Our man at the ministry

A few random observations from the world's greatest club...

Compared with zavvi, there's an obsession here about cleanliness. You could walk into the South side kitchen on any day when Trading were responsible for cleaning it, and you'd be lucky to see a square centimetre of worktop space - as for a clean sink or mug, forget it. Here, not only do people wash up their mugs after use but there's a team of cleaners who walk the floors all day, constantly cleaning up. The only problem is that it's almost impossible to use the toilet without bumping into a male or often female cleaner (sometimes both)...

A few weeks ago I moved desk as a new person joined the eCommerce team so the desk I was using got reallocated. It's a shame because I liked working in that team and the banter was always good. However, it's forced me into a bit of hot-desking and that in turn is allowing me to really find out how fantastic a machine my MacBook is. Running both Mac OS and Windows so I have the best of both worlds, with a good wireless network here, and with remote access to my Ministry emails and calendar, I'm not really missing having a permanent home. Having said that I'm sitting in the design area right now and anyone who works here will know what I mean when I say the view is sooo much better.

And I'm getting to know the neighbourhood. I've found a little cafe run by (I think) a Turkish couple. They make a fresh Greek salad on demand, which I mentioned to Chris, one of my colleagues here. Today, Chris went out early and picked up one of their salads. I mentioned it to the owner when I went to get some lunch, and when I went to pay not only did he round the amount down but he gave me a free slice of carrot cake on the house.

Maybe this could become my new manor...