Words in Hand

Clark: Yesterday, on Friday, I was, I'd finished work and I was having my tea break in the morning. So I went in the HBS, my Building Society, the Halifax Building Society. I went in and I saw the Sympathetic Hearing Scheme sign. I've heard that they're putting it up because it's helping deaf people. So I was interested, went in and I went through the doors and there was another one there. Well, I was so pleased and there were the counters there, and there was one with a sign on it. But it was empty, there was no girl there. So there was a man next to it so I walked across and I wrote out how much money I wanted and got my money, and then I was determined, so I wrote down. 'What way does a person communicate with people like me, deaf people? Do they sign? Write?'. And the man was embarrassed and he sort of said he didn't know and he asked other members of staff. And I watched and they were talking amongst each other and they were avoiding each other's eyes. Nobody could help, they were just avoiding each other's eyes. So, I was watching and I was starting to get annoyed. So he went around the back, perhaps to see the manager and I waited 20 minutes!

Clive: 20 minutes!

Clark: That's right! I stood there waiting. Anyway the man came back. 'The manager will see you, please take a seat.' I said 'No, I'm sorry I've got to go back to work. It is a waste of time for me!' So I was so annoyed, because if that Sympathetic Hearing Scheme signs, they should (have) already have somebody there. But they couldn't help me. Not even prepared to write down! They were just embarrassed and escaped from me. I was so annoyed.

Maureen: What did you feel like doing?

Clark: I felt like ripping the signs off!

Gerry: There was one deaf person, he couldn't speak, so I showed him the card. He said 'It's lousy!' I said. 'No, look is your work any good?' 'No, it's terrible!' 'Why?' 'Because the foreman is always picking on me and shouting at me and I don't know what he's saying!' (Foreman:) 'Go on! Get to your work!' So I said to him, 'Look, look at the card and show it to him, show it to your Foreman and the foreman will look at it and say 'What is it? I must speak slowly or write things down.' So the deaf lad was a little bit hesitant. I said 'Don't show it, show him the back.' So anyway he'd try it. Anyway he put it in his pocket.

Anyway, one week later I was in the club and I remembered this lad, he's never in a good mood, anyway he came to me and he tapped me on the shoulder and I said 'Oh.' 'It was great! Succeeded!'

'Is it a true story?

Gerry: 'Yes!'

'What? 'I showed the man the card, I tried to talk to the man and the man was speaking to me, so I gave him the card and he couldn't speak, so that the man looked at it foreman and looked at it, turned it over and read it. So he put his hand on my shoulder and spoke to the other people, just said 'Wait!' So he said the deaf lad was saying 'Well, okay what am I doing?' 'You saw, pick up saw, hammer, go on.' So the lad went and brought them back. The foreman saw that he'd got the right things. So he said 'Now hammer, I'll mark it.' So he hammered away. And the foreman looked at the things and he was amazed, the deaf man was so skilled. Tapped him on the shoulder ...