Halloween Special . . .

The unexpected darkness came suddenly. It stole away the sight of the office before me. The desks in front were engulfed, the monitors vanishing. I felt blind and paralysed with fear, but it wasn't the blindness that frightened me. It was the silence that came with it. Shrinking in my seat, my eyes glared from left to right, patiently waiting for them to adjust. Gradually the monitors came back into view, looking like hazy ghosts in the shadows, and the whole office began to reappear. I knew it was the same room, but everything looked and felt so very different without the lights on. Why had I offered to work late tonight?

Taking a deep breath, I stood from my seat. Was this a general power cut, or was there a problem in the building? I knew I should have walked to window to peer into the darkness outside, but fear prevented me from doing so. I was alone. Cursing myself for being so stupid, I forced myself to step away from my desk, and cautiously walked to the window. Parting the blinds I looked out to see the street lights glowing bright orange outside. The problem definitely came from within.

Well, that's it, I thought to myself. There was no point hanging around waiting for the electric to turn itself back on, and I couldn't do anymore work without it. Maybe it was time to call it a night and go home. Turning from the window, I walked through the darkness back to my desk to grab my belongings. The car park downstairs called for me, and I couldn't wait to be out there. The feeling in here was just too eerie for my liking.

As I began to make my way towards the exit, a suddenly noise brought me to a stop. My heart pounded frantically in my chest as my ears strained to listen. I stood in the middle of the office, feeling vulnerable and terrified. Could it be the electrics turning back on? I waiting for the buzz of life, but it didn't come.

The noise did, though. Heavy breathing and coming from around the door area - the area I needed to pass in order to leave. Someone was here with me. Controlling my breathing, trying to be as silent as possible, I stared in the direction the breathing came from. How had someone managed to get in while I was here? I hadn't heard anyone come up.

Feeling extremely frightened, I stepped back, intending to go back to my desk. I had no idea what I was to do - hide, maybe - but just as I turned I heard the click of electricity. The office buzzed back to life, filling my wide eyes with sudden light - and the horrific image of the figure that stood behind me. I screamed.

It was Andrew . . .

May the spirits of All-Hallows Eve come out and play tonight . . .

Happy Halloween.

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Gridstop ltd

Looking After Nature . . .

I don't know about anyone else out there, but I'm quite fond of nature - all creatures great and small, and all that (except spiders) - and this quality does come in handy when you live in a small village. It's kind of hard to get away from it. It was one of those things that was drummed into me as a child, growing up within a small menagerie. My dad used to like birds. He still does, and still owns a parrot that he brought his mum when he was 17 (did you know parrots can live to be about 150 years old when kept in captivity, and still give a bone-crunching bite? I'll probably end up inheriting him). Because of this, I'm quite familiar with a lot of wild birds. I can tell the difference between a Great Tit and a Blue Tit, or a Crow and Rook, and so on and so forth.

And yes, during the winter I am partial to buy some wild bird food and put it out in the garden for them. During the summer, I don't do it as often. There is plenty of food for them to survive off, and it helps to encourage the young birds to hunt and forage for themselves, but during the winter food can become scarce. It's always nice to give them a little helping hand.

Up and coming to our stock, and soon to grace our website, are some fantastic bird stations. They can hold numerous bird feeders and trays for water, and are rather attractive in their designs too. They'll make a lovely addition to your garden, and if you like sitting back and watching the birds, then this will encourage them to flock back time and time again, as long as they know it's where they can find a reliable source of food and water. They'll love it.

And another thing I've always liked is seeing their little footprints in the snow . . . sweet . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Gridstop Ltd

Cyber Virus . . .

We're in need of a Florence Nightingale. We have some poorly members of staff and friends in today.

The first is Forest, our much loved Husky friend belonging to Marie. He has spent the last week in the vets, and even though he is now out, he is still poorly and undergoing tests. Because of that he has been brought into the office for the day so mummy can keep an eye on him and give him his tablets when he's due.

Bless him. He's got bald patches all over him where the vets have been busy. He is so down, and even though we have all tried our best to cheer him up today, he just turns away, uninterested and not bothered . . . or is he trying to tells us that we're a boring bunch in here?

The second is Father. He is still recovering from the nasty cold he had last week. Even though he has managed to come from his nice warm home in Manchester, all the way down to Stevenage to see us this week, he still isn't 100%. However, we can't help but laugh at the fact that this cold has left him unable to hear a thing.

Now we've all started to act like the terrible children that we are. The jokes that are flying around this office at the moment are unheard of (boom boom!!! Did you get that then? Unheard of? Yeah?)

*Sigh . . . never a dull moment.

I just hope our need for a Florence Nightingale isn't going to last long. May everyone feel better soon . . .

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Gridstop Ltd

Training day . . .

Today has been a very awkward day. Changes are being made to the way we work and communicate with our warehouse, and even though these changes will eventually be for the better and work really well, the process of getting there is forcing everyone to pull their hair out . . . is that just me? The egg shells are glittering nicely on the floor as everyone tries to walk over them without breaking any (Okay, I'm probably exaggerating a touch, but the wording I thought sounded good . . .)

However, one thing has kept us going today, and that's the new member of our customer service team. He popped in today to help out while our beloved Marsha spends her day joyfully gallivanting around. Yes, George is back. Sweet, innocent, 7 week old George.

He's being trained up very well, although he has done a lot of complaining. The headsets are just too big to fit his little head. They keep falling off, and he's having difficulties having professional conversation with customers and trying to balance them at the same time. Then, to put icing on the cake, he can't seem to control his bodily noises - and he's very emotional. He's still got a fair way go yet.

Our Drew has even sat down with him and tried to talk him through the basics, ie - typing - but unfortunately our point was proven about our Spiritual Guide when George decided to fall asleep on his keyboard.

Drew, you can't deny our point! We have photographic evidence!

D. Ilott

Cybercheckout

Gridstop Ltd