Some of you may be aware that I ride a motorcycle.  Currently I have two bikes an old BMW f650 and a Triumph Tiger 955i.  One of the regular tasks for most motorbike owners is oiling the chain.  For years this was a task that often neglected as it was messy and time consuming.  A Glasgow biker called Fraser Scott turned his mind to the problem and came up with an amazing little device called The Scottoiler.  This clever little device allows for a motorcycle chain to be cleaned and lubricated while the bike is being  ridden.  The company are based in Glasgow and have recently expanded and moved to new premises in Milngavie.  If you are a biker or know any bikers ask them if the are aware of the Scottoiler below if a link to the company’s website.   They are a Scottish business success story.

http://www.scottoiler.com/about.asp

I got to thinking about the Scottoiler when I was out with a friend for dinner.   We are planning a trip to John O’Groats in June.  I’ll post a bit more about the trip once we have firmed up routes and details.  I would like to stop off in Jedburgh on either the way up or the way back in order to pay my respects to a client who was well know to Scotscare and the Royal Scottish Corporation.  He died at the beginning of the year and is buried in Jedburgh.  I was unable to get to his memorial service in London so it will be good to be able to visit his grave and pay my respects.

On the way back down my friend wants to fulfill a childhood ambition and stay at the Scotch Corner Hotel.  I am sure that will be interesting experience.

This week has been something of a change of pace. Gloria, our warden at our sheltered scheme in Barnet, is on jury service so myself and the other client support workers have been providing cover there. The duties included checking on the older vulnerable tenants. I had met some of the tenants previously so it was nice to see them again and to meet the tenants I had not seen before.

This week was also the Christmas lunch at Bloomsbury, which was a great success thanks to the hard work by Una (Social Events Co-ordinator) in organising it. There was more or less a full house a good time was had by all especially by the last few ladies left at the end who had a wee singsong as they helped clear up

Hi

My name is Marcus and I am a client support worker.  I have never written written a blog before so this is a new experience for me.  I generally get to the office early in the morning. Usually I am first to arrive and open the office up.  It is very evocative walking through Covent Garden to our office in King Street early in the morning.  The market itself is usually very busy and noisy but  early in the morning there is a stillness and quiet majesty from the market and the magnificent portico of St Paul’s Church.  The piazza feels as though its about break out with activity at any moment and  I almost expect to hear the rattle of the old fruit barrows and the cries of the costermongers as I pass through the market square on my way to King Street.

This morning I will spend my time checking over the case I will be putting forward to Welfare Committee for approval.  I have some regular clients that I provide additional support and I will telephone them today and have an informal chat about how they are getting.  Sometimes they may raise an issue that they are having difficulty resolving, this might lead me to contacting another agency on behalf of the client and arranging an appointment for them to meet with a worker who can help resolve their issue.