The Times moved to a new office last week, just down the road while they refurbish Castle Greyskull, the monstrous fortress constructed by Ruper Murdoch in the mid-1980s. Our new lair at Thomas More Square is newer, flasher, smaller and a bit closer to Waitrose. There are pros and cons.
But one of the big cons, for men at least, is that we have to remember to take our security pass with us when we go to the toilet. The ladies can just waltz straight in and do whatever they take so long over doing in the ladies restroom, but the men's loos are, for some reason, next to a service elevator and so for some spurious security reason you can only access it with a swipecard.
I've not yet heard anyone whistling "Oh dear what can the matter be" after leaving their card behind and finding themselves locked in the lavatory, but it is bound to happen soon. Women may feel that there is a long way to go before there is equality in the workplace, but in this one area they have it so much easier.
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There is also (oh the excitement) a new canteen for us to use, where the food for the past week and a bit has been free. I'm not sure why. One of the management bods said that it would make people better disposed towards the canteen rather than going to Waitrose or the pub for lunch.
Either way, free grub is not to be sniffed at. I saw one colleague filling a bag with a dozen KitKats. "For the children's lunchboxes," he explained. I suspect it will not be free for long.
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If it's any consolation... whenever I work at the Sunday Times - which I only ever do on a Saturday when the ID-card-making people are not there - I spend half of my time locked somewhere or other. The little slip of paper that serves in place of an ID card is utterly useless at a) getting me into the office from the lift, and b) letting me back into the office from the canteen. Cue much shuffling about behind doors, waiting to be rescued by (not particularly security conscious) passers by.
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