Some Like It Greek - Sue Roberts Page 0,2

this moment, to avoid the possibility of more dramatic action in the future, I want to ask anyone who is in a position to do so to consider taking voluntary redundancy.’

You could hear a pin drop.

‘I realise it’s a lot to take in,’ Bill continues, ‘so please go away and take a few days to think about it, and then if you are interested please speak to HR about the package we are offering. I’m hoping we can save things by streamlining the staff. If not, then I’m afraid compulsory redundancies may become inevitable.’

He shuffles the papers in front of him, before gathering them up and departing with a forced smile.

‘I can’t believe it. That will be me gone, then, if it comes to compulsory redundancies,’ Roz sighs as we file out of the room back towards our desks. ‘Last in, first out, isn’t it? I’ve been here less than two years.’

‘It might not come to that; there’s a couple of others started after you. Besides, you could get a job anywhere. Your sales skills are amazing.’

I know this to be true. Our department has little prizes as incentives for the staff and Roz regularly wins bottles of wine and boxes of chocolates. A few months ago, she won a weekend to Paris when it was suggested there should be a bigger prize draw for staff with consistently good sales figures, although it seems huge sales aren’t enough to save the current situation.

‘Suppose so. Although maybe it’s time for a change anyway.’ Roz shrugs. ‘This is the longest I’ve ever worked in one place.’ Roz trained as a fitness instructor when she was younger and worked on cruise ships and in holiday parks teaching aerobics.

‘He’ll be expecting us oldies to take the redundancy first,’ says sixty-year-old Linda as she strolls along with us. ‘And to be honest, I might be ready for it. My mortgage finishes next year, I could pay it off and look after my grandson instead of my daughter paying a fortune to a childminder.’ She muses. ‘As long as she buys me the odd bottle of white wine, I’ll be happy.’ She chuckles.

That’s the positive side to voluntary redundancy, I suppose. It gives people choices.

Two

The shock of the announcement is still with me at the weekend when I drive my blue coupe towards my old family home near Heaton Park. Turning into Westbury Drive, I pull up outside the three-bedroomed post-war semi-detached house that was my childhood home. The lawn at the front looks a little overgrown and I catch my breath as it hits me that Dad won’t be out to mow it ever again. Mum had nagged Dad to get a gardener when his knees became troublesome but he wouldn’t hear of it. He’d rub fiery balm into his arthritic joints and bat away any suggestion of a knee replacement, saying he wasn’t going through all that surgery at his age.

Every Sunday morning (weather permitting) he would lovingly prune the roses and mow the lawn while humming along to one of his favourite songs by Dean Martin. One of the rose bushes grew a pale-yellow rose called ‘Anna ‘and I remember Liz being annoyed that Dad hadn’t found a variety with her name on it, even though he’d merely stumbled across it at a garden centre.

I eye the camper van under the carport in the driveway and manage a wistful smile. Dad had some great adventures in that van when his working days were over. He’d been a fishmonger, selling his wares at a local market and also door to door. He built up a loyal group of customers and as his reputation grew, he supplied the fish for two local fish and chip shops, which I know he was thrilled about. During school holidays, I often went with him on his rounds but I don’t remember Liz coming along very often. She thought it was ‘boring’ and said all her clothes would stink of fish, which I could never understand, as surprisingly, mine never did. Some of the customers would rush inside when they saw me sitting in the front of the van, returning with a lollipop or a slice of homemade cake and I’d feel like a VIP.

When he retired, Dad gave himself a project and transformed the large fish van into a camper van using carpentry skills I hadn’t known he possessed. He pulled out the interior and transformed it into the most beautiful, completely functional area, making use of every