At times I have to pinch myself to confirm that I am where I am. I last commuted to London in, I think, 1994. Then, the company I was with re-located to St Albans, and the following two companies I joined were both based in Essex. That takes us up to September 2003 and my decision to move to India. Fast forward seven years and I'm back in England and back on the train. I'm even commuting to and from the same stations. It's a bit like something from the X-Files; as if the Indian experience and my fundraising career never happened.
The trains are the same, the route is the same, but the people are more casual. In 1994 there was far more evidence of suits and ties. Now, every day seems to be a dress-down-Friday. I'm not so sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I had seven years of pretty much dressing down in India. My normal work dress was, for several years, jeans and a t-shirt. I upgraded slightly to jeans and a collared shirt when FLOvate became WNS and we traded our lovely spacious and secluded office for a few square yards in a call centre, but that was as far as it went. To be honest, I was looking forward to getting back into a suited routine in the City of London, but the company I'm now working with also has a relaxed and informal attitude to dress. Yesterday I arrived in a suit. Today I've dispensed with the tie; tomorrow it may be the jacket. I'll retain the trousers at least.
And, as with life in 1994 London, I'm eating sandwiches and rolls at my desk again. In due course too, a few weeks from now, I'll also be upending my keyboard and emptying old breadcrumbs over my desk.
Was that picture taken in 1994?..Rosh
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think so; probably more recently than that. That's not me in that photo.
ReplyDeleteyou seem to be enjoying being back home. how i miss the tram rides in melbourne. especially when i am caught up in 2 hour traffic jams under the karol bagh flyover! have you become accustomed to starting work at the stroke of 9am after having people stroll in around 10 thirty-ish? after so many months, it still is strange to see that after turning up for work on time, i have to wait for the cleaners to unlock the doors!
ReplyDeleteHello ms, nice to hear from you again.
ReplyDeleteActually, I was always an early starter - around 7.30am in India - and with one or two exceptions, my team were mostly at their desks by 9am. But we worked in a call centre and so other people in the facility would wander in at all hours. Again, in England, I like to be prompt and so I'm at my desk before 9am but others are already there and still more will come later. As I say, the work environment in the UK seems a good deal more relaxed these days.