverie - I'd gone away to some bliss-world where it was just the two of us and our warmth. The alarm slammed me back to reality and it was time to go. Gutted. As usual.
We saw something quite weird on the way back - something in the sky. It was this odd featureless blob, cigar-shaped (yeah, the typical UFO shape), partially lit at either end. It was moving slowly; looked like it was rotating, and from the way it looked and moved it was blatantly obvious that it wasn't a plane. We watched it for a while, baffled, and then it just faded away. What the hell? It was probably the lights going out on it, actually; we wouldn't have seen it without those lights because it was late.
I think we saw it again. Another object in the sky, probably the same thing, but this time it was more cuboid in shape and more widely illuminated. It looked more like a balloon this time, but it still weirded me out a little. Why the hell did someone have a balloon up in the middle of St Helens, in the middle of the night? Strange stuff.
We parted with three kisses this time. Getting better, but I'm still too shy for anything beyond a peck on the lips. I suppose it's best not to force these things, though. I quite like the pace at which things are going right now. I got the bus home and was in bed straight away; as I fell asleep I was back there with Jason in my mind - the night had been so awesome. I hope we do that again some time!
I am so glad I came back; and grateful that they let me return - even wanted me back working there. The experience I gain will be so valuable; worth more than any wage, in my opinion. This way, I can move over to Portadown in the autumn and say I have nearly five months' experience working and writing at a newspaper. And I'll have the portfolio of my obsessive little newspaper clippings to prove it.
They started me off with some fairly easy work; so not dropping me in at the deep end! I was given a load of fillers to occupy the time before my big assignment of the day.
At one o'clock, I would be heading off to Cineworld to cover the premiere of "Off the Bench", a short film about the 10-week course of the same name, which was recently given its second run by Saints Rugby Team and the Job Centre.
This meant trekking through the St Helens streets in those accursed heels that I've bought as part of my posh work outfit. They must be two inches high and slightly too big for me as my feet keep sliding about in them as I walk. They're murder to get around in, but I must admit they make me look three years older and about 70% more female.
I arrived at the cinema early; so much so, in fact, that the place was still closed. I had a lovely chat with another lady who'd just arrived about who I was, why I was there - I always end up talking about where I'm from with strangers; must be the accent. A few more people showed up and then we were let in.
Talk about brilliant! Everyone was so nice to me when I was there. We were all supplied with popcorn and a drink (Steve told me to bring some back or he'd fire my arse and hire the rest of me) and the film itself was great.
Recorded and edited by the course participants, it did its best to cram ten weeks of awesomeness into about fifteen minutes of footage. It showed us the activities they did over the weeks, as well as featuring interviews in which the participants talked about where they were before the course, what they wanted to change, and follow-ups on how they felt at various stages throughout.
And then there was the special feature they did about colleague Les, who reportedly said 'not doing that' a total of 347 times during the course. What a laugh! Even in only five minutes of film, his personality shone through - a wonderfully quirky fellow who you just had to love.
You know, "Off the Bench" reminded me so much of The Prince's Trust. I talked to one of the organisers, actually, after the film, and mentioned my own Prince's Trust experience, and he said that "essentially it's a Prince's trust Team programme for older people". The similarities between the two courses is staggering!
After the film I did a bit of interviewing here and there, talking to participants and organisers, and then pottered home with my bag of not-even-half-eaten popcorn. Kelza wouldn't be fired for failing to deliver the popcorn today!
Ultimately, I got enough material to write 500 words on the premiere. As you can imagine, trimming it down to meet Steve's limit of 300 was entertaining; I get a weird kick out of editing so extensively. Steve, the madman, said he'd try and whittle a further 50 words off it himself - good luck to him!
My hard work was well rewarded, I must say, by the fact that I got to hang out with Jason after work! It must have made the day a hundred times more perfect. We agreed to meet outside the Star office but when I left the newsroom, popcorn in hand, I found him waiting in the reception. As soon as he clapped eyes on me in my posh work suit - well, we'll say that it's the easiest 'wow' I've ever managed to wrangle out of a guy!
My response? "I know - I have popcorn! Isn't it awesome?"
We started out by invading The Glass House, a Wetherspoons pub that doesn't have The Running Horses' tendency to get horribly crowded. Going to the bar isn't a suicide mission. For once, I didn't fear for Jason's life when he went to buy drinks. And when we talked I could actually hear what he was saying.
Only a family stole our seats when we both nipped to the loo at the same time. Bugger.
We had a couple of drinks and something to eat (chilli con carne - omnomnom) and then went back to his place. My heels were seriously bugging me at this point and I was unsteady enough after a couple of Magners so I took them off on the way back - and made it as far as college before putting them back on.
You know what we did for nearly four hours? Just cuddled. About two of those hours were spent in silence, just lying there. Talking occasionally but saying just as much in the moments between words; the constant presence of his body against mine, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and steady breathing. It was perfect. I'd forgotten just how nice it was to have someone to share those hours with. Then...
Jason: This is relaxing, just lying here listening to your breathing. Sounds like the sea.
Kelza: I can make whale noises if you want!
He should have known what he was signing up for when he agreed to go out with me, really. Madness was all part of the deal.
He'd set an alarm, in case we both fell asleep, so that we'd know when it was time to set off for the bus station. Well, eventually that time came - totally snapped me out of my reverie - I'd gone away to some bliss-world where it was just the two of us and our warmth. The alarm slammed me back to reality and it was time to go. Gutted. As usual.
We saw something quite weird on the way back - something in the sky. It was this odd featureless blob, cigar-shaped (yeah, the typical UFO shape), partially lit at either end. It was moving slowly; looked like it was rotating, and from the way it looked and moved it was blatantly obvious that it wasn't a plane. We watched it for a while, baffled, and then it just faded away. What the hell? It was probably the lights going out on it, actually; we wouldn't have seen it without those lights because it was late.
I think we saw it again. Another object in the sky, probably the same thing, but this time it was more cuboid in shape and more widely illuminated. It looked more like a balloon this time, but it still weirded me out a little. Why the hell did someone have a balloon up in the middle of St Helens, in the middle of the night? Strange stuff.
We parted with three kisses this time. Getting better, but I'm still too shy for anything beyond a peck on the lips. I suppose it's best not to force these things, though. I quite like the pace at which things are going right now. I got the bus home and was in bed straight away; as I fell asleep I was back there with Jason in my mind - the night had been so awesome. I hope we do that again some time!