Nothing in life is for free ?

or is it?  right from when i first started my window cleaning biz ive been doing “an extra” for free .  and i never mention it to a customer.  i Hope they notice it and think “ah thats nice ” -which is probably why i do it.

so what is it?  when anyone engages my biz to get their windows cleaned on the first clean they get the entire outer doors cleaned and scrubbed and polished for free. From then on at each subsequent window clean the doors are kept clean by wiping/scrubbing to maintain the appearance . 

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thinking of customers past

ive been a window cleaner almost ten years now- im reflecting on it.  the people who iv cleaned for who have passed away are in my mind. the gentle conversations i had with them- i still hear them .

When i first started out window cleaning i was very unsure, im not a natural to cleaning, i mean its not in my background . But some of the people i met were very encouraging and offered kind words of support. Of course a few were the exact opposite ,telling me “youre shit ,dont come back”  ,but i dont hear them now

i dug deep and persisted , got good and natural at cleaning in time and on the hard days the kindly words spoken to me many years back often came back into my mind. Many of these people are now dead but i can  still hear the voices ,our conver it seems it was like yesterday , the words of advice , clearly remain, in my mind . “my husband always used to say… ” ” youll be allrite Jonny ”  

who inspires me

who has inspired you?  ……..

2 people come to my mind [have inspired me] , firstly Billy Connolly=legendary comedian. I named my son after him, and in 2012 i actually met him one wintry day down at Ipswich docks. He shook my hand after i called him over,but said not one word !

Secondly is a window cleaner in U.S.A called Don Marsh, he made a series of youtuber vids about life as a window cleaner.

Both of these people inspired me .If when you read this somebody comes into your mind that has inspired You,please put it in the comments

cant work

snow has stopped play!  

so here i am,reading the morning paper and drinking my favourite cup of white coffee in McD .  At times like this i can think straight,no rushing on to do a days work this day. i Really enjoy unexpected days off the treadmill of work.

the monkey man

recently i came across these WW2 images of a planes crew and their 2 mascots [ Scrappy the dog and Joe the monkey].  the photos were taken on Parham airfield , Suffolk around the year 1944. Most of the men died later that year on a mission over Germany…. Heres where it gets creepy>>>>

Back in the year 2000 i was spending my work days on that former airfield. One lunchtime break i was walking my dog there where once the planes had stood and suddenly up ahead of us in the tufted grass appeared what i can only describe as “a small naked man”,pink colour about 18inches high. It immediately ran away from us [my dog stopped in her tracks and i too stood stock still].  It ran upright,was pink ,no hair and its arms were swinging just as a man runs.  it was about 18 inches tall and i never saw its face,it ran a few yards along the path , then darted off to the right into dense undergrowth and out of sight . ive never forgotten this!

seeing this old image of the monkey mascot has got me thinking,was it the monkeys ghost i saw that day ?

weird incidences-with no closure

Ever since i took up window cleaning weird incidences that have no conclusion have happened to me. Not every day, just 2 or 3 times each year. Do these have a hidden meaning…?

Each time iv tried to rationalize them,get to the bottom of them – and i never can . One happened to me today so im documenting it here ,while i still can recall the finer details.

I had just finished my work for the day and was walking back to my van and i see a middle aged ordinary lady setting up to take a photo [on her phone] of the side of van ,getting my number it seems.

She sees me and asks for a biz card instead .I give her one and then she explains shes looking for a new window cleaner,- cos the one she has fell off his ladder Yesterday -and he was airlifted out to hospital by the ambulance helicopter . Im gobsmacked at how callous she is but shes got my card now ,too late i cant grab it back. I ask whats this guys name,she had to think….its Ali .   Then she goes.I watch her walk away over to a cluster of  parked cars nearby but she disappears without me seeing which one she got into . No matter .

Once i get home i start asking around on the grapevine,but none of the regulars have heard of an Ali .  One cleaner heard from a friend that the helicopter Did land yesterday next to the Primary school ,so that fits. Nothing on the net or in the local rag about it ….

Seems im now going to have to wait till/if she ever calls me,to find out who Ali is.  She mentioned she texted him later on the day he fell but he didnt reply .  Course hes didnt-hes in hospital somewhere . 

taking no Shit

i had an idea to add this bog brush onto the back of my van,its there to wipe shoes on if theyve picked up any plop