A calendar for 1989 by Posy Simmonds
July
July's woman of the month is Gillian Button, 25 years, 1st class degree in French and Drama, a producer's P.A. at Broadcasting House, earning £9,000 per annum. Gillian is someone who always puts the comfort and wellbeing oF others before her own.,. Someone of over- whelming thoughtfulness and consideration....in other words, a SMOKER..... The life of the SMOKER is not easy and GILLIAN is well used to its sacrificial Side ....the loneliness, the frustration and, above all, the sense of always bein g on duty-that 01W may never smoke MIND- LESSLY, but always with one's full concentration upon the sensibilities of otmERS. ThiS Solicitude is seen at its most striking at social gathering's, when Gillian's very first utterance will be one of CONCERN it i s remarkable the sheer GRACE with which she will restore the cigarette to its packet and the company to its ease. Remarkable toots the very great PERSONAL INCONVENIENCE to which she must put herself, seek- out those PERIPHERAL areas - the edges of crowds, doorways, draugh tybalcon- ies and fire escapes, empty corridors, BBC lavatories where she will hover until her smoking is en- tirely done. GILLIAN, however, is as used to SMOKING onthe fringes of her social We, as she is used to FUMING in her humble margin at The Corporation ... FUMING and chafing in vain for promotion to RESEARCHER, as she types the thank you letters to theguests who appeared on me past week's programme.
Happily, for GII,LIAN, there stitt exist a few quiet corners, where she and. others like her, may mm- gze, of a lunch hour. In the bar of THE GEORGE, she joins that proud FREE- MASONRY of SMOKERS, each bearing the ancient badges of their habit . -.the Otngery blazes of AfTER'RUI on the upper Zip, the quince ;coloured stains on the fingers,the TAR-BOX BREATH, the fine
B8SS0-profundo COUGH- LAUGHS
Here, Gillian feels QUITE the DAINTY INGENUE...a mere 20 -A-DAY girl, with far to go.
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