The 13.46 London Midland train from Euston to Crewe was absolutely rammed. Like many people I was too far up the platform for the tiny little train that eventually pulled in and there was no hope of a seat. Travelling on Christmas Eve is surely something that no sane person would do if they had any choice but of course so many of us have to, one way or another.
There is an old Master Card advert in which a father uses his Credit Card to buy the last plane to anywhere, then a train ticket and then a hire car. He makes it back to see his daughter on Christmas Eve and the punch line as ever is that it is priceless.
This year our daughter is six thousand miles away and we're not going to see her. It will all be different next year but for the moment we are treading water, hoping time will pass and at the same time increasingly concerned about how much we have to do and how soon.
Christmas Eve for us this year was spent with Sarah, Rob and Jessica. In the morning we were up and ready for Jess's second Christmas and delighted in her opening her presents. After a grand breakfast once Gill and Chris had arrived it was off to Sue and Graham's for mince pies and the chance to see Anne and Michael. It was lovely to see everyone but the real highlight for us was when Sam, Philip and Rebecca arrived with their new dog - Bobby!
We were so relieved to see just how happy he was with them. There is no doubt that he is loved by every one of them and that he now has the position in a family that he deserves. It's still a shame for Billy to have lost his playmate but Billy couldn't complain much because he did have his sister and two nephews this time. It was then back to S, R & J's for Christmas lunch.
The turkey was perfect and once we had had our fill Rob, Jess and I took the dogs out for a walk before returning for a well deserved pudding. Then it was back to the present opening for Jessica. We finally got round to opening the adults' presents once she had got to bed and settled down to some television.
On Boxing day we were off to the Lomas household for another fanastic feast, this time of lamb. The boxing day walk comprised two west highland white terriers, four chocolate labradors, one golden retriever and some people. What a sight we were to behold - although not too closely if you had any sense.
The 27th was Chris' birthday (21 again) and that too involved copious amounts of fine food, a touch of alcohol and dog walking in the freezing cold.
And then it was over and we were back home. We've had good news that Harriet is doing very well and are trying to enjoy a little bit of calm before the next storm. We will be shipping animals across the country and flying ourselves and our mothers to the other side of the world while desperately trying to sort out the legal situation. It's going to be horrendous but like that train journey there is no alternative and the destination is priceless.
Sunday 28 December 2008
Saturday 20 December 2008
Serenity, or lack thereof
There is a chill, frosty wind moaning through the city . In keeping with the season I am trying to remain phlegmatic but that is far from easy.
I suspect it is a similar story everywhere. Those who have survived have become more nervous and more suspicious of each other. The main liberation for me in the run up to the redundancies last week was that it really did not matter what you did, you could not change anything. But now there is a palpable sense of activity. People want to impart their vision and strategy to anyone who will listen and are fiercely protective of their spheres of influence. Even people whom I consider to be friends have warned me off their turf if I stray too far.
There's such miserable uncertainty everywhere. I have tried to get something out of our UK lawyers, by phone and by email but with no success. Our US lawyer is deeply uninspiring; at one moment promising to reply soon and at the other reacting in a surprised way when we follow up a week later. All we have received from him is a bill charging us 60 dollars for answering the email with no credit for us passing on our knowledge of UK law which his colleague had asked for.
I am working at least 10 hours a day during which time I need to chase these people who treat me with such contempt. If I charged £350 a hour then the second baby would already be started. We have deliberately reduced our Christmas presents to mere tokens this year and everyone understands why. Yet the various Christmas parties and team dinners that the directors subsidise still mean another four hundred pounds or so down the drain. Yes I sound like Scrooge and yes people were grateful and they don't just assume that it will happen but that's how I feel and it is not phlegmatic.
We know so little really about what is going to happen to us. The sword of Damocles that is our immigration problem continues to hover above us and there is still so much to sort out. The things we can control completely we have done. If Harriet arrived today in Field View the nursery has enough stuff to cope, admittedly with a few temporary expedients but it would be feasible. The things we partially control we need to get a move on with (I am having a nightmare finding long term car hire that costs less than what I reckon a brand new GM or Ford would cost in the current environment). Then there are the many and varied things which are beyond our control but not beyond influencing us.
Some of you may been turning your thoughts to the serenity prayer here but thanks to Wikipedia I have found a secular version that pleases me better:
I suspect it is a similar story everywhere. Those who have survived have become more nervous and more suspicious of each other. The main liberation for me in the run up to the redundancies last week was that it really did not matter what you did, you could not change anything. But now there is a palpable sense of activity. People want to impart their vision and strategy to anyone who will listen and are fiercely protective of their spheres of influence. Even people whom I consider to be friends have warned me off their turf if I stray too far.
There's such miserable uncertainty everywhere. I have tried to get something out of our UK lawyers, by phone and by email but with no success. Our US lawyer is deeply uninspiring; at one moment promising to reply soon and at the other reacting in a surprised way when we follow up a week later. All we have received from him is a bill charging us 60 dollars for answering the email with no credit for us passing on our knowledge of UK law which his colleague had asked for.
I am working at least 10 hours a day during which time I need to chase these people who treat me with such contempt. If I charged £350 a hour then the second baby would already be started. We have deliberately reduced our Christmas presents to mere tokens this year and everyone understands why. Yet the various Christmas parties and team dinners that the directors subsidise still mean another four hundred pounds or so down the drain. Yes I sound like Scrooge and yes people were grateful and they don't just assume that it will happen but that's how I feel and it is not phlegmatic.
We know so little really about what is going to happen to us. The sword of Damocles that is our immigration problem continues to hover above us and there is still so much to sort out. The things we can control completely we have done. If Harriet arrived today in Field View the nursery has enough stuff to cope, admittedly with a few temporary expedients but it would be feasible. The things we partially control we need to get a move on with (I am having a nightmare finding long term car hire that costs less than what I reckon a brand new GM or Ford would cost in the current environment). Then there are the many and varied things which are beyond our control but not beyond influencing us.
Some of you may been turning your thoughts to the serenity prayer here but thanks to Wikipedia I have found a secular version that pleases me better:
- For every ailment under the sun
- There is a remedy, or there is none;
- If there be one, try to find it;
- If there be none, never mind it.
Saturday 13 December 2008
Surviving to fight another day
We knew that the redundancies were to be announced on Thursday, which by unhappy coincidence was the day of the department's Christmas party. The good news is that I was not made redundant but the news still left me feeling slightly flat.
Partly this was because I did know people who had been made redundant but also there was a nagging sense that this is by no means the end of the story. The reality is that the dislocation in the financial markets has been so severe that it is difficult to have confidence about anything and I don't expect that to change any time soon.
And yet office life still has to go on. We are approaching the end of year which brings lots of regulatory and reporting deadlines so we are extremely busy. I am hopeful that there will be no repeat of last year's frantic round of meetings in the last week of the year and because Christmas is a Thursday I should be sure of having at least four days off.
I'm in Scotland at the moment because it's my niece's 21st birthday and also a significant one for my aunt. We will be returning early in the New Year with Scamper and Pippin who will be staying here while we are in the US. So if you are walking the streets of Falkirk in 2009 and see my parents running down the High Street after two little white dogs I would advise that you steer well clear!
Last year at Christmas we were anticipating the beginning of the medical procedures and we expected the baby to be here already. As it happens we are again spending a Christmas waiting around for the life changing event to finally hit home. My mother warned me today as we were looking for some things for me in the shops that next year I too will be in the queue for Santa Claus. Maybe but Santa if you're reading this there are a few things I would like from you this year - a healthy, safe delivery above all and if there's room in the stocking I'd like immigration problems sorted out, someone to invent a TARDIS to keep all the toys and clothes in and finally Scamper to lose her wanderlust. Pretty please?
Partly this was because I did know people who had been made redundant but also there was a nagging sense that this is by no means the end of the story. The reality is that the dislocation in the financial markets has been so severe that it is difficult to have confidence about anything and I don't expect that to change any time soon.
And yet office life still has to go on. We are approaching the end of year which brings lots of regulatory and reporting deadlines so we are extremely busy. I am hopeful that there will be no repeat of last year's frantic round of meetings in the last week of the year and because Christmas is a Thursday I should be sure of having at least four days off.
I'm in Scotland at the moment because it's my niece's 21st birthday and also a significant one for my aunt. We will be returning early in the New Year with Scamper and Pippin who will be staying here while we are in the US. So if you are walking the streets of Falkirk in 2009 and see my parents running down the High Street after two little white dogs I would advise that you steer well clear!
Last year at Christmas we were anticipating the beginning of the medical procedures and we expected the baby to be here already. As it happens we are again spending a Christmas waiting around for the life changing event to finally hit home. My mother warned me today as we were looking for some things for me in the shops that next year I too will be in the queue for Santa Claus. Maybe but Santa if you're reading this there are a few things I would like from you this year - a healthy, safe delivery above all and if there's room in the stocking I'd like immigration problems sorted out, someone to invent a TARDIS to keep all the toys and clothes in and finally Scamper to lose her wanderlust. Pretty please?
Saturday 6 December 2008
One day at a time
It's difficult to know what to write at times like these because situations are changing so quickly. Committing thoughts to paper (or to some server in the world wide web) is threatening because a few days hence they might look completely stupid, misguided or irrelevant.
Our situation can currently be reduced to numbers: 45, 66, 650 and 5,300. The easy ones to guess are that there are 45 days till Gill and Jay fly to the US and 66 days until the due date. The less happy numerals are the fact that my employer announced 650 job cuts in the UK on Tuesday and then on Thursday announced that 5,300 were to go world wide following some poor results from the investment bank in the fourth quarter.
Last week I heard from a colleague in the US who had been part of the earlier redundancies in the US branch. He was a person I rated highly and that made it all the worse.
So we just have to carry on doing the things that are within our control. Harriet's room is beginning to take shape since we now have a chest of drawers to keep her already staggering amount of clothes safe. We've got the sterilising kit and a there are a few more bits and pieces that give bright spots of colour to the room. Today, we need to bite the bullet and go Christmas shopping and it all has to be done because I will be going up to Scotland next week.
There's no easy way to end this and tie everything up nicely. Of course we are still so excited and grateful for Harriet, while being still so concerned about her as we enter the final straight. The job situation does not help but I do still have one for the moment and I just need to keep going. Whatever will be, will be.
Our situation can currently be reduced to numbers: 45, 66, 650 and 5,300. The easy ones to guess are that there are 45 days till Gill and Jay fly to the US and 66 days until the due date. The less happy numerals are the fact that my employer announced 650 job cuts in the UK on Tuesday and then on Thursday announced that 5,300 were to go world wide following some poor results from the investment bank in the fourth quarter.
Last week I heard from a colleague in the US who had been part of the earlier redundancies in the US branch. He was a person I rated highly and that made it all the worse.
So we just have to carry on doing the things that are within our control. Harriet's room is beginning to take shape since we now have a chest of drawers to keep her already staggering amount of clothes safe. We've got the sterilising kit and a there are a few more bits and pieces that give bright spots of colour to the room. Today, we need to bite the bullet and go Christmas shopping and it all has to be done because I will be going up to Scotland next week.
There's no easy way to end this and tie everything up nicely. Of course we are still so excited and grateful for Harriet, while being still so concerned about her as we enter the final straight. The job situation does not help but I do still have one for the moment and I just need to keep going. Whatever will be, will be.
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