Mike's Saudi (44) My last job

My area of operation was the Base Training Office which had mainly offices, meeting rooms and a coffee bar. The other area I frequented was the Audio Visual Section a large building containing a TV studio, a photographic studio, darkrooms, digital manipulation facilities and offices. I also attended many meetings with the boss there was one I particularly remember at the conference room in the Maintance building. The boss like many service personnel in all countries was always planning for his release and retirement. At the meeting he was working out what his pension would be at various departure dates while the meeting was in progress; it had turned to a bid by the senior maintance officer for control of the AV Section. The boss was so busy with his pension that I said to him “Sir you’re about to lose the TV Studios if you’re not careful”. He lifted his head as though he’d been following the meeting “I’m sorry gentlemen but I’ll have to leave the meeting now as I have another appointment” Craftily he knew that without him nothing could be done and the maintenance case would fail. But it was why I went with him, we seem to work well together. It is doubtful that the AV Section would ever be controlled by maintenance as it was dedicated to producing training aids and therefore in the contract it was part of training.

Barney was the head of training on one of the American contracts and had an office in the Section, he was an Irish American and used to wear a bright green suit on St. Patrick’s Day. He was a big guy very friendly in a brash sort of way he was a keen amateur photographer so we got along fine. It was one of my duties to write the minutes of the weekly training meeting and to help I used to record the meeting as so much was said in a short space of time and I have no shorthand. Also there were one or two section heads who used to attend the meetings who used to say things to impress without thinking about the implications. I would write their comments in the minutes verbatim and read them out at the next meeting, they of course would swear they had never said it and that’s where the tape recorder came in. Soon we had a more truthful report and I used the tape recorder less. Sometimes I would have a word with Barney to save some ones face, in the end it all worked pretty well.