28th October 2007

An unhappy week with only one bright spot.

It was a bad day on Thursday. The chap who sits behind me was suspended and it was clear that things were very grim. The rights and wrongs are of no concern to this post, suffice that to say to a elderly man (57) "we are taking your job away from you, you may not work for us any longer" is a matter to be done with the utmost gravity.

The effect on a person of this course of action is deeply devastating. I looked at this man and saw themany emotions that he was going through. As I said "The rights and wrongs are of no concern to this post" but for any large organisation to say, "you can not do that job anymore and there is no job of any type that you can do in any part of our organisation" leaves a man facing a deeply bleak future.

Even more so when it was only a few years back that his previous employer went bust and all his pension was lost.

What do you do when you say "how and I going to keep my house ( a wreck being done up bit by bit)", "how am I going to feed myself". How does he keep his respect and most frightening of all will he choose to go on. This is a real and frightening possibility. It is not a consequence that I would like to bear.

This reminds me of the Thatcher years when for the greater "buck" people were thrown on the scrap heap. I don't mean people being lazy or riddled with "Spanish Practices" just ordinary plain people who had to go home and say to their family "They don't want me any more, I have no use to them or no value."


Then there is the subject of Christmas & New Year.. . .

Christmas is usually a time of mixed emotion for me. By Christmas I also include the New Year as well.

Twelve years ago I was staying with my in laws and I did not ring home until Boxing day. Some cross word were passed between my father and I. I was wrong and I knew it, what I didn't know as that he was to pass away a few days after new year. Our last words were cross words and I deeply deeply regret them. There were so many things I should have said over the years and never did, so many things I should have tried to do better and didn't. And then and now it is too late.

When my father ( Bertram Alfred ) died at home I had the opportunity to say Goodbye prior to him going to the Funeral Home. I couldn't go into the room and say Goodbye. Now years later I wish I had done so.

One of the things BAP did for as long as I can remember was to do all the cooking on Christmas day, everything from first cup of tea to the last drink in the evening. In all of my married life I have done this for my family. I take great pleasure in it, my little tiny way of trying to make my family a little less disfunctional.

This year they want to go out for Christmas day lunch. To sit in a restaurant, doing some "potted christmas experiance" thats sold to you, just a expensive commercial transaction. Buy your festive happiness here, only £95 pounds a person. So much for the really true meaning of |Christmas and family.

The one good thing about last week.

You know what it was and who you are.
Thanks for being there GB.
Everyday in Every way.xx

That's all now

Bye Folks

Simple of Sussex.