Kiss Audience
CONSCIOUS CONSUMER DIARY 10 October 2008
Neve Atwood is an interior decorator and one of our Conscious Consumers. She’s a big fan of the Rehab and Kisstory and she gets to fling paint around all day. Here’s her diary.
Monday 6th October 2008
Wake up around 5.30am. Have a really early start at work, but that’s okay because I’ll be finished before 4pm.
Don’t have time for breakfast so grab a latte and some toast from the café before getting on the bus, and reading the Guardian to see what’s going on. Pretty bad stuff happening with the banks at the moment although it seems no-one is saying we’re in a full blow recession yet. Surely that’s just around the corner… Makes me wonder if it’s going to affect me at all…
Work’s pretty hard at the moment – we’re mostly on site and I’m having to mix up loads of paint to get an exact colour match for a huge house in Mayfair. The clients are being a bit of a nightmare. The fun bit’s the painting and I’m working on a massive ceiling canvas at the moment so I’ve got to have a steady hand at all times. More than a glass of wine the night before is definitely out of the question if I’m working on things like this, as it’s all very precise stuff.
I love the people I work with… They’re all totally relaxed and because the clients aren’t about at all today we can crank the music up loud. We all have a little sing along to our favourite tunes on Kiss. Everyone says I’m tone deaf which is quite true… doesn’t stop me from trying to sound like Candi Staton though!
Home about 4.30 after the bus takes an age to get to Brixton. My cats Plum and Candy are there to greet me. Have a hot bubble bath to warm my bones and give me some energy to cook something nice for me and Rod, my boyfriend. The kitchen cupboards are pretty bare but manage to knock up some tasty pasta and think he is actually pretty glad to have food on the table when he gets home (something he rarely experiences!).
A pretty relaxed evening all in all, and I’m in bed reading by 10pm. I’m such a grandma these days, but tomorrow’s another super early start, so I want to be alert.
Tuesday 7th October 2008
I’m being driven by my boss to another client’s house this morning to price up a job (some painting and restoration work), and as we’re going way out of London I get 40 winks in the back of the car.
The house is pretty bad taste – loads of swags and tails and gold furniture. I don’t know why people with loads of money don’t know how to spend it better.
Starving by midday after we leave to get back into London, so we stop at a service station (unfortunately not the M&S Simply Food one though) to grab a couple of sarnies and some crisps. I really resent paying just under a fiver for a bit of stale bread, some limp lettuce and some processed cheese.
Arrive back in London just after 3pm because as usual the traffic is a mare. Only have an hour to kill back in the studio, so speak to Simon (my boss) about the rest of the week and things that need to be prepared. Have to lug a few boxes into the studio with the others and then I’m off.
Luckily it’s a quiet night going to Clapham Picturehouse cinema, as my energy levels are waning. Chat with my mate Kate about whether we want to see something serious or something more light hearted. We choose Tropic Thunder as we both agree that the winter approaching means we need a bit of cheerful comedy. Ben Stiller is hysterical as ever and I start to think I might even fancy him.
Am back home by 11pm. Rod’s passed out on the sofa with the TV on. I wake him and we slouch off to bed.
Wednesday 8th October 2008
A more civilised start to the day today, as don’t have to be in the studio until 10am. Am woken by Candy and Plum purring at my feet. Rod’s already out of the door by the time I go downstairs. I love it when I get time to lounge about before work in the morning. I stick the radio on to Kiss (it’s Rickie and Melvin talking about the stupid things they get up to as usual) and put the kettle on.
After a cuppa and some yoghurt it’s shower time. Getting dressed when I’ve got time to think about what to wear is always a bit of a pain, as I start throwing clothes all over the floor.
I decide on some jeans and a favourite checked shirt (a pressie from my lovely sister – she’s an amazing bargain hunter and found it for me in Vauxhall market). I’m meeting up with Rod in town after work so slip some high heeled boots into my bag. I’m a trainers girl by day though – the thought of being uncomfortable all day fills me with horror.
On my way to work I get hassled by a mad man… He’s right in my face telling me about the evils of the modern world and why I should become a scientologist. He offers me a free personality test and I politely refuse because I don’t want to end up like Tom Cruise. Brixton’s full of some very weird people but I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Work’s pretty full on trying to get things finished for a client. The hours fly by and before I know it it’s time to go.
Rush hour does my head in and the tube is so rammed that I feel like getting off and walking. Rod’s already waiting for me at Oxford Circus and we head to a bar just off Carnaby Street called Digress to meet Sarah and Carl. It’s a lively place with a nice friendly vibe.
We’ve been on holiday twice to Ibiza with Sarah and Carl – we get on really well and are really similar in what we like. We always end up trying to limit ourselves to just a couple of drinks (it being a school night) but as always, two ends up being a few and I don’t know about the others but I feel quite tipsy by the time we leave.
Rod suggests a cab home, but I tell him that night buses are much cheaper and since we’re trying to save for our next holiday it’s the only option. I cannot wait to hit the pillow and am dreading getting up in the morning. Luckily I’m not painting tomorrow as I don’t think I’d be up to the job.