Hello!

I’m now at the end of my first week of training. I can’t believe how fast it went actually…

Today we did some vox pops in town. Lots of people see the notepad and cross the road or speed up their walk to avoid you. My piece of advice for vox pops would be MAKE SURE YOUR PEN WORKS. I spent the entirety of the first vox pop carving the man’s answer into my notepad with a pen that WOULD NOT WRITE. I have the word ‘bad’ carved into my notepad over and over again. I had to do pretend writing and memorise his answer. Professionalism at all times… I also found that taxi drivers are the best people to ask for opinions. The one I asked started his answer with the word ‘Outrageous!’, so I knew instantly he’d be a real quote machine.

Then we went to Brighton Art Gallery to do a review of the Dreams of Here exhibition. I really enjoyed that; I like art, so I think I’ll have a lot to say in the write-up.

This afternoon, I’ve been chasing some survey results from someone, and am planning some interviews. I also need to note down some dates for AGMs, normal meetings, local events… I think on Sunday I’m going to the first ever game of a youth football team, and on St. George’s Day I’m swinging by a pub to take a couple of snaps of their all day party. Patch stories are quite easy to find, actually.

I’ve done a bit of shorthand, too. I need to get Mother dearest to test me on a random assortment of words so I can get used to constructing an outline quickly.

All in all, I’ve loved my first week on the course, and I like everyone I’ve met… which is unusual for me. Hooray! Hopefully if I have time tomorrow I’ll bang up my post about (the little I know so far about) shorthand. What a treat!

Kayleigh