Plagiarism “Check”? ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

Plagiarism check for my website. Really? ๐Ÿ˜€

I checked my website statistic today, and see that someone tried to see if I commit plagiarism. Nopes, I link to every source and write everything by myself. I don’t even use AI or chat GTPTBRTGDPR … or whatever it’s called.

Good luck, though. Work harder.

If you want to come after me, you have to find some solid thing to retaliate, Pret A Manger and/or die-hard Pret fan. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Maybe this new aim to shut me down came after my last “Pret CEO Pani Christou” post. Pano Christou needs to go if Pret can in any way be “safed” from further bad reprutation. He might be the last sacred cow left in Pret.

My work is spread across the Internet in many different forms, and backed up threefold. Do with it what you want, “retaliator”.

ๅ‡ธ (ยฌโ€ฟยฌ) ๅ‡ธ

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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now โ€œretiredโ€ former CEO Clive Schlee. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago.
I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit โ€œMy Ordeal with Pret A Mangerโ€. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review as well as mentioned by the BBC.

Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.

NEW LinkTree

PayPal.Me

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Thank you for reading/listening.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org


Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

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Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

Pret A Manger CEO Pano Christou’s Bullsh!t

I want to dissect a talk and interview Pano Christou did a few months ago with the same robotic slogans Pret use to continue fooling the public, the press and the business world.

I will pick out some sentences and directly link to them (blue underlined) and then show what is REALLY happening.

For new readers who don’t know my story and the reality of Pret, I write so blunt after how I (and colleagues in general) was treated in Pret for years, especially once I became bereaved and how the top leadership and HQ were involved.

From here on I write Pano Christou as PC. Everything he says, every slogan is a mantra, a repeat, a brainwash Pret repeat over and over again, and what Crisis Report UK called “doubling down”. After the customer deaths and injuries with Pret’s appalling lack of action, instead of rethinking their true business, Pret doubled down on them and continued to make these claims.

I show WHY these claims are bullsh!t.

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The Beginnings of Pret

Pano Christou (PC) starts off with the same brainwash and refusal to mention nor honour the late Jeffrey Hyman, who opened the first Pret store in 1983 in Hampstead. It ran for a while but then closed again. Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe then bought the name, concept etc. and RE-founded Pret in 1986 Victoria. That’s why across my blog and socials I always refer to them as RE-co-founders.

A friend of Hyman who paid tribute to Hyman’s anniversary of his death, even told me that Pret allegedly got someone to keep changing the Wikipedia entry to delete Hyman. The person then got banned from Wiki and Hyman remains on that page.

After Hyman wasn’t removed from Wiki anymore, Pret around 2019/2020-ish started putting “London 1986” on cups and above shop entrances to keep brainwashing the public.

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Link

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Understaffing

In September 2024 Pret had 700 shops worldwide and as of November 2025 have approx. 720-ish shops plus minus.

The number PC gives of staff in September 2024 is 13,500 which is crazy understaffed as Pret had about 500 shops worldwide in 2018 but 12,000 staff.

Now, Pret have always understaffed, even in my time, but it’s even worse now, especially seeing the staff AND customer reviews on various platforms.

Numbers from 2024: .

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Little side-note: Of course Pret have more female than male workers, women are always more in service work than men. But he pretends this means that Pret is female friendly. See the front of my website and scroll down to just some of the screenshots about sexual advancements towards females. I worked with female assistant managers and managers who got to their position via the bedroom. With some it was an open secret. This exists in every company, but especially in low-wage companies.

He mentions that he has 2/3 females in his executive team. First of all, that’s low; secondly one of these, Claire Clough UK Managing Director, just resigned, and PC has still to announce a new UK MD (as of November 2025).

My guess is, unless JAB Holdings axed her, or she resigned for personal reasons, with Pret having lost a third of their value and owners JAB considering IPO or selling Pret, Clough might have smelled the coffee and jumped the sinking ship.

The Pret Foundation that PC mentions to “alleviate homelessness (and poverty like he said before)” is what companies do to get more funds and tax-breaks. I write about the Pret Foundation and how it not only did NOT help me as a long-time Pret staff once I became bereaved and reached out to Pret, but they just about do a few things to present to the public while exploiting the workforce and work to get rid of bereaved people and those with mental disabilities. There are plenty of reviews and social media accounts on this as well as my own experience.

I write in another post about Pano Christou’s audacity to cut staff wages during the pandemic, while PC got pay-rises, millions in bonus and tax payer’s ยฃ50 million injection. Then he does a half marathon in Hackney to “alleviate poverty” while cutting staff pay, and straight AFTER he cut staff wages asked the staff for donations for his Pret Foundation marathon. This man has no self-awareness and shame whatsoever!

On a staff reviews video I incorporated an outcry by Loose Women presenter Nadia Sawalha on her 500,000+ followings Instagram account, when she learnt that Pret made temporary wage cuts permanent. Her stern words to reached a lot of people. She only made a minor numbers mistake where she said that Pret wanted to cut 11% off ยฃ8.91

Pret always pay a few pennies above minimum wage to appear generous. But workers who are lured in don’t realize that they have to work triple for this, will be on the same pay for years to come except for the government minimum wage rise. And staff also get coerced and fear managed to regularly work overtime without pay, as well as having to chase their correct hours worked in pay almost weekly.

Then during the pandemic Pret made the previous “temporarily” pay cuts permanent and cut that pay down TO THE minimum wage of ยฃ8.91 at the time (2021). Nadia just mixed up the numbers, but her message is still vital as up until then, she assumed Pret were one of the good guys. And up until then about the speed of service, Nadia didn’t know about the mystery shopper 60 seconds rule. It’s worth hearing her whole message.

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Be Kind, Honest, Generous?

PC is asked here about the work culture in Pret and shares the usual bull-crap that if you work hard you get noticed. Bullsh!t. If you work hard in Pret, you get exploited. If you cheat and partake in the toxic culture, you get promoted. The Pret “Academy” is a joke as staff are not trained there, but rather indoctrinated. And a former Development Manager from the “Academy”, Lila Warren was put on my case to find out the right time to fire me as I kept raising issues of bullying and other things and was traumatised.

PC with this brainwash to work hard to get noticed is just the age-old lie by corporate executives to drive people to work their butts off for little reward, hoping that “one day” … and that day will never come for most.

Everyone from HQ and HR who was part of my ordeal is now gone from Pret, so Pret can say that these people don’t work there anymore. When Private Equity takes over, they usually get rid of people. They get rid of “sacred cows”.

What PC says looks good on paper, but reality is very different, especially the training is not good and staff have to train themselves via iPads on their own time on unpaid breaks or at home. I and many I worked with was never trained properly.

And training managers to teach and allow people to be authentic is the biggest bullsh!t Pano Christou says. Here is just the tip of the iceberg on reviews from shop managers, OPS manager, even head office staff including how poorly they think of Pano Christou.

PC talking about the right environment for happy service is another joke. 72% of reviews on Trustpilot (1 & 2 stars combined) are unhappy with Pret, many on the service and atmosphere in shops DESPITE Pret having weekly mystery shopper visits.

I was leaked information that Pret at times delete the bonus and cash reward. So, staff who are even more over worked, understaffed and hardly receive rewards lost morale. And this reflects on review websites and on social media comments.

And I remember in my times, every time Pret held a summer and winter party, costing them thousands of pounds, many shops in the immediate week after the parties didn’t get bonus despite knowing for sure that everything went well. Some started wondering if Pret are taking our bonuses to pay for the parties. At the time I told my colleagues, “don’t be silly…” But now I believe that, after all the other wage theft, hours missing, overtimes not paid, pay delays etc. all on an ongoing basis everywhere.

Trustpilot reviews on Pret marked as “Poor” (as of mid November 2025):

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The Pret “Joy” Brainwash

This whole thing about spreading joy is a typical Pret facade to appear happy and friendly, enforced by strict weekly mystery shopper visits that Pret refused to mention before I called them out on it. Staff suffer with mental health issues and strain while forced to appear happy and joyful.

Pret do what they call a “buddy day”, where they send ONCE a year a staff from head office into a shop to work there for a day. He says here in this video that Pret do this twice a year, but that’s not true. In my 10 years in 30+ shops, there was either only ONCE a year a “buddy” coming from HQ or none at all.

And when they came, it was more a burden for us because they came at 8 or 9am instead of our usual 5am start. They started with breakfast and after doing a few things stood around or fiddled on their mobile phones. We were always glad when they left as we had to slow down and managers had to behave and act friendly towards us staff where they normally where rude and overbearing.

He claims that he learns so much and goes back to the office with a list of things to change. Well, why are there no changes and the toxic, overbearing culture continues Mr. CEO?

The idea is good on paper, but flawed and dishonest in practice.

And the “values” and behaviours (PC here cleverly doesn’t mention the behaviours) I have put on another blog post after Pret DELETED them off their website when journalist Timothy Noah criticised these. The happy teams / happy customers brainwash clearly doesn’t exist as can be seen in the Trustpilot and other reviews as well as staff reviews and social media comments.

And PC here saying that he loves when people come to him to tell him about issues is also a joke. I approached HR with suggestions once I became bereaved, and from then on had a target on my back. This reached the highest levels in Pret that Pret ended up offering me money if I sign a NDA to never speak about my ordeal. I declined and write here.

And putting shops and teams first should go without saying. Shops and teams are THE reason for Pret to exist in the first place. But the “happiness” does not come from Pret treating staff well, it comes from the strict, micromanaging mystery shopper scheme that penalise the whole team when one staff doesn’t smile.

And of course the CEO and executives love to walk into shops and present themselves as such important entitled bosses to scare the teams on top of mystery shoppers.

Again, repeat, staff smile BECAUSE of strict mystery shopper penalties and extra cash, NOT because Pret care for the staff.

Pret is short for pretentious.

Here is the most poignant former staff review (from Indeed) I’ve found and it remains my favourite review as I still feel the pain and after effect of what that person wrote. That review used to have 55 yes and 3 no votes, but Indeed deleted / hid all these votes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pret reached out to debate the voting system. But I still have a screenshot of this review with the votes.

I dedicated a whole slide on this one review as this shares in a nutshell how excruciating it is to work in Pret and the mental suffering even after work at home. I underline every word.

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Never Standing Still

This part has always bothered me greatly that Pret put into their Values and Behaviours booklet. PC explains nothing really helpful about their demand for staff to “never stand still“, so let me explain why Pret want staff to constantly keep moving.

For one, this is so staff appear engaged in their work instead of exhausted and bored, which to Pret in particular is extreme compared to any other hospitality company I’ve ever worked in. I worked in all kinds of hospitality in three countries since I was 16 years old, and even with 14/15 helped out in the kitchen of a local pub to top up my pocket money. But I have NEVER ever experienced such strain, dishonesty, bullsh!t games, toxic culture than in Pret.

People ask, “why did you stay so long?”
For one, I was used to hard work in this brutal industry and was like a trained athlete holding out under extreme work conditions. And two, I was brainwashed in Pret to think things will get better the higher I climb the “ladder”. Plus, during bereavement and trauma I had no-where to go. I couldn’t sell myself to a new employer as I was severely traumatised while still functioning very well. I stayed with the devil, Pret, that I knew, rather than go to a new devil that I didn’t know.

Secondly, staff that never stand still, especially in an already stressful, noisy, hot environment, get so incredibly exhausted that they have no time to think for themselves and stand up against this toxic, exploitative work environment. This is very typical for low-wage companies. Keep staff exhausted so they don’t have the strength to question things and stand up against it. Watch / read that slide here above with the blue writings. It truly is THE best description of Pret inhumane work conditions.

It is borderline modern-day slavery type of demand. If you stand still you WILL get reprimanded! And don’t you even dare to stop smiling while we exhaust you.

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Link to a recent ex-staff review which I completely underline from own and colleagues experience. Many people on Trustpilot write with their own names, and have a mix of positive and negtaive reviews, like Miriam here has. For information, I do not know this person, I am just monitoring news and updates on anything Pret related.

Miriam’s full review for people with visual impairment where programs cannot read screenshots. Quote verbatim of review from 27. October 2025:

Title: scammers, Never work for this company

ยปNever work for this company; they’re scammers. They steal money from your paycheck, don’t pay you for the hours you work, and don’t answer emails. One of the worst companies I’ve ever worked for. They require you to work hard and then refuse to pay you what you’re owed. In some cafeterias, they leave the staff alone, and you can’t get proper breaks.ยซ

End of quote.

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Pret’s “Misery” Shopper Scheme

PC is asked about the service and mystery shopper scheme which until I wrote about it from 2018/19 on, Pret refused to mention in public, pretending staff are “naturally” happy and smiley. I renamed the mystery shopper to “misery” shopper for a reason! The weekly mystery shopper visit, the outer appearance / facade of Pret, is THE SOLE focus for Pret via managers, pushing staff to smile, love-bomb, serve within 1 minute, clean fast etc. as a lot of their quarterly bonuses rely on it.

Pano Christou here is very clever in avoiding to answer the question on HOW the misery shopper actually works, so he diverts to franchises and percentage numbers. So, I will explain how staff are fear- and micromanaged via weekly mystery shoppers.

I was even reprimanded in the office when the mystery shopper commented that I didn’t smile, despite also commenting that I was polite and efficient. The mystery shopper didn’t know that I just buried my brother, but Pret and my managers knew. There was no mercy.

Here are 3 consecutive slides of excerpts on what Pret demands from staff. Some of these reports are older, at times Pret change the phrasing or some questions, but the core of their demands is the same: make Pret appear happy and generous, no matter what.

Keep playing the slide to part 2 and then part 3. If it doesn’t play automatically within this player, click on the YouTube sign to link to the playlist to go to the other parts:

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Doing the Right Thing???

Before Pret were banned in 2018 from advertising their food as “natural”, as this was one of many lies, Pret had a slogan on their website, marketing and even HR (people team) to be “doing the right thing naturally – it’s what makes Pret, Pret”.

I always felt disgusted at this slogan, as it’s the audacity to make these claims while ignoring staff bereavements and other staff illnesses (not paying for the first 3 days even with a sick note), customer deaths and injuries, even call-outs for a faulty freezer door handle resulting in staff getting trapped for over 2.5 hours fighting for survival getting Pret fined ยฃ800,000 in 2023 etc. etc. etc. At least they scrapped the “naturally”.

Regarding pay, Pret have a lot of loopholes and tricks in place to avoid paying workers, one is to “train” a team member for let’s say barista role, but then the manager delays sending them to training days to avoid raising the pay. And once they do go to training courses, they delay “graduation” to again avoid the final pay rise for that position. Not to mention all the other dodgy ways to avoid paying as I linked already above and Pret were called out several times in the press, lawsuits and by the government.

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NEW Class-action Lawsuit coming up AGAIN!

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It is beyond me how people, especially journalists, just believe everything Pret say without looking any closer, and even forgetting fast about their neglect to act after customers died. It took the deaths to become public for Pret to act. Not before. It took Pret TWO YEARS to apologise to the Ednan-Laperouse family that suffered the first customer death of their daughter/sister Natasha.

Pano Christou was UK Managing Director when customers died and got injured. He was the right hand man of then CEO Clive Schlee who “retired” from Pret in 2019 after public pressure including my blog. Schlee is Christou’s mentor and remains involved with the Pret Foundation, and since November 2024 is CEO of itsu which he partially owns. Retirement my a**se.

Little side note: In my post The Day Clive Schlee had a Bright Idee I explain the timing of Schlee’s ยฃ1000 announcement. He made that announcement in the night from 28. to 29. May 2018 when he and Pret were made aware of my blog by Sannukka Nevala, who was my OPs manager for a while, whom I sent a link to my blog. Schlee then quickly made the ยฃ1000 announcement after 1am on 29. May 2018 after I sent the link of my blog to Sannukka Nevala late in the evening on 28. May 2018.

I sent my blog to Nevala because I knew she can’t keep a secret.

And the 29. May 2018 remained the most visited day for over a year as Pret were made aware of my blog, them visiting and Schlee then quickly making the panic move that he always did, to announce ยฃ1000 to all staff to try and counter ahead of time once the press and public become aware of my blog. What a clown! ๐Ÿ˜€

The 29th May was the best views for about a year until my blog grew.

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It didn’t help Schlee with the Glassdoor scores as staff always spill the coffee beans on the reality of Pret. And Schlee then quickly got Pano Christou placed on Glassdoor in July 2019 despite Schlee’s retirement date of September 2019.

Schlee’s last month on Glassdoor: 30. June 2019 before retiring in September 2019:

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Pano Christou already on Glassdoor in July 2019 despite officially not yet being CEO until September 2019 – Clive Schlee in true Pret fashion passing the buck downwards and jumping ship. What a Captain! ๐Ÿ˜€

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Pano Christou’s Glassdoor scores as of mid November 2025, SIX YEARS after he started as CEO – not as bad as Pret’s Trustpilot scores, though. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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And PC mentioning in the video that Pret have employees from many different ethnic backgrounds, LGBTQ+ etc., of course. All companies, especially low-wage employers in London especially have this. But in Pret most high paid Caucasian employees work in head office, and as OPs and shop managers. Most of these are from the UK, Germany, France etc. Most workers with ethnic background, especially from Eastern Europe and black, brown staff work in kitchens and shops.

I’ve been to head office many times, the contrast in ethnic background between high paid staff at HQ and low-wage workers in shops couldn’t be clearer. And British people often get either a rejection or no response at all to their job applications for shops. Pret don’t want British people in shops, they work too slow (compared to people from Eastern Europe who work like machines) and Brits know their rights too well, also wanting more pay.

And when itsu founder Julian Metcalfe behaved in such a media-savvy way to retweet my tweets where I threw itsu staff reviews at him, he deleted his Twitter account and now these Glassdoor reviews of him being accused of being sexist, aggressive etc. these Glassdoor reviews DISSAPPEARED. Yep, companies seem to just contact review websites to get reviews hidden/deleted. But I still have those and spread them across the Internet, no matter how much Pret & Co try to shut me down.

I’ve put them here as well:

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My small exposรฉ on Metcalfe, his love for zero hour contracts and robots, life-long connection to the Royal family, a questionable connection (Jeffrey Epstein), what staff say about him, how suddenly all the negative reviews about him on Glassdoor disappeared after I sent it to him, why some Asian people don’t like him etc.

When Schlee was still CEO of Pret, to me he was the Ronald McDonald Clown of Pret. The friendly face to fool the public. Pano Christou I call “Panocchio” ๐Ÿคฅ for all the dishonesty of Pret.

Itsu now is mainly owned by Private Equity firm Bridgepoint that owned Pret between 2008 and 2018 making a sh!tload of money, squeezing the hell out of us staff. But JAB Holdings / Reimann family is even worse.

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Doing the right thing naturally according to Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’s parents:

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I explain across my blog that in 2017, about 11 months, almost a year after Natasha died, and after in 2015 Pret also were sued in New York by a man who landed in hospital ALSO from sesame and other customers’ injuries, Pret put on a seminar in the Barbican. But the training sessions were in the upstairs rooms and amphitheatre for a week (or it was 2 weeks, can’t remember, but certainly a week). All shop managers, assistant managers and team leaders had to take turns from areas to attend a few hours on a designated day to “learn” about customer service.

Invite email to the “seminar”. Press CTRL and + (plus) to enlarge the screenshot:

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The slogan / title of this seminar was “Be Kind, Honest, Generous”.

A tweet by someone mentioning the “kind, honest, generous” that the Development department put on. Named here is Sarah Bohn who now also left Pret like so many from the old guard. Bohn was one of the note takers on my grievance hearings I raised against leaders who targeted me. She was as toxic as many in the HR and training departments. She blocked me on Twitter early on. So far to being kind, honest and generous.

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It was basically just the same old, same old: how to love-bomb customers and that we had to stop calling customers sir or madam as some got upset being mis-gendered.

Again, this was a year AFTER Natasha died. There was NO MENTION WHATSOEVER about a customer death and several injuries up until then. Nothing whatsoever. There was no emphasis on allergen or labelling,. NOTHING!!!

This is Pret “doing the right thing naturally”!

We just were told the same thing to love-bomb customers, stop saying sir/madam and other childish bull-crap we already knew about. We were told to bring back what was “taught” in the seminar to the rest of the team members in the shops. We of course didn’t, because we didn’t learn anything new and were under extreme scrutiny every week by mystery shoppers. We laughed about “be kind, honest, generous” as we knew Pret wasn’t. And where was Pret’s kindness, honesty and generosity in information about customer fatality and injuries.

WHERE WAS PRET BEING KIND

and honest and generous to customers to inform them about Natasha’s death and multiple injuries before AND after Natasha’s death?

Where was Pret’s “kindness” and honesty about Celia Marsh, the 2. customer who died?

Celia Marsh’s death and Isobel Colnaghi’s narrow survival in 2017 was just another “generosity” of Pret.

Where was Pret’s “generosity” with “honest” information to prevent further deaths and injuries while bullying staff to smile?

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And where was Pret’s generosity to invest in labelling to prevent further deaths and injuries?

If Pret would have informed the public, implemented change, I firmly believe Celia Marsh, the 2. customer who died in 2017 would be alive! She would have avoided Pret or Pret would have implemented change. But nopes, “doing the right thing” for Pret meant, full steam ahead, profit over lives.

And this was under Bridgepoint, before JAB took over. And under JAB Pret were fined ยฃ800,000 ($1 million) in 2023 after ignoring for 19 months faulty freezer door call-outs. Staff kept getting trapped for a few minutes, until a staff got trapped for over 2.5 hours in 2021 fighting for her life. She just wore a short sleeve T-shirt and had no mobile phone with her as Pret don’t allow staff carrying their phones with them.

I explain in my ยฃ800K post WHY this staff member was never missed by her colleagues for 2 hours 45 minutes.

The customer fatalities and injuries is still one of my biggest upsets about it all. I was a Team Leader with part of my job description having been health and safety, and I took that very serious. I was known by my teams and managers for being overly careful and strict on health and safety issues, even throwing out hundreds of pounds (in ยฃ money) of food and drink per shift when it was below the safe temperatures due to broken fridges in over-heated shops during the summer etc.

My managers hated me for that, but couldn’t do anything as I followed procedure. And even then my shops often became top shop and in the top 10 of all shops. I got never promoted beyond team leader position mind you, as I followed procedure and refused to cheat on expiry dates etc. But I slept well at nights. But NOT being told about customer deaths, Pret NOT closing shops to implement changes could have potentially caused me and my colleagues to injure further or even cause death to customers on our shifts.

I speak about this in detail on my podcast.

And regarding food waste / donations, a lot of Pret’s food at the end of the day either gets SOLD via the Too Good To Go (TGTG) app, even the hot food that Pret told us BEFORE the pandemic to not even give for free to charity due to safety issues. Since the pandemic profit losses, Pret grab more money than ever. Food safety out the window. Again.

Too Good To Go blocked me on Twitter for pointing out the safety issues to them. At least they can’t claim to not know concerns, should customers get food poisoned. I keep all the receipts.

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And whatever is not sold via TGTG is thrown away if no unpaid volunteer from charities pick it up.

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Customers post pictures and videos of Pret’s food waste in the streets in various countries:

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Pano Christou’s Self-Admiration

In September 2025 Pano Christou posted a picture on his Facebook. This photo is from the early 2010s when he was UK MD. I remember this picture very well because it was plastered everywhere on Pret’s intranet regarding Christou. He also uses a photo where the backdrop is Pret’s old logo with “Natural” food on it for which Pret got banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in 2018.

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His Facebook account as of mid November 2025 has 130 friends. When Clive Schlee โ€œretiredโ€ from Pret in Sep. 2019 his Twitter account remained until July 2020 as “CEO of Pret”, as if he couldnโ€™t let go. It was closed down in the beginning of July 2020.

With PC’s 2010’s photo of himself as UK MD posted on his Facebook in Sep. 2025 is an indication to me that he misses “the old times” and is lost at the top of the lonely CEO spot.

But what is even more pathetic and sad is that Pano Christou LIKED his own picture. And as of 14.11.2025 updating this post, no-one has liked his picture.

Pano Christou, maybe it’s time to resign and look for a better workplace, so you won’t look so lost at the top spot while stealing wages and ignoring safety issues, the last public issue being a staff almost dying in a freezer.

I took photos of the screen as screenshots now don’t capture the dates when hovering over it.

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The Beginning of the End of Pret?

I don’t think so. What may happen is that Pret get sold again and handed to the next Private Equity “pimp” to squeeze whatever is left of Pret. Pret lost a third of their value (or current owners JAB Holdings under the Reimann family, over-valued Pret in 2018) and are over ยฃ500 million in debt, which is normal for Private Equity. In 2024 RE-co-founder Sinclair Beecham returned to Pret to help fix the mess, as in my opinion from knowing a bit of Pano Christou (PC), the CEO is too busy portraying himself as this great dude and repeats the same slogans in a robotic brainwash to continue fooling the public. Pret have lost favour with the mainstream press, so Pano Christou does his rounds on small unknown business podcasts. He truly seems dissociated from reality.

At least he removed the “Lovingly handmade in this kitchen today” bullsh!t in a high stress, toxic, bullying environment with a fake happiness enforced by weekly “misery” shoppers.

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Crisis Report UK on Pret’s Neglect

Last, but certainly not least, a recent video by a new YouTube channel that already has thousands of subscribers early on. It sounds AI generated, and unfortunately a lot of issues are missing like the ยฃ800,000 fine after Pret yet again ignored safety issues and a staff almost died in a walk-in freezer. But whoever did this video, and even while using AI voice, did a great job.

A little clickbaity title, but nevertheless good piece overall.

On my podcast I added a few more issues and expanded on some things.

The conclusion of Pano Christou’s interview and speech for me is either, he is deeply delusional or right out lying, or both. I leave it to the reader to ponder on this.

Support small independent businesses and join a union. Always.

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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now โ€œretiredโ€ former CEO Clive Schlee. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago.
I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit โ€œMy Ordeal with Pret A Mangerโ€. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review as well as mentioned by the BBC.

Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.

NEW LinkTree

PayPal.Me

.

Thank you for reading/listening.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org


Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

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.

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

Why Pret A Manger is Actually Dying – by Crisis Report UK

Pret’s bogus slogan, “Doing the right thing naturally it’s what makes Pret, Pret” now removed after customer deaths became public. I always complained about this slogan with Pret.

And the audacity “Doing the right thing” (It’s what makes Pret, Pret) The self-indulgence and delusion of Pret knows no bounds!

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HR aka “people team” slogan removed now. Bullying staff, targetting bereaved employees seems to be Pret’s definition of “doing the right thing naturally”. After Pret were banned in 2018 from advertising their food too be natural and the customer deaths becoming public, they were forced to scrap this bullsh!t slogan. The louder a big company shouts about rubbish like this, the closer you need to look, just scratch the surface and their facade starts cracking fast.

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I came across a YouTube video of someone who calls out large corporations. I remember texting with someone on social media a few months ago, which might have been this person and have to find the screenshot.

I put the video here and underneath my additions as podcast episode on some corrections and further info, confirming what this channel says. I’m grateful they mentioned my blog and read a lot of the issues I present regarding Pret.

UPDATE: 05.11.2025

The YouTube person changed the title from “Don’t Eat at Pret A Manger Until You Watch This” to “Why Pret A Manger is Actually Dying” which is much better, less click-baity, more meaning for solid reporting.

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I understand his AI generated voice might come across too dramatic for some, but I can absolutely back this up and love the wording he uses. Video underneath screenshots.

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Podcast version of his full audio with my addition and minor corrections. I wish this channel knew about the ยฃ800,000 Pret were fined in 2023 bu Westminster Council after a staff survied an over 2.5 hour ordeal in a walk-in freezer. It would have further shown how Pret don’t care about safety, including staff safety. The channel knows now.

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Link

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Plus the “P.S.” I mentioned if I’d remember something else. I added a bit about Sarah Fergusan, Jeffrey Epstein, Julian Metcalfe, the Endnan-Laperouse family etc.

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Links of what I mention in above audio:

The Private Equity Trap Pret A Manger Jumped Into –
3rd Value Loss and ยฃ500+ million in Debt:

Exposรฉ on net-worth ยฃ215 million itsu founder & Pret A Manger RE-founder Julian Metcalfe, his love for zero hour contracts & robots, connection to the Royal family, a questionable connection, what staff say about him, how suddenly all the negative reviews about him on Glassdoor disappeared after i sent it to him, why some Asian people don’t like him & how I chased him off Twitter/X:

Recruiting for Personality rather than Skill can be Fatal

Clive Schlee’s ยฃ1000 announcement in the night he learnt about my blog.

ยฃ10 million is like ยฃ10.

And for my annual end of year “Pret A Manger Year in Review” I did 2025 mid December. Until something crazy happens in the last 2 weeks of December 2025, I just put this up now. There is much more, but I wanted to keep it at under 15 minutes. Apologies for the stretched videos, I don’t yet know how to fix it. This is just more for reference and a fun way to call Pret out:

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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now โ€œretiredโ€ former CEO Clive Schlee. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago.
I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit โ€œMy Ordeal with Pret A Mangerโ€. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review as well as mentioned by the BBC.

Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.

NEW LinkTree

PayPal.Me

.

Thank you for reading/listening.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org


Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

.

.

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

Free Labour aka Volunteer “Opportunity”

Upfront, I am sending this blog post to several people in different countries, people who work in and with charities and people who run small businesses, employing a handful of people or who are higher up employees on executive levels but are doing amazing work with their employees.

Some of you I’m sending this to might get upset, angry, disappointed, all of the above. But please know I don’t mean harm or offence and I will not mention any business or charity here, neither those who do amazing work or those I wish would take to heart regarding volunteer work.

Also upfront, I have severe PTSD issues lately, this is NO excuse whatsoever and nothing anyone can do anything about. I just want people to know it is NOT you, it’s me. I want people to feel released, there is nothing you can do, and it is all ok. I just still don’t now how to deal with triggers and have given up seeking help from mental health services and want to cut myself loose / away from everyone and everything.

Since I was in my late teens, early twenties I volunteered in different charities and churches. I did everything from sound system in church to feeding homeless people in charities to visiting elderly people in nursing home with an artist to paint pictures with them.

At one point in London years ago I was also part-time employed and looked after volunteers.

But for years in ALL these charities I always struggled to understand why we volunteers, when we were absent due to sickness or other reasons, no-one seemed to bother where we are, HOW we are.

In churches this is extremely bad as they brainwash you to “trust in God” while they themselves squeeze the lifeblood out of you.

In recent years it has dawned on me how much volunteer work, which basically is FREE LABOUR, has increased in our Western world. When I grew up, I was never aware of any charity or people doing free work / volunteer. It was an exception when someone needed a service from a charity or volunteered in charity.

I only saw this being common place in the USA. And of course it made sense, the social net system in the USA isn’t as strong as in Germany or the UK. Now under the orange felon it’s even more catastrophic.

But when I returned to Europe in 2006 after close to 6 years in the USA, I was shocked to learn that Germany had a new system where people who can’t find work, get a job where they’re paid โ‚ฌ1 (ONE!) per hour and then the state substitutes more money to pay the rent etc.

I remember not having been very fond of then German Chancellor Gerhard Schrรถder, who even at the time was already married four times and is currently married to his 5th wife. No judgement here, but if you can’t work through a marriage more than twice, how can you run a country with everyone’s interests and wellbeing in mind?

Under Schrรถder a lot of social and welfare cutbacks came into place and he was very pro-business. After his political career when Angela Merkel became the first female Chancellor of Germany, Schrรถder went to Russia and worked on the boards of oil companies. He is also a close friend of Putin. Need I say more about Schrรถder’s agenda.

But I found a different Germany after I returned to Europe and was shocked at this โ‚ฌ400 a month or โ‚ฌ1 per hour jobs.

When I grew up, even cleaning jobs were paid decently that you could have a dignified life, paying your bills and afford a vacation. But since the global economy crept in and even countries like Germany started to open food banks in the 1990s, the saying on the radio and TV that the “rich are getting richer, and the poor poorer” couldn’t be ignored anymore.

But me having been a God-believing Christian all these years in Germany, the UK and USA, I just put my head down and did the good work of a good Christian, even suffering with lack of food because a good Christian must suffer and still work for free.

Fast forward to the 2020s.

After my brother’s traumatic death, the bullying in Pret, further losses in my family etc. I have become unable to work, unable to even volunteer due to the triggers regarding the workplace bullying etc.

But I kept trying. But every-time a trigger came, or someone acted toxic, I quit the volunteer “opportunity”. I became increasingly irritated even with these wordings of volunteer “opportunity”, as they are created to sugar-coat to people that free labour is supposed to be an opportunity. Or another clever move that WITHOUT volunteering, you won’t find a paid job as you don’t collect for your resume.

I now call bullsh!t on this.

Of course volunteer work can massively help getting experience, getting to know people and opportunities, absolutely. But this should not be the norm or pseudo-requirement for paid work.

The free work industry, and it is an industry with the sheer amount of non-profits popping up everywhere at times sitting on millions if they’re big enough, is a massive thorn in my side.

Is has become normalised that 1. more charities are needed and 2. much more free labour and low-wage work compared to a living wage and a dignified work life.

All these charities have a few at the top on executive levels and in paid work, like admin. I was told by someone on social media and a little research will show the numbers, that the CEO of the mental health charity CALM (which is short for Campaign Against Living Miserably) gets ยฃ154,000 annually, and charities also give bonuses like businesses do. I haven’t researched how much the Samaritans CEO gets which is even a bigger charity than CALM.

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And it is astounding that a charity CEO gets roughly the same, or even MORE than UK Prime Minister. So, while the CALM CEO gets a juicy wage and probably bonus, his workforce live “miserably” as in not getting paid.

In 2024 UK PM got about ยฃ173,000 and as far as I know there is no bonus. But I have to check what their travel allowance is. And fair enough, after their PM career they get ยฃ115,000 annually. That’s why people were so angry with Liz Truss’ two-and-a-half minutes in office, crashing the economy and nevertheless cashes in for the rest of her life.

A fundraiser in a charity working 3 days a week gets around ยฃ32,000+ annually. A Community Operations Manager gets around ยฃ40,000 annually etc. etc. etc. All working 3 days a week. If some work more, it’s their choice, but by contract it’s 3 days a week.

ยฃ40K a year is a fourth of what UK PM gets running a country and having the finger on the atomic bomb button, making decision of life and death.

How can a CEO of a charity get roughly the same, if not more than UK Prime Minister, and this by running a non-profit “charity” that has mainly unpaid workers volunteering for no pay?

How can this be? Charities that are excempt from paying taxes and get funds from the government and private donations. How?

And of course we cannot compare a charity with a private business, but I still like to spill out that Pret A Manger CEO Pano Christou now gets about ยฃ500,000 annually plus ยฃ5 million in bonus if not more, while making cuts to staff left, right and center as well as draining tax payers, wage theft, coercing staff to work overtime without pay, “borrowing” money from staff (pay delays) etc. etc. etc.

This article is from 2022, the pay and bonus is more now:

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Link

This article by Sarah Butler came after I sent her other issues with pay delays, strike plans by staff etc. which she all reported on and finally started to dig deeper. I write about Butler here and how it took YEARS for her to move from a Pret fan to digging into how Pret really are. The above article finally came about when she started to investigate instead of just swallowing every PR stunt by Pret, even though she is a journalists who specialises in “ethics”, yet it took her years and many emails from me. Of course she never credited back to me.

Thou shalt work for free and not even eat.

Here comes the real beef I have with charities. And again, there are people that will read this to whom I have already communicated this, partly in anger, partly in drunken mails, and I apologise again. But it remains an issue with me where I want to cut all ties with everyone and every organisation and go off grid and leave the world behind after having experienced and seen exploitation in companies, especially Pret, and worked for free for decades in various organisations in three countries.

One particular person who might read this needs to know how grateful I am for what they personally have done for me when I had a broken foot late last year into this year. This person brought me food, looked out for me, told others to look out for me etc. I will not be able to say thank you enough, partly also because no other charity has ever done anything like this even close when I or other volunteers were sick or unwell in any form like bereavement etc.

So, please know I am extremely grateful.

This charity is a food charity where people can get food including vegetables etc. very very affordable. It has helped me a great deal. And this charity is doing amazing work in the community.

Here comes the hairy but(t), the volunteers have to pay full price, the same amount that we customers pay. And it is disheartening to the point I sometimes tear up.

I raised this a few times, and one staff member responded saying something like, “well if they get free food shop, it wouldn’t be volunteering anymore”. And again, I call bullsh!t.

If a charity doesn’t want to give free shops to their unpaid labourers, they should be ashamed. It is not just unethical, but a disgrace!

I feel bad to even have to scream this from the roof tops and even make “enemies”. But I don’t care anymore.

And especially since this charity is not a foodbank giving free food out, but a food pantry getting all their food donated to them and then selling it very affordable, meaning they do make some profit. They pay nothing for the food and sell it. Yet, the unpaid volunteers also have to pay for their food shop, especially same price. It’s unacceptable.

Everywhere I volunteered, we always received the free products, or a fraction of it. For example when I lived in Florida I helped out in a small clothing donation house where people from the community could come by to get a certain amount of free clothing.

We volunteers were allowed to take one (or maybe more, I can’t remember) clothing item with us. The same with my mum, she volunteered for 15 years with the German Red Cross in her town. My mum helped out once a week, sometimes more depending on how busy it was or when other people were on holiday or sick. Their work also was going through clothes donations to sieve out dirty, ripped clothes and keep the good parts.

They even had donations of curtains, photo cameras, shoes, wall pictures, little lamps and some other items.

Each volunteer was allowed to take 3 items with them per shift. No matter what items there were. My mum had functioning cameras, some kitchen electrical items, clothes, shoes etc. etc. At times she brought some for me when she knew what I liked. I still have a pair of boots that were brand new when my mum brought them home.

Even if volunteers worked 3 days a week, they then got 9 items that week, basically 3 items per shift, even if some just helped out 2-3 hours as they always had MOUNTAINS of clothes. Years later as my mum got older, she in turn then donated a lot of the clothes back to her local charity bank.

And the Red Cross where she helped out did a full typical German breakfast for and with the volunteers. German breakfast is usually rolls with jam, cheese, salami, ham etc coffee, tea. Simple version of a much larger Saturday home breakfast. But the rapport and care in that organisation, even between paid staff and volunteers, was the best I’ve ever seen when I visited my mum and she took me along.

But it breaks my heart and sits extremely bad that volunteers at a food charity have to pay for their food shop.

I forgive businesses for being greedy, and I am NOT against capitalism, but I cannot look over charities hoarding money, paying executives a sh!tload in salary and bonus, and paying staff high wages working 3 days a week. All this while the main frontline work is done by unpaid volunteers, and then they don’t even get a free food shop per shift. I don’t care how normalised this has become, this isn’t normal, and it isn’t right. And I die on that hill.

And what is further upsetting about this is that volunteers have no labour rights like paid employees have. Of course people might argue, ‘well, you CHOOSE to be a volunteer, no-one is forcing you’. Sorry, cop-out. You’re making it too easy on yourself.

On that note also, how some charities manipulate potential volunteers by telling them that they have to commit to a minimum of three months when they start. My response, a volunteer does NOT have to commit to anything, they are not paid. But “charities” (charity which means “love”) rely on good-willed people who don’t understand how they are just used for free labour while having no rights and in some cases don’t even get a free food shop!

I remember times in Germany and even here in the UK that bosses sometimes gave you some extra money when they were happy with your work. But now, these days it is: work more for less and be grateful for this “opportunity”.

Shame on any “charity” working under this mantra.

I burn bridges now since all the traumas and the useless aim to try and get help. I truly give up and don’t apologize for it. Some people who didn’t know me from before everything went downhill, please know I never used to be this blunt and weird. I used to be diplomatic, kept my head down, went on my way. But that old person is dead.

Apologies again to everyone regarding emails, and a huge thank you for the patience and helping wherever I was unable to help myself. It will never be forgotten.

How Pret steal from low-wage staff to fund their “charity” projects for PR:

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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now โ€œretiredโ€ former CEO Clive Schlee. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago.
I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit โ€œMy Ordeal with Pret A Mangerโ€. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review as well as mentioned by the BBC.

Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.

NEW LinkTree

PayPal.Me

.

Thank you for reading/listening.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org


Interview:

(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)

.

.

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of expret.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission is prohibited.
ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present: expret.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

Song of the Day #1 – “Don’t Pick a Fight

 

With A Poet”

— Madeleine Peyroux

 

bird-feather-2505307_960_720

 

I re-wrote the lyrics
— Late Night Girl

When you’re working in a chain,
where your bosses give you pain,
make you want to start a big fight,
’cause they talk as if they’re so right.
There is one thing to remember,
in case you haven’t heard:
You can sack another staff member,
but you cannot smite a word.

 

So, don’t pick a fight with a poet.
Don’t hide behind your PR.
Whether it’s wrong or it’s right,
there’s a lesson in life,
and to learn it, you need to listen up,
cause staff’s had enough of this crap.
When you treated me so poor,
I almost died but I came through,
and you want to prove me all wrong,
you think you are so strong.
You can try to make them listen.

You used to be my boss,
but the survivor is the one
who recovers from their loss.
So, don’t pick a fight with a griever.
Don’t corrupt the hearings for our gain.
Whether it is wrong or it’s right,
there’ll be a lesson tonight,
and to learn it keep turning the page,
’cause a poet knows, that ink will never age.
Over here on the screen with a Customer’s grin
making rhyme out of broken lives
cryin’ the hymn.
And memories from good times,
clicking away free coffees and treats,
congregating the world
with a keyboard and tweets.
Don’t pick a fight with a traumatized person.
Don’t raise your voice against them.
Once they have nothing to lose,
there’s only truth to choose,
and to accept it, you’ll have to return,
to the basics of kindness to win … again.

 

 

Doing the Late Night Girl Thing Naturally!

 

ยฉ2018 LateNightGirl.org

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ 2019 poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

 

Fawn within fawn

 

August 9, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includesย  an act of โ€œpeering from the woods.โ€ Go where the prompt leads.

Respond by August 14, 2018. Use the comment section below to share, read and be social. You may leave a link, pingback or story in the comments.

CarrotRanch.com 99 Word Challenge

 

2018-08-09 Challenge

 

“Fawn within fawn”

โ€œOh deer! No headlights this time; Just eye to eyeโ€, I thought to myself when I encountered this beautiful beast unsuccessfully trying to camouflage as a tree. Its two-leaf ears gave it away! My green coat may have equally looked like food, too, but I actually was looking for some game, yet couldn’t bring myself to break it to the fawn, gun in hand!

What now?! We could both pretend neither is here or just hop off to the next best eatable opportunity down the food chain.

I leave it to the reader to decide what happened next.

 

ยฉ2018 PoetrasBlok.com

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present poetrasblok.com, expret.org, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

 

Squint – & – The Cut

 

Saturday Mix, 4 August 2018!

This week we are seeing double with โ€˜Double Takeโ€™.

The โ€˜Double Takeโ€™ challenge focuses on the use of homophones* to build your writing piece. You have two sets of homophones and you are challenged to use all of them in your response โ€“ which can be poetry or prose.

Our homophone sets this week are:

heal โ€“ to cure of disease
heel โ€“ hind part of foot
heโ€™ll โ€“ contraction of โ€œhe willโ€

and

lain โ€“ past tense of lay
lane โ€“ narrow road

 

I have 2 and just put them on one page:

 

โ€œSquintโ€

 

She lived way too long in the fast lane

busy with life, work, stress and activities

rat racing away

from her home country

 

It was time to catch up in person

not just through the line and

via a machine

 

When she invited him for a gig

close to his town

she firmly expected he’d come

as he emailed that he’ll

have a look at his schedule,

a ticket was even booked

but he couldn’t make it

 

Some months later she learned

that he has lain for days

not able to heal

 

She lost track,

went on a free fall

and has been on life’s heel

ever since

not seeing clear anymore

 

 

0ae2b4a2fd6512bff7d9b5068a5aace7

 

 

โ€œThe Cutโ€

Thinking he’ll heal after the injury to his heel when he was lain in the lane after the flame erupted in the plane. But they had to amputate.

 

ยฉ2018 PoetrasBlok.com

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present poetrasblok.com, expret.org, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

 

 

The Porch

 

I’m sorry I can’t slow down, life is short and when my brain is full, I need to empty it to make space…

 

Entry for this week’s Carrot Ranch 99 Word challenge:

August 2, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a yellow tent. Where is it and who does it belong to? Think of how the color adds to the story. Go where the prompt leads.

Respond by August 7, 2018. Use the comment section below to share, read and be social. You may leave a link, pingback or story in the comments.

 

2018-08-02 Challenge

 

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โ€œThe Porchโ€

 

Reinhold Messner sought the Heights
and found his Porch
No Mansion by the Beach
or Villa in the Hills
can bargain with him
in exchange
for his little Yellow Tent
on top of the Peak
touching Paradise

No incentive of a fake Sky
from a tasteless satellite dish
can pay him to observe
electronic stars and purple rain
sprinkle down upon his Summit

The Snow is his Sand
the Tent his Castle and
the Sky his Umbrella
to protect him from
a moderate Life

The Crisp Air is his Coffee
the Moon his Bread
and the Earth his Bed

 

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ยฉ2018 PoetrasBlok.com

 

A little bonus for Deepa’s brilliant naughty entry, but I will not submit this, it’s just silly fun:

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โ€œThe Torchโ€

Frantically and with red cheeks (from the cold!) the Beatle and Messner tried to grab the torch at once and crawled out of the tent. As they were gentlemen, they volunteered to spend the night in a chilly igloo, so Deepa and her Yellow Flame can enjoy nature’s fireworks!

The Beatle, awoken from Messner’s talk about his feat to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, caught his breath to switch songs and began to whistle โ€œDead Flowersโ€.

And then a sudden silence pierced the air. Messner didn’t dare, but the Beatle crawled back to the tent, and it was empty!

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ยฉ2018 Poetrasblok.com

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present poetrasblok.com, expret.org, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

 

 

A Beatle’s Wasteland

 

My entry for this week’s Carrot Ranch 99 Word challenge:

August 2, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a yellow tent. Where is it and who does it belong to? Think of how the color adds to the story. Go where the prompt leads.

Respond by August 7, 2018. Use the comment section below to share, read and be social. You may leave a link, pingback or story in the comments.

2018-08-02 Challenge

—————————————————–

“A Beatle’s Wasteland”

‘How did I get myself into this mess?!’ he thought while trying to find beauty in his surroundings, with freeze burn on his toes.

His mind was frozen from the cold. And in this solitude, all he managed to do was to hum a tune to try and stay awake. All that came to mind in this ironic turn of events, was a song he used to sing with his friends under a starry night around the camp fire…

โ€œWe all live in a yellow submarine, yelloow suubmaariine, yeeellooow sub…mmaa….riiinee…โ€

And then he dosed off into the stars.

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ยฉ2018 PoetrasBlok.com

Okay, I admit, this was a little bit of a cheat, as I am borrowing 11 words from The Beatles’ song. *blushing*

I’m just warming up a little bit.

ยฉ2018 PoetrasBlok.com

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, expret.org, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ Present poetrasblok.com, expret.org, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

 

This is where the Internet is at its best

 

and where online โ€œcommunityโ€ finds its true definition!

 

CarrotRanchSmile

Photo from CarrotRanch.com

 

I don’t want to be cheesy, weepy, or too emotional here, but I get cheesy, weepy and emotional with this โ€œlittleโ€ blogger / writer community I am just now getting into. It may be that it will help somewhat to recover my sanity!

But to any writer, check out this wonderful writing place at the Carrot Ranch Literary Community.

Thank you again to Kate for nudging me and not letting go!

I wrote my first “Flash Fiction” 99 Word challenge encouraged by Kate and immediately got addicted! The Case and The Chase with a full list of all the entries of the Stranded Suitcase. And I’m hooked!

This little community of writers and stories I include in my โ€œHeroโ€ section because my writing brain found a wholesome outlet to, at least in a small way, regain my mental health after trauma.

Thank you Charli Mills for hosting and inviting the world of writers to your Ranch! What a huge work you are doing with passion. There are some writers and stories I have already come across in just 3 days where I can learn from, find inspiration and get my mind off the painful things of life and get into much needed fun as Kate gently reminded me!

Lovely! ๐Ÿ™‚

 

The Congress of Rough Writers

 

P.S. Warning regarding Late Night Girl side effects: I go into moods swings at times as well as working on some โ€œliquid issuesโ€, if that happens where you read something irrational, harsh or confusing, let the horse kick my butt and please ignore and keep going. I am just recovering from 3 years of emotional hell and am working on getting back to normal again โ€ฆ TY

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ 2019 poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.

 

The Chase

I did a happy ending version of my depressing 99 word entry I submitted yesterday.

Have to start somewhere with the “fun bit” @ calmkate ๐Ÿ˜‰

The challenge:

In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about what happens next to a stranded suitcase. Go where the prompt leads you, but consider the different perspectives you can take to tell the tale.

 

The Chase

 

working-template-for-ff-challenges44CHASE

 

In the stillness, a sudden noise from the horns of a train erupted in the tunnel, followed by a blinding light. Out came the man running for his life. About 20 meters into the tunnel he had second thoughts that were immediately confirmed by an oncoming train chasing the man back out of the tunnel.
But his case was gone already, while his life was found again. Exhausted, he sat by the side of the tracks, feeling the guilt of almost having involved an innocent train driver into an involuntary act. New hope and the chase for life began.

 

ยฉ2018 PoetrasBlok.com

 

Unless otherwise stated or linked to, this website and all writings within this site are the property of poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Reproduction and distribution of my writings without written permission are prohibited.

ยฉ2017 โ€“ 2019 poetrasblok.com, LateNightGirl.org unless otherwise stated. All Rights reserved. Disclaimer.