taking stock

The financial year end is approaching at work, which means that the stock taking season has started.  We've finished roses, conifers and climbers so far, which means that now each time we sell any of those we have to write it down.  As the number of completed categories grows so does the amount that has to be recorded at the till, like a demented iterative party game, while the poor customers stand by.  Today I acted as scribe while the manager called out numbers for shrubs and herbaceous plants in the back-up behind-the-scenes polytunnel (it is officially called the herbaceous tunnel but is on the far side of the car park so generally referred to as the other side.  I always find it slightly disconcerting when colleagues say 'I'm just going over to the other side' meaning they are going to the herbaceous tunnel).  Scribing entails sitting in a green plastic chair with a clipboard on your lap and a pile of computer printouts, writing down the numbers the person counting calls out to you against the relevant lines of the stock list, and occassionally asking for elaboration e.g. 9cm or 2L pot, which supplier?  A working knowledge of botanical Latin speeds things up.  If you don't know that Kalopanax begins with K, but Caryopteris and Calycanthus start with C though the initial sound is also K, while Ceratostigma begins with C despite sounding like S, and the P in Ptelea is silent, then you are both going to be there for an extremely long time.  The drumming of heavy rain on the tunnel roof introduced an element of confusion.  I was intrigued by the sound of Buddleia verbosa but it turned out to be B. globosa.  The other main thing about stock taking in a polytunnel in January is that you get unbelievably, obscenely cold doing it.