Cash Strapped

The strike would run for about five weeks before we achieved our "victory" and my life for that time had been miserable.

The time on the picket line was mostly fun, the occasional busy moments when trucks would try to pass and deliveries didn't get through, we manned that place twenty four hours a day and not much went in or out of the place. I recall a few night time sessions when I would arrive on the last train from Wigan, walk down from the station to the front gates and set up for the night with a few of the guys.

Keeping the brazier running was important and hot chocolate, donated by some kind soul, made the situation feel like camping out. It was a great time but for a lot of us, bills were piling up in the background and the situation felt more desperate as each day passed.

I think that a few people knew that working at APPH would never be the same, regardless of the outcome, and at the union meetings nearing the end of the strike, there was a definite feeling that we were divided, if the strike had continued another few weeks, I think we would have fallen apart.