The New Job

I have now been in the new job for a few days. So far it's quite good fun. For those that haven't been following previous posts; I am now doing logistical stuff for the British Legion Poppy Appeal. Essentially I am pootling round London in a van picking stuff up and dropping stuff off.

So far, like I say, it's good fun. Admittedly the traffic is a bit of a nightmare (I generally budget about an hour for the shortest of runs and any less is a bonus), I have yet to get out of 3rd gear or exceed 30mph. To add insult to injury, the traffic lights seem sequenced to always be at alternating colours; a legacy of Ken Livingstone I'd wager. Oh and I hate one way, it's the bane of my life especially as I have yet to be issued with a satnav so I am going off my internal compass, an a to z and some hasty print outs usually written before the current one way system was put into place. On the plus side, I have discovered that my knowledge of London is quite a bit better than I thought. Here's hoping it continues.

I have had the pleasure of meeting some really nice people who I would not otherwise have met. One person I met today sticks in my mind particularly. He essentially runs the distribution of poppies in an outlying region of North London. He does this as a volunteer and has done so for around 10 years having volunteered when he was unable to buy a poppy. We had a long chat over tea (when he offered, I almost hugged him. As I was at the end of a 2 and a half hour drive that google maps assured me would only take 44min; most of which I spent hopelessly lost and trusting my instincts). I didn't get much of his story save for the fact that he was a successful toy distributor when he was working (what a cool job!) and he did once harbour ambitions to be a lawyer. He also told me he was at boarding school during the war and hinted at a Jewish background. I would have liked to have had time to speak to him more and hear the stories he had to tell. He is one of the people you meet in life that radiates fun and kindness. Hopefully we shall meet again later in the appeal.

On another note, was very impressed at the BBC today. During their coverage of the dale farm evictions, they took a break from their usually anti-police mentality to broadcast an officer calmly telling a woman (I think) who claimed it was her job to protect the inhabitants, that she had been arrested and asking her calmly and politely to accompany him to the van. Naturally this was met by a load of abuse and condescention. To his credit, the officer repeated the request in the same manner several times. I'm not sure what the final outcome is but I take my hat off to him. If I had been in a similar situation, I can't guarantee I wouldn't have tied her up with her own dreadlocks! Well done and keep up the good work.

That's all to report so far. Will keep you updated with my adventures if and as they happen.

JR