Category Archives: Agency Worker

This last fortnight I’ve been back at the hospital working in the pharmacy department. Did I mention I was working there before? It was just before I went to hospital as an actual patient a few weeks back, which was … Continue reading →

I’ve never had to worry about tax before, or rather I’ve never bothered worrying about tax. Either I was working full time for one employer and it was all dealt with by head office or, from 1995-98, I was a … Continue reading →

I’m back at the tampon factory again, though I’ll definitely be leaving at the end of this week. For sure. Last week the factory was closed for Easter (they close the whole operation at specific times during the year which … Continue reading →

Today I was employed to stand by the side of the road from 11.00am to 8.00pm. For this I was paid £6 an hour. It was worth it, but only just. I was a marshall for the British Heart Foundation … Continue reading →

Needless to say, this was quite radically different to my recent temp jobs, which verge on the surreal as it is. It was also a return to the wonderful world of customer service, and to be honest, that was the … Continue reading →

Ollie the Otter (full report to follow)

Again with the anniversaries. A year ago I arrived on the Isle of Wight and started my three months working on a farm. (My diary of that time is here). Tomorrow I’m working at the Sea Life Centre entertaining the … Continue reading →

So I’m back at the Tampon factory on the late shift for another week, which was a bit of a surprise. I would have thought not turning up for work and not phoning in would have made them refuse to … Continue reading →

Boing Boing points to a great photo-essay about Tibetan Buddhist Monks who build a mandalla out of sand grain by grain from dawn ’til dusk. Then when it’s finished they pour it into the river as “a demonstration of nonattachment … Continue reading →

Things seem to be happening. While intellectually I know that causality is an infinitely complicated thing and that I can ascribe very little to the patterns that appear, it’s tempting as a fallible human to read too much into them. … Continue reading →

I’ve been in the tampon factory for nearly two weeks now, which is the longest I’ve ever spent working in a factory, and generally I’ve found it quite exhausting. The work itself isn’t that bad, although it’s surprising how tiring … Continue reading →

Funny how to the half-awake male mind the prospect of working with “female sanitary products” immediately brings forward images of nastiness. As you’ll know by now I have a tendency to assume to worst with standby temp jobs and my … Continue reading →

Normally I don’t mind being on standby, leaving the phone on all night to be woken, or not, by an urgent call from Kat or Louise sending me off to a far flung industrial estate for a loosely specified job … Continue reading →

As I walked up to the wagon this morning Andy said it was our last day, as we’d kinda guessed having not had a call on Thursday as usual, but that boss-woman Pam had said there’d probably be a job … Continue reading →

When I got up this morning and saw the “different light” shining through the bathroom window my heart sunk. According to the weather forcast it wasn’t supposed to snow in Birmingham today. Usually I greet snow like a small child … Continue reading →

When I start a temp job I try and remain inconspicuous, keeping quiet in the corner and not drawing too much attention to myself. You never know what kind of people you’re going to be working with and what kind … Continue reading →

Okay, here’s a day on the truck with Marc. Leave the depot at 7.30am. Drive to the first job. Have a fag. Start picking at about 8.00am, depending on how long it took to find the place. At 8.30, regardless … Continue reading →

The last couple of days I’ve been working with Mark, an ex-squaddie and ex-grave digger. He was in Gulf War part one where he drove over a mine, and he quit the graveyard after having four bereavements in close succession … Continue reading →

Ah, the Environmental Services! Sounds like some kind of eco-army and in a way it is. This week, and probably next, I’m a bin man and I’m pretty happy about it. Riding around small streets in a big truck lugging … Continue reading →

My writing muse has vanished leaving quite a few half-written blog posts sitting on my hard drive, so here goes in point form: Had a lovely evening at Matt and Anna’s in Moseley on Saturday, which was needed as I … Continue reading →