May, 1999 - The Awakening.

 

 This is where it really all began, sort of. 

 I was working in a big chain steakhouse restaurant. Not as a waitress Phil Oakey,(although, that was a cocktail bar.) but as, "ASSISTANT MANAGER!!!!!!!" or, "Barman in a suit" as I was more commonly referred to.

 Stuck in a split shift, Wednesday-Sunday working week. trapped in the same place for hours on end, meeting and greeting the wide cross section of the community that graced our premises for a traditional steak dinner-

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                     Menu

                               Starter:

                            Prawn Cocktail

                             Melon Balls

                           Soup of the day

                             Main Course:

8oz Sirloin steak

Marinated Chicken

Some Vegetarian slop heated in a microwave

Grilled Salmon

Dessert:

Black Forest Gateaux

Cheese and biscuits

Ice cream* with choice of sauce

*(The Mr Whippy kind, out of a machine that you could stick your head under and eat straight from the nozzle)

Coffee and Mints

(Also from a machine, nothing fancy. And the little chocolate mints provided enough energy to complete an 8 hour shift without meals.)    

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 -And BOOZE. Lots and lots and lots of booze. So after their delightful, traditional steak dinner,6 pints of continental lager, 2 bottles of Cotes Du Rhone, 6 flaming Sambucas and an Espresso, it would be closing time.   

 Then you had the pleasure of escorting them to the door while they moaned about the service and tried to negotiate a discount because there was a hair (usually one of their own) in the soup.

 Add to that the regulars that frequented the bar area, (only because they had been kicked out of every other local pub.) who ALWAYS complained about the high prices and small measures, and the part-time staff, who all had "BETTER" other jobs, with "BETTER" management, but would never quit because they needed the money. 

It was FUCKING HORRIBLE working there. But for 4 years I did, because I needed the money as well. 

 I had left school with next to zero qualifications so University or dream job career prospects were clean out the window.

 After a brief stint at college studying Photography,(Just the practical bit, because the history of it was BORING!) I thought that I was going to be the next David Bailey. This, however turned out not to be the case. It appears that working as a Photgrapher's apprentice, in camera shops and as the photographer's assistant sucks. 

 You are surrounded by the latest cameras and can touch all the new toys, but you never venture far from the shop counter. When you do get out to be the photographer's assistant, you carry the bags, fetch the lunches, get travel sick as your boss demonstrates the driving capabilities of his Porsche, etc. etc. etc.

 So, you get the idea. My attention span is short, my academic qualities are shorter and I need to be out and about, at least some of the time.

Well, in May 1999 things changed..............................