More on Tilbury

Sunday afternoon already and every ones at work tomorrow except me with my dodgy knee. Good grief, I'm almost a poet! Had physio on Friday and now that the clips are out its feeling a lot better and more mobile. Still got the problem that every evening I seem to start running a temp and getting chills in my legs and back and then another restless night. Got to improve soon.

My favourite blog has got to be the Huffington Post (linked on the left). The coverage of the presidential race is brilliant and some of the quotes are quite breathtaking. How about this from John Harris the Speaker of the House on Sarah Palins qualifications to be Vice President, "She's old enough, She's a US citizen"...............

Looking at my last post on the guy in the Tilbury pub has reminded me that while at Tilbury I had a 650cc Triumph Trophy motorbike and did some pretty stupid things on it so maybe I shouldn't have knocked him so much. In one week while working 12 hours a day for 7 days I managed to clock up 1000 miles. This included 2 trips to a pub in Canterbury and a trip to Brighton where I over indulged in a seafront steakhouse. I started off with a couple of pints at the bar, then a carafe of red wine with the steak (that's when I found out what a carafe was and what red wine tastes like). Then a brandy followed by more beer at the bar. And look, here I am talking about it.

Remembering the crazy labourers we had in the flour mill I recall that they also worked 12 hour days, 7 days a week and their take home pay was only £18/week. One of the crazy fitters persuaded all the contract fitters not to work on Sundays. The reasoning was that with a full week the total stoppages were equivalent to a days wage. Stupid or what? Sundays were double time as well.

One of our fitters was saving up to buy a house - for cash. A terrace could be bought for £850 and one with a garden for £1250. He reconded he'd have the money within a year. Not stupid or what?

Saudi Air Force, Tibury and stuff

Tomorrow the district nurse arrives to take out the steel clips from my knee. Yup, really looking forward to that and will definitely load up on paracetamol before she arrives.

Feeling really embarrassed about the closing ceremony at Beijing. Whats with the bus and this stupid dancing and Beckham kicking a ball? Bloody hell.

To continue my story about Tilbury in 1969 I was very lucky to get lodgings in nearby Grays as there were all sorts of contractors sleeping in their cars on the roadside. The going rate for bed, breakfast and evening meal was £5 per week and we were allowed £6.10/- so a small profit was all we got for working away from home. It wasn't long before some idiot told his landlady what the allowance was and suddenly the rate went up for everybody and we got nothing for working away. After nearly 40 years I'm still looking for the bastard!

I was lodged in a house with another guy and we met an interesting character who would pop in occasionally. He had lodged there the previous academic year, being a student at University of London. He was a Saudi called HarnyHarny. Alright, I know the spelling is totally wrong but thats the way the name was pronounced and it was a huge joke as a group called the Archies had a hit that year called Sugar, Sugar (honey, honey etc). He was a member of the Saudi Air Force who were sponsoring him and he used to regale us with stories of crime and punishment back home, theft, adultery, alcohol etc. He also used to turn up with a bottle of brandy and here's the really strange bit, a bottle of coca cola! Who's ever heard of brandy and coke? Bizarre. Our wages were about £18/week and he got £20 for spends. He also said his father, related to the King, had just registered as a millionaire. Unbelievable!