Working Shifts

Friday night just before I went to bed I set the alarm clock for 06:41. I had only got home from work at 21:45 so I did a little calculation and worked out that I would have been home 8 hours 56 minutes before I would have to get up again to catch the 07:25 bus to go back to my second home. Lots of people have a second homes down here in the South West, they give them nice names like Dunroaming and Inglenook or Pirates Cottage. Mine is called the Bus Depot, Regent Close. Anyway, in the 8 hours and 56 minutes I spent at home I got changed, had some supper, a brief chat to my partner, watch a bit of telly and set the alarm clock. Then, hopefully a good nights sleep. At 06:41 it didn't really feel like a good nights sleep.


Still of to work, I got there 10 minutes early, if I get the later bus I would be 10 minutes late. I would not have minded an extra 10 minutes sleep but I like being late even less. Because I had a few minutes before going out I was called as a witness. One of my colleague’s name had come up for a random drugs test. No don't worry, the depot isn't used at night by drivers for mad rave parties where everyone parties till the small hours of the morning before going out on the road in an 11 tonne bus. Most bus companies conduct random drink and drugs tests just to reassure themselves that we aren't actually using the depot as mentioned above. Which we aren't. Actually my staying up all night days are long gone, so for all I know there might well be all night parties in the depot. No body has ever told me differently. My colleague tested negative and away we went.



As I went out I wondered if there was a test to see if drivers had had enough sleep. Actually there is. It's called the Red Traffic Light test. You have to stop at a red traffic light and if you don't pull away when they change to green and there are snoring sounds coming from there driver’s cab you have failed. I managed to pass this test OK.


Rest of the day was busy for the first Saturday in November, crowds of people in Fleet street, very sunny and warm.