"Parkinson's Law - "Work expands so as to fill the time available to complete it." CN Parkinson, 1955 It's sixteen miles from Darlington to 1955 and it's clear that Mr Parkinson did not formulate his law in this small Pennine town where, according to the photographic prints of Parkin Raine, nothing much has changed from Amen Corner to Balliol Street, from Thorngate Wynd to Scar Top. Here, the toad of work doesn't squat on the lives of the owners of the hardware store which half-day closes every Wednesday and once again, on Thursday. The florist blooms on four days out of seven, leaving birthdays unbouqueted and funerals unwreathed; the bank still shuts its doors at half past three, and every time I pass the patisserie the blinds – striped and faded like a summer from my childhood - are firmly closed. So work is kept in its place; time stretches out like a heather-covered fellside, and Cyril Northcote Parkinson moved to a town that didn't contradict him. Judi Sutherland From "The Ship Owner's House" published by Vane Women Press.
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