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| Happy days (especially for Janello) |
Where's this particular rave come from, I hear you ask... Well, yesterday was the second Charity Day I've been lucky enough to be part of. Every year, T's company donate their profits from one day to numerous charities (£64m to date). The celebrity patrons of the charities pop into the offices throughout the day to help raise the profile of the event and the staff all get dressed up (the Chilean miners were my favourite this year, but I also enjoyed seeing a donkey and a bear having an argument about some deal or other that was going down on one of the trading floors, and the Tellytubby that went past on a scooter as I was playing mini golf made me feel a bit trippy) and basically get pissed. It's quite an experience but, until T died, I'd only ever heard about it and seen the pics, never actually been part of it. Last year T's colleagues did a big organ donor drive on Charity Day and it was truly incredible. This year was lower key but they were kind enough to invite me along again. If I say that I was downing Jagerbombs by 4pm, then you'll get an idea of the kind of drinking that's involved. It's immense. And I'm paying for it today.
Anyway, the real point of this post is to say how touched I continue to be by T's colleagues. They are like part of my extended family now and always make me feel so welcome. One guy I'd not met before reduced me to tears in the pub (admittedly not that difficult to do, especially when I've had a few) by telling me how much T's death had affected him. He wanted to speak to me last year but couldn't bring himself to. But this year he felt able to and went out of his way to come and chat to me and explain how much T meant to him, how saddened he was by T's death and how often he still thinks about him. It was really nice to hear and very touching. Another of T's workmates kept telling me how much he misses T too. And another has a canny knack of asking just the right question in the right way to always make me cry. Superficial questions are easier to bat off. It's those, 'how are you really doing' type questions that get me every time. Not everyone mentioned T's name but it was nice when people did. It keeps him alive a bit more. Sometimes you think people have forgotten.
And all the boys looked out for me on the night. I was thoroughly wined (although there was a distinct lack of dining), taken from pub to pub, never left on my own and put in a taxi home. Admittedly, those same boys are also completely to blame for me getting completely wasted (again), but at least they did it in a considerate way. I even got a 6.10am wake up text to check I hadn't slept through my alarm (the pitch I had at 8am this morning was particularly challenging). I have a unique relationship with T's colleagues. One that I really value. I'm in a strange position where I have an insight into them as people from what T used to tell me, but I can also be completely honest with them as I'm not part of the daily workings of the company. This isn't always a good thing, as one of T's directors will testify - pretty much every time I see him he's on the receiving end of some abuse regarding his management style from me. But it's great. It totally tallies with my honesty policy.
So anyway, big up the boys. Thanks for being there for me if you're reading. T would be very grateful (as well as slightly bemused and astounded that we're all in touch), as I am too.
