15 Years!....and lunch at The Living Room, Nottingham

This time 15 years ago, I was reluctantly serving notice at Center Parcs where I'd worked for about 5 years, as a non contracted (what became 0 hour contract) reservations assistant, nursery nurse and baby sitter. I loved Center Parcs - it's whole ethos, the villages themselves and as for my job - especially reservations, it was lots of strange hours with a bunch of ladies who I really enjoyed working with. We had started off in a tiny office on one of the villages before moving to a swish head office, we had lots of "experiences"...for example coming in to find the cleaning lady collapsed with a black bag over her head..we thought she was dead but the heat in the coffee room had overcome her and the position of the bin bag was just unfortunate, a spider plant which dripped water into a monitor during our shift one evening and set it alight, I once spoke to the late Sheridan Morley who wanted to buy gift vouchers, there was the lady who called wanting to visit Longleat but was frightened they would be attacked by lions when leaving their villa, the man who rang from a villa asking us to get someone to come and kill a spider "as big as a boat that's just rowed across the living room" and the lady who really wanted a holiday but had a tree phobia.  I did a diverse range of things while I worked there which really broadened my horizons but I was working well over 50 hours a week over the 3 roles and earning lots less than I should.

Then along came a new company, they were recruiting hard and a couple of the people I was working with defected and said some very encouraging things. I didn't relish working in an office full time, I'd not long qualified as a Nursery Nurse and wanted a job in a school, but I did want more stability and thought the money would be a great boost for a couple of months to tide me over until something I enjoyed came along.

Special times (and the shoulders of special people!!)

I applied, I got an interview, on the way there was an accident and the subsequent traffic jam meant I arrived late but it seemed to go quite well. I got sent for testing, went to the wrong place and finally arrived at the correct location sweaty and out of breath, but I passed that too and before you knew it on 28 June 1999 I started work and those couple of months stretched into years that have seen a lot of faces come and go and a lot of changes. I've made a great group of friends and a really good friend who I've shared some special times with.

I started out working in the Customer Relations Department, but knew straight away that I wanted to work in Fraud, I made it within a year and a couple of months later I was lucky enough to be sitting with a group of people Helen, Ince and Jasmine when a manager sat down with us and asked us to form a team. We became a really special and successful unit, people came and went with me and Helen surviving until the end which came when the inevitable happened at the end of last year and the work was moved to cut costs, my little work family all kept roles within the area and by then I had become Technical Expert for my sins and was still needed within the general area.

Losing 10 inches of my hair for the Little Princess Trust

Other changes too, our little circle has gradually met partners, got married, had babies, moved houses, got divorced, lost friends and family, been ill, shared successes, got older and in some cases moved on!

We have had a lot of laughs but also shed many a tear, but we all still keep in touch even if it's just via Facebook and when we can we will meet up for a meal and a catch up. I'm not sure what the future holds, no jobs are jobs for life any more, but I love what I do, I wish I wasn't so busy and I'm anxious that work is taking me away from my family when it is busy, like now, but I love the constant surprises and challenges and I love the feeling of familiarity that comes with working somewhere for a long time, the people that have become a work family of sorts.

Digging manure for Brinsley Animal Rescue

This job has given me some great experiences I've been away to my old haunt Center Parcs on the weekend my maternity started, I've been on a charity shop alphabet challenge, I've been to a party on a boat, been to London, I've volunteered for the Cerebral Palsy Games, done treasure hunts, helped out at an event for people with Visual Problems, cleared woodland at a country park, helped out at a city farm, dug a lot of manure for an animal rescue charity and that is some of the more sane stuff...there are things that I wouldn't know how to explain that happen on a daily basis, I look forward to what the future holds!

To celebrate mine and others 15 year milestone we were treated to a couple of hours away from our desks to go for a meal with the top man, at The Living Room in Nottingham.

Here is what I had

The Gressingham Duck
the sauce was a little too orangey for me but the duck was juicy and succulent and they were great chips. The pear was not what I imagined, I didn't expect it to be whole and it wasn't very pickled. We also got a lovely bowl of fries, green beans and broccoli to accompany it.

The Chocolate Pave
Delicious, the pave was not too bitter or too sweet and it melted in the mouth but had substance
The peanut powder was an interesting addition, a peanutty not sweet sherbet
and the ice cream was creamy and full of taste but not salty enough for a salted caramel which is often the case,
the caramel sauce a sweet touch bringing it all together.