12.9.69 [handwritten]
Dear Mum, Well, well, the woman who was supposed to have come
to take over from me seems to have changed her mind ˗ whether she’ll change it
again or not I don’t know ˗ shouldn’t think so, but you never know. Anyway, at
the moment, I’m on the full payroll, so they tell me (‘they’ being the Relief
Manager who seems to know as much about it as anyone else), and all seems to be
right ˗ except that it’s damned hard work! You’d never believe it; I guess it’s
the hours. Anyway, I’m getting used to it and seem to be coping. This week I’m
earning two whole days of cash I didn’t expect, so!
I’ve asked about the Edinburgh business and even that seems
to be no problem. [I’m not sure if this means them letting me
have time off to go to Edinburgh.] We’re still losing money ˗ to a variety
of amounts, but until they get an adequate system, they can’t really tell who’s
fault it is! I did put one pound in
the other night as I had a horrid suspicion that I’d given away too much in
change but otherwise they take it out of petty cash. Anyway, they’re making a
hell of a lot of money ˗ the new film which started yesterday has been bringing
twice as many people and we were
fairly busy before!! The odd minute or two of it that I’ve seen don’t seem to
be any better than those odd minutes in the previous week! [To go to the toilet, as I recall, staff had
to go past the open cinema door, so glimpsing the movies wasn't uncommon.]
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| Berwick St Market, today. Courtesy of Positive Dialogues |
Moneywise I seem to be okay ˗ I actually put some cash in the
bank this week. Yesterday I bought myself two ties ˗ equally colourful and bright
as the 30/- one, but 27/6 cheaper, each!
I got them in the Berwick St market, just round the corner from the cinema ˗
like a miniature Petticoat Lane. I’d better go back to work ˗ it’s my half hour
break, and I’m writing this in a little Sandwich Bar down the road.
Later. Actually I seemed still to have some
break left so I had an apple and talked to one of the ticket collectors.
Remember how I said I had got some food off the ticket collectors ˗ apparently
as gifts ˗ well, they asked me for it [the
money, presumably], in each case, even though when I’d previously offered
they’d refused!! Odd, isn’t it?
We all seem to be getting on well at the flat ˗ now that
David has got all his stuff in, it’s really looking lived in. Not that any
place I go to doesn’t; put Crowl in a room five minutes and he’ll seem to be at
home!
Dave, the Trinidaddy doorman, here, has nothing to do but
stand all night ˗ and he sez he doesn’t get bored, but spends the time sorting
out his problems, and just looking at the passersby. Admittedly it is interesting, though I still like to
have something to do. The variety of customers we get in here is quite
surprising ˗ they’re not in the least all of a ‘type’. You’ll never be able to
read this, I think! Love, Mike
P.S. Tonight, we tried a new system and tonight we balanced!
