Chichester Yacht Club Magazine April 2020 | Page 8

Working for a Virtual Club! Liz Adlington and Lucy Apsey explain what a typical day looks like in the life of a member of the CYC team now working from home. It was a bit of a shock getting back to work from a couple of days off to find my office was now out of bounds! Alt- hough we half suspected it would happen, the new normal takes a bit of getting used to. Manu and our IT contractors didn’t take long to set us up with the hardware and connection - but when home has always been for life outside work, where to find a home office? I set up in my son’s old room, with a nice big desk and the perfect view of the street to stave off feelings of isolation. However, I was soon turfed out by his sudden return from uni, as his placement was ended abruptly. So, I ventured into the spare room and was confronted by an assortment of homeless odds and ends, ancient pink woodchip wallpaper and patchwork carpet. It had needed attention for some time, and a swift “Changing Rooms” style makeover was in order. Utilising assorted forgotten items from the depths of the garage it was transformed in a weekend, with white walls, a scrubbed-up table and some old shelves – perfect. There’s still much to do, even with the club in hibernation, and I’m busy keeping the accounts side of things ticking over. Our team are managing to keep in contact via video conference, phone and email. We’re getting used to this new way of working together but we all miss the social side of the club itself - seeing colleagues and members face to face. And, unlike a lot of home-workers right now, as a cyclist I actually miss my commute! I’m working from home, which in practice means working from my sitting room table, with a view of the garden, having banished my husband who is also working from home to the spare room with no view! He has a lovely new (to us) table and chair which was hastily purchased from the Cat and Rabbit charity shop in East Wittering last week when it became clear that WFH was to become the new normal and he was IN THE WAY! If you are wondering why I got the best seat in the house, it’s because he has too many conference calls and was telling me to “shush” all the time - well those of you who know me, know that that is a practical impossibility - so bingo! I got the view and the best seat in the house. The only downside with this is that the office phone, which we are still manning 9-5.30 Monday to Friday, is in my daughter’s bedroom, because the cable only stretches that far. So when the phone rings I hear “MUM” and I sprint across the room into the hall and into her bedroom (thankfully we live in a bungalow!) and try to pick up the phone before it transfers to Manu or voicemail. So if you fancy a chat don’t be surprised if I sound a bit out of breath! I’m starting my day with a cycle to blow away the cobwebs, this morning I saw one of our members out for a walk so I stopped (maintaining social distancing rules) and had a quick chat, it’s nice for some face to face conversations. Then home to log into my virtual office, which is working really well, apart from the occasional freezing screen – which seems to happen more in the afternoon. Mind you with three people accessing WiFi for laptops, mobiles and phones the internet is taking a bashing in this house, so I guess it’s not surprising that it creaks a bit! It has been really heart-warming to read all your messages of support for the Club. We want to be able to help our older, more vulnerable members through this period of self isolation, so we have set up a list of volunteers who we will call upon when needed. Email us at [email protected] if you need help or if you can offer help. So if you fancy a chat please give us a call on the normal number 01243 512918 or email us [email protected] Stay safe everyone and hopefully see you all very soon. Lucy 8