Things people do
When I was a child, I had a book called Things People Do, which was about the imaginary island of Banilla and all the people who lived there. It was an idyllic land of full employment and careers for life – everyone had a job they loved and a specific role to play in society. They were even named after their jobs (or maybe born into them), from Penny Sillin the doctor to Manuel Labour the builder.
Anyway, it was my first careers book and I loved it. I spent hours imagining who I would be when I grew up and changed my mind constantly (although Mayor Naze seemed to be in charge of most things and lived in a mansion so I thought that would be a pretty cool gig). I had no clue how anybody could narrow down their choice to doing just one job when faced with so many attractive options. If I’m honest, I still don’t.
It took me a while to decide to train as a journalist and, even though I love it, I remain fascinated by the careers I didn’t choose. One of the reasons I write about work issues is that it gives me the perfect excuse to find out what it might have been like had I become a magician or an undertaker.
So, this is a blog dedicated to the things people do – and why, how, when and where they do them. We may not live in an idyllic land of full employment but it’s still a pretty interesting world out there.
