Old-school engineering

A moment of levity for you.

Unlike many of my friends, I am coming to the sobering realisation that I am not key to anything. I don't work in the probation service, the armed forces, the NHS, a school, the food-supply chain or any element of critical national infrastructure. I'm pretty much useless in fact. Unless you really need to know the composition of gas trapped in the top of a jar of marmalade that's been in the cupboard for seventeen years because it turns out your family don't eat marmalade. Then I might be able to help.

I do, however, work in a small firm occupied largely by men from a previous era of British engineering. An era when going to the pub for a pie and a pint on a Friday was a perfectly normal thing to do. And going back to work after that pint was also perfectly normal.

In a move that is perhaps more representative of my company than anything I have ever seen, the Engineering Manager has brought a vat of chilli to work and the Managing Director has provided bottles of beer*. Nothing will stand between British engineering and its Friday lunchtime "pie" and a pint**.

Keep calm and carry on social-distancing.


* The company handbook states that it is strictly forbidden to bring intoxicating liquor onto the premises without permission of 'The Company'. Fortunately, the Managing Director embodies 'The Company' and is giving permission.

** It is impractical to re-heat any pastry-based object in the work microwave, so we have flexed on the definition of "pie". We take pie seriously here, and prefer no-pie to disappointing-pastry-pie.