Dear Bernice – The Skip Industry’s Agony Aunt

Happy Springtime, Skippers.

It seems my request for letters from the blokes didn’t fall on deaf ears, you fellas seemed to have carried a lot on your shoulders emotionally, so it’s nice to see you seeking advice. Well, spring is in the air, and so is romance for one poor lovesick skip hire worker, and I’ve been asked to plan the engagement of a skip boss as he ponders the best way to propose to the love of his life. All in all, it’s made me re-evaluate the way I think about you guys – you’re all dead soppy at heart aren’t you. And there was me thinking you were gruff, hairy tough guys!

Well, the more the merrier, so if you have anything you need to unload or get of your chest, drop me an email at dearbernice@theskip.net. You know what they say, a problem shared is a problem halved!

Dear Bernice

There’s a girl at work that I have a massive crush on. We get on really well together,a lways have loads to talk about, have loads in common and are similar ages. The problem is she’s in a relationship. And she doesn’t seem that happy with it. If you ask me, her bloke is a bit of a tosser – he doesn’t appreciate her and talks to her really badly. She’s been in this relationship since she was a teenager, and it seems to me it’s so much a part of her life that she doesn’t know how to get out of it. I’d mind my own business, but I sometimes catch her looking at me and I know if we were together, it’d be amazing.

One thing – I’ve already told her how I’ve felt. It was pretty awkward for a time, but OK now. I was pretty drunk and she took it as well as she could. She obviously didn’t reciprocate, but I can’t help but think she has some feelings towards me. She’s just going out with this tool, and doesn’t know how to deal with it all.

Lovesick

Southampton

Hello Lovesick

Nice to get some men looking for advice for once! This is a classic case of being helplessly in love. You love this woman (go on, admit it!) but you obviously respect the feelings of her and her man to do anything about it. And you think she likes you but she’s too good/lost to wreck her current relationship despite it sounding pretty much dead. Remember The Office on TV? Remember Tim and Dawn, the bittersweet office relationship? This is an identikit of this. Tim was painfully in love with the woman he couldn’t get. And what happened? Dawn, at the eleventh hour, decides to completely change her life, walk out of the damaging relationship, and into the arms of Tim – the good guy. The thing is, Lovesick, you really can’t do much until she has the strength and sense to shake of the shackles of her current relationship. In my expereice, shed might not be that far away. She sees you, she knows that not all men are like her current boyfriend and she starts comparing him to you. Be patient Lovesick, if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. But first, she has to come to you. Good luck.

Bernice.xxx

Dear Bernice,

I need some advice. I met my partner four years ago next month in our skip yard. I own it, and she was a friend of a friend who came in to help with the accounts. We were mates for ages until a few years in we got together. We’ve been inseparable ever since and have built up a successful business together through thick and thin. I want to do propose to her on this anniversary milestone and tell her how much she means to me, and how she still makes me feel like a teenager in love. Any ideas, Bernice?

Young at Heart

Lancashire

Young at Heart! You’ve got me feeling all soppy now! You’re obviously both big time in love, and this is amazing to see especially as you both work together and have got through these difficult times. OK, well, I can suggest the obvious – champagne, a weekend away, a nice dinner. But if you want something really memorable, you may want to do something along the same lines of what a colleague of mine did to his wife a few years ago. He took her out for a nice late lunch and told the lads in the yard the plan. When he arrived back, he took her to the office on the first floor and told her to look outside. The lads had all lined up with their wagons in the yard each with a placard with a letter on each one spelling out ‘Jean, Will You Marry Me?’ They’d also rigged some fireworks up. When she saw this, she burst out crying and said yes, and the fireworks shot up into the winter evening sky. Champagne was popped and work finished early. It was very, very cute. You could perhaps try something like that…whatever it is you choose the best of luck and I hope she says yes!

What is it with all you men this month, deciding to spill your guts out to little me? Well, keep them coming, guys! See you next month!