Local Affairs

When I got back from Ireland at the end of August I was coming back to life without one of my jobs. For the past 2 years I have been working part time as a call handler for the local police force. It involved answering emergency 999 calls and non emergency 101 calls and dealing with them as appropriate. I initially took the job so i had some extra income to put towards our Ireland project. I must admit it was the type of job that i had always wondered what it was like to do. I had seen the TV programmes about this type of job and suppose i thought it would be exciting to give it a try. The application process for such a job including training took 6 months and then i was in at the deep end answering all sort of calls from serious road traffic accidents and assaults through to people reporting quite petty things such as complaints that a neighbour has moved their recycling bin again! I have to say that i was totally blown away and completely surprised by what people call the police about. 
In all cases you have to remain calm, professional and polite which in some circumstances is hard and there have been times when i had to terminate the call, with warning. 

Ready and waiting for a call

I thoroughly enjoyed the job and met and worked with some wonderful people. 
I have calmed people down and got the information i was after in super quick time, I have helped return lost pets, spoken to people who want to end their lives and managed to stop them from doing it, plus dealt with 'regular' callers, those who use the police call handlers as someone to talk to about not very much and sorted out arguments about mobile phones.
Do some of these jobs warrant police response - probably not but when some people have nowhere else to turn then it comes down to a police call handler having a chat with them and try and resolve the issues. 
Yes I have felt upset by some of what i have heard and laughed at other situations.
Anyway after 2 years I decided that I would quit and dedicate a bit more time to my foot patients and also the long term plan of getting to Ireland permanently. I looked forward to some free time.

So when I got home, within 2 weeks i had signed up to take part in a drama production in November. There is a group locally called the Stretton Players who do 2 productions a year. I have never been involved with them before but I saw an ad on Facebook saying they were looking for females to take part in their next production. I answered and got the part. Rehearsals took place twice a week and three performances were scheduled for 17-19 November. 
The play was 'Local Affairs' by Richard Harris. It is set in the 1980's and revolves around three couples who have recently moved onto a new housing development. Norma and Charles – he’s a doctor – are in their mid-40s. He is mostly concerned with devising outfits for a fancy dress party they are due to attend, while she is more interested in planning her new kitchen. Hilary and David are late 30s. He is a supermarket executive and she is in business. During the course of the play, they have David’s mother, Mrs Hinson, staying. She and Hilary cannot stand each other but both try very hard not to show it. The third couple, Susan and Keith are younger, late 20s. They have young twins and this is the first time they have been parted from them. They are supposed to be having a romantic weekend, but Susan can’t stop worrying about the children and Keith, is more concerned with his beloved motor bike. There are two smaller parts, Peter, a doctor colleague of Charles’ who is also going to the fancy dress party and Katy, mid-20s, an ex-girlfriend of Keith’s who has recently split up from her partner and is rather hysterical.
The play follows the humorous activities in each of the three households until as the play moves towards its climax all come together round at Norma and Charles’ house.

I had the great part of Hilary. We had great fun rehearsing and then going into the hall where we would be performing and seeing all the hard work that the set builders had been doing.  

Me and my stage husband David - my character has just
 returned home from a health farm and is as yet unaware
 that her dreaded mother in law has been staying

Me, my husband and the dreaded mother in law

Round at our neighbours

It was thoroughly good fun and we were lucky to have full houses at each performance. There was lots of laughter from us and the audience! 

So will I get another chance before moving to Ireland, I hope so. And I need to start looking for a drama group to join in Ireland.