Although this is by no means a weekly fixture on Control Wee, we thought we’d keep the title the same for the sake of continuity. This week’s band were found on a CD full of downloads that Megha passed across to me a few weeks ago. I’ve no idea where she dug them up from, but as soon as I heard ‘When Will I Ever Get Home’ I wanted more of The Kilians.

Scouring the web left me only a little wiser about them. What I do know is that they’re an indie band that have only been round for a little over a year. Their tunes are catchy with some awesome riffs and their lead singer sounds like Kelly from the Stereophonics. A little surprising is the fact that they hail from Germany, as I haven’t come across many bands from that part of the world that carry off this brand of music effectively. I definitely hope to hear more of the same calibre tunes from them in the near future.

Music | 1 Comment »

Much mirth and amusement can be achieved at the expense of others’ mistakes. Glaring grammar and spelling errors are things which occasionally irritate, but can also tickle the funny bone - particularly when those faux pas lead to a particularly comical outcome. Never are these typos more apparent than on everyday signs that we see all around us. So, we thought it might be a bit of a chuckle to take pictures of any such blunders and stick them on here for all to see.

They’ll be posted under the ’signs of the times’ category and will be updated as and when we come across anything which makes us smile. If anyone wants to send us any photos which fit the bill, feel free to do so at controlwee@gmail.com

Here we go for starters…

Signs of the times | 7 Comments »

Anyone would think that Mr Jones has too much time on his hands. Following on from his critique of the BBC and his observations on how the media treated Ms Mills is this scrutiny of recruitment processes currently being used in the UK. And, if we’re honest, he doesn’t seem overly impressed.

I was once again perusing the newspapers yesterday; currently their story of choice is the suspicion that many people in England who could work are choosing not to. Now if, like me, you are wondering how people can live without an income, it seems that many of these non-workers are claiming sickness benefits.

If you read the English papers often enough, you will also know that the benefit system has come under scrutiny of late when it was revealed that some people are claiming they cannot work due to acne. While this news worries me, as does the rise in the number of what is known as NEETS (not in education, employment or training), I cannot help wondering if the reason could also be partly down to recruitment techniques in England. This may be hard for some people to believe, but I will try to convince you through some past and present experiences.

In May of this year I was unfortunate enough to receive redundancy. The office where I was working was closed down as part of a restructure. I was happy with my severance pay and had no bad feelings towards the company I was leaving, as I enjoyed my time there.

I must say the thought of a change in my working life was quite exciting. I immediately began to look at vacancies and sent out application after application. I have had a few interviews and am pleased to say I will start employment in the coming week. However, I have also been shocked at the conduct of some companies who have interviewed me and I include two quick summaries. The names have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty.

Interview One:

I arrive promptly at the time given. I am kept waiting for 15 minutes, no explanation is made as to why my interview has not started at the time given. I am also dismayed to hear two members of the reception staff moan that they only knew about the interviews ten minutes ago. Eventually I am led through to an interview panel of two people. The interview begins by the panel addressing me by a different name and I have to explain my correct name twice before they catch on. A member of the panel tells me that they had my name as ‘Jim’. I apologise and explain my name is Mark (it has been since birth). I also note that in front of each interviewer is a copy of my application form, and even though I read it upside down: it clearly states my name as Mark Jones. I wonder if anyone has bothered to read the application. The formality of any regular interview begins “This is Susan, you will be working for her and myself, my name is Tim.” I am then asked to explain to the panel what their company does. I have always wondered what the point of this question is, but I give a detailed answer and smile. I am then asked a series of questions which ask me to give examples of A)When I have felt most stressed B) When I have felt most under pressure and C) Can I give examples of when I have found my work to be difficult and on and on. The questions were so downbeat I felt like I was going through psychoanalysis. By the end of the questions I feel so drained I am desperate to see that the panel has a sense of humour. Susan proceeds to draw my attention to the job description; she feels I do not understand what they are asking for. I find this odd as I have memorised the job description and none of the questions I have been asked seem to relate to it. It also seems that the NHS have paid for ‘Susan’ to have a sense of humour bypass. In addition she has a good cop/bad cop personality, and no answer I give seems to be right. At one point I expect Gene Hackman to storm into the interview room and ask me if I pick my feet in Poughkeepsie. The time eventually comes to leave and I stagger out of the interview feeling like I have blown it even though I answered all the questions in detail and passed all the tests.

Interview Two:

I arrive at the interview location and take a seat. Across the room from me I overhear members of HR studying someone’s GCSE certificates. They are quite scathing about the person’s results and I am amazed that this is done in front of other applicants. I am led through to the panel. This time there are three people. Once again the questions are of a very downbeat and negative tone. In both of these interviews I get the feeling I would not enjoy working for these companies. My last employer was easy going and there was also a light atmosphere in their offices. One of the panel seems particularly narked about something. I try to ignore it and keep on answering the questions with a smile. Once again I leave the interview feeling like I have been on the set of the exorcist.

In neither interview was I offered a coffee or asked to tell the panel about myself or my activities outside of a working environment. Everything was overformal.

At the end of the day I received no feedback, no letter to tell me if I got the job (one must only assume these days) and none of my references were taken up (I could provide three excellent ones when needed). Academically I had enough paper to pass: one BSc degree and one Masters degree. In the last four years I have had only six days of absence due to a vicious bout of the flu.

Now, of course, no one can or should be expected to be given a job. But the bizarre structure of English recruitment surely needs looking at. I know of countless people who are excellent friends and employees and I am amazed that they have either been rejected for good jobs or have given up and taken up a position they do not like or is not what they are looking for. They are also surprised at who has been selected to manage them and have found that they do their own work and that of their manager. How were these people chosen for the job?

As a country we must ask how our expert recruitment system has elected the worst style of management England has seen in decades. Our post office system is ruined and falling apart, one of England’s biggest banks is close to collapse; our NHS is ineffective despite the billions the Labour government continues to pour into it. In all these examples the Chief execs and head management are due to receive millions of pounds in bonuses regardless of the fact they have ruined the companies they were recruited to protect. All of this is happening while other workers are being given their marching orders. Is it me, or do you also wonder how recruitment in England works-please let me know.

Mark Jones

Contact me through www.earlyworksarchive.com

Thoughts, Life | No Comments »

This weekend, in Delhi, the Sounds Of SAARC has been taking place. India is currently the chair country for the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation and therefore decided to hold a 10-day cultural festival, celebrating the heritage of each of the 8 member countries. The kick-start to this extravaganza was a music festival which took place over the last 3 days. It featured some of the best contemporary bands from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, The Maldives, Nepal and, of course, India.

I went along on Friday and Saturday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The highlights for me were Soulmate, Strings and Indian Ocean.

Soulmate, as the name suggests, are a group who play various kinds of blues and soul music. Sometimes their tunes are a little upbeat and funky and sometimes they are completely laid back and, well, bluesy. The female vocalist had a voice as strong as Aretha Franklin’s with the youthfulness and vitality of McFly. Complementing this was the lead guitarist who played catchy intricate solos in each song.

Strings are a band from Pakistan who I had never heard of, but most Indians under 30 who I have spoken to since rave about them. Their music is kind of catchy Bryan Adam-esque mid 90-style riffs. However, I prefer them much more than Adams and their tunes seem as relevant today as they were 10 years ago.

Indian Ocean headlined the stage on Saturday night. It is difficult to categorise their brand of music as it is unique. They blend contemporary tunes with Indian classical folk. Their haunting melodies and rich voices make the music atmospheric and uplifting. And the icing on the cake is the variety of traditional drums they use to great effect, none of which I know the name of. One of their most popular tunes - Bandeh - is embedded below if you want to click and listen. I suggest you lie down and close your eyes if you want to make the most of it.

What stood out for me about all the bands at this festival was how much they enjoyed playing the music. Throughout all the performances you could tell the band members were genuinely having a good time. A great deal of vibrance was created through their sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment and this added to the music. It also rubbed off on the crowd and added to the atmosphere.

A big well done to the Delhi SAARC committee or whoever organised this event. Let’s have more like it in the future. I’m off to check out the food part of the festival now.

Music, India | 2 Comments »

Last week I went to the post office. Not a very interesting topic to talk about most people would think. A little mundane for a blog, some might say. However, this is India and no trip to a government-run organisation passes without some kind of stress-inducing event taking place.

My aim was simple. To send off the paperwork for the Rickshaw Run. It had to arrive in the UK within 8 days and I had no doubt that the Indian postal service would ensure this happened.

On arriving at the Post Office I tried to find the end of a queue to join, which was difficult considering the number of people jostling for a position in such a confined area. Eventually I found some semblance of a line and stood at the end of it.

While waiting my turn I started to make some observations. Firstly, I noticed that only 1 person was serving, even though about 30 customers were waiting. Secondly, I realised that there were about 20 post office workers – or should I say people who are paid to spend every day in the post office – milling around behind her. None of them appeared to be doing anything productive and it would have made sense to me if they had helped out by selling some stamps or something. But what do I know.

After I had been waiting for 15 minutes the sole server stood up and went into the office at the back without a word of explanation to anyone. It transpired that she had gone for lunch. I expected someone else to take her place in order to continue dealing with the customers, but this didn’t happen. Instead, we all had to stand there for half an hour watching numerous staff doing nothing in particular, while she filled her face.

No doubt feeling refreshed after her lengthy lunch, the lady returned to her desk. At this point I made the stupid assumption that she would start serving people again. But no. Instead, she and the rest of her colleagues took the opportunity to give presents to each other. I have no idea what they were celebrating, but I’d been waiting so long by this point that I felt well enough acquainted with them to be deserving of a gift myself.

When she finally sat down again I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally she would get on with serving some customers. Again I was mistaken. This time she pulled out a variety of wedding invitations and took about deciding which was the nicest, having an in-depth discussion with her friend about it.

Eventually, I saw the look in her eye change. I could tell that now she was definitely ready for business. Alas, as she attempted to get back to work she realised her Internet connection wasn’t working. After much searching, and with the use of great technical expertise, she discovered the problem – it wasn’t plugged in. On solving this great mystery she did the right thing and went back to looking at the wedding invitations.

I am not the most patient of people in these kinds of situations, but the joy I felt when I was finally served more than made up for the pain I had suffered during the previous hour of psychological torment.

I generally think its bad form for a foreigner to criticise a country that is not their own. My response is normally, ‘well if you don’t like it, go back home’. I love India, but like a woman, that does not mean there aren’t things that annoy me about her. In the last four years I have spent about half of my life in India, and feel that this qualifies me to speak my mind without being seen as an arrogant outsider.

Rickshaw Run, Life, India | 1 Comment »