Hello, I’m Mo!
A Civil Engineer by profession, based in England. Work-life balance is ideally important. Hence, in my free time I explore the world by taking you for a walk with me in UK & Europe, along with my Ethnic journey as a Civil Engineer.
Socials
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A Language of Togetherness
A mini wooden goal post A year ago, I went back home – Sierra Leone. A trip of a lifetime. I wanted to reconnect and reminisce with that of my upbringing and reflect on the journey of transformation so far.
What re-ignites these reconnections are the moments of laughter and fun, occasionally some bruises too. As for many boys/men growing up it was Football – street football in third world countries. Using natural environmental materials at disposal to be creative in order to have fun. Stones/timber as goal post, flip-flops as boots, our daily casual clothes as match-kits (sometimes vestless). Amongst the midst of cars & bikes constantly flowing past we often stop and resume once they’ve vanished.
A mix of Olders and youngers dripping in sweats under a 40 plus degrees heat, sweats sometimes washed away from our skin down into the Gutters of Freetown during rainy season. The best sensation was when it rains. We try to avoid kicking the ball into the open gutters flowing in high velocity of rainy waters as you’d end up chasing it forever. Bystanders stalling; wanting to be a part of the scene as they too could relate to the atmospheric adrenaline of adults & kids in flip flops kicking ball made out of used plastic. The energy is competitive and special.
I was strolling in the neighbourhood at some point during my visit and came across this scenery – once again. But this time I was the bystander who stalled, admired and took pictures. Itching to blend in once more, smiled at how lucky they are to be playing on a tarmac floor as I didn’t have such luxury growing up.
A way to pay tribute before my departure was to organise a football match calling on all the Olders & youngers within the neighbourhood I grew up in. People who played a significant part in my life – like literally. They turned up in abundance having conservations with each other on: ‘Last time I saw you was 2yrs ago’ or ‘I haven’t seen this guy for God knows how long‘. We played, had food refreshment, reminisce and went our separate ways. A hobby best described as a language of togetherness.
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Florence – Italy
Duomo Two things that comes to mind when someone mentions the city of Florence : Leonardo Da vinci & The Medici family. Well for me anyway. That’s probably because I watched the TV series _ ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ for like 3 times, obsessively.
A show that digs into the history of its people, rulers and at the time known as the city of centre Renaissance. Thus prior to visiting Firenze you’d say I somewhat fairly knew of its history.
If you are looking to party-hard I kindly suggest you look for somewhere else because this is a city rich in medieval architecture, art & poetry. Sadly, as a solo traveller I was only there for 2 days.
I stayed at a hostel called ‘Plus Florence’ (see on map below) which I’d highly recommend for solo & group travellers. Located pretty much bang on at the centre of Florence and its attractions. Reasonably cheap ( £65 for 2 nights), along with a splendid rooftop view, swimming pool and more.
Worth the money! A confined city that you could walk to any designated attraction with ease.
I think the main attraction drawn to most travellers is the Duomo – Santa Maria del Fiore. A Landmark Engineered with an unmissable red dome structure that can be seen from wherever you are in Firenze.
I also loved the ‘Ponte vecchio’ arched river bridge with shops literally sitting on top of it structure. There are definitely more attractions to visit such as the likes of Leonardo interactive museum, Pitti palace, Uffizi gallery, David of Michelangelo and more.
I briefly met some amazing people/travellers like myself from various continental destinations and you’d be amazed how much you have in common and how aligned your travelling plans are with theirs. It was indeed a great ‘walking’ experience!
‘Ponte vecchio‘ 2021
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The Power of Networking Part 1.
Sometimes you have to rattle the cage to be heard, sometimes you have to be open-minded to be in uncomfortable environments, sometimes you have to ask for you to get, sometimes you have to see the value in making new friends, sometimes you have to change your surroundings for you to grow. Most importantly, be yourself in the process. I call this the power of networking.
I moved to London at the end of 2022 – Wimbledon specifically—one of the best decisions I have made, personally and professionally. Coincidentally, one of our work offices was just a stone’s throw away. I was cruising through the final year of my 2-year graduate scheme with the freedom to work from home due to the department I was seconded to at the time. Although I had no business at our Wimbledon office in terms of work, knowing me, I saw this as an opportunity to show my face now and then by getting to know possibly everyone in there. You never know where an opportunity will present itself. So stay with me, and you will find out what I call the beginning of an eventful roller coaster journey of who you know, not what you know.
Falklands Island – The concept of working abroad has always been one on my list. As you can tell, I enjoy traveling. One lovely morning, I sat in the comfort of a desk at the Wimbledon office, doing some work. A very familiar face walked in again. Twice I’ve seen him within a short space of time. A week ago, I visited our Heathrow office and, surprised, I bumped into this familiar face. Press the rewind button to 2019-20, during my year internship at Brighton, where I met the person for the first time. He was only there for 2-3 months, but we got acquainted from the get-go.
Ascension Island Fast-forward three years, and I bumped into him at our Heathrow office, where we briefly exchanged smiles and moments of surprise. Going back to the comfortable desk at the Wimbledon office, there he went again; he walked in, and of course, this time around, we had to dive into a proper catch-up. So we did. Now, put a pin on that for a few seconds.
About a month ago, before our encounter, an email was generated across the company regarding upcoming overseas projects. This was then followed by a second email specifically directed to all of the graduates who may like to embrace such an opportunity. Of course, I responded to those emails within a minute of reading them, expressing my interest but honestly not knowing where on earth the Falkland Islands are, for as long as it requires me to catch a flight, that sufficed for me. Now that was the easy part.
Falklands The hard part was finding the main man in charge of the team delivering the project at the Falkland Islands. This is where networking becomes your most powerful tool. Two weeks went by without a response, so I started making noise by knocking on the doors of the directors to point me in the direction of the main man in charge who could get me on that plane. Now, remove that pin I politely asked you to pin down for a few seconds.
He walked in! The same man from Brighton, the same man I bumped into at Heathrow and now at Wimbledon. Stars were aligned in a linear trajectory. “Hey Mo, would you like to see some penguins in the Falklands?” Ahhh… so you are the main man in charge…! Of course, I would love to, I said with haste. “Welcome on board,” he uttered. Is that it? I said. Do you have a British passport? he asks. Yes, I do. Well, that’s all you need. I will send you an email regarding all the necessary documentation so we can get you on that flight. Sometimes it’s about who you know, not what you know.
Mount Pleasant – Falklands This was perfect timing for me as I was coming to the end of my 2-year graduate scheme and looking for a permanent department/team to work with. The choices were: work in rail, work in aviation, or work overseas. I chose overseas. We shall dive into my time at the Falkland Islands in another blog.
Birmingham City: Having spent 2 months working in the Falklands as a site engineer assisting a senior engineer, I volunteered to move to the aviation sector to work on a project at Birmingham City Airport. I wanted to rekindle my relationship with Birmingham—where I attended university. But this time around, I came as someone who wanted to give back to the city that gave me my civil engineering degree. I also reached out to my former lecturer to give me a platform to engage with the civil engineering students. We will dive into my time in Birmingham in another blog.
Birmingham City Airport 
Birmingham City Airport 
Birmingham City University 
Isle of Wight: My 3-year plan when I started my Graduate scheme in September 2021 was to be a Project Civil Engineer by the end of 2024. In the order: Graduate Engineer – Site Engineer – Project Civil Engineer. I volunteered to work in Birmingham in January 2023, thus I made it clear I could only spend no more than 6 months before moving to our Rail sector as a Project Engineer (fingers crossed). My time in Birmingham was coming to an end, so I started banging down the doors again to the powers that would enable me to move into the next sector (rail).
Sandown – Isle of Wight However, before making this move, I was promised a promotion to the role of a project civil engineer. Provided I ticked off all the professional development goals that were set by the company. I did achieve them and sat down with my line manager to sign them off.
During the process of banging down these doors to ensure I was given what was promised, I volunteered to attend a work industry-related event called the ‘Big Rail Diversity Challenge.’ An annual event organized with a series of challenging activities to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion in the workforce and industry. You have over 50 companies participating, and each company has a team of representatives to undertake these activities. Every year, I looked forward to this event mainly because of networking. In my team, you’d have directors and people high up in the ranks that I may or may not have met before. If you’re following, you can tell that there’s another curveball on the way. Anyway, I walked in, sat at our designated table, and introduced myself to the team. There goes another familiar face that I haven’t seen for over 2 years.
I met him once during the early years of my graduate program when he did a short presentation to the graduates – I was one of those graduates. That presentation was memorable for us both because I remember very well bombarding him with questions, to the point where he sent an email extending his support and interest. Shortly after that, he opted to work for another company.
Fast forward, he walked in and gave me a tap on the back. We picked up from where we left off 2 years ago. Through our conversations regarding my journey and his, he mentioned he has lots of projects coming up and would want me on his rail team. What a sigh of relief it was for me. We went on doing the challenging activities together with the rest of the team and ended up taking second place just by a point. He said, “Mo, I want you on my rail team and will make it happen.” All I had to do was sit back and get ready for my next chapter. That chapter was working on an island called ‘The Isle of Wight’ – as a Project Engineer. We will dive into my time at the Isle of Wight in another blog.
Sandown Bridge – Isle of Wight I REPEAT: Sometimes you have to rattle the cage to be heard, sometimes you have to be open-minded to be in uncomfortable environments, sometimes you have to ask for you to get, sometimes you have to see the value in making new friends, sometimes you have to change your surroundings for you to grow. Most importantly, be yourself in the process. I call this the power of networking.
WHAT’S NEXT? Along with delivering ongoing bridge projects, the year 2025 will see me make a start in another world – that world is combining Data with Civil engineering. Professionally, my goal three years ago was to be where I am right now. That is being achieved. I used that journey to explore the industry through networking and concluded that I would like to branch into something else when I achieved the role of a project engineer but still stay within the confines of civil engineering. Now I will start branching into another professional universe. The sky is the limit, thus don’t limit yourself. Dyer & Butler (My Employer) has been supportive throughout this Journey and for that I am grateful.
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MARRAKesH
”For you my friend, I will give you for cheap price”. The most famously used phrase we encountered during our visit, spoken in their unique Moroccan Arabic dialect. Five days was all we needed to explore one of the chief central cities of Morocco.
Lights off, face down, music on. That was the mood in the room. The main highlight of my visit. A traditional Moroccan Hammam experience that involved a full body scrub of grown adults in a sauna and steam room. Topped with a Moroccan traditional tea break and a full body deep tissue massage.
Sandwiched between two of the Mandem in the massage room, we laid in a tranquil state for the professionals to bless us with their traditional magic. As this was a new experience for us, I struck conversations to keep us comfortable and this went on for a few minutes. Silence kicked in as the professionals started to sink their oily fingers into our stiff muscles accompanied by some uncomfortable twists and turns of the arms and legs. At this point you’re probably wondering where am I going with this – not to worry this isn’t what you think it is. Moving on..I battled the pain and pleasure with sounds of constant groaning. It was only a matter of time until I fumble. Ouch.. there it was! My groaning sound went up in several decibels – lets just say it was loud enough to catch everyone’s attention in the room. What happened next was unforeseeable. Everyone is the room burst into laughter like you’ve never seen or heard before. A sense of relief that was much needed at the time. We walked out of that room feeling resurrected from stiffed joints and tensed muscles.
This isn’t a blog about showing or telling you what to do in the city of Marrakech, and for that reason I don’t do vlogging. I’d like to think vlogging takes away too much of the lived-experience in the moment. In other words, I tend to put down the phone to enjoy the moment and then capture photos with my camera having explored and enjoyed these moments. This is a blog about the people, culture, a heads up, recommendations, suggestions, and feelings of Deja vu.
Upon our arrival at the airport and having made it through the security checks, we hasted straight to the currency exchange and sim card network provider office units – located within the airport. Some of the currency exchange providers required cash and others, credit card. Cash machines are also scattered within the city that could automatically convert to local currency (Moroccan Dirham). Lined up outside the Menara Airport are taxis waiting to be scooped up. I call this the TSC thought process, meaning :Transport, sim card, and cash. The 3 fundamental peace of mind factors that I often take into account whenever I pay a visit to an unfamiliar territory.
Off we went! To Riad Qariya Siyahiya. The culture-change hit me the moment we entered the taxi. ‘As-salamu alaykum‘, I said. ‘Wa alaykumu salam’ said the taxi driver with a smile on his face. Now, Morocco is a Muslim dominated country known for its culture and beliefs around religion and also how women should be treated with utmost respect. So you can see why the taxi man smiled when I greeted him in the way I did. Our main taxi driver that chauffeured us around was astonished when I told him my name is Mohamed. I think the dreadlocks and the tourist look may have threw him off a bit – a kind and helpful man he was. In a similar sense, the people of Marrakech are very welcoming and friendly to all that visit.
The hustle and bustle, the beep beep sound of cars and bikes, the adrenaline rush of anxiety when cruising through a heavy and less organised traffic system (the privileged would call it that), the bystanders throwing hands in the air to see if they could halt taxis or buses to snatch a spot and take them home after a long days work. I said to myself this’s certainly a feeling of Deja vu. One that I witnessed growing up in west Africa. The smile on my face was one that reminds me of such. Indeed the continent of Africa do have a lot of cultural similarities in common.
We arrived at our Air bnb – Riad Qariya Siyahiya. A gated community of apartments cuddled in the centre of Marrakech with breakfast and dinner spots, a tourist enquiry shop and a mosque – couldn’t have asked for more. So MANY highlights… from the basics : camel riding and quad biking. To key adventures like exploring the open square main market Jemaa el-Fnaa, the maze-like Souks (north of jemaa el-Fnaa). My second-best highlight was walking through the alleyways of souks market with hopes of buying a few traditional Moroccan clothes for the family along with souvenirs. ”Don’t come back without those traditional clothes, for us” mom uttered before I left for Morocco. You should have seen the excitement on her face when I brought them. It was like a scene from the prodigal son. That being said, I don’t ever fancy buying clothes for the women because of the stress that comes with it. You know what I mean! Chances are you’d buy the wrong size or wrong taste. Just give them the money. In my case I was lucky, my choice of selection for both mom and little sis were chosen to perfection. I bought some for little bro and Dad too. Lets just say I was their stylist for this year’s Eid celebration.
Anyway, where was I? Right..what I found most interesting about the Souks market was the concept of bargaining and haggling for the cost of items in any shop and food stands. Yes, we got haggled but we did unleash our bargaining skills. ‘For you my friend, I will give you for cheap price’ – sound familiar?
The architecture of the city is embodied in a unique clay-like beauty, etched with an irresistible colourful look. With roof top access to pretty much every building. Amazing kids with beautiful smiles waved in compelling gestures. The beautiful cats within every community.
I must admit, if you’re not used to being in an environment where you do not wish to be haggled, approached by unfamiliar generous faces asking for money (very rare), and fast pace – then I suggest you try to be vulnerable and enjoy the experience – be safe and vigilant of course. Alternatively, find a place to stay that isn’t within the confines of the constant movement of people. Somewhere you could easily hop into the city and hop out. I personally like to experience ALL, especially the hustle and bustle because that’s how I get to understand the real culture and tradition of a place. With that being said, I understand everyone’s boat is different, as it should be. I most certainly will re-visit Marrakech. Perhaps kill 2-3 birds with one stone by visiting 3 cities/towns in Morocco?… I will see.
Below are some suggestions :
- Download the ‘GetYourGuide‘ app to discover things to do and book directly from the app. Highly recommend.
- Visit Jemaa el-Fnaa & Souks market.
- Visit Azar restaurant for a unique dinning and live show experience.
- Visit Casino de Marrakech the oldest casinos in Morocco.
- Visit So Lounge Marrakech for purely chill vibes. There are surrounding nightlife clubs within this area but that wasn’t our vibe.
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Lets Find out!!!
I recall waking up in the middle of the night to use the toilet , and I went “Oh, I think I got it now”. ‘WHAT DO YOU KNOW?’ popped into my mind as the THEME for this year’s Black History Month. It took me a while to think of a theme, so I thought it’d be best to switch off and let it come to me. The team and I decided to coin the phrase slightly differently to ‘LET’S FIND OUT’.
Reason for this change, was I understand Not everyone will know or feel obligated to know, which is absolutely fine and normal. I don’t want people to feel judged for not knowing but rather encouraged to find out and educate themselves and others of the significance of Black History.
I then got to work. Did my reserach and reached out to as many people as I could across the company. I also wanted to target the Bigger Voices of change i.e Directors. Thier participation was exemplanary and appreciated. Below is my first publication on BHM of what it means to me and what it means to others.
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THE DORMICE EFFECT
The beauty of Civil Engineering isn’t all about designing and building structures. It’s also about preserving life or nature as we know it. This week I witnessed the preservation of life at one of the sites I had the pleasuring of supervising.
BACK STORY : A train driver identified a lanslide sliding down towards the train tracks and straightaway raised an emergency alert. Now, a lanslide isn’t something to take lightly as this could lead to a deadly train accident where many, many lives could be lost. Common causes of landslide are eathquakes, volanoes, water etc. In this case, it was due to a very heavy rainfall.
Our job is to come up with a solution to navigate the water away from the track and remove the risk of futher failures in the area. This solution is installing a drainage ditch at the very top of the slope. So when it rains, instead of the water sliding downhill toward the track, the water is absord into this drainage and navigated elsewhere.
The problem was we couldn’t install this drainage where we thought we should. Reason for this was there are ‘DORMICE’ in this area. Previous ecology survey also verified this finding. Therefore we have to install it a bit futher up and this happens to be on a farmland. For those who aren’t aware, DORMICE are one of the few endangered species and hence by law protected by the goverment. To name a few : badgers, breading birds, bats etc. Many species of plants and animals are protected in England along with their habitats. However what you can and cannot do varies from species to species.
Farmland & Timber pegs to demarcate works area. In our case a section of our job requires us to do some devegetation before we install this drainage . However, even when we moved away from the restricted area there were still concerns that there might be the presence of dormice within our area of works. Thus, by law we need the presence of an ecologist (someone specilised in endagered species) and an arborist (someone specilised in tree species) during these works so they can witness, dictate, guide and make sure we are not breaking the law. Everyone wins – happy days.
Interestingly, it was a different site experience for me as I got to speak with these experts and try to view the world through thier lenses to gain an appreciation of their work. Take for example, imagine waking up one lovely morning and finding out that there are people outside ready to demolish your house – not a nice feeling, right?. Well… I’m certain that’s how the family of DORMICE feel. You could say request that they either buy you a new house that fits your lifestyle or leave you be.
And YES …the work was successfully and safely carried out😊.
I’d like to think this is another highlight of my journey!!😎
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Milton Keynes – Bletchley.
Have you ever noticed the staircases you pace up and down at the train stations moving from one platform to another? How well dressed they are? Making it safer for you to not slip and fall. Did you know that they are often well dressed with what’s called an ‘Anti-slip resistance flooring’ material. I won’t get into the detail nor bore you with it properties but all I could say is that they provide a far more slip-resistant surface than concrete and steel staircases.
Remember when I said you have to win the job to do the job? And part of winning the job is to pay a visit to the site to explore and obtain as many relevant information that could be of significance in writing your bid and estimating. In doing so, you’re already one step ahead of your competitors.
Anyway, I had the opportunity to use my Engineering skills to measure an entire station of staircases and calculate how much surface area we need to install the anti-slip resistance materials. ANYONE could do this and I mean anyone. All you have to remember from your elementary school is working out areas and perimeters of various shapes. For example Area of a rectangular shape : A = Length x Width . It’s that straight forward.
This task was personal to me. Why? Because It was conducted at one of the stations in my hometown city – A city of roundabouts called Milton Keynes. We don’t often do projects in Milton Keynes region so you could see how personal this was to me.
The same day I was informed of this task I wasted no time in igniting my engine and cruised down the Motorway from London to Milton Keynes Bletchley Station.
I arrived and spoke to the station manager, signed in and he gave me access to the station and I went to work. It started pouring with rain but that didn’t stop me. A train passenger approached and asked for my assistance with the train journey – thinking I work there – I was happy to help. Another passenger (who walked past me earlier) approached with curiosity wanting to know what I was doing. We had a brief smiley and casual chat right before she left.
I finished my work followed by some final structural checks, access and parking. I signed out and finalise my calculations and sent it to my manager. This information is then sent out to sub-contractors (specialists that manufacture and install the anti-slip resistance material) to obtain a price.
Looking back I used to get off the train station ( a few times) hoping the barriers are open so I don’t get to pay – the life of a student at university. It felt good coming back to it but for a different reason this time around.
AwalkwithMO 