I like Lisa, Sami’s partner, a lot and I have watched their relationship develop into something secure and exciting since they first met on a tour of the sites of the 1857 Indian Mutiny in November 2022 (see PC 309). Lisa herself suffered in a horrid coercive relationship and it’s worth reading PC 335 ‘Lisa Wallace – My Story’ (May 2022) if you haven’t (?), so I know she’s taking one day at a time. She’s alone in The Hope Café on Wednesday afternoon when I drop in and, seeing me, lifts an arm to suggest I should join her; so, coffee in hand, I do just that.
“Hi! Lisa. Good to see you! You on your own this afternoon? No Sami?”
“Sami had to go to the dental hygienist. He used to smoke and drinks too much coffee so it’s important he has regular check-ups; gum disease is preventable … so I am told.”
“Where does he go?”
“The Hove Dental Practice in Salisbury Road; we both go there. The hygienist Jenny is absolutely brilliant and you’d hardly know she’s inspected, checked, cleaned and polished. Has the touch of an angel!”
“Ah! Yes! Celina and I both started going there when the BUPA practice in New Church Road was slow in opening after Covid. It’s delightfully international, isn’t it, with Jenny who’s Scottish and Greek dentists Rachil and Dimitri! How’s life here in Hove?”
“Very different from The Peak District but the constant sea air is so invigorating. Listen, The Argos have asked me to write something about the current railway strikes, how bad they are for the local economy and how can we the public persuade the union to settle the dispute. Any ideas?”
“There are always two aspects; pay and conditions of employment. We know about pay because that affects us all, but if I understand some of the issues about their working conditions correctly, I want to either laugh or cry.”
“Not sure I understand.”
“Take technology. I assume a train driver has to have a good grasp of technology so you would think they would embrace anything that makes their job easier. The leaders of their union, in this case ASLEF (The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Fireman) don’t, seeing it as a threat to their employment.”
“Well, if we have trains, we need drivers! I read that ASLEF has some 21,000 members earning approximately £65,000 per year, for a four-day week. Sounds good to me!”
“OK! So, laugh or cry? A rule introduced in 1980, 44 years ago, allows drivers to take paid time off work to have a six-monthly check up on the harmful effects from the microwave that they use to heat their meals. I have to assume they do not have a microwave in their domestic kitchen, like 99% of the population.”
Lisa is laughing!
“Your nieces and nephews have iPads or some other similar device?”
“Of course, although I think my sister has strict rules about their use.”
“Clearly ASLEF members’ families don’t and the union wants an extra technology allowance agreed before their employer can introduce some iPads, which would be used, for instance, to notify them of temporary speed limits. Would make their job easier. Actually no laughing matter; pathetic! Next I imagine they will want to bring back the chap with the red flag to walk the track in front of the train!”
“I read that one train had to terminate one station before its proper destination because the driver hadn’t had lunch.”
“Sorry?”
“Apparently, he forgot his tin opener so couldn’t open his can of soup! A manager offered him a sandwich but he wanted his soup; a train load of passengers had to disembark one station from where they had planned. Ridiculous – and probably badly handled by ‘management’?”
“God! Help Us! We’re extremely lucky that the Victorians developed a passion for building railways but sad that some of our unions’ attitude seems stuck in that Victorian era. You have enough to write your article now?”
“Yup! I have already researched union resistance to the use of drones for track inspections and restrictions on engineering teams and their composition. So yes, should be able to get it to the Features Editor by Monday.”
“What do you think about Duncan’s idea of developing next door as a bookshop?”
“Sami mentioned it to me. Once up and running I am sure it would make money and increase turnover in here; personally I would be wary of having so much debt, but I am not Duncan! You read The Times, don’t you? Did you see Matt Rudd’s column about an experiment devised by two psychologists? Half the participants had to engage in lively conversation with the café barista from whom they had ordered their coffee, the other half had to simply get through the process. The chatty half reported a sense of belonging and an improved mood as a result of the interaction. The miserable monosyllabic half did not. No one asked how the barista felt!”
“Wouldn’t happen here! The flow of conversation across the counter’s wonderful and I watch our baristas Kate and Susie really engage, with enthusiasm and a smile. I must show Duncan my latest triptych, those beach huts over there painted from the sea side.”
“Have you got a photograph?”
“Yes” I said and opened my iPad and my ‘Art’ album in ‘photos’. Here”
“That’s great Richard; very gifted. Duncan will want another! I saw Luke and Josh the other day and Josh starts back here at the beginning of March.”
“Excellent! Before I go, I must tell you …… I was in Rahmi’s the other morning just before 8 o’clock buying a magazine and some milk. A chap came in, walked down the aisle to the alcohol section and, grasping a few bottles of beer as if they were nectar, joined me in the queue to pay. Somewhat ironic as next door the local Alcoholic Anonymous group had just finished their breakfast meeting. Maybe others would come in to buy some essentials?”
“Ha! Ha! That’s lovely. I’m off too, Richard; I’m meeting Sami in Semola for a spot of lunch. See you next time; take care!”
Wishing each other a fun rest-of-the-day, we nodded to Susie and went out into a misty late morning Hove.
Richard 23rd February 2024
Hove
postcards 