er……how the hell did I get here?

Now bear with me, I’m not the writer in the family. That title goes to the golden child Lil Bro’, I guess that being educated at an all boys school has helped him in some way. Perhaps he should have been the marketer not me.

So today marks the start of yet another new chapter for me, there have been far too many of those in the last few years.

At the age of 51 3/4 I find myself redundant. It’s never happened to me before, bearing in mind I’ve been working full-time since the age of 16 and it’s damn scary. Couple that with the menopause, yes I said menopause Deborah Garlick (and just to make sure that I’ve said it for 3 times today, I’ll say it again MENOPAUSE), I feel like I’m being put out to graze or sent to the scrap heap.

With that I decided to start this blog, to capture my journey through life, work, health and all the other crap that seems to come my way these days.

Talking of marketing, it’s been my life. I’m no expert, but what I do have is energy, enthusiasm and the much needed ‘can-do’ attitude that most potential employers state on their role profiles. Since I started work in 1983 on a good old YTS (you have to be 50+ to remember it or you might remember it was called YOP) it’s all I’ve done in one form or another along with sales and business development. Strangely I’ve always been in engineering, so I guess the tomboy days have stayed with me. Thank goodness I don’t still look like that ‘chubby little chap’ that a colleague once described me as in my last school photo (thanks Muriel).

Anyway, redundancy. How do I feel? Since finding out I was at risk on 11th February and then being given my finish date of 11th April (today) it’s been anger all the way, until yesterday when acceptance finally hit. Well I don’t have much choice in the matter but to accept it. What will I do? Normally I would panic. I’m the sort of person who needs to know what she’s doing, when, how to get there, what route to do drive, how long will it take by train if the roads are closed and if all else fails can I run there! It’s possibly an opportunity to go self-employed using my marketing skills. All avenues are being explored as we speak, so watch this space.

As for the menopause, can’t stop that train. It’s not an express but more of a steam train in many ways. I have many more years of meno-brain and hot flushes to endure. And those damn motorbike leather fairies need to stop stitching up the seams of my gear. My impression of the Michelin Man is going to win me an Oscar very soon. For my female friends of that ‘certain age’ this one’s for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0PjzSYRQaE

Welcome to The Scrap Heap Diaries. In the next issue we’ll set the scene of the last 30 years of my life in one single short post. But for now, I’m going to leave you with this image……