A* gets a job October 07

The greatest bit of news is that A* has a job. This is so exciting, because I was so worried when she got back from Herez and was so low. You notice it with A* because in general she dislikes showing any vulnerability and while she talked vaguely of still not having a job at Christmas I was thinking, I can’t keep you any longer! The even better thing is that this is a job in the wine industry starting as a customer assistant for Berkmann’s www.berkmann.co.uk The money is not brilliant to begin with, but they will pay for her wine qualifications and there is an obvious progression route. It’s in N7 with some shift work starting at 7am or ending at 8pm, but it’s mid-week, not week-ends. The plan is to live at home until Christmas and then review. It will be an interesting few weeks while she adjusts to the discipline, because she only did 2-3 weeks over the summer. When it becomes months the discipline becomes harder. Another salutary thing is that she will say she got this job via a recommendation from the Australian family who she befriended during her stay at Luton Hoo. In a way this is a good thing to come out of the family separating as she would not have had this contact otherwise. Finally, things are measured with the boyfriend – I don’t know any more than that.

J2 is settling in nicely to his new school in Dunstable. He will comment on the fact that the quality of teaching is not so good as Harpenden and sometimes I think it is a sad lesson for a boy to learn, but if it has made him realise that he must work harder then in the long run it will be a good thing. It also made me look harder at how competitive physiotherapy is and how he might get into it via a more circuitous route. He doesn’t have to wear school uniform and plays lots of football at lunch time with girls as well as boys. The reffing has still not started as he is waiting for his child protection certificate to come through.

J1 is off the radar and even cancels his usual bi monthly free lunch because he is in the throes of something. I ring him in the morning thinking he will still be in bed and he is in between lectures. The loss of the £300 from his summer work is forgotten to him, but his boss is carrying it forward with the police because a client has made a complaint about money going missing. J1 may never get his money back, but at least he may get some justice.

FP has been absorbed in South Pacific rehearsals culminating in 4 days performance next week. He is tired, but content I think. Scarman are currently considering a merger and I have been told that my name is on the list for ‘cost cutting’. Still, you’re not dead till you’re dead. Meanwhile EC1 chugs along. Most days hardly anyone is in. There is little pressure, but it takes its toll by deskilling professionalism. I wrote 3 job applications this last month and got no from two and heard nothing from the other. I know I talked about the 50s cusp thing last time, but I am thinking more and more that this is the time to put my energies into becoming self-employed. Some days I think ‘yes’, other days I think ‘I couldn’t possibly’. Circumstances may force me into it.