Yvette looked shocked - the past week at work

Monday

Yvette (agency head) brought a dog in to work, a black Labrador. It was not hers but belonged to a neighbour who was in hospital. It came into the account execs' room and I fed it on digestive biscuits.

A telephone call from an educational establishment asking if I could attend an interview tomorrow morning (this was for a marketing job). I immediately said yes, then wondered how I would get the time off work without raising any suspicions. I asked advice from Eleanor (trainee account exec) and she told me that she had got another job and intended to resign later this week.

Tuesday

Having rung the office with a "headache" I then caught my usual train to London, but instead of getting the tube to central London I caught the Piccadilly Line north, almost to the end. Getting off at a Holden station I then waited for a minibus which took me to the campus. Main building a Victorian pastiche.

The interview was odd, and not very professional. A panel of three interviewers, the interviewing style meandering and unstructured. There is always a risk with public sector interviews that they are just going through the motions and have already decided who they are going to appoint.

Afterwards I went home (and developed a headache!).

Wednesday

A call this morning telling me I hadn't got the job I went for yesterday.

At lunchtime I went up to the boardroom to watch television.

When I came down I heard Eleanor handing in her notice to Yvette, doing this in the account execs' room in front of everyone. Yvette looked shocked. The news caused a stir throughout the building.

After work we had the first of the "training" sessions with personnel consultant Jess Lewis (a friend of Yvette's). It was very basic, and covered things like communication and teamwork. The training went on until past nine, with wine halfway through and big plates of pasta followed by strawberries.

Thursday

Most of the day I spent planning a German campaign for our toy client. It was hard work ("We have all this media data, but nobody can read it!"). Finally I put together a credible schedule and wrote notes justifying every stage.

Andrea (account director) back after a few days off.

Friday

Yvette was out most of the morning, but rang up Andrea about eleven - I could tell from Andrea's reactions that it was a difficult call.

When Yvette came in at lunchtime she ordered a pizza from the Italian restaurant. She took a few mouthfuls of this then rang the restaurant and started complaining. The restaurant sent another one across.

After work Martin (Andrea's boyfriend) arrived and they went to the cinema. I asked what they were going to see, but they hadn't decided yet. "They're not interested in the film" Eleanor said.

In the evening I went to Battersea for a Council meeting of an educational charity I do voluntary work for. We had the meeting over dinner at the house of Simon S (Finance Officer). Typical Victorian terrace house, sparsely furnished. Simon S is about to get married, and talked sentimentally about his fiancee (showing us a bowl of pot pourri "These are the flowers from St Valentine's Day").

The dinner was a big Frenchified stew, followed by French cheeses, followed by coffee.

Katrina, Edward, and a couple from Manchester were also at the Council meeting, plus Peter B (who is employed by the charity). Peter B left early, and the rest of the time seemed to consist of endless complaints about how poorly Peter B was doing his job. While the others washed up Simon S showed Katrina and me his small back garden.