When I'm cleaning windows: Charlie and Charline
Charlie was a window-cleaner in Edinburgh for 28-years. When he started, the minimum window-cleaning age was 21. It was a dangerous job. You couldn't be insured for a fall from a height of over 10ft, so in a city like Edinburgh where high buildings abound, every job had it's risks. Charlie had most of Edinburgh's 'tricky windaes', including the public libraries, the National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle. The latter took 3-days to do, and he had to carry a 4lb 'skeleton key' to lock every door behind him in case a visitor got trapped. A 40ft fall ended his career, so he was worried when daughter Charline (or Chaz, as she gets called) chose to follow in his footsteps. Her safety is a constant concern to Charlie, to the point that he sometimes accompanies her on jobs to make sure she isn't tackling anything too dangerous. It makes him feel better, and now that he's retired, it keeps him connected to a job he loved and keeps the pair of them close.
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The Listening Project - Work Conversation Theme
Capturing the nation in conversation. Conversations on the theme of work.
The Listening Project - 2012 - Full Collection—The Listening Project
Capturing the nation in conversation
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