|
See what we do...
Plain English editing & writing
Training workshops:
Plain English business writing skills
Advocacy and
influencing skills
Sales
Presentation
Team building
People
skills
Organisational
skills
Management
skills
Business
principles
Customer service
Alcohol awareness
Accounting for small businesses
|
14 November 2011
Rude men, parties and thanking a lot of people
That’s the sort of week I
like… Started with a party, ended with a party and a
party inbetween! Also a trip to Nottingham, a midweek girls’ night out and a
karaoke evening – and no, I didn’t show myself up I’m
pleased to say. One of my favourite memories will
always be the night of my 40th birthday,
about 2.30 in the morning when only about 15 people were
still around, and we all sang Wonderwall, very loudly,
very drunkenly. I didn’t particularly like the song
before that – take it or leave it sort of thing, but
I’ve loved it ever since. Thanks to everyone who
organised/invited/baked and buttered through the last
eight days, it's been great!
Also during this week I came
across two of the rudest men I’ve ever had the pleasure
to meet. The first was at a funeral (sadly life’s not
just one big party at our age) when this bloke said to
Shelley, “Make me a tea love, men don’t do kitchens.”
Hmmm, and methinks men who don’t do kitchens have women
who don’t do bedrooms. Turns out I was right – 45 and
never been married. Wonder why… Then, when I offered
to update all the text for the therapy centre’s website,
the delightful gentleman who has been maintaining it for
years snapped aggressively “I won’t work with you love,
here’s the stuff, do it yourself!” Charming eh?!! And I
couldn’t even be rude back to him because he provides the
centre with free IT support so we have to keep him
sweet. As if.
And it didn’t end there: a twitter
friend (are they called that?) moaned incessantly about
his job last Friday so – social networking to the rescue
- I offered to introduce him to yesterday's party people who run
a specialist recruitment agency for his line of work…
and I was more or less told to mind my own business. Then someone, we’ll just call him a Facebook friend, who
thinks he’s on the verge of a heart attack, totally
ignored my advice to call a cardiologist I recommended,
preferring instead to wait until he actually needs CPR.
Well let’s just hope that never, ever happens! 25 years of successful
networking, matching up people with
jobs/contracts/wives/doctors apparently now counts for
little, the days of 'who you know' are being stomped all
over by hopeful global uploaders. Well I can tell you
for sure, nothing beats a personal recommendation.
So stop it you menfolk, wake up and smell the hot Ribena.
And now a word in private.
(Prospective clients may want to skip this unusually
unprofessional paragraph...) I’m 42. Kind people say I look younger. Naked scrabble
buddy says I can easily get away with 37 or 38 and at
the karaoke evening a couple of blokes said late 20s… I
really liked them! But I cannot lie…!! Oh to live in a
soft-focus, short-sighted, blurry camera phone world.
Thank you to everyone who celebrated with me, sent
cards, wrote on my wall, delivered flowers and bought
beautiful gifts. It's quite amazing to have so many
lovely people I can truly call friends. Especially the
handful of long standing, really do know where the
bodies are buried ones. (Some of you may be
wondering if that’s just a metaphor in this case…) I’ve been so lucky
to meet and keep friends through two schools, a college,
three jobs and a freelance training and editing career,
the OU, the therapy centre, the kids’ schools and of
course those stolen from Steven. But a special mention
for the girls who have been there for me for over 35
years – Gill, Bev & Mel – I can never fall out with you,
you know waaay too much!! Thank you for everything, I
love you.
My friends don’t all read
this blog, but other people do. At one of the parties, the
karaoke, the funeral and in the oxygen chamber
this week,
people told me they’re following it – so thank you!
All friends: old, new, ones related to me (that
includes you, Bro-Lo), those I barely know and people I
haven’t yet met, like Carole Kings says, “Winter,
spring, summer or fall, all you’ve got to do is call…”
Or email:
Ren@imaginativetraining.com.
Or tweet: @WeekendWitch.
|
