It seems that the name ‘Jonny’ fits pretty much hand-in-glove with just about any pseudonym you can think of. If you wanted to characterise ‘a Jonathan’ in just one word, you could do it in no time at all and with total ease. Everybody’s got a Jonny in their life, so go on…give your own Jonny an instant nick-name.
Think brave Jonny …he’d be your ‘Jonny Bravo’ or think lightweight Jonny …he’d be a ‘Jonny 2-Pints’. Think angry Jonny: ‘Jonny Rotten’ or perhaps you know a well-off Jonny?: ‘Jonny Cash’ of course!
Got a Jonny in your family whose in the army? …Easy!: ‘Jonny Combat’. A ‘pez’ Jonny would be: ‘Jonny Monks’, Jonny in his undercrackers would be ‘Jonny Speedo’ and ‘Jonny Five-Bellies’ pretty much explains himself! ...Do you know a Jonny with a very active sex life? That’d be ‘Jonny Durex’ of course!
You see what I mean?!?! Jonny ROCKS!! (see …there’s another one - ‘Jonny Rocker’) It just doesn’t quite work the same with a Bernard or a Geoffrey does it?
So, back to my dear old friend Jonny, who's existed as many alter-egos in my phone book over the years. He’s a real cool character (a ‘Jonny Cool’), completely into his fashion and very much his own man. On the other side of that, he’s a completely down-to-earth lad, very easy to get along with and the kind of guy Mum's instantly like when they meet him. During our late teens and early twenties, we’d be out boozing every weekend and ‘Jonny Dependable’ was always the kind of guy you could lean on if you fancied a few ales and a boogie on the town. Even when he’d already spent all his beer-money (which was often!), he’d still be up for a night out. (Hence, ‘Jonny No-Cash’!).
A typical example would be me finishing a Friday-night disco at perhaps one in the morning. I’d text him as I was packing up my equipment saying something along the lines of “I’ll be passing your house soon mate …fancy a few scoops in town?”. Inevitably, even when I’d woken him from a deep sleep, the answer would ALWAYS be a “Yesssss!”.
Jonny used to work at a local fashion retailer (hence, ‘Jonny Originals’) which obviously included Saturday shifts. But even in the knowledge that he’d get just a few hours sleep, have to work the whole of the following day and then go out again on a Saturday night …the answer would ALWAYS be a shout-aloud “Yesssss!”. Hence, ‘Jonny Legend’ was born.
Jonny was always known for being a trendsetter, so when he shaved his head, we affectionately christened him ‘Jonny Beckham’, (which I think he quite liked). Jonny wasn’t afraid to wear hats on a night out, was always the first to try out new threads, always smelt impeccably and was probably one of the earliest advocators of the ‘All Saints’ brand. ‘Jonny Beckham’ quickly evolved into ‘Jonny Fashion’, and that seemed to become a stayer.
In his early twenties, Jonny decided he’d had enough of retail and took the brave step of moving to Manchester to pursue a full-time degree in ‘Fashion Buying’ and eventually, my days of partying with ‘Jonny Catwalk’ came to a close. I always respected Jonny for taking the brave step of leaving a safe, steady, paid job behind to go ‘back to school’ as a mature student. I knew I’d never have had the guts to do the same (I'd never even considered Uni until it had been forced upon me now). In doing so, Jonny was committing himself to a future in an industry he loved and coupled with his jobs in All Saints and Selfridges, he quickly adapted to his new way of life.
As I stood waiting for the train at the end of my first day at JD Williams, I bumped into an old pal and a mutual friend of mine and Jonny’s on the platform. We had a bit of chit-chat and inevitably, I mentioned where I’d spent the day. “JD Williams?...” replied my friend “I’m sure that’s where Jonny works? I think he left? …but then he went back again I think. But yeah …he definitely DID work there. Sure he still does actually”.
“I must e-mail him tonight and check it out” I told my friend, but as readers of yesterdays blog will know, it had been a long day and unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance.
The following morning, I’d decided I would catch that earlier train and this time, I got my timings just right. Just five minutes wait at the station, where I bumped into another old friend - this time a guy I used to play football with. On the journey to Manchester, we talked about football, commuting, marathons, cars and holidays as you do ...and he even tried to rope me into a game of 5-a-side later that night. At the journey’s end, we parted our separate ways and I began the ten-minute walk to the office.
Turning the corner onto Lever Street, I had my headphones on listening to the new Bruno Mars album, when I got a sensation of someone running up behind me, as though I was about to be attacked!
All of a sudden, an arm came flinging around me. It was JONNY BECKHAM! “Yesssss!”!!!
“I thought it was you Jay” he said “…where you going mate?”. “Same place as you I think mate!”. What a great start to the day!
So…it was day two in the JD Williams office and (…say it quietly) …I bloody LOVE IT! I’d been so busy and focussed on my work that I hadn’t really talked to many people yet. In ordinary circumstances, I’m usually the first to break a silence. It's important to eradicate any potential awkwardness with any newly acquainted colleagues, but I just had my head down since the moment I arrived. Despite all that, I already loved being around the place and I can see myself settling in reasonably easily if I do get offered a position.
There’s a great vibe around the building and all around me there seem to be ‘cool’ people about. Busy people, technical people and decision-making people …but all undeniably cool people. There’s the uber-tanned photographic director, with his long hair and cowboy boots. He was in one minute, and then dashing off out for a shoot in London the next. Reminded me of a 'rockier' version of David Guetta.
Then there’s the girl with the dainty top and skirt, which she’d teamed with a pair of tights and matching Doc Marten’s. There’s the graphics designer to my right, dressed super casually in jeans, sports trainers and a stripy polo. Across from him, a gent dresses in a sharp shirt, skinny black tie, jeans and Converse trainers. And all around, there are guys dressed in suits and girls dashing around in chic outfits and high heels, piled-high with files, photos and garments.
Looking around the floor, it seems a lot of the younger staff have their earphones in and as you walk towards the main door in the middle of the room, you hear little snippets of all kinds of music. Everyone is ‘quietly’ very busy and concentrating on their work, yet there’s a constant buzz.
All the guys around me seem really nice too, but they’re just as focussed as I am. From the conversations I overhear, I sense they’re being pulled in all directions and the pressure is on to complete a mounting workload that there doesn't seem enough time to meet. The fact that I’m keeping myself-to-myself, quietly burying my head in catalogues, seems to suit both parties.
After the stop/start stuttering of yesterday, my words are finally coming together and I’m starting to pick up a little pace. The concept of friendly problem-solving fashion advice, coupled with product detailing, technicalities and easy-payment options starts to become a little clearer.
I’d decided to split my project into three parts and my target was to complete the first part by the end of the day. The plan behind this was to submit my first section by the end of the day and await feedback before moving on with the assignment. If the feedback was good, I could crack on and complete the final two thirds. If the feedback was bad, it would be back to drawing board.
By around 2:30pm, I’d pretty much completed my ‘first third’ and I’d allowed enough time for the rest of my day to be spent on ‘tweaking’. I also wanted to cross-reference my work with the branding guidelines, particularly the advice I’d been writing on behalf of the ‘experts’. After a couple of hours of editing, I felt I’d gone as far as I could go. I certainly didn’t want to start on the second third of the assignment until I’d got the ‘thumbs-up’ from the Marketing Manager.
By this time, it had reached about 4pm and I’d figured that if I got my skates-on, I’d be able to make the 4:23 train back home. It was a nervy moment, but I explained my progress to RD and asked if it was okay to submit the first draft of my work. “No problem at all Jase …get yourself off”. (The beauty of working 'freelance' means you work to your own timescales. The beauty of working for 'free of charge' means you can also follow this principle too!)
As I was still working on my own laptop, I’d be e-mailing my work when I got home and on the train journey back, I applied the final touches. This was it then …the moment of truth. I wasn’t due in the office again until Monday afternoon, and I wasn’t in a position to complete any further work until I’d received the feedback.
I got home and sent the e-mail off to the Marketing Manager, making it clear that I’d welcome any feedback. “Please feel free to critique, edit or slice and dice as you see fit. It’s a brand new industry for me, so I won’t be offended – I promise!”. I added a few notes and some questions and hit the SEND button. Now, it was time to be patient once again, and await the first-draft feedback…
Later that night, and typically of Jonny, I received a phone call. For over an hour we chatted all about the company, its people, the job and the joys of Manchester. He had loads of advice, info, encouragement and wise words for me and it was testament to the man that he called me up after a busy day of his own. He'd been away for a while but some things never change ...once again, 'Jonny Reliable', 'Jonny Legend' and 'Jonny Skill-spot' had all come to the party.
Until next time ...many blessings to you all.
Jason
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