Playgroups and Prosecco by Jo Middleton

Author:Jo Middleton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ebury Publishing

Tuesday 5 June

Messaged Cam. No reply.

Wednesday 6 June

Desk items considered briefly as weapons but deemed unsuitable – 6. Jaffa Cakes eaten directly from desk drawer – 5. (Totally understandable in the context.)

I had a letter back about one of my fundraising applications at work today. I’d only sent it off a couple of weeks ago and I wasn’t sure if the quick response was a good or a bad thing. Turns out it was bad.

‘Many thanks for your application blah blah. We regret to inform you that your application has not been successful blah blah. At the current time our available funds are very limited and we didn’t feel that your project showed enough measurable benefit for our target groups etc.’

I took it in to show Steve. He read the whole thing, painfully slowly, with his lips pursed, shaking his head at intervals.

‘It’s pretty disappointing, Frankie,’ he said, handing the letter back. He carefully laced his fingers together and made a point with his index fingers, like I do when I’m playing ‘Here’s the church, here’s the steeple’ with Jess. He rested his index fingers on his mouth and looked at me over the top of them. ‘It’s a shame that you weren’t able to make the project fit the funding well enough.’

I scanned his desk for something to hit him with.

‘I think the whole thing about fundraising,’ I said, ‘is that the project has to be created with the need in mind and then you find the right funding for it. You can’t make something fit. This project you wanted to do and the funder you wanted me to apply to just didn’t match.’

I’ve tried to tell him this several times over the last few months, but he was insistent that we go with the list that Angela had identified.

‘Isn’t it the job of the fundraiser though to work their magic and create that connection?’

Book? Only paperback, probably wouldn’t hurt him enough. Hole punch? That might do it. My hand twitched.

‘As I keep saying, Steve, I’m not a fundraiser, and I’m definitely not a magician. I have an English literature degree and I work here purely out of convenience. I try to make the best of it because it fits around my family. I tolerate you at best, Steve, although I have to admit it’s difficult working with someone who clearly doesn’t have a clue what they’re doing.’

Steve looked appalled.

I raised my eyebrows, gave him a stare, then I turned around and left his office, slamming the door behind me. I sat down at my desk. I wanted to high five someone but there was no one there so I had to make do with messaging WIB and telling them all about it.

‘Bloody hell,’ said Sierra, ‘I’m impressed! Could you come round and sort Fox out this afternoon, maybe? He’s just told me I’m a big fat poo that should be shut in a box.’

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.