w.atching the w.orld unw.ind

We had dinner with friends last night, who we originally met through Mrs.D's work. Although I'm technically 'the outsider' of the four of us, I know enough of the names and events of their world to not feel excluded when, inevitably, they start talking 'shop' when we meet up.

We went to their wedding, have been to the children's christenings, meet up pretty regularly etc., so yeah, we go back some.

He's recently switched roles from being a store manager in the chain they all work for and has migrated into HO. Because I've undergone this culture shock myself, I was interested to know how it'd gone...

"It's good, but very frustrating" he ventured. "I'm used to having my own team and being able to control the speed of events, but now I just lay down the law and someone else deploys it?"

I was only surprised that he wasn't surprised that the HO staff knew nothing about their 'real world' and that their lack of direct interaction meant they couldn't seem to appreciate the effect their diktat had on the people who actually bring in the money. "Ivory towers?" I suggested.

"But overall, do you like the new role?" I asked.

"I do, I do, I do" he replied (not because we were practising getting married, but he's from a certain race, to be sure) "but there are some things I miss."

"What, like the hiring and firing, the sob stories, tales of woe and diverse excuses for staff absenteeism, the domestic dramas that mean you suddenly have to plug a hole with staff seconded from equally important other duties, the wasted hours driving to and from work, the sudden visit from 'higher ups' - inevitably at a point in the day when the displays are shot to pieces and customers are fractiously stacking up - the constant need to be running around like the proverbial blue-ar5ed fly, making sure that no-one's skiving off?

Whereas now, you sit coccooned on the train, with your Lemon Tree coffee and immersed in books that, otherwise, you had absolutely no chance of getting around to read, your earphones plugged into something soothing or rousing, depending on your mood that day?

He mused for a split second.

"Yes, there is that" he grinned. "Cheers!"