Ways to See the World

It's slightly less than two months to go until the UK general election and I'm already a little obsessed with the ups and downs. It helps that I get to keep track of things for work as well. (If you're interested try www.quakervote.org.uk ) There are several interesting factors about this election. For a start we know the exact date whereas in the past, elections usually happened every 4-5 years, and we wouldn't know the date until the Prime Minister asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament, at which point purdah would begin and the date would be set. In 2011 the Fixed-term Parliament Act provided for fixed-term parliaments of five years in length, unless a vote of no confidence in the government is passed, or the House of Commons votes to hold an election with a two-thirds majority. It'll be interesting to see what the long-term effects of fixing the duration of Parliament will be; it has been suggested that knowing the date of the election has meant that politici

After two and a half months of unemployment and a full three months since leaving Corrymeela, I finally have a job. One that is paid an actual salary and involves a proper commute. It's also based in London, a significant change from living on a cliff in Northern Ireland. All in all I was pretty glad I didn't have to spend the last few weeks of the year not knowing whether I'd have a job in 2015. A few days before I was offered this position I'd hit the low point in my job search. The rock-bottom point when your self-esteem is on the floor and you wonder whether you're worth hiring after all. A few days later I was offered two different jobs (lucky me!) and had to weigh up all my options before going with my gut. Reflecting a little on this job search I definitely learned a little more about myself and what some of my goals are. There were two jobs I applied for very early on that I still think would have been fantastic but weren't the right fit at the time