My role and what I do
I recently joined Paul’s team and he’s asked me to put ‘pen to paper’ to tell you a bit about myself. Well, I guess, you’ll probably want to know a bit about what I do for Journeaux Tax and Accounts.
My background is in payroll administration. For me, so much hinges around the importance of organisation. It’s a key component for accountancy. In this office, we securely hold more than 200 files relating to our clients.
All of them need to be kept in ‘apple pie order’ and so I’ve become very au fait with our filing cabinets since I joined the team at the end of May. You might not be surprised to learn that my role is heavily focused on data analysis.
Inputting figures. Working with spreadsheets. Using the latest software. Everything needs to be accurately produced. And on time.
It’s a huge part of my job as Paul uses this work to produce the final accounts for a client. I enjoy inputting data. Focusing on the detail.
Running and walking: Race for life
Outside of work and I love running and walking. I clock up around 50 miles a week and always walk into work. It’s a goodly few miles but the benefits of keeping fit and healthy are immense.
We moved to Plymouth more than 10 years ago and I noticed that I was struggling to walk up the hills. I quickly got into fitness which led me to doing the Race for Life 5k event – for four years in a row!
The first time was to prove to myself that I could do it. I felt ecstatic and enjoyed the free glass of Prosecco on The Hoe at the end of the event! (That’s not the reason why I did it though)!
One of the Race for Life days saw us arrive back from a holiday in the early hours of the morning – before driving from the airport to the start line in Plymouth.
A Love of Plymouth
A big part of our lives is to live to be outdoors. We go to various camp sites in Devon and Cornwall. We find the fresh air and green fields to be so relaxing (an added benefit is that we don’t have to do any cooking).
We try to go to one particular North Cornwall site once a year. The only disturbance is the occasional plane flying across the sky. It has a pool and it’s a great place to go swimming with our grand-daughter.
We like to embrace what’s happening in Plymouth and we make a habit of visiting the Armed Forces’ Day.
We enjoy live music events in the city. I really love Rock music (especially The Rolling Stones and Deep Purple. Katie Melua, Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush all make it into my Top Ten all-time favourites).
Plymouth provides so much. The football. The rugby. The coastline. One of our favourite places to visit in the city is The Box.
The exhibitions alter on a frequent basis. It’s interesting to see new things. I was really amazed by the exhibition on The Blitz. You don’t realise how many buildings were lost across the city. The huge rebuilding efforts after the war.
Remembering how fortunate we are
I’ve recently been reading Anne Baker’s books and how people in Liverpool survived during Britain’s Darkest Hour. It highlights their strength of spirit as they stoically deal with the daily struggles of survival.
It reminds me to remember how lucky we are. It’s an important part of our history and our heritage. I think most of us find that reading can provide a real sense of escapism – and so does the theatre and the movies!
If it’s a good film then I’ll watch it! Storyline is everything. One of my favourites is Officer and a Gentleman. We go to Devonport Theatre around four times a year.
It’s a very cosy place to be and we sometimes take our grand-daughter with us. She loved seeing Little Mermaid.
Someone recently asked me what is my favourite stage show. I think Les Misérables is incredible. Valjean singing Bring Him Home is so powerful. Like Anne Baker’s books, it always reminds me about how lucky we are.
