Simran woke me up to tell me of a call he received this morning from Shona. I listened to what he had to say and then asked, ‘You woke me up for that?’ He apologised, saying he thought it might affect our plans. I told him I’d see him later and hung up. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I reflected on his call. I was annoyed at his invasion – again – and wondering whether I had handled it okay. Once I’d established there was no emergency, I had cut the call short.
Karaj later called Simran and put him straight on his latest fuck-up. There was no need to wake me up and once again he has disturbed my space.
Today was the big group outing to Himley Hall. There were 19 of us including partners and children. I stayed close to Simran throughout. I had to remind Dev – and threaten to fine him – to stick to Simran, too. Simran was better than he has been in the past. The strength of the group was as much to do with that as anything. I was glad to leave at the end. Being on duty is no fun really.
Back at the house, I rested. I was absolutely knackered. The day’s event took more out of me than I realised. Late in the evening I talked with Karaj about how the children of the people in the group are such great kids. Karaj: ‘They are our next generation and we need to make sure they are successful and that they see us as successful people.’
Summary: I was washed out by the group outing, but it has been the best day for me for a week. Back to good habits with an evening’s good work catching up on my appraisals.