I woke up with a headache this morning and no amount of tablets seemed to be able to shift it. I think part of the problem is that Himself has been able to sleep on his side the last couple of nights and for the first time in three weeks I’ve had a couple of good nights sleep. Which I suppose should mean I feel a lot better for it. It doesn’t seem to work that way. I’ve felt more tired over the last couple of days than I’ve felt over the last three weeks and if you had told me that was at all possible last week; I wouldn’t have believed you. God only knows why it works that way, but it does. Catch up sucks.

And to top it all off it was payroll day. Lucky, lucky, me. Once again I’ve encounted missing timesheets, six new starters without the paperwork (which I’ve been asking for over the last week – how the hell am I meant to know what grade they’re on? And I’m not even going to start on the HR side of it; joining letters, contracts, CRB checks?), missing bank details, sorting out bank holiday pay for part-time workers. OK I’m stopping at that point, the list seems endless. Our monthly payroll tops £67,000 – it’s hard enough to run without added further complications.

I was about half way through it when the Workshop Team Leader came in. He had a problem; there were workers mending next doors roof and they had erected scaffolding in the stream that runs under the buildings. They had put up gang planks and the kids from the workshop were eyeing them up. He was convinced that they’d try to climb it (wouldn’t surprise me in the least). What was I going to do about it?

Me? Since when had this become my problem? Well he said, Sandy wasn’t in and Simon was on Holiday. He then looked expectantly at me.
I’m an Office Manager, I’m meant to manage the office – I’m not in charge of health & safety or overseeing any of the departments. Why does everyone always think I'll put it right. He’s a Team Leader, surely to God he could sort it out. He just stood there looking blankly at me. So, I did want I always do and said those fatal words – leave it with me, I’ll sort something. Yes, OK, that's why they always ask me.

‘Sorting something’ involved me going next door and discussing the risks involved, they in turn called the roofers down and we spent the next twenty minutes discussing all the options. Outcome; they agreed to fence it off and make sure that the gang planks were removed when they were not in situ. Why the Team Leader couldn’t do this, I don’t know. The trouble is you end up doing it yourself because it quicker than arguing the toss and just as much to the point, I really couldn’t be bothered. I just wanted to finish my own job and go home early and I knew that wasn’t going to happen either, I’d still be at work come 5 p.m.