I went for an interview at Tesco, and got myself a job from two in the afternoon till five, and was very excited! At home the till ladies were all people without a formal tertiary education, and I would not even think of applying for such a job, as I simply would not get it. First we did some training, there were two of us, and before long I was sitting behind a till! I enjoyed it thorougly, as people asked me where I came from, and I struck up a lot of conversations, and was also asked to tea by a few women.
Everything at the big house was being scrubbed and polished, and I was asked to help, as it was the old Lord's birthday, and they were having a lot of houseguests for the week-end. But three days before the guests would arrive, disaster struck, in the guise of thousands of flies that suddenly took over the house! Heather and Pat, the housekeeper tried every insect killer on the market, and I was sent up and down to the village to see what else the chemist recommended, but as fast as we killed the lot, another lot hatched, and stormed the house. The Lady was a wreck, as everything was planned so meticulously, but then one of the household suggested netting before the windows. It sounded a good plan to me, and Heather skidded away in the staff car to see if she could find any in Chipping. She stayed away for ages, and came back now also a nervous wreck, as she had to go to another village for the stuff. It was now only the afternoon and the next day before all this nobles would arrive, and the house had about a hundred bally windows to cover, so all had to jump in, measure, cut, and then I, being the only one tall enough to reach the upper windows, had to fasten the netting with duimspykers. [upholstery nails] I was terrified, as the ladder was far to short, and I had to cling for dear life to anything that would keep me from dropping like a stone, and positioning and fastening the stuff was one nightmare. We worked till the early morning hours, but was not even half way, but my poor back was breaking and my knees were so warm and tired they refused to go up the ladder one more step. Early next morning we were at it again, and by nightfall all the windows were covered, and the whole of the staff jumped in to help clear away the dead flies that were in every nook and cranny. Phew!I could hardly move my legs were so tired, so I had a meal and went to bed! Thomas phoned Tesco to explain why I could not get to work for three days! (kind of upholstery nails)
The guests were wonderful! It is strange that this people with all the money and being so high born, were all so fine with this phenomena, and hardly lifted an eyebrow, while some of the staff were so rilling and grilling (put off and making a scene) fit to make me want to smack them. The party, the flies knocking persistently on every window without any success, did not disrupt anything, and all were happy and gay!
The photo's are of me in my Tesco working suit, and in the staff car that I could use.