Friday 7th March 2014

I guess, looking back, it felt like an end of an era. Jools said that she felt she was waiting for the world to change when she went into work, sitting at her desk, with nothing to do. And then came Thursday.

I guess I should go back and fill you in with the details. Back in November, the LFB was taken over by an Italian company. Funnily enough, it was the same week at Vestas announced the joint venture with MHI. And since then there had been rumours about what it might, and might not mean for those that work along Coombe Valley Road.

Then a few weeks ago, Jools got a 'your job is at risk' notice. They were re-organising and most jobs were being phased out of combined, and if you did not have 80% of the skills required, you had to apply for one of the jobs. Now, this sounds fai enough, but when you consider that Jools has worked there for over 31 years, some of the people more, some less. The management really knew at the start who they wanted to keep for their brave new world of boxes.

Jools and the others had to apply for a job, have an interview and give a presentation. That was two weeks ago, and last week she learned that she did not get one of the four positions. This week some lesser positions were filled, and once again Jools did not get one of them. And just like that, 31 years of employment were over.

She does get a pay off, help in re-training and the such, but its not a job. That she wasn't happy in the job, and hadn't been for many years makes the rejection a little worse. But, she has become used to the idea and so we are trying to turn this into a positive.

She cleared her desk this week, deleted unimportant e mails, and yesterday when she was given the letter. I was on my way home, so I called and we talked.

Today the plan was for me to go and collect her from work at lunchtime, but in the end that changed to half nine as the tears, not from her so much, but from her colleagues and friends were too much. So, after seeing my laptop was working OK in the office, I left Ramsgate to pick her up.

For now the future is an unknown country, with paths and roads leading who knows where, but we are positive, and we have each other. When UTEC went belly up a few years back, and i had a bad year, she was there for me, and so I shall be there for her. Together we are Team H and nothing can defeat us.

Don't stress yourself or worry about us, we shall be fine. Today, we are still a little shellshocked, tomorrow we shal begin the fightback.