Monthly archives: April 2002


Career_Opportunities_1:

There was no reason to be at Kate�s desk, except Kate herself, but Owen pretended they weren�t just chatting. He flicked through Marketing Week, registering one headline per page.

�How many bikes do you have?� Kate asked.

�Oh, just the three.�

�Three?�

�Yeah.�

�Three?�

�I�m thinking of getting another. I�ve got a mountain bike, a play bike and a commuter. I really want a proper road bike.�

�Ah, there you are.� It was a familiar voice. They both looked up at Bill Walsh. He was tall, stood straight to emphasise it and had a full head of white hair. Depending upon lighting, the lines on his face could equally cast benign shadows as scary ones. �I wanted to have a word with you.� For a moment, Owen hoped he meant Kate, but he followed as Bill walked away.

�You�re the guy who cycles in every day, aren�t you?� Bill asked over his shoulder. �I�ve seen your bike in the carpark.�

�Er, yeah.�

�Why do you do it? You must have been sorted with a company car by now.�

�It keeps me fit. And I�m only a temp, I don�t think I qualify for a company car.� Or the sharesave scheme, or a pension, he didn�t add.

Bill stared at Owen for a moment, his hand on the meeting room door knob. He seemed ready to cancel the whole meeting. �We�ll have to see about that.�

Owen took the seat facing away from the window, so he wouldn�t be distracted by the planes gliding into Heathrow.

�You know two lads in Manchester, Mike and Paul- I forget their surnames. Work for Sales up there?�

�Yes. Mike took over from me and he recommended Paul when the workload ramped up.�

�Good. They�ve revolutionised the stock control system up there. And returns. Sharon Walker recommended it for our all our new offices.�

�Really?�

�I�d like you to work with them when they come down here. You don�t have any major projects coming up do you?�

�No. None.�

�Good. Sharon will fill you in when their move is arranged.�


Today’s pic.

I’m a little worried that I might have to go rooting around in my piles of older photos for next week’s pics.

First day back after four days off and there was nothing to do. The few outstanding jobs I have are for people I can’t get hold of. Conversation around the desk took in the subjects of training frogs (to steal watches, apparently) and the meaning of the word bint. Very productive all round, I must say.