Well a nasty cold wind and pouring rain, not a night to spend on the streets, or even in the bus station, so when PAFRAS make their first referral just after 10am and then two more in quick succession I am worried. As usual it is noisy in their drop in and I struggle to get down all the details.
www.pafras.org.uk/
A couple of our regular hosts are away and to start with my heart sinks,but then very quickly two lovely, lovely people say yes, of course they have a free room tonight. Some more calls go to voicemail and then the third one is placed and the hosts can pick him up in Leeds city centre, no need to struggle with unfamiliar buses. Last summer I made four journeys on local buses in Slovakia, and how I struggled with a strange language, an unfamiliar system and a worry about where to get off. How much harder in the dark and the rain, at least I could see where I was going and I had spare money if I got off in the wrong place, I could even have caught a taxi!
A fourth referral from the Red Cross, I warn them there may be problems, but once again the kindness of strangers manifests its self and I can close down knowing that four more people are warm and dry tonight.
I send my notes into LASSN and put on the heating. lassn.pir2.info They need the notes for their statistics and to help in their bids for much needed funding.
Have I multi tasked today? Of course, some ironing, a bed made up for visitors at the weekend, and, most exciting, some French and Italian train journey research done. Watch this space.
No Coasties tomorrow, yesterday's Bank Holiday means no staff to organise us, a pity as I could do with some exercise, but I do not begrudge them a hard earned holiday, we retired people can have a break when ever we want. That's why we volunteers can't replace the paid people who sort us all out.
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