Friday, April 30, 2004

Unison - They get on my goat quite a lot. I'm a member. They are supposed to represent my interests, instead they seem hell bent on finding me the "cheapest" insurance deal anywhere, from a company that they must own or have shares in, and a line in credit that would have me in debt for the rest of my life if I wasn't already.

Now a little matter of what's going on at work. The management have introduced, in response to Unison's request, a pay review for "Fieldwork Staff" see 5th November last year. This saw a fair number of people get substantialish increases in wages.

We were not included in this because we don't "fit" the "model." Strangely, others who work in the same place as us were included (good luck to them - they deserve to be included), although they don't do anything much different from ourselves. A picture emerges that a great number of people are in similar situations as ourselves, so naturally a fair bunch of people get on to Shop Stewards and raise issues with them. Along with the pay increase comes the "attractive" and "family friendly"??? new 8.00 till 8.00 working hours. Effectively this mean that you can work between these hours although the standard day will remmain office hours. This is supposed to be by mutual consent, and we of course believe this. Additionally, if you are not included in the package you have the privelege of remaining on the existing system. Management have spent a long time drawing these plans up, They have been to the Scottish Executive to find some money, the Care Commission to get backing and approval, the Council for approval and additional funds, the media to say how well they were doing and have gone to the bother of restructuring the biggest part of a deprtment, carrying out interviews and appointing people.

Our union stewards committee decide that they will recommend the acceptance of the management deal, recognising that some work needs done and suggesting that they will "robustly" (thewife hates that word) negotiate these issues.

We think that this is a bit of a sellout, we also think Unison sold out the Nursery Nurses as well. jimty decides to do something about it and proposes an alternative motion, whereby we do nothing until Unison gets the broken bits fixed. Mass meeting -800ish attending and jimty wins the day. Good on you youngish man!
posted by timesnewroman at 6:40 AM  

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Sunday, April 25, 2004

Good start to the weekend, pished as a fart on copious quantities of Guiness, at yet another Woodies Who Wants To Be A Millionaire fundraising night. thewife asks the questions in her best Anne Robinson impression and I have to count the scores, which gets a bit complicated as there are about 12 competitors at a time on various numbers of points. Nevertheless, the younger members of our quiz team come in a creditable 3rd place, and new winner's emerge for a change to beat the club pool team who normally prevail. Followed up by a brief Karaoke where absolutely everybody murders absolutely evrything. Bad Karaoke is good. With apologies to Lady El and themusicjourno, whose Downtown was lacking a little. Fortunatel for me, the taxi arrived before my turn so home we went.

The bold Killie did well in a meaningless game against managerless Hibs, Bobby Williamson, once revered at Rugby Park is probably now as revered in Leith. Rumour has it that he has now succesfully taken Plymouth into the first division, the cruel wags in the row behind us were heard to comment that he nearly managed that with Hibs as well.

Saturday night another 70s theme meal of gammon steak (with pineapple rings of course), chips and freshly shelled peas and runner beans. Classic!
posted by timesnewroman at 1:23 PM  

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Friday, April 23, 2004

Whilst shopping thewife and I saw them. A range of HP pasta products that are pretty clearly aimed a pestering the fuck out of parents to buy extortionately priced shit, possibly filled with sugar, salt and all manner of crap to make their little kids into obese monsters. I pointed out Bob the Builder to thewife in total astonishment and a passing woman got really excited until she saw the price and then baulked. What the fuck is this about, do kids get to do the shopping and demand exactly what overpriced brands they've seen on television or on the shelves of a supermarket. It was then it struck me. Two new business ventures that promise to be massive. 1. Shit! Tesco's already do online shopping, but for people without internet access and a credit card, we go shopping instead of them and charge a smallish fee, they get what they want and the kids get nowhere near the shops. Pretty soon kids will believe that all food is delivered and think nothing of it. 2. The masterplan comes together. Bliss (tm) its like a box that sits on the television and filters out all advertising, instead playing short clips of waterfalls, goldfish etc. That way kids don't even get to see the work of the evil ones. Sorted. End of capitalism's outrageous exploitation of children.

Oh and we shouldn't be buying HP products anyway cos they are part of Danone who are part of an organised boycott!
posted by timesnewroman at 4:29 PM  

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Tuesday, April 20, 2004

thewife loves Chocolate Oranges. Apparently they sell like crazy in the U.K. I wonder how thewife and those U.K. sales will react when the Swiss / U.S. owners switch production from York to newer and cheaper plants in Europe? Fuck them I say, Boycott Terry's!
posted by timesnewroman at 6:08 AM  

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Monday, April 19, 2004

Nice weekend. Started Friday night with MH's 50th Birthday party which was a fine opportunity to catch up with a horde of people we have not seen for ages. That and the Disco was hosted by a man who knew a thing or two about disco music and proceeded to bombard a relatively tasteless ensemble with Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free, KC. and the Sunshine Band - that's the way I like it, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - Oh what a night, The Bee Gees - Night Fever. The man was toying with us every one a stunner and the dance floor practically empty for most of the night. Of course then he plays Deacon Fucking Blue and the floor is smothered. There's no accounting for bad taste.

Quiet Saturday and a rather nice baked Salmon with Goats cheese for dinner which was extremely enjoyable.

We also found a jar of lumpfish caviar at £ 1.50. When you see something like that you just have to try it, don't you. I've never had caviar so I had no idea what to expect. thewife has, and she knew that you should spread it on sour cream, using aplasticc spoon. Thoroughly enjoyable I wonder what a jar of the real thing tastes like,but I am not about to fork out £50 to find out.

Then there was the footie. The opportunity for Celtic to win the league at Rugby Park. We played well. Extremely well and genuinely believe we were the better of the two teams. Mr Currie, the referee, had other ideas. His display was on a par with most referees I've seen this season, i.e. shite! We had a perfectly good goal chalked off, and pretty much dominated the entire game. Then of course they got their goal. Let me take nothing away from Celtic, they have dominated the Scottish game so completely this season that it was only a matter of time that the were crowned champions. That said Neil Lennon is a thug.
posted by timesnewroman at 5:47 AM  

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Friday, April 16, 2004

Bush - Sharon bastards! evil bastards, axis of evil Evelyn Tent even.

And then there's work. On November 5th I posted about waiting for the briefing about the fieldwork review and as it turned out, we weren't considered worthy of inclusion, but would be picked up in phase 2 which has come and gone and we weren't included and there isn't going to be a phase 3 so things are same-o, same-o. Except that everyone except us is going to see how valued they are by the addition of some earth pounds in their pay packets. theboss's boss's boss came to meet wih us the otherday. I'm not sure what we expected but it wasn't what we got and none of us were at all impressed or happy. Clueless and unsupportive were the nicer terms of endearment used.

Meanwhile at the various ranches around the city, the fabulous deal that was on offer and grasped at with both hands by the majority seems not to be materialising in quite the expected way, but more of this later.

Why do management find it so difficult to manage, rather than dictate?
posted by timesnewroman at 6:35 AM  

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Sunday, April 11, 2004

Easter hols are great, everyone else goes away and we just have our own wee holiday at home thewife and I. Saturday we decided on a Mexican night, with Chicken Fajitas washed down with a goodly quantity of Mageritas which were sublime and possibly accounted for extreme pishedness and falling asleep on the sof circa 9.30pm. That and an evening of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on the telly, what more could one ask for? Our own chickens and an agave plant wethinks.


posted by timesnewroman at 9:33 AM  

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Thursday, April 08, 2004

I'm late for work, but what the hell. Its the blog's birthday. A whole year! You have to blog about that.

While I am on though, I am currently making a couple of compilations for the motor. thewife constantly has a 60s compilation on so now I need a 70s and 80s of fabulous singles. Suggestions welcomed, but in the best tradition and rules of lists as I explained to thewife they have to be very good (ruled out Status Quo), singles (ruled out Led Zeppelin) and only 1 per Artist.
posted by timesnewroman at 6:33 AM  

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Monday, April 05, 2004

TNR is off work, succumbed to sickness. I have the cold, a really heavy dose of the cold. I can't get enthusiastic about anything, although I am contemplating the therapeutic properties of whisky.
posted by timesnewroman at 9:19 PM  

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Saturday, April 03, 2004

Complaints, complaints. I have been absent from the keyboard because I have been busy doing stuff. Mumsy is about to get Gas Central Heating fitted. This means that all the carpets and all the furniture in her house has to be moved. It also means that her old storage radiators have to be ripped out and carried downstairs. This took two days holidays of hard work, admittedly one of which was with hangover, so it probably could have been done in less.

Midweek I was ready to rant about Tony "Berlusconi" Blair and the likely appointment of Peter " Guacamole" Mandelson as new D.G. of BBC. Okay it was the Guardian's April Fool's day joke and I fell for it. Well I could actually believe it! I was convinced it was the 1954 German World Cup Winners on performance enhancing drugs story to be honest.

Okay so you are still wondering why Peter "Guacamole" Mandelson? Reportedly true story that during the hustings in the 1997 election, Peter was doing the rounds of his working class northern constituency of Halifax, and where better for a photo-op than your typical chippy. Peter had fish and chips and on spying the mushy peas, apparently said "and I'll have a portion of your Guacamole as well."

Last night was work night out, very quiet affair indeed, numbers depleted through sickness, tiredness. JEM turned up, we saw her honest, out of taxi looking rather ......... pishhhed, straight downstairs to loos, then nothing. After a few minutes we sent in the search party and she was nowhere to be found. Jimty gets on mobile phone and discovers she is now in another taxi, on her way home because she couldn't find us. Hmm.

Then I'm asked by this Dutch bloke if I'm Scottish. Well spotted thinks me, pub in Glasgow, fair chance I am. I reply in the affirmative only to be asked if I knew who was the Celtic Goalkeeper in the 1970 European Cup final against Feyenoord. Look says I, I only do quizzes on Sundays. No I didn't, I admitted it, I owned up to being a Killie fan whereby he said that the small team fans were the real fans. I liked him already. I say I don't know who the Celtic keeper was, but I know a man who will. Introductions to Phedra who was perplexed. "Come on" says I, "you must know", of course several pints on his memory was slipping. Finally he says "Latchford". Then Dutch bloke says, "I think it was Williams." Fortuantely I had precisely 4 minutes to get the train, with the station 4 minutes away it was going to be tight but I did it. I also stayed awake the whole way home and astonished thewife with my state of relative sobriety upon uplift at Irvine Station.

I had to check the keeper out of course and it was indeed Williams. 1 point to the Dutchman. I do hope that one comes up one Sunday night.


posted by timesnewroman at 11:59 AM  

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