Saturday, December 6, 2008

The day of the lorry hire ...

PWD was remembering a week or two ago here the agonies of getting the huts out of the hangar at Ullenwood and up to site and built. This picture, taken by me in, I suspect, 1980 shows that rather busy day at the end of the season when we did all the hard work. I can remember loading and unloading this particular lorry: there was so much by way of huts, shelter parts, the photographic tower, tools and wheelbarrows that had to be transported that at least two journeys were needed. Heavy builders' wheelbarrows, in particular in quantity, do not lend themselves to neat stacking and we had a long struggle puzzling out how best to balance up safety, stability and economy. Many other curious and unhelpful shapes and jagged edges had to be carefully accommodated, all in something of a rush so that the lorry could be returned to the hirers by close of play without incurring an additional day's hire charge. Somehow the job was always done. 

Jim Irvine comments: "My first job at Crickley (1977) was dusting the mattresses with flea powder (or some other choking white WMD!). My second job was sitting on top of a precarious load of hut bits and barrows as they were shipped up the hill on the lorry. "What happens if they start to slip?" I asked: "Jump!" I was told." 

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1 comment:

Jim Irvine said...

My first job at Crickley (1977)was dusting the matresses with flea powder (or some other choking white WMD!)

My second job was sitting on top of a precarious load of hut bits and barrows as they were shipped up the hill on the lorry.

"What happens if they start to slip?" I asked

"Jump!" I was told.