Thursday 24 December 2009

Have I learned my lesson?

Somoene posting a comment asked if I have learned anything. Yes I have learned things, some of which I have written about already, like how stupid I was to get into this mess in the first place, how to keep my head down and how most of the other blokes just regard CS as a nuisance. These blokes are not really bothered how often they get into trouble.

But I have learned absolutely nothing from the 'work' itself. We are given little or no instruction and the supervisors are stretched to the limit, far too busy making sure no one actually commits a crime during the session to actually give us any instruction.

In the 1930s at the height of the Depression there were work programmes for the unemployed, particularly in the US. Some projects were really worthwhile, but one economist went as far as to say that any work whatsoever was better than having people on the dole, even digging holes in the road and filling them in again. CS is just below this level of utility (or futility).

We get next Sunday off for Christmas

Sunday 13 December 2009

No room on the bus

One mini bus, 6 seats, 20 blokes reporting for duty, I'm home again

Saturday 12 December 2009

Reading material

I'm thinking about tomorrow, my CS day. Wondering what else can go wrong with the arrangements, recently we have had van trouble. Two weeks ago we had a puncture and we had to wait in the van for someone to come and change the tyre. I had a passing thought, here was the opportunity to learn something useful, how to change a tyre but no... CS does not do practical relevance.

The supervisor said if we could get someone to pick us up we could go. Just like that, one more way to delay finnishing my 240 hours. We have had; not enough supervisors, supervosors training day, rain and now punctures. When I started my sentence I thought it would be over by January, now I'm looking at February.

I rang my mate Olly he agreed to come and get me. Then several blokes said they needed the toilet, we were just by Sainsburys, the supervisor said he had to go with us and we had to go together. I had no intention of joining that lot on a shop lifitng spree, the supervisor would never keep an eye on all of them all the time.

Waterstones seemed to be the best place to wait for Olly, little chance any of the inevitable absconders would join me there. I spotted a book I liked the look of. CS involves so much time just sitting around, for the bus or on the bus or for the rain to stop, I usually buy a paper to keep a low profile I buy a red top, I usually finish it before we reach our first job, a book would be better.

Last week no one noticed I was reading the book, I am wondering if tomorrow I could get away with the Times...