4 Jobs, Part 1

ah. I tempt you with the announcement of a series of posts, then immediately succumb to a heavy workload at College (more of that soon) plus loss of internet connection at home.

Anyway. I found my first job when I left school in the summer of 1979, taking a year out before going to University and needing to find money to travel. I worked as a general assistant at a caravan park near Aviemore in Scotland. We took bookings, served in the shop, staffed reception, cleaned toilets, mowed grass, collected litter and, during the height of the season, regularly unblocked drains jammed with disposable nappies.

On my one day off each week, I would usually borrow a bike, cycle off and sit reading by a loch. I wasted one of these rare and precious days, however, by trying to skim-read the whole of 'The Lord of the Rings', which took me from early morning to the early hours of the following day.

Of the four assistants, I alone stayed on after the end of summer to help with repairs. The quiet, misty days were deliciously peaceful. I vividly remember looking up from my book one evening to see the large caravan window completely covered in moths attracted by the light.

The job came to a natural end when we completed the new drain to link the laundry to the soak-away, and I returned to Edinburgh to seek another.