Every month, when I prepare to write my monthly column, I sit down with a notebook and my favourite Spotify playlist and argue with myself for a good hour over what it should be about. Then Krystal tells me no one wants to read about my dog’s ability to give me his paw (even though it’s really, really cute) or why I think the televising of the Eurovision Song Contest should be a designated Bank Holiday. So it’s back to the notebook and a non-Eurovision playlist.
This month however, I didn’t even need to think about it. We’ve moved offices. I mean, this is a big deal. This isn’t like the time when I got upgraded from the dodgy half-desk next to the toilets to a proper wooden desk complete with my actual own chest of drawers. This is a real move. From our humble offices in Haxby to our brand new premise in Clifton Moor.
And while this has been an incredibly exciting experience for all of us – as it means brilliant things for the company and gives us a home where everyone can finally come together under one roof – it’s not been without its stressful moments. From the dreaded desk tidies (why did I keep a crumpled Post-It note with an unknown phone number on it?) to the fridge clear outs; the impossible decisions you have to make while playing keep-it-or-bin-it, and now, the unpacking.
But actually, this move has really got me thinking – because it genuinely is a big deal, isn’t it? Whether you’re moving offices, moving house, or even moving countries – permanently leaving a place in which you spend a lot of time really does affect you in ways you might not expect. Change doesn’t always come easily to everyone, and we should all be given our time when it arises – because there’s no shame in finding it hard at first.
Obviously a change as drastic as this can only be compared with one thing: Brexit. And I’m obviously not overreacting. I decided to commemorate our move by looking back at some of the most memorable changes that our country’s been through over the years. And they’re all as major as our office move (okay, maybe a little bit more important).
SMOKING BAN
Can anyone actually remember when people were allowed to smoke in public buildings? Would you fall off your chair in shock if I told you it came into effect as recent as 2007? At the time there was major uproar over people having to go outside to designated smoking areas – with arguments that it would put pubs and restaurants out of business. But what happened? Venues continued to operate and the amount of smokers reduced. Win-win.
Y2K BUG
Okay, so we didn’t exactly choose for the year to switch from the 1900s to the 2000s. But we did all massively stress that the entire world would crumble to smithereens once technology got wind of it all. From worries over computers ‘doing a HAL’ on us mere humans (if you haven’t seen 2001: A Space Odyssey then you won’t know what I’m on about) to everything simply coming to a grinding halt, we feared the change of calendars going from 1999 to 2000. But hey, it was fine. No robots have tried to kill us. Yet.
PARLIAMENT STREET FOUNTAIN
I’ll leave you with a light-hearted one: the utter turmoil that 90s/00s teenagers had to suffer when the fountain was removed from Parliament Street. Where to meet your friends on a Saturday afternoon? The fountain. Where to sit and eat your lunch while on your break? The fountain. Where to pour washing up liquid when you wanted to be the funny kid in school? The fou—I mean no, not one bit should such behaviour be encouraged. Nor is it even slightly funny.
So while it’s important to be kind and allow ourselves to adjust to change, it can often be a bit like a yappy dog – its bark usually way worse than its bite. Everything is always okay in the end. That includes you, Brexit.
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