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Sep. 28th, 2006 10:32 pmA day of goodbyes at work - Steve's leaving to be a Community Support Warden in Eastleigh while Angie's transferring to the Coding section. Of course we're sorry to see them go, but on the plus side Angie made a couple of large cakes for us (walnut and lemon drizzle) so we actually had some eats today :)
As Stevesits sat next to me, a couple of times I had ladies encroaching on my booth space when they came to say a personal goodbye to him. Karen had gone as far as having a large slab of chocolate custom-made with a personal message iced on it - "because I know how much you love chocolate," she said to him. It's all right for some.
Val called a group hug for 2.15. The trouble was that no-one had told Steve, and he'd then delayed taking his coffee break until 1.50, so at 2.15 there we were all gathered round to give him a royal send-off...and Steve was still down in the canteen enjoying a leisurely cuppa. So Val opened the meeting with the more prosaic business of telling us all to make sure we shut our workstations down properly at the end of every shift. When she'd finished fielding questions on that, there was still no sign of Steve, so Heather took the opportunity to announce the date and venue of the Christmas party and add that those interested in going would be asked to sign a sheet next week.
Still no Steve. Val went ahead and took the lead in our saying goodbye to Angie, then just as Janine presented her with her bunch of flowers, right on cue Steve appeared. So finally Val got to say her farewell piece to Steve, and Carol presented him with his card and gift - a pair of cufflinks. One lady muttered that Steve was too young for cufflinks - everyone heard. When he told us all what his new job's going to be, Tania said she'd love to see him in his uniform! Steve went scarlet.
Cathy offered me a lift to Alverstoke village, where she had to pick her son up from school; I picked up a copy of The News there and walked the rest of the way home.
After a bite to eat, went to the Thorngate to give blood. The lady on the reception table seemed a bit perturbed that I hadn't brought my donor card or any documentation, but it wasn't a problem - she just gave me the health check form to fill in, gave me a number and told me to wait at a table. As I had made an appointment online, the lady still had my record ready to print when she called my number a few minutes later.
I'd ticked yes to 'Have you travelled outside the UK in the last 12 months?' When the lady who did my preliminary interview and blood test asked which countries I'd visited, I told her Australia (with stop-overs in Malaysia), Switzerland and France.
"How long were you in Malaysia?"
"One night and one day in Kuala Lumpur on the way out, three hours in KL airport on the way back."
No problem. Slipping into informal chat, she asked how my Oz trip had gone; I told her I'd been there for the Commonwealth Games and it was superb. She was well impressed. Then she said there'd been a big influx of people just dropping in off the street, so I might have to wait longer than usual, and said to feel free to get a free drink or snack.
The refreshments table was manned by a cheerful middle-aged lady and a teenage boy in a Scotland football shirt. I asked for coffee, then said to the boy "You're one of the Tartan Army, then?"
"He's nothing to do with me!" said the lady, while the lad just grinned "Best team."
"And he's a Pompey supporter," the lady added. I told them I support Havant & Waterlooville and she said "We always look out for their score when the [Conference South] comes up."
Sat with my coffee and crisps reading my Private Eye for less than ten minutes, then my call came. My donation went smoothly, and quickly enough for my minder to remark on the speed. Seeing my Private Eye, as I was giving he told me about how he and all his family are avid readers of the mag as it tells you things you'll never learn from the newspapers.
I was done in under a quarter of an hour. As they were disconnecting the devices, after my minder gave me the usual warning not to do any heavy lifting or anything strenuous, and to have plenty of drinks but no alcohol, for the rest of the day, the nurse turned to the lady on the bed behind me and congratulated her on her Gold Award. Looking up, I saw she was presenting her with an award to mark her 50th donation. I mentioned to the nurse and my minder that I'd now be getting a new card to replace my beginner's one as this was my fifth. "Keep going," my minder smiled, "you're a tenth of the way there."
Felt well enough to get off my bed in a couple of minutes and go back to the refreshment table for another coffee. "It [their coffee] must be all right, then, if you're having another one," said the lady; I told her it was very nice and she invited me to help myself to snacks. I went for a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and a Club and sat eating at a leisurely pace reading Private Eye.
Then walked home to watch Tottenham v Slavia Prague over copious quantities of dandelion and burdock.
As Steve
Val called a group hug for 2.15. The trouble was that no-one had told Steve, and he'd then delayed taking his coffee break until 1.50, so at 2.15 there we were all gathered round to give him a royal send-off...and Steve was still down in the canteen enjoying a leisurely cuppa. So Val opened the meeting with the more prosaic business of telling us all to make sure we shut our workstations down properly at the end of every shift. When she'd finished fielding questions on that, there was still no sign of Steve, so Heather took the opportunity to announce the date and venue of the Christmas party and add that those interested in going would be asked to sign a sheet next week.
Still no Steve. Val went ahead and took the lead in our saying goodbye to Angie, then just as Janine presented her with her bunch of flowers, right on cue Steve appeared. So finally Val got to say her farewell piece to Steve, and Carol presented him with his card and gift - a pair of cufflinks. One lady muttered that Steve was too young for cufflinks - everyone heard. When he told us all what his new job's going to be, Tania said she'd love to see him in his uniform! Steve went scarlet.
Cathy offered me a lift to Alverstoke village, where she had to pick her son up from school; I picked up a copy of The News there and walked the rest of the way home.
After a bite to eat, went to the Thorngate to give blood. The lady on the reception table seemed a bit perturbed that I hadn't brought my donor card or any documentation, but it wasn't a problem - she just gave me the health check form to fill in, gave me a number and told me to wait at a table. As I had made an appointment online, the lady still had my record ready to print when she called my number a few minutes later.
I'd ticked yes to 'Have you travelled outside the UK in the last 12 months?' When the lady who did my preliminary interview and blood test asked which countries I'd visited, I told her Australia (with stop-overs in Malaysia), Switzerland and France.
"How long were you in Malaysia?"
"One night and one day in Kuala Lumpur on the way out, three hours in KL airport on the way back."
No problem. Slipping into informal chat, she asked how my Oz trip had gone; I told her I'd been there for the Commonwealth Games and it was superb. She was well impressed. Then she said there'd been a big influx of people just dropping in off the street, so I might have to wait longer than usual, and said to feel free to get a free drink or snack.
The refreshments table was manned by a cheerful middle-aged lady and a teenage boy in a Scotland football shirt. I asked for coffee, then said to the boy "You're one of the Tartan Army, then?"
"He's nothing to do with me!" said the lady, while the lad just grinned "Best team."
"And he's a Pompey supporter," the lady added. I told them I support Havant & Waterlooville and she said "We always look out for their score when the [Conference South] comes up."
Sat with my coffee and crisps reading my Private Eye for less than ten minutes, then my call came. My donation went smoothly, and quickly enough for my minder to remark on the speed. Seeing my Private Eye, as I was giving he told me about how he and all his family are avid readers of the mag as it tells you things you'll never learn from the newspapers.
I was done in under a quarter of an hour. As they were disconnecting the devices, after my minder gave me the usual warning not to do any heavy lifting or anything strenuous, and to have plenty of drinks but no alcohol, for the rest of the day, the nurse turned to the lady on the bed behind me and congratulated her on her Gold Award. Looking up, I saw she was presenting her with an award to mark her 50th donation. I mentioned to the nurse and my minder that I'd now be getting a new card to replace my beginner's one as this was my fifth. "Keep going," my minder smiled, "you're a tenth of the way there."
Felt well enough to get off my bed in a couple of minutes and go back to the refreshment table for another coffee. "It [their coffee] must be all right, then, if you're having another one," said the lady; I told her it was very nice and she invited me to help myself to snacks. I went for a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and a Club and sat eating at a leisurely pace reading Private Eye.
Then walked home to watch Tottenham v Slavia Prague over copious quantities of dandelion and burdock.
