The photograph represents just a token amount of the EIGHT large plastic sacks crammed full of shredded paper (all painstakingly shredded by yours truly) from the vaults of the outmoded Broadway family filing system. When we had the kitchen “done” last summer, I manhandled the massive, 4-drawer, metal filing cabinet down into the basement. The drawers contained filing amassed over the entire 38 years of our marriage (that sounds as if we’ve agreed to nullify our partnership - I assure you that’s not the case!).
Moira+I are not very good at filing.
We normally only do it when the filing tray pile has developed into a mountain (and, even then, we sometimes just dump the pile in the basement “for when we have more time”). Some time ago, we agreed that this half-term would be used to “sort out” our filing and, amazingly, that’s what we’ve done (well, almost done). Moira organized for someone to come and collect the filing cabinet (thanks to FreeCycle) and, at long last, the basement floor has begun to re-emerge. It’s been quite embarrassing to rediscover all the paperwork we’ve retained – gas and electricity bills from the year dot, old Council Tax bills, old Christmas letters, home insurance papers from our first Thame house, endowment mortage forms that were going to secure our financial future, countless bits of correspondence from my old practice’s accountants, draft practice accounts…. and on and on. Strange also to see the change in letterheadings (eg. graphic style etc) over the years from my former practice, our accountants, our insurance brokers and the like over more than three decades - especially the lack of fax numbers, websites and e-mail addresses.
Anyway, they’ve all gone… and Moira+I now have the makings of a new streamlined filing system – which, of course, we will be updating on a weekly basis from now on!
PS: my favourite discovery was a photocopy of a handwritten letter Moira sent to the tax man in 1985 asking when we might been receiving a small anticipated tax rebate and expressing the hope that it might be before Christmas – it included a drawing (by Moira) of Santa Claus emerging from a chimney with the words “ho ho ho, here’s your tax rebate Mrs Broadway!”. I cannot recall whether or not this cunning ploy was successful!
Moira+I are not very good at filing.
We normally only do it when the filing tray pile has developed into a mountain (and, even then, we sometimes just dump the pile in the basement “for when we have more time”). Some time ago, we agreed that this half-term would be used to “sort out” our filing and, amazingly, that’s what we’ve done (well, almost done). Moira organized for someone to come and collect the filing cabinet (thanks to FreeCycle) and, at long last, the basement floor has begun to re-emerge. It’s been quite embarrassing to rediscover all the paperwork we’ve retained – gas and electricity bills from the year dot, old Council Tax bills, old Christmas letters, home insurance papers from our first Thame house, endowment mortage forms that were going to secure our financial future, countless bits of correspondence from my old practice’s accountants, draft practice accounts…. and on and on. Strange also to see the change in letterheadings (eg. graphic style etc) over the years from my former practice, our accountants, our insurance brokers and the like over more than three decades - especially the lack of fax numbers, websites and e-mail addresses.
Anyway, they’ve all gone… and Moira+I now have the makings of a new streamlined filing system – which, of course, we will be updating on a weekly basis from now on!
PS: my favourite discovery was a photocopy of a handwritten letter Moira sent to the tax man in 1985 asking when we might been receiving a small anticipated tax rebate and expressing the hope that it might be before Christmas – it included a drawing (by Moira) of Santa Claus emerging from a chimney with the words “ho ho ho, here’s your tax rebate Mrs Broadway!”. I cannot recall whether or not this cunning ploy was successful!
4 comments:
Oh I hope it was! Did you not keep that letter or at least take a picture? I'd love to see it! How funny! Well done. Horrible job to do, school will feel like a fun break now! Xxx
Yes it was! And I didn't know you had found that - certainly wasn't with my employment records!
I hope that if you haven't kept Moira's letter to the tax man you've at least taken a photo of it!
listen... I'm REALLY sorry but I was in "shred mode" - where one had to be really decisive, clinical and dispassionate:
a) no, I didn't take a photo,
b) yes, I did shred it, and
c) I wish I'd never posted the postscript!!
x
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