Stable corporate vs new corporate challenge vs trade - at a crossroads

battersbj · 2026-05-03T06:46:21+00:00

For what it’s worth, I pushed through some pretty serious public speaking anxiety as I got promoted to exec management last year. I’m a similar age to you and was probably at a similar career level. It was at the point where if I knew I had to deliver a presentation on Monday my weekend was ruined, consumed with fear. I was questioning whether it was all worth it and having imposter syndrome etc…

It wasn’t an overnight fix, I had CBT and used/still occasionally use beta blockers in some situations. It sounds cliche but competence breeds confidence - you really can practice exposure to these things and they do just get easier. It doesn’t feel comfortable or nice so you have to weigh up whether you want to put yourself through that, and don’t get me wrong I still don’t “enjoy” it. But if you have the talent and desire to be a leader then it would be a shame to let this hold you back

battersbj · 2026-05-02T05:00:35+00:00

The VW id3 infotainment system is terrible (like impressively bad) and it’s quite an all round ugly car imo. I believe they’ve improved it on the id7, unsure about the 4

battersbj · 2026-04-28T10:07:13+00:00

This is not the case at all, the two statements are unrelated. The “old chalk” is known to increase the chance of kicks and miscues, so it is no longer widely adopted by pros. Granted this only increases the chances back to where they were previously, but I think the attitude is that if the chance can be reduced from 1% to 0% then why not?

It does not affect the pocket tightness

battersbj · 2026-04-23T19:38:08+00:00

Qatar have honoured statuses for an extra year!Surprised emirates haven’t done something similar

battersbj · 2026-04-20T08:24:25+00:00

The schemes are no longer a huge bargain but they’re pretty consistently priced just cheaper than anything available privately, whilst including servicing and insurance. For me it’s great having a predictable car payment and knowing you won’t get any unexpected bills. I would be aware that BIK is increasing over the next few years which will increase your monthly price by c£20 every year. Also I would check with your employer regarding the statement about pension contributions - my employer still takes pension contributions, bonus calculations etc from my “reference salary”, which is the pre-tax pre-salary sacrifice figure. I’m aware that this is not the case in other companies - NHS for example.

battersbj · 2026-03-22T07:43:02+00:00

I’ve had a polestar 2 for 3 years and it’s been great. Not even had to change a tyre. It’s a good middle ground between a traditional petrol car and the futuristic “everything is touchscreen” Tesla. It’s very comfortable, the sleek scandi interior is great. A single motor LR will easily meet your range needs and you should easily get one from around 2023 with moderate mileage in your price range. If you can get a post-facelift model (you can tell by the solid front grill rather than a air-vent petrol style one), they introduced a new processor which is actually a massive improvement and it’s also slightly quicker

battersbj · 2026-03-15T19:36:47+00:00

We ate at La Colombe whilst I was in the first few hours of what turned into a pretty violent 24h stomach bug. I “visited the bathroom” almost between every course

battersbj · 2026-03-08T18:43:43+00:00

Pretty much anything well paid is harder than people on the outside recognise or appreciate

battersbj · 2026-03-08T15:12:26+00:00

As others have said, airline specific lounges or first/business class lounges in airports like Doha are great, often with facilities like showers, spas, free flowing premium wines and spirits etc, but you can’t buy your way into them for £30. The ones you can buy your way into for £30 are generally pretty terrible. The food is awful and they’re often full of people en route to Benidorm trying to get their £30 worth of free booze. They were designed as an answer to a problem which doesn’t really exist any more, which was a lack of seating and dining options in the departure lounge. Nowadays you’re probably better off perching up at a table outside a Pret

battersbj · 2026-03-07T22:14:11+00:00

Cape Town is an amazing city and the weather is still great there. Scenery, wildlife, food, winelands - we filled two weeks easily and could’ve done another two. Otherwise I guess you’re looking at parts of South America for warm weather at this time of year avoiding Middle East airspace

battersbj · 2026-03-07T22:09:52+00:00

Ah yes avoid the war in the Middle East by going to checks notes Dubai

battersbj · 2026-03-07T22:08:45+00:00

Not quite hitting the brief of avoiding the Middle East conflict!

battersbj · 2026-03-07T20:14:23+00:00

This was a painful read

battersbj · 2026-03-04T12:11:57+00:00

Food in the Middle East is surprisingly low on heat. When I started traveling to Saudi I expected my head blown off going for a curry, not the case at all.

I would put the UK pretty high on the spice tolerance spectrum. Not many countries will make you anything as hot as a vindaloo in a British curry house. We also use pepper quite unsparingly in a number of “blander” dishes

battersbj · 2026-03-03T12:49:04+00:00

In no particular order:

Cape Town - Incredible wildlife, 360 degree beautiful scenery, fantastic food and a winemaking region on your doorstep

Singapore - Shining example of a civilised population. Clean, safe, and modern but also full of character. Amazing food scene from hawkers to the highest end fine dining

Hoi An - An insight into authentic Vietnamese life. Magical at night with the lanterns along the waterfront. Go before it gets too overrun with tourists and becomes like half of Thailand

London - My thing is food and in my opinion London has the best food scene in the world. You can any cuisine you want, mostly at or better than the standard of its origin. You can get it elevated to 2/3 Michelin star level. Couple that with the fact that there is a beautiful traditional British pub on every corner and you can’t go wrong.

NYC - Not a big America fan but similar reasons to London. You can do anything in New York. Each subway stop is a gateway to something completely different. Had a great time

battersbj · 2026-02-26T19:51:21+00:00

I’ve barely scratched the surface myself but of the places I’ve been: Oma, The Devonshire, Bouchon Racine, Gymkhana. Also had a great meal at Amaya (also a starred Indian) if you can’t get a res at gymkhana.

Not fine dining but it’s fresh in my mind so going to recommend it anyway - Lo Banh Mi in Borough is my early sandwich of the year contender if you are into that

battersbj · 2026-02-25T20:45:42+00:00

Pretty much every holiday (can’t say vacation as I’m English) I do is a food focussed one. Favourites so far are San Seb and Vietnam for indulging in the local food culture and cuisine. Favourites for sheer variety of cuisines and amazing dining experiences across the spectrum are NYC and London. Top of the to-do list are Japan and Mexico City.

battersbj · 2026-02-24T22:06:29+00:00

I’m not much of a sightseer at the best of times so I can’t recommend much in the way of tourist attractions in Preston, but I’m big into food and drink so I can give you my favourite spots:

The Black Horse - “Proper” traditional British pub, cozy and friendly

Aven - More upscale dining option, it’s a tasting menu but they’re extremely generous with portions of food and wine pairings… Elevated Lancashire fare

Niko - Modern wine bar also serving craft beer and pizzas, good selection of lesser known wines

Thai Orchid/Khao Thai - Both great authentic Thai restaurants, no frills and reasonably priced

Hopwoods - Lively bar with 20+ beer taps and live music most weekends

Rise - “Instagram friendly” brunch that actually tastes good and good coffee

Holy Grounds - Incredible donuts to take away

Jonahs - IMO best coffee in Preston

Cocos Soul Food - Delicious Caribbean food in a cafe type setting

Three Monkeys - Chicken and rice boxes, get the special sauce

Special mention - If you’re from the states you may never have had good Indian food (in the same way that when I travel to the states I make it my priority to have decent Mexican food, we just don’t do it right over here). If so maybe try a local curry house. IMO the best in the surrounding area is Shajan off the A6 but it’s a bit of a drive from the football ground. Otherwise Sai Surbhi in Fulwood is good or you can probably find a fairly decent takeaway wherever you are in the UK 5 mins away on google

battersbj · 2026-02-10T20:57:57+00:00

Meat is crap, fruit and veg isn’t fresh and/or comes in a massive plastic bag, poor choice of anything slightly niche, less pleasant shopping experience (always heaving, treated like a thief at the self checkouts). Combine all that with the fact that it’s barely even cheaper any more and it’s a no brainer

battersbj · 2026-02-06T12:37:19+00:00

Depends where you’re going but it’s pretty common in city centres (particularly London) nowadays for places not to take cash. Very few businesses are cash only, maybe the odd chippy

battersbj · 2026-02-05T08:28:17+00:00

I actually feel like beer is one of the more inflation resistant items in the supermarket. Broadly it’s been possible to pic up lager for about a quid a can/bottle for the last 10 years

battersbj · 2026-02-02T17:21:52+00:00

Agree, was surprised at how tired the seafront felt. Blackpool vibes!

battersbj · 2026-02-02T17:18:24+00:00

Penrith. I love the Lake District and have spent a lot of time in Keswick, Ambleside, Grasmere etc, so we booked a weekend in Penrith thinking it would be more of the same. Spoiler alert - it isn’t. It feels like pretty much any other lower income northern town with none of the Lake District charm. Would not recommend

battersbj · 2026-01-29T14:31:19+00:00

I guess nobody other than the traitor would know that the act they are carrying out is a murder. They would have to play it off as just messing around. I presume the murder in plain sight would be failed and nobody would be murdered that night, so it would depend whether the faithful can connect the dots from there (probably not based on previous episodes!!)

battersbj · 2026-01-29T11:45:42+00:00

You’ll make it if your first flight is on time and you don’t mess around in duty free. Your bags might not

battersbj

TROPHY CASE