Tuesday 31 May 2011

The Old Man's Night Shift

So the final two episodes of "The Night Shift" were shown on BBC Four last night. (As talked about in previous post.)

Sorry if any of you sample it and are shocked to the core by subject matter and language... But when Georg Bjarnfreðarson, the shift manager, decides to educate his young son about "the facts of life"... complete with naming of parts and graffiti-drawings on the white board...
The guy is a control freak pedant who summons his only two co-workers on the walkie talkie - addressing each as "Trainee Personnel " and "Forecourt Personnel" respectively.

Munching breakfast, I ask The Old Man about his times on the evening shift of a petrol station way-back-when. Was it like The Night-Shift?

"Naaa.... well... We did have to ban the cars from a Nationally Known Driving School..."
"Uh?"
"They knocked too many pumps over."
"Uh?"
"And I only got to use the Tannoy once..."
"Mmm?"
"The local Liberal candidate drove by in his van with his election speaker going... "
"Yeah?"
"... I Tannoyed back: You lying git, I know you're a Conservative!"
"Mmm?"
"But eventually, I got the sack."
"Uh?"
"I went to the pictures the evening the clocks changed and didn't realise. So I turned up to work two hours late instead of the usual one...."
"Oh. Nothing like "The Night Shift" then...."

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