Meet the boss - A.K.A the office meeting.

New boss - appointed a few weeks ago. Time therefore for an office meeting. One which was long overdue anyway.

The date and time was set. Schedules and diaries cleared.

The meeting took place.

A short agenda - I had two items to raise - we came up with a third thing to discuss, while waiting for the Inspector to arrive. I was to be chair.

So it started. Some had even come in on their days off, for an inducement of some more time off in lieu.

Forty minutes in, all was well. All the items on the agenda were discussed, agreements were made on all of the points - a nice mix of compromises and unanimous decisions.

Then, the Inspector spoke.

It was a bad sign when the temperature in the room fell ten degrees. The windows began to frost over. Black clouds gathered in the sky. Dogs howled in the street. The milk carton in the fridge turned solid (but it probably would have done that anyway). Faces fell. People started at the carpet tiles, apart from when I caught the eyes of others looking round the room. Those same eyes rolled skywards.

Ripples of discontent swept through the room. The previous harmony vanished, like a teenage thief with a good headstart and the latest Nike trainers on his feet and a SatNav in his hand. It all went pear shaped. Some people just aren't good communicators. They don't read the signs. They are often frighteningly un-self-aware. And prone to just carrying on regardless. It was a WTF moment.

So twenty-five minutes later, over a quarter of the PC's had to ask to take me to one side for a quiet word. Others were huddled in the corner, discussing things in hushed whispers. Another is taking advice from the Federation. One has a job application already submitted and is thinking about a fall back position, in case that one comes to nothing.

In short, the new Inspector made an impression.

Just not a good one.

Never mind 'eh, soon be Christmas.

C.