Onward!!

Over the past few days I’ve been forced to confront ways I work and think. There is the inevitable drama of office politics and the clash of managerial and lower-rank opinion, the requirement of progress in ways in which I go about my day-to-day business and thinking about the future that all play into the mix.

The office politics are quite frankly annoying. I understand that there will be inevitable polarisation in any work place, but being thrust into it and people I otherwise consider friends or at least friendly vying for my opinion on the matter makes it a tough kettle. I fully understand the need for change and better ways of working, but at the same time I sympathise with real consultation and participatory approaches that take into account the expectations of those whose practices are under review and the true situation on the ground.

In not entirely unrelated matters, I work as part of a large chain of people and responsibilities, with the way I work within my niche largely to be determined by me. I’ll be honest, I feel I’ve struggled in taking the initiative and effort to really change things. I’ve been commended in my reviews for what I’ve done so far and finding some statistics spreadsheets I’d knocked up my boss was all “ooh, I like these” but I’m not sure whether I should be doing more. It just feels pretty gargantuan, taking on work flows and things.

I’ve been tinkering away with my application to the Civil Service Fast Stream. Part of the application is a competency questionnaire where applicants have to rank themselves in response to specific statements about personal qualities. One of them is “I am the type of person who… is prepared to question accepted wisdom, assumptions, methods and processes to reach better solutions”. I’d like to be. I’d like to find and fix inefficiencies and irrationalities. I’d like to be on top of my day-to-day work so that I can see the bigger picture without much effort. But I’m not sure I am. How does one get to that point?

Going to pick up my first ever prescription medicine in three years of living in the UK, I was asked by the pharmacy assistant whether I pay for my prescriptions. Now, I know that in the UK there is a flat rate per prescription and that there are exemptions and reductions depending on one’s social status (student, pensioner, etc). But why would you ask it first off? Wouldn’t the presumption be that one pays, unless they say something at the point of receiving the medication or at another suitable time? It threw me off a little bit, making me think I’m somehow strange for not only having to, but being happy to pay for my scripts (given that treatment on the NHS is free for everyone, and that I had used emergency services twice before ever stepping in a general practitioner’s surgery).

I love the weather right now. The most-read story on the BBC is about how Britain is being lashed by the storm of the year, and you can definitely feel the wind outside even in built-up London. It’d no doubt be rougher in rural areas but in the city it’s just strong enough to buffet you around a little bit, flicking trees back and forth to rip out leaves. The rain has thankfully died to a drizzle that comes at you in lashings, but no longer in waves. One of my favourite things, the colourful reflections of artificial light on the shiny black surface of paved road is in abundance with all the neon signs of shops and the tail-lights of cars.

It is, of course, all made fun by the very fact that at any moment I’m able to escape it into the relative warmth of my house, changing into comfortable clothes and settling to enjoy a book or a movie or whatever while the neighbour’s wind chimes are going nuts. But walking out there, I wasn’t just enjoying the prospect of being indoors. There was genuine enjoyment of being lashed by the elements too.

I make no secret of loving pictures of the past and the present juxtaposed. You can really see how things change and how they very often stay the same. I encountered a fascinating video showcasing London of 1927 in colour. Watching it, seeing places that have become familiar to me, is a really nice experience.

London Bridge, looking North, in 1927:

Roughly the same bit of (a different) London Bridge today on Google Street View:

You can tell  even without zooming in that a lot of the buildings are the same. The sidewalk has been hemmed in and some new buildings have replaced ones in the background. The story is the same throughout the video – distinctly recognizable scenes that have been altered subtly through the time and requirements of a changing city.