Best finish off 2007 (long post warning)

Please forgive the blog break. I know at least one of you noticed!


So.... where was I? Oh yes, the first shift at COC had been successfully completed. That was the Sunday night/Monday morning. Shift 2 commenced on Christmas Eve. I'm afraid the fire alarm triggered again. A brave man, our shift leader when, outside the centre he said to the assembled guests and volunteers "Apologies, we'll have you all inside again as soon as possible and oh, Merry Christmas"! Yes, it had just gone midnight. Miraculously, nothing more than a tiny murmur of abuse was thrown in his direction. I was inside during that shift and it took someone to mention 'rain' before I realised it was going to be a wet ride home.

"Wet" wasn't actually the correct adjective although I don't know how to describe "wetter than a wet thing that had gotten very WET". I cycled homewards dripping through and through, wishing for someone to sweep me and the bike off the street and magic us to NM. My new Altura jacket was good though, or so I thought. My mobile was in the chest pocket and seemed to have caught a little chill. It started to lose power at an alarming rate. I had a bath and went to bed, knackered.

I hadn't realised the problem with the loss of battery power before I slept. I discovered that on uttering a rather base curse when I looked at the clock-radio and it said 10pm. I'd obviously slept through the radio relaying the Archers and a subsequent 45 minutes of delights and the mobile had died. Oh fek fek fekkity fek. Shifts start at 10.15pm and us shift leader types were having pre-meetings at 9.15pm. I then had to find a way to get life into the phone so I could extract a number or make a text before it conked out again. I made it in for midnight. Shift Leader was great (I think all night shifters have one of these "there but for the grace.... go I" moments about over-sleeping). He gave me guest to look after (an emotionally distressed Polish chap with little or no English) and time to catch up with the world. I had apparently contributed to more than a slight sense of panic as the other new assistant shift leader had been 15+ minutes late for the pre-meeting!! That and the fact that we had our smallest number of volunteers for the whole week that particular night - 26 including 3 in the kitchen.

So, Christmas night shift was fun. The volunteers were stars. Mostly new and inexperienced, they did not complain a squeak when we couldn't give them a break but simply moved them from post to post by way of a change. Thankfully, morning shift had sufficient numbers and the goodwill to realise that we had had one heck of a shift and they managed to let our folk go home early. Phew. I got home more than cream-crackered but spent a few hours in the most delightful company. Then I fell fast asleep.

Boxing Day night shift (if you see what I mean...) was thankfully better populated with volunteers and we had a good evening.

Thursday evening, I was standing in my lycra ready to hit the road when my phone rang. Shift Leader checking up on me, I thought. Well, he was sort of..... mostly because the other half of our team had both called in sick. Oh dear. I said I'd catch the train and try to get in a bit more quickly, with cycling at either end of the rails. On arrival, I was heartened to meet another assistant shift leader, with whom I've worked before, he'd been borrowed from another centre for the shift. So they were one down and so were we. We proved we could run the place with a ASL missing and another not having a clue where anything was. That's why we left the poor chap on the front 'gate' all night!

Friday and Saturday night we continued with the three of us from the team, one of the sick lads returning but the other staying away (he was only weeks post-op with a hip replacement and being in a building over 5 floors with no lifts had taken its toll) . Rather more running about than planned, and with two of us new to this being-in-charge-of-course-we-know-what-we're-doing thing.

And how was it all? The building was excellent: until recently the Wellcome Institute Library on the Euston Road. Very good standard office accommodation: with lovely toilets (very important); showers already in situ (for the staff gym which was closed unfortunately); plenty of space; heating that worked; air conditioning; carpet.... it was a great environment and I think the guests responded to it. The week was generally peaceful although of course there are always the characters who you spot on the first evening (and find out their names as soon as possible).

One or two 'incidents' tested us as ever. In charge on the 'gate' one night, my team called me to say there was a fight just outside. I rushed out (not particularly noticing that no-one was following) to find three or four of those characters rolling about on the ground. What did I do? Shouted "STOP FIGHTING...." and named them one by one, like their Mum telling them to stop being naughty. Don't know if it worked or the fact that these things tend to be sorted out by peers pulling people off each other, but I do still lapse into giggles thinking about it. I hadn't really rehearsed what I would do in such a situation. I radioed for Shift Leader to come and 'discuss matters' with the guests, which he did in a relaxed but firm way, listening to protestations and promises of nothing like that happening again and then - divine intervention - it started to pish down in a monsoon-like way, we went "Oh sod it" and fled inside. Tee hee.

Dealing with guests when they've had a little to drink, perhaps a little more than they should, is always good fun. A volunteer asked me how drunk a guest needed to be before we would stop them entering the centre. My reply: "When they're breaking one of the rules, and none of them is about being drunk". The rules are very few, but as you're interested they are: no drink, no drugs, no violence, no weapons (and no smoking but that's the law these days). We don't admit under-18s either as there is legislation about homelessness and the young and there are agencies with obligations to help them. There's a centre which can take in dogs accompanied by guests.

One of my fears about being elevated to the shift leader team was realised: there was less time to 'meet' the guests, to get to know them, to be able to spend time talking, hearing someone's story, learning about a new person and their life and experiences. On the other hand, I suppose what we do do is create the environment for a safe week where guests can enjoy the food and comfort, but also the advice services and medical facilities which are often inaccessible during the rest of the year. There is the odd moment of delight too, when you find a way to meet some obscure request which makes a guest smile and express their thanks.

Mike had done a day at set-up and came along, as promised, to do a shift on Friday night. He turned up in the morning as I arrived home and we travelled in together (rather early for him but in time for my pre-meeting etc). He also had to endure waiting after shift during our de-brief session too. He did join the "shift leaders' widows' club" though - meeting another volunteer waiting for one of us! He's hooked and wants to do more shifts next year (snigger).

Last shift is always 'different'. The guests know they're leaving in the morning and emotions are strained all round. There's plenty for the volunteers to do too, and for some reason we had our second lowest number of the week. Again they were wonderful. Morning shift were amazed at how much we'd been able to do in starting to get the place closed down, especially with our low numbers. I started to blub quite early on. Once the first guest had said 'thank you', that was it. I hate it.

After writing up our last entry in the Shift Book (to pass on important information to the other shifts and t'management) we made our way to a local hostelry. I got home at 17.30.

Megawomble was off at his g/f's. Miniwomble arrived that evening (Sunday I think it was) and stayed for a few days. Mike returned after more family visiting, to spend NYE with us. We drank champagne, did 'first footing', watched Jools and looked at the fireworks. It's traditional, innit?