Diaries, Cakes and a Worn Out Keyboard! by Deborah Flitter

As we approach the end of 2011 and as the latest member of staff to join NRAS as Ailsa’s PA, it is my great pleasure to be able to close the year in this way.

What a year it’s been...and I’ve only been part of the team since October!

First I thought “they eat a lot of cake here”...well we do eat a fair amount but it actually turns out that a there were quite a few October birthdays so the cake consumption did drop off fairly quickly when November arrived.

Luckily the excesses of cake didn’t have an impact on my waistline and it was with relief that I managed to climb into my “I’m going somewhere important” suit in order to attend the very prestigious Healthcare Champions event at The Speakers Rooms at The House of Commons, and as I had only been working with the team for two weeks when this took place, I was beginning to get the feeling I must be part of something very special.

There wasn’t much opportunity to get to know Ailsa in those first two weeks, as the emphasis was on final preparations for the HC event and I was very much involved.  I learned during that time how NRAS will go the extra mile to ensure its members and associated health professionals feel valued, and how this attitude is common to every aspect of the charity, no wonder NRAS staff need cake, because quite honestly they don’t stop for anything else!

With the success of the HC event firmly behind us the time had come to concentrate on working out why the letters on Ailsa’s keyboard had faded, and why every time the words ‘Ailsa’s diary’ were mentioned, certain members of the team shared knowing looks and slowly backed off shaking their heads in amusement....oh and if I was EVER going to be able to actually SEE Ailsa behind a groaning pile of papers which sat ominously between us....something told me this was not going to be simple!

Now I know you’re wanting me to say that in the last few weeks I’ve sorted the piles into beautiful files,  kidnapped the (very full) diary and painted the letters back on the keyboard...!  Between you and me this is no easy task due to the amount of work Ailsa takes on behalf of NRAS, the amount of hours she puts in tirelessly representing its members, the amount of reading she has to do and the amount of information she keeps inside her head that seems to spill out through her fingers as she frantically types reams of communication on that keyboard.

I’m not sure that I will ever manage to reign in Ailsa and neither would I want to because without her tireless passion for NRAS it wouldn’t be where it is today, but I think I am making a difference and I’m so looking forward to the challenge of working with her and the rest of the NRAS team in 2012.

On behalf of Ailsa and the team I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and wish you much luck in the coming year....oh and more cake!...but for now I’m off to have one of Ailsa’s gorgeous mince pies...and yes, she even finds the time to make those herself!

Deborah