Astronomical Clocks of Southwest England

On a roof tour of Exeter Cathedral over the summer I did my usual and swung by the magnificent astronomical clock on my way out.

Then, in a random conversation with someone, I discovered that Ottery St Mary had one, so off I trogged.

I then discovered that there were four of these 14th-16th Century beauties in the south west and, as I'd already found two, it seemed churlish not to bag the other two.  So a month ago I visited Wells Cathedral.This clock dates between 1386 and 1392.

And then last weekend I finished the set with Wimborne Minster.

What wonderful creations of art and science these are!  Added to that I had the joy experiencing such amazing architecture of these cathedrals/minsters/churches, such as this unique archway in Wells.

And this stunning ceiling in Wimborne Minster.

I listened to a lecture recently about building these cathedrals and I'm in awe at what people achieved without a fraction of the equipment and technology we now have. The reason we still have these ancient buildings is that they are continually maintained.  Being places of worship, they have been cared for over the centuries, unlike castles which sit in ruin.

By the way, if you ever want to see an up-side-down sundial, Wimborne is your place.

And, oh dear me, I've just found a list of 18 wonderful astronomical clocks.  Exeter and Wells are there - but there are maybe 16 others I now need to find?!

Career Lessons Learned: The Tripod of Experience, Qualifications and Networks

I have had a great surveying career and now, as I stand at another crossroads wondering in which direction my career will take me, I have been reflecting.  I have picked up lots of advice during my career but two things have stuck.

A.  Be careful with the impression you leave with others

Be kind and respectful to colleagues, clients and competitors.  One day they may be your competitors, colleagues and clients (note order switch) and we all remember how people have treated us over the years.  Dissing others will come back to bite us.  We have all bad days so be gracious to others when they do.  And hopefully they will to you too.  For sure there are those we hope to never work with again but, by and large, they are thankfully few and far between.

B.  Build a broad and stable career base

By this headline I mean more than just experience.  A colleague once said to me that one's CV is the most important item in your briefcase: you can lose your job and arguably your money, but with a solid CV and reputation you can pick yourself up, brush yourself down, and rebuild yourself.  Wise words indeed.

Your portfolio of experience is just one leg of the tripod to support your career.  Added to this one needs the pillars of professional qualifications and a network you can reach out to.  I worked for 25 years in a large, wonderful and successful organisation.  During that time I gained qualifications and networked extensively.  I was often asked why I bothered with external qualifications since I had a job for life.  Yes, indeed I did if I chose it, but I knew that if we ever parted company I needed a richer career platform.

So now I'm on the road again looking for a change of employment grateful that I have my trusty tripod to support me: my CV containing a wealth of experience, professional qualifications and a network of contacts who may be my future colleagues, competitors or clients.  Let's go and turn another corner.  This amazing career isn't over yet.