Frydmania

Our folk thin lamentably

May 14th, 2007

April and May have seen further departures from my office. Out of around 50 people, 15 have left, and potentially another 5 may do so…that I know of…

It’s hard to keep up with. On each of the main days of my work trip to Paris, we learned of another departure to come. Coming back from the Spanish equivalent meeting in London last week, there was another.  In between, people actually have their last days, and fewer people are around to see them off.
I’m aware that work life moves fast in the UK, but in my small section of civil service, it hasn’t tended to do so as momentously as this. We may have to re-employ the earlier people if only to pay for the next leaving card and contributions at this rate.

At the same time, those who remain are starting to look out for each other a bit more. A former colleague visited to show off her twin baby girls today, and even with fewer people in the office, there were still a good 10 or more who turned up to meet the girls and their mum.

Dan has Inigo as a category for this blog. Perhaps I need one for my workplace. But the organisation does liken itself to a big family around the world, and family seems an appropriate one, particularly when I’ve now spent as much time with these people as I did at secondary school.

To continue in Sylvia Plath’s words:

“Frost drops even the spider.
Clearly the genius of plenitude hides himself elsewhere.
Our folk thin lamentably.”

It’s taking some perseverance to think of spring, not winter, at this time.

Entry Filed under: Family