BSL, clay pigeon shooting & adulting

Hello February! It's a chilly start, with fogs forming almost most of every morning so far when I've gotten up and dragged myself out from the warm bed.

British Sign Language

On Saturday 1st February, I went clay pigeon shooting with my dad and a friend Ben (spoiler alert - I won). I was using the money from the culture award that I won at work, for helping Maggie Allen run British Sign Language taster sessions. We have helped a lot of people learn the basics of the British Sign Language.

What makes the FT really inclusive, is the people. They are always willing and are open minded enough to try new things that are outside of their comfort zone. I don't think I've ever experienced that anywhere else, and I feel very fortunate to work at a company that encourages staff to do so. In some cases they thrive and progress in their careers quicker as a result. I'm looking forward to seeing more new faces for the taster sessions this year.

Clay pigeon shooting

Since I was 13, I've been super lucky that my dad would take me clay pigeon shooting, and show the patience and guidance to show me how to shoot. Fast forward a few years of shooting every now and then. For a birthday a few years ago, I brought all of my mates, and some of the family. Feeling reasonably confident that I would come first, and ended up rock bottom. I was completely sideswiped by this, and it did dent my confidence a bit.

After a little chat with the old boy Doug Florent that owns Oxford Gun Company. He gave me some pieces of advice on how to hold the gun, and so on. Going from 60% accuracy to near 70% was amazing in itself. Having a right fitted gun (even if its a hired one) is another one. I had an ill-fitted shotgun on Saturday, and it wasn't really pleasant to deal with. It really makes me think about getting my own and to have the right fit, and try and push above 70% accuracy and see if I can even get 50/50 (this is really difficult to achieve) on a Sporting day to be in for a chance to win a prize. I only managed to get 56% this time around, which was not great, as the previous visits had me at 65%.

I'm shit at being an adult™️

I finally got around to having a new sofa and armchair for the living room. It looks great, and is comfortable. Now to do the rest of the house, and make sure I have enough tea bags, milk, biscuits for visitors that will come tomorrow. Oh and tidy up the rest of the house before they come. Fuck. I reckon I can smash it all out of the park if I get up really early on Saturday morning right? We shall see 😂

Until then 👋