Friday 20th January 2023

And back home.

But.

Its a Friday and that means: meetings.

Lots of meetings.

Just about constant meetings from seven all the way until two, with just a couple of half hour breaks between.

We slept through the alarm, which mean Jools had just 15 minutes to get up, get dressed and get her lunch together before she had to leave for her yoga class, that she had forgotten to book.

Meaning that twenty minutes after getting up, I was alone. Or how alone can you be with four cats, and Cleo who seems to find everything I do worth watching?

I put out the bins. Make a second coffee and have a bowl of grape nuts, then set up the computer for work.

Deep breath....

Cease fire, we're going in.

Meetings. Meetings about other meetings. And meetings to discuss previous and future meetings.

There was time for crumpets for lunch, before a final hour-long meeting with my interim boss about stuff I am going to be expected to do. We talked about the department meeting earlier where in response to our (department's) request for clarity about how to get a pay rise, a lady from global HR came in and talked for half an hour about personal development.

Any questions, she asked.

I spoke up and made the point that us in the department with all of us having over a decade's experience in the company, were irreplaceable, but if we wanted to earn more money, we would have to find another job either in our outside the company. Our knowledge of how the company works, or doesn't, should mean that the company values us, but doesn't seem to.

Henrik has not had a promotion (with added pay) in 30 years, and has run factories and is more of an expert in tower and blade manufaturing than those who run the factories. What more does he need to know to become a senior specialist from his current role as specialist?

I just want to feel valued by the company, I said, and at the moment I don't think it does.

Their worse case scenario would be one of us, or all of us, going to work for a customer.

Oh my word.

But at two, Jools was home, I wrote on more mail, sent it and powered the computer down.

Dinner was three bean soup and defrosted tear and share rolls. Not a big dinner, but good enough. But afterwards I said I would make mince pies, as all through Christmas we really had enough food, so I rustled up the pastry, lined a silicon bun case, filled with mincemeat and placed a small lid on each of the 12 pies.

Twenty minutes in the over, half an hour to cool, we had two each for supper while I watched the football on the tellybox.

By which time we were several hours into the weekend.

All change next week as Jen comes back on Tuesday and on Fridays it'll be cards night again.