Another day in the office…..
It’s rare for me to go to the office for work (Colin would say it’s rare for me to work –haha!), but today, being a Monday, I felt it was about time I turned in again. It had been a couple of weeks and officially we are supposed to go each week for team meetings and to catch up with what’s happening in the fun world of the organisation.
Despite Colin’s insistence that we got up early I just never seem to be able to get going on a Monday; never-the-less I made it onto the 0825 Newcastle train, and managed to get a seat in the quiet coach (the one where most people pretend they didn’t know their phone was on when it rings at full volume, and then proceed to shout ‘I’m in the quiet coach, I can’t talk’).
So, into the office at a quite reasonable 0945, looking forward to lunch with Nicky (the casework officer who sits opposite me, she’s my age and her Mum has just had a second cancer scare so we have kind of bonded over that), only to find a nearly empty office. In the team I sit with (just because there is a spare desk) the only person in today was Richard (possibly the quietest (and nicest) man I’ve ever met). Nicky was off ill, Liz was off down in Oxford where her boyfriend has just moved and she’s hoping to follow, and Trevor was AWOL – no one seemed to know where he was.
So there was nothing for it, I had to get on with writing a 1000 word paper about the fund for one of the organisational magazines – how the hell was I going to fit everything into so few words?
However, I’d only been in for an hour when I realised that it was a team meeting day and that I had to go down and listen to our boss talk about things I don’t need to know! She also seems hell bent on ‘telling off’ and ‘talking down’ to some people, it’s quite painful to watch.
By the time we escaped it was definitely lunch – 1pm so I popped round to the local hot beef sandwich shop (yum!). I couldn’t resist just stopping by the local bookshop, as if I don’t need anymore books?! Anyway, I was quite restrained and only decided on a book for Richard and a calendar for Dad and Lotty; but my purchasing attempts were thwarted by the fact that they didn’t have a card machine, and I needed my cash for lunch. Oh well, I’m sure I’ve got enough presents for Richard, Dad and Lottie anyway.
I managed to get a few paragraphs written when I got back before the phone rang. I can’t say who it was as I’m sworn to secrecy, but it was one of my friends full of excitement. He’d got engaged over the weekend. He and his girlfriend have both been married before (I must be getting old!) and have kids but from what I can see they are made for each other; I’ve told him though that I need to meet her – I have to approve!! I’m sure I will.
Liz (my neighbour) and I have decided to do an A to Z of Meersbrook (more about that another time), so I wanted to use the GIS to get a map of the parish – easier said than done. Keith and I tried to find a map but had to admit defeat. In the end I phoned Sheffield Council and asked them – but it seems that parishes were abolished sometime ago (in cities that is) and they don’t really have a map of the old boundaries either! I’ll have to continue searching for an old map.
The rest of the afternoon was taken up with trying to write the article, checking emails and generally bumbling round the office (a trip down to finance to try and sort out an erroneous £60 on my work Visa statement).
I missed the 1625 train home so ended up on the 1734 (which was 15 minutes late) train to Birmingham New Street. Years ago I used to be scared of travelling by train; I think it was something to do with the fear of getting on the wrong train or being stranded somewhere with no way of getting home (that happened to me once at Bracknell – hell!). I guess with age, and the security of a credit card (for booking into a hotel or getting a taxi in an emergency) I’m no longer worried. In fact I really do prefer travelling by rail, gives me the chance to catch up on my blogging or reading!
I’ll get the tram up to West Street when I get into Sheffield and meet Colin at the office, if I’m really lucky he’ll be ready to leave (often I have to wait around for up to a hour).
For some reason tonight I’m really really cold. The office is usually boiling but for some reason it was freezing today and I don’t think I’ve been warm all day. As is often the case on a train, the young guy sat opposite me has a nasty cold – I just wish he’d get a damn tissue!!
