Scrub the last six months please?

Whilst I may bemoan my lot here from time to time where my day job is concerned it is very much the 'company line' that causes the anger and resentment, as it probably is for most of us, not those that I work with. There are of course one or two individuals who I am less than fond of but it is always thus, not everyone can like or be liked by everyone and for the main part our little band of approximately fifty employees, are in my experience, quite an exception in that we really are almost an extended family to one another.

Why that should be I am not sure, I suspect it is because the lack of employment in these parts means that staff turnover among us is very minimal in comparison to most areas and the small community, whilst it's lack of anonymity can be aggravating for a city girl like myself, also dictates that we know rather more about one another's lives than is the norm elsewhere.

We may have our issues with those in the ivory towers off site, we may feel 'undervalued, overworked and a lack of loyalty from on high..... but on site we are a pretty close bunch who work together well and look out for one another. Loyalty and support among those of us at the sharp end is unusually strong for the main part and we potter along like an over extended and slightly stressed family, day to day.

Maybe because of this the last six or so months have been particularly difficult, for in that short period it seems the work God's have not been smiling on our merry little band. I doubt any of us have experienced a time like it before and I hope none of us will have to again. We all have sad or bad news occasionally, colleagues who suffer one problem or difficulty another, but in the few months to which I refer, we barely seem to have picked ourselves up from one trauma before the next is presenting itself.

It began at the end of July with the sudden death in suspicious circumstances of a long time colleague. On the previous evening he has been at a works party, the next morning he was dragged from the sea, to this day the circumstances surrounding his sad demise are unclear. Just weeks later a colleague with whom I am particular friends was diagnosed with cancer, she is still fighting that brave battle. In December we lost another colleague, though this time only through resignation but again under very sad circumstances and now, yesterday, we learn that another of our number is facing the battle of a lifetime in having just been diagnosed with motor neurones disease. He too, like my friend battling cancer has chosen to continue working, these are very courageous individuals but come on, upsets of this magnitude are supposed to arrive in three's, what is going on? We are onto number four in only seven months! :o(

I can honestly say I haven't ever experienced this before and neither have any other of my colleagues, once in a blue moon in the workplace we all receive terrible news but never before have any of us encountered four incidents of such in such magnitude in such a short space of time.

I don't know if we are such a close and supportive little group because of, or in spite of all this sadness and upset but one thing I am sure of is that I am damn glad we are, not only because we can help one another but because those that are most affected by these incidents, those who have had their lives turned upside down feel they not only have the support of their nearest and dearest but also, in our small way, the added support of this unusual little 'extended family'.