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I remember typing pools...

Steve Bridger

I remember my first day at work. The summer of 1981. County Hall. The smell of polished corridors and trolleys laden three-feet high with leaver arch files and buff folders. I opened a door and there it was: The Typing Pool. Page 3 of The Sun were always plastered on the walls of the printing unit whenever I was asked to make errands. We still had a few discussion threads on that topic in the early days here - in 2004!


And I've seen Made in Dagenham, the movie!


I only mention this as the CIPD published a report called Work Audit today, a fascinating look at how the world of work has changed
in Britain since 1952.


I thought we could share our own compelling vignettes of social history comparing changes in the way we work.


What do you reckon?


Steve

Parents

  • Reading Stephanie's comments took me back to my WRAC days when I, too, used stencils (showing my age here), correcting them was a bit of a nightmare but I enjoyed the challenge and quite got the hang of it.  Using the stencil duplicating machines (think they were called mimeograph machines) could be a bit of a messy job and often the copies were very poor quality. 

    I guess you could say my first ' job' was at the age of 10 when I delivered newspapers.  It was really my brother's paper round but I used to help him out - for a fee of course!  Eventually, my bother got bored and left me to do the whole round alone!!!  Some of the customers were quite interesting characters.  I recall one who would be standing on his doorstep waiting for his newspaper each evening.  He would check the time on his watch and I would get a good ticking off if I was late.  Another used to get her children to tell me she was out when I called to collect the paper money. I would stand my ground and insist they ask her to come to the door to pay up but usually it took a visit from my mother to get a result!

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  • Reading Stephanie's comments took me back to my WRAC days when I, too, used stencils (showing my age here), correcting them was a bit of a nightmare but I enjoyed the challenge and quite got the hang of it.  Using the stencil duplicating machines (think they were called mimeograph machines) could be a bit of a messy job and often the copies were very poor quality. 

    I guess you could say my first ' job' was at the age of 10 when I delivered newspapers.  It was really my brother's paper round but I used to help him out - for a fee of course!  Eventually, my bother got bored and left me to do the whole round alone!!!  Some of the customers were quite interesting characters.  I recall one who would be standing on his doorstep waiting for his newspaper each evening.  He would check the time on his watch and I would get a good ticking off if I was late.  Another used to get her children to tell me she was out when I called to collect the paper money. I would stand my ground and insist they ask her to come to the door to pay up but usually it took a visit from my mother to get a result!

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