Certainly fitting
into the " possible worst worst job in my life" category.
On leaving art
college in 1974, I felt that I ought to get a taste of real life, after
spending the summer as a postman, then a fair period hitching around the south
of France with Barbara Young. I decided to take on the real world.
Bob Meecham and I
worked in a vacuum cleaner factory, working in the aluminium foundry. Smelting.
I was alright for the first three hours each day. I could think about things -
take my mind off the immenent dangers, unfortunately abject empty boredom took
over.
There was a tannoy
system that went off bong bong bong in a crescending scale of notes. Bob and I
decided to take it in 15 minute shifts to note down each and every message, it
kept us in touch with another world. Our foreman who should have been called
Tommy, came over to me one day and quietly said "I don't know what you are
up to but for Christs sake don't get caught".
I bumped into
Richard Butler in the canteen a couple of days after he had been there. Another
finished at art college enforced labourer. " When I came in for the
interview, they asked me what I wanted to do. < something menial > I
replied. (might as well make it easy for myself) Little did I know what I was
setting myself up for".
Phil Gray worked
there as well, in a much more advanced capacity - actually sticking the
machines together. Him and his mates used to call the "hoovers" -
well, you have to annoy the management, don't you?
