(Source) Glorious sunset over Ramsgate Promenade, 14 November 2023.
I'm starting a new job in March. It happened by accident.
I was thinking that it would be good to have a little extra money coming in, what with the expenses involved in doing up the house. Inevitably costs had ballooned, as one job expanded into another. The builders have been fantastic, haggling reductions and finding ways of doing things more cheaply.
Jobs seem to have got better in the Isle of Thanet, at one time in such economic decline it was awarded Objective 2 European Structural Funds. There are more jobs, although Pfizer's was a loss to the area, taking 3,500 well-paid jobs when they retracted to the States, and grimly, many of the "good" jobs now seem to be at Manston Detention Centre.
I found a little part-time job, fifteen hours a week, worked flexibly. It's in another settlement, a small town of about ten thousand people, on the opposite side of the Isle, with its own mainline railway station and parade of shops lining Station Street. It's about half and half high street brands and small independents, including Zara's, open till 2pm, with a fine line in fried bread.
It's a Tidy Friday kind of job, where every day is Friday. Responding to queries, passing on messages, taking bookings, asking the right questions (I've to learn what these are), sorting out the office and putting in systems. They are also looking at how they can improve their income from two venues which will involve developing a business plan.
There's a large desk in an office full of paraphernalia, with a meeting room next door and two large halls with well-equipped kitchens. There's a breakfast club for children and their parents, a lunch club and a supper club, a food bank, and sanctuary for homeless people.
It's a support job, making sure all the systems work well and easily, that everything is in its place and no one really notices what you're doing because it all works perfectly. It's the first point of contact, too, something I really enjoy doing.
I've found there's a bus route there and back once a day, serving the villages and the secondary schools during term-time. I can catch it at the end of my road at 7.20am, and be back at home by 4.20pm in time for tea. Later in the year, I'm planning to buy an electric bike.
There's the usual considerations, Right to Work in the UK, a DBS check, references. I struggled thinking of a second one, it's such a long time since I've had to provide references.
I'm looking forward to it.
