Morning

Up 07 25. Breakfast : coffee; banana pancakes; muesli.

Did dishes; showered. Dressed.

Visited Seetec Pluss, waiting in kitchen for appointment. Turned phone on after waiting ten minutes and received notification that appointment cancelled due to illness.

Bought bedding, paying with card without thinking; fortunately went through (19th of the month is pay day). Talked to staff member who said their conditions were not what they had been and recalled the 1970s, saying people would not organise nowadays; I talked about the uptick in workplace organising including the case of Amazon warehouse unions. Told to research ‘hospital corners’.

Returned to Northgate House and waited for workshop.

Attended ‘Setting Up for Success’ workshop with Seetec Pluss staff member (one other attendee cancelled due to illness). Interactive presentation with sections on Barriers, Employability Support, Sector Insights, Skills Brokerage, Employer Services, Training Delivery, Portal and Job Hub. Explained the upset of last week and how counterproductive. Health and Wellbeing workshops are available outside of Wellbeing Coach referral too. Said felt focus needed was identification of occupation/skills and training requirements.

Heard that Seetec Pluss tends cater to two or three groups of people. Large numbers of working people have changed tack following COVID-19, e.g., realising hours and conditions in hospitality industry were anti-social. My case not typical seemingly. Seetec Pluss coordinating with sectors where employers recruiting : hospitality, facilities maintenance (inc cleaning), security, logistics (esp driving) mentioned. Seetec Pluss able to cover some training costs. Portal includes job aggregation facility. Workshop about 90 minutes; next one on CV next week. Helped someone looking for visa processing find their way via Northgate House reception on way out.

Afternoon

Lunch : fried egg and rice.

Did food shop at Lidl. Forgot to wear trainers. Young white man being stopped and searched by 5 officers as I passed by on way there.

Tea at home with a friend : black tea; shortbread.

Evening

Supper : spinach and ricotta pizza.

Made bed with new linen and pillowcases, attempting hospital corners after viewing 3 videos online. Hopefully end of struggles with bedding.

Friend sent copy energy bills for comparison.

Lights out.