27 March - HSE Offices, 1 Hagley Road, Birmingham - last day
10 March - Drinking Glen Garioch from my quaich
10 March - My team in Aberdeen took me out for a meal at the Silver Darling (the Aberdeen equivalent of the Fat Duck I guess) and presented me with a quaich - a Scottish friendship cup for drinking whisky. This was all totally unexpected. I felt very emotional that people who I have only worked with for about 18 months (and remotely managed so our relationship was not a close as it should have been and neglected because of what's happened to Deb) should have bothered to do this. I asked them why they felt I had been a good manager and they said they liked me because 'I followed procedures'. Well that's that then; 35 years of honing skills and knowledge and I have just about learnt 'to follow procedures' Hah.
19 March - My team at Bootle (well most of them) took me out for a drink at lunch time and gave me two books about the offshore oil industry by Paul Carter : Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse and This is not a Drill Just Another Glorious day in the Oilfield. I didn't ask them if they thought I was a good manager. Eddie had already told me he thought I was a waste of space cause all I did was follow procedures.
26 March - My farewell presentation in Aberdeen. My boss said a few kind words. I had said I did not want a gift and asked for contributions to Brain Tumour UK. The whip round had raised £186 - excellent.
27 March - My last day in the Birmingham Office. At lunch time went out to the Apres Bar with friends who I had worked with throughout my career in HSE. Deb, Kate and Jason also came. A sad, nostalgic occasion. Now I was leaving I realised how big a part of me work was. But there is now the future. A blank canvas to be filled with clear bold strokes of colour.
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