I remember with nostalgia ,the London Olympics. It held so much promise to many a street trader. Some traders paid a handsome amount of money for trade that never materialized whilst some paid very little and got very lucky indeed with unplanned windfall of trade.And others like myself who could have been luckier,blew a chance of a lifetime because of lack of planning . .What will be nice though, is a return once more to the beginning of last year.There are a few things I would do differently and following which I am sure,I will not be moaning about Street trade today.
First,I hunger for and seek the return of my best staff in the whole wide world by the name of Yakub who returned to Poland two years ago and whom I think never came back to London. Spiros , a Greek guy who spoke absolutely no English but who was a fantastic worker had just gone back to Greece.I needed another Spiros or better. The Job was labour intensive and I needed someone who was Strong and who could pretend it was a gym session! After so many rejections , I took to humming the hymn "Jerusalem" hoping for divine intervention in finding a suitable staff. Then came Yakub.Yakub was a strapping 7 foot of lean power house. A can do giant of a man who performed every task efficiently and with the speed of lightening. He also had the best work ethic. It was in 2005 and I was a trader in Camden market. Himself and another guy were introduced to me at the same time in response to my ad for a replacement for Spiros. I gave both men chores to do whilst I disappeared from view.With a cigarette dangling from his lips, I watched in pleasant disbelief as his massive hands speedily lifted and cleaned and loaded. I offered him the job on the spot and as a business , I can comfortably say that he was one of the smartest decisions, I had ever made. Such was his competence that during the events of July 7th when transportation and movement was curtailed,he ingeniously found his way to work, and cooked every dish on our menu.He had never cooked them before and had only watched me prepare them! From then on, there was nothing I could not delegate to him. My Japanese neighbour ,enviuos of my find, resorted to currying favour with him with breakfast every Saturday morning. He would drag her boxes and mine from the storage rooms with so much ease you,d be forgiven to think they were featherweight . In fact they weighed tonnes. He repaired electrical malfunctions,tiled the kitchen,fixed plumbing leaks,drove the van ,fixed jubilee clips to gas bottles,smiled,told me off if I was late to arrive at the market and was good with customers. With him I feared no catering challenges and most importantly, I never did any washing up- which I detest..Since he left, there has been no staff like him and my lateness at events has become even more pronounced. Lately, "Jerusalem" has been playing in my head.Something tells me Yakub will return to London soon. God knows I need his help badly.
Power of positive thinking says Yakub is on his way, so I will be able to deliver a stellar performance at any accruing festival from the Olympics. I therefore make bold to write the wonderful Julia whom I so let down by my lateness at her premier event last year but who was gracious to the end;
Dear Julia, thanks once again for giving me this second opportunity. I am sorry that my team was 4 hours late at last year,s event and I do apologise for the shock you must have experienced as I barked at you to hang up on the phone as my thinking was fuddled by the pain of child labour. Yes! that was not a story I made up.My beautiful daughter chose the day of your event to pop out. I did not tell you I was heavily pregnant when you first made contact because we desperately needed the money as I had lost nearly all my markets.I knew from the way that child kicked and somersaulted in my stomach that she was going to pull a fast one!. I cajoled and sang to her and even began to gulp copious amount of tamarind juice 2 weeks before to effect a quicker arrival but she chose not to come out!. So again I was having her when you rang!I promise you that there will be no such drama this year.Believe me when I say that my stall will be the very first to set up. Permit me to introduce you to my secret weapon this time-Yakub. Kind Regards.
Kiru.
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