Monthly Archives: February 2011

In which I channel CJ and a Roman …

Few of life’s problems cannot be resolved by dipping into a West Wing Box set. From accidentally sleeping with a call girl to invading other sovereign jurisdictions the answers are all there. My favourite character is CJ played by the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

In which I’m running out of time …

In any job there’s always a file some where with the ‘I’ll get back to that …’ set of tasks. The ones that never quite reach being urgent or important but bob around just about in the corner of your … Continue reading

Posted in Redundancy | Tagged , | 11 Comments

In which my P45 arrives …

It had to come. The P45 that is. I hadn’t actually thought about it but opening the letter and finding it in my hot little hand shouldn’t really have been a surprise. It was still a strange sensation though to … Continue reading

Posted in Redundancy | Tagged , | 2 Comments

In which I wonder if anyone will take our place …

The following post first appeared in Patrick Butler’s cuts blog in The Guardian on line on 11 February. It is reproduced here by kind permission of The Guardian. Being made redundant implies what you do is no longer needed. For many public servants … Continue reading

Posted in Big Society, Guardian Society, Public sector, Public service, Redundancy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

In which there is a week to go and something odd happens …

So the last week has arrived. Seven days to R-day. And the last feverish tidying up and sorting out of accumulated stuff is pretty much done. It’s half term and I’m on leave. Which is just as well because something … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 39 Comments

In which I get things into perspective …

Fellow fans of Douglas Adams will be familiar with the fiendishly cruel Total Perspective Vortex. A device developed by a man exasperated by his spouse’s constant nagging to get a sense of proportion. By clever use of fairy cake he … Continue reading

Posted in bad news, Public sector, Public service, Redundancy | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

In which we say thank you yet again …

Sometime last night the blog past 50,000 hits. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has visited. The comments have been moving, motivational and hilarious. You’ve all been a great help to the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

In which I get revisionist (it’s the cowboy in me) …

I am very fond of the western movie. So much so that, as Mrs RPS will tell you, I’ll watch any old rubbish involving a bloke on a pony waving a gun in the air. Of course I like to … Continue reading

Posted in 2011, bureaucrats, CSR2010, local government, political debate, Public sector, war on the deficit | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

In which the farewells begin transparently …

I’ve been to a coffee morning this morning to bid farewell to my excellent team. It was one of those happy-sad occasions. We chewed the cud over the funny incidents and accidents of our time together. And we talked about … Continue reading

Posted in people management, private sector, Public sector, Redundancy, value for money, war on the deficit | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

In which I revisit my Christmas wishes …

I suppose its my thorough indoctrination in public sector performance management that makes me want to measure progress against objectives. It seems a little like overkill to do this with Christmas wishes but I like to think I am a … Continue reading

Posted in A Christmas wish, bad news, Big Society, bureaucrats, Christmas, CSR2010, Good Society, political debate, Redundancy, war on the deficit | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment