Last Friday one of the places where I work held the staff Christmas party. In previous years the party has usually been in the form of a meal and drinks at a local restaurant but this time, to save on expenses, it was a buffet and DIY entertainment held in the large reception area of the offices. While I was at work that morning I happened to see the main organiser starting the initial preparations and he assured me that any mess would be cleared away afterwards ready for me to do my work on Monday morning - fair enough, I thought.
Now given that the weather here isn't very good just now and it's far too wet to take the dogs for a decent walk, today I decided to go to work instead of leaving it until tomorrow morning. However, any thoughts of being able to do my normal job were quickly abandoned when I arrived - far from any party mess being cleared away it had all been left, and the reception area and main office looked like a bomb had hit them. Several partitions and various items of furniture had been moved, chairs had been brought out from other rooms and there were cans, bottles, wine boxes, used plastic tumblers, mugs, left over food, spillages on desks and table tops, bits of paper and overflowing waste paper baskets everywhere, plus cake crumbs and crisps trodden into the carpet for good measure.
It looked like it would take an army to clear all that lot up, but armed with a roll of refuse bags, various sprays, cleaning cloths and the vacuum cleaner I started at one end and worked my way methodically to the other, relocating all the desks, chairs and partitions into their normal places as I went along, and eventually the rooms looked like there had never been a party. Added to all that was the work I would normally do and by the time I'd finally finished it had taken me a good three hours - now I wonder if the staff will appreciate my efforts when they find the place spick and span tomorrow?
So if you're reading this and about to attend an office party held at the place you work, please spare a thought for the person who has to clear up all the mess afterwards!
About Me
- Tigermouse
- Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it
4 comments:
I really appreciate good comments - who doesn't? - but due to a recent tide of spam from anonymous readers all comments will now be moderated, and only those with a direct bearing on this blog will be published. I'm sure my regular blog readers/commenters will understand the need for this - and to anyone whose comment isn't published, you know why.
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It would be nice if everyone who attends any party ever kept the cleanup crew (or cleanup person) in mind.
ReplyDeleteIt would, but not many people ever do, especially at office parties. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me or I would have taken a couple of 'before' and 'after' shots to put on here.
ReplyDeleteHi Eunice,
ReplyDeleteYou would like to think the rest of the office staff would appreciate your efforts. My cynical side thinks they might not even notice or care. Yes, a camera would of been mighty handy!
Gary
I agree with your cynical side Gary. Over the last 25 years I've cleaned offices/premises for many different types of business and I've long held the opinion that many office staff are lazy and complacent. Because I work outside normal hours and rarely see anyone I'm sure they think there's a little fairy who goes in during the night and magics everything clean and tidy.
ReplyDelete