Derek Hammond, NatWest Group Archives
Up early , quick wash, out the house and on the first Tee by 7.30 ish. Finish the golf by 11.00, couple of drinks then home for a snooze. But I really think Fiona wanted me to talk about work!!!
OK then this is Derek's Day...
Firstly there is no such thing as a normal day.
Like most sections working in a Communications environment, as well as trying to complete our day to day tasks i.e. updating and maintaining records, cataloguing new accessions, planning for the future, educating other sections on record retention policy, dealing with researchers and so on we spend a lot of time reacting to urgent requests for information.
It could be a branch wanting to know its history, a member of the public wanting details of his Great Grandfather who used to work for a London Bank, or Card Services wanting to know about Credit Cards.
Obviously not all queries require immediate action but any from Group Legal or IDRD (Insolvency and Debt Recovery Department) usually require an answer yesterday for a court case tomorrow.
Any way - back to a typical day, Up wash etc ready to leave at about 7.25 on my bike for the one and a half mile, “at the Speed of light”, downhill ride to the station for the 7.38 train. Change trains at Euston, arrive Lothbury 8.25ish.
Power up my PC, change from cycling trousers into my suit, put on kettle for tea and make coffee, by then the PC is ready for me to log on. Check the organizer, CC mail, check my in tray for any messages left after I had gone home the previous day.
Drink tea.
Open post and distribute it around the office. Enter any new Accessions (Items sent to us) onto the Accessions database, ready for cataloguing later.
Drink more tea.
Cataloguing is taking an item which has been deposited,
- Giving it a unique location number.
- Describing the item or the contents of the item tagging i.e. highlighting key words, so that any part of it can be located for future research.
- Entering it on CAIRS (Computer Assisted Information Retrieval Systems) database.
Not all our items are on CAIRS some are held on a card index which uses the same cataloguing criteria, but no Computer Assistance to locate specific items just a long manual trawl.
09.00 Fiona arrives, exchange pleasantries.
If any outstanding queries, check card index or CAIRS database to find the locations where information relating to the queries might be found. Go to our store in the first Basement, extract or copy information.
When retrieving information from the box files there a few rules that seem to apply.
- The box you want is always on the top or bottom shelf.
- The boxes which are stacked 3 or 4 high on the shelves, the box you want is the bottom one.
- When you are at the top of the ladder in the far corner of the store, with your arms full of boxes, is when the phone will ring.
- Having put the boxes back gone down the ladder walked to the phone it stops ringing as you are about to pick it up.
- Just as you return to the top of the ladder, the phone will ring again.
- Once sufficient information has been researched, return to office to prepare replies.
Say hello to Susan.
About 10.30, if no more queries or if scheduled, go to 3rd Basement to collate files for cataloguing later. These files are from 1970s and come from the Chief Executives Office. Using a list provided by them, I have been collating the files from various years into files of a similar heading, these are then taken to 1B for further processing.
Susan sifts through these files at her leisure and selects those worthy of keeping and cataloguing. Unfortunately for her it is easier to collate than sift, and if Susan doesn't keep up, we will soon run out of space in 1B.
About 12.30 back up for air and - most importantly - dinner.
After dinner its back to the office, check the afternoon post, then start on any new enquiries that have come in during the morning. If no enquiries I can the work on one of my major projects, Branch anniversaries.
For this I establish which branches will be celebrating anniversaries of opening next year, then research their histories to prove the exact opening date. As far as Fiona's concerned it's not true unless you can provide a reference number referring back to a minute book, circular or similar proof.
Once this has been completed, the brief histories are updated and keyed onto the CAIRS database. I then approach the Regional Executive Directors for permission to inform the branches and the Regional PR Officers . Hopefully once the branches are aware they will then use our exhibition service, when they celebrate their anniversaries with Customer contact days.
This work is sometimes interrupted at 15.30 by tea but I have been known to get carried away and miss out on it completely.
Work can also be interrupted by the cry of "Derek" or "I've taken your name in vain again"coming from behind Fiona's PC. This usually means I have a little errand to run.
But whatever happens, unless exceptional circumstances occur by 16.30, I've had enough. Change back into my cycling gear and exit stage right.
Then its tube and train back to Kings Langley, on me bike and up hill "at the speed of snail" all the way home. Arriving home worn out. Then its get the dinner, do the ironing, go to play football followed by the pub, or whatever is scheduled that evening. Bed by 11.00 so I am ready to start again next day.
Except Wednesdays when its my scheduled day off. Then its up early quick wash and on the first Tee by 7.30ish...
Last modified 12/08/2004
