Planet Mad

This day in 2001 I was interviewed for my current job. The deadline had been the previous Friday, references were requested on Saturday, sent off on Monday and I was phoned up on the Tuesday and asked to interview. Tuesday night I had to flee to Next in Darlington to buy a suit, a handbag and some smart shoes.

I can remember quite a bit about the interview - it was very informal, and most of it was conducted as part of a walking tour of school with various senior mangagers. I can remember telling one lady manager that my only experience of independent schools was reading Mallory Towers. I can remember coming to lunch in a boarding house and chatting for a long time afterwards with the housemistress. I can remember sitting with the upper sixth at lunch, and one of them going to fetch more water while making a joke about "nice jugs". I can remember the soul-searching and the long discussions about the move from state to private school, and whether I was selling my soul. When the head phoned me on the Friday to offer the job, I was away on Guide camp. I was so convinced that I was what school was looking for, was so gob-smacked that they had asked me to take the job, I had to ask for a bit of time to make up my mind.

It was a tough decision, but - even on a day like today, where there's netball in the freezing fog, and evening duty looming ahead - I don't regret it for a moment. I love my job.