Category: British Heart Foundation

Sorry For The Lack Of Posts

Sorry I have not been blogging for a while – this is caused by multiple things…. Work being busy as people are off on Annual Leave, (Maria and Pat) and I am covering the till. I have another bloody UTI and Radio stuff. However, I am still alive, (just) and will be back to full blogging mode soon.

However, I will quickly show off my new desk at work… It’s at the end of the Sort Table and allows me to do what I need to do, without having to hog the kitchen table. I am even getting a new chair soon, which is the chair in the office. (Once Bethan gets a new one sorted)

Of course, Splodge is doing my head in… She won’t leave the chains alone on the Cuckoo Clock, but you still have to love her. 🙂 Speaking of the Cuckoo Clock, I am going to email the clock repair man in Blackpool and book him to come and fix it.

Halloween @ The British Heart Foundation

Today, we all dressed up for Halloween at work. I was Winifred Sanderson, Bethan was Mary Sanderson, Maria came as Binx, (The cat in Hocus Pocus) Lucy was Freddy Kruger and Pat came as a cat.

Me as Winifred Sanderson
Left to Right: Pat as a Cat, Lucy as Freddie Kruger, Maria as Thackery Binx, Bethan as Mary Sanderson

I have been on the shop floor most of the day and my feet kill from wearing heels all day. However, it was all in good spirits and our customers loved the banter. Especially how I really got into character as Whinny!

Team BHF

I just had to share this picture of us all at the shop. This is just a few of the brilliant people I work with! They are all as crackers as me, apart from Mary; who is probably one of the sanest at our shop!! 😂😂😂

Tomorrow is Halloween and we are all dressing up, so if your local, come in as I will be dressed as Whiney from Hocus Pocus. Bethan is also dressing up Sarah Sanderson, Maria is being a cat (Thackery Binx) and hopefully, Lucy is dressing up as Adele. (Hello it’s me)

Left to Right: Lucy ( Deputy Store Manager) Mary (Books and DVDs Coordinator) Bethan (Store Manager) Me & Maria

Massive Sort Out

Today, I had a huge sort out. We had a massive backlog of Bric, (Bric-a-brac) which really needed sorting. We had boxes and boxes of bric, which I sorted through. Anything that was unsalable, got thrown away. We had these really filthy mugs, which needed cleaning, so I used elbow grease and a bit of Cif Cream Cleaner and got them back to white. After lunch, I sorted our toolbox. Don’t ask me why we had 15 pairs of scissors in there…. They went into the sharps bin.

Next was the top of the kitchen cupboard. I moved the Britta Filters to the cupboard under the sink (also known as the Facilities Cupboard) and I chucked away a load of bags of crisips that had gone off. (2024!)  I also chucked the cheeseboard and knives, as they in a very bad state. As I had to cover the till, I didn’t manage to finish what I was doing. I want to fully damp dust the top of the cupboard, so it is clean. I did however, manage to get a framed newspaper clipping about our shop hung on the wall. It had been on my list of things to do, for a couple of weeks.

Trying to get out of work was a nightmare! I had customer after customer and wanted to get them all served, before I left. Then when I did leave, I got to the bus stop and realised I still had my radio in my pocket. I managed to nip back and take it in and still get the 15:10 bus. I was yaking to Kira all the way home, as she got on the same bus as me.

Fire Drill 🔥

Today, we did a Fire Dill at work, which was fun. Read this post, if you have no idea what a Fire Drill is. We managed to evacuate the building in under 2 minutes, which is really good. Our customers were very cooperative and evacuated when the alarm sounded. Maria missed all the fun, as she came in late. However myself, Lucy, Bethan, Nigel, Kira and Anne, were all involved in the drill.

Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too bad, so we didn’t have to go to the assembly point in the pouring rain. However, Fires do not care if it is wet and dry… When the alarm sounds, it means evacuate, even if it’s wet!

Brown, Squidgy and Smelly

This afternoon, I had to deal with something rather nasty on the shop floor. I am not going to say what it is, but put it this way, it was squidgy, it was brown and it it smelt nasty. A pair of gloves, a carrier bag was what was needed. followed by the mop and bucket to wash the floor afterwards. This got me really angry, because it was caused by a 4 legged friend and the owner could not be bothered to clean up after their furry friend. I then also ended up banging my head on the shelves. I am OK, it was only minor, but it got reported anyway.

BIFFA Strike Again!

BIFFA are back in my bad books again, after blocking the fire exit again. I have taken a picture and sent it to Bethan. It clearly states by the gate, that it a fire exit, so BIFFA have no excuse to block it. Thankfully, I was able to shift the bins, before we did the Fire Drill. Either the Bin Men are blind or ignorant! (Or Both!)

The bin men should know better than to obstruct a fire exit. I was furious to find the fire exit blocked by the bins! If the bin men better not block the fire exit again, or I will shove my pricing gun where the light doesn’t shine!!!!! 😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬

Blowing in the Wind….

Finally, the bad weather has damaged the building. The roof of the bin compound has had it’s felt blown off. MSL are aware of this and should be coming to fix it, later this week.

Entertaining Day

Today at work has been fun, as it was only myself and Lucy in. Of course, we found ways to keep ourselves entertained, bouncing off each other with rubbish jokes and plenty of laughs. I spent most of the day on the shop floor and even may have convinced Lucy to dress up as Adele for Halloween. I even got asked by a customer, to come down in my high heels that I am going to wear with my Halloween costume. Of course, I didn’t mind parading round the shop in them. (That and a bit of Kenneth came out – OH MATRON!)

Once again, I left late, as I had a backlog of jobs to do before I left. – Hoover upstairs, wash up, clean the toilets, put the bins out and generally tidy up. However, I did manage to get the 5.30 bus, so that wasn’t too bad.

New Mug

I grabbed this mug at the end of my shift. I payed a decent price for it, along with 2 bathroom mats. (Under a fiver) I love this mug, it has the Periodic Table of Text Messaging on it. This is a list of short codes used during texting. IE: WYL = Watch Your Language) It also has the codes for different similes. It is proper cool and I love it! 🙂

I have had a few brews out of the mug. (Coffee, 3 sugars and very milky) Sadly, my bathroom mats are not a full set. It was missing the mat for around the toilet. This is why my boss sold it to me for a mere £2 for both mats. I may be able to get a mat that matches online. At least now I don’t have to stand on the cold Lino, when I get out the shower!

BTW, my Winifred Costume comes on Tuesday to work. I am going for the whole hog on Halloween, to be Winifred Sanderson (from Hocus Pocus) at work, this Halloween!

This week is going to be fun, as Maria is supposed to be off and Pat is off all week, so more than likely, I am going to be on the shop floor loads. I don’t mind, as that’s where all the action is. Our customers love me, as I am so entertaining and random. From my Fireman Sam (“Oooooh Boyo! Now then Norman, it’s not good to play with matches”) and Kenneth Williams Impressions, “(OOOOOH MATRON!”) To telling rubbish jokes (“Why can’t Dalmatians play hide and seek? Because they are always spotted”) and singing and dancing round the shop. Yes, I am nuts and proud of it!!! Just stand clear when I let out a loud fart on the shop floor! (Frrrrrrrrrrph – “More Tea Vicar?”) 😂

A Guide to Fire Drills

In Commercial Premises, the law prescribes that we must carry our a full evacuation of the building regularly. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005) These evacuations should happen at least ONCE every SIX MONTHS and should encompass the full evacuation of the building, to an external assembly point.  The reason for these drills, is to make sure everyone knows what to do, if the fire alarm does sound.

So, lets talk about the best practices in a fire drill.

Never Announce the Drill

Fire Drills should be kept a secret. Only those that need to know, should know when the alarm will sound. This is done to make sure that people do not ignore the alarm when it sounds. I know about the fire drill at work next week, because of my position. This is ‘need to know info.’

Don’t Make it Obvious

You don’t want to make the evacuation obvious. That is why it is important to activate the alarm from a point where there are lots of people. Activate the alarm the normal way, using a ‘break glass unit,’ either by activating the same way as you would when there is a fire, or using the test key. (Which goes into the bottom or side of the break glass unit)

Make Sure You Review Your PEEP Documents

If  you have disabled people, make sure that you have reviewed your Personal Evacuation Plans. (PEEPS) This will help you to  plan the evacuation and allow you to ensure disabled people are evacuated safely.

Let Your ARC Know, If You Have A Monitored System)

If you have a monitored system, it is important to let your Alarm Monitoring Centre know you are carrying out an evacuation. This will prevent them from calling out the Fire Service. If you do not have a monitored system – you should ring the non emergency number for your local Fire Authority and let their control room know. You can normally find this number on the website for your local Fire Authority. It may also be a good idea to let neighbouring properties know, so they do not call 999.

Make Sure Your Fire Marshals Help To Clear The Building

Your Fire Marshalls should make sure that the building is fully evacuated. Those Evacuating, should stop what they are doing and be encouraged to leave their personal possessions where they are.  Evacuation should then be carried out via the nearest exit.

Proceed to the Assembly Point

Make sure everyone goes to the Assembly Point and make sure they stay there until the evacuation is stood down. It is a good idea to keep someone at a safe distance from the building, to make sure other people do not enter the building, until the evacuation is stood down. The Assembly Point, should be at a minimum of 50 feet away from the building.

Standing Down

The evacuation should be stood down, verbally. “Thank you, it is now safe to go back inside the building” is a example you can use. If like us, you use 2 way radios, make sure that you clearly state something along the lines of: “Fire Alarm Stand Down, I repeat… Fire Alarm Stand Down.” This lets everyone know that the incident is stood down and that it is safe to go back into the building.

Log in the Fire Alarm Log Book

Make sure that you log the evacuation in your Fire Alarm Log Book and let the ARC \ local Fire Authority know, the drill is complete.

What is the best achievable time to evacuate the building?

Ideally, the building should be fully evacuated within 2 minutes

Wet Wet Wet (And No, Not the Song)

The weather today has deffo been wet. On the way to the shop, I got soaked and had to borrow a pair of trackies from the stock room, as mine were soaked through. At the shop, I spent most of the morning on the shop floor. This was because of the rain. Our floor got absolutely drenched, by the customers coming in and out. So, I had my mop and bucket on standby and kept mopping the floor. Of course, I had the wet floor signs out, to warn people that the floor was slippy.

Then when the rain finally stopped, I was able to cover Maria on the till. That was a baptism of fire, as the till kept crashing. After several attempts (and after having to get Bethan and restart the till 3 times) the till finally started to work. Thankfully, Pat was coming on duty, so the till was no longer an issue for me. However, toilet checks were now over a hour past their due time, so I nipped up and had a quick brew, before going into toilet cleaning mode.

Thankfully, myself Maria, Bethan and Kira are quite clean, so the loos were not too bad. I almost missed the bus home, as I had to go back and take my lanyard back in. Can’t loose that, it has my locker key on it!!!!!

Tomorrow, I have the Health and Safety checks to do. – Emergency Lighting, Fire Fighting Equipment, making sure the exit routes are clear and of course the Fire Alarm Test. I am hopefully meeting up with my friend Chris at 1 and going to lunch. I don’t where though, but it will be good to have a catch up. Thankfully, I have my trusty radio, if I am needed in the meantime.  I have not seen Chris in years, so be good to catch up.

Another 40 mins and I will be taking Splodge round to Steph’s for a play, while we watch Shameless. 🙂

Feeling Better

I am feeling better than I was yesterday. I have had 3 lots of the antibiotics, which is helping to get rid of the infection. I managed to go into the shop today and got quite a bit of sorting out done.

I decided to sort out the caddies that contain our stickers, tags and Gift Aid tags. In this caddy, there was all sorts. Pens, scissors, paperclips and all sorts of other bits and bobs. These all found new homes, especially the scissors, which are now on hooks on the workstations in the Sort Room. All the stickers are now stacked neatly, so it is easier to find things. Then I sorted the “Rags Bags” box. Rags are the clothes we cannot sell, for what ever reason. These get recycled and sent to Third World Countries. We have loads of rolls of these bags, so I stacked them neatly.

After lunch, I did a bit of work behind the till, serving customers, so that Maria could have a break. Then I did my usual cleaning duties before I left. Bethan wanted to know what the address was to the stream for my show, so I wrote that down for it. Because of the amount of pens that do not work, this took me a good 10 minutes! It meant that I was late leaving today. However, I got back for my show and played Bethan and the gang a song or 2.