Denis’s Party
The impact of an ‘ordinary man’ getting on with an ‘ordinary job’ can end up being extraordinary. So here at HIP we thought it fitting to cover Denis Yeo’s leaving party as well as the events leading up to it (See Issue 180 Denis – Our Favourite Gardener).
Nick Glass reports.
Denis Yeo, for eight years our much-treasured gardener at St Leonards Gardens behind the Royal Victoria Hotel, was given a merry send-off on his final day of work. Friends and admirers gathered in the sunshine in the Gardens on Friday afternoon, July 16th to toast him into retirement at the age of 73. The Chairman of the Burtons’ St Leonards Society, Christopher Maxwell-Stewart, paid fulsome tribute in a short spontaneous speech. Denis almost blushed beneath his hat and quickly dispatched a few glasses of prosecco and several slices of cake (The cakes came in two appropriate shapes – a caterpillar and a dachshund – Sainsbury’s finest).
Denis Yeo
CREDIT: Nick Glass
No mention was made of his former employer, idverde, or the insensitive manner in which they hastened Denis’s departure. Idverde is contracted by the Council to look after our green spaces. We now know that Denis was summoned to at least three meetings with management in Alexandra Park (three or four management at a time versus Denis). At the first meeting, he was promptly ticked off by his line manager, Paul Meek, for being seven minutes late – he was late because he was briefing his successor, John Draper about the Gardens and handing over the keys to the Lodge. Denis thinks that “the writing was on the wall” from the outset. Under the companies Lone Person directive, he was deemed a significant vulnerable person – too vulnerable evidently to be working alone. Denis tried and failed to challenge this assessment.
Christopher Maxwell-Stewart giving a speech
CREDIT: Nick Glass
The response to Denis’s subsequent resignation was perfunctory and impersonal. “Please ensure that on your last day you return the following items – ID card, uniform and any other company property issued to you throughout your employment”. At his Gardens party, Denis received retirement presents from his friends, including a large bottle of Famous Grouse whisky (his favourite tipple) and a framed photograph of a kingfisher, a seasonal Gardens visitor. Denis and his wife Marlene thought the send-off was “marvellous”. Denis has since been put to work at home, painting the shutters, and filling a skip in the drive. “There’s no rest for the wicked,” said Marlene with a chuckle.
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