Back To The Future

Work's reunion in St Annes with colleagues that I haven't seen for twenty years .

( Brown Tim, Jane, Me, Quiet Tim, Sharon, Bizarre Tim, Phil and Cathy . Yes I worked with a lot of Tims)

In a previous life I lived in Lancashire and I also worked for Customs And Excise. I was in the offices rather than any of that glamorous stuff like donning rubber gloves and sticking my hands up people's arses looking for stray condoms full of cocaine.

Our office defied belief and the series The Office can ony have been modelled on us. It was in the era before policies, before Health and Safety and before sensibilities it would appear. We were talking last night about the stuff that used to be tolerated . We used to smoke at our desks, on special occasions we were allowed to drink at our desks
( and one hideous story came back to haunt me last night about a Christmas do where we all started drinking at 07.30. I classily chose to drink Diamond White and rather unclassily had to be carried to the first aid room ). There was a woman who used to lie on her flexi sheet every day by about 3 hours. No one challenged her. There were seething sexual tensions and jealousies. There were people who used to throw the phone at their juniors ( that would be my line manager then. In fairness I probably deserved it). There were people who used to sit on their junior's knees and fart. ( That would be my line manager AGAIN!!) .People used to disappear out of work to have their hair cut, with the excuse being " Well hair grows in work's time so I am entitled to time off for this ".... and so the tales came out more and more of them last night..

Bizarre times indeed in many ways, although policies drive me mad, we were an example of what happens when you leave your employees to run ferrel. It all needed to change in public sector work. I left 20 years ago to come and do my nurse training in Yorskhire, many of them stayed until the office was reviewed and not surprisingly relocated to another team.

There were some great times and some great laughs though and it was fabulous to see everyone again. Most of them still work for the civil service and some still hate it. I love my job now and although it was wonderful to be out with the people I know I would never change a thing about where I am now or how I got here. Nursing is much more me than data entry ever was.

Great great night out but very very surreal and even more surreal, on my way out of the pub Tim who fancied me back then chatted me up again . It wasn't any easier politely turning him down a second time ... felt horribly guilty.

A good but bizarre night out indeed.

In other news I got a PB in the Bradford Parkrun in the morning.


Hope you are all enjoying the weekend xx

A tribute to me and Jane looking back to our Rock Chick years of 1990 - 1992