My first day on the job didn’t go too badly. I had good company in a guy called Oliver. He’s my age and we got on well, which is quite important when you consider that we’re going to be manning the same post for 30 hours over the next three days (I said 8 yesterday…wishful thinking! But thanks to my miscalculation I’m getting more money than I thought I was, so that’s something). We chatted for a long time, and it certainly helped to pass the time.
As for the work itself, except for a few incidents that I’ll explain shortly, it was mostly all right. We’re at a good spot, I think. Though we can’t see any of the exhibits, we don’t get a great deal of inquiries (it was dead for the last couple of hours). We do get questions from people coming off the buses (we’re right next to one of the only stops in Durham), but they are easy enough to handle; where’s the train station, can I get a bus back here, whereabouts is the festival etc etc. I reckon we answered the majority well enough, and if we didn’t know the answer then we’d be honest and tell them we couldn’t help, which I think they appreciated (better than guessing and giving them the wrong information).
People in cars who wanted to be down the shut road were less than pleased, as you’d expect. Yeah, they were not too happy to have to go the long way around to get to their destination. Most of them varied from exasperated to annoyed, but we didn’t get too much aggravation (their frustration was aimed more at the festival than the two lads who had to follow the rules), which was a relief. Well, most followed our instructions without complaint. There were, however, two who believed themselves to be the exceptions…
First was a woman who wanted to be at one of the hotels. She didn’t listen to my instructions, went the wrong way, got lost somewhere, got directed back somewhere else, and eventually ended up back at us. We explained the directions again, but she wasn’t having it (cursing on, getting hysterical). Then her husband, who was in the car, got stopped by the police for blocking the road. She went over to them, more upset than ever, to explain the situation. We were then ordered by the police to unblock the road for them. Pfft.
Second happened when Oliver was at the bathroom. Two guys turned up in a van, and came up to me. I told them they couldn’t go down this way, but they weren’t having that, oh no. They ignored my instructions, and started moving my cones! I must admit I was caught out by this (we’d not had anyone move our cones before) so I relented and let them go. What else could I really do? The supervisor then came along, unimpressed by what he’d seen. I explained the situation and he thankfully understood. I’ll be ready for next time.
Typically, the hardest moments always came when Oliver was away. I was away twice, and he got one car. He was away three times, and I got 10 problems. Rather suspicious, isn’t it?
But I think we both improved as the day went on, and such issues shouldn’t trouble us again. We know what to do, and when we’re together we’re imposing enough to stop everyone (except for the police, but they’re allowed). I don’t think we will have too many problems today, though I expect it will be busier as it is Friday. No doubt there will be the occasional drunk, but hopefully they’ll be light relief, and not annoying traffic cone stealers. I’ve never done it myself, but I’m aware that there is something about traffic cones that appeal to drunks. We’ll have to keep an eye out.
Right, I best go. I was going to mention the weather but I really need to leave, so I’ll save that for later. Bye for now.
Alex
writingonthecitadel 