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MONDAY
Page 44
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Take our son David to school for 8.45am and then up to the office to start the battle. Collect post and quickly flick through for cheques. Turn computer on to check e-mails and websites; this has become a morning ritual, nothing gets done until everything has been checked on-line, including newspapers, to see if there's a mention of John. Early afternoon and it's time to do some office work. It seems that since John has been gone, customers are taking longer to pay. All customers with overdue accounts have been called, with promises of cheques this week.
TUESDAY
Statements have been prepared for the customers i rang yesterday. All the websites have been checked and updated with news from John. I ring the British Consulate to confirm the amount of money John can have sent to him, as we are getting conflicting information. I spend the rest of the day on the phone or sending e-mails to the nationals trying to get someone to take up John's plight. The moment you say that drugs were put in to his load, they lose interest. David is at Cubs at 6pm so I have an hour and a half to myself to get on top of the housework and make dinner.
WEDNESDAY
Computer checks done, I ring Michelle. Her partner is in a prison in Northern France so we can compare notes about treatment and what the men can and can't have. One of the fuel companies rings and I spend an hour trying to explain where John is and that I can't send them a cheque as John is the only signatory. They cancelled the direct debit and now they have asked for a new direct debit mandate to be filled in but the bank won't take instruction from me, so it's a waste of time.
The days seem so short and that call has pushed everything back further, so anything I haven't managed to get finished today I have to take home with me.
THURSDAY
Can't face going to the office today, I am still feeling sick about the fuel company yesterday. Check the website, and see that the support drummed up by the demos is good. We've been holding demonstrations in London and at the ports to get support for John and other drivers that are being held in prison without charge or trial.
Most of the day is spent on-fire sending e-mails to new companies to see if I can drum up any more support. David has grown up very fast and tells me he's going to bed at 8.30pm. I will continue working and tuck him in when I go up sometime in the early hours.
FRIDAY
It's getting so hard to keep the business going. As long as the cheques keep coming in, the direct debits can be met, but there are no cheques to bank today, so I have to spend the rest of the day pleading with leasing and rental companies. After this, I beg suppliers to give me extended credit terms. The business part of it is easy—it's the emotional side of it that I find hard: trying not to cry on the phone when you get turned down, and knowing that if the decision had gone the other way, you could hold on to the company just that little bit longer. !feel like it's slipping through my fingers. II If you can give us any support, then please contact us at wvirw.freejohnvasoy.org