From time to time My Good Self hooks up with two ex colleagues from my days working with Dublin City Council, formerly known as Dublin Corporation or The Corpo’.

Dublin’s Motor Taxation Office was where I first came across The Agatha Christie Encyclopedia and The Travelling Taximan.

I worked for The Corpo’ for 28 years, the first 14 in the Motor Tax Office, located in Chancery Street behind the Four Courts, the final 12 in Homeless Services with short spells in Derelict Sites and Ballymun in between.

Third level education was not common for school leavers where I grew up. The accepted wisdom was to get a job.

Any job.

Something with a bit of security would be good.

After short spells in the Berkeley Court Hotel and Civil Service, I started with the Corpo’ and that’s where I stayed.

Motor Tax was a purpose built building however it was not much loved by the citizens of Dublin.

The queues were often long and the tax regulations not always straightforward.

It was here that I first did a bit of scribbling, running an office magazine for a year before running out of enthusiasm and ideas.

Whilst my Motor Tax years were somewhat straightforward, the second half of my Corpo’ career saw some of the happier days of my humble existence to date.

For many years I was a care worker in Oak House, a hostel for homeless men on Benburb Street.

I loved my time there.

Probably a bit too much.

After a series of interesting events, a couple of suicides and a bit of personal difficulty, I experienced something of a mental ‘burnout’. This was akin to my brain spinning around at speed for a few weeks weeks until it settled into a period of low mental energy and motivation.

Not to be recommended.

I took early retirement in 2012. My Corpo’ pension means I am financially comfortable.

There’s a lot to be said for that.