Career

Barwork- various

Bars Supervisor in a Theatre

Own Tearooms for 2 years- wrong time, wrong location and upstairs in a village where 50% of the population were 70 +-  it didn't work but I have plenty of writing material

Guest Care Manager (Hotel)

Conference Host Manager (Hotel)

Food Services Manager (Hotel)

Acting General Manager

I loved my Hotel years and have made many friends and have seen many people grow within the industry to become Managers. But it's hard work and whilst it was fantastic- I would hope I wouldn't need to go back to it. But it's thanks to the above and how i grew as a person that I am where I am now- albeit a bit of a  rocky ride but I got there in the end

P/T Basic Cookery Teacher (1 or 2 evenings a week at a college)- wonderful and so thus a Diva was born. Had to give up as I ended up travelling the UK for work

F&B Manager Conference Centre- horrible GM

Recruitment and Training Officer (Contract Caterer)- Loved this job but was made redundant

London South Area Manager (NVQ Provider)- Lost job when I broke ankle during probational period. It took a year to recover and another 6 months to find work. It was bang slap in the recession- the timing couldn't be worse

Employment Coach (Welfare to Work)- was made redundant from first company and then went onto another- my least favourite job but was rewarding nonetheless and met some very interesting people

Employment Advisor (As above)- they decided to do away with coaches so became an advisor.

Learning and Development Facilitator (retirement company training both domiciliary care and hospitality)- love love love this job. I have learned so much and am so grateful they looked beyond my last three years in the Welfare to Work sector and they care about their customers so much too. I am proud to be associated with this business.

Bug Bears

Food served on boards- I just don't get it- what's wrong with plates? I will even go for funny shaped plates but not wood. One place even served a quiche on a slice of tree trunk- really?

Cyclists riding on pavements- I have noticed this doesn't happen in Hungerford so much but in Theale it was a flipping epidemic. What irritated me even more was when there was hardly any traffic on the road, a cyclist would ring their bell on the pavement for me to get out of the way grrrr. And they don't stop at zebra crossings (if they are on the road that is)

Bargains that are not- So you get a buy one get one free for £4.00 which means  they are technically £2.00 each, then the next week you get that same item 'Half Price' for £2.00! That item is always going to be £2.00....it's annoying and I don't like 'Supermarket Tricks'. It's an insult to one's intelligence

The last bit of dirt that refuses to go in the dustpan- Need I say more? 

Charity shops that charge a small fortune for stuff they got for free! The exception is the lovely Blue Cross shop down the High Street who don't charge a kings ransom for donations. The rest of you- hang your heads in shame (Red Cross, Oxfam etc)

So called 'Homemade' Pies at pubs and other eating places that are no more than stewed meat with a bit of over inflated puff pastry on top. That is not a pie! A pie has a pastry top and a pastry bottom. I don't know why I keep ordering pies when I go out, I'm ALWAYS disappointed as they are always with a stupid pre-cooked dry, inedible puff stuff on top. I'm tempted to open a pie restaurant or maybe pies, tarts and puds one with PROPER top and bottom pies!

Rude People- there is no need for it. I just don't understand what joy people get out of being rude. Do they like not being liked?

Negative People- or worse cynical...where is the joy in that? Sometimes I think people enjoy being grumpy, negative and look for flaws in everything. Cheer up for goodness sakes

Automated telephone calls- they turn us into cash and time wasting cows. Cannot tell you how many hours and pounds (as in £'s) I have wasted trying to get to the right people on those things where the 'Options' never include what I want. I don't think my 'Option' is that unusual nor am I being particularly difficult. Hate them!

Soap Box

Coming Soon to include

Care for the elderly and the vulnerable- it needs improving and our elderly need more respect

Tarnishing every unemployed person with the same brush because of a minority that plays the system- it's not fair and I have a fair few tales to tell on that score.

Disability Awareness- retailers- especially Sainsbury's in my opinion, need to get to grips how to treat people with disabilities as a person first.

About me

Born 7th December 1965, I grew in an idyllic lane in Naphill just outside High Wycombe, Bucks with my younger sister. I attended Naphill First School (now demolished), Walters Ash Middle School (still there I think) and Wellesbourne Secondary School (now demolished). I am not an academic and left school with a fistful of CSE's and a couple of O Levels that didn't hold much value. I went onto to Langley College to study NNEB (Nusery Nursing) and failed the entire course miserably and thereafter realised that nannying is boring and other people's children are very different to your own cousins and not as nice to be fair (I still adore my much younger cousins).

I am hugely proud of my parents. My father, who was in the family business manufacturing expanded polystyrene packaging and later buying his brother out to run it himself, was a larger than life character. He would take myself and my sister for walks, he taught us the names of birds, took us blackberry and hazelnut picking and even mushroom picking (although this was highly competitive with everyone down the road getting up earlier and earlier to harvest the best ones). He provided broody hens and fertile pheasant eggs for each of us to look after. It was fantastic. He was an incredibly generous man and no one has really had a bad word to say about him....except in jest which he always took on the chin.

My mother who worked with a business that published psychological profiling was always very capable and she is indeed very intelligent with a huge love for music (except Gilbert and Sullivan which unfortunately my father adored) and is an incredible cook. She worked throughout our school years but this enabled me and my sister to go horse riding and have fabulous holidays in France. It also enabled us to stay regularly with my Grandparents and Great Auntie during school holidays and so family ties on both sides of the family were very strong and to this day very valuable.

The biggest influence my parents had over me and my sister has to be work ethic in my opinion (I can't speak for my sister who doesn't even know about this blog yet). It was never rammed down our throats the importance of working, earning money and so on- it was just there. We both witnessed for ourselves how hard they worked (they played hard too) and so both she and I unconsciously work very hard also. Happily our sons are equally hard working. Work ethic, compassion etc cannot be taught....only influenced.

I have a very colourful family...one side mad as hatters and typically eccentric whilst the other side more down to earth but with their own idiosyncrasy's and I think through my parents, my observations of my own family plus the endless paper my mother brought home from work has enabled me or encouraged me to write. I have been writing stories ever since I can remember. Writing and writing well is what I really want to do.

I want to write a novel, I want it published but no one has to read it...I hope they will but writing is something I have always loved to do  and to create a blog to practice may spur me on to FINALLY finish my germ of an idea for a novel 12 years ago with just three chapters written.

I need to do this as I have two more books after that bouncing around my head as well!

Lets see what happens.

J C Ritzen