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October 01, 2009
Half a key note speech!
After spending a year in a tempory building, this September we began our new school term in a spanking new building, all mod cons and fancy swipe cards, fantastic!
Well it was, until due to the caretaker being off on his hols, I was handed a set of keys to open up.
So I duely arrived at just after 7, hoping to get a little bit of office work done before the first children showed up at 8.
I opened the padlock on the outside gate, swiped my card and i'm inside, so I walked down the pathway to the front door, trying to remember the order of the next set of instructions, was it swipe card, turn key, deactivate alarm, or turn key, swipe card, deactivate alarm, I decided on the latter. So I put my key in the door and attempted to turn it, it wasn't having any of it and as I heard the bleeping of the alarm begining to sound out the time I had left to enter the building before the alarm really went to town, I felt my heart begin to pound. So I gave the key another big turn, this time it moved and so did my hand, opps! I was left with half a key in my right hand and the other half firmly stuck in the lock and a alarm that was about to go ballistic.
Thank goodness for mobiles, I phoned my manager and explained my situation while laughing hysterically (I told her it was nerves), she managed to get hold of the security firm to turn off the alarms and arranged for a locksmith to come out, choosing the firm who say in their advert'we'll be there within half an hour'.
So the wait began, as each member of staff arrived I had to move up one space on the wall and explain my whole sorry tale, whilst putting up with the jokes and the piss taking.
At 8.00 I received a call from Mario the locksmith saying he was stuck in traffic and would be with us in 20 minutes, 'What can i do' he said 'I can't fly' By half 8, I have seven members of staff and several parents and their children, by 9 o'clock I have thirteen members of staff many more parents and their children and no ones complaining, wow! I have memories of my grandpa telling me about 'war time spirit' and decide this must be it.
At 9.20 Mario finally arrives to cheers all round, he's not a very happy chappie as he negociates his way up the pathway with his tools, I'm not sure he's ever had such a big audience watch him work, must be a bit like appearing on 'Britans got talent'.
The children think it's great and that we have laid on the whole experience especially for them.
All's well that ends well and I was even given a new set of keys to a brand new lock, but luckily not the bill.
Posted by Shelliz at October 1, 2009 06:32 PM