The names of summer

no, not Anderson, Cook, Murray or even Froome but Cherokee, Bravo, Invader, Karate and Kerb Flo - the last one sounds like an ageing streetwalker but they are in fact the names of herbicides and fungicides.

This is the time of year when I spend a couple of weeks auditing a group of farms across Hampshire and Dorset and test checking items of purchase invoices reveals some interesting useage of names in the war against insects and pests used to help the food chain. There seems to be a fondness for names which have a connection with nature such as Kestrel, Firefly, Falcon and Stag although the names Sparticus suggests a fungicide that might suddenly decide it's had enough and is going to turn rebel and let all the pests in the field take over.

Names aside it's been a funny week or so at work, hence the sporadic blogging, with the new owners not being quite true to their word in terms of 'things remaining the same'. They haven't quite cottoned on to the fact that the south coast isn't London, although it's not the deep south there is a rhythm to things down here that is more bossa nova than thrash metal. Biggest shock of the first three weeks under new ownership is that our hourly charge out rates (the amount clients are charged) has gone up by 12.5% - and no sign of a salary increase to match! Still on the plus side we finish at 4 on Friday.