AS I reached that magnificently awful time when a cash machine was no longer a place from which I could withdraw any funds - due to the lack of them - a friend of mine shone a light at the end of the tunnel by offering me a weeks work temping as a receptionist at her office. After a brief consideration of the pros and cons (pros being: a cash machine finally fulfilling its purpose again, con being: a week enduring the reality of a mundane 9-5 office job) I took the plunge and entered the world of the office.
And how pleasantly surprised I was.
This was no ordinary office. Down a tree lined drive an old white manor house (of sorts) appears. Inside, there are original wooden floors, a sweeping staircase, large rustic wooden desks and dogs pottering around whilst their owners are busy at work. In addition to this, a beautiful kitchen/dining area full of rustic charm is not only the home to a wonderful Irish chef who prepares a delicious lunch each day, but is also the home of this fantastic fridge:
At first glance I thought of it as nothing more than a charming cupboard, probably full of crockery. Not so. Puzzled by someone rooting around inside for quite a while, I was much more surprised to find that they emerged holding a bottle of milk.
I want one of these. Badly. I have no idea where to find one, but I fear that my future home will not be complete without a fridge like this.
And so, on top of the replenishment of funds - and my new found love for a fridge - the predicted cons of the week became obsolete. The office environment was not a depressing maze of fluorescent lit cubicles, the days did not pass monotonously (due to the brilliant company of those I worked with) and, most importantly, each afternoon seemed to be punctuated with 'cake time' owing to a birthday, or two, or three. I will hopefully be returning. All fingers and toes crossed.
