Feature image borrowed from AllInLondon.co.uk
The Bottlescrue is no longer there, he says, writing eight years later. It is now a health club. Go figure.
A bittersweet occasion, was the Z/Yen seasonal event in 2015, as it doubled as Mary O’Callaghan’s leaving do and also coincided with my so-called semi-retirement, which was the cause of some consternation in Z/Yen at that time.
Still, we of course ate and drank and made merry. Secret Santa did his thing and some Z/Yen gimcrack no doubt did the rounds too.
I found a way of combining the seasonal lyric with the topic of Mary’s departure, which resulted in this rather charming number, thought I say so myself:
MARY’S BOLD JOB
( A Calypso sung to the tune of “Mary’s Boy Child” )VERSE ONE
Long time ago in London Town, in a place named St Helen,
Mary joined a little firm; that firm was known as Z/Yen.
Hark now hear the Z/Yen folk sing, the notes, some right, some wrong;
But Z/Yen will try forever more, to sing a Christmas song.VERSE TWO
Now Mary worked long and worked hard, she was no trouble in any way,
Except when Linda had to calc-ulate her statutory maternity pay;
Hark now hear the Z/Yen folk sing, the notes, some right, some wrong,
But Z/Yen will try forever more, to sing a Christmas song.VERSE THREE
Then Z/Yen removed to Basinghall, the Ward of Cheap was full of pleasures,
But Mary found she had to learn, about some mutually distributed ledgers;
Hark now hear the Z/Yen folk sing, the notes, some right, some wrong,
But Z/Yen will try forever more, to sing a Christmas song.VERSE FOUR
When Mary handed in her cards, the festive season was in full swing,
So every venue Mary chose, said “there’s no room at the inn”.
(Shout out: Except for this place!!)
Hark now hear the Z/Yen folk sing, the notes, some right, some wrong,
But Z/Yen will try forever more, to sing a Christmas song.OUTRO
Hark now hear the Z/Yen folk sing, the noise can be quite scary,
But Z/Yen will sing forever more, the praises of our dear Mary.