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Harrogate Borough Council.. how did that happen? Part one.
Did I always have a pie shop... No, I spent lots of time in them in various parts of the world, but it was never my career. Yes I did actually have a career in Local Government.
I spent 10 years to the day working for Harrogate Borough Council. I had slipped in the back door really as I had been a complete drop out for the first 12 years after leaving school. 1989 saw me in a suit for the first time in my working life and I didn't think it would last...... it didn't, but I really enjoyed it for the 10 years I was there.
A serious bike accident had seen me in traction, hospital, pot leg for nearly 3 years and someone had thought to re-train me, teach me to type and put me on an IT course. I often felt some rich tycoons were behind it for a bet. Pehaps they were training a monkey in another part of the country and matching its progress against mine. It did feel very strange moving into this lifestyle, maybe too strange and that is perhaps why I never totally managed it.
So, before they would let me do the course I had to pass Pitman level three typing and have therefore been a touch typist since pretty much day one. Great having me on the course, not only was I the only man on the course, I also had the longest hair as I was becoming a bit of a yetti by this time.
The beard went and the hair... bit by bit and each week they insisted on another 6 inches or so of it being removed.
All this was 1984 - 1988 just as the PC was launched. By shear massive luck I was at the cutting edge of Computer Technology and employable!! Even with the 12 years of diverse manual jobs, un-employment and time in hospital. Add to this my Sole C.S.E. (2) in Maths and it is amazing I had a career at all.
I always like to say (true) that Rodney from only Fools and Horses is much better qualified than me, and his CV was more impressive as well. This is by far and away my favourite watch... Films, TV internet anything, there is nothing I enjoy more that this. There will be plenty of references from it!
Local Government was going through a great upheaval at this time. They really threw off a lot of the grey staid image they had and I worked under some very innovative Managers. Changes in Policy brought in a new Director, new younger managers and me. I just hung on in there, recognised that changes was coming, embraced it and just clung on for the ride.
We were moved out of enormous impersonal buildings back into the hearts of the Estates and expected to get to know residents and listen. The days of pushing buttons and sending out endless letters had just ended and we were to visit, visit visit, talk, listen adapt. I enjoyed it and found it much easier to talk with people than to hide in an office issuing letters. So I started to get more excercise.
There was also a fantastic Social scene at the Department of Health and Housing, we were genuinly friends, cared about each other, socialised, argued about football and, horror of horrors, drank beer. Great times and great people.
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