I haven't had any particularly bad jobs, but have along the way had some rather less than rosy tasks.
When I left school I worked as a window cleaner for a few months, industrial and commercial rather than domestic.
It was a job with perks for a young man - not least a Ford Escort Van, that you could use to cruise the High Street - shame it had a ladder on the roof and "Reckitt & Coleman" written down the side.
I had to go to Bedford, to clean all the windows at the railway station, including the long glass bus shelters. I was told to sort out the bus shelter metalwork too. The frames of the bus shelters were a sort of anodised metal, and had collected a most stubborn scale over time. There was a way to shift it, chemical and wire wool, but it was very slow progress, and hard on my soft hands.
In all, it took me 12 hours, extremely boring hours - from 7am to 7pm. I was nearly dead as I packed up to leave. The windows and frames were gleaming. I was therefore very disappointed to hear that my bosses (and BR) actually questioned whether I had turned up at all.
At an early age I learned that preparation is the key to good work, both manual and academic.
If only my preparation had included learning that Bedford has two railway stations...
Scunner
