copyright@ Gerry Rose

HARRY

 It was Harry’s turn to do his presentation. He was told to keep it short and to the point. He had never attended a group interview before. However he was not phased by standing up in front of Kurt the chairperson and the 16 other candidates.

 ‘I was christened Henry and very soon everyone called me Harry. Handsome Harry! I was told at school that I was a boy capable of deep thoughts. I am not posh by any stretch. Neither am I common! I am that wonderful sort of middleclass man who can dip down and climb up the ladder whenever I need to. I am a bit of a Social Chameleon which I think is great! I think being a social Chameleon is a wonderful asset. It allows you to mix with a variety of people. It has enabled me to have conversations at various levels with people some have been deep but others have been shallow. I try not to be disingenuous because that would not be fair. I think I realised that I had depth at a very early age but I don’t really like people trying to pigeon hole me. I have had a good education and that is probably down to fate. My father died when I was 8 and when my mother remarried she was lucky enough to meet a man who had a few bob. He recognised my worth and said he was happy to send me to a good school. Looking back and trying not to be cynical why wouldn’t you send me to a boarding school in order to get me out of your hair, when you didn’t really want a boy you didn’t know living in your house and taking up far too much of your partners’ time. It was a win win!

 I think being a deep thinker is who I am and that gives me a sense of gravitas and depth.

 Anyway here I am in Hove. I live in a lovely Regency flat and love my life. I have a wonderful girlfriend called Sadie, but unfortunately she lives in New York. She is 47 and is so busy with her children and work. I hope that one day she will consider moving here. In the meantime I am making the most of my life here. I go to lots of Meetup restaurant trips, I love the food, but find the women somewhat needy! They tend to be drawn to me because of my ability to be a deep thinker.

 I am quite active, I go to the gym 3 times a week, I cycle and walk on the downs. I think the thing I find hardest is living alone. I think because I am a deep thinker I over think most things. I worry that my relationship with Sadie might not be sustainable. I suppose my real fear is what the next 10 years will bring! A younger woman who has many options might not be the best choice for me after all. Having deep thoughts can be hard.

 I still do a little bit of work. I was a psychotherapist and I still have one or two clients. I am person focussed but think of myself as eclectic in my approach. My interest in coaching is quite recent. I have lots of skills in my tool bag which I can use to help clients lead more content lives. Sadie says that I am a solid rock of a person. I know that is an attractive trait for women.

 I think I have a lot to offer this organisation. I can in all honesty tell you that I have never been in debt. I am proud of this and feel that I have vital skills to help others manage their debts.’

 In the middle of his introduction to the Hove branch of Debtcoach4u Harry suddenly realised that he might have over shared. He was seeing a few bored looks on the faces of the participants. He realised that he was not projecting the best image of himself.

 This was confirmed when Kurt the chairperson started doing a throat cutting gesture at Harry. The next person introduced themselves and Harry knew he had blown it. Recently he had wondered if his hearing was deteriorating. At 67 he thought he was in rude health, but now he realised that ‘tell us about your depth and how you handle it,’ was actually not what had been required, it was ‘tell us about your debts and how you handle it’. It seems Kurt preferred coaches who had experience of debt and did not really want a tosser like Harry on his team.

  Harry found one of the worse things about aging was suddenly finding that something you felt was easy had become more difficult to do. Harry felt he had let himself down and he realised that what Kurt saw was an old man who needed to get his hearing tested. All of Harry’s years of experience counted for nothing at that moment. Harry looked at the would-be debt coaches and realised they were all millennials. He was just seen as over an privileged boomer.

 He wasn’t that impressed when Sadie burst out laughing when he told her about this experience later during one of their daily phone calls.

‘Harry I take it they didn’t hire you.’

‘No Kurt told me that he preferred people with lived experience of hardship and debt.’

‘Yes unfortunately Harry you simply don’t have very much of that.’

‘I have had my struggles.’

‘But you told me you got a grant to go to University and there were no tuition fees back then. It was easier back then. I know you don’t go around talking about the flat white coffee generation, but young people these days resent the privileges you had.’

‘You say that, but things were not easy when I was growing up I can remember the winter of discontent!’

‘Yes but I think not that I was around then, but I think life was simpler. There is so much pressure on young people now. Anyway talking of young people I need to bring my kids somewhere now. We could talk tomorrow around 11pm your time?’

‘Ok speak then, love you.’

‘Of course, love you too.’

 Harry didn’t want to tell Sadie that he found these late-night calls hard. He liked to be tucked up in bed with a cup of mint tea by 10pm and was usually asleep by 10.30pm. It was hard keeping up with a younger woman. He wondered if she did love him. What did she see in him? He was past his best but he was not naïve, he felt sure that Sadie would always keep her options open. Sadie always told him that he reminded her of her father who died when she was 10. Her marriage had not worked out and now she was bringing up her son and daughter aged 13 and 15 mostly on her own. He was looking forward to the summer when Sadie would send her kids to camp and come over for a short holiday. He felt sorry for Americans they hardly got any time off work.

 Harry felt sure that other opportunities would arise. Harry did find that there were too many hours in his day which he felt compelled to fill. He was very wary of becoming one of those people who watches television during the daytime. He missed having a nice male buddy. He was still in touch with some old school friends but they did not live close by. He wasn’t very good at keeping in touch with people. His son was like him and had his own life in Manchester. Harry’s ex-wife used to tell him that men needed to make more effort to be sociable and shouldn’t rely on their partners to be their social secretary. He wasn’t surprised to find out that most Meetup groups are started by women. He checked the app and found a trip to the China Garden restaurant in Brighton had been posted by a woman called Esther who had bright pink hair. Esther’s Meetup group did not have a very inviting title. Brighton’s Happy Place for the Socially Inadequate. He checked who was attending and was surprised that he didn’t recognise any of the names. Perhaps he could help some of these people. He signed up and added the event to his calendar. He felt it was his duty as resident of Hove to help the poor socially inadequate residents of Brighton.