Consultant Gas

A small job that never ended up on my resume, however, it was a lifesaver.

It was the middle of September in 1977 and the three of us had been living at the father in laws apartment, crammed into a small space and tempers constantly flaring.

It had been a good week, I had received my first "giro" which was back payment from the dole office (Social Security) and applied at this gas consulting firm in Skelmersdale.

In the first weeks I was spraying cabinets, brazing and draughting. In addition, I became the tea boy and the lad who went for all the dinners down to the chippy, I did not mind this part at all as I was allowed to drive the works van.

It was just what we needed, some regular pay and the local housing department finally gave us a council house to live in.

We moved in to 29 Inglewhite, Skelmersdale on the 10th October, 1977 which coincidently was the day I had an interview at Wortley Conveyors, for a "real" draftsmans job.

The days as a boy Friday were numbered...