Back for good
After a summer sabbatical, I'm back and looking for work. Here's what I've been up to this week.
It’s been what you might call an interesting twelve months.
Work-wise, it’s been all change - culminating in my decision to leave the social enterprise I co-founded in 2010.
And then away from work the last 12 months have, in large part, been about getting my fitness back after breaking my ankle in a race last September.
I’ve probably been to a hundred pilates classes over that time to get the strength back in my ankle - including one class where I pondered how hard it is to talk with people about the climate crisis.
I get up again
Last week it felt like I turned a page on those two stories.
On Sunday I re-ran the race where I broke my ankle last September - Leeds Country Way Relay.
A big thank you to Joseph - who ran with me last year and accompanied me to hospital - and who didn’t say no to joining me to run the same relay leg this year.
You’ll be pleased to know I managed not to fall over this time.
And after giving myself some time off over the summer - to recharge my batteries, think about what to do next, and to do a short Open University course, I started back at work last Monday. Or to be more specific, I started back at trying to find work.
These words, that I pass several times a week, resonate.
Rest assured
I had a new mattress delivered on Friday.
It was made just down the road from me by Harrison Spinks - a bed manufacturer with an impressive commitment to sustainability. They’ve even got their own farm, to produce some of the materials they use in their mattresses.
Did you know that mattresses are likely to be one of the most problematic waste streams for your local council?
They tend to be hard to process for recycling, and they’ll up near the top of the list of items that are flytipped.
Too often mattresses are manufactured without any thought about what will happen to them when they’re no longer wanted.
I’ve gone into more detail here about why we need an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for mattresses - and I also mention the excellent work of Liverpool-based social enterprise Bulky Bobs.
Taking photos of bins on holiday
I thought everyone did this, but it seems not.
On the back of news of one West Yorkshire council’s recycling rate last year being an incredibly poor 26.3%, I’ve had various conversations this week about what we can learn from Wales - where the recycling rate is closer to to 65%. You can read more in the post below.
If you spot any opportunities, please let me know
I think my most likely next move is to go freelance, but I’m also open to other jobs - so if you spot anything that may be of interest please get in touch.
What can I offer? I’d like to think I’m a strategic thinker who’s also got a track record of making stuff happen on the ground - with many years experience in social enterprise & social innovation, the circular economy and the climate emergency. There’s more here, and I’m here on LinkedIn.
And thank you again for subscribing to my newsletter and for your interest in my work.